Kneeler — Sandal Woods

May 30, 2011 By Al Navas

Kneelers – 10% discount to veterans and active duty personnel

Thank you!

For the next 24 hours, as my way of saying Thank You on this Memorial Day, I offer 10% discount to veterans and active duty personnel who place an online order for my folding prayer kneeler. At check-out, type “Armed Forces Veteran” in the check-out remarks. Thanks for your service! I share something special, below.

IT IS THE SOLDIER

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Folding kneeler in closed position.

— Al Navas, U.S. Army ’66-’68

Filed Under: Blog, Kneeler, Prie Dieu

April 28, 2010 By Al Navas

Cutting foam on the band saw

It is OK to try this at home. I never had, but now I know better.

If you make furniture, at some point you are likely to use high-quality, low-compression foam for cushions. Until yesterday I had always struggled cutting foam pads to proper size prior to applying the cover. I have tried scissors, serrated knives, you name it. On the spur of the moment yesterday I decided to try the band saw – and it worked! If you have done this before, you must be chuckling by now. But now I am the one chuckling, for the results speak for themselves — nice, smooth edges all around on the foam pad:

I first tried cutting a thin sliver from the end of the original, oversize foam chunk. A word of warning: A too-thin sliver is likely to be pulled into the blade insert on the band saw table; the solution is to hold on to the sliver, and pull it away from the blade as you finish the cut.

Note: In case you are wondering, the white oak piece directly under the pad will be the base for the removable foam cushion. The cushion cover will be wrapped by my client around the foam and the white oak base. The removable pad is a feature of the prayer kneelers I build; this makes it simple for the owner to replace the cushion cover in the future.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Design, Kneeler, Prie Dieu Tagged With: band saw, foam pad

April 23, 2010 By Al Navas

The Czeck Edge birdcage awl for pinpoint accuracy

A simple layout that requires boring is made accurately when using a bird cage awl. This is especially important when the layout is critical, such as properly aligning high-strength rare earth magnets. I use the Czeck Edge awl to ensure this pinpoint accuracy:

The bird cage awl: pinpoint accuracy in boring.

Although I did not show it in a recent article, I also used the bird cage awl to mark the location of the pivot point on the folding legs of a prayer kneeler (prie Dieu). These now are perfectly flush with the standing surface, as required to remove all stress on the pivot point during use:

Folding legs even with surface.

I invite you to visit the totally revamped Czeck Edge Hand Tool web site. In the interest of full disclosure, Czeck Edge is one of the sponsors on this blog.

— Al Navas