General Woodworking

The cherry cupboard progress continues in spite of my doubts. Today I finished the tails on it. Survived that ordeal I put myself through and I am happy with the results. They didn't come out any different then ones I have done in pine. 

I was thinking about the cherry clock I made so many years ago and I know it didn't have any dovetails in it. I still have the plans for it and I looked them over last night. The carcass was put together with rabbeted joinery and even the moldings were in rabbets. Today I would make this same carcass with dovetails and forgo the rabbets for the moldings (5/8" cove moldings). Instead of using rabbets to house the moldings I would mold them on the front and sides with a molding plane. Things have changed and my skill level has risen a few notches in the past 40 plus years.

hmm......

This tail on the right side wasn't square to the face. I didn't need the square to tell me that because I could see it. I used this to check all the tails for square. This was the only one OTL (out to lunch) on this end of the board.

checked the baselines too

I do not undercut my baselines. I try to chop them flat and square to the face. It doesn't make any sense to me to undercut them and only have two super thin edges supporting it. IMO it is akin the edge on a tool be it a chisel or plane iron. You want the two edges to come together and reflect no light. Not much meat there for support eh?

done

Sawn, chopped, and cleaned up. Again, I fretted over this for nothing. I have been dovetailing now for almost 15 years. I wonder how well I'll do on the pins. Will I be able to achieve a fit like Paul Sellers does in oak as easily as I breathe air?

thinking out loud

After eyeballing my first side board I starting thinking about it. The first thought was maybe I should have used the dovetail guide on the right. It is a 1:7 and I don't know what the left one is. That is the one I use to mark without regard to what the wood is or the purpose of them. 

The second thought I had was maybe I should have added another tail. That would have decreased the  end grain to long grain glue surface. However, I went with this number of tails to decrease the sawing. Besides I like the wider look of these tails.

another 1:7 advantage

Using the 1:7 guide would have also resulted in the outside top tips being less pointy. That is one thing I have noticed with pine tails - if I'm not careful the tips will break/chip off. That is less of a concern with cherry or at least I hope it is.

the difference

The 1:7 guide straightens the angle a wee bit. If I do hardwood again I will try to use the 1:7 guide. I don't think it would have any negative effect on the pull out of the tails and pins. I might try it on my next pine project to verify that.

just noticed this

I have had these chisels for several years and I assumed that they were all the same length. Of these four I use the far left one and the two on the right the most. I never realized how much I had sharpened and ate up some of the length on these.

McMaster Carr order came

One thing I like about McMaster is the fast shipping. I ordered these on saturday night and they came today. They are expensive on some things but they usually have what I am looking for. Fingers were crossed on the springs bringing some joy.

Got 3 boxes of #4 brass round head screws to up the order $. I hate paying close to or more for shipping than what I bought.

all #4 screws

I now have 3 types of wood screws to choose. Flat head, oval head, and finally, round head. I thought I had some black oxide and shiny nickel screws but I didn't have any #4s.

much rejoicing in Mudville

I was not too sure about these springs. They didn't seem to compress that much. However, they were a dead on match for the springs in the working quick grip. They fit and worked a charm. I couldn't feel/see any difference in this quick grip with the McMaster springs and original springs. Glad to finally have this working again - it has been over 7 years (?) broken and useless.

McMaster P/N

These springs fit the bigger Quick Grip clamps and will not fit in the smaller 6&12 inch Quick Grips. I don't know if they will fit in the Irwin clamps - they bought out Quick Grip and then changed the design of them.

overblown

I thought this little knick was a lot worse than it actually is. When I was sawing it I thought I had ruined this side of the tail. Easily chiseled away and squared up. This was one of 3 non glitches.

feeling better

Got the tails done. These took me all day to do and it was all I got done. Normally I would have had this glued and cooking by now. But I purposefully took my time and double triple checked everything I did. I chopped each and every tail - I don't saw the tail and pin waste. That would have certainly shortened the time line.

pin boards

I'll start these tomorrow. I didn't want to start on these and not complete them before quitting time.

using this more and more

The piece of pine is the setting block for pin boards. I set the pin board flush with the pine set up block.

ready to mark

Lay the back end of the tail board on the steady rest and knife the pins. I always place the pin board with the outside face towards the front jaw of the Moxon. That means the outside face of the tail board always faces up and inside face down.

reference edge

I label the bottom/back and that is my reference edge. I square up that edge to the front face of the pin board. I always do it this way and the times I haven't, it saved my bacon. Something would look odd, out of place, or not what I expected if I don't stick to this regimen. 

quitting time today

I could have probably knifed one pin board before 1500 but nixed it. I am still a little reserved about rushing this. I'll start in on it fresh eyed and bushy tailed in the AM.

I spent the early dismissal time watching the last of the Elementary series. I am on the last season with 3 more episodes to watch. I'll have to find something else on prime to occupy limited attention span.

accidental woodworker

Operated in slo mo today. Not because of something wrong physically with me but due to the dovetails to come. I have been thinking about it all night long. I don't usually think about dovetailing - I just do them. But cherry dovetails aren't the same as pine ones. Cherry doesn't have that forgiving compression factor that pine has. I am going to have to mark and saw more carefully. Hence the procrastination on my part. I wish I had done some practice cherry dovetails before tackling this cupboard.

eyeballing the approximate size

I squared and sawed the sides to length. Stepped back to eyeball the size of the carcass. The OD on the width is less than 17" and the ID is less the 15". These are about the same as the prototype. I thought of changing the top and bottom boards but decided to stay with this.

solid top or bottom

I wanted to take a look of using a one piece top/bottom. I don't think it changes anything. I can see the same look with using a 2 1/2" wide flat molding. Solves that problem and I now have some left over cherry.

big boy pants on

I like using the Glen Drake scriber because the groove it makes matches the kerf of the dovetail saw. I wanted all the help I could muster sawing these dovetails.

ready, set, go

I sawed these slower than I normally do. I go right to left and then left to right. That didn't change except for the speed and time. I first made sure that I had sawn in the groove and that it was square across. 

survived

Got the first two tails sawn with no hiccups. I did notice that when I made minor corrections that I made nicks on the tail side and not in the waste. I'm not sure how or if they will swell and close up come glue time. Or I could be quibbling about nothing. I tend to be a harsh critic of myself.

first side done

Another step that I was concerned with. The half pins on the left side are done and all four looked good. 

done

Survived the first part of sawing the dovetails. I didn't feel a big difference and I was overly concerned about nothing it seems. The sawing action is the same, but it takes a bit more to saw cherry than pine. Now that I'm done sawing the tails I can start fretting about the pins.

Got the 4 chisels I'll need to chop the tails and pins. That were sharp but probably not good enough for cherry. Time to expend calories getting them sharp and shiny.

hardcover

Both of these are first editions (not that I care about that) and my wife's college friend gave them to me. I have both of these in softcover but I prefer hardcover books to softcover ones.

top right end of the shelf

About 15" of that shelf has my Eric Sloane books. He wrote a lot of books and I think I have all of them except for 7. There could be more because I can't find a definitive list of the books he had published.

This is my overflow bookcase. I have two upstairs that are full and this one is about 65% occupied. I have one more bookcase to the left of this one that I made in 1995 when I got out of the Navy. That one has all fiction and non fiction books but I'm thinking of thinning them out. At the rate I'm going I'll need it for the woodworking books I keep buying.

sharp and shiny

I sharpen my chisels with a honing guide. I will occasionally sharpen a chisel by hand but 99.9999% I use a honing guide. Today when I set the bevel distance on them I didn't have to use the runway to flatten the entire bevel. Something or someone was watching over me.

25 or 30 degree

I use these two to set the chisel in the honing guide. I put the guide on the top and drop the chisel down to the 1/2" aluminum angle. What happens next was I used the guide on the stone and the existing chisel bevel angle didn't match what the stone did to it. Until today. I've had in the back of mind changing this current set up to something different. I must have been doing something wrong that I'm still not aware of.

Tomorrow I'll chop the tails and saw the pins.

accidental woodworker

I’ve been seeing these boxes on Pinterest, Instagram, and other places on the net so decided to make a pair of them for my grandsons Christmas present this year. They both are collectors of “things” so think they will like Opa’s interpretations of them for their “treasure chests”! I mail ordered some Ash from Woodworkers Source and they sent some beautiful pieces, one especially will be destined for the lids. With this blog I’ll break down the process to not only illustrate it for anyone else that may build one of these but also to remind me in case I make another! I hope that Connor and Rory will look at this and possibly be inspired to explore this world of woodworking that their Opa loves so much.

Mortises:

Working with the Ash has been an experience, it is very hard and the grain structure also makes it difficult to scribe clean, crisp lines to work to. Mike Pekovich from Fine Woodworking Magazine has a video series where he uses tape along with marking gauges and spacer blocks to accomplish this. You may need to be a member of the magazine to access it. For my project I could only mark the outside of the boards because the inside has a dado cut to accept the side pieces, this meant I really needed to be accurate on the layout and his technique really worked great, the Ash — well that’s a different story!

Tenons:

If the mortises had cut cleanly each on them should have been exactly the same size, however; not being able to obtain clean cuts meant that they were slightly different so couldn’t use all of the techniques Mike Pekovich showed in his project.

Sliding Tray:

To add versatility each box will have a sliding tray made from 1/4″ thick Beech left over from another project. They’re about two thirds the length of the box and 1 3/4″ deep. No pictures but simple mitered construction using packing tape for assembly. The plywood bottom sits in a dado and the bottom of the box is covered with a heavy fabric on mat-board.

Lid, Battens, and Wedge:

There’s not a lot of exact information that I could find about the battens and the wedge. I’ve read that traditionally the boxes didn’t have a locking wedge. Tradition also has them assembled with nails and the bottom is nailed on. I chose to set the bottom in a dado and also join the battens with glue, screws, and plugs. Some show the wedge without an angled cut but I choose angling it make it more secure. Since these are going to a much more humid location than Las Vegas left a good 1/16″ gap between the lid and the sides of the box. The first step was creating the pieces for the top of the box and lid battens.

Fitting the lid required some experimentation. One end of it has a fixed batten that I located 1/4″ from one end. A spot of glue at the center and screws at each end secured that. I used a piece of plywood to fine tune the length of the lid and I’d recommend doing that if you make one of these. Much easier to screw up a scrap of plywood than a beautifully figured piece of Ash! Basically, after that first batten is attached you insert the lid and slide it so that it’s against the box piece. Then place the other lid batten and wedge in position, draw a line to locate it. A trick I saw and used was to put blocks inside of the box that held the lid at the right height. Now I was able to drill the pilot holes for the screws directly into the lid and attach it in place.

Final Steps:

One change I made was to drill a 3/8″ hole in the locking wedge piece and then glued in a short dowel. These boxes will probably not be stacked and with the higher humidity that wedge could become difficult to remove. I don’t want them tapping it with a hammer! My finish of choice is Osmo #3043, two coats applied with nylon scotch pads. This was a good, challenging process; here’s a slide show of the finished Japanese Toolboxes.

 Short time in the shop today. I went on a road trip to visit my wife's best friend from college. I still managed get some things accomplished. The next upcoming step is dovetailing the carcass. I am a little concerned with this because I don't have a lot of hardwood dovetailing under my belt. So I'm procrastinating a wee bit. I'll put on my big boy pants before I start doing them.

two more

The longer board will give up the fixed and adjustable shelves. I decided to leave that one long rather than plane it as two separate boards. I am also going to plane the short board, it isn't needed for the cupboard.

I'll take it

non reference face

All I did on this side was to knock down the wings - this face was cupped. That makes the lunchbox work easier. And it takes less trips through it to get it flat.

reference face

It is smoothed but not 100%. I don't see the need to go that far before running it through the lunchbox planer. 90% of this face is flat and that is sufficient for the bed of the planer to plane the non reference face.

done

These two came out a 64th thicker than the ones I did yesterday. I'm not going to quibble about it because it is impossible to see a 64th difference. Plus I may lose more than a 64th when I use the #3 to smooth them out.

relax time

Just as well I went visiting with my wife. That will give these time to relax and get any stupid wood tricks out their systems.

accidental woodworker

A few days ago I wrote about fixing up a Starrett combo square that I found at a garage sale.  It had all three heads - 45/90, protractor and centering - but I could only get the centering head to clamp the rule securely.  Turns out it was user error and I'll explain a bit here about that.

Here's the 45/90 head with rule in place

The clamp screw, spring and nut

You can see at the left end of the clamp screw, there is a raised tab that fits into the groove in the rule.  When the clamp nut is tightened, the tab pulls the rule tight in it's slot in the head.

The groove in the rule

Here's where I went wrong.  Note the little nub on the side of the clamp screw, roughly centered along its length.

The nub in question

This nub's purpose is twofold: to keep the clamp screw from sliding too far down in it's hole and to keep the clamp screw from rotating in the hole.  But there's a catch.  It turns out on older Starrett combo squares (and accessory heads), there's a small recess cut on the side of the shaft into which the clamp screw goes.  This recess extends from the bottom of the slot (in which the rule slides) towards the clamp nut for about 1/8".  I tried to get that in a picture, but it's very tough to photograph due to its location.

Looking down into the rule slot of the 45/90 head The camera is actually a bit to the right of being straight above the hole (the round hole is for the clamp screw)

Closer-up pic showing the recess for the nub

An even closer pic - if you use your imagination, you can see the recess. We're actually seeing the bottom of that recess.

So it turns out that the clamp screw only goes into the head one way.  The nub has to go into that recess.  If it's turned 180 deg, the nub gets caught on the bottom of the rule slot and you can't tighten the rule enough.  Turned the proper way, the clamp screw goes 1/8" deeper in its hole and you can clamp the rule tightly.

I'm glad I figured this one out - I was considering filing off the nubs on two of the clamp screws!

Now, here's a newer Starrett combo square for comparison.  This was one of the only high end tools I bought new when getting started, and like all Starrett stuff it's been great.  It's probably 10-12 years old now.

The clamp screw, a special washer, spring and nut

There is no nub on the newer clamp screws.  Instead, there is a flat milled on opposing sides of the clamp screw and the washer's hole has two flats that match the flats of the screw.  There are two tabs on the washer that fit into recesses in the head casting and that is the mechanism that keeps the clamp screw from turning in its hole.

A flat milled on the clamp screw (the washer is in place, but isn't easily seen in this pic)

A tab on the washer up into its recess

So the clamp screw can go into the head two ways.  There is no nub to require it to fit only one way.  I hope this clarifies the way these squares clamp the rule and that it helps someone who is up against the same issues.

Yesterday I planed the stock for the upcoming cherry cupboard. I made a prototype out of pine to work out the dimensions and any kinks. About the only thing that will be different with the cherry cupboard are the dimensions. The cherry one will be deeper (9"), higher (~24"), and wider (~19-20"). What is still up in the air is the overall size of the door opening and the drawers (there will be two of them). Making this cherry cupboard will the be second big project I have made with a hardwood. The first one was a cherry clock I made about 45 years ago.

Wasted my AM time running around to four Wally Worlds trying to find Starbucks decaf coffee K cups. I found no joy and all four were dry. Plenty of other Starbucks K cups just not what I wanted. After I got home I went on the Wally World website and found the decaf K cups on sale for $6 down from $15. I ordered 6 of them and they are supposed to come in today. When these come in I plan to buy 6 more if they are still available. As of this typing it still hasn't arrived.

good sign

All but one of these are looking dead flat and straight. One long board has a small bow in it. Nothing major and I'm sure that after it is married up the bow will disappear.

selecting parts

I plan on using this one for the two drawer fronts. I happen to like sapwood streaks and I will leave it. The second part of this is whether to put the sapwood on the bottom of the drawers or on the top. 

cherry is drop dead gorgeous

This is going to be the top or bottom of the carcass. The sides which are much more visible than this are straight grained with smaller cathedrals.

the luck of the draw

These two boards were one board 4 days ago. It amazes me how much the grain can change in such a short distance. This board was roughly 4' long.

carcass parts

I ran the Stanley #80 over all the faces on these boards. There were a bazillion ridges left on them from the chipped blades on the lunchbox planer. I find these to be annoying to feel as I work on the boards. 

carcass labeled

I have the four parts sized to width which ended up being 9 1/16". The height will be about 23 1/2" (not carved in stone yet). The width I haven't decided on yet. If I maximize the width it would be close to 20". That doesn't look balanced in my minds eye. I will probably knock that down to 17-18". I want a rectangular carcass and not a square. Both of these measurements are the outside dimensions.

sweet planing

This cherry is a dream to plane. Even where the grain gets squirrely it planes ok. It tears out but not as bad as other hardwoods I've worked on. Using the #3 to smooth out the planer snipe on all the boards I planed yesterday.

thinking out loud

Eyeballing this as a potential treatment for the cupboard. Instead of 2 or 2 1/2 inch wide flat molding on the top and bottom, attach a full width top/bottom with a 1" overhang on 3 sides.

not a problem

Usually cathedrals this large would result in a ton of torn out grain in other woods. Instead I just generated a pile of fluffy shavings.

hmm.....

Making my first change. The far board on the right was going to be the top for the cupboard. The right board laying flat on the bench is the top. I'm switching the board on the left to be the top now. That will make the top/bottom a better match for color and grain. I will use the discarded board for rails/stiles for the door.

fingers crossed

I found some springs on McMaster that were a dead on match for the springs in the complete quick grip. They are corrosion resistance and I'm not sure about the compression specs and differences, if any, between what were the OEM springs and what I'm getting. 5 of them cost less than $17 so fingers crossed that they will work.

the top/bottom

This won't be readily visible but if someone anal like me looks they will find that they match pretty good for grain and color.

the sides

There are some cathedrals but they are tighter and smaller than the ones on the top and bottom. I wouldn't like the top/bottom being on the sides - that would feel like they were shouting at me.

hmm......

I thought this board was 20" but it ain't. This will dictate the overall size of the width of the cupboard. Less than 17" but more than 16".

forgot it big time

I need two more parts for the cupboard. I need one fixed and one adjustable shelf. I will mull over whether or not to thickness them by hand or use the lunchbox planer. I think that will depend upon the weather. 

Today was another nice day here in my part of the universe. It is November 1st and the mercury topped out at 81F (27C). Tomorrow is supposed to be partly cloudy and 20 degrees lower F. Still not a bad day for november 2nd. FYI the clocks {P_)@%&*)(#^)(#_))_)@$$@&^ spring ahead fall back on sunday.

I got a reply from LAP concerning replacement hammer handles for the Exeter Hammer. She said that currently that don't offer that option but they are working on it. I got a reply last saturday but I kept forgetting to post it on the blog.

accidental woodworker

 My CPAP appointment went well. According to the tech I'm at a 100% and my next appointment is in a year. I found that I wasn't ordering my replacement supplies at the correct times. I thought I ordered everything twice a year. That is wrong. The nose thing is monthly, and the hose and head strap is on a 3 month cycle. I used everything for 6 months. Good to know and I'll get on the band wagon. My first time ordering will be in march of 2025 - the clinic ordered me up to that point. 

I have noticed a difference in my sleep cycle and not getting so tired during the day. A nice benefit is I rarely get up more than twice a night now for the toilet trot races. Even though my events (how many times I stop breathing) are averaging less than 2, I will have to be tethered to a CPAP machine until I take the eternal dirt nap.

going bye bye

The front one I made 3/2016 and the back one 9/2023. Sized just right to hold CDs/DVDs/or books. I offered them to my wife to give away as xmas presents and if she says nay Kam gets them. But with her I'll just leave them with her.

back from the VA

I got home early because the tech took me 15 minutes early. This is where I started my faffing about. The first part was rummaging in my parts bins for bolts, washers, and nuts. Started with these two - I only planned to use two bolts to hold the planer. These didn't make the cut. This was also the start of a bazillion trips to the shop and back to the driveway. I opted for this in lieu of taking my post lunch stroll. I should have walked, it would have been less of a workout.

After this I made a road trip to ACE to buy some 3 1/2" bolts but they didn't have any in that size. They went from 3" to 4" but this worked in my favor because I changed lanes on how and what to use to bolt the planer down. I did buy two 4" bolts with the idea of hack sawing them to required length.

beautiful day

I drilled two holes for bolts with one of them about 3/8" inside one of the mitered corner blocks. It felt like summer again with sunny skies with fluffy clouds with the mercury topped out at 78F (26C). Almost didn't want to do this it was so nice.

more than long enough

Getting the bolt in place where it was inside of the mitered corner block wasn't that bad. I chiseled it just enough to get  bolt head clearance. This one would have been a PITA to engage and use. The other one was clear of its block but only by 1/8". 

3rd change

I had washers for the big bolt (3/8-16) the pic above this one but no nuts. I emptied both of bolt bins on the workbench and nada. Found two complete sets (5/16-18) with wing nuts - they would make it easier to install and remove.

before I got to change 4

I made these two 3 years ago (eastern white pine) and I just used dark briwax on them. They look and feel pretty darn good after all this time. They have been occupying space in the shop since then and I'm impressed with how the finish has faired. The splotches on the boxes are glue - I didn't go nutso cleaning them up. These were made as an experiment to test out this wax finish. It passed with flying colors.

changed again

While moving the above boxes I saw these T-nuts. I changed lanes and decided to install these. Less heartaches and easier to put in and take out the bolts from the top to hold the planer to the table.

done

I first tried to put the T-nuts on the underside of the top but that didn't work. I bent the prongs on the one that was partially into the block. I mangled that one and I had to shit can it. I put them on the top knowing that may be pulled out as I screwed down the bolts. I thought that maybe the prongs in the T-nuts would resist and hold against the bolts screwing down. I was wrong but they did hold sufficiently to get all the cherry planed to a frog hair more than 27/64.

I forgot this one

Brought the first load of freshly planed cherry to the shop and saw that I had missed this one. I checked it for twist and planed a reference face. Ran it through the planer down 13/16" - I see this as a lid for a box. I'll fill in the bark inclusion with black epoxy.

pulled them up slightly

This isn't bad looking but nonetheless it is unacceptable. My first thought was to epoxy them in place but I don't have any. I didn't feel like making another road trip to Wally World or ACE so I improvised.

this should work

A part of underneath the head of the two screws capture part of the T-nut. That should keep the T-nut from being pulled upwards when the bolt is screwed into it. If these (sheet metal) screws get up lifted I'll use larger ones. I think they will be up to the task as long as I don't go Cro Magnon on them.

time to fix this

I have two of these 36" quick grips but this one is missing the springs. Without them I can't even use this as paper weight. Time to take the working one apart and measure the two springs and try and find replacements.

both the same

One of them is compressed a wee bit more. I think that is because it was the top one and it is almost fully compressed constantly. The bottom one is only partially compressed and is fully compressed only when the lever is pulled towards the handle. I'll try McMaster Carr and see what they have for springs. Hopefully this is a common size.

Yikes

While I was putting the working clamp back together the lever slipped and both springs went airborne. I found one about 10 minutes later and I had given up on finding the other one. I had only caught sight of where one of them may have disappeared to. But I got extremely lucky and found the second one while sweeping the deck. I wrote the measurements on a scrap of wood and promptly misplaced it. I don't know how I can lose things in nanoseconds and spend hours trying to find it without any luck.

roll pin

This keeps the handle from disengaging entirely from the bar. You can switch the handle 180 and use the clamp as a spreader. The non working clamp was used that way and it doesn't have its roll pin anymore.

last fix?

This is the hanging rail for this cupboard. I just glued it and that would probably be ok but I wasn't getting a warm and fuzzy with it. Took it back to the shop for what I hope is the last fix for this cupboard.

black oxide oval head screws

Two #8-1 1/2" screws will do the trick. 

hoping she says no

I had this by my desk for the past few days and it has grown on me. At first I didn't like the drawers - the height and the handles - gnawed at me. Now after a few days I'm liking this a lot. I have had time to eyeball it up close and far away. The olive tree tile is a perfect backdrop against the cupboard. Everything IMO compliments each other and nothing seems to fight anything else. 

stickered

I am going to let this cherry relax until tomorrow. I don't have any idea what the moisture content of it is. It hasn't moved or done any stupid tricks since I brought it home. Nothing moved after I partially flattened it last week. I'm feeling good that this cherry is at least acclimated to the workshop. 

Let the weather change to rain (forecasted for friday) now because I don't care. I stowed the planer table (not a cart anymore) in the garden shed. I don't use the lunchbox planer that much and the boneyard is getting close to full mark again. Doing a clean up in the boneyard has moved to the top of the shop to do list again.

accidental woodworker

In early August I posted about finding some tools at a garage sale.  These tools were incredibly dirty and grungy.  Finally I've had a chance to clean them up.  The first up was a small pair of Stanley 84-120 needle nose pliers (made in Japan).  All they needed was some Simple Green, a brass brush and a little sanding.  These cleaned up beautifully and are already proving quite useful.

As found

Cleaned up

Next was a C. E. Jennings & Co. #10 auger bit, 11/16" diameter.  I used the rust remover that I posted about a few weeks ago and it came out great.  A wire wheel in a drill cleaned it up nicely.  It's now sharp and the spurs and cutting lips are in good shape.  And a bonus - this was one of the sizes missing from a set of bits I found at another sale recently.

As found

Cleaned up and sharpened

Next was the Stanley #51 spokeshave.  This needed a little more work.  After de-rusting the parts, I flattened the sole.  A wire wheel in a drill helped to make the other parts shiny and presentable.

As found

The sole was far from flat before this

Cleaned up

I've not used a #51 before, but I found the adjustment of the iron to be less of a problem than I thought it might be.  I advance it with a hammer, and if I need to retract the iron, I've got to loosen the lever cap and pull it back manually.  But it seems to hold it's position fine.  I had thought it might shift left or right in use.  I'll judge later how it performs in the long run.

Next up is the Stanley #5, WWII era.  I think this is a type 17 because it has the hard rubber depth adjuster knob and black (or very dark) painted/lacquered hardwood (not rosewood) tote and front knob.  It was disgustingly dirty, but cleaned up pretty easily with Simple Green and a toothbrush and brass wire brush.  The iron and some screws needed some de-rusting as well.

Stanley #5, type 17 from WWII era. It's got the hard rubber depth adjuster and an inappropriate tote toe screw.

The iron says "VICTORY" and "MADE IN USA

Filthy, disgusting! (said with a French accent, from some childhood cartoon)

Starting to flatten the sole - this needed a lot of work

Good enough

The VICTORY iron de-rusted and cleaned up

I scraped off the old paint/finish from the tote and knob, then added some "Dark Walnut" stain and about 5 coats of shellac, sanding between coats.  Then I removed the sheen with some 0000 steel wool and waxed them.  They look and feel great.

Almost finished

In the picture above, I had borrowed a tote toe screw from another plane.  But since then I made one from a 1/4-20 bolt.  I'll post about that separately.

It took a few tries to set the frog properly for a thin shaving, but once I got it, the shavings felt great.  I think this has potential to be a great user plane.

Finally, there's the Starrett combination square with all three heads.  This was also incredibly dirty and needed a fair bit of work to clean up.

Starrett combo square with all three heads - what a find!!

First up was cleaning with Simple Green

The blade and blade-locking hardware were then soaked in rust remover and then cleaned with a wire wheel.  The protractor head had its scale wire-wheeled and the flat surfaces were rubbed briefly on sharpening stones and lightly sanded.  On all three heads, I used a tip from Alfred, who commented on my earlier post about these garage sale tools.  He said to make sure to clean out the slot for the rule, especially the grooves on each side of the raised ribs on which the rule sits.  I used some cardboard, sliding back and forth until all was clean.

Here's the protractor head looking a lot better

All parts cleaned up

The blade looking much better

Unfortunately, there are three issues with this set.  First, the blade locks firmly into place in the centering head, but it will not lock into the protractor head or combination head.  It seems the small crimp on the clamp screw is slightly off of where it should be.  I've got to look into this some more to figure out what to do about it.  It's possible that the clamp screws were made for a blade of greater width.

Here's one of those clamp screws.  The little crimped nub is on the left side near the middle.  It keeps the screw from going  too far down its hole and from rotating in the hole.

Second, the protractor head has a tiny screw that locks the rotation at the angle you want.  This screw has had half of it's head broken off.

That little screw goes in the hole I'm pointing to and the screw head locks the round part

Here's a close-up shot of that screw missing half its head

The thread is something like a #3-56 or something near that size.  It's tough to count the threads on something that small.  I'll take it to my local hardware store and see if they have a thread gauge that small.

And third, the scribe could not be held in place in the 90 / 45 degree head.  I think the grime is the only thing that held it in place all those years.  After I cleaned it up, the scribe was free to fall right out.  But thanks to a Bob Rozaieski video that addressed this exact problem, I was able to fix it.

Back end of the 45/90 head.  See the brass bushing in the scriber hole?

I got it out with a bent paper clip and pliers

Those fingers on the brass bushing should be bent inwards to provide a tight grip on the scribe

This was a great fix.  So glad to have found that video.

All-in-all, great finds at a garage sale for little money.  I'm very happy about how easily they cleaned up.  And they all should become user tools.

 I didn't get a lot done today except for finishing the final prep on the cherry boards. It took me five hours to get one face flat, straight, and twist free. I need a reference face before I feed the lunchbox planer. I did get a check mark in the done column with a couple other things. Tomorrow's shop time is going to be restricted too. I have CPAP appointment and I have to go to express care too. I think my first finger on my right hand is infected.

do I need this?

I went over my pile of cherry assigning each one to a part needed for the cherry cupboard and I have more than enough. However, I don't have a warm and fuzzy about the rails and stiles for the door - there is just enough for the door but nothing to pick and choose from. I'll flatten this board just for the stiles/rails and if I don't need it I'll use it for the top and bottom moldings.

one down, 3 to go

I sawed the board into 22" lengths. That is oversized but it has lots of wiggle room because I haven't made the carcass yet.

too long

This board has a funny twist profile to. While I would rather plane this (through the lunchbox planer) as one long board I am going to saw it into two parts. This board is one half of the carcass - one long side and either a top or bottom. It was a lot easier planing the twist out of two boards rather than one long one.

pretty board

This is going to be left natural. So when I sawed this board in half I had to pick a spot for the crosscut. I got lucky that this one didn't have a start and stop cathedral gain pattern end to end. 

99%

If I wasn't running through the lunchbox I would expend the calories to get the final 1% on this face. This face will be run through the lunchbox too so it isn't necessary to get the final 1% with handplanes.

almost five hours

I wasn't expecting this to take me this long. But I had to start from square one with all the stock I had done a couple of days ago. That was because I had only scrubbed planed one surface. Today I followed that up again using the #6, the #4 and the #7 smoothing the face and getting it flat and twist free.

Maybe it is a good thing I won't have much shop time on thursday. It will give this pile of cherry a chance to do any stupid wood tricks it wants to spring on me. I stickered it on the workbench after I cleared it.

these are done

I am going to give these to my sister Kam along with some other things from the boneyard. It is hard to believe that these are already 2 years old. One of the CD/DVD/book stands I'm giving her is over 8 years old. A second one of these going her way I made last year but I don't remember making it. 

1/8" bead

This is not as bad as I thought it would be. There is a thin web but it looks to be sufficient. It didn't break or split while I ran it and tried joining it to its tongue board.

3/16"

This one is even better. There is more meat as the web is thicker. I had to satisfy my curiosity with the beading. Yesterday I just looked at it and guess-ta-mated how it would look.

1/8" bead

This looks like it is buried. It would be look better if the bead was done on the tongue board.

3 1/6" bead

The scale of this bead looks better. The profile doesn't look like it is buried in a groove. I didn't bother checking the 1/4" bead.

looks off to my eye

The bead needs some kind of a separation between it and the next board. This kind of does that but IMO it isn't the right look.

Beading plane

I jumped the rabbet with the LN beading plane and messed up this end of the bead. I still haven't used this plane to make beads or reeds or a project. It is a fussy plane to use (at least for me) and my results have always included a hiccup like this.

like it here

I don't know the size of this bead but I like it. I ran it on the tongue board and it looks good. The bead should be on the tongue board and the space or other edge treatment on the groove board. Before I can do that I have to master the No 66 beading plane.

why I bought this plane

One of the included scratch irons was this one. It has 1/8" on one end and a 1/4" on the other. I got it to make/clean up stopped 1/8" and 1/4" dadoes. I used it once for that purpose and got mixed results. My biggest problem was keeping the fence up against the stock while I used the either scratch iron. The adjustable fence didn't cooperate and slipped and moved on me a bazillion times. Another plane I am having difficulties getting to know its personality and quirks.

about an inch

Most of the boards are one inch and none is less than that. 3-4 measured out at 1 1/16" and one at 1 1/8". I hope to have good weather thursday afternoon to run this pile through the lunchbox planer.

accidental woodworker

 Yesterday and today was supposed to be partly cloudy. Instead of that monday was sunny and today Mr Sun said hello until lunch time. I based my shop time on the weather and my plans for doing some outdoor work didn't get done. Rain is still a 25% chance on friday and I'm hoping to get the cherry planed before than. On the brighter side the planer table is ready for duty.

arris

Cutting off the rounded edges left them razor sharp. I also find that this white wood studs tend to splinter on the edge like crazy. I planed all of them and then went back over with them with a 120 grit sanding block.

who knew?

I have seen others use a ryobi saw to flush cut things but I have never tried it until today. Worked sweet and I am going with it off the saw. 

the worse one

It is maybe a frog hair off both in being square and proud. Acceptable for a shop project.

30 minutes later

Against the back wall are four half sheets of 1/2" plywood. I had to clear a path to it and I didn't need any of them. There was a smaller piece of 1/2" that I used at the front of the pile.

factory edge

Got lucky that this corner is dead square. It didn't have the snot beat out of it so I can use it to layout/saw the other 3 sides. I was going to overlay the 1/2" on the top, screw it down, and then use a router and a flush trim bit. Instead I was able to cut it to fit within a couple of frog hairs 360.

done

I don't anticipate putting a finish on this, be it poly or paint. I'm also waffling about putting a bottom shelf on it. Because this is meant to be portable, I don't need to go postal removing crappola from the bottom shelf first. I may put one on it if I see any problems with the botched bottom leg joint. I planed a chamfer on the plywood edges and then sanded it round with a 80 grit sanding block. This 1/2" plywood is a splinter monster on the edges.

It is just shy of 36" high here about 27" R/L and 17" deep which is bigger than the footprint of the planer. It is stable too and didn't go into tippy mode when I bumped it in several places. I will be bolting the planer to the top whenever I use it. The planer will dance on it own and I have had one planer play the bounce test with the ground.

fixed?

 I made this cupboard to hang on a wall (one of six). With that said the door bottom extended past the bottom by a 8th. The one I gave to my sister doesn't hang on a wall but sits on a table. Her husband cut the door down.

I also didn't put a back on any of the 6 cupboards I made. Again, they were meant to be hung on a wall thus negating the need for a back. I can't put a back on them now that would look good IMO so I'm cutting the door down in case whoever gets this puts it on a table.

french cleat

My brother in law was clueless as to what this was. I got complete silence after explaining what it was and how to install it. I'll include instructions with this to whoever gets it.

hmm.....

Was not expecting this at all. It is the bottom and probably won't be seen but I plugged them before applying shellac to bottom.

marking it

I had to cut this twice. The first time the door was rubbing on the table as I opened/closed the door. I sawed off another 16th to eliminate said headache.

the 2n cupboard

No surprises sawing a wee bit off this door. 

one down, one to go

I was able to use the leftover from plugging the left one to do the right hole.

hiccup fixed

Got five coats on it and brought it back upstairs. Still nothing from my wife if she wants it for a xmas gift. 

old favorite on the left, new one on the right

Pics tell the story Frank. The difference between the length of the two handles is less than 2". The new hammer does feel different holding and using it. It is not a deal killer and the balance feels better with the new hammer vice the old one.

side by side

The left one is a Craftsman hammer that I got while I was stationed in Norfolk VA. I don't know who made them for Sears but I got while they were still 'Sears' and had a good reputation.

The weight of the Craftsman is 8oz and LAP states their weighs in at 9.5oz. I couldn't sense any difference in the two. Another thing I like about the new hammer is the handle. It is short but it is octagonal. That helps with the grip. The Craftsman handle is skinnier and there isn't a large flare out at the end of any kind. I don't like claw hammers and all of my other ones have the rip head too.

came today

I emptied out my savings for buying wood and bought this - Lie Nielsen No 48 tongue and groove plane. I want to start putting solid wood backs on my furniture projects and this will help me there. I've had my eye on getting one for a long time and rewarded myself with it. Undecided about getting the N. 48 and it was in stock.

first tongue and groove

A little awkward using it at first. I'm sure with more time together I'll get better. The plane bottoms out and I was under the impression that it would plane forever.

crappy

The groove isn't deep enough and the tongue isn't square. The faces aren't flush and there is a slight cupping between the two. On a scale of 1-10 this is a -5.

clean cut

I was surprised by how well the plane performed going against the grain. I was set for a heavy cut and the shavings were thick but clean. No tearing out on either side of the tongue. The board is tapered as evidenced by the outside sliver on the right side.

much better

I planed both the tongue and groove until it stopped making shavings. The faces are almost dead flush end to end.  These boards haven't been planed and the two vary a bit in thickness but the reference faces align. The back shows where the two aren't the same thickness though. 

It is going to take some time to get used this plane. All planes have their own personalities you have to get to know them up close and personal. One problem I saw on both was I was high on the far end of the tongue and groove planing. I had/have this same hiccup with my rabbet and molding planes. 

The front knob felt odd for some reason. The plane felt tippy when I gripped it and tried to make shavings. It felt more natural to me to hook my left thumb on the knob base and push the plane. I felt like I better control not only with pushing it but keep it square to the board.

V groove

I would like to have a bead instead of the V groove. I will try out my LN beader and see how that works. None of my beading planes worked on the tongue side - rabbet isn't deep enough. On the groove side the bead would weaken on wall too much.

99.99% done

The driveway doesn't have a flat anywhere along its length. The table is a little wobbly but it is stable. The only problem is the height. This planer weighs over 80lbs (36kilos) and it was a chore lifting it to place it on the top. I was able to do it but it wasn't easy. If it was a few inches shorter it would make it better for me to lift it on to it. Taking it off was not an issue.

the feed side

I pushed the planer with the in feed table and it felt ok. I don't think it getting tippy will be an issue. I will bolt/screw it down to the table top somehow before using it.

losing 5"

I left the legs 2" long and I sawed them with the ryobi. The height will still be at a comfortable height. I don't think I'll have to bend over that much to feed and take wood out of it. Removing the 5" dropped the height down to 29 1/2".

hmmm.....

Critiquing my sawing of the legs. From the front I sawed on the lines (the two on the left) but the back that I couldn't see was off (two on the right). Because of the unevenness of the driveway I don't think the legs unevenness will be a problem. I expected to have better results because I tracked on the layout lines dead on from the front. 

yikes

Horizontal surfaces are a magnet for crappola in my shop. This had only been here for about 10 minutes and it was already collecting crap.

checking for twist

Checked for twist and planed a reference face on each of these. After doing that it looks like I took over an 1/8" off on some of them. This is mostly 5/4 (1 1/8" actual) cherry that I want to thickness to 7/8". So far it is looking like that will doable.

I have 3 more boards to go through. Two for the carcass and one for the stiles and rails for the door.

accidental woodworker

This project shuffled to the front of the line because I had all the pieces and it seemed simple. It is a small table without drawers or stretchers or a lower shelf. Just four legs, aprons, and a top.

drawings

I previously made some legs about 30″ long from 7/4 stock. Later I bought a nice piece of cherry about 8 1/2″ x 72″ for the top.

stock to work with

Crosscutting the piece in half would allow a top about 17 x 36″. Seventeen inches was too wide for my needs, so I decided to rip 2 1/2″ from each long side. The top would end up around 12″ wide/deep and the offcuts would make three of the four aprons.

crosscut in half

two halves look nice but are too wide

12″ top and 2 1/2″ pieces for aprons

After the two top pieces were cut to size I flipped and rearranged the two boards to try to find a pleasing orientation. Then I jointed the long edges and glued them.

small step at glue line

This picture is trying to show the glue joint is not flush. On a good day with well behaved wood that is a problem for me to flatten. For figured wood like this I imagine it will be a real pain. My plan is to scrape it, even if it takes a long time.

I wanted the front edge of the tabletop to have a slight curve. I made a bow out of a thin strip of pine and some twine and used it to trace a curve. I cut the curve on the bandsaw and cleaned the edges with a handplane.

bow to trace curve onto wood

cut close on bandsaw

clean up with hand plane

The four legs I had ripped by hand. They are tapered on one face. I picked which of the remaining faces to taper, making two square sides and two tapered. These were cut on the bandsaw and cleaned with handplanes.

targets to plane toward

workholding for planing legs

planed vs bandsawn surface

The way I initially cut these legs, they tapered all the way up. I had to square up the top 3″ so they would be square where they meet the aprons.

top end marked for squaring up

With the legs shaped, I placed them on the underside of the tabletop to determine how long the aprons would be. I used a square to set the legs 1 1/2″ in from the sides and 1″ from the front and back. With the legs in position I could mark the leg-to-leg lengths of the aprons exactly.

planning leg locations

Next I will make the aprons and the apron-leg assembly.

sunday night after dinner

I came back to the shop to put a coat of shellac on the prototype cupboard. Before I killed the lights I sawed the half laps for the last two short top aprons. All that were left were the 4 long ones.

3 splits/cracks

You never know with this white wood stud material. Got two splits/splinters cleaning out the half lap and one on the outside. Glued and cooking first thing in the AM.

easy to confuse me

Another gotcha from sawing the half lap and notches on the wrong face. This one is bad because it weakens the leg at this junction of aprons and leg. I glued a piece in with a snug fit and I'm hoping for the best.

layout

The last four aprons to saw the half lap out. No surprises, headaches, or me-steaks with any of the sawing.

sub assemblies first

The idea was to glue up the two long sides first and let the glue set up. Then attach the 4 short aprons. 

wonky already

All of the half laps have some proud/short issues due to the wood cupping/bowing/ and doing stupid wood tricks. Nothing major and as long as I get it together today it should stay together. I didn't to flush any discrepancies as long as they don't interfere with the joinery.

not much meat

This is where the short apron will go and it will only have 3/4" to glue and screw to. To extend that I am going to do a 45 miter on the aprons at the bottom. I don't have this issue with the top aprons.

top short aprons

There is no notch for the top aprons to sit in. The half lap is 1 1/2" too long. It won't matter too much as these aprons will still be almost 24" long on the outside dimensions.

dry fit

notch filler

The fit R/L is snug but the thickness is a wee bit off at the top and bottom on the right side. There was a slight hump in it that planed and the gaps disappeared after that. I did go a little anal fitting this because of where it is and how much it effects the overall integrity and strength of this leg/apron junction.

I glued up this one sub assembly and set it aside to dry. I then braved the Rte 10 and Olneyville traffic to go to the VA. My right eye has been tearing excessively for over a week. In the morning when I wake up it almost glued shut and during day I have to fight myself not to rub it constantly. I waited this long because I don't want to come across as a whiny old man who bitches and complains about ache, pain, and change to them. Turns out I have an infected peeper. 7 days on eye drops and if it doesn't work I have to go to the eye clinic next.

over length miters

Back from the VA and after lunch I roughed sawed the miters and I impressed myself. I only had one of the eight I wandered off the layout line. Not important because I shot the 45 on the shooting board. On the other hand my sawing has improved with 45s but I still have a ways to go with them.

shot the miter

Miters are like sharpening a tool. You don't want any reflected light at the end of the toe. With a 45 you want the same thing - no flat at the toe - just plane until it gets pointy.

too long

I knew that going into this. I purposely shot the miter a 1/8" too long so I could sneak up on a tight fit. The width of the apron is snug and I wanted a gapless toe joint .

blurry pic of a gap

The miter toes are closed up but the shoulder of half lap is a 16th above the face of the leg. I had to shoot some more off the miter.

about 3 frog hairs

The mating shoulder is a shade over 3/4". I planed it until I had it between the 3/4" and 13/16" lines on the rule.

tight to the leg

The shoulder is sitting flush and tight on the face of the leg. The outside face of the apron is flush with the edge of the leg. Promising so far.

happy with this

The toes are closed shut and the apron is square to the face of the leg on the inside. 

minor headache

Didn't think the top aprons all the way through to the end. No biggie, I will glue and screw it to the outside edge of the legs. I marked them for the length and added an 1/8" for fitting.

this is a dovetail saw

I bought this because Tage Frid recommended (in 1984-ish?) this saw for dovetails. I used it once for that purpose and since then I have used it as a flush cutting saw. You can swing the blade to either right or left - pretty handy. Got a workout today sawing the notch filler off.

yikes

It ain't supposed to look like this. This is only a shop project but even this is unacceptable IMO. I didn't check nor did I clamp this when I did the glue up.

Mr Lumpy too the rescue

I had applied glue to both faces of this joint but they didn't mate so I took a chance that I could beat the snot out of it and seat it. I got it closed up a lot but not 100%.

the Wetzler brothers

These clamps could clamp the Grand Canyon shut. I was able to close it shut with hand pressure. I was prepared to use pliers to turn the screws on them. Got lucky and dodged the bullet here.

I like this hammer

For the past bazillion years I have used a 8oz rip hammer. I haven't found any need to use a 16oz or heavier hammer in the shop. I was a bit skeptical about the short handle length on this but it didn't matter. I nailed all the toes with 5 nails using this hammer. The balance is better then 8oz rip I have been using. No headaches driving the nails. I'm impressed with this hammer and all that is left is for me to use the peen end to start some brads.

corner braces

I sawed these on the bandsaw and I was surprised by how well they fit off the saw. I was also mildly surprised by how close to square the corners of the cart were. Made installing these easy peasy.

I'll take it

I couldn't leave this alone and I flushed where the apron was proud by the bottom heel. That threw off the fit a bit. Planing this on the shooting board wasn't working too well so I sanded the high spots with the 80 grit sanding block.

last four

These were for the bottom. I made these an inch longer than the top ones because of the screwed up half lap/notch joint. In hindsight maybe I should have made them smaller. I guess I'll find out whether I'm right or wrong on that.

done

I didn't get this done today because I lost a couple of hours going to the VA. I should be putting a check mark in the done column tomorrow barring a nuclear blast going off close by.

tomorrow

I will saw off what I can and than flush it with a plane in the AM. After that I can dig out the plywood for the top and the bottom shelf.

not too heavy

I'm satisfied with this and it should do what I expect from it - hold the lunchbox planer at a comfortable height and not fall off. I don't think I will have any problems keeping this in the boneyard and transporting it up/down from the driveway.

accidental woodworker

Started day seven by going on a road trip to Lowes. I bought eight 2x4s for $32 which is less than half of what it was the last time I checked the price. I bought spruce (white wood) because they were cheaper than doug fir studs. I only needed 4 but you never how this wood will react once you start sawing it up. I'm sure that I can use the left overs for something else.

oops

I forgot to remove these spax screws and replace them with black oxide oval head screws. I also forgot to replace them on the bottom too.

ready to go

I broke the 2x4s down in the driveway. I sawed all the lengths 2" longer than needed. I am just winging this design. All I want from it is to hold the lunchbox planer stationary while I use it. So the only important things to tic off are the height and the size of the top.

ready for step two

I changed my mind on how I was going to make this. Instead of just gluing/screwing the aprons to the legs I decided to get fancy. Half laps all around secured with glue/screws.

extras

I plan on using these off cuts for mitered blocking at the corners and for checking set ups.

only one at the bottom

I missed the boat on this one big time. I had enough screws to do it and I ordered more from Blacksmith bolt.

final stock prep

Used the tablesaw to square the ends and saw them to final length. I also sawed the rounded edges off - ended up a 3" wide.

half lapping

Used the bandsaw to make the half laps on the tops of the legs and both ends of the aprons.

sigh

Got confused on the positions of the half lapsnotches. One is on the face and a 3/4" deep notch on the edges. Screwed up the side where the 3/4" notch was supposed to be. Luckily I survived this and only brain farted on one.

bit of a gap, eh?

The half lap fits snug so I have that going for me. I will epoxy in a filler on the back notch.

small gap on the right

I want this to be as snug as I can possibly make it. The second one I made is snug R/L but I have to thin the width a wee bit. That will happen when glue up time rolls around.

lifesaver

I double, triple checked myself before I made any saw cuts or chiseling. I wanted to make sure that I didn't have a brain fart and ruin it again. Had plenty of stock if I did but I was shooting for not doing that.

cleaning up

The half lap at the top came out clean and didn't need a lot of attention. The half lap and notch at the bottom I removed the majority of the waste with a 2" chisel and smoothed it with the rabbeting blockplane.

big LN tenon saw

None of my carcass saws (2 1/4") had enough saw plate to reach the bottom of the half lap. The LN (4 1/4") doesn't get used much but today it shined. This saw is no longer made by LN.

two down, 6 to go

I really thought that I would at least get the structure together today. I could have done that if I hadn't go down the fancy joinery avenue. This will not only be a stronger table, it will also look nicer.

did one more

I was surprised that the clock said it was past 1500. I hadn't intended to spend the day in the shop. I wanted to do this one last half lap before killing the lights.

for tomorrow

I should be able to knock this out tomorrow and maybe plane the cherry on tuesday. The weather has been sunny all last week so now that I want to use the lunchbox planer the weather will go down the toilet.

accidental woodworker

PS - weather forecast is partly cloudy all week with rain for friday.

 The actual pics to ooh and aah over it come later. I had to work on my laptop and the shop computer. Minor problems that involved rooting around and a bazillion clicks to fix. The good news is I think I'm done playing computer tech with both of them.

fixed

The battery life on this computer sucks pond scum. I worked on getting it back online last night and that took about 20 minutes. My battery life went from 4+ hours at the start to 28 minutes when I was done fixing it. 

Still clueless as to how this problem jumped up and slapped me up side my head. The first problem was I was off line? How? I bumped the laptop and moved it and that is when it went south. The second problem was the screen was too dark. Another who or what did it.

before moving time

The big shop computer is moving here but before I can do that I have to run a plug here for it. For now the plan is to move all this crappola from here to the sharpening bench when that move happens.

rock solid

The tile is firmly secured and it ain't going no where.

not sure

I didn't think I had to remove the beading here but I did. There was no going back after I removed it where the latch was. Besides if I positioned the latch flush with the edge the two screws on the right would not have had sufficient meat to screw into.

first glamour pic

My opinion is changing on the drawers. With the cupboard complete they don't look out of place. My wife really liked this. The gas meter guy went gaga over the dovetails I did on it (two days ago before it was finished). Turned out that he is a woodworker too and we got to shoot the woodworking breeze for a while.

kitchen cabinet ?

This will be a good general purpose catch all for someone hopefully. I offered it to my wife to give as a xmas present for her sister or her best friend Margret. If not one of my sisters will get it.

right side same as the left side

back

It would have made for a stiffer, less prone to racking, if the back also extended to the bottom. But this was the largest piece of plywood I had and it doesn't matter that the drawers are open at the back. This will be against a wall and they won't be seen.

on line is working

Wish I knew what caused these two headaches. Fixing the brightness was PITA. I had to slog through a bazillion pages before I fixed it. Ended up I had to do it through windows. Trying to brighten it with the laptop wasn't working.

wifi keyboard

The keys on the laptop don't always work not matter how hard you depress or swear and threaten it. The FN key on the wifi wasn't working in conjunction with the up/down keys to brighten the screen. I eventually did it through windows.

Wood magazine USB stick

All the Linux computers I have will display this but none will open it. I had emailed Wood magazine about a Linux compatible USB stick but I never got a reply.

nice touch

Wood magazine sent me a wooden USB stick. The windows laptop opened it and I was able to surf to my hearts content. As far as I know, Wood doesn't offer an update USB (this is 5 years old) but it has been long while since I checked on that. So I went 0 for 5 on Linux reading this stick.

done

Wiped it down with Feed 'n Wax and it made the lid slide in/out in a slippery manner. Almost too easy opening and closing it now.

at a crossroad

Got all the bandings on and I noticed that I had some tear out from planing said bandings. Two of them are on the front and one on the left side. I tried to sand/feather them out but that failed. They are better but once the finish goes on they will pop. 

Got the hinges installed with only two screws for each. I just wanted to check the alignment and the open/shut operation. Those were spot on and I think the hinges will be strong enough for this box. Of course if Magilla the Gorilla goes caveman it will fail. I will take the hinges off to sand the box some more and apply the shellac finish.

back to the shop

While looking at this upstairs I noticed the finish on the frame looked like crap. (BTW I am not a good finisher or finish applier.) I sanded and scraped the finish off just the top of the frame. It looks better now sanded and freshly scraped. One coat on now and maybe more before I hit the rack tonight.

what caught my eye

This is better now but still not perfect. The roughness of this area caught a bunch of steel wool fibers and there were streaks of black here. I couldn't remove all the roughness and I wasn't going to make a third frame.

5/4 cherry

First run is go across the board at a 90 L to R. I start with the side with the hump facing up.

second run

Going diagonally L to R at an angle.

3rd run

Go from R to L at the opposite angle of run #2. What I look for when doing this is if I am getting a continuous shaving from one edge to the other. The fourth one is going across at 90.

twisted

Step five is to check it for twist. It took 30 minutes to get the twist out of this side - I didn't plane the opposite face. I had to plane the twist in halves. If the board was any longer than this I would have done it in 3rds.

see sawed a wee bit

From the far end to the middle initially was ok. Removing the twist from the middle to the near end made the middle to the far end wonky again. Finally got it after a couple of plane and checks.

second board

Had some twist but not as much as the first one. I removing it in this board doing the half thing again. It didn't make me see saw between the halves.

pretty wood

I didn't go nutso flattening and smoothing out either board. It just has to be flat and twist free to go through the lunchbox planer. I will evaluate these two and the other boards about planing them to thickness tomorrow.

I need a table/cart/thing to hold my planer in the driveway. I think the first thing on the hit parade tomorrow will be a run to Lowes to get some 2x4s to make a table/cart/thing for the planer. I have some 1/2" plywood left over from the roofing job I can double up for the top and a bottom shelf.

accidental woodworker

I am not saying this lightly and I fully expect to be oohing and aahing over this cupboard tomorrow (today when you are reading this dribble). All that is left to do is to screw on the left hinge leaves and install the snap catch. I don't anticipate any problems which would include any brain farts or me-steaks on my part. 

Other than the woodworking I got my feet wet again playing computer technician. I can't believe how much of this I have forgotten. I spent well over an hour looking up methods that immediately came to the front of the brain bucket when I saw the print. The shop computer that went belly up on me at the end of jan 2024 is now usable. I still have some configurations to do yet but the basics are done. Home page is fully set (3 tries), You Tube (2 tries) and Gmail (worked the first time) are working along with the wireless headphones. The rest of it I can do in dribs and dabs as I need them.

only got two last night

I got one on before dinner and another one after dinner. After that I promptly forgot about as I was absorbed with watching Elementary. I got 3 more on today and it is done.

had to try one set

I came to the shop after shoving breakfast into the pie hole. I ended up putting shellac on the frame and gluing on one set of the cherry bandings. Planed the overhang as close as I dared to the plywood sides and sanded them flush with 180 grit. Happy with how they came out. The 45s are decent but they aren't anal retentive tight for my liking but good nonetheless.

the rest of the AM session

Dug this out of the boneyard, cleared the bench were it used to reside, and plugged it in. Same old splash screen that I last remember seeing. But this time I had the magic wand - a USB stick with Linux Mint 22 - to do battle with.

hmmm......

The instructions are simple enough that even I understand them. However, a bazillion tries, two coffee breaks, and 20 minutes later, I still couldn't boot the computer into the BIOS settings.

ta da......

Then I remembered that this computer has a time sequence where it flashes the instructions for entering the BIOS for only 1 sec. Holding down and cycling through the F2 and F12 keys I finally got into to change the boot sequence from the hard drive to the USB key.

almost done

I was able to select wiping the hard drive before loading Mint 22 which I selected. After than it took less the 15 minutes to be up and running. Much quicker and far easier than the Windows OS installs I recall doing.

I'm calling it a senior moment

Being that I'll be punching the birthday clock 70 times this december I'm entitled. I think so, maybe. Anyways I messed up the password for the computer. I must have mistyped it somehow because nada. I tried every combination of double key strikes I could think off and still got denied. I reformatted the hard drive and blew in a 2nd Mint install. I didn't screw up the password on this one.

Got the former shop computer working and the laptop went south on me. For some reason I can't open up my homepage when I first long in. I can't load any internet URL at all - all gave me the finger. You know the one that says '....hmm we can't find that page....'. This is another mystery and I am clueless as to what caused it. I brought it upstairs to play with tonight after dinner. I need this Windows laptop for my Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, and Wood magazine thumb drives. They would not open on any of my Linux computers but I haven't tried to do it on the new Mint 22 computer. 

done

The frame fits tight between the stiles and rails. I had to thump it down flat to the panel with my fist. I put one screw in each of the stiles and rails. That should be more than sufficient for keeping it in place.

glued and cooking

I didn't forget to get a couple of coats of shellac on the latch side of the door where I sanded a slight back bevel. I will give the tile until tomorrow before I install the snap catch and hang it on the cupboard.

top lid bandings

Squeezed in completing the bandings on the box. I am not overly thrilled with the miters but I can live with them. I have seen a lot of furniture, old and new, where the miters weren't tight and gap free. As long as I still see improvement over my last set of miters I'm ok.

one hour later

I could see a teeny bit of movement in the tile when I pushed on it. I don't think I'll have any headaches or crying about this not sticking to the panel. I'll find out for sure in the AM.

accidental woodworker

This is a very different project to the usual. I’m starting something (not quite true I started it in 1977!) and I‘m not 100% sure what the outcome will be. Intriguing eh?

a follow-up to my previous post here. A friend of Drew’s Langsner’s (& mine) was able to get over to NJ and collect those two chairs of his that were for sale. I was glad for the outcome – nice to know the chairs got saved.

I finished up the large strapwork box and posted it for sale on the substack blog – I’ll repeat that here for anyone who might be interested.

PF strapwork box, oak & pine, Oct 2024

If my record-keeping is correct, it’s my 8th box this year…hopefully there’s a few more to come. I’m going to be out of the shop for half of November – so I don’t know how many more boxes I’ll get to. I have ideas for a few, but time might be short.

This is one of the “carved lid” strapwork boxes I’ve been doing now for a couple of years. Inspired by a photo I’ve seen of a strapwork-carved lid on a box in Devon England – but not a copy of that particular box. Nor does it duplicate any box I’ve made, I re-design each one of these. When I’m mapping out the pattern, I work on just 1/4 of it – because it’s designed from the middle left & right & up & down. Here’s 1/4 of the lid – that floral pattern on our bottom right corner is the middle of the lid.

detail lid carving

dimensions are:
H: 8 3/4” W: 24” D: 14 1/2”

Price is $2,400 plus shipping in US. Shipping depends on distance from Massachusetts – ranges between $50-$200. If you would like this box, send me an email at PeterFollansbee7@gmail.com – If someone beats you to it, I can make another – just let me know. I shot way too many photos, here’s some of them…

——-

In the shop, I’m back to some chairmaking now while I process some more oak boards for carved work. In spare time here and there I’ve begun working on some extra sawn oak panels still hanging around, begging to be carved.

carving-in-progress

All that is left is to finish the tile frame and attach the tile. I finished the woodworking on the frame and I just need to get some shellac on it. Once that is done I will be a frog hair from letting go with a lot of oohs and aahs.

not good

The glue on the half laps has set up and the tile doesn't fit. Moot point as I have to make a new frame.

new frame parts

The 2nd frame is 1/8" less in width then the first one. That will give me the wiggle room I need for expansion and contraction.

half laps by hand again

removing the waste

Yesterday I did the same as here but got to depth with a router. Today I did it all with the chisel.

flushing the frame

The rails were slightly proud by about a strong 32nd. That isn't enough so I planed them flush.

before I forgot

Scraped the area where the tile will be glued to the panel. Not sure if the construction adhesive will stick to either the shellac or the oil underneath it.

bigger than I wanted

I have about 3/16" to split top and bottom here. I was shooting for a 1/8".

swung the other way

This gap is the width of two 6" rules. It will have to do but I thought two rules would be an 1/8" thick.

wenge feet

I am adding feet to the fancy box. I got the idea for this from Doug Stowe who has been releasing a lot of You Tube vids lately on box making. 

too tall

I can get two feet out of one set. These are 2 1/2" long and 1 1/8" wide.

separating the lid

Did pretty good on sawing the lid off. I only had a couple wanderings off the line.

it worked

I had taped the inside of the miters before I glued the box up. I usually scrape any glue off but this is plywood. Scraping works but it also produces a ton of tear out. It took a few to dig out the recalcitrant bits of blue tape.

2x2 foot flat reference surface

I bought this a long time ago for doing hand plane rehabs. I glued a piece of 100 grit on it to flatten the sawn edges of the box. I tried 4 planes and none of them liked planing plywood.

left side gap

There are a couple of hollows and bumps yet to sand flat.

the back

So far this is the best of the 4.

right side

This side and the front are where I wandered off the pencil line.

the front

It still needs some more work. This dictated how the other sides went. I had to sand this edge lower than the other 3 and that took time and a lot of calories.

no mas

It isn't perfect but my OCD isn't tripping into postal mode. This box doesn't like being sanded any more than it did being planed. I was expecting this to plane like a dream based on how the plies looked. Next time I'll drop down a grit and start with 80.

not consistent

Thinking ahead to the banding - it will be easier to sand/plane than the plywood is proving to be. I'll have to think on that over night and decide what to do in the AM.

new toy

It took four 'notify me when in stock' emails before I got one. It is a nice hammer and I think this one is going to be my all around bench hammer. The price was $133 which I think is high but it is a fine hammer. I trust the tools that LAP sells are quality and worth the $$$ charged. I have english hammers in this style but I never warmed up to using them. The brief time I used it this PM I liked it. It is similar looking to the english version but this is american made.

hmm....

Thinking ahead - does LAP sell just the wooden handle? I have broken several wooden handled hammers over the years. I have one waiting for me to fit a wooden handle to it (over a couple of years now). I got an email out to them asking this question.

8 feet

I shot miters and glued them together with super glue and accelerator. I sawed them in half after giving the glue a chance to catch its breath.

over sized

I sawed (and labeled) three sets of cherry bandings oversized. That will give some wiggle room when I fit and glue them in place. Haven't decided how that will be done yet. I have to be careful with how I do cleaning/flushing the overhang on the bandings due to the plywood. I think my best choice will be to sand them.

bottom bandings

These were easy to whack out because I used butt joints. The feet will cover them at the corners.

sneak peek

I wish I had enough wenge to do all the bandings but I don't. The cherry will do for the top of the box. It is a nice contrast with the dark wenge.

oops

While sawing the 4 feet into 8 feet I noticed a me-steak. I had glued a block to reinforce the inside of the miter. With that there I can't glue the feet flush to the box. It was easy to pop them apart with a chisel.

I like this

I scraped the glue off the miters and reglued them again sans the inside block. I'll do another one of those come time to glue the feet to the box.

incredibly awkward

I didn't like the look of the feet straight up and down. I sawing a 45 on the bottom of the right one was easy peasy. The left one was a ROYAL PITA. Hard to saw it left handed (I'm right handed) and I ended up holding it with my left hand and sawing it with my right hand. Not without its own headaches to deal with. Glad that I only had four of them to do.

rearranging

I had a larger ball peen where I am now trying to put a smaller 8oz ball peen hammer. The slot is too narrow and using a rasp to widen it didn't work. I took it down and used the bandsaw to widen it.

everyone is happy now

I was looking around for a spot to hang this hammer close to the workbench but nada. I don't have enough wall space left for a postage stamp to fit in. This will do because how often do you need a hammer?

got ahead of myself

I should have shot the chamfers before I glued the frame. The chisel worked and it didn't take much more time than using a plane.

one step close

I am going to try and get 3 coats on this before I hit the rack tonight. We are going through a warm spell now and the shop is still in mid 60's temp wise. 

accidental woodworker

Yippee, there is much dancing and rejoicing in the streets of Mudville. All of the tiles and hardware I had on order came in today. Two of them were supposedly delayed and coming on friday. It is looking like I'll be doing the check mark routine with the cupboard by the weekend? It is a nice feeling finally having everything I need to complete this cupboard and the upcoming cherry one.

it fits still

It was binding a bit on the first 1/3 of the way in. Not as smooth as it was sans the shellac.

much better

I scraped the top and bottom of the rabbits with the card scraper. I took one swipe off of the outside edge of both rabbits. You have to be cautious with the plane because if you 'take on more swipe.....' you end up with a lid that wobbles side to side pushing it in. I got a teeny bit of that but not a deal killer. The lid slides in/out easier than it did yesterday with no shellac.

stop and back up

I forgot to do two things. I got shellac on the bottom and the inside and was doing this corner when I saw the me-steak. I didn't plug the hole in the tail and I didn't sand the putty in the half pin gap.

plugs done

Used the off cuts from the banding for the box bottom for the plugs. 

did better this time

I got the barrel centered on the edge of the door. With the door positioned where it will live, the left leaf doesn't overhang the edge of the side.

looking good IMO

I got one screw holding the left hinges leaves. I still have to take the door down to install the tile on it.

hitting

The door opens but it is hitting here at the bottom. The gap looks consistent 360 but I have to fix this. The normal way to do it is to plane a back bevel on the edge. I don't have any meat to do that not to mention the nails in the cock beading holding it on the edge.

sanded a slight back bevel

The back bevel wide part goes on the interior side with the thinner end on the face side. I only needed it here at the bottom couple of inches and I'll put on shellac to cover it up.

I have to be patient

I was tempted to half lap the frame making it a 1/8" wider in both directions (before I got the tile). I tried this already and it bit me on the arse. And my wife says I have no patience at all.

worth a try

To my thinking this through, removing one washer shouldn't fix it. I removed one washer and stuck in the slot and tightened it.

it worked

I'm glad that I satisfied my curiosity. It was easy to tightened it and get to securely fix itself (no movement) in the miter slot. I didn't have to tighten it 1/2 of much as I did with the two washers. It has to be that with one less washer I was able to draw the screw upwards more to cause it to expand.

the fancy box

One miter didn't close up seamlessly top to bottom. On the other hand the hide glue worked. This was the first time I've used hide glue on plywood miters.

hmm.....

I don't have enough of the wenge to hide the plywood plies. I need 16 pieces - 8 for the top and its bottom and 8 more for the top and the bottom of the bottom of the box.

not perfect

Getting consistent thicknesses on these is easier but it was frustrating resetting it for each piece. The differences in the thicknesses isn't huge and the worse of them is only about a frog hair and a half. No problems as I can sand or plane them flush and even after they are glued and cooked.

snap latch

I thought I could have got away with removing part of the cock beading where the catch was but I don't think so. The main body of the catch doesn't need any relief but the 'catch' part on the right will.

6x6 tiles

These came from the same seller in separate boxes. The tree tile on the left is the one I'm using on the prototype cupboard.

half laps

I was going to do this on the tablesaw but ending up doing them by hand. I got annoyed with the tablesaw because it was being a PITA trying to set the blade height. No such headaches using a handsaw. These aren't true half laps because the stiles are as thick as the rails.

yikes

Piece broke while I was removing the waste. I put the frame together and it was difficult to see this. On the door this missing piece would facing the door panel. 

fixed

I used super glue and accelerator to secure this. It won't be subject to any stress so the glue bond should last as long as the cupboard does.

snug fit

It isn't tight but it ain't loose neither. I'm was not sure if tiles expand and contract like wood does. The frame is soft pine so if it does the pine should compress and allow some movement. According to google tiles do expand and contract so I'll have to think this one over. Thinking out loud, do tiles have a grain like wood where you can ignore one direction of movement?

go figure

I couldn't fathom why the left end of my bench was so close to the lally column. I plane from the right side of the bench with all the force going from right to left. Over time the bench has crept to the left over 6". I am not a weakling but it took all I had to move the bench to the right about 4". I had to do with a R/L movement of the bench doing it from both ends. I need it to go more but I decided No Mas was a better choice. I will do a wee bit more each day until the bench is where I remember it being.

accidental woodworker

Devon is a wet place. External timber suffers. Sometimes it needs replacement, sometimes repair. This roof was letting in water and the timbers rotten, so replacement with new chestnut purlins. We had just finished for the day and got it covered, when the first raindrops fell. Useful for the next morning, to be able to keep working, under. Hail tarpaulins!

Here's one we fixed earlier. This box sash was about as bad as it gets before complete replacement is necessary. We always try to save as much historic fabric as possible. This window (and wall it is in) has always been up against it, the ground outside is 4ft up the side of the house. The wall/window have to deal with penetrating damp AND runoff from the concrete ground surface outside. It's not possible to lower the ground level as it's public. We replaced the cill, half the inner face of the boxes and the cheeks. A new sash, added a lb. or two to the weights, new cords and brushed parting beads. Re-purried other sash and painted. Removed silicon and sealed around frame with lime mortar. Similar to next window. Proper job.

Look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves. Every small part of a building should be well maintained to protect the whole thing and preserve it for posterity. Replacement door cill and scarfed in jamb ends, in oak.