A Tree House Update

I don't get much time to blog anymore. A quick post to show you the updated treehouse; complete and operational. The tallowwood also boasts fairy lights scattered through its leaves.

Tree House Progress: Posts & Rails

With a new shipment of timber, I've made some progress on the tree house. The posts are made of tallowood milled to 72x72mm, the handrails milled to 72x60mm. Tested out the new carbitool handrail router bit. All worked well and quickly. Still a bit to do. 

To do the initial break down I used some old saw horses and the trusty circ. 

Windmaster 250mm Clear Turbobeam

A quick shed upgrade - Windmaster 250mm Clear Turbobeam Whirlybird. The shed is an uninsulated metal box in a climate which can be rather warm (45.6c a month ago.) Inside temps could be 5-10 degrees hotter than the outside world. 

With the Whirlybird installed and ventilation improved the temp appears similar to the outside world and usually a little cooler. The clear plastic allows a significant amount of natural light. (Unfortunately there is some flickering with its rotation.)

(By the way, with the windows open and the 30' industrial fan, the shed is a very workable environment even on a hot day.)

Unboxing the Router Bits

Carbitool is an Australian company that makes a variety of cutting tools including router bits. Their quality is as good as any brand I've used and they have a great range. My order from AP Workshop arrived yesterday and I couldn't be happier with their service. I placed my order Sunday, received personal email confirmation that night, email at dispatch, and they arrived Thursday. Because of the size of the order it was all 30% off RRP and shipping was modest.

Among the more interesting bits in the collection is this stacked classical rail and stile bit. The most expensive and complex bit in the collection should prove invaluable forming cardboard doors and the newell posts.

Preparing the Tree House Platform

Here on four saw horses sits the frame for the tree house platform.

The joinery is a series of rabbets cut on the tablesaw. (Which is really the first time I've had to break in the new saw. Worked well. Good power. Quiet.) There'll be two other beams across the narrow section. Then those four beams will sit on the main supports.

The boards are old hardwood planks the previous owner was using for shelving. Machined, they look rather nice. Looks like blackbutt. 

AP Workshop

I'm testing out a new company AP Workshop to supply Carbitool Router Bits. These bits will be used for the Stair Case and Tree House projects.  Now to wait for the postman.

T 924 B 1/2 ----- CHAMFERING BIT 45 deg W/BRG  

TPDS 11 B 1/2 ----- STACKED PANEL DOOR BIT W/BEAR D/F 

THR 60 B 1/2 ----- STAIR HANDRAIL BIT 

TBR 616 B 1/2 ----- DOUBLE BEAD W/BRG

TML 60 1/2 ----- MITRE LOCK BIT 

TTC 16 B 1/2 ----- TRADITIONAL CLASSICAL 1/4 W/BRG  

T 512 B 1/2 ----- ROUND OVER 3/8 W/BRG

Tree House

In our front yard is a moderate sized chinese tallowood which boasts a child's swing and cargo net.

I've always thought it that it would hold a small tree house. I have a simple plan using left over hardwood... I've also acquired some stainless steel threaded bolt to attach it to the tree.

A design work in progress.

Joinery Systems

I love using a hands-on hand tool or hybrid hand/power tool technique for most of my woodworking. However, lately as my list of projects and project repetition increases, I've felt the need to speed.

In particular I've been looking at a way to increase the strength of frames edged with with a rail-stile router bit. In my online search I found this dowel max system which looks positive and is a fraction of the cost of the festool option.

Now to find an Australian supplier...