new woodworking inventions - help me!

[mike s]

Hi guys
i am currently doing my A2 levels and my product design subject requires me to design a new product to fill a need
my hobby is woodworking so naturally i want to design a product related to that
but my problem is what should i design?
what problems do you have with your workshops that a new invention could resolve?
it needs to be something substantial so i can go through the development process through the year but not so large i wont be able to build it in time (wood metal plastic etc nothing electronic)
any jigs you have made that are not currently on the market to buy?
please help, thanks

 

[custard]

Good luck Mike, here's a couple of thoughts,

1. When cutting veneers on a bandsaw I prefer to have the main part of the wood up against the fence, with the veneer falling free to the right of the blade. But this requires a method of moving the fence by a precise and consistent amount between each cut. I use a Heath Robinson wedge arrangement, but there's got to be a better way.

2. I'd buy a jig that guarantees success when hanging a cabinet door with knife hinges.

 

[rafezetter]

offtopic, Epsom... know it well - used to live there and the folks still do, NESCOT perchance?

You might want to go through the (ridiculously large but informative) selection of sites with woodworking jigs and see if there are any that stand out again and again - also I'd join all the WW forums you can, here and overseas and post the same question again to see if there are correlations.

Also don't dismiss that just because it's already out there doesn't mean it can't be improved or made just as effective but cheaper / modular - look at Dyson . One of the biggest reasons for homemade jigs is commercial versions just aren't up to snuff.

Oh and a thought - look here too: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/the-wonderful-world-of-niki-s-jigs-t69824.html this guy was a genius for jigs (sadly passed now) - might get the juices flowing.

 

[Jacob]

I've got good one and it actually works. It's a sharpening jig but with the wheel in front instead of behind. It makes jig sharpening loads easier. Not that I use jigs on the whole, it was just an idea. I made a crude prototype - I've got a photo somewhere I'll dig it out.

 

[Argus]

Saw sharpening by hand has been a big issue with me.... not because I can't do it by hand, but because my eyesight has never been good enough to see what I'm doing to each gullet when it gets less than about 12 tpi or thereabouts. Magnifying lens are (literally) a headache to use.

So, how about a saw sharpening jig and saw vice on a slide, bolted onto the saw, that sets the (adjustable) angle of attack of the file. Also with an optional micro-camera that lets you see what you are doing on a screen?

I know that you said no electronics, but you can obtain the bolt-on camera and a bit of software fairly cheaply off the shelf.

Anyway, good luck.

 

[JustBen]

Good luck Mike, here's a couple of thoughts,

1. When cutting veneers on a bandsaw I prefer to have the main part of the wood up against the fence, with the veneer falling free to the right of the blade. But this requires a method of moving the fence by a precise and consistent amount between each cut. I use a Heath Robinson wedge arrangement, but there's got to be a better way.

2. I'd buy a jig that guarantees success when hanging a cabinet door with knife hinges.

How about a notched bar at set distances? Like you have on some box joint jigs.
The bar could be at 90 degrees to the mitre slot and fixed to the existing fence or have an new one made just for veneers.

 

[JustBen]

Maybe something like this. Excuse the crude drawing, the iPad isn't the easiest thing to draw on.

 

[Graham Orm]

Hi guys
i am currently doing my A2 levels and my product design subject requires me to design a new product to fill a need
my hobby is woodworking so naturally i want to design a product related to that
but my problem is what should i design?
what problems do you have with your workshops that a new invention could resolve?
it needs to be something substantial so i can go through the development process through the year but not so large i wont be able to build it in time (wood metal plastic etc nothing electronic)
any jigs you have made that are not currently on the market to buy?
please help, thanks

Got a good one for you. I use a laser level all the time at work and am constantly frustrated at how awkward it is to fine adjust. I have to set it vertically and horizontally with millimetre precision. It needs a screw mechanism to move it up and down, and left to right. I've already made a verticle adjuster, which I'll let you have pictures of if you like, but it needs a horizontal adjuster, which I haven't got round to yet.

Let me know if you want to have a look. You could do a whole new one from scratch. It would probably be marketable if you came up with a good design.

Graham

 

[dm65]

How about a portable vice, big enough to clamp decent sized wood for hand planning ? (I actually do need one of these)

Held to a surface by clamps

 

[custard]

How about a portable vice, big enough to clamp decent sized wood for hand planning ? (I actually do need one of these)

Held to a surface by clamps

The Zyliss Vice, I think they call it the "Z Vice" now. For a couple of years a Zyliss Vice on a potting bench and a Workmate were my only workholding options!

http://www.homeshow.co.nz/

 

[dm65]

How about a portable vice, big enough to clamp decent sized wood for hand planning ? (I actually do need one of these)

Held to a surface by clamps

The Zyliss Vice, I think they call it the "Z Vice" now. For a couple of years a Zyliss Vice on a potting bench and a Workmate were my only workholding options!

http://www.homeshow.co.nz/

EXACTLY like that - that is amazing - thanks for sharing

I had one in my cart till I saw the price - but definitely on my wish list

Sorry Mike, my idea has already been done

 

[doctor Bob]

How about an invention to stop employees bog dwelling.

 

[dm65]

How about an invention to stop employees bog dwelling.

Your employees are allowed to eat & drink ? That's novel

 

[heimlaga]

In the heavier end of woodworking I can think of two tools I sorely miss:

-A safer way of drilling peg holes in log walls. A gigantic slow turning hand held drill with a 1 1/2 inch auger bit is fairly efficient but it all too easily converts itself into a one man merry-go-round and that is not very funny when it happens 3 or 4 metres above ground. There must be a way to make some kind of light portable drill guide that would steer the drill straight down and prewent it from rotating.
-A kind of combined cant hook/pry bar with the lower end of the bar shaped as the straight end of a crow bar. I have a prototype on the way as soon as I find some time for a little forging.

 

[bugbear]

Saw sharpening by hand has been a big issue with me.... not because I can't do it by hand, but because my eyesight has never been good enough to see what I'm doing to each gullet when it gets less than about 12 tpi or thereabouts. Magnifying lens are (literally) a headache to use.

So, how about a saw sharpening jig and saw vice on a slide, bolted onto the saw, that sets the (adjustable) angle of attack of the file.

We're a 100 years too late!

http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/sawjig/

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

In the heavier end of woodworking I can think of two tools I sorely miss:

-A safer way of drilling peg holes in log walls. A gigantic slow turning hand held drill with a 1 1/2 inch auger bit is fairly efficient but it all too easily converts itself into a one man merry-go-round and that is not very funny when it happens 3 or 4 metres above ground. There must be a way to make some kind of light portable drill guide that would steer the drill straight down and prewent it from rotating......

Hilti do them. Core drill kit: powerful but lightweight drills with a sensitive clutch, and drill stands if required.

 

[monkeybiter]

Jacob, where's your alternative grinding jig? I'd love to have a look at that [at the risk of sparking another epic]

 

[Benchwayze]

Saw sharpening by hand has been a big issue with me.... not because I can't do it by hand, but because my eyesight has never been good enough to see what I'm doing to each gullet when it gets less than about 12 tpi or thereabouts. Magnifying lens are (literally) a headache to use.

So, how about a saw sharpening jig and saw vice on a slide, bolted onto the saw, that sets the (adjustable) angle of attack of the file. Also with an optional micro-camera that lets you see what you are doing on a screen?

I know that you said no electronics, but you can obtain the bolt-on camera and a bit of software fairly cheaply off the shelf.

Anyway, good luck.

HI Argus,

Unless you are ugly, like me, you could prop up a mirror behind the saw. It's great for checking you are holding the file at the right angle. Just the occasional glance keeps you on track.
HTH

 

[Benchwayze]

How about an invention to stop employees bog dwelling.

Clear-glass doors?

 

[Jacob]

sorry edited this one away by mistake