Alter Ego Woodworks

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United States
Coatesville, PA
Alter Ego Woodworks

I chanced into woodworking when my wife wanted a growth chart for our children, and I've been making stuff ever since.

The name "Alter Ego Woodworks" alludes to the fact that I also skydive and program computers.

06/08/2020

Not everybody loves the on but I sure as heck do! To me it accentuates that this is an organic and unique material, no two pieces identical.

This project checks a lot of boxes for me. I've been wanting to do something for myself that's not shop furniture, and I've been wanting more practice at hand cut dovetails, and I'm using up scraps, and I'm making something useful (to be revealed later...) and hopefully beautiful.

Since it's all made from scraps, it'll be from 3 different walnut trees and the colors are going to be wildly inconsistent. I'm either going to love that or hate it. On one hand the color variation possibilities are also something I love, but on the other hand, there's no guarantee they'll look good together. Only time will tell. 🤷‍♂️

My early estimate is that this piece will include 14 dovetails. That's gonna be a lot of practice.

05/05/2020

Having some fun with electronics tonight...

04/30/2020

3 puzzles complete! Next up: finish. Gotta wait for daytime so I can take them and their fumes outside. I've finished inside before and won't make that mistake again!

04/28/2020

Today's video from really smacked me in the inspiration center of my brain. I needed a quick win that I could do with limited tools while I've got my shop torn apart, and this little project gives me another opportunity to work on my hand tool skills, too.
I decided to make 3 of them from 3 species of wood scraps ( , , and ), and mix and match the parts. First one is completely cut and mostly sanded, and the other two are rough cut. I think my next shop session is going to start with some sharpening. Dull chisels are no fun!
The kids know I'm building something that's a surprise, but I'm pretty sure they don't realize it's for them.
You know what would be really nice right now? A strip sander! Sanding all of these inside edges by hand is a real pain in the butt!

04/25/2020

It lives! Router table complete! This is the Router Lift XL in my table saw extension wing. Wouldn't have been possible without my fence system and the custom rails I fabricated for the saw! This is a dream I had maybe 2+ years ago, finally come true!
I also added a small tray to the rear of the fence to hold onto the k***s used to hold the table down, because I know they'll get lost instantly without a proper home.
Last photo is my first "router table", which is just a square of 1/2" plywood with a hole drilled in the center that I could screw my palm router onto, flip over, and clamp to the top of my workmate. And now? NOW IT'S SCRAP WOOD! 🤩🎉
Of course, the shop is a disaster area right now. I guess the next project is a day full of tidying up!
@ West Caln Township

04/21/2020

Happy birthday to me! It was on sale for nearly half off! How could I not?! (And yes it's actually my birthday today...)

04/20/2020

Every day is a good day to clean out the burn box!

04/12/2020

It's been a really productive weekend! In addition to all of the yard work from the honey-do list, I've made a ton of progress on the Lever Router Lift XL! This is going to be a HUGE upgrade from just clamping a piece of 1/4" plywood with a hole in it to my workmate.
@ West Caln Township

03/24/2020

I finally got around to adding some dust collection to my cheap Craftsman jointer!
I've been brainstorming for months on how to build some sort of shroud from wood, and finally the restrictions of the got the gears turning the right way. I realized I could KISS and build with simpler materials. This is made with less than $1 worth of poster board and a few feet of
I also cut in a hole and taped in a clear plastic bag to act as a window to make extra sure I don't get too lazy and let it overfill. I've only done a couple of test passes, but so far it's a HUGE improvement, and I can see a few spots where I can add more tape to make it even better.
As long as it stands the test of time, this is going to be a great solution!
@ West Caln Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania

03/17/2020

This is coming out gorgeous! 🤩😍 All of the shaping is done, now just to route the edges, sand, and finish!

03/15/2020

Well, my first CNC carve with the Auto Lock clamps was certainly exciting! And ... sparky. And expensive. Time for a new v-carving bit. Fortunately, though damaged, the clamp still seems to work.
Adult can be a real pain in the wallet. I forgot to reset my 0 before starting the carve. Time to make a checklist to follow for every carve!

03/13/2020

Running an experiment to test a few theories about when and why glue turns black and stains the wood when touching pipe clamps.

Address

Coatesville, PA
19320

Website

https://alteregowood.works/

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