CONSUMER NEWSLETTER
January 19, 2009 at 7:30 pm | In Home and Family | Leave a CommentTags: aware, consumer, free, furniture, newsletter, subscribe, wood
I have been writing a consumer newsletter that will be released at the end of February 2009. Its goal is to inform so that you can become a more aware consumer. To subscribe and receive your free copy, join my mailing list on my web site www.thewoodenhorse.ca.
I promise not to send unnecessary emails and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Warning: Bunkbeds May Be Hazardous to Your Child
November 27, 2008 at 3:57 pm | In Home and Family | Leave a CommentTags: 6 years old, ASTM, bunkbed, safety, suffocation
In July 2008, Health Canada advised Canadians to exercise caution when purchasing and using bunk beds. A report from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) indicated that between 1999 and 2006, there were 2,530 bunk bed-related injuries in Canada. Over 65%, 1650 in total were related to the top bunk. Twelve of these incidents were related to strangulation or suffocation by entrapment, of which eight resulted in death. The remaining injuries were related to falls.
Important Safety Tips
· Children should use bunk beds safely. The top bunk is not safe for children under 6 years of age.
· Only one person on the top bunk
· The bed should have all guardrails installed at all times. Make sure the top bunk has guardrails on all four sides of the bed. Children have been badly hurt when their head was caught between parts of the bed. Check regularly to make sure the bed frame is sturdy.
· The mattress should fit snugly on all sides.
· The ladder should be attached securely to the bed. Teach children to use the ladder safely.
· Never tie ropes or cords, such as belts for bathrobes or skipping ropes, to any part of the bed as these can pose serious strangulation hazards.
· Make sure it meets the latest version of the ASTM F1427 standard. If there are no labels indicating compliance with the latest ASTM F1427 standard, ask the store before you buy, or contact the manufacturer for more information
· Check to ensure the bed comes with instructions for assembly and has a label with safety warnings. Read and follow these instructions carefully.
· Push the bed up against a wall. To ensure maximum security, attach the bed to the wall.
Building a Rocking Horse
September 2, 2008 at 1:38 am | In woodworking | Leave a CommentTags: children, CNIB, donation, hand made, pine, rocking horse
Recently, I was asked by the CNIB to donate an article to their fundraiser auction. I thought a handmade rocking horse would fit the bill. This is the story of this build.
I selected pine as it is easy to work and is relatively inexpensive. The process is straight forward, but there are a few tricky bits.
1. When lumber is selected, dimensional lumber is used. Even though, it costs more than rough cut lumber. I save time by using prefinished wood…time is money. Lumber should be straight ,thus, avoiding twists or cupping in the wood. Generally, I take the section templates with me to the store. I can use them to do a rough layout ensuring that I have the right amount of lumber.
2. In the shop, the layout is double checked and the pieces are given a final trace . Then all pieces are rough cut to shape and left to acclimatize to the workshop. After a day or two, all pieces are cut to shape on the band saw. A little extra (about 1/8th inch) is left so that I can sand up to the line.
3. Pieces are joined to check for an even fit. Each leg is made from 2 pieces of 3/4 inch pine. The head comprises of 3 sections and the body has five.
4. Contours and edges are rough sanded so that shapes are more defined. I attempt to sand the body contours with a belt sander… portable and table top models. It is slow work to define facial features.
5. Leg pieces are glued up, being careful not to have glue ooze out from the seams. When dry, I drill a 1/4 inch hole to insert a dowel that will reinforce the legs structure.
6. Attaching the head to the body, biscuits are used as they provide strength and aid in alignment of the head to the body. These are cut before any glue ups.
7. Next, the three centre body parts are glued together. When dry, two 1 inch holes are drilled that will house the support posts.
8. Following the head glue up, it is attached to the body.
9. More sanding and shaping, then the outer parts of the body are attached. Throughout, dowels are used to keep the parts in correct alignment.
10. The base is made up of two runners and top platform. They are attached to a box into which, holes for the support posts, have been drilled.
11. Moving onto finer grit of sandpaper, a smoother surface is created.
12. The legs are fastened and the body is slipped onto the support posts which have been inserted in the base.
All that is left is to coat the surface. Will I use a clear coat of polyurethane or stain it to give it character?
SHOP DESIGN
June 25, 2008 at 3:30 pm | In woodworking | Leave a CommentTags: Add new tag, shop, space, tablesaw, woodworking
Space-saving Solutions for a Small Work Area
Every woodworker has nightmares of bad shops: windowless basements, low ceilings, cold floor, poor lighting and water. However, that is not my point. My point is that when I moved into a house with a one-car garage, 11 ft. wide and 19 ft. long, I wondered how I would fit a shop into such a tight space. Typically, a woodworking shop starts in a corner of the garage or basement. Over time, you add tools, develop new skills, build larger pieces, and change the layout. Then at some point, you may need to completely rethink and overhaul your existing space. There are 4 steps to accomplish this task: Graph It, Map It, Condense it, Enjoy It.
1. Graph It
The goals of any woodworker should be to
*Plan out the space on paper first.
*Aim for efficiency and functionality.
*Think about noise and comfort.
Often the most important considerations are saving space and laying out your tools for an efficient workflow. You can use a modeling program on your computer such as Google’s SketchUp or use graph paper with a ¼-inch grid. A 1inch equals 1 foot format seems to work well. Measure the larger tools first. Arrange them on graph paper to create paper cut outs to be used as a plan view of your shop. Take the time to work out the most efficient placement of benches, cabinets, and machines, taking into account infeed and outfeed zones as well as dust collection. The benefit of doing this exercise is that you can plan where you will place electrical outlets, soundproofing, insulation, or heating/cooling items.
2.Mapping out the territory
In a small shop, moving wood is easier than moving machines. For example, create adjacent, sequential zones for lumber storage, rough/finish cutting, sanding, assembly, and staining. Start out with paper cut outs, drawn to scale, of all large equipment. Fitting the major machines-tablesaw, jointer, planer, bandsaw, router table, drill press and chopsaw-into a small room can create problems. As in most shops, large stationary tools demand the most space, so the tablesaw seems a good place to start. Rest large tools on mobile bases. I also kept an eye on the horizontal arrangement of tools and workstations, making sure that the outfeed from certain tools, like my tablesaw, could rest on the chopsaw table. This arrangement takes care of major stationary tools.
3.Condense It
Next, consolidate equipment to maximize space. For example, I placed the tabletop bandsaw and small drill press on the oversized base under my tablesaw. The chopsaw and scroll saw are housed on one moveable modular bench. Old cabinets became a workbench. Screws, bolts, dowels, and other small fasteners are effortless located. A tall vertical shelving unit was constructed to store equipment like my planner and hand held tools. The compact arrangement created an ample area to assemble larger pieces of furniture. As I had access to all sides of a piece, fitting, sanding, and staining were performed quicker.
To keep dust and other contaminates out, it is an ideal situation to have a separate room to apply stain, paint, or protective coatings. However, I do not have that option. Instead, I built a small room out of small ABS pipes covered with clear plastic. When not needed, it is easily taken apart and stored away.
4. Enjoy It
A good workshop should be simple and sensible, but designed with an eye toward efficiency. A sensible shop makes you work better and smarter. It is just the kind of place where I want to spend time planning, working, or unwinding
Can your children’s furniture make them sick?
June 4, 2008 at 5:37 pm | In Home and Family | Leave a CommentTags: cancer, child, children, formaldehyde, furniture, illness, MDF, sick, toxic
What you need to know about furniture materials
Does your baby get restless, cranky, or have unexpected illness and allergies? It may not be your child’s fault, but may be caused by the furniture in their room. Modern furniture has many synthetic components, some of which could be toxic. Several government agencies are passing laws to reduce this threat. What can you do to protect yor child’s health?
Have you ever bought antique furniture or received a wooden heirloom? If it was built before 1850, it was probably made of solid wood. It was constructed to last. Presently, when you buy furniture from the big box stores, most likely it is manufactured from composite materials combined with chemicals.
In the last 40 years, composite wood products have made major inroads into furniture manufacturing. They are labeled as MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard), particleboard, chipboard, or veneered plywood with a composite core. These commodities are made from waste wood leftovers. In addition, waste paper, corn silk, and sugarcane fibers may be added. Very little raw material is thrown away. This may sound like good environmental common sense, but there are potentially toxic effects.
As a parent, you should know the methods and materials that are used to fabricate your child’s furniture. Fragments are bonded or held together with synthetic resins. Characteristics are amended with other additives. One resin, formaldehyde, poses a significant concern. There is not much debate about the negative health effects of exposure to formaldehyde. According to the World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), formaldehyde “is probably carcinogenic to humans”.
Why be concerned about composite wood?
Many household items contain formaldehyde such as furniture, carpets, draperies, sheets, paint, and floor finishes. These items expel formaldehyde as a gas. Breathing the gas, even at low levels, can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat. Formaldehyde can also affect the skin leading to dermatitis. Furthermore, it is a sensitizer causing allergic reactions.
In a child’s room, there are cribs, change tables, chairs, curtains, and carpets that give off formaldehyde gases as part of the curing and degradation process. Moreover, you thought it was just that new furniture smell.
Don’t be too surprised. Furniture like cribs are made from composite wood such as particle board and MDF. Regrettably, gases escape thereby polluting the indoor air. Then, it spreads out into the room where it resides in curtains, fabrics, and rugs. One test by Environment California showed that cribs and change tables could be significant source of formaldehyde gases. Many cribs are made overseas where controls are not as strict as in North America.
What’s more, Environment Canada declared formaldehyde “toxic” under the Environmental Protection Act. The agency stated that it is “entering the Canadian environment in a quantity or concentration that it constitutes or may constitute a danger for the environment on which life depends and a danger in Canada to human life and health.”
What can you do?
As your baby spends so much time in the nursery, you might think about some strategies.
- 1 Avoid composite wood products made with formaldehyde.
- 2 If you can’t avoid composite wood products, look for items with the most solid wood.
- 3 Verify that all surfaces are sealed or coated. That is, there are no untreated wood areas.
- 4 Coat exposed areas with natural finishes made from plant oils or low or no-VOC finishes. If this is not possible, determine that the finishes are non-toxic. Generally, if it smells bad, it probably is bad for your baby’s health. Read the label.
- 5 Before bringing the furniture indoors, let it off gas out doors or at least away from the nursery. Ensure that fresh air has passed over the product to remove the formaldehyde gas.
- 6 Adequately ventilate the child’s room.
- 7 Avoid contact with high temperature and humidity sources, as these will increase the rate of formaldehyde emissions.
- 8 Ask your government representative how they are working to curtail these emissions.
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