My DIY skills are mad! ;)

[MomtoPercy]

Since getting my OWN (!!) drill and jigsaw last year, I'm turning into quite a competent DIY'er . I even ask for stuff in the hardware shop that makes the guys do a double take!

Anyway, I've now aquired a 'whole saw bit' for my drill and just have a look what I did with it. By myself. Alone. I'm very impressed with myself ...even though using this drillbit was rather scary Did you know it *burns* into the wood? The smoke rising up from my project alarmed me but I'm a big girl and I battled through. :09:

Not sure yet what I'm going to do with this...:20:

 

[Mike17]

Assume you mean "hole saw", Mum? Actually, they shouldn't burn their way through, but it can happen with some materials, MDF is bad. Could mean the saw is poor quality, blunt, or drill speed incorrect. Is that coconut shell you're cutting in the pic? looks really neat, since I have a few coconuts from local trees still about the place, might try this myself! Well done

 

[mrgoogls]

i agree with really shouldnt be *burning* its way through. but looks cool either way

 

[MomtoPercy]

Maybe "burning" is the wrong word? It DID smoke quite a bit though! Is that wrong? And the "drill dust" that came off the work was very hot but not to the point that it burned my skinwhen it landed on me. The bit (yes, HOLE saw ) is brand new and top quality caron steel. The spead I used may have been wrong though (what do I know anyway? ). Should I go faster or slower? I had the drill on the fastest setting (3).

Yes Mikey, it is a coconut. Those round cut outs are going to make nice toys, I'm sure

Mikey - what is the 'MDF' abbreviation in your post?

 

[MikeyTN]

You know I have all the tools and stuff but I never get around do DIY projects on bird toys as I'm doing DIY projects on the house....ugh.....never the fun stuff..... Nice job!!!!

 

[Mike17]

Maybe "burning" is the wrong word? It DID smoke quite a bit though! Is that wrong? And the "drill dust" that came off the work was very hot but not to the point that it burned my skinwhen it landed on me. The bit (yes, HOLE saw ) is brand new and top quality caron steel. The spead I used may have been wrong though (what do I know anyway? ). Should I go faster or slower? I had the drill on the fastest setting (3).

Yes Mikey, it is a coconut. Those round cut outs are going to make nice toys, I'm sure

Mikey - what is the 'MDF' abbreviation in your post?

Just plain old Mike will do MDF is Medium Density Fibreboard, it's used in a whole range of things these days, often as a substitute for plywood or even real wooden sheets/planks. It's like a bowner, smmother version of cardboard, comes in thickness up to about 25mm. It's bad news when sawing/drilling/routering as the powder is an irritant- MDF is essentially sawdust glued and compressed. Very versatile though. Not much good for wet areas as it's not waterproof without heavy sealing. It's a lot better than particleboard though which in this country is often glued/compressed sugar cane stalks and other rubbish. We see hatching boxes made for particleboard here and they fall apart when washed after the first clutch from them.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Maybe "burning" is the wrong word? It DID smoke quite a bit though! Is that wrong? And the "drill dust" that came off the work was very hot but not to the point that it burned my skinwhen it landed on me. The bit (yes, HOLE saw ) is brand new and top quality caron steel. The spead I used may have been wrong though (what do I know anyway? ). Should I go faster or slower? I had the drill on the fastest setting (3).

Yes Mikey, it is a coconut. Those round cut outs are going to make nice toys, I'm sure

Mikey - what is the 'MDF' abbreviation in your post?

Just plain old Mike will do MDF is Medium Density Fibreboard, it's used in a whole range of things these days, often as a substitute for plywood or even real wooden sheets/planks. It's like a bowner, smmother version of cardboard, comes in thickness up to about 25mm. It's bad news when sawing/drilling/routering as the powder is an irritant- MDF is essentially sawdust glued and compressed. Very versatile though. Not much good for wet areas as it's not waterproof without heavy sealing. It's a lot better than particleboard though which in this country is often glued/compressed sugar cane stalks and other rubbish. We see hatching boxes made for particleboard here and they fall apart when washed after the first clutch from them.

Sorry Mike, I got you confused with MikeyTN

I would never use that 'wood' for Percy.

 

[Betrisher]

Momto, you are BRILLIANT! I know how hard it is to cut coconut shells because I've tried. Not as successfully as you, though. How did you hold it still while drilling? I used my husband's bench vise, but it was too harsh and threatened to crack the shell. So, I had to nail it to a piece of wood to hold it still and that was - ah - less than successful. In the end, I broke the coconut (buggerit!) Next time you do it, could you possibly put up a tutorial please? In the Toys section?

 

[JerseyWendy]

WOW, you did a tremendous job on that coconut!!! I've tried "playing" with those, too....and had NO luck whatsoever.

That would make one awesome foraging toy.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Momto, you are BRILLIANT! I know how hard it is to cut coconut shells because I've tried. Not as successfully as you, though. How did you hold it still while drilling? I used my husband's bench vise, but it was too harsh and threatened to crack the shell. So, I had to nail it to a piece of wood to hold it still and that was - ah - less than successful. In the end, I broke the coconut (buggerit!) Next time you do it, could you possibly put up a tutorial please? In the Toys section?

Thanks Trish

I will certainly take pics next time but I just held it in my hand and pressed it down hard against the workbench. I don't have a vice so I have to be brave and hold onto stuff like this while I drill. It WAS very noisy!! I held it on a folded towel to dampen the noise a bit so as not to enrage the neighbours. For small items, I hold them tight with a pair of pliers.

By the way, if you just want to cut the coconut in half, you don't need a heavy duty electrical saw. Here's what I do (instructions found somewhere online long ago) -

* Remove as much of the hair from the coconut as you can. I pull it off and then cut the rest off as best as I can.

* whack a hole in the coconut at the top where the eyes are and drain out the water. I strain this water through a coffee filter and freeze it in teeeny tiny ice cube trays to add to Percy's food every so often.

* now score around the circumference of the coconut to create 'an indented line' (hope that makes sense). I use a junior hacksaw for this but I'm sure there are tools more suited.

*once you have the line (about 2mm deep will suffice) around the nut, just give it a few gentle taps on the line with a hammer and it should split neatly in half

* now put the two halves, cut side down, in a low oven (about 100 celcius) and bake until the flesh pops off the shell. This can take a while to happen but is much easier than hacking it out by hand. It also goes much quicker with a halved nut than a whole one.

*wash the shells well and you're ready to employ them as toys!

 

[Betrisher]

And lo! The penny droppèd upon her head and she did bow down before the goddess of handywomen!

You bake the coconut in the oven, you say? And the flesh pops out, you say? Have you got any idea how many times I've sat scraping away at the innards of a coconut to try and get all that stuff out? And it's not as though it tastes nice or anything (tastes foul, IMHO). Now. Where can I get meself a coconut at this late hour???

Momto, I take my hat off to you.