Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 8

Well the table is starting to take shape.  I remade two of the rails over the last couple of nights.  After doing the first set, I decided that they would not join to the legs in a solid enough fashion to stand up to constant use.  So I did a quick redesign to incorporate through tenons into the table.  There is still a lot of work to go on these parts, but you can get the general idea of how they will look once completed.

When all is said and done, it will look something like this.

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 7.5 (Shop Update)

Yesterday I promised to post pictures.  Well today I will post a couple about what I did.  First thing in the morning I made 2 Nostepinnes.  I told my wife that I would make 2 for every 1 that sold on Etsy.  Well I am about 8 behind.  So I made 2 yesterday.  I think they turned out pretty well.

The first was made from some scrap Sapelle left over from the crib.  The second is some purple heart that came from a wood pallet.  I pulled a 30" x 2.5" x 2.5" piece of purple heart out of the dumpster.  This example has some sapwood in it.  If you look close you can see it at the small end and it runs half way down the handle.

The second part of my day, and the longest part, was cutting the bevels for the table top.  The end bevels are 5" wide, and the bevels running the length are 4 " wide.  Unfortunately I do not have a power tool to do this.  So I did the starting cut on using the bench as a support, with a guide, and made the first cuts with a cicular saw.  Then I broke out the handsaw, and sat down on the bench, and comenced to sawing.  The cross cuts where rough, but the rips were easy.

I still have some clean up to do to get rid of the saw marks, and make the bevel a little straighter, but I think it will look really cool once it is sitting on it's base.

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 7

I spent the better part of the day today working on my entry into the Sawdust Chronicles Challenge.  This morning, I worked a little on the legs, planing one side, and getting them ready to thickness.  This afternoon was all about working on the top.  Even though I am using the reminent from the bathroom cabinet, it was a lot of work. 

All my initial cuts where with the skill saw, and because it will not cut deep enough, I finished with the hand saw.  Then before dinner, I cleaned it up with the planes, and smoothed it.  Funny thing about tops like this.  When they put them together they really don't pay much attention to which way the grain is going.  Which makes it a bit of a challenge.

I'll post pictures later.

Time for Caelin Part 7 (There is a crib in my shop)

TOGETHER!!  Whew...  Tonight I assembled the sides of the crib.  By assembled, I mean that I put all the slats in put the top rail on, then drilled all the holes and pegged the slats in place.  You can see in one of the pictures where I got a bit heavy with the glue.  I had to run out, and clean that up before I finished resizing the pictures...  Hang on, I am gonna run out the check it again.. Here are some pictures to look at while you wait.

Like the knot?  I filled that with expoxy early on in the project.  I am looking forward to seeing how it holds a finish.

By the way, that board does not go all the way through the leg.  Got to love rare earth magnets.

The end of the bed bolt I bought from Lee Valley.

There is the glue I went to clean up.  I will make a small plaque to fill the bolt holes in the top of the legs.  But those can wait a little bit.

Here it is.  This weekend I will take it apart again, into its 4 main parts, to a little additional clean up on it, and then start the finishing process.

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 6

My morning in just over 18 seconds.  Most of the time was used cleaning up from the previous 3 projects.  Towards the end, I jointed one side of the wood for the table, then took it to the table saw to cut it to width.

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 5 (Milling Lumber)

Of all the tasks that you must do as a wood worker, milling lumber has got to be one of my favorites.  I enjoy taking a rough cut piece of wood, and watching the grain beneath reveal itself, as you joint and plane to wood.  Today, I got to spend an  hour or so milling the cherry for the game table I will be making.  I fhave been working with Sapelle so long, that I have forgotten how good some woods smell.

Anyway, things went smoothly today, and I for one am glad I took the time to tough up my jointer knives before starting.  I think next time, I will need to do the same for the planer.

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 4 (Progress)

After doing the full size drawing, I went back and made a couple small changes to the design.  Now that I am happy with the design, it is time to pick out a little wood.  I plan to use cherry for this table.  I have a small pile of #1 common cherry in my shop that I picked up for $1.15/bf back in January. 

If you who have not delt with #1 Common and Better lumber, there will be flaws in the lumber. Splits/Knots on the ends will be counted in the total if there is clear lumber remaining that is 3" wide by 3’ long or 4" wide by 2’ long on either side of the split.


Here is a link about the virtues of #1 common:
http://americanwoodworker.com/userdocs/articles/200012/hww/main.html

Here are the 3 boards I will use for the table.  Not all of this will be used, as I may have to cut around knots, artfully use sap wood, or trim off some bark.  The good news is tomorrow, I will get a chance to mill some of this wood, and get a better idea of how it will look as a table.

Now you may be thinking that this may not be enough wood for a table.  Well, it will only be used for the frame and legs.  For the top, I am planning to use a remainder from a previous project, but I will save that for another post.

Time for Caelin Part 6

I think we are in the home stretch.  Tomorrow, I should have all the sides glued up, and will be ready to put the caps on the headboard, and footboard.  Then we do a little sanding, and start putting the finish on.  :)

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 3 (Full scale drawing)

Printed out a full scale drawing of my table tonight, and taped it to the wall.  With the margins on the paper, it gained an inch in height, and length.  The height I like, the width well.  An inch either way won't make any difference.  Tonight I will go out and start picking out some wood, and hopefully start milling tomorrow.

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part 2

Today I recieved a copy of 500 Tables: Inspiring Interpretations of Function and Style (500 Series) by Ray Hemachandra.  I really like books like this as they be a fairly broad perspective as to what makes a table, or for the purposed of this contest, what makes a platform.  In it I found some works that are inspirational, and I will probably draw on as I finalize my design.  Here are some of my favorits so far.

Jeremy J Cox.  I really liked some of the ideas behind his work Formation, and Cadence.
Oliver Drake
William D. Bolstad


Wow, there are a lot of others...  I think I will just sit down and flip through the book some more.

Time for Caelin Part 5 (Disaster!!!)

We had a small problem this morning when cutting a mortise for the bed bolts.  I was worried this would happen, so had really been putting it off.  sigh...

So after much yelling, crying, pouting, and cursing.  I came up with a solution.  It should work fine, and will look ok too.

The brass button in the center is the bed bolt nut.  If nothing else, it wll be a conversation piece.

Sawdust Chronicles Challenge 2010 Part1

Hard at work

Well I signed up for the Sawdust Chronicles 2010 Challenge, that runs from Sept 1 to Oct 31.  The object this year is to make a surface that fits in a 30" x 30" x 32"  space.  So after thinking about it a bit, I talked to the wife, and we decided that I should build a game table.  "Great! So what do you want in a game table?" I ask. 

"Well, I want some benches for it, that can be stored underneath it, and I want it to have a drawer."

So off I go, to design a game table with 2 benches, and a drawer that can fit in a 30" x 30" x 32" space.  Well things were going great.  Two days later, I have a nice table drawn up, and an idea for the benches.  When I show it to her, she says.  "Well it isn't quite right.  I  want to be able to sit under it more, and it still needs a drawer."  It is at this time, I realize she is describing the table she is sitting at! 

Here is what I presented to her.

Oh well, the game table is out.  I think I have another idea, but it will take a few days to flesh out.  In the meantime, here are some sketches I did earlier.

Here is a sketchup model from yesterday.

Time for Caelin Part 4

Spent the morning dry fitting parts.  Here is a not so good picture of what the footboard will look like.

Will spend the afternoon making the cap for the footboard. :)

Time for Caelin Part 3

Jigs Jigs Jigs.  Jigs for mortises, jigs for bevels, jigs for different mortises....

After cutting all the balisters for the bed/crib, I then had to figure out a way to cut the 45s at either end.   Belatedly, I realized that it would have been easier to cut them BEFORE I cut the 30 degree bevels that create the outward facing side of the balisters.  The answer...  A jig.  Well this jig.

Ok, I realize that it doesn't look like much, but it helped me gang cut all the balisters.  Here is how it works.  The end of the jig (upper left) has 2 screws in it, so that it can attach to my miter gauge.  The balisters slide into the gooves that are then perpendicular to the blade, and I line them up with the fence, which for this operation is on the left side of the blade.  What you end up with looks like this.

Amber going through and sanding all these, which is freeing me up to do more work with the crib elsewhere.  Hopefully, I will get a chance to get out in the garage, and cut most of the mortises necessary today.

Time for Caelin Part 2

Well, I have all the parts milled, and cut to width, and rough length.  The shop/garage is a wreck, because I went from one project straight into another, then another and have not stoped to clean it.  So please excuse the mess.

It really is very pretty wood, and I can't wait to see how it finishes.  Although I already have a clue, as the vise on my bench is made from the same stuff. :)

So what do you do when  you have LOTS of Sapelle chips around the shop?  You mulch the garden path of course...

Time for Caelin

With the cabinet out of the way, it is time to start on the crib (life bed) for Chris, Andrea, and Caelin.  This project should be simpler than the shelves.  (I hope)  Otherwise, he may be walking before I finish it. :)

Here is a picture of what I hope it ends up looking like.

Amber has a blog for them at http://timeforcaelin.blogspot.com/

Canning Cabinet Part 3

Mistakes I made on this project....

1. Miscut one of the tenons on the top rails.  Not that bid of a deal, as it will not have any wieght on it, and will never be seen, but it bothers me.
2. Slipped with the router while cutting the panel groves.  This one is visible, but you have to know where to look.
3. Messed up the finish:  While putting on the poly, I did not stir up the container one time before starting.  So it is a bit thicker in spots.  The wife will sand and reapply.
4. Miscut shelves.  Not once, but twice.  Because this project took so long to complete, I forgot that some of the rails are thicker than the others.  Which resulted on 3 shelves that fit, and 3 that do not.  I worked it out, but it wasn't pretty.
5. Put in the shelf support, before I had the shelf in place.  Result.  Cut shelf in half, and put it back in.

On number 5 I actually yelled, 'Will this nightmare never end?'  I am glad it is over.  Unfortunately, it really isn't.  I still have to make doors, and the wife is asking for a second one.  While they will look the same, I am going to go a bit simpler with the construction.

Canning Cabinet Part 2

Well, the cabinet is done...  Kind of.  I have it in the house, and Amber is putting stuff in it, but there are no doors yet.  They will have to wait a bit, as I have a crib to make for some friends of our.  I will post pictures of the cabinet later, but  for now here is a pic most of the pieces.

That sheet of plywood behind the bench made up the side panels for the cabinet.

Shelves

Last week, while my boys where away, my wife asked me to help organize the garage.  The perk for me was/is more shop space.  For her, it is the ability to get stuff without moving 20 bins from one stack to another to find anything.  So being the loving husband I am, and wanting more space in the garage, this is what we came up with.

The construction was simple.  Each post is made of 3 2x4s with the middle 2x4 cut into sections allowing us to create through mortises.  Since I didn't want to haul 14' 2x4s home, the shelving support are kinda dovetailed together in the through mortise, so they cannot pull apart without blowing the joint.  Like this:

So the shelves went together well, until I was dropping the top rails into the bridal joints at the top.  Then I found out how tough that joint can be on a finger.   Especially when the hook like edge is pressing one thumb against an I-beam. 

In a moment of laziness, I decide to hang the top rails while sitting where bin #17 is in the top picture.  I started with the rail, not next to me, but on the other end of the shelf.  The first one went in fine, but the second stuck, and I gave it a small tug.  Which pulled it out of the far post, and created a lever that pushed the top of my thumb into the beam.  Kinda like a giant nut cracker.  Anyway, here is the damage a week later:

I don't think there is any permanent damage, but it still smarts a little when I hit it wrong.  I got lucky to say the least.  Anyway, I learned a nice rule of thumb.  Take the time to do things right, and think them through before hand.

Hopefully, I will be back in the shop this weekend, putting a finish on that canning cabinet.  I hope to post pictures about it soon.

Bathroom Cabinet

Last year, while our in-laws where in town, the downstair toilet started to leak. Being a little handy, I removed the toilet, and found that the flange that holds it down was broken. So began a 6 month journey into remodling a room the size of a closet. Anyway, the biggest part of that project for me, was making a new cabinet for the bathroom.

When we bought the house, there was a press board cabinet, and drop in sink in the bathroom. After a couple of years we grew tired of it, and pulled it out. We decided to put a pedistal sink in to replace it, and put down some linoleum tiles. Well, the results were less than spectacular, but we lived with it. So when this opportunity presented itself I decided to make something we can enjoy, and here are the results.

It is made from poplar, and painted with milk paint, and poly. The counter top and sink came from Ikea.

Mortise or Tenon

When creating items for around the house I often use mortise and tenon joints. These joints are simple to make, but require a significant amount of time. As in all things wood working, there is the usual chicken and the egg argument over this type of joint. Do you just the tenon first, or the mortise?

Me, it depends. When making the bathroom vanity, I cut the mortises first, using a router bit, and my drill press. (now that I have a decent router, I won't go that route again) On this project, I cut the tenons first. There are a couple reasons for the change.

1. I bought a new set of Narex mortising chisels, and I wanted to try them out.
2. I find it easier to cut tenons, and then size the mortises to fit.
3. Since I knew the width of my mortises already (the width of the closest chisel), why not cut the tenons first on the bandsaw.

It took me a couple times in the shop to cut the 64 mortises in the shop by hand, but towards the end, I had a steady rhythm going, and could chop out a 3" x 3/8" mortise that is 1" deep in about 4 minutes. 5 if you count the little bit of fitting and testing for fit.

Not bad for a novice wood worker.

Canning Cabinet Part 1

My latest project for around the house is a canning cabinet. Having a large family means we need to have a way to store lots of dry goods, as well as lots of canned goods. Here is what we settled on for storage.

It is very monolithic, but in the context of where it will live, it will work well.

Hiking

For our anniversary, my wife and I hiked the shining rock wilderness part of the Art Loeb trail.

I thought I would post a couple pictures from the trip.

My most useful tool

Working around the house today, I realized that I have made myself only a few tools. Of these, the one I use the most is a screwdriver. I made it using a kit from Rockler.com, and some walnut I harvested from a tree in my back yard.

Over the last couple of years it has gotten smoother, and most polished. It really has turned out nice.