General Woodworking

I have an office job (M&A attorney) and my principal place of employment is in town. I like being at the office; I go 4-5 times a week. But I do work from home from time to time (especially evenings and on weekends), so it’s important that my home office is both functional and cozy. […]

 I am so thankful for those that take the time to read my keyboard diarrhea. Sylvester emailed me and attached a PDF with Toshio Odate's japanese toolbox. The one I've been searching for and gave up trying to find again. Thanx so much.

I searched for this same plan on my 4 computers and nada. Each computer brought up a different first page but none with the toolbox. I don't understand why all 4 don't or didn't all come up with the same first page.

ta da

I still plan to make this toolbox. I have only followed one plan from start to finish, a cherry wall clock I made 40 years ago. Making Toshio's toolbox will be my 2nd one.

last night

I came back to the shop after dinner and glued on the two top battens. 

nailing the bottom on

I went back and forth on this about gluing and nailing it and decided to do both. The bottom is 3/4" thick pine and I don't think just nails will be sufficient to hold it on against any weight.

sigh

This corner split when I nailed. I didn't think it would be hiccup being over an inch from the edge. I was wrong.

shoulda, woulda, didn't

I only had two more corners to predrill but I also predrilled all the others.

top

Glued and cooking. I decided on a solid wood top rather than plywood. If this top goes south, I will use plywood on round 2.

fingers crossed

I forced as much glue as I could in the split, installed the nail, and clamped it. I'm optimistic that this will stand the test of time.

two or three?

This is the bottom and I'm putting battens on it to save the bottom from getting the snot beat out of it. Went with two battens.

bottom done

I had sized the bottom so the length was dead on and the width a strong 16th proud. Flushed it up 360 with a blockplane. Nailed on the battens with nails only, no glue.

sans the top

I like this toolbox and I'm thinking about keeping it. It is a lot heavier than I initially thought it would be. It is also bigger (height wise) too. Neither one is a deal killer though as I'm sure the box will be adapted to its use somehow.

sizing the top

Worked on the width first and then I squared the ends.

dead nuts

Neither end of the top has to be dead nuts square but I made them so anyways.

hmm......

The top fits a frog hair off snug. Since it is summer and the top shouldn't expand anymore(?), I'm going to leave this as is for now and think on it. I'll decided what I want to do with it in the AM.

accidental woodworker

 When I rolled out of the rack this AM it was gray and overcast. No rain and the radar showed a line of rain clouds to the west slowly coming east. I almost decided to go to Gurney's but nixed it. It sprinkled rain briefly around 0900  and stopped after a half hour or so. I coulda, shoulda, woulda, but didn't risk it. Next saturday is still looking to be rain free in the AM.

gotta make something

I was getting the heebie jeebies because I wasn't making anything. I looked at the pine I had in the shop and figured there was enough there to make 4 of the six sides needed for a japanese toolbox. 

I got this pine from Lowes and it is still flat and barely cupped. Forgot about the ugly looking divot right on the edge though. I have the short ends and this longer length will give up the 2 long sides. I'll be doing a dutchman to fill in the divot - rot pocket or dead branch?

not fond of butt joinery

This toolbox is going to be on the larger size and I don't have a warm fuzzy with just nailing it together with butt joints. Instead I'm going with a housing dado. Overall I want it to be a simple joinery project though.

15 3/4"

I don't like the size of this. The ends (IMO) are too long compared to the long sides. The OD based on this would make that dimension a few frog hairs over 17". Decided to surgically removed a few inches from each end.

12 1/8"

I think the ends now balance the box. The OD now is 13 5/8" and the ID width is 12 1/8". Pondering my choices for the lid - I'm vacillating between a two board pine lid or one of 1/2" plywood. The big unknown is how much will the pine expand/contract and effect the fit of the lid?

$73

At Lowes I bought four 1"x10"x4' boards and two six foot 1x3's for the battens. It was a bit of shock to see the cost of this toolbox. Adding in the other pine boards it is a wee bit north of a C note.

divot dutchman

Initially I was going to put in a rabbeted dutchman but nixed it. I was getting a headache trying to figure out the negative and positive spaces. I went with making the notch to the depth of the divot and glued in the dutchman. Knocked down most of the proud with the scrub and flushed it with the woodie.

2nd dutchman

This edge is the bottom and I thought I could contain and hide the divot with the first dutchman. This spot had a void caused by the divot. It would have been hidden by the bottom eventually but I decided on a 2nd dutchman. This will fill in the divot void and give the bottom a continuous edge to glued/nailed to.

finished look

I thought I had snapped a pic of this after the first dutchman showing the divot void but I didn't. One dutchman will be visible on the outside which I was hoping to avoid. It will still fit with this being a toolbox.

dry fit

I'm happy with the fit of ends - I thought they would have been a PITA because they were cupped slightly. There are a couple of short stretches were there are gaps but 80% or so of the dado joints are tight.

glued and nailed

Used four 1 1/2" cut nails at each corner to secure the sides to the ends. The bottom and the end battens will further secure and strengthen the box.

bottom

I will let this cook until tomorrow. This is the reason why I picked 1x10's for the bottom rather 1x12's. I don't like gluing thin widths to a larger width board. 

handles

I really like this detail on this toolbox. I have the battens I need for the top/bottom and lid but before I can attach the top ones I have to get the handles installed.

cooking away

I glued the handles on and I let them cook for a while. After dinner I will go back to the shop and put a couple of screws into the handles from the inside. This toolbox will be capable of holding a lot of weight and I don't want to rely solely on a glue joint on the handles.

accidental woodworker 

 Another nice day in the neighborhood. Cooler with the temp topping out at 80F (27C) with a nice slow, cooling breeze blowing. I walked to Johnny's Chalet for fish 'n chips and took a few extra laps on the way home. I'm hoping that in spite of the big lunch today that I'll drop a couple of pounds come sunday's weigh in. The other hope I'm harboring is that I'll be able to go to Gurney's Saw Mill tomorrow. Wish me luck because the forecast hasn't changed.

done

These went to Maria at the Frame It Shop in the PM. Conservation glass and mats for all four. It will probably be 3-4 weeks before they will be done. That isn't a problem because I have no where to hang them in the house - downstairs or upstairs.

hmm.......

Nope. I thought I had 3 coats on these but if I do I don't like how they look. I put on my big boy pants and put on the 3rd coat.

3 on

They look as good as the first 4 now. Last three are done (when they are dry). I applied the last shellac this AM. Decided to bring these 3 to Maria tomorrow. No sense keeping them in the shop while I wait for the other 4 to be done.

what's left

Last year an ash tree on this spot was cut down. Yesterday the tree service came in with a stump grinder and in 15 minutes it was gone. It was 42" across at the widest point and roughly 6" above ground level.

Norway maple

Ditto for this tree. This one had some gnarly root offshoots and this stump was higher than the ash but only 27 inches across. This one took less than 15 minutes to disappear. 

maple?

I don't remember what type of maple tree this one was. It was roughly the same as the Norway maple dimensions and took about 15 minutes. In less than a 45 minutes 3 ugly looking stumps were gone for a cost of $500.

don't like this

I hadn't realized that the stump guys had laid some of the chips along the whole fence line. I kind of liked the look but I was not happy with it being under the bottom of the pickets. The wood chips would keep moisture there which could lead to the pickets rotting prematurely.

turning green

This is encouraging seeing that what was plain dirt is now turing green. Not grass but whatever it is, it is better than dirt.

pulled away

I'm leaving a strip of the wood chips here by the fence. The bottom of the fence is clear of chips and I'm hoping that the chips will keep the ivy from coming back. I have no illusions that will happen but I can hope, can't I?

looks better than dirt

My wife liked this and so do I. This was all dirt, rocks, paving, and bits of concrete. I had poured urine in this area for a couple of months. Before I covered the dirt patch it was absent of ivy. I plan to continue pouring urine under the bottom of the pickets because the other side is knee deep to an 8 foot tall indian in ivy.

dirty but swept clean

Swept out the truck bed for the first time in a bazillion years. Doing it as good luck for tomorrow being rain free. Pics and updates on the 11 o'clock news.

accidental woodworker 

Two days in a row that were sunny and warm - might be a record. Today's temp topped out at 92F (33C) but a small, steady breeze blowing made my stroll easy to do. Saturday is forecasted to be partly sunny with AM showers. I looked on 4 local weather sites and none of them gave a time for the AM showers. That sucks because if there is a window I could go to Gurney's on I would take it.

almost done

I didn't get much done in the shop beyond applying shellac to the frames. I got one coat on the back and 3 on the front. I like the black color from the paint and the shine the shellac imparts. I'll check them again after dinner for the final quality check. If they pass I'll bring 4 of them to the Frame It Shop tomorrow.

partial

I wanted to start on making a large japanese tool box. The plan was to make Toshio Odate's toolbox but I couldn't find the plans anywhere. I do remember the bottom was 13" and change and the sides and ends were 11/1/2". 1x12 stock is 11 1/4" or less so I was going to glue up what I could with this pine. 

That didn't happen because I want to make this toolbox using his plans. Spent a frustrating 30 minutes looking for the plans in the shop and upstairs with no joy. I searched the internet for over an hour without any luck trying to find them again. I want the plans mostly for the measurements for the top lid and the top battens. I'll keep searching because I don't have enough wood either way.

accidental woodworker 

Dust Collection on Festool sanders is a game changer. Here is the new cordless 5"

Festool has just released new models of cordless ETS sanders (5" and 6"), which will be available for purchase today, June 12th. We were able to demo these sanders at our Festool Fest back in April, and they attracted a lot of interest. They have some significant improvements over the previous incarnation of cordless sanders, which required the purchase of a finger- shaped 18V battery that could be used only with other cordless sanders. The new models utilize the regular 18V batteries used throughout the Festool cordless line, which is of course much more convenient. The sanders also have a built-in LED light that enables you to spot trouble spots and imperfections while you work, which strikes me as a feature that folks may start demanding from their regular sanders too. And while of course you can connect the sanders with a vacuum (aka dust extractor), these sanders also have dust collection bags and built-in fans to keep the dust at bay.

The cordless option might not be meaningful to you. In a workshop, a regular corded sander connected to a dust vac will give you excellent service without the need to worry about keeping batteries charged. A corded sander is also lighter and less expensive. But if you're sanding a lot on site, cordlessness can be very appealing.

The introduction of these sanders also gives me a chance to muse about power sanders. When I was a kid, admittedly quite some time ago (early 70s), my father had a Black & Decker orbital sander. Dont misread that sentence to give us an upgrade to random orbital sander. It was a cheap consumer grade orbital sander that did a pretty good job. It had no dust collection whatsoever. It used clamped-on pieces of sandpaper, and whoa, it was loud. You had to keep a tool like that moving because otherwise you would get little swirls on the work, and the sandpaper would clog because there was no way for dust to escape.

In that era, if you were serious about sanding, you really wanted a belt sander. The portable belt sander (invented by Porter Cable about 100 years ago) is a big ungainly machine, full of massive motors and aluminum housings. Belt sanders remove a lot of material fast. If you weren't careful, they would gouge out your work like nobodys business. There were frames and jigs to adjust the depth of sanding but I never owned one and I heard they were finicky. There was no dust collection, but because the belt wasn't in constant contact with the work, it didnt face the challenge of clogging.

The first generation of sanders were of course addressed to professionals. But hobbyists also found orbital sanders to be game changers. Hand sanding efficiently is time consuming and often no fun. Modern finishes, especially brush-on poly, really require appropriate surface sanding.

Dust collection also changed the game. I am old enough to remember a time prior to routine, efficient dust collection. The sanding bags used weren't particularly effective. No one wore masks. Sanding meant that you (or your dad, in my case) would fill up the room with a cloud of sawdust. You would constantly worry about settling dust damaging your next coat of finish. Compare that to the contemporary understanding of dust collection: its a health and safety issue; it saves a lot of clean-up time; and it helps your finished project look its best.

Hobbies by definition are leisuretime activities. The introduction of the 40-hour work week in 1940 helped create the space for hobbies during the post war consumer boom. Sales for consumer grade power tools exploded. I personally find cutting wood and planning wood by hand very satisfying. But in order to find this work enjoyable, you would need instruction, practice, and sharp, ready tools. Naturally this list could be a bit of a barrier to getting anything done. The 1950s saw the rise of all sorts of power tools for hobbyists. Most were similar to professional grade tools but smaller and more cheaply made. When I worked for the professional tool division of Black & Decker, I learned that we designed and built for longevity, and we snickered at the quality of the consumer grade tools. Every tool company got away with consumer tools because the average hobbyist only used their drills (for example) for a few minutes a year. Little did we know that the consumer divisions all over the world would soon render professional tools obsolete. Black and Decker is now a division of Stanley. And for many companies, power tools became a race to the bottom. However, others, like Festool and Mafell, to name a few, continued to offer tools with real bearings, accurate guides, and durable quality. The real amateur attraction to premium power tools such as Festool is for the fun. Fighting your equipment, whether its a struggle to get a smooth surface, or a square line, without making a mess, is just no fun.

Speaking of air quality, Festool also recently released the SYS-AIR, a portable air filter system that comes in a Systainer. It connects easily to other Systainers, Festool racks, Festool carts and Festool vacuums, making it simple to transport, store and integrate. It can get rid of the particles that your dust collector just can't crap because your tools aren't 100% perfect. We've actually had an air cleaner in our shop for 15 years and it makes a difference.

P.S. The pictures in this blog are stock Festool images of the new sanders. I have a cold and wasn't in the store to take pictures of the tools in person. But if you come by, we will be happy to put one in your hands.

The Festool Cordless 5" ETSC2125 in the most boring, yet illustrative picture possible

 After thinking about I decided to let Home Depot install the storm door for the back door. That went south and sideways, did a U-turn, headed north and then back south on the express. Two hiccups with the first being special pre steps were required before the door could be installed. Special moldings for the door due to the size of the opening being only 32" wide. This little change sucked over $80 out of my wallet. The second hiccup and the one that truly sucks pond scum, the storm door is a special order. My opening requires a 79 1/2" high door whereas standard, in stock doors are between 80-81 inches.

The exact same in stock, standard door at HD was $249. The special order door was $646.WTF is going on for a measly 1/2" difference? Of course this egregious change in dimension will take 4-6 weeks to make before I get it. The storm door installation is less than $30 what the back door install cost was.

looks better

The coverage of this first coat of paint is much better than it looked yesterday. I have a good feeling now that 2 coats will do on the back.

front face

This is very encouraging a day later. There are some streaks of light under the black but I'm confident that the 2nd coat will cover it all.

2nd coat coming

I didn't apply any poly to the interior of the box. I am only putting poly on the top edges of the bottom of the box and the bottom edges of the lid. 

done

I checked these four and they looked good. The plan is to get 3 coats of shellac on the front faces of them.

sigh.....

Noticed blobs of paint in three of the four corners. I thought I had checked and caught all the hiccups with the paint yesterday. I used the chisel to remove them and I had to paint them again.

nope.....

I tried the easy way hoping that the paint would fill this in. News flash boys and girls, it didn't. This might be visible because it will be on the side and not the top or bottom. I filled it in with some wood putty. I would have used sheet rock mud but the small container I had was rock hard.

hmm......

I had painted the frames and this box with poly before I went to Home Depot to have my wallet emptied. Over 3 hours later and it is still tacky. Yesterday the first coat had dried to the touch in less than 2. The temp today topped out at 87F (31C) so I expected this to be ready to recoat but it ain't. I'll check out it again after I fill the pie hole at dinner.

I didn't get much done due to spending a couple of hours taking care of the storm door BS. I was hoping to get the picture frames shellaced so I could bring 4 of them to the Frame It Shop but that will have to be postponed - depends on whether or not I can get 2 more coats of shellac on it today.

accidental woodworker 

 I peeked at the upcoming weather forecast and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. Although it is going to cloudy everyday for the next two weeks, most days are cloudy/partly sunny. I only saw one day that was cloudy only. It is an improvement over the crappy forecast I saw two days ago. However, this coming saturday is forecasted for rain at a 47% chance but the next saturday says partly sunny. This is now week 7 I've been waiting to go to Gurney's Saw mill.

3rd coat

I painted the corners where the hanger held the frames last night after dinner. This AM I wasn't happy with how the face side of the frames looked. The coverage looked good but there were 'streaks' on the front faces between the chamfers. Put on a 3rd and final coat. Tomorrow I'll put on the shellac that I had planned on doing this AM.

hmmm.....

Got a comment from Sylvain about putting a battery charger in this. I wasn't going to but after reading it made me think about it. If I take this away from the shop I won't have a charger or a spare battery.

The two small batteries are 1.5AH and the two larger ones are 3AH and 4AH ones. Moot point because only the smaller ones will fit in the lid and allow it to close on the saw. IMO the 1.5AH ones are useless for this tool. Amazon had good prices on Dewalt 20V batteries when I checked yesterday. I'll buy a one more 4AH battery next month.

nope

This spot and to the right are the only two available ones for the battery. It might fit in the right one but it would be tricky to set in precisely. Thinking now of sawing off the bottom like I did for the lid. I'll look it that after I'm done applying the poly.

hate this stuff

On the flip side it does saw incredibly easy. The downside is I'll be picking little white pebbles of it off me for a year. Static electricity made sweeping it up an expletive laden exercise. This is from the new printer my wife bought - the old one wasn't printing color to her satisfaction.

after lunch

The to do for after lunch. Looking forward to seeing how well raising the grain will work on this for the 2nd time.

first coat of poly

When I painted the frames last night after dinner I also put the 2nd coat on the bottom of this box. This AM I put on the 3rd and final coat. First one on the rest of it in the PM.

first coat on the last 3

 There were some places that the paint just didn't want to cover. I went back and forth over them and nada. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how well coverage looks and how the 2nd coat lays down over it.

accidental woodworker 

Last post I asked for help in rehabbing this Wm. Banks snipes bill plane.  I also posted something similar on the Facebook "Unplugged Woodworkers" group and from the comments I developed a plan.

At first I thought I would need to remove the boxing from the plane and someone suggested using vinegar to loosen up the hide glue.  I tried that with no success.  I thought about steaming the whole plane body in a pan over the stove, but was dissuaded by a comment or two.  Eventually I decided to use an iron to heat the boxing side of the plane.

Used an iron and a wet rag to get heat and steam into the plane body

I then clamped the plane tightly to a flat spot on my workbench and waited overnight.  Surprisingly, this flattened the plane and straightened the boxing significantly.  But the gap between the boxing and the sole opened up a little more than it had already been.

I was able to fit a 0.005" feeler gauge about 1/2" deep into the boxing slot, but only on the sole-side of the boxing - the other side was firmly glued.

So I used that same feeler gauge to force some hot hide glue down into the gap and then clamped it up overnight

This tightened up the boxing very well and the gap is gone.  The plane body still needed a little flattening, so I took a couple shavings off each side.  I also took a few shavings off the point of the boxing (the quirk) to get it all on the same level.

Right side

Left side

And look how straight the boxing quirk is!

I did a little sanding of the sole to smooth out the profile.  Then I worked on the iron to get it to better match the sole's profile.  It took a LOT of iterations to get that right.  Work on the iron also included filing the side a little bit, as it was sticking out a little too much.  It's supposed to be proud of the side of the boxing by a couple thousandths, but this one was out too much.

I'm happy now with how it is.  After taking the pic below, I put some oil on it for protection and to blend the colors a bit.

Here it is, work completed

I don't know if I'll ever need this plane - I don't currently use a lot of moldings in my work.  But if and when I do, it'll be ready to go.  Regardless, I feel good about bringing a piece of history back into working order.  For $3 and a little time, that's OK by me.

The weather has turned crappy again. I don't recall seeing a sunny day in the forecast for a month now. The rest of this week (out to sunday) is cloudy or rain. Not a single day of even one partly sunny day. This is past being depressing. Fingers and toes still double crossed that I'll finally get out to Gurney's Saw mill this saturday.

the choice

I considered doing this on the tablesaw but stopped. 3 corners were a few frog hair off square with the last one being a wavy 16th. Using the LN 140 will make a more consistent rabbet.

not a problem

Tons of fluffy shavings without a single whimper.

level

I've been using a level when I make rabbets with the LN 140. I find that it helps with keeping it level and even.

nope

I have two pieces of this pine but I don't like it. This blends in perfectly with the pine box. I wanted what I filled in the rabbets with to be a contrast to the pine box. I checked my extra 'bandings' in the boneyard and found some mahogany that I used. I had some walnut I really wanted to use but it wasn't wide enough. Couldn't use walnut veneer because the rabbets were too deep.

1/8" planing jig

The rabbets are less than a 1/8" deep. I didn't try to plane them +/- an atom thickness of each other.

proud of the rabbets

I used super glue (3 dabs) and yellow glue to secure the bandings. I did the short ends first and let them cook for half an hour before flushing the tops of the bandings.

long ones cooking

I glued the long ones just before I left for my post lunch stroll. I flushed the tops after that and then the sides next.

done

The woodworking is finished and the final step is the finish. I don't like leaving boxes unfinished and for this box I actually considered painting it as a choice.

12" away

I can make out the plywood piles from this distance but anything further away and it blurs into the pine box. It might pop a wee bit more when the finish goes on. Upadates and pics on the 11 o'clock news.

decorations

The plywood is glued on and since I'm not attaching a handle to it, the screws aren't needed. They are only for show.

poly finish

First choice was shellac but I didn't have enough for the box. Since I had the poly, I'm using that instead. The first step is getting 2-3 coats on the bottom. Then I'll apply it to the rest of the box.

out of sight, out of mind

Still haven't touched up the spot where the hanger was. I will make a return trip after dinner to touch them up.

accidental woodworker 

Now that the knockdown fittings are in place I’ll turn my attention to the seat and back assemblies. The seat assembly is made of 1″ x 2 5/8″ pieces of Birch and joined with mortise and tenons. The seat is 46″ wide so a brace was added at the center, it’s lowered so the webbing will lay across it. Webbing is installed with clips (from House2Home) and I learned that the “professional” way to do this is to remove a 1/8″ area so the clips and webbing lay flat in the frame. You can see better pictures of it in this my previous blog. It’s now ready to go and the next step on it will be to radius the edges, finish sand, and then rub in at least 2 coats of Osmo 3043. After that the webbing will be installed.

The seat back was built next. At this point the uprights for this are straight so that I have a reference point for the mortises. Once it’s complete they will be tapered and I plan to do some spokeshave work to sculpt them. The slats are 5/8″ x 1 1/2″ wide and will fit between the top and bottom pieces in 1/4″ x 3/4″ mortises. Figuring the spacing was first done on masking tape using dividers and a 1 1/2″ shim; took some time but much easier than trying to do the math required. One important consideration was that I needed at least 2″ of space at the ends to install the connecting hardware. There are 13 slats so that meant 26 mortises and 26 tenons — hollow chisel mortiser and dado head on the tablesaw made this go much quicker. For these, the slats won’t be glued in; matter of fact I think it’s better that there is some allowance so they can move freely with seasonal changes in humidity.

It’s been a hot summer so far in the desert so finishing is probably best done in the morning, by early afternoon it’s been as high as 104° in the shop! The Osmo should be fine at those temps but the Old Brown Glue I like to use may set up before I can get it clamped. Pre-finishing all of the slats makes sense, it’s always a hassle trying to dry the finish around all of those. I’ll tape off the tenons and wait to apply the finish to the sides of the backrest until it’s been assembled. It’s taken quite a bit of time to make all of these parts from 8/4 Birch but I’m sure it’ll be worth it when done.

The plan was to stop at Wally World before I went grocery shopping this AM. I was going to buy two pairs of jeans (full length) and have them cut down to shorts. On a lark I looked through the jeans shorts that were hanging on the wall - a wee bit out of reach high up on the wall. I was surprised to find the same shorts I had bought on the Wrangler Jeans site for $3 less. I had my smiley face on as I paid for them and headed out. 

They didn't have size 35 waist jeans (like the website) so I settled for size 36 - 34's didn't fit, I tried. On the walk back from breakfast tomorrow I'll stop in again and buy another pair. That way I can wear one, have one in the wash, and one ready to wear.

sigh....

I wasn't paying attention when I hinged the box. I wanted the saw to be flipped 180. It is a bit awkward taking this out/in with my left hand. Not a deal killer but is is a definite 'aw sh.....'.

wooden handles

I couldn't find anything in a size/style I wanted in a single handle for the top. Decided to make two wooden ones - one on each side. Rounded over the top outside edge. I didn't want a sharp edge biting into my palms.

one more step

I got this idea from plans for japanese tool boxes. It certainly makes it much easier to lift with this feature.

done

I glued and screwed the handles on. I went and back and forth on whether or not to glue them too. In the end I wanted the warm and fuzzy of glue and screws.

I thought the next and last step was going to be a finish. The piles of the exposed plywood edges is bugging me big time. Tomorrow I'll start brain storming ideas on how to best hide them. The bottom 1/4" plywood blends in seamlessly with the pine.

accidental woodworker 

The box I made for the cordless skil saw is almost done. The steps left are figuring out how to handle it and what finish to use, if any. Not too bad of a days work. Other than it being a wee bit bigger than I would like, I'm happy with how it turned out. The potential headache upcoming with it is where will it live?

fully cooked

The box relaxed a little when I took the clamps off which I didn't like seeing. However, the box was still square when I checked it on the top and bottom.

dead space

There really isn't a lot of unwasted real estate above the platform. But there is dead space below it. I thought about how to utilize it and gave up. Too many hiccups trying to figure out to access it.

road test

25 years ago I used this extensively to sand whatever project I was doing. I mostly used it to flatten and flush glue ups. Today I wasn't sure about how it would work. I had accidentally spilled poly on it last month. It turned on and the sand belt stayed on but I had to adjust the belt tracking - it chewed off about a 1/4" before I fixed it.

The sander worked with out any hiccups. The grit was 120 and it sanded the proud tails without any whimpering. The old muscle memory kicked in and I didn't round down on any of the corners. The key to working a 4x24 belt sander is to keep it moving and never, ever, let it go stationary for more than half a second.

lid separated

I purposely made the lid height bigger. I didn't separate it on the first full tail but the second one. I wanted the space to hold saw blades etc etc. Should be adequate for that purpose.

crappy hinges

I like the latches but I don't have a warm and fuzzy with the hinges. I like that they are 90° stop hinges and also that they are flush mounted.

an hour later

I went through every hinge that I had and I finally decided on this set. Two latches for the front and smaller hinges. I had looked on line for solid flush mounted hinges but the only ones I found where well north of $40. If these don't work out I'll use the brass ones in the above pic.

top & bottom

The bottom will be 1/4" and 1/2" for the top. 1/2" for the top for attaching a handle to it. The inside will be used to store saw blades etc. The top being 1/2" will provide strength and rigidity vice using 1/4" plywood.

too much room?

I can fit two 6 1/2" saw blades side by side. I had thought of putting wrenches on the sides but blade changes on this saw are made with an allen wrench. Oops.

top & bottom cooked

Looked for a handle like on the smaller box but I didn't have any. I'll look on Lee Valley tonight for handles.

hmm....

These hinges look too tiny for this. I still went with them because the screws were almost 3/4" long. 

two steps left

Looking at it here I'm thinking that maybe I should use two side handles. Initially I was going to put a handle on the top.

lid stop

The hinges aren't 90° stop hinges. This block of wood will be a stop for the lid when it is opened. Without it the first time the lid would get away from me the hinges would be ripped off.

accidental woodworker 

I’m beginning to close in on the finish line with the loom. The frame and heddle bar are just sitting around letting the purple come back in full after finishing. That leaves the shuttles and the comb to make. I’ve planed down some stock to about an 1/8th of an inch. The shuttle is going to come first. 2 shuttles in fact. If you are going to work the full width of the frame, then you want a shuttle about as wide as the frame. But for smaller, narrower pieces, a little shuttle will be quicker and less awkward to use. See the photos below for the process.

The only real furnishing in this room is the Birch cabinet I made previously. I decided to make this loveseat from Birch as well and who knows, maybe a table is in the future too. As the picture shows, I prefer to draw my plans out full size once the design has been worked out; and then cut pieces of Masonite to give me a true representation of the piece. There will be 6 pieces; the seat, right and left sides, front and rear stretchers, and the back. I plan to use brass inserts and black 1/4×20 hardware to assemble it.

After creating my cut list I purchased about 31 board feet of 8/4 Birch from Peterman Lumber here in Las Vegas. Since you have to buy whatever boards they have it’s challenging to get the right amount. The boards I bought were all 7″ or so in width and 8′ long. After cutting pieces to rough size I planed a working edge on them so they could be ripped and resawn as needed. The side frames are 1 1/8″ thick while the seat assembly and back are 1″ in thickness.

Resawing after establishing a working edge Smooth plane after running through power planer

At this point, my main goal is to get the leg assemblies put together so they can be used to locate where the threaded brass inserts need to be installed the relationship of all of the pieces. The front and rear stretchers attach to the leg sections with connector bolts and cross dowel nuts — this was a challenge to drill a straight 1/4″ hole about three inches long! To add to the challenge the tops are angled to allow the seat to sit lower in the rear than in the front. The seat and back sections use threaded brass inserts and connector bolts and that too was a process. Started with 1/16″ pilot holes on the drill press to insure they are straight and then the loveseat was reassembled to line everything up. More complicated than I can write up so these pictures will help — if you want more details feel free to contact me.

 Today was another warm day but not as hot as it was yesterday. The temp topped at 91F (33C) so not really that much cooler. However, both days after my post lunch stroll I was soaked with sweat. Halfway through the stroll today my shirt was sticking to my skin like it was glued to it. Saturday's weather is still forecasted to have rain in the AM which precludes a Gurney's Sawmill run. The saturday after next is looking promising for a run though. Fingers and toes crossed on that.

smiley face on

Initially it looked like two coats were the charm. But where the wire hanger held the frame showed a white wood spot. I will have to touch up those four spots with an artist brush.

pin baseline layout

Don't know how I missed it but I didn't knife the baseline on one of the baselines. Not a big deal to transfer a nick from the front to the back.

first one checked

I checked the alignment of the the top and bottom half pins. I was expecting some misalignment but I couldn't remember which corner I had screwed up the knife line on.

2nd corner checked

2nd corner and the pins top/bottom aligned. Looking like I dodged the bullet.

dry fitting

One corner was a wee bit tight and I had to trim one pin for that corner to come together.

ta da

This was encouraging see how much height I had above the saw. However, the goal was to see if the saw fit in the interior of the box.

oh what I relief

I felt like I had taken an Alka Seltzer (the old guys should remember this). There isn't a lot of wiggle room on the width - and I didn't have a quibble with that dimension. I was concerned about the height and no hiccups there to deal with.

proud

I would/will always want my pins tails to be proud. All of the corners are proud to varying degrees. It would appear that knifing that one baseline deeper was the way to go.

the lowest corners

The dry fit went off with no hiccups. All the corners will clean up nicely after it is glued it up. The box is looking a wee bit on the large side. Thinking now that maybe I should have used 1/2" thick pine instead of 3/4". Albeit it would still be the same size regardless of the thickness stock used.

less than a 16th off

I couldn't get the box to stay square without a clamp. It has been a long time since I have had to use a clamp to keep a box square.

2 1/2"

When I had eyeballed this with a tape I thought it was almost 3". I needed this measurement for the next step.

ledger for the platform

The ledger strips are just nailed in place. I will glue and screw them after I confirm the saw will fit as planned.

yikes

I didn't check the bottom (unclamped corners) for square. It said hello when I couldn't get the platform to fit. It was square but the bottom of the box wasn't. I had to clamp it also to keep it square. Once the box bottom was square, I ended up with gaps in the platform. I had tried trimming it before I checked the bottom for being square.

slot for the blade and guard

The chisel has to be the most useful and versatile tool in a workshop. Chopping out this slot was something I would have brain stormed trying to do a different way a year ago. Today it was a no brainer to lay it out and chop away.

done

Nice clean looking slot chopped in plywood. On the plus side this was the easiest and cleanest looking slot I have ever chopped in plywood.

hmm.....

Phew! Not a lot of wiggle room on this side. But there ain't much more on the side with the motor neither.

for front to back

Glued on some strips to keep the saw from sliding front to rear and to the right. Used hide glue in case I need to change their positions.

I used hide glue on the box and with it clamped I will wait until tomorrow to install the platform. I'll glue on a plywood bottom in the AM. I am also thinking of maybe using solid wood for a top/lid. I'll decide that when I get to it.

accidental woodworker 

Shop furniture. I call it a tire table as I plan to put tires on the bottom shelf. Although I'm not sure it counts as table. Maybe it's a bench or a shelf.

There are lots of options for storing tires. I've seen zip-up baggies and mobile storage towers and brackets that mount on the walls. I'll be happy just to get them off the floor.

this is my current tire storage situation. yes, there are four tires in there.

I measured the tires and drew up plans, and there was enough room to add drawers. The pieces are cut from 2x10 and 2x12 southern yellow pine construction lumber. I made a similar storage shelf recently. I tell myself that I'm practicing for a future project in nicer wood with nicer techniques.

front sides drawer front ratios

The top is made from three 2x10 boards. They were resawn to about 1" thickness. The thin offcuts were used for bottom shelf slats. Since they were wide and cupped I ripped them into narrower pieces.

jointing long edge on side glued up top. not flat as can be seen by uneven space under clamps. offcuts from top will be used for bottom shelf

The upper section has a frame and panel on the sides and back. I plowed a 3/8" groove in the rails. The legs required a stopped groove. I tried a few methods and settled on plowing as much as possible and finishing with a chisel.

deepen as much as possible with plow plane then finish up the shallow end with chisel

The panels were thinned at the edges with a #5 plane. I am leaving the raised section on the inside of the case, so it doesn't have to look pretty.

I can chamfer three sides like this before repositioning holdfasts. Grooved offcut for testing fit.

The middle and bottom rails on the front have curves. I created these one at a time by bending a thin strip of wood. The holdfasts hold down the ends and I push up in the middle. It doesn't seem reliable or consistent, but it worked for two pieces.

staged picture demonstrating curve layout

Joinery was mostly dominos. I glued up the short sides first. Adding the 56 1/4" rails between the sides created a case almost 60" wide. I did not have any clamps that long, so I used couplings to join my shorter pipe clamps. I also found some ratcheting strap clamps. They don't seem as strong as bar or pipe clamps, but they helped.

pipe couplers. cheaper than buying more clamps. glued, clamped, with top tried on for size

The drawer faces and the rails above and below them were cut from a single board so have consistent grain patterns.

with uncut drawer fronts in place

There are many front-back support pieces to add. So far I have added supports under the bottom shelf. They are pocket screwed to the front and back rails. The front rail has a rabbet which the shelf slat will sit in. The side and back rails are not rabbeted, they are just 3/8" shorter. The slats are the thinner resawn sections from the top. They will be butted against each other with a small gap and nailed in place.

bottom shelf showing rails and supports bottom shelf slat notched to fit and sitting in rabbet

Next I have to make the drawers and the drawer guides/supports. I also have to decide how to fasten the top and if/how I will finish it.

This is a large piece of shop furniture, it's as wide as my workbench and deeper. I'll have to rearrange things to give it a home.

Coming soon: Workbench plans!

On every course and at every show we are asked about our workbenches. We’ve put a lot of thought and a lot of work into them over more than 10 years. Our most recent bench is at least the eighth iteration of a design that is always almost perfect! Just one more tweak…

So it’s time to stop procrastinating and publish the plans. We’re making these available in six different sizes: three in metric, three in imperial, all in the same set of plans. But they’re not just a straight conversion. We’ve designed the imperial and metric benches around the materials most commonly available in different regions and have worked out sensible sizes so that you don’t end up with something silly like a bench top that’s six feet six and forty seven sixty-fourths of an inch!

• 1m/3.5′ – ideal for chairmaking, small and easy to store but rock solid
• 1.5m/5′ – a good sized joinery bench but every piece is manageable when setting up or moving it around
• 2m/7′ – a bench big enough for any furniture project but with a top that’s still moveable by a normal human being

These benches have been designed with five principles in mind:

• Built from easily available materials with basic woodworking tools
• Only very basic joinery skills required
• Easy and quick to set up
• Every component must be light enough to move easily around your workspace
• Rock solid; the fact that it packs down quickly mustn’t make it flimsy in use

The plans will include complete cutting lists for all pieces, a suggested tool list and instructions. Eventually there will be YouTube videos but don’t hold your breath…

We’re setting up a shop page on our website: thequietworkshop.com and when that’s live we’ll send a very short newsletter round. Probably the end of June.

If you haven’t been on one of our courses yet but would like to see one in action then come along to…

Cambridge Open Studios

Every July, for the last 51 years, artists and craftspeople in and around Cambridge throw open their doors and invite you into their studios. It’s an incredible celebration of the creativity of the people in the area. 223 studios and 12 larger venues will be open over the four weekends of July. We’ll be taking part on the 1st, 2nd and 4th weekends: 5-6th, 12-13th & 26-27th.

We’re on page 62 of the guide. We’re listed as number 144 under my name: StJohn Starkie. The number has nothing to do with our workshop address which is 41 High Street, Great Wilbraham! We look forward to seeing you in July.

Shows this year

We had a lovely time at Living Crafts Fair at Hatfield House. If you haven’t been before we thoroughly recommend it; we’ll definitely be back next year. If you missed us there you can catch us at one of the following:

• 14-15th June Cambridge Town and Country Fair, Parker’s Piece, Cambridge
• 5th-6th, 12th-13th & 26-27th Cambridge Open Studios – right here in Great Wilbraham
• 9-10th August Cambridge Country Show, Stow Cum Quy
• 13-14th September The Wonder of Wood Fair, Burwash Manor, Cambridge
• 24-25th October London International Woodworking Festival, LDE UTC, Royal Docks, London

If you think there’s a craft show within an hour’s drive of Cambridge that we should attend please drop us a line. We’re always grateful for new opportunities.

Stools

The simple stool courses are our most popular. This two day course started with the little one rung milking stool but more and more people are asking to build them bigger. When you book this course on craftcourses.com it will default to the smallest stool. If you want to build a stool that works well under a dining table or as a bedside table choose the option to add timber for a 50cm stool. If you want it to work well at a kitchen counter select the option to add timber for a 70cm stool. These are nominal heights for the leg blanks. The seats are actually at about 46 and 64cm respectively and have been designed around long-standing conventions that suit the majority of people and living spaces. But you can always make them shorter!

Adding rungs means a bit more work rounding legs, drilling mortises and cutting tenons so it’s a slightly longer first day but you get a beautiful piece of furniture that fits your home.

As always, if you’re interested in coming on a course and you want to find out more please give us a ring (07778 397328) or drop us an email. You can book all of our courses through the links on our website. If our dates aren’t perfect for you or you want to book for a group give us a call; we can usually work something out.

Enjoy your time in the workshop.

StJohn & Bryony

 Summer officially arrives on the friday the 20th of June. You wouldn't know that by the temps today. It was sunny with clear, blue skies but the temp was oppressive. It topped out at 96F (36C) - a wee bit warm. It wasn't overly humid but there was no mistaking that it was hot.

A few years back I got heatstroke on a post lunch stroll. The temp then had been 85F (30C) so it was ever present on mind as I ambled about today. I took my time walking and it ended up taking me a little over two hours to do it. I didn't experience any of the symptoms I had on that fateful day but if it is as sunny and hot tomorrow as it was today, I'll bring a water bottle with me. Being hydrated will help with the walking.

happy with this

I like the coverage of two coats on the back of the frames. This is so much better than my last outing with this black paint. Doing the grain raising definitely was worth it. Got two coat coverage and the the paint laid down without feeling like sandpaper after it dried.

Lowes run

This blade was $16 and the three 1"x12"x4' pine boards were each $17. I need to have some stock in the shop to play with. This saturday is supposed to be raining in the morning so I won't be going to Gurney's Sawmill. 

measurement time

This was an awkward thing to measure in every dimension that I needed. I think I added enough to be generous hopefully. One dimension I'm not truly getting a warm and fuzzy on is the height. I think I am pushing the limit based on the width of the stock. I don't want to glue up to get a wider board for this box. I plan on gluing plywood on the top and bottom so I don't lose any interior height I would for a top/bottom inset in a groove in the insides.

40 tooth blade

Wow is all I can say. I thought the cut would be clean but there is almost zero fuzzy wuzzies on this saw cut. The end grain cut is baby butt smooth too. I wasn't expecting this nice of a cut with such an inexpensive saw blade. Made me glad I didn't buy the other, higher priced, 40 tooth blade.

the fuzzy part of the cut

The pic says it all. I also cut on the wrong side of the notch in the saw sole. The notch (on the saw sole plate) matches the width between the pencil line and the right side of the board. I should have guided the saw on the left side of the notch and not the right side.

dovetails first

I was a bit on the cautious side of this sawing. There was something nagging me as I sawed these out. I'll have to wait until I got this together to see how well I measured this.

hmm......

It has been a long time since I have made a boo boo like this. When I flipped the board to knife the half pin, they didn't line up from the front to the back. I knifed it to the deeper line. Another boo boo that will shake hands again when I fit it together.

temp at 1320

This was the temp when I got back to the barn (it was 88F when I left). It zoomed up one more degree to 95F for the high for the day.

tails sawn

After I got back I parked my cheeks in my desk chair and chilled for an hour. I went to the shop and killed the lights. I'll chop the tails in the AM. Not sure how far I'll get with the pins.

nice and cool

The shop is 20 degrees cooler than the living room. I put the AC in the bedroom to start bringing the temp down from 89F (32C). I can't sleep if the temp in the bedroom is above 70F (21C).

accidental woodworker

Finally got around to painting the 7 frames I made for some Stanley advertising posters - reproductions. I think I made these 3 months ago?. The plan is to paint them all and then bring them 2 at a time to Maria to be matted and framed. The hardest part of this is where can I hang them? The wall space in the house is on the sparse side. And I have 11 other prints of tools I want to frame also. Same hiccup regarding vertical wall space.

road test time

Slapped a 4AH battery in the new skil saw I bought. I'm going to saw up this piece of 5/8" exterior plywood for its first taste chewing up wood. I went into this blind never having used a battery operated skil saw before.

wow

I used the 18 tooth blade that came with the saw. I sawed half of it cross cut and half rip - as best as I could considering it was plywood. The saw didn't bog on either one and it did throw up the obligatory storm of plywood dust and splinters. 

No hiccups or problems doing a long 48" rip cut. I eyeballed the line I was sawing and the saw didn't pull L/R at all. The kerf was cleaner than I expected it to be. The weight is balanced nicely either holding the saw or pushing it through the wood. The biggest surprise was how quiet it was. No screaming AC universal motor assaulting my ears. I was wearing ear muffs and I could barely hear the saw when it was on. Overall I was impressed with it. Sufficient power, light weight, centered balance, and nicely made. No fluff or casting/extrusion lines with burrs. 

missed it

I used my new allen wrench holder to install the saw blade. I plan on replacing it with a high tooth count blade to make clean crosscuts. I'll look over the offerings at Lowes the next time I go there.

done

7 coasters done and ready to go to North Carolina. I checked and I didn't see any grout bubble holes in any of them.

which color?

After looking at both of them decided to split it. 4 of the 7 will be black and 3 will be blue. I have more than enough to do all 7 one color.

new method

I have done several frames already with this milk paint. On them I didn't raise the grain first before applying the first coat of paint. I wiped down the entire frame with a soaked rag. Virgin territory for me - can't recall having raised the grain before.

hmm......

The frame still felt 'wet'. I can definitely feel a difference between the frames I wet down and one I hadn't. It took well over 30 minutes before the wood felt 'dry' to my touch. Lightly sanded it then with 320 grit.

hanging out

Not sure if I maybe wet the frames down too much. I could feel some grain fuzz when I ran my fingers over it. Before I had raised the grain I had sanded all the frames up 320 grit. Not sure if that played any role in the drying rate. Most resources I checked only sanded up to 180-220.

I like this wax

I am developing a love relationship with this stuff. I like the smell and feel of it along with the ease of application. The fact that it looks pretty good after buffing isn't too hard to take neither. This is the box that I had previously said no finish but it ended up with 3 coats of shellac and one of this hard wax.

first coat

It will take at least one more coat but I can see a difference with this being raised first. I got the first coat on all four and hung them to dry.

PM session

This isn't a true milk paint but a latex version of it. Applied a 2nd coat on the back only. I am only doing 2 coats on the back regardless of the coverage. I'll sand the fronts tomorrow and paint them then. I liked the coverage of the 2nd coat on the back. I'm hopeful that I'll get away with 2 coats on the fronts too.

accidental woodworker