Patriotic DuckThe All American RunnerDuck Review
February 6, 2010
 Welcome Back

Oh my gosh where did January go? It is truly amazing how quickly time flies by. Our January here on the island was a little wetter than normal. Coupeville usually gets eighteen inches of rain a year but we believe that most of this year's rain will have come from January. While the temperatures have moderated to a normal high of 45 to 50 degrees F (7.2 to 10 degrees C for our international friends) we haven't seem much sunshine.

 

We would be neglect if we didn't mention our newest grandchild Emerson who is now 8 months old. Of course Camden and Hudson, our other grandchildren, get an honorable mention but everybody loves a cute little girl. So with all the iPod, iPad, iPhone and iWhatever we thought we'd add this to the list J

 

 While she doesn't have much hair in this picture it is actually starting to come in quite nicely.
 

Ken's starting to count the days to retirement, just six months and thirteen days to go. To help the time pass his brother Ron, www.walkingfortbragg.com,  has given him a short-timers chain with the appropriate number of beads which will be removed at a rate of one a day for the duration. I'm not sure if that is speeding up time or slowing it down, I don't see much change in the length of the chain as the days click off.


Ken and Marilyn
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Wood'n Wares Hand Made Wooden Utensils

Wood'n Wares

The orders for our Spoon Oil have been coming in because it was mentioned on a woodworkers site touting its versatility. It's a great safe finish for all sorts of wood. I used it on some wooden knife handles I made and it worked great. You can get Wood'n Wares Spoon Oil just by clicking on the link below.
 
While you're there check out their wonderful, Wood'n Ware hand crafted, hard maple kitchen tools. They feel great in your hands and work exceptionally well. Not only do they look and work nice but they last a lifetime when treated with our special Spoon Oil. Check out the large selection by clicking on the display below.
www.runnerduck.com/woodnwares.htm.
In This Issue
What's New
Site of the Month
Marilyn's Corner
The Tempos Big Band
Joke of the Month
This Months Recipe
Woodworking Project
Free Rockler Catalog
Please Donate
 
 
Wood Plans
Woodworking Tools
Rockler Specials
Rockler always has great specials, here's the latest! 

What's New?

We finally sold our custom PT Cruiser. We had it on the market for almost six months and finally and nice couple from Marysville, Washington picked it up. They seem like good people and will take good care of it. We put a lot of work into customizing it and would hate to see it all go to waste.

 

Ken got a new camcorder and is spending time learning how to get the best video out of it. His plan is to start adding some video content to his woodworking projects that he posts in this newsletter and on the web. We'll let you know when the first one is posted and look forward to your feedback, good or bad!

Site Of The Month
It seems like everyone in our family is into photography these days. Some, like brother-in-law Del at Flickr Smoking Pizza are into it more than others but we all like a good photo.
 
Utah 3D puts a whole new spin on photography. The pictures are incredible in the fact that you can look all around by clicking and moving your mouse in different directions. It truly is like being there.
 
Just click on any of the pictures and wait for them to load. If you have a slow network connection just be patient because it's worth it. Go to Utah 3D and see what Utah has to offer.
Marilyn's Corner
Valentine Hat Box

It's been said that special things come in small packages. Well how about a small pretty package? This hat box project is fun and uses a lot of your creative abilities.

Here's what you'll need:

A small round box with a lid that you can get at the craft store.
Ribbon, gold rope, beads, cloth and anything else that might make it pretty.
A pressed flower
Glue
Decoupage Finish

Arrange your decorations to make your box look pretty. I cut and put a piece of patterned cloth in the bottom and bordered it with some gold rope.
I glued a pressed flower in the middle of the lid and painted it with clear decoupage finish.

 
If you made our flower press project,
www.runnerduck.com/kc_flower_press.htm, then you would have plenty of pressed flowers to choose from :-)
 
Decorate the outside of the box and you should be ready to fill it with lots of lovely gifts.

Some ideas for filling the box are, candy, potpourri, a gift certificate or a 20 carat diamond ring!

 
If you have a craft project that you'd like to share with our readers just send it to marilyn@runnerduck.com.

The Tempos Big Swing Band
 If you have an event planned in the Seattle area and are in need of a great band, The Tempos are ready to perform for you. Just drop a line to kennyb@runnerduck.com

The Tempos

The Tempos CD, "Big Swing", features fourteen great swing songs from the 40's and 50's. If you love the old big band swing music we think you'll enjoy this CD. It's the kind of music that makes you just want to get up and dance, you do remember how to swing don't you?

The only place you can get this CD is from our web site. Go to www.thetempos.com and click on the "Click Here" at the top of the web page or click the album cover.


CLICK HERE
.

If you'd like to get a taste of this CD just go to The Tempos web site. When you are at the Tempos web site click on the horn valve button that says "Hear our CD". Then click on the song titles to hear a little bit of each song.

The Tempos big swing band is available for hire. If you have a special event that could use the wonderful music of a classic sixteen piece big band be sure to contact kennyb@runnerduck.com. We perform all over the Seattle area for all sorts of events.

Joke of the Month
 

Being the "helpful tip/project oriented" kind of people we are we thought this weeks joke was appropriate for sharing.

 

Amazing simple home remedies:

1. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop.

2. Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

3. For high blood pressure sufferers simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a   timer.

4. A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

5. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. Then you'll be afraid to cough.

6. You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

7. If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.

And finally the Daily Thought:

Some people are like slinkies - not really good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.

  
If you've got a funny family friendly joke send it to kennyb@runnerduck.com


This Month's Free Recipe
 
Smokey Cheese Log
 

Here's a great recipe just in time for your Super Bowl party. Your friends will absolutely love this cheese log. 

Ingredients:

  • 9 oz Package Cream Cheese 
  • 2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese 
  • 2 Cups Shredded Swiss Cheese 
  • 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise 
  • 1 teaspoon Grated Onion 
  • 2 to 3 Drops Hot Pepper Sauce 
  • 1 Garlic Clove, crushed 
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire 
  • 1/4 teaspoon Celery Salt 
  • 1/8 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
Mix everything together.
Shape into a log and wrap in plastic wrap.
Chill for 3 to 4 hours.
 
Optional: Roll in chopped nuts, crumbled bacon bits or chopped chives.
 
Serve with crackers or veggies. You may want to make a couple because they will go fast!


If you have a recipe you'd like to share with our readers please send it to marilyn@runnerduck.com. We'd love to share it with everyone.
Woodworking Project
 

WOOD PROJECT PLANS

DOWNLOADABLE & MAIL-DIRECT
WOODWORKING PLANS
Download WOOD Store® woodworking plans directly to your computer and start building in just minutes! OR, we'll mail them to you, your choice!


CLICK!

This Months Woodworking Project

Wooden Scrapbook

This is the Christmas present I made for our new granddaughter Emerson. She's too young to enjoy it yet but I'm sure her mom will put lots of neat memorabilia into it.
This started as an original concept and turned out to be much more difficult than I ever expected. I was pretty happy with the results and everyone was amazed that the whole book including the pages was made from wood. I'm afraid this project is too long and involved to fully describe in our newsletter so I've posted the complete project instructions on our web site, www.runnerduck.com/wood_book/wood_book.htm. I'll share the first part of it here but go to our web site to see it all.

The first thing I did was make a small mockup of it to see if my concept would even work and it did.

If you decide to make this project I highly recommend doing the same thing. My dimensions may be off a tad or your tools might make a little different cut so it's well worth the effort.

I made the final book from the following:

  • Covers - Purple Heart
  • Binding - Purple Heart
  • Hinge Clamps - Birds Eye Maple
  • Hinges - Leather
  • Spiral - Round Reed
  • Pages - Birch Plywood
I started with the covers by cutting down some 4" X 4" Purple Heart 12" long and then sliced it to 3/8" thick on the band saw.

I flattened one side of each piece with my jointer which didn't work great because Purple Heart does not like power cutters.
I then tried to run them through my planer to flatten the other side and get them close to 1/4" thick, again with not a lot of success. Purple Heart just tears out way too easily.
I squared the edges on the jointer and edge glued them so they were approximately 12" X 10 1/2".

I used cauls across the boards to keep them flat. I also used wax paper under the cauls to keep the glue from sticking to them.
Using a belt sander I carefully sanded them to remove some of the chip outs from planning and jointing. It takes some real control to keep them flat during this step. Keep the belt sander moving evenly back and forth at a slight angle to the grain.
Once I had them the way I wanted I moved on to the binding or back of the book.
Once again I cut down some Purple heart 12" long from my 4" X 4".
On the band saw I cut it to a little over 3/4" thick and on the tablesaw to 2 1/4" wide plus the width of my table saw blade.
Once again it was off to the jointer and planer and more frustration.
I set up my 3/8" dado blade to 1/2" deep and cut a dado starting 1/4" in from the side along the length each piece.

Freud Box Joint Cutter Set
Freud Box Joint Cutter Set

I would make one pass, rotate the piece and make another pass. Then adjust the fence so the blade would just overlap the last pass and do it again. I continued doing this until I had a dado 3/4" wide on both sides of the piece.
Using a 3/4" roundover bit in the router radius the two back edges of the binder. Do not make a full cut but sneak up on it. A neat trick I learned on one of the woodworker magazines was to place a piece of tape along where the bearing will travel just prior to the final pass.

Roundover/ Beading  Router Bits
Roundover/ Beading Router Bits

After you make the pass against the tape remove it and make your last pass, it should greatly reduce the burning especially in woods like Purple Heart.
You should now have something that looks like this.

Next I cut it in half down the middle.

This should give you an idea about this project. To see the rest of it go to www.runnerduck.com/wood_book/wood_book.htm. We hope you liked this project. If you build it and your friends ask where you got such a clever idea, please tell them that you got it at RunnerDuck.com.

If any of you have wood projects to share I would be happy to put it into a format for our newsletter. Just send me an email at kennyb@runnerduck.com and lets see what we can come up with. Thank you!
Free Rockler Catalog
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     If you want to talk about something just drop us a line to kennyb@runnerduck.com any time, we like to talk about most anything. We are always looking for content for our newsletter so if you have something to add we'd love to publish it, assuming it meets our strict family oriented requirements!

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We can be contacted at kennyb@runnerduck.com.

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