Izzy has sportlov (sports break) this week. It is a week off of school designed to encourage outside and healthy activities. It originated in the 1940s during a wartime rationing of coal to save on school heating costs, but over time became more associated with outside activities (according to Swedish Radio). Izzy and I took the opportunity to take the three hour train trip north to Stockholm for two nights. Susanna doesn’t get the week off of work, so she is holding down the fort at home.
We arrived just after noon today and walked around Riddarholmen and Gamla Stan before heading to our hotel in Solna (next to the Mall of Scandinavia). We finished the evening enjoying dinners Susanna’s sister’s family (Rebecka, Max and Agnes)
Here are a few pictures from our walk around today. The bay around Stockholm is frozen for the first time in years. We saw a large group of ice skaters enjoying the clear weather. We even saw someone riding a bicycle across the Riddarfjärden.
Riddarholmen viewed from the frozen RiddarfjärdenIzzy in the cold Stockholm winter.Stockholm Stadshuset Gamal Stan (Old Town Stockholm)
To be honest, I’m getting tired of winter. Of course, a long, cold winter is something that I expected moving to Sweden. It has been a bit more difficult to find the motivation to get outside the past two weeks. It isn’t totally hopeless. The days are getting longer, and I get some motivation to walk with Hoagie. However, I found a bit of a cheat with him; I take him to the woods behind the apartment, and if no one is around I let him explore a few minutes off leash. It saves the walk tot he dog park. I keep telling myself that I’ll get back to he longer evening walks when it warms up. So, please hold me to that promise.
Anyway, despite my complaining, I did get some time to enjoy the weather this weekend.
Yesterday Susanna and Izzy met Hoagie and I in Rottne and we stopped by the Stockekvarn swimming place (on the eastern shore of Helgasjön) on the way back home to do some ice skating. I built a skating aid for them to practice with and they got to enjoy a not-crowded day skating on the lake. Hoagie even got some off leash time when the other skaters left, but was cold and ready to go home by the time we left.
Izzy skating on the frozen Helgasjön using the home made skating aid.
This morning Izzy had a friend over and we all went to the mall for a few hours. This afternoon I dragged Izzy with me to the Helgö Naturreservat which is also on Helgasjön. We walked for an hour or so exploring the area. Hoagie had some time to run off the leash, but eventually I decided there were too many other hikers around and leashed him for the second half of the walk.
Hoagie enjoying some freedom on Helgasjön. We were not the first group to walk that stretch of lake.Helgasjön, late afternoon.Walking back to the car late afternoon at Helgö Naturreservat
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
I should try and remember to double check measurements before purchasing parts for old tools. But I probably won’t in the long run. A month ago I decided ripping hardwood by hand sucked, so I started using the tablesaw available in the shop next door. However the machine is old and the blades have been well used. I was starting to get burns on the wood I was cutting plus the blades they had were more geared for sheet goods and not solid lumber. I talked to the owner and he said I could put a new blade on the machine.
I looked the spare blades he had. They all were well used (the space had been a production shop for IKEA in the past, so no surprise that the blades had been well used). However the cases for the blades told me the size that (I thought) I needed. The blade boxes stated 350mm in diameter with a 30mm bore. The blades had been sharpened several times, so measured around 345mm in diameter. I stopped by the local woodworking store and picked up a 350 mm CMT rip saw blade.
However when I tried to put the blade on, it didn’t fit. I got the micrometer out and measured the arbor (and the actual blades that were on the saw). I needed a bore size of 35mm. The local woodworking shop didn’t have a blade in stock with that size (at least they didn’t online), so I had to do a search online. I found a company in Germany that had blades in stock. So that seemed like an easy fix. That evening I had one on order and expected it in late last week.
Shipping (or receiving packages) in Sweden has been a learning experience. Amazon deliveries are pretty consistent. The rest, not so much. The shipper website said it was delivered to a pickup point on Friday morning. However the website didn’t tell me what pickup point it was sent to. I looked through my previous orders and found one that had used the same company to ship from Germany. They used another company to do the final delivery in Sweden. That second company’s website told me to go to a grocery store in the southern part of the city to pick up my parcel.
On Sunday, Izzy and I drove to the grocery store. They couldn’t find my package with the parcel number that I had. So back to the internet to search for my package. Anyway, on Monday, I printed out the page with the shipping status and package numbers.
We’re still down a car, so yesterday I took the bus down to the grocery store and there my package was. A short bus trip back and I had the blade at home. This morning Hoagie and I took the bus up to Rottne and finally I have a new blade the tablesaw. And it fit, though I had to adjust the riving knife back as far as it would go.
With luck, tomorrow Susanna will have a new car and I don’t have to juggle the bus schedule every day. I still have 8 one-day bus passes that I need to use in the next month, so no matter what, I won’t be driving every day.
Tablesaw blade installed! Next step is to use it to turn large pieces of lumber into smaller pieces. Squaring up the top of the bench legs after milling to size. I hooked up the dust collector to the planer and took the legs to final thickness/width and trimmed the top of the legs square by hand. I started putting the mortises in by had today, but was only able to get one leg done before catching the bus home.
I was finally able to get back into the shop today.
Last week was a pretty slow shop week. Izzy was sick the second half of the week, so I had to stay home with her. She’s feeling mostly better today, so I was able to get to the shop. Susanna’s car is still with the mechanic where they are trying to diagnose some sort of electrical problem (or declare the car dead), so it was back on the bus to Rottne with Hoagie. The bus schedule doesn’t give me many hours at the shop, but it does help me get some exercise walking to and from the bus stop. Plus it is better than being stuck at home.
Today I finished throwing together a bench to support the planer. I built the bench out of scraps so it is pretty ugly. But it works. I think I have enough of the workshop built out, so I’m in business. At least this week. Next week is winter sports break for Izzy, so I’ll be out of the shop for the week (but we are visiting Stockholm for a few days, so that will be a fun adventure).
Workshop window, Rottne, Sweden.The space is starting to fill up. Now to get to work on building things!Lunchtime walk though the woods next to the shop. I can’t wait for warm weather, but the snow does look beautiful!
Today the sun came out and it warmed up a little bit (though still below freezing). Izzy was finally feeling good enough to get outside for a short hike. So, this morning the whole family agreed to go for a hike (with some members less excited than the others). We walked downtown, caught the number 4 bus to Öjaby, and walked to Dragsåsen naturreservat. The nature reserve sticks out into Öjabyviken (Öjaby bay) in Helgasjön (Lake Helga). The lake is frozen and we passed an area where a family had shoveled the snow and was skating on the lake. Hopefully Izzy will get the opportunity to skate on a lake some year, it is a pretty cool experience.
A little farther down the path we found a place to walk out onto the lake. We explored a bit while Hoagie had a great time running around on the open ice. He loves running in the snow. Izzy was the most adventurous of us and walked on the ice a ways along the shore while the rest of us walked the path and while Hoagie ran like crazy up and down the trails and hills. If only we could live every moment as carefree and excited as Hoagie is when he is running through the woods.
After a short walk, we crossed the bridge to the southern most part of the nature reserve. The snow had piled fairly deep on that section of trail, so we decided to wait until warmer weather to explore it fully. At least the humans did. Hoagie was having a ton of fun running through the snow piles and he explored a lot more of the southern island than we did.
Overall it was one of the more scenic hikes I have done in the area. It was way more interesting than the loop at Hissö that Izzy and I did on another windy day earlier this winter. It is a very short hike (under a mile) and we spent a lot more time walking to and from the bus than we did walking the trail.
Exploring the ice on Öjabyviken.Crossing the bridge south. We didn’t make it much past this point. The only open water we could find was under the bridge to the southernmost part of the park.Izzy the brave heading out to try the ice on Öjabyviken.
I decided to rearrange the shop a little bit. Susanna’s parents had an extra couch that they said I could put in the space. I liked the idea, but I needed to make room for it. I decided to move the second workbench and place it back to back with my first bench. That workbench was a bit wobbly and wasn’t in the best shape, so I had to spend an afternoon taking it apart and doing some minor repairs.
That cleared up a space in front of the windows for the couch. Now Hoagie has a new place to hang out!
Hoagie resting in his new place on the couch. I still have his dog bed, but may take it out eventually.
The new arrangement got rid of my sharpening station that I had setup on the second workbench. I’ll build a new one when I figure out where I want it. Or just sharpen at the benches and move the sharpening supplies off the shelf above the couch.
Today I built a bench for the CNC, but didn’t get the machine put together. I’ll work on that next week. The table turned out very sturdy, but I need to build a shelf (or drawers) below it to add to my storage. Susanna’s dad supplied me with the lumber and I cut the pieces on his chop saw, so the project was pretty quick to put together.
I made another big add to the shop this week. A few weeks ago I went by SweDendro tools and ordered a benchtop planer from Axminster. I had been sitting on the Danish Cord Bench project waiting for a planer and was getting frustrated about the wait. So, yesterday I decided I’d just pick up one of the benchtop planers that they had in stock, even though they cost a little more. Of course, as soon as I gave up on the planer, it arrived in stock. Susanna’s car is at the dealer, so I had to wait until she returned from work yesterday to pick it up. Today I unboxed it and set it up on the table I’m using as a finishing table. It has a spiral cutter head, so that should be a big improvement over the planer I had in the US.
Now I have to build a proper workbench to hold the planer. I’ll also need to figure out a way to remove the chips, but I’ll probably start with just hooking up the vacuum to the machine for now. There is an old single-phase dust collector on the other side of the building that I can probably borrow if I ask, but it needs some cleaning up and new bags. That will be a project for a later time.
Current state of the workshop with the planer and workbenches setup.
I’m still trying to figure out what my go-to finish will be. It is a bit of a challenge to navigate the language and new products. I did some test pieces with LIBERON Bistrot Varnish and just picked up some Hozon 2C and put a first coat on some samples today. I’ll see how they look when they fully cure next week.
I’m trying to make Fridays my tool maintenance and shop cleaning day, so was able to get some pictures with the workbenches mostly cleared off.
My goal next week is to finish milling and do the joinery on the Danish Cord Bench. I ordered the cord and cord nails but don’t yet have an expected delivery date for them. I have a couple of projects in the queue, including a chicken coop for Susanna’s work, a loft bed for Izzy and a new TV/entertainment cabinet. The chicken coop needs to wait until I get the paperwork needed to work as a contractor. The loft bed will be a quick build (e.g. screws/bolts) . The TV stand/entertainment cabinet will be my first try with veneering so will take a bit longer. My landlord has sheets of veneer sitting around from when they built furniture for IKEA so I’ll purchase a sheet or two as needed.
The forecast for today called for clear skies and sun. I decided to walk Hoagie down to Växjösjön (Lake Växjö) after we dropped Izzy off at school. I wanted to try and catch some sunrise pictures around the lake. Instead of the sun creeping over the trees I found more grayness. The color of the Swedish winter.
I got a few pictures during the walk, but none of the morning sharpness I was hoping. But the weather wasn’t too cold and the walk was pleasant. And Hoagie is always (well, almost always) good company. I even found a new park to explore, the Museiparken. I had to look it up online after I got home and will head back one of these days to explore it in more detail. Probably when the weather warms up a bit.
Hoagie looking over Växjösjön with the floating Christmas lights stuck in the ice behind him.Höglopsstugan “Fiskaretorpet”, Museipark Växjö. Built in the 1750s and moved to its current location in 1928. A common style of cottage from the time period.
The past few days have been a bit warmer, hovering just above freezing. Most of the snow has melted, but the ground is still wet and the ice is very slowly melting. It also means that there is lots of fog in the mornings. The dog park has been a block of ice which seems to be taking forever to melt, so I try to avoid it if I can. The forecast calls for freezing weather for the next week or so which will make everything slippery again.
The days are slowly getting longer, though it is still dark when Izzy walks to school. I don’t mind walking around the city before sunrise. Växjö is pretty in the dark; lots of Christmas lights are still up. Here are some pictures from my walk yesterday morning with Hoagie.
Foggy morning walk in Växjö. Our apartment buildings are shrouded in the distance.Shed in Växjö. The snow is mostly melted.
Workshop Updates
I’m still in a bit of a holding pattern on building furniture until the planer shows up. I was hoping it would be in last week but it didn’t make it. However, I’ve been busy in the shop. I was able to repurpose some lumber to make a set of shelves for the laser engraver and re-assemble the laser engraver. It survived the FedEx trip here. I’m planning on adding some drawers below the shelves if I can figure out the drawer guides that I found laying around. I’ll also add an enclosure for the laser and an air assist. The top shelf has space for a 3D printer if I get around to acquiring one.
Shelves/cabinet for the laser engraver next to my desk. Hoagie is resting in the space where my CNC table will be built.
I wasn’t able to move any of my power tools from my workshop in the US over here, so I started with only hand tools. The space I am renting provided workbenches and a few more hand tools. I did pick up a cordless drill; I’m not a psychopath of course.
I have pretty much everything needed to make furniture. I’ve been making the shop furniture from spruce and pine, which isn’t too particular about board thickness and is pretty easy to cut by hand. But no one really wants nice furniture out of pine or spruce, so I’m moving to hardwoods. I’m cutting the legs and rails of the hall bench I’m making from a 2″ slab of European Alder. It is softer and less dense than red oak, but still hard enough to make ripping the boards by hand a workout.
I have realized that it sucks to thickness a board by hand, and will go by the tools store today to order a thickness planer. Yesterday I decided that ripping the boards by hand was too much work. My goal is to enjoy building things, so I used the tools next door.
When I rented the shop, the landlord said I could use the woodworking tools in the shop next to mine if desired. They have a lot of large equipment from when the shop made furniture for IKEA between the late 1940s and the 1980s. Not all the equipment is hooked up (like the huge thickness planer), some of it needs work (the jointer needs the motor installed), but some of it works. And one of the ones that is working is the tablesaw. I hadn’t used it before and it is a large 3-phase machine with three motors/blades. Pretty intimidating to use. At least the section setup for ripping wasn’t too bad to setup.
Long story short, I have the legs cut roughly to size and am waiting on the planer to get to proper size. I’m not at the shop today, but tomorrow I’m planning on cutting out the rails. Joinery will have to wait. Soon I’ll need to order the danish cord and hooks to weave the top.
The beast of a tablesaw in the space next to my shop in Rottne.
This morning I’m off to drop Susanna’s car off at the dealer. I’ll walk by Swedendro Tools on the way back home to see if I can order the planer. My plan is to organize our storage space in the basement before heading out to meet a friend for lunch. This afternoon Izzy is starting her after-school art program followed by a trial lesson at the boxing gym with a friend from school.
Izzy started school today, which gave me the chance to get back in the workshop. I’m starting the build on the Danish Cord bench. Today I started to saw out the legs. I don’t have any power tools in the shop yet (okay, I do have a cordless drill, but that is it), so the sawing is going slow. I’ll see how much I miss having a stationary saw, but I already know that getting the boards to proper thickness by hand will be a lot of not-very-fun work. So, a lunchbox planer is on my short list.
The shop itself is slowly coming together. I do need a place to hang my chisels, and better storage for the hand planes. But it is working for now.
Workbench setup in the shop. The wall behind is still pretty bare, but I’m slowly working on that. At least the saws are up.My shop companion, Hoagie, looking out at snowy Rottne.
