Vishwakarma Puja 2015
September 17, Thursday, 2015: Today is Vishwakarma Puja - the day Hindus remember the celestial craftsman, down their tools and spend the day cleaning their tools, workshops and factories. All of industrial India shuts down on this day. [17 September 2015]
100th Mislestone Contest
To celebrate the 100th blog entry of Indian DIY, I held a contest for readers of this blog and woodworking enthusiasts in October 2014. Contestants were required to submit details about their favourite project and describe briefly what materials, tools and process were used. The winner was Kishore Singh Parihar of Jodhpur for his remarkable submission of a sturdy trestle table made entirely of scrap wood and the runner-up was Col CV Bala of Mhow for his frame and panel door.
Bosch: Culture Catalyst
Bosch is trying to create a DIY (Do It Yourself) community in this country. For starters, Bosch has set up a DIY Square in one of their dealer's premises in downtown Bangalore (Banerghatta Road) where anyone interested is encouraged to try out the many Bosch DIY tools free of cost. [29 August 2014]
DIY Table Saw Stand
Sunil recently purchased a Metabo table saw (TS 250) and built a collapsible stand for it. With this he can easily carry the table saw inside and outside his apartment. Although he knows how to weld and has a welding kit, he decided to get the saw stand welded at a local machine shop. [24 June 2014]
Simple DIY Projects Dipti Agarwal, a DIY enthusiast, came over on the weekend with her husband and a video team to shoot a couple of sequences for some Youtube videos on DIY they are putting together. I thought that was a good idea and decided to go along.The focus was on really simple but useful projects for the home which anyone without any skills could take on. [31 March 2014]
Article on DIY in Hindu BusinessLine
Sravanthi Challapalli, a Chennai based journalist has written an excellent article on the DIY scene in India. [20 March 2014]
Ten Useful Chemicals for Woodworkers
The branded products tend to be far more expensive than the basic chemicals they are made from and often it is best to use the unmixed variety for most woodworking uses. Here is a list of some of the more useful ones.[27 October 2012]
Here I air some of my thoughts and observations on DIY and woodworking.
Two Approaches to Woodworking
Nowadays I find myself increasingly put off by most Western youtube videos, articles and books on woodworking, primarily because woodworking there appears to be centred on the table saw. Apart from cutting wood to size, the table saw is used for making joints, mouldings and much more. For all this there are a bewildering variety of jigs, dado sets and what have you. [26 June 2015]
Traditional Units of Measurement in India
In India too we had the traditional measures of length. Those relevant for woodworkers were anguli (literally finger), haath (elbow to end of middle finger) and gaz. The problem was, unlike in Japan, these measures were not properly standardised and differed according to region. [27 April 2015]
Japanese Attitudes to Tools
When we see a great tool and like it, we buy it if we can afford it. Not so with the Japanese. Before buying a great tool, the Japanese craftsman must ask himself whether he is equal to the tool, whether he has reached the level where he can utilise the tool to its maximum potential.[19 August 2014]
Accuracy and Our Culture of Tolerance
17/05/2013
Everywhere I find little attention to detail; few people take pride in their work; many do not know proper work methods; most aim to somehow get the things done; and the execrable “jugaad” syndrome is turned into a virtue. It is this “chalta hai” mindset that is at the bottom of the shoddy quality of a lot of work in India.
Fine Furniture
10/12/2012
Fine furniture does not merely refer to great looking furniture but beautifully made or crafted furniture. In fact, I would say that fine furniture is that which has been designed and constructed beautifully and meant to last for a long, long time.
Making Things as a Hobby
30/05/2010
Indians have hobbies but it is invariably reading, sports, music and the like. Music and art are the main creative hobbies most people have. The other creative hobbies like woodworking, finishing, metal working, sculpting etc. are rare. We also lack a maintenance and a Do It Yourself (DIY) culture. But things are changing in India.
The Indian DIY (Do it Yourself) Blog
28/05/2010
This is an invitation to start a DIY and woodworking community in India and please get in touch or participate if you are so inclined.
[ends]
To celebrate the 100th blog entry of Indian DIY, I held a contest for readers of this blog and woodworking enthusiasts in October 2014. Contestants were required to submit details about their favourite project and describe briefly what materials, tools and process were used. The winner was Kishore Singh Parihar of Jodhpur for his remarkable submission of a sturdy trestle table made entirely of scrap wood and the runner-up was Col CV Bala of Mhow for his frame and panel door.
Bosch: Culture Catalyst
Bosch is trying to create a DIY (Do It Yourself) community in this country. For starters, Bosch has set up a DIY Square in one of their dealer's premises in downtown Bangalore (Banerghatta Road) where anyone interested is encouraged to try out the many Bosch DIY tools free of cost. [29 August 2014]
 |
| VP Bosch Power Tools, Vijay Pandey |
DIY Table Saw Stand
Sunil recently purchased a Metabo table saw (TS 250) and built a collapsible stand for it. With this he can easily carry the table saw inside and outside his apartment. Although he knows how to weld and has a welding kit, he decided to get the saw stand welded at a local machine shop. [24 June 2014]
Simple DIY Projects Dipti Agarwal, a DIY enthusiast, came over on the weekend with her husband and a video team to shoot a couple of sequences for some Youtube videos on DIY they are putting together. I thought that was a good idea and decided to go along.The focus was on really simple but useful projects for the home which anyone without any skills could take on. [31 March 2014]
Article on DIY in Hindu BusinessLine
Sravanthi Challapalli, a Chennai based journalist has written an excellent article on the DIY scene in India. [20 March 2014]
Ten Useful Chemicals for Woodworkers
The branded products tend to be far more expensive than the basic chemicals they are made from and often it is best to use the unmixed variety for most woodworking uses. Here is a list of some of the more useful ones.[27 October 2012]
Here I air some of my thoughts and observations on DIY and woodworking.
Two Approaches to Woodworking
Nowadays I find myself increasingly put off by most Western youtube videos, articles and books on woodworking, primarily because woodworking there appears to be centred on the table saw. Apart from cutting wood to size, the table saw is used for making joints, mouldings and much more. For all this there are a bewildering variety of jigs, dado sets and what have you. [26 June 2015]
Traditional Units of Measurement in India
In India too we had the traditional measures of length. Those relevant for woodworkers were anguli (literally finger), haath (elbow to end of middle finger) and gaz. The problem was, unlike in Japan, these measures were not properly standardised and differed according to region. [27 April 2015]
Japanese Attitudes to Tools
When we see a great tool and like it, we buy it if we can afford it. Not so with the Japanese. Before buying a great tool, the Japanese craftsman must ask himself whether he is equal to the tool, whether he has reached the level where he can utilise the tool to its maximum potential.[19 August 2014]
Accuracy and Our Culture of Tolerance
17/05/2013
Everywhere I find little attention to detail; few people take pride in their work; many do not know proper work methods; most aim to somehow get the things done; and the execrable “jugaad” syndrome is turned into a virtue. It is this “chalta hai” mindset that is at the bottom of the shoddy quality of a lot of work in India.
Fine Furniture
10/12/2012
Fine furniture does not merely refer to great looking furniture but beautifully made or crafted furniture. In fact, I would say that fine furniture is that which has been designed and constructed beautifully and meant to last for a long, long time.
Making Things as a Hobby
30/05/2010
Indians have hobbies but it is invariably reading, sports, music and the like. Music and art are the main creative hobbies most people have. The other creative hobbies like woodworking, finishing, metal working, sculpting etc. are rare. We also lack a maintenance and a Do It Yourself (DIY) culture. But things are changing in India.
The Indian DIY (Do it Yourself) Blog
28/05/2010
This is an invitation to start a DIY and woodworking community in India and please get in touch or participate if you are so inclined.
[ends]
Hello sir,
ReplyDeleteI have a question about making a box storage bed. Can you please gide me which material is good and easy to work with , plywood or block board as primary material.
Thanks &Regards
SUBHANKAR ROY
Subhankar, plywood and blockboard have their pros and cons. Board is not as dense or strong as plywood but it does not sag and is very good for making frameless objects. Using board requires covering the edges not only for aestehtics but also to prevent moisture ingress. Both are easy to work with but board might be a better choice for such a project. Best of luck.
DeleteThank you sir for your valuable advise....will inform you once I am successful in my venture.
DeleteHey, i am sanchit sethi, a student studying particularly PRODUCT DESIGN in pearl academy rajouri garden. I am a woodworking enthusiast and currently working on a small project for woodworker hobbyists and i would love to meet you in person and have some Questions. If you can meet me it would be lovely. Please reply asap
ReplyDeleteI am out of the country and will be back in mid September. Contact me then.
DeleteOkay sir i will contact you then surely. Till then can you help me answer a few Questions that might help me start my project for now?
DeleteSo i'm attempting to design a hobbyist woodworking tool kit that probably everyone can buy and store their regular and essential tools for immediate access and probably have it for portable use as well
.
1. What tools you might suggest that the hobby toolkit (not for professional use) consist of?
2. Do you see any inconvenience while you are working with all those tools just lying around your table while working? If yes, can illustrate any scenerio for me.
3. Being a hobby woodworking yourself, do you have any personal toolkit - Bought from market or made it yourself?
4. Can you suggest me anything that i can look onto while designing this toolkit? Any problem that you face or any suggestion might help.
I am a 20 year student and really willing to contribute to the woodworking society. So please do help me out in this sir.
Also, is there anyway you can provide me with your email for any future help. It would be lively to be in touch with you sir. I really adore your work. My email is - sanchit28ss@gmail.com
DeleteI will do a post on this topic soon. Best wishes
Delete