For those of you who were wondering if the instructions for making a Lace Blocking Frame AKA Shawl Frame, that were published by Knit Picks would really work. Here it is. My very talented brother, Herman, made one for me. I am so thrilled! I'm not handy that way and I figure if my brother can build a Shelby Cobra from a kit, he could build this frame. I love being right, I love my brother Herman and I love my frame!!! (P.S. Thank You Shelby for helping to make the frame and giving your father the idea for the nail jig!)These are the observations my brother hand while building the frame.
I'll have to burn a cd with all the pictures so you can choose which ones you want.
Some mental notes you could use in your blog:
Nail-Depth Jig:
"Having done a lot of wood working around the house, I noted in many of the woodworking magazines the constant use of jigs that many people have created to work around either a redundant and laborious task or something that needed a certain amount of accuracy. The nail depth jig came about for this reason and stemmed mostly from my daughter wanting to help hammer in the nails. However, at 9 years old, she doesn't quite grasp the concept of hammering a nail to only 1/2" depth so my sister can congratulate her niece for helping me come up with the jig."
Triangles:
" While the triangles I cut work, there was something in the back of my mind about people who are reading these instructions and do not have the resources for making such a cut from a 2'x2' board. I do not own a table saw so this makes this task a bit more difficult. However, working with a thin piece enabled me to use an old technique: you take a box cutter and score both sides of the board long the lines that are measured (the "X"). This may take a bit of time and you only need to go about 1/32"-1/16" deep. After that, you simply break the board across your knee or a solid table . Now there will be a lot of jagged edges but you can use some coarse sand paper or simply scrape down the edges with the box cutter.
However, the 2nd alternative may be more appealing. When you buy the board, simply have the store cut it into quarters. Remember, the whole Idea is to have 2 sides of the board at 90 deg. so you can square up the frame relatively accurate without the use of a framing square as I had done. It won't look as pretty but it WILL do the job."
Qwik-Clamps for holding the frame to the base:
" The optional pieces (screws, washers, wing-nuts) probably add up to maybe $1.00 for the L-bracket base. But in the picture you will note the use of some "Qwik-Clamps". These were bought for $4 ea. It adds to the total cost but I looked at it as having 4 less pieces to worry about unlikely to lose. They can also help assist in storage of the 6' and 7' pieces of the frame by clamping 2 of the sides together. And they could be used for other things around the house if so desired."
Build Time:
" Off the top of my head, I probably spent a total of 5 hours on the project including the purchase of the materials. The longest being the cutting of the triangles along with the nailing. "
Herman
Some mental notes you could use in your blog:
Nail-Depth Jig:
"Having done a lot of wood working around the house, I noted in many of the woodworking magazines the constant use of jigs that many people have created to work around either a redundant and laborious task or something that needed a certain amount of accuracy. The nail depth jig came about for this reason and stemmed mostly from my daughter wanting to help hammer in the nails. However, at 9 years old, she doesn't quite grasp the concept of hammering a nail to only 1/2" depth so my sister can congratulate her niece for helping me come up with the jig."
Triangles:
" While the triangles I cut work, there was something in the back of my mind about people who are reading these instructions and do not have the resources for making such a cut from a 2'x2' board. I do not own a table saw so this makes this task a bit more difficult. However, working with a thin piece enabled me to use an old technique: you take a box cutter and score both sides of the board long the lines that are measured (the "X"). This may take a bit of time and you only need to go about 1/32"-1/16" deep. After that, you simply break the board across your knee or a solid table . Now there will be a lot of jagged edges but you can use some coarse sand paper or simply scrape down the edges with the box cutter.
However, the 2nd alternative may be more appealing. When you buy the board, simply have the store cut it into quarters. Remember, the whole Idea is to have 2 sides of the board at 90 deg. so you can square up the frame relatively accurate without the use of a framing square as I had done. It won't look as pretty but it WILL do the job."
Qwik-Clamps for holding the frame to the base:
" The optional pieces (screws, washers, wing-nuts) probably add up to maybe $1.00 for the L-bracket base. But in the picture you will note the use of some "Qwik-Clamps". These were bought for $4 ea. It adds to the total cost but I looked at it as having 4 less pieces to worry about unlikely to lose. They can also help assist in storage of the 6' and 7' pieces of the frame by clamping 2 of the sides together. And they could be used for other things around the house if so desired."
Build Time:
" Off the top of my head, I probably spent a total of 5 hours on the project including the purchase of the materials. The longest being the cutting of the triangles along with the nailing. "
Herman
