General Woodworking

Trip(s) to Lumberyard

JKM Woodworking -

The goal when starting my small dresser project was to use up some of my scrap and not have to purchase anything. So far I’ve had to purchase some pine at the big box store, and now I’ve taken a trip to the lumberyard. And I still don’t have the plywood for the drawer bottoms.

I remember reading someone’s description on reddit that there’s two kinds of lumberyards. Some sell to professionals and won’t give you the time of day. And some cater to hobbyists and are friendly and helpful. The trick is to find the right one. I have found that to be true. I had only been to this lumberyard once before, but it’s my new favorite.

When I first started buying hardwood, I looked for wood species that had a reputation for being easy to work with handtools. The shortlist was poplar, cherry, walnut, and soft maple. My current lumberyard has those, along with harder woods like oak, elm, and locust.

They keep the boards stacked on end, so you can pivot and shuffle the boards to see their faces.

sassafras bin

I do not worry about calculating board feet, but do try to itemize the pieces I need. For example a tabletop would require enough boards to glue up a top, some narrower aprons, and some thick legs. And if the top is 20″ wide, I’ll have to decide to glue up two 10″ wide boards, vs three or more narrower boards.

shorts

My current lumberyard sells ‘shorts’ less than four feet for a discount. There are at least four bins like this. I rarely need pieces longer than four feet, so they are always worth a look.

For this visit I only needed some basswood for drawer sides. But I stocked up for future projects that are far enough along to have an idea of how much wood I’d need. The big purchases are cherry, ash, and sassafras. Other purchases are impulse buys or just to add to the stockpile.

i only needed a piece of basswood

This picture shows the first days haul. From left to right is walnut, butternut, basswood, sassafras, ash, and cherry. Yes I drive a small car. If I fold down the seats I can get nine foot long boards stretching from the passenger dashboard to the trunk. Boards usually fit ok. Sheet goods are a problem.

After a few weeks I made a second trip. I miscalculated or miscut some sassafras pieces so had to go get one or two more.

i only needed a piece of sassafras

Left to right is hickory, catalpa, white oak, ash, sassafras, basswood, and a funky piece of sycamore. The sycamore was free, an odd sized offcut they were giving away. Catalpa has been on my shortlist of woods to try. I figured I might as well buy it since I might never see it again. The wood database says it’s carveable and weather resistant so I might cut off a few ends to try some outdoor carvings.

Hopefully I won’t have to go back soon.

A list of projects in various stages of gestation:

  • Small Dresser – poplar, sycamore
  • Coffee Table – sassafras, ash
  • Printer Stand – walnut, butternut
  • Hall Table – cherry
  • Splay Legged Table – butternut, ash
  • Splay Legged Table 2 – walnut, hickory
  • Splay Legged Table 3 – basswood, southern yellow pine
  • Five Board Bench – white oak

Now to stop planning more projects and actually get to building.

no interest.....

Accidental Woodworker -

 The post for the 4 1/2 has been up for two days and so far zero interest in buying it. The post itself has gotten a lot of hits though. I don't think it is over priced. I paid a $125 for it and spent about 3-4 hours rehabbing it so I'm taking a loss on it. I knew this before I put it up for sale. I intend/want to sell the rest of the herd on the same price model. I want them to go to someone else who will use them. In my shop they will just be gathering dust.

I looked to selling them on eBay but the fees are boderline prohibitive. I don't think that is going to be viable for me because me selling on it will be a one time thing. I will clean the 4 1/2 and shoot some glamour pics and I'll try it on Saw Mill Creek and see if it moves there. If that doesn't work maybe I should think about donating them to a woodworking school?

 didn't make it back to the shop

I put this on the bench before I killed the lights. After dinner I started watching Inspector Morse and forgot about going back to the shop. It looks ok and no surprises when I took the clamps off.

 oops

I wasn't thinking when I plowed the groove on the vertical stiles. I didn't have to do one on both sides of the two end ones. I glued a piece of pine in them to close it up. I just wanted the ends where the half lap is to be solid - the middle shouldn't be stressed.

first drawer

Got the back fitted and the front was next.

 needs some attention

The 5 1/2 ain't cutting as well as the other LN planes. The shavings from it are torn up and coming out shredded.

 surprised me

The bevel angle is 25° and I was expecting it to be 30°. I also saw why this iron is performing so badly - the edge is chipped in a couple of spots. I touched it up on the extra fine diamond stone followed with some time on the 8K japanese water stone. I'll have to set up sharpening to use water stones because that is the preferred medium for LN plane blades (A2).

 dovetail layout

Made a boo boo initially but I caught it before I did anything stupid. The tails go on the sides and the not the front and back. I am so used to putting the tails on the longest side that muscle memory took over.

 it ain't square

I shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't check this for square after I clamped it up. I relied on the half lap joints to square it up and that didn't work. I had to plane (to fit) a slight angle on both ends of this panel ass'y.

 carcass is square

Each end of the panel ass'y was out a few degrees. I checked the carcass first to make sure I wasn't fighting two being out of square.

 panel ass'y fitted

The gap at the top is from the rail being short. The half lap must have shifted in the clamps on me. Gap on the top right corner.

 gap on the bottom left

Not sure what if anything I will do about this. I am not gluing this in at the back so I can't glue a shim in here. I got plenty of time to deal with later on.

 not too noticeable

I'm about 4' away and it doesn't jump out and slap me. But I can still see it. Maybe I should plane a small margin 'gap' on both ends?

 left side from 4'

This is the back and most likely this will be up against a wall. If I plane a gap on the ends would I have to plane one on the top/bottom to match?

dividers

I will nail the panel ass'y to these. The two choices in the coin toss are Tremont brad nails or small brad box nails (they have a head).

 hump is gone

I planed the hump square or pretty close to square along this side.

 split

I used brad nails on the right side of the split into the divider below. I wicked super glue into the split. I'll check it tomorrow and I might use some epoxy to fill the split depending upon how well the super glue did.

'

 got confused

I had to stop and visualize what went were and erase and relabel all the parts. I got stuck on why there weren't any tails on the opposite end of the side. Finally dawned on me that the other side mates with the opposite end of the front. All was well in Disneyland again.

almost kindling

Sawed on the wrong side of the gauge line. It has been a very long time since I have done something like this. I put some veneer in the saw kerf and wicked super glue into it.

 not too shabby

Lost a chip on the 3rd pin from the left but the tails/pins other than that are as snug as a bug in a rug.

 ???

The pin/tail to the left of this is the one that shimmed and it looks great. I can't explain how I got a gap this large on this tail/pin. I'll shim this when I glue it up.

 back tails chopped

I am hoping that I did this correctly. I am using slips on all the drawers and I did what I think is the right lay out. The two square 'tails' in the middle will be the go/no go for this. The bottom will be on the top of it with the slip underneath it. Fingers crossed I won't have to redo the center drawer again.

 hmmm.....

This doesn't look that bad and I'm not a fan of butt joints. I am using 1/4" plywood for the center drawer and this is what the inside would look like. Another decision that doesn't have to be made now.

accidental woodworker

drawer prep......

Accidental Woodworker -

 I got all the stock prepped for the drawers. That was the last thing I did before killing the lights. I thought I would get to maybe one drawer done but it didn't happen boys and girls. Started feeling crappy after lunch and it didn't improve any when I went on my walk. I made it through prepping and said No Mas. This is the 3rd day in a row that I have had this queasy, crappy feeling after lunch. I'll have to change up the menu tomorrow and see if that is the cause.

 back

Before I can do the drawers I have to do the back. That is needed because the back will determine the depth of the opening and the length of the drawer sides.

 frame

No bridle joints or miters. Instead I'm going to half lap at the corners and the vertical stiles.

 road test

No differences in the Grizzly tenon jig vice my old Delta one. I do like the provision for the sacrificial  vertical stop - that was lacking on the Delta. I used the Grizzly to do the half laps for the corners and the stiles.

sawing the shoulders

I chose the tablesaw and the Grizzly because I didn't want to devote a lot of time doing this by hand only.

 good fit

This side of the half lap won't be seen after it is installed in the back. I plan on gluing the half laps together and then I will nail the frame to the back. This way it can taken off if any repairs are needed down the road.

 stile half laps

I labeled which face gets the waste removed from. Sawed the shoulders and then cleaned it out with a router.

 one vertical stile fitted

Got a good fit on this one and it is flush.

dry fit of the frame

I could have used one more small C clamp but I managed without it. I got a snug fit of the frame and it was on to making panel inserts.

 gappy fit

Fortunately for me this isn't the show face. I had a stray line and I didn't lay this one against the other to check it. Paid the price with ugly gaps on either side of it.

 back dry fitted

This will get nailed in place after the drawers are made and fitted. I didn't have any 1/8" baltic birch plywood and I had to use this chinese crap. The last time I put shellac on it, the plywood turned green. I got 12 more sheets on order that is B/BB grade 1/8" baltic birch ply. That price has almost doubled since the last time I bought it.

bought six

This is a replacement for the metal insert. It is still available on ereplacements but it costs $40. These are made by Carter and I didn't know that they were made by them.

sibling is MIA

I can't remember where I put the second one of these. I looked in the 3 spots that I hold things like this until I need them but came up empty. These clips are $10 plus $10 for S/H. I'll put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and cape before I buy another one. In which the MIA one would probably mysteriously appear.

 back glued and cooking

I'll take this out of the clamps after dinner and check the fit. You'll have to wait another day to read about it.

 drawers prepped

Fronts, backs, and sides sawn slightly oversized. Still haven't decided on the drawer bottoms. I will use slips regardless of the the bottom choice.

 tapered

The side goes in about 1/2 way on the right and won't fit the opening at all on the left.

 opposite side

The left side easily fits the opening front to back. The right side won't fit. The left to right is off a strong 32nd. On the other side drawer opening is shy of a 32nd off. The vertical ends are square which is a point in my favor. I will plane the drawer to fit and I'm sure that will take a few dance steps.

accidental woodworker

Stanley 4 1/2.......

Accidental Woodworker -

 Type 5-8

This plane has been my daily user for over 6+ years. I have decided to sell my herd of rehabbed planes and this is the 2nd one being offered. I am not a collector even though I have about 15 planes that will be offered up for new homes. I have Stanley, Miller Falls, Union, and Rockford/Marsh planes coming up next.

I had trouble typing this plane because it fits into 4 different ones very neatly. I thought it was a type 7 but after using the typing chart this AM I'm not so sure. So I am saying it is one of types from 5 up to 8. As far as I know all the parts are original except for the iron. All parts except for one washer (it was missing) are what was on the plane when I got it and rehabbed it.

all the bits are here

I swapped out the steel screw on the handle's toe for a brass one because I like shiny brass. Plus it looks better against the handle. Which is intact and hasn't been broken and glued back together. If you want the steel screw let me know and I'll ship one with the plane.

 in IMO...

Whatever type this plane is, this is the best feature of it or any other Stanley plane type. The frog seat is wide and stable and I don't see why or how Stanley didn't use this till the end of plane production.

 brass toe screw

This will be shined up for whomever buys this. I will also clean up and make her presentable for the new owner.

 sole

The sole is in good shape with no rust pits, scratches, gouges, or dings. I never used this plane on a shooting board so I can't attest for the cheeks being square to the sole.

 RML shavings

After I put the plane back together I spit out even (width, thickness, and length) Right, Middle, and Left shavings. I never had a disappointing planing experience with her.

 ditto

Full length and width shaving. I creased it in half so it would lay out flat against the stock I planed it off.

 wispy too

No effort to make shavings so thin you can see through them.

I am selling this for the reason stated above plus the fact that I am now using my Lie Nielsen 4 1/2 again. I had bought the LN 4 1/2 before I got the Stanley 4 1/2. I got bit by the Stanley bug and that is all I used for years. I went all out with Stanley for over ten years. I am now down sizing and selling the Stanley herd. 

The price is $130, shipping included to anywhere in the lower 48. Outside of that I'm sad to say that it is on your dime.

I am offering it first on my blog to those who take the time to read my keyboard diarrhea. The email is rjboumenot at gmail dot com. If I get more one I'll take it, the earliest time stamp wins the prize.

accidental woodworker

2nd cardiologist visit......

Accidental Woodworker -

 Spent the morning getting an EKG at the VA. I got to see my cardiologist and talk to him again about it. Of all the doctors I have had over the years this guy is numero uno bar none. He is the friendliest and nicest doctor that I have ever dealt with. He said my EKG looked better than the one taken on the 20th. He said the changes were nominal but headed in the right direction. He put in a follow up for a CPAP machine but I don't know when that will happen. I'm not looking forward to being hooked up to it but he has convinced me of the benefits of using it. My BIL (brother in law) hates his but he did tell me that it makes a difference using it vice not using it.

 ready to drop the last four

Yesterday after dinner I went back to the shop and glued in the dividers on the left side. I also glued in the horizontal pieces hiding the end grain end of the vertical dividers. I removed all the other clamps except for these four then.

before I went to the VA

I didn't have a specified time for the EKG but I wanted to get this glued before I left. That way when I got back home (whenever that happened) this would be set and I could remove the clamps.

 should have waited

No headaches gluing this back on but I shouldn't have glued the block of wood to the vertical divider. It ended up being a couple of frog hairs high causing this repair to be a few frog hairs high on the top and a few shy on the bottom. The bottom will show up as a gap. Sigh.

 no action here

This crack/split doesn't extend top to bottom. I put a clamp on it and that did nada with closing it up. The crack is one that with a casual glance you don't see it. With the drawers in place 99% of it will be hidden. I will fill in the crack/split with wood putty and call it done.

it worked

It was a bit awkward maneuvering the plane here but it worked getting the proud flushed. I thought this plane would a game changer for me but it hasn't panned out that way. I wanted it for trimming dowels and dovetails/pins but I wasn't getting good results there with it. I found it way more convenient to use a chisel. If this plane hadn't worked here I would have used my paring chisels - the blade on them is about 10" long and would have reached from the back to the front.

 more sighs

The )_@$&)%)@#%&*)_)%Q@_+%(+*)(^ shifted on me. Shy on this side and proud on the right.

 still more sighing

It wasn't flush at the top but it was at the bottom which why I had to glue another thin piece of wood onto to the vertical divider. 

 one before I left for the VA

There was a gap at the bottom too I had to deal with. After I planed this flush the gap at the bottom was reduced to almost nothing.

new gadget

I got this from Rex Kreuger from Compass Rose Tools. I am a sucker for toys like this and it was only $20.

 what it is replacing

Both of these are used to keep the vise jaws parallel when clamping something on one edge of it. 

 super easy to use

This is what sold me on this gadget and caused me to pull the trigger instantaneously. You clamp whatever until it is snug and then slide the gadget in until a 'step' fills the space and you then tighten the vise. Works like a champ and no more fiddling with do I have enough fingers to fill the space?

McMaster order came

The Hex driver is a wee bit too long. I should have gotten the 5" one. Oh well it fits the screws so I'll keep it. 

 doesn't fit

 This screw is a 5mm x 8 and it doesn't fit. I went to ACE and I brought the plane with me and I couldn't find a screw to fit it. ACE only sells a 5mm x 8 screw as does McMaster-Carr. I searched on line and I couldn't find anyone that sold a 5mm screw in any thread pitch size other than 8.

The only other thing I can think of is this screw is a Whitworth thread. There is also the BSW and BSF standard in England that was in use when this was made. I think this plane was made before England switched to the metric standard. So it is looking like I'll be sticking with the slot head screw of whatever thread pitch standard it is.  I do know it isn't imperial or metric.

 fits in the 5mm

It fits it and it doesn't fit it. It fits in the both of the 5mm holes albeit one is wee bit looser fitting than the other. 

 no go Jose

It doesn't come close to fitting in any of the imperial holes. I thought I had a Whitworth screw pitch gauge but I couldn't find where I hid it.

 went 1 for 2

The star washer fits the box of screws I got and the screw from the bandsaw. The screw doesn't fit in the clip for the door closing gizmo. The bends for it are too close together and the head is too wide to fit between them. I'll have to get a 8-32 screw with a small diameter head.

 fits

Definitely overkill on the length but it fits and it does work better than a slot screwdriver. The positive grip with no slop is the game changer.

 not elegant looking

It fits but the smaller one would look better than this one. I also have to get a 5mm hex driver for the small LN router plane. In the interim I'll be using a 5mm hex key driver.

 no drawer work today

Overall I'm pleased with the look of this. There will be few issues to deal with - the drawer openings not being parallel top/bottom. Another issue is I didn't get the two bottom drawers (L/R) aren't equally divided. The one the top left is wider than the bottom one and on the right two it the opposite. But the difference between those two isn't as wide as the left ones.

It seems that I have a timer on my cell phone. I used that today to time my walk because I want to get an idea of how long I'm walking for. My goal is get up to  90 but less than120 minutes. Today I clocked 1 hour and 17 minutes even though I added a lot to the walk today - I would guess about 10 blocks or so.

I felt good after the walk today and I didn't feel like I had stressed myself at all. I'll do the same route again tomorrow and see what I clock for it then. It is supposed to rain for a couple days this week so I'll have to play it by ear. Either way I'll keep to the same route for a couple of weeks before I add more to it.

accidental woodworker

sunday doings.......

Accidental Woodworker -

 I finished watching all the 'young' Inspector Morse seasons and a couple of other crime series, both from Germany. One of them, Nordic Murders, I liked a lot but it only had 4 episodes and that was it. I'm now into season 5 on Inspector Morse and I'm finally getting around to it. I found the first couple of episodes so so but it has picked up and I'm enjoying watching them now. I'm averaging 2-3 episodes a day and there are 9 seasons to view. I've been checking on what to watch next but nothing has caught my attention yet.

 lost it

I don't know where it disappeared to. I stopped here and started cleaning up the shop to see if I could find it. When I took this apart I forgot to remove it first so it mostly likely ended up in a black hole somewhere on the shop floor.

 got lucky again

Found it under the bench hooks but not the 1/8" spline. That is ok because making a new block matching the existing 1/8" groove is the tricky part. Cutting a new 1/8" spline is gravy work.

 cleaning up the carcass

All of the stock has a bazillion teeny straight spaghetti bumps on each face. The planer knives have several nicks in them. Once this was done it was on to glue up.

 it ain't flowing

The shop temp is back to 61F (16C) but the glue didn't like it. I had to refill the bottle and the glue coming out of the gallon jug was flowing like molasses in winter. After I filled the bottle I warmed it up with my heat gun. That improves the flow a lot.

I went back and forth on hide or white glue and I went with white glue. I felt like I would have enough time to get glue on the tails/pins and dividers before the glue starting going off. In hindsight I should have used hide glue for the extra open time.

 headache time

I did a couple of dry fit ups and never saw this headache that popped up once the glue went on. This vertical divider is bowed and it isn't tight at the front neither. The back gap is bigger than it though. I put my deep reach clamps on it to suck in.

 this side is dry fitted

This glue up wasn't going as planned and I regretted not using hide glue. This side behaved dry fitted and I was leaving it dry while the rest of the carcass set up. No headaches with these dividers when I glued them in several hours later.

 it is square -  top and bottom

The other side has a slight bulge in it about the half way mark. Once the glue has set up I will plane the 'hump' until it reads square.

Yikes

I almost lost this glue up. I was using a mallet to drive the divider in and I went too far. I thought the back had to be flush but it only had to be flush on one side. I didn't remember that when I driving it home and blew out the front edge on the middle shelf. I also split and cracked the bottom but it didn't break out. Another 'to do' once the glue as set - probably tomorrow because this frazzled me.

 good or worse

The drawers will hide a lot of this because they will be flush with front face. I can't pull this out to get glue in it.

 the back

I shortened all the dividers 3/8" at the back to make room for a frame. I haven't decided on whether to use a bridle joint or miter at the corners. The panel will be 1/8" plywood and that will allow this to be viewed 360 and give it a finished look. The frame will be about 3/8" and will be slightly proud of the back so I will be able to plane flush it.

 dado holes

I did the dadoes before I decided on the back detail. Thinking ahead I would have made the dadoes all stopped so they wouldn't show on the back face.

It rained off and on all day on saturday. It was mostly on than off and buckets of rain came down. This AM when I got up the temp was 28F (-2C) and all the rain puddles were frozen. It is the end of march and trees and shrubs are budding and we still have ice and frosty mornings.

accidental woodworker

Chair stuff: one opening in class & a new video series

Peter Follansbee, joiner's notes -

PF ladderback Mar 2024

Two things about chairs – first off the Jennie Alexander-chair class Joel Paul & I are teaching at Pete Galbert’s had an opening last week, we filled it, then got another student who had to drop out. So a last-minute opening still stands in that class – April 8-13 Rollinsford, NH – more fun than you can stand. And a chair too. Details here – https://www.petergalbert.com/schedule/2020/7/13/make-a-chair-from-a-tree-with-peter-follansbee-8brcj-7b62n-xafjp-mglkm

————–

walnut brettstuhl Feb 2024

The other is a new vimeo-on-demand series that I just posted about making an “alpine” chair, or “Brettstuhl” – I’ve made about 8 of them in the past 3 or 4 years and they’re a chair that I really enjoy learning about. The video is about 3 1/2 hours long, with one more section (about carving) to be posted within the next 2 weeks. The price is $50 – subscribers to my substack blog get 20% off – if that means anything to you…

a trailer for the series:

Here’s a 4-page PDF showing some of the geometry and other details – not plans, but some pertinent information. This is here whether you buy the series or not – because I can’t be bothered to figure out any other way!

The link to the vimeo-on-demand page https://vimeo.com/ondemand/follansbeebrettstuhl

and a link to the substack blog – https://peterfollansbeejoinerswork.substack.com/

good progress today.......

Accidental Woodworker -

 I threw caution to the wind this AM and went to the shop to work even though my wife was still checking the inside of her eyelids for light leaks (she was still sleeping). I wasn't a complete idiot and I didn't use any power tools and did noiseless piddly things until she got up. I got most of what I wanted to get done today and I only had one brain fart to deal with.

 hmm.....

The dado is almost a 16th wider than what it should be. This is visible when the drawers are opened or removed. I scrounged around the shop and found a thicker divider replacement.

 did better on these

I used my brass 1/2" set up bar to size the dado above. I used the actual divider on the bottom two. Both of them were a wee bit snug and I had to plane the dividers to fit.

 it bit me on the arse

I had this nagging me in the back of the brain bucket. This divider is tilted slightly to right from the bottom up. I can see it isn't square and the 90° was small enough to fit here and confirm it. Trying to fit drawers into a non square opening is a ROYAL PITA. I know because as I learned how I had to do it numerous times.

 gauge stick

I sized this stick to be a snug fit on the left corner of this and it was the same at the center too.

 frog hair off

I could probably have forced it with a thump but I didn't. This opening is now carved in stone and I'll deal with it as is. The top/bottom being out of parallel is an easier fix then the vertical ends being off 90°.

 bottom check
The bottom stick was the same across the entire opening at the bottom.

 fixing the out of square

I thought these planes were going to be the panacea for my woodworking. I've had them for several years and I doubt I have used even once a year. Today they proved to be useful widening the dadoes. I opened up the left side on the top and the right side on the bottom one. I did that to get the center divider standing square.

 it worked

Jimmy Diresta says if it looks square, it is square. I do confirmation due to the age my peepers.

 square at the front too

IMO this is where it matters the most. The back is important too but I think the divider also being square to the front edge to the back edge ranks close to the top too.

 covered

Got the end grain end of the vertical divider covered. I used a 1/8 plywood spline to do this. I'll glue it after I do the carcass.

 needed a new divider

The dado was wider then the original divider. This stock had to be glued up to get the height I needed. This one is a couple of frog hairs wider and I had to plane it to fit. It was close to lunch when I glued this up and I fitted it after lunch.

 repeated

The same way I covered the top divider I did for this bottom one. I will repeat it for its sibling on the left. The horizontal dividers left will show long grain so I don't have to do anything with them.

 four more dadoes left

I am liking how this evolving. I am liking the two narrow top drawers. I have already thought of a lot of tools I could put in them.

 had to flush them

I was going to leave these proud and flush them after the carcass was glued up. I had to do it here so I could layout for the last two horizontal divider dadoes.

 loving this square

I had to flush it so the combo square would lay flat on it. The combo square was on the outside edge of the carcass with the blade extending over to this vertical divider.

 first two dadoes done

Got a snug fit on both the L and R dadoes. Two more to go before I can call it done.

 dicey work

The dado runs with the grain and it was not easy chopping it in either one. Decided to run the grain front to back because I didn't have any 1/2" thick stock that I could use with the grain running top/bottom. 

 
 my brain fart

I was careful laying out the dadoes for this. The left one has it's dado too high - I chopped it on the wrong side of the layout line.

 made a new divider for the left side

I got lucky because I have a lot of scraps of 1/2"-ish stock piled about the shop. I got the new one made lickety split.

 2nd gauge stick

This is what I used to lay out the bottom edge of the dado for the horizontal dividers. I saw that I hadn't put an X on the waste side of the dado that I screwed up. Did it for the other 3 but I missed this one.

 survived

I wonder if there is a better way to layout the dadoes? None them aligned and could be marked in pairs. I only had one go south on me and it was a quick fix. Tomorrow I plan on gluing this up and monday I'll start on the drawers. 

accidental woodworker

Splay Legged Table 4: Finished

JKM Woodworking -

I spent a morning sanding all of the ash pieces from 80 – 120 -180 grit. I’d prefer to sand as little as possible but I think it was the best choice after being glued up.

setup for spraying lacquer

I sprayed minwax satin lacquer, with 5 coats for the visible parts and 2-3 coats for the top overhang. I planned to mask the aprons and only lacquer the ash components, but I was too lazy. So the aprons have two coats of shellac followed by all that lacquer. One can was enough for all coats. I let it air out overnight, rubbed it all over with a brown paper bag, and then screwed the top on.

that’s some top

I think the top is way too big. I thought that I had to make it as big as the footprint, so that the feet would be inside the shadow of the top. I’m not sure if that’s a good rule of thumb or if I made that up. The legs had a 1:6 angle. If the angle were tighter the top could be smaller.

I could remove the top and rip it smaller but will leave it for a while and likely forget about it. If it’s like every other flat surface in my house it will soon be covered in junk.

ipomoea
gingko
cherry
plum

I plan to make a coffee table with splayed legs, and this project was about working out the details of the angled aprons mating with the splayed legs. An important note is that the legs are tapered all the way on their -outside- edges. This is different from traditional tapered legs which are tapered up to the aprons on the inside.

drawing of leg tapers

I got this insight from Walbert Compendium blog post “Building a Splay-Legged Table with Handtools” where he correctly notes that most information you’ll find is aimed at power tool users. Another helpful article was Fine Woodworking #168 “Splay Legged Table” by Garrett Hack. You can see how searching for “trapezoid table” didn’t get so many helpful hits.

This was also good practice for pinning tenons, which I hope to use in a hall table soon. Also practice for carving, where the most important lesson I learned was to use simple designs. And plane/sand your wood before carving because you won’t be able to after.

Despite being unhappy with one aspect it was a worthwhile project. Halfway through I was already planning the next one. Although simple there are a few components that can be varied: Which types of wood to use, height, angle of splay, shape of top, etc. And if I continue carving the aprons that will be four pieces each time. For now I think the best carving woods I have are basswood and walnut, so will try to find complementary wood species to continue having the legs and top be a different color than the aprons.

not bad

getting aggravated......

Accidental Woodworker -

 My wife is currently writing up a history for a client. She has gone back to the 1600's and is writing info on each of the client's ancestors. The downside is she likes to start working on late at night and goes past 0200 some nights. I got no problem with that part but the downside is she sleeps late. Some mornings she doesn't get up until 1000-ish. That means I can't go to the shop until after she wakes up. Which means I don't get a full day in the shop. Which means things get stretched out. Which means a ten minute job is taking me 2 days. I can go on but it would be pointless. The good thing is that she told she is almost done with it.

Today she got up at 0940 and I got to the shop at 1000. I worked for an hour and broke for lunch and my walk. I got back to the shop at 1330 and killed the lights at 1520. Needless to say I didn't get everything in the grand plan for thursday done. Good thing I'm retired and don't have to punch a clock.

 getting wee bit cool too

It was a frosty 23F (-5C) this AM. It doesn't look like it is going to warm up until the end of next week. The low overnight temps translate into the a cool shop. It was still 59F when I killed the lights.

 dry fit went well

No problems doing the dry fit. I clipped the back edges of the tails on all four corners. This is something I usually don't do but I don't mind doing it with half blinds. Definitely made fitting the tails easier, especially with bottoming them out.

 the first one

This is the middle horizontal divider and it is the first batter. I need this one in place before I can layout for the other 10 dadoes.

 2nd batter

I need dadoes on the right and left for four small drawers that go in the bottom and their horizontal middle dividers.

 clean up batter

These will be the last dadoes to do.

 snipe

There is about 1 1/2" of snipe on this end of the board. I got lucky in that I was able to saw it all off as waste. If that didn't happen I would have made the dado to fit this end.

 LN screwdriver

I remembered to try out my new Rob Cosman router screws. They fit the small LN router too. 

 3/16"

I had looked on Amazon last night for single hex screwdrivers and I didn't find any. I don't want to buy a set of them because I already have 3 sets (two metric one imperial). I'll try McMaster because I still haven't bought the screws and star washers for the bandsaw. 

You can exert a lot more force with the hex wrench than with a slotted screwdriver. Not sure if it will be the same with a hex screwdriver but it will be more convenient than a hex wrench or slotted screwdriver. The screw is brass and the iron is steel (of some type) so it won't cause any harm to it.

 nope

The Cosman screws doesn't fit the Stanley small router plane (mine was made in England).

 keeping everything together

The closed throat router is the one I use the most and I have a rather large herd of router planes (12 last count). I got one Cosman screw and the 3 LN ones in the envelope. Might as well keep it in the biggest router plane box.

 first dado fits

It isn't as snug as I would like but it is self supporting.

 both sides fitted

The plans called for the top and bottom to extend beyond the sides by 5/8". That detail played havoc with me trying to figure out how to do it. Instead I'm going for the front to be flush top/bottom and R/L.

 little bit off

The plans call for the top drawer openings to be 1 5/8" and I'm a 1 3/4". I don't mind the two top drawers being an 1/8" deeper. It looks like I nailed the bottom two drawer openings but that might change depending upon how good I do on centering the horizontal divider there.

 No Mas, No Mas

Getting this vertical divider centered here kicked my arse. I played with it almost 30 minutes before I gave up on it. The right opening is a few frog hairs wider than its sibling on the left.

 hmmm......

Which way to run the grain on the vertical dividers? This one of two needs to be about 4 5/8" and if I run the grain front to back it will expand/contract top/bottom. I usually don't bother with wood movement in widths of 3" or less. The other problem is I don't have any 1/2" thick stock 7" long with the grain running top to bottom. I got time to think about it and sort it out.

 the last dadoes

This horizontal divider is the last one to do. This will separate the two drawers here and on the other side. I need to make sure the vertical dividers (above) are fitted without any slop in them and that they are square every which way.

 more dado layout

I had to label the parts of the carcass so I don't layout and chop dadoes on the wrong face. This was a wee bit nerve wracking but double triple checking it a bazillion times worked this time.

 got it right

With this set of dadoes done I only have 4 more to go. Before I get to them I have to size and fit the dividers in these 6 dadoes.

 ignoring this one

This is the upper divider and it is less than 2" with the grain running front to back. I will glue a piece of pine to the end grain end and flush it with the front face.

 came today

This author wrote an article about linseed oil paint for the last edition of Mortise & Tenon magazine. When I saw he wrote a book on it I bought it. It is something that has a long history (goes back over 3000 years) and may be better than the paint available today. I would like to try my hand at making it some day to use.

accidental woodworker

Splay Legged Table 3: Glue-up and Top

JKM Woodworking -

I tried blonde shellac, garnet shellac, and spray lacquer on the butternut aprons. Garnet shellac won. I gave each apron two coats of garnet shellac before gluing-up. The ash legs are unfinished for now, and the plan is to lacquer them.

I made a couple mistakes with the pinning of the tenons. The most obvious is that I drilled the holes on adjacent sides in line with each other, so that the second set of pins could not go through after the first pins were in place.

how are the next pins supposed to go through?

I bored these holes again, removing some of the existing pins. They are still holding the tenon in place, there’s just less engaged on the far side. A less critical error was not providing room for the exit holes on the inside of the legs. Some holes were clear but many were covered up by the aprons.

where are the pins going to exit?

I could still insert the pins, just not pound them all the way through.

I glued up two sections, each having an apron and two legs, then let sit overnight. I didn’t bother clamping, just let the drawbores do their job. The next day I added the remaining two aprons and completed the assembly.

yellow frog tape for glue squeeze out
gap and clamp

This picture shows two things. There is a gap on the right side, which I believe is from the holes in my tenons being out of line. Rather than draw things tighter, they pushed things apart. Also notice the clamp on top. The assembly was not square, so I steamed the joints to soften the glue, then used the clamp to draw it squarer and let it set.

After the assembly was finished, I had to even out the top and bottoms of the legs, and then make a top. Since the legs are kicked out at an angle, the tops and bottoms are angled also. I used a bevel gauge to mark the tops of the legs. This is the same 1:6 ratio which was used for the ends of the aprons.

bevel gauge to mark tops of legs

After doing this once or twice I realized I could skip the bevel gauge and just eyeball it, keeping the saw inline with the tops of the aprons. After all, this part will be tucked up under the table.

saw both outside edges and then through

To mark and cut the bottoms of the legs, I brought the table inside to a level part of the floor. Easier said than done. Then I shimmed the short legs with washers while using a level (not pictured) on the top.

washers as shims
scribe with pencil
bottom of legs ready for sawing

After sawing the bottoms of the legs, it would have been a good time to add a little chamfer with a plane. But I have decided to sand the ash legs and top, so will round over the edges later with the sander.

To make the top, I cut up this nice ash board that was 12-13″ wide and six feet long.

wide ash board for table top

I almost hated to cut it up, but it was the only suitable piece I had. And why did I get it if not to use it? I cut two pieces about 22″ long and glued them together to make a top about 22 x 25.

deciding orientation of top

To square up the top I had to rip a couple inches off of the two long grain ends. Then the short grain ends were uneven and it was easier to saw them than to plane them.

need to strighten up the edges

I wanted to chamfer the bottom of the table top so it didn’t appear so thick. The top was about 7/8″ thick, so I set a marking gauge for half of that and marked around the edges. The top had a 3.5″ overhang so I marked lines a little less than that to begin the chamfer.

marking underside to chamfer

I used a batten along the lines and planed the bulk of the material with a #5 plane, switching to a #7 when approaching the line. The end grain or short grain sides are planed first, so any tear out at the corners will be cleaned up when planing the long grain sides. This is good practice for raised panels, but lower stakes as it’s mostly not seen.

batten for planing chamfer
end grain chamfer

Since the plane blades don’t extend all the way to the edges like a rabbet or shoulder plane, the cuts don’t extend all the way to the batten. I didn’t plan for that but it will be consistent all around.

Later as the long grain is planed, you can see the corners slowly develop into nice angled lines.

already overshot the outside corner
this corner looks better

After completing the top I had to decide on fasteners. I found some in my junk drawers. I’m not even sure if these are tabletop fasteners or if they’re random ikea hardware, but they look like they’ll work. I had to make little mortises by drilling small holes and mortising with a 1/8 chisel. Each side will get one fastener around the middle of the apron. The two on the sides will be tight and the two front and back will be loose to allow for movement.

table top fasteners

So the top and base are ready. The butternut aprons have already been finished with two coats of garnet shellac. The plan is to sand the ash top and legs to 150-180 grit and then spray lacquer.

fell short......

Accidental Woodworker -

 My goal for today was to get the dovetailing done and the carcass dry fitted. I got one of the two done - dovetails. I finished the last pin sockets at 1515. Dry fitting the carcass will have to wait until tomorrow.

 didn't forget

Before I started the pin sockets I had to plane the rabbet over the tails. I don't mark this and just plane 3 strokes on each end.

pin layout

I tried my new 90° square and I like it. I'll be using this over my usual 2" engineer's square.

 used the Moxon

I tried to do this in the workbench face vise but it wasn't working. I've sawn the sockets as much as I could and finished the corners with a scraper. The scraper is from Lie Nielsen and it is the same thickness as the saw plate.

note to self

Me thinks I made the top web a wee bit too thin. I split 3 of the sockets and I glued them back together with super glue.

 good fit

I didn't seat this more than 1/2 way. I just wanted to get an idea of the fit and if it was going to together. I want to minimize how many times I seat the tails/pins because this is pine and I don't want to lose the snug fit I have.

 came today

These aren't exactly what I wanted. I like the size of the knob but I don't like how to attach them. I am not fond of knobs attached with wood screws. I have yet to have one not loosen through use. The site didn't have pic of them showing the back hole for the screw. I thought I was buying shaker knobs with a tenon.

 back in stock

I want to start putting string inlays in my boxes and I needed this. It has been back ordered for several months. I paid for it and told LV to ship when it came back in stock. As far as I know Lie Nielsen doesn't sell string inlay tools anymore.

 this worked

Backing up with this wood block worked for not splitting out the thin web when I used it. That thin web also doesn't give me much wiggle room for planing/sanding the top.

 last one

All four corners fitted up snugly. I didn't' escape gap free though. Fingers crossed that the glue will swell them shut.

 for tomorrow

I am thinking of using a stopped dado for the back. Another contender is a frame and panel which the more I think of it, the more I am liking it. I could make the frame out of 3/8" stock and use 1/8" plywood for the panels. I'll have to wait and see which way the wind blows me.

 on my desk after I killed the shop lights

According to the Canadian Post Tracking I wasn't supposed to get this until the 25th. These are replacement screws for Lie Nielsen router planes. Mine aren't chewed up yet and I have trouble tightening them with the LN screwdriver. Looking forward to give these the acid test. I don't remember the size but I will buy a handled ball driver for it off Amazon. 

I don't know if this new screw will fit in the small LN router. I'll find that out in the AM too.

The temp when I went on my walk today was 38F (3C). The wind was blowing hard and long out of the NW and it was )&@$^&%)*_)@ cold. I had to walk into the wind for the first half and have it blowing on my back for most of the 2nd half. I almost didn't go it felt so cold. 

The weather has gone from being in the 50'sF (11C) to this. I saw frost by the back door this AM when I went grocery shopping. The overnight temps going into next week will be hovering around 32F (0C). Wasn't the first day of spring yesterday?

accidental woodworker

cardiologist appt.......

Accidental Woodworker -

I like my cardiologist because he listens to my questions and answers them. He doesn't talk down to me or try to talk over my head neither. Its nice to have an understanding of why and what medications he prescribes for me but what they do for me. I spent about 40 minutes with him without feeling like I was getting the bum's rush out the door.

The upside of the visit is he is impressed with how active I am. He mentioned that he had trouble keeping up with me walking to his office. The downside is I'll have to start using a CPAC machine for my sleep apnea. He also told me to keep losing weight because that helps with A Fib as will the CPAC machine.

I have to go back on monday for an EKG because he stopped one med and started me on a new one. I'll ask him to put in the order for a CPAC when I see him again then. Not looking forward to that because my brother in law hates using his.

 totally different

The one I made for daughter #1 wasn't as wide (R/L) as this one. I like the proportions and drawer layout as is. This is about 36" R/L and 8" high. I might keep this for myself and use it in the shop for tool storage.

 some butt scratching

I have to make 11 stopped dadoes for the drawer dividers. The tricky part is they aren't all in line with each other. Such as the divider between the two drawer openings here. I will have to dry fit and square up the carcass first and then layout the dadoes, chop them, test the fit, and then assemble and dry fit the only thing before gluing it up. 

 I like this drawer

This drawer arrangement reminds of Gerstner machinist tool chests. This appeals to me because I like boxes first and drawers second for storing things. 

 keeping this

I rode the fence for a few minutes about dividing the top into 3 or 4 drawer openings. Since I like the overall look of the carcass I'm sticking with the Shaker Brother who designed (?) and made this in 1820. I wonder what these two top drawers were used to stow then?

 this sucks pond scum

The other two boards are still dead flat and straight. This is the bottom and it cupped after planing it to thickness. It is about a 16th off on the two outside edges. The bottom drawers will be riding in/out on this and it needs to be flat front to back.

 doing some layout

I am sticking or I'll try to stick with the drawer openings from the original. I did a rough layout to see how much I need to lose on the end panels. The end panels were running way long here.

 found my oops

I had sawn the ends panels to finished height and did the dado layout again and I was way off. The top drawer openings are 1 5/8" high and mine here were almost 3". It didn't dawn on me that I was doing the layout with the panel in the wrong orientation. Flipping it 90° fixed that headache. My drawer layout was still a wee bit off for the top drawer at a couple of frog hairs shy of 1 5/8.

 tails on one end panel done

I got this done just before lunch. I didn't want to start the other one and leave it partially completed. I'll pick this back up in the AM.

One thing I feel lucky about is doing the order of operations for making things. It is a gift I am thankful for a lot. I just seem to know instinctively how and what to do and more importantly, the order in which to do it. Here I have to do the end panels first and then layout for the dadoes and chop them. Once that is done I can get the finished dimensions for the dividers.

I am still wrestling with what to do about the back of this drawer unit thing. I have never seen a pic of the back of this or any other one. I can use plywood or solid wood for it but how to install attach it is causing some headaches. More than likely the back will be a visible part of this so the back will have to have a finished appearance. 

A second wrestling match is the drawer bottoms. None of the drawers except the middle bottom one are going to have a lot of interior height to them. I am leaning in the direction of using slips but I'm stuck on what to use for the bottoms. My choices are off cuts from the drawers, 1/8" plywood, or so called 1/4" plywood. That decision can wait for a few more days.

 half blind dovetail rabbet trick

Over the past few months I have made a bazillion half lapped drawers using this rabbet trick. I won't ever make another half lapped dovetailed anything without using this technique.

 nailed it

I measured and set the fence on the plane and made two passes with it. The baseline on the tails is dead on. No hints of daylight on almost every tail/pin.

 laying out the dovetails

I missed the number of tails - I have six and the original has 5. I thought that if I wanted 5 tails I had to step off 6 times with the dividers. Now I know that if I want 5, I step off five. Will I remember this for the next time?

accidental woodworker

Splay Legged Table 2: Aprons and Pins

JKM Woodworking -

gluing dominos into aprons

The aprons and the legs were marked for dominos. The leg mortises ended up overlapping, so I cut half of the tenons short. I planned on drawboring them, but not sure if that will work on the short ones.

not enough room. need to trim or miter the tenons.

Since the aprons are tilted outwards, their tops and bottoms are not parallel with the top or floor. I didn’t think to bevel the top edge before mortising. I decided to leave them alone. The angle isn’t extreme and adjusting them after might change how everything lines up. I did bevel the bottom edges.

beveling bottom edge

For carvings I selected four images. They are Japanese kamon, or family crests. These are taken from the book Japanese Motifs in Contemporary Design. It is interesting that one motif, like a cherry flower, can be displayed in different ways. You don’t need the book, I found the Do You Know Japan website which has an exhaustive list of images.

plum blossoms image to trace

I took pictures from the book, adjusted the images to 4″ across and printed them out. The hard part is getting the image onto the wood. Ultimately I taped the paper to the wood, and traced with a ball point pen. This left impressions which I penciled in. In the past I’ve used graphite paper to do it all in one step, but the graphite paper wasn’t cooperating this time. Carving right through the paper is an option, too.

pencil in impressions, nailset for small holes

This was meant to be practice and it was. The simple designs went quickly but the gingko and ipomoea took a lot of time and maybe weren’t good designs for carving in the first place.

plum, cherry
gingko, ipomoea

For attaching the aprons to the legs I will drawbore or pin the domino tenons. I have never done this before. This required making pegs and making test joints. It took 4-5 iterations of drawboring to be comfortable. The holes are 1/4″ with the tenon marked with a 1/8″ center punch, making a 1/16″ offset. Paul Sellers told me I could make pegs by driving stock through washers, and he was right. I tried pins from butternut and ash, and will use ash as it’s stronger and looks better. I will need 16 for the table, and a few extra to be safe.

don’t believe the numbers on the washers
hope nobody’s trying to sleep

Now it feels like I am on the home stretch. I will try shellac and lacquer finishes for the aprons, and decide whether to finish the pieces separately before gluing. Then I can start gluing up in stages, even out the legs, and make a top.

drawbore the long ones, pin the short ones

Three of Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji

Tools For Working Wood -

Mount Fuji from the mountains of TtmiMount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi
Christie's auction house is currently exhibiting one of the few complete sets of woodblock prints known as "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" by the Edo-period master woodblock artist Katsushika Hokusai. The set, which was printed in 1830-1835, is Hokusais "most iconic print series," according to Christie's. The complete set actually consists of 46 prints because Hokusai added 10 prints to the series. If you're thinking of adding the series to your own walls, bear in mind that Christie's has set the estimate between 5 to 7 million dollars. These prints were made by printing from multiple carved wooden plates, each with a different color. This is hard to do. The prints' detail and complexity show the work of a true master of the craft. Of the set of forty six prints, three are of special interest to woodworkers.

The first of the three prints (above), "Mount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi," shows two sawyers slicing up a giant beam with a gentleman at the bottom sharpening up a saw. I find it interesting that they are each using a one man saw, and cutting different kerfs. In the West, this would have been done with two-person saws, on a horizontally laid log, one sawyer at the top, another at the bottom. The log also seems to be pretty huge, and I don't know if this is reality or an exaggeration for the print - which could explain the absence of a two-person saw. In Toshio Odate's "Japanese Woodworking Tools" Odate shows a one-person timber saw, exactly like the one in the print, but no two-person saws. I do not know if two-person saws were a thing in Japan. While all the prints are fairly small, the detail in them is amazing. These close-ups are at most an inch across.

Mount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi - Detail of Saw FilerMount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi - Detail of Saw Filer

For any big sawing job, you would naturally want a saw filer sharpening saws as you worked so that you could switch to sharper saws during the day. This saw filer is focused on his job with his left hand steering the file and holding the saw steady, while the other hand pushes the file. The handle of the saw has been removed, though I do not know why.
Mount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi - Detail of Top Man SawingMount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi - Detail of Top Man Sawing
While the tooth profiles are draw in all the saws in the print, they seem more stylized than accurate. But both sawyers are putting their back into it and exerting a lot of effort.
Mount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi - Detail of Bottom Man SawingMount Fuji from the mountains of Ttmi - Detail of Bottom Man Sawing

Fujimi Field in Owari ProvinceFujimi Field in Owari Province

The other two images were ones I'd never seen before. In "Fujimi Field in Owari Province," we see a bath maker at work (I am pretty sure it's a bath, not a large flat barrel). Baths are made essentially the same way you would make a large barrel, by tightly fitting the staves of the sides together. The maker is using an early predecessor of a Japanese plane called a Yari-Kanna to smooth the inside areas in which the bathers would lean against. This operation would probably not have been needed on a barrel.
Fujimi Field in Owari Province - DetailFujimi Field in Owari Province - Detail

Honjo TatekawaHonjo Tatekawa, The Timberyard at Honjo, Sumida
Finally, we have "Honjo Tatekawa, The Timberyard at Honjo, Sumida." On the left side of the print, there is a huge pile of wood, carefully stickered and stacked to dry. A guy at the bottom of the pile is throwing a sawn board up to the man at the top of the pile to continue stacking. On the right another man is sawing more lumber into thinner boards. He has already started a few kerfs at the top so he won't have to move the board again past the support until he has sawn all the boards. Notice the little wedge stuck in the top of the kerf he is working on. It also seems that once he is done they tie together boards from the same log so customer can get matching grain if they want. It initially struck me that in both prints of sawyering that having the board on an angle, not flat, would be annoying and dangerous, but after a bit of a think it makes a lot of sense. The sawyers are all bending over to work but if the board was horizontal they would have to pull their saw straight up, which would be physically a lot harder. Having the board at an angle makes the sawing a lot easier on the back.
Honjo TatekawaHonjo Tatekawa, The Timberyard at Honjo, Sumida - Detail

PS - for information on the process used in creating these prints there are many great YouTube videos. But for a book - here is a book from 1916 on the subject of printing using Japanese block printing techniques.

it was looking good.......

Accidental Woodworker -

 My day started out pretty good in spite of me rolling out of the rack late. I mailed out one of the planes to its new owner. I got the picture frame and painting to Maria and she going to remount the painting. If I had known that was a possibility things would have been different. I should have that in a couple of weeks. I also got all the stock for the first drawer unit thing to the thicknesses I need. All this before lunch. It was looking good.

 it is staying here

I am not hauling this back down to the cellar only to haul it back out in a couple of days. Especially so with it being so cold this morning. The wind was blowing out of the north and it was chilling me to the bone. I would plane a little and go back inside to warm up my fingers. On the upside the wind blew a lot of the sawdust away - less for me to sweep up.

 first run done

The top, bottom, and the two end panels were thicknessed to 5/8". All the others were planed down to 1/2".

 the other drawer stock

These are too short to run through the lunchbox planer safely. I will get the width close on the bandsaw and then plane the rough sawn face smooth and to thickness. These are all for drawers so I don't have to go nutso anal on them. Getting everything +/- a frog hair will be good enough.

 door clips

Getting these reminded me that I still haven't gotten the star washers or the one screw I need to install both of these on the bandsaw.

test cuts

The cuts aren't dead nuts perfect. The numbers on the gauge confirmed what my eyeballs saw. The cut is slightly tapered from the bottom to the top running out away from the left side of the blade.

 not good

I was having troubles (big time) trying to get the blade square to the table. The door opened and this is what I saw. The blade should be running in the center of the wheel (on the bottom one too).

Still having problems with the screw that tilts the top wheel which governs how the blade tracks on the wheels. I couldn't turn it when I had too. Even with slip joint pliers I couldn't turn it. Didn't want to do it but I had to take the top wheel off to investigate again.

 hmm.....

This blows my thoughts on what I suspected was toast. I was expecting the end of this bolt to chewed up and impossible to fully screw out. Instead the end of it is almost brand new looking and no hiccups screwing it out and back in.

 scoring

It goes from about the 1130 CCW over to the 0300 position. The problem was the wheel was hitting the inside cover in a few spots as it turned and I couldn't use the tilting screw to correct it.

 this ain't looking good

I can see why the tilt screw is stalling and won't turn anymore. Just one problem with different metals of different hardness that bear on each other. The tilt screw is basically trying to thread itself into this tilt arm.

will it work?

I filed the burrs off the tilt arm and filed a round over on the end of the screw. I'm hoping that with the sharpness on the end gone that it will turn on the tilt arm without trying to dig into it.

This wasn't my first choice. My first idea was to drill and tap a hole where the screw meets the tilt arm. I would then put something like a Tee bolt in the hole. The 'tee' part would then be a flat surface for the tilt screw to bear on and turn. And it would be replaceable if needed. This may still happen if this first fix goes south on me.

 paper check

I stuck a piece of paper behind the wheel to check for any binding. The wheel is close to touching it but the wheel didn't grab the paper anywhere 360.

It took me a lot of frustrating minutes to get the blade to track anywhere near the middle of the wheel. A lot of it had to do with the )(^($@$)(%* tilt screw. Much easier to screw in but getting the blade to cooperate and play ball ate up a lot of calories.

success

Finally got the blade square to the table. It seemed like even the bandsaw dust was being a PITA with squaring the blade. I can't argue with this - no daylight here is a good thing.

 needs some support

I noticed earlier that the far end of the fence was toeing out to the left as I pushed the stock through. I have piece of wood under the table and this one up tight against the fence. I saw no more deflection when I sawed a couple of more test pieces.

 test cuts

For the most part the offcut looked kind of ok. The taper I saw before is now gone but I can see that the top and bottom on each end aren't the same. It is minute but I can see it. Also didn't do the +/- math without the decimal point - confused me. I wanted to see what the numbers were from reading it with calipers.

 very close

I planed the bandsawn face and I am less than a frog hair off across the 3 of them.

 hmm.....

Had another idea. Rather than shit canning the roughly 1/4" off cut from thinning the drawer sides I can use them to make drawer bottoms. The thickness is just shy of 3/16". I don't have a warm and fuzzy about using it for the 17" (L/R) drawers but I should be able to use this for the other 5 drawers.

 added and subtracting correctly

I redid the math and converted some fractions to decimal to visualize how much the cuts were. Everything is off less than a 64th to a 32nd on the first one I did (3rd from the top). I would be a lot happier if the numbers were all the same but I think the differences aren't enough to write home about. These were all measured off the rough bandsawn face too. If I remember it I'll take a second reading now that I've smoothed the bandsawn faces. 

Too late to run these through the bandsaw for today. I'll do that in the AM and start on making the drawer thing. Fixing the bandsaw again ate up 90% of my PM session time. Tomorrow isn't going to be much better time wise because I have an appointment with my cardiologist at 1300 tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

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