Accidental Woodworker

done

It took over an hour to sand, and clean up both spokeshaves. The JB Weld didn't stay 100% in the voids I filled. Enough of it stayed and I'll elevate it after the first coat of paint has dried.

hmm.....

The right iron profile is way off on the right. The flat on the profile is gone and it is beneath the bottom of the spokeshave base. The left one is a better match - the left one is going to take a lot of work to make it right.

ready to hang

Maria had these ready for me when I got there. I think they look great and they serve a purpose other than tool porn. They show the breakdown and parts of everyone of these hand tools.

back hall has a blank wall

This is the only blank wall space left in the house. It is enough for the four frames I want to hang here. Three of the four large frames are going on this wall.

more free space on the opposite wall

One large and one small frame will populate this wall.

not easy

It took me quite a while to hang the four frames because this heebie jeebie ladder placement. I made sure the door to the right was shut tight and latched. If I had fallen from the ladder I didn't want to end up in the cellar. I took my time and if anything felt off I stepped back and changed it. Ate up a lot of time but I got them hung without hurting myself.

not even

The middle one and right one were kind of close - level across the top. Instead of trying to get them even across the top I staggered them. They drop down about a 1/2" from each other. The hanger wires on the back weren't all positioned at the same point on each frame which made trying to hang them from a level line I drew maddening to do.

hmm.....

 Space between the two for more frames.

orphan

I wanted this to be with the other 6 on the right. Not enough room no matter how much I tried to shrink the frames to fit the space.

something to read tonight

Been waiting on this for a while. The durability and coverage of milk paint, IMO, is better than any latex paint available. Making my own on a need to use basis is appealing too.

 accidental woodworker 

 Spent some of the day helping the wife with her shipping books. I had errands after and that made feel like my IQ didn't make it into double digits. Went to the same store 3 times and 3 times I forgot to get what I went there for. I had been in a fog since I got out of the rack. This was one of the days when going back to bed made a lot of sense. Hope I didn't mind fart on the books I shipped.

hmm.....

The JB Weld looks and feels good. I am going to let this go until 24 hours has elapsed. I don't want it falling out on me again.

glue residue

These are 12x12 granite tiles that I glue sandpaper to. I use them to flatten the backs of plane irons and chisels. The sandpaper on them was old and needed to be replaced. Used a heat gun to warm the paper to ease scraping it off. Flooded the tiles with mineral spirits and scraped the residue off with a razor blade.

spokeshave irons

100 grit all the way to 600. Started by flattening the irons I did yesterday again. 

better

I could see a change in them after the 100 grit. The outside edge by the profile had consistent scratches on it. 

done up to 180 grit

Looking a lot better than what I had done yesterday on the worn out sandpaper. 

done

Nice and shiny on the back - flattened up to 600 grit. I was going to use the diamond stones next but I am stopping here. The  burr on the other side of the irons wasn't as large as a plane iron or chisel but I could feel it. Good enough for a molding iron?

wash, rinse, and repeat

Backs done on both sets. One thing I have seen with all the molding planes I have and spokeshave irons, none had anything done to the backs. Certainly nothing that was close to what I whacked out today.

.

hmm.....

Looked down to check the mouth and the iron was parallel to the mouth. The headache was the rabbet on the plane wasn't square. Used my smallest Record plane to square it up. Still can't tell what wood the plane is made of - even with the freshly planed rabbet yielded no clues.

haircut time

A haircut at the barbershop next to the diner where I get breakfast on mondays costs $35 plus a tip. Makes me smile every time I cut my own hair. One month away from being 71 and what hair I have left is still black. Graying at the temples but the rest of the roof is still black.

better

Not a perfect 90 but a hell of lot better than yesterdays offering. The plane felt different this time running the rabbet. Still have to practice more to get the plane plumb as I plow the rabbet.

hmm.....

This is the purpose of this holder. The tang lays in the groove the profiled edge overhangs the front. Allows two hands to sharpen/hone the iron. I needed to make an alteration to it to do the spokeshave irons. I hdd to cut the shoulder at the back of the iron about a 1/2".

small burr

With the shoulder on the holder cut back, less of the spokeshave iron extends past the front edge. Not sure about the burr on these spokeshave irons. I can feel one but it is small and on the concave part of the profile is it hard to detect.

done

After using dowels wrapped in sandpaper and a slip stone, I finished the irons with stropping. They show an improvement over my sharpening from the other day at least visually. Fingers crossed that I'll see an improvement working the edge of the stock.

for tomorrow

Yikes. There is huge difference in the profile on the irons. This is something I don't know how to address. I have only seen one video on making molding plane irons with files and not how to make a new profiled edge. It was time to kill the lights and I'll fumble my way through with these two in the AM.

hmm......

Definitely a difference between the marine JB Weld and the JB Weld I used this time. The 80 grit sanding pad isn't exactly roaring through leveling it. It is going to take some calories to sand it flush. This small spokeshave has the most JB Weld applied. The larger one has only about 10% as much.

it is sticking good

Decided to wait until tomorrow to sand this. That will give it a few more hours past 24 to cure and harden more. I don't think it will give the problems the other one did. I did sand one small spot flush to the metal and it is sticking fast.

accidental woodworker 

 I thought today I would be painting the spokeshaves but it didn't happen boys and girls. Ran into a hiccup that I shook hands with me after lunch. Sigh. Had to make a U-turn. That and having my final PT appointment ate up a chunk of shop time today. Glad that I'm retired and set backs while a PITA aren't deal killers.

Stanley Bailey #2

I thought of this plane and I had to take it out of the grandkids toolbox to play with it. RML shavings but I had to fiddle with it a wee bit. Unexpected so I took it down to parade rest and sharpened and honed the iron and started over from square #1.

hmm.....

I could see light between the chipbreaker and the iron except for the very ends. Wasn't getting any shavings jammed up there though. Spent some quality time addressing that that also involved spending time flattening the back of the iron before it went dark.

getting quicker

Bevel is nice and shiny with zero scratches in it. Sharp enough to slice through the air and pull it apart. One thing I noticed from the first RML shavings was the sloppiness of the yoke knob. Zero feeling of the iron moving up or down. This is the only iron/chipbreaker I have for a #2. I still haven't found a #2 iron in the wild anywhere. Been keeping any eye open for that for years too.

excellent RML shavings

I was expecting to have to play with this before I got RML (right, middle, left) shavings to spit out. I bought this plane for the grandkids because it is small. It feels like a toy in my hand. Borderline awkward to use - tote barely fits for 3 fingers. I was able to get RML shavings one handed too. The #3 is the smallest bench plane I use and feel comfortable using.

toy like but functional

You see the scale of this plane in relation to my left hand. Still waiting for either one of the grandsons to try it out. Hopeful that watching the shavings curl up out of the mouth excites them too. Made some face grain shavings - full length and width before putting it back in their toolbox.

Stanley #10 1/2

I used this plane a lot when I first got it. It is about the same size as the #3 and easily does its job with the added bonus of being able to do rabbets. This plane was repaired and it was done well. This plane type suffered a lot of cracks and fractures on the cheeks due to the continuous mouth opening. Author Aldren Watson (Hand Tools book)recommends it over the #3 because of its versatility. Iron was still sharp in spite of sitting in the tool cabinet for several years.

another to do project

Hopefully I'll around to this before the interest wanes. These were drawers that I had made for a cherry cabinet but I didn't use them. Ended up making new ones and these became orphaned. Thinking of making a two drawer thing and fitting them to it.

hmm......

Leftover cherry from ???? I think I have enough here to make the carcass for the two drawers. I will probably have to glue up stock but I think the widest board will work for the top. The sides, back, and the bottom aren't as visible as the top and don't matter if they are glued up.

hmm.....

The JB Weld feels solid but I didn't have a warm and fuzzy with it.

80 grit

This grit was barely touching the epoxy. I thought it would eat it up a lot quicker than it did but it wasn't. The epoxy was built up a lot based on it filling in the defects etc so I could sand it flush. I thought I would knock some of that down with my marking knife first.

yikes

Came off completely. The knife pulled all the epoxy out with ease. It didn't seem to adhere to the spokeshave anywhere I applied it.

wow

See the dot - the epoxy fell out and that is the one spot I wanted filled. The epoxy flaked off when I cut it with the marking knife. Epoxy had gotten hard but nada after that.  

Wally World

I have used this before several times on hand planes, Stanley spokeshaves, and some hand drills. I didn't have any problems with any of them with this JB Weld.

hmm......

The top one is obvious and the bottom one I think is missing a letter(s)? I googled OVELOE and nada. 

the other side

The width of the irons for the lambs tongue are 5/8". Clueless as to what the 2 defines, if anything, for the OVELOE spokeshave.

two days

It is 4-6 hours for this to be dry to the touch and 15-24 hours before use. It is 1445 now and I plan on letting this cure for 24hrs. I'll probably be painting this wednesday rather then tuesday.

planed a rabbet

I couldn't get the rabbet square with the wooden plane. I used the 10 1/2 to do it. After looking at the iron I saw that it was skewed and not parallel to the mouth. Should have checked that before and while using it but I didn't. Assumed that it was still good from its last use.

up against the blade

Did a lot of left turns today and ended up playing with this last one. I can't remember if I had ever do this, even when I first put this saw together.

it's an 1/8" off

This is the closest I can get the indicator to zero. I got this saw and this fence over 20 years ago and the memories aren't even hazy. They are nonexistent especially about this set up. I seem to remember that the measuring tape was already fixed to the tube. I'll have to look up the instructions for it on the WWW. I doubt that I'll use if I do fix it though. But I started to address it and I might as well check it off if I can.

accidental woodworker 

 I awoke this AM and I thought I had lost power overnight. The clock in the bedroom said I was rolling out of the rack at 0554 and the clock in the living room said it was only 0455. Oops, I forgot to fall back and do the _+)@^&$%%)@_%*@ changing of the clocks. I knew it was coming but just not today. Oh well stercus acidit again.

living room

The shop is staying at a toasty 66F - 19C but the living room is even toastier at 71F - 22C. Brought the miniature hope chest to cure there. A week or so should do then I can give it to my sister.

hmm.....

99% of the japanning wiped away with the rag. Gone without a whimper. The steel brush worked wonderfully raising a bit of shine on both of them.

stubborn spot

On both spokeshaves, in the same spot, there was japanning left that the rag wouldn't, couldn't remove. A couple of strokes with the steel bristle brush and it was history. Happy and amazed at how clean the spokeshaves were with just Simple Green.

 In the past I spent a bazillion hours hand scraping japanning without get it all. Soaking in Simple Green did the trick. I hand scraped planes, drills, and a lot of other japanned tools and then I used Simple Green to remove japanning from them too. The only headache with Simple Green is finding something that the tool can soak in.

2nd use

Bow sander worked with the rounded ends of the spokeshave. A smaller one would have been better but I only have this large one.

finally

The filed areas (the mouth) took a long time to do because of the limited stroke of the files. There was a lot of casting defects and roughness in the area where the irons lived. The smaller spokeshave was the worse of the two to clean up.

marine JB Weld

Filled in the voids and defects with JB Weld. It looks a lot worse than it actually is. I expect that most of the JB Weld will sanded off. This should leave a smooth surface when it comes time to paint them.

the big spokeshaves

On this this one I was able to use a small file that fit through the mouth. I could file from the top to the bottom in one fluid stroke. I didn't go nutso on this - just looking to ensure that the bed for the irons is flat.

hmm.....

The iron for the left side was tight and wouldn't go down beyond the 1/2 way point. I don't recall this hiccup when I bought it and I hadn't done anything to shrink it or the spokeshave. Head scratcher for sure. 

partial fix

I filed the two outside edges lightly - just enough to make them shiny and smooth. I also filed the inside cheeks of the left side. The iron now has some lateral adjustment.

surprise

I was expecting this black paint to be toast. Past experience with it has shown me that any non use time between uses and it skims over and turns thick and syrupy and useless as paint. Glad for that because most stores that sold these pint cans don't anymore. I have more than enough to do both of the spokeshaves.

not today sports fans

Wiped this one down with acetone and I was going to paint it. However, I noticed a couple of casting voids that I had to fill it. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to paint them.

still tacky

This is JB Weld is a 5 minute marine epoxy but over 5 hours later it is still tacky. I'll let it go until the AM and hopefully it will be ready to sand and paint then.

glazier point box

It was too early to kill the lights so I decided to shellac this box. 3-4 coats should put a smile on my face. Got 2 coats before I killed the lights for the day.

accidental woodworker

 

hmm......

My favorite store for buying Simple Green didn't have any. A boatload of of ZEP products but no Simple Green. Wally World had it and I bought this concentrate instead. Supposedly this will make 5 gals.  I only need enough to cover the two spokeshaves in that pan.

took 6 cups total

It didn't quite cover the spokeshaves but it was close. I didn't want to put any more liquid in this thin aluminum cooking pan.

one more

Last coat of shellac on the lid and the exterior. I think that is 8 but I'm not sure.

I don't think so

Both of these spokeshaves came from England so I was expecting them to be metric screws. The screw wouldn't fit in any of the M5 or M6 threaded holes but it fits in the imperial 1/4-20 threaded hole. It didn't feel quite right though. It was loose and initially I thought it was because the screw looked battle worn. It looked like it had been sand blasted, all dimpled and rough.

I tried it in all four of my gauges - metric and imperial - and nada. I'm pretty sure now that it is a 1/4-20 Whitworth thread. They have a 55° pitch thread whereas UNC threads are 60°.

interesting

I took this spokeshave out after letting it soak for a couple of hours. The japanning embedded in the casting defects is already loosening. I wasn't expecting the japanning to give up this quickly.

looking better

I didn't go nutso sharpening this because it is all free hand and I'm not that good at it. I kept at it until I got a burr on the back.

brass washer

The washers in both of the spokeshaves were brass which surprised me a lot. I would have bet a lung that they would be steel. That aside, this washer hole was a few frog hairs too narrow. When I removed it I had to tap it off with a screwdriver and a hammer. Drilled it out until it was slip fit over the screw down to the shoulder.

it ain't easy

I am in the dark about how to use this spokeshave. I'm not sure that it can make a profile on the face. And at what orientation do you push it at? I tried this, parallel to the face, and at various angles balanced on the edge. Tried it on both edges with both irons. The results sucked pond scum.

nope

The profile is a bazillion percent better than the one I tried to get when I first bought this. However, it isn't developed nor is it consistent end to end.

better

Working the edge was easier but the profile didn't change much. I think maybe I should spend a few more calories sharpening. It did matter which side of the spokeshave I used, the profile was the same.  

Working with the grain was better than working against the grain. It tore out a lot going against the grain, more than I anticipated. I expected some but not the amount I got. The grade after this test run is mixed. Not knowing how to use and having to figure it out by trial and error is going to be brutal.

wow

This has been soaking in the Simple Green for about 5 hours and a ton of the japanning is gone. What is left on it I wiped away with a finger. It isn't going to take 2-3 days of soaking to remove all the japanning.

gone

This flat on the back had a thick, shiny chunk of japanning on it. It is gone, completely. This is one spot I was prepared to remove with a scraper. I'll clean them up in the AM for sure.

hmm......

I'll be buying this again for sure. First it is a lot cheaper then buying a spray bottle of it. Mixing it up to refill my spray bottle was easy peasy and I had control over the strength of it. I refilled at 1:1.

accidental woodworker 

 When I killed the lights for the day I realized that I had put a check mark in the done column for three projects. I had forgotten that I had finished one and only remembered it just before I started this blog post. Two of them are or will be going to someone and one will end up in the boneyard.

three knots and a dutchman

The underside of the lid is done. Four coats of shellac is ok for the underside. Only one knot shows through to the up face. I saturated all of them super glue twice before I put on the first coat of shellac.

hmmm......

Test time with the stencils. This is my first attempt at it and on You Tube I saw them being done with brushes and rollers. I'm going to use my wife's stencil brush on the leaf stencil.

questionable

I brushed this and then I dimpled it by hitting the stencil straight up and down with the brush. The biggest question I had was there any bleeding paint beyond the stencil pattern.

no bleeding

The pattern is clear without defined edges. However, there are raised ridges of paint in several spots. Too much paint but no bleed through. On the second one I used a drier brush. Oops, forgot to snap a pic of #2 but it was much better.

done

I kinda like this stenciling. Not exactly well done but it also doesn't look like a monkey did it neither. When I try this again I'll practice a few more attempts more then two. This was only glamour pic I took of project #1. This will live in the boneyard now.

two coats on

I got a third coat on before I went on my post lunch stroll. Only doing 3 coats on the inside and 4-6 on the lid top and exterior. You gotta love shellac because I knew here that I would be done with this today.

chamfer

Chamfered the outside edge of the base to make it look thinner. I thought of doing a round over but I thought a chamfer fit better than it would. Although a round over would have been been the opposite of the cove molding.

glamour pic #1

Calling this done. I have 5 coats on it but I am going to put a couple more on the lid top and exterior. In spite of that I'm calling this done.

back/side glamour pic

Happy with the dovetails on the chest and base. Something I didn't try for was the chest tails and the base tails look to be the same size. The shellac made the tails pop too - no gaps and in spite of being hand done, they look uniform but not machine done.

glamour pic #3

I will keep the lid propped open with the stick for a week or so. That should be enough time for the shellac to cure and harden.

project #3 glamour pic

I'm calling this done. The paint looks good, not perfect, but more than acceptable. There are minimal brush marks and the coverage is 100%.

glamour pic #2

hmm.... I may not be done with this. I assumed that Jessica is hanging this on a wall. I'll have to ask her and if not, I'll have to paint the back. Fingers crossed along with the toes.

interim project

I've had these two lamb tongue spokeshaves for a couple years. Before I start on the two door cabinet I'll rehab these two. The plan is to strip them and repaint along with doing some needed TLC on the irons. I wanted to let them soak in Simple Green for a few days but I don't have anything big enough to put the irons in. Found out from a comment left on one of my plane rehab posts that Simple Green will dissolve japanning. Filing and sanding it off is a PITA. I'll go to Wally World and buy a disposable aluminum cooking pan for that.

Whoever owned these was right handed (?) because one iron is worn and the other is almost unused. I am guessing on the right handed use based on how I would use it. But it is my understanding that these spokeshaves allowed the user to account for reversing grain - left or right.

accidental woodworker 

hmm.....

I initially thought that I hadn't thought the bearers all the way through. I set them down a 1/4" from the top. So I thought that would negate the 1/4"bottom that I had planned on gluing to the bottom. I also thought that bottom of the 1/4" plywood would be flush with the top of the base. I hadn't looked far enough ahead to see that the 1/4" rabbet would house the 1/4" plywood bottom and keep the chest captured in it. DUH!

hmm..... again

There is a 1/4" of the bearers sticking past the edge of the chest. That little bit of real estate is enough to glue a 1/4" piece of plywood to.

fitted

Found a scrap of nice 1/4" plywood in my off cut pile. I sawed it out square to match the ID of the chest. Used a blockplane to shave the lower right corner until it fell into place.

fitting the base moldings

Sawed all four over length by 2". Now that I figured out the bottom for the chest, I almost ready to do the base moldings. Needed to first attach the chest to the bearers.

helping hand

Applied some super glue to the hinges and positioned the lid on them. I find measuring and screwing these type of hinges is hit or miss for me. Super gluing the hinges has worked like a charm for the last 3 hinges (of this type) I installed.

needed some weight

Even though this is an 'instant' super glue I've found out that it isn't unless you hit it with accelerator (which I don't have). A little weight and time and the bond is made.

 I killed the lights here to go to a VA appointment. As I was backing out of the driveway my wife texted me that the VA had canceled the appointment. Worked for me because appointments mid morning really screw up my shop/strolling time.

they are stuck

Lid opened and closed easily. Not even the slightest hint of either of them letting go. I wasn't expecting such a good bond - held long enough to get screws in them. 

stuck real good

Got two of the four screws in each hinge and then I removed them. I wanted to remove the hinge to facilitate applying shellac to the lid but it ain't happening boys and girls. They are stuck on solid - a sharp rap with a mallet did nada. On to plan #2.

base attached the chest

Screwed, no glue, the chest to the bearers.

hide glue

Just in case I or the next owner needs to replace/repair the bottom. 

fitting the moldings

My mini mitering jig - right and left hand moldings can be shot on it. It will also do 90° and that is the one thing I would change. If and when I make another one I will make the 90° bigger. As is I can square stock about 1 1/4" wide and the next one will be around 2".

switched

A 120 grit sanding stick instead of the blockplane. A little slower but no blowout from the blockplane to deal with.

done

Used super glue and yellow glue to attach the moldings. Where I could nail the molding was too thin even for a pin nail. I didn't have a warm and fuzzy about that being secure. An hour later the moldings were stuck tight still.

helping hand

I wasn't thrilled with wee bit of glue surface for the plywood bottom. If I had thought ahead more I could have secured the bottom with just these. Nailed on with no glue - again to facilitate repairs if needed.
 

last stencil came today

This is the one I'll use on the white spice rack. Perfect size and it was the only 4" stencil with a flowery motif that I could find.

fingers crossed

Hopefully this is the last coat. If it is I'll let it cure for a week or so and ship it out to Jessica.

two coats

I found enough shellac flakes to make one cup of a 2 pound cut. That should be sufficient to finish the chest. For all intents and purposes this done except for oohs and aahs.

I ordered another pound of flakes and the price went over $11. I was expecting it to be much worse. With S/H it was $70. Ouch 

accidental woodworker

after dinner work

Finished the pins and checked the base for square. Check. Put the chest inside the base, check. It fit with less than a 16th all the way around. I'm not that fond of these skinny tails. They may look visually good but to me I see a tenuous fit that looks fragile. I should have go with one tail based on the width but I didn't.

fixed

The half tail on the left broke off while cleaning up the half round. It felt secure this AM and the base was ready to glue up.

I showed it who was the boss

When I sawed out the base I removed the labels at the corners. I applied glue to all four corners before I saw that brain fart. The first time, I put two corners together, the other two wouldn't. Broke it apart and tried another combination that didn't work neither. When I tried to break it apart (long side) it split into two. 

I (usually) don't go nutso anymore when I make a bad me-steak but today I lost it and went postal on it. Just as well because this base was questionable. One rap on a long side (to the left of the mallet) and it snapped into two. Not even a hard rap. That and a big red knot lent credence to  destroying this one and making a new base.

sigh

I didn't want to but I had to use a cut off (that I didn't want to use) to get the stock for the new base.

single tail

I felt better making the new base with single tails. I think it is a better fit with the width of the base.

I can learn still

I didn't make the same me-steak this time. I labeled all the pins and tails this time where they won't disappear. I didn't do it on the first base because I thought I didn't have to.

ta da

Base #2 has the same slip fit that the first one had. 

base cut out

One inch fortsner bit drilling a 1/2" on each one. Wash, rinse, and repeat for the short sides.

glued and cooking

I didn't bother to check the diagonals on the base. It had to fit as is so it didn't matter that it was square.

hmm.....

Cut this down from 2 1/4" to 1 1/2". Visually the 2 1/4" height looked too tall for the scale of this. Next up was what to do with the ends. Angled, left as is, or round overs? Then the profile, chamfer or something with an electric router.

ready to glue on

Rounded the ends and routed the same profile on it as the lid edges.

moldings

I have more than enough for the top of the base. It was a toss up between this cove molding or a 1/4 round. The cove one only because I can nail it more easily than the 1/4 round molding.

needs one more coat

Still not done and after painting the last coat I let this cure for a couple of days. I wasn't happy with how it felt after I sanded it. It felt cold and clammy but today it feels warm and dry. I'll put on another coat (final coat hopefully) in the AM.

bearers done

Glued and nailed rather then glue and screws.

finishing the base

Bases are easy to do - you don't have to do any clean up on the interior.

)@&%)*@_%(_)+5()^*&^% gaps

Mixed hide glue and pine sawdust to make my own wood putty. Two corners (tails) needed some help. I thought I had closed them up on the glue up. Used this because I am using shellac as the finish on this.

no mortise hinges

These hinges are easy to install because they don't require a mortise. However, they leave a gap between the lid and the chest which I don't like. I made the notch for them to be within a frog hair flush.

looking for screws

I don't understand how or why hinges are sold without screws. That is like selling a car without tires. I don't have any #5 or #6 screws long enough. I do have some but they have oval heads and I need flat head. I'll make do with what I have until I can order some.

glued and cooking

I'll be heading back to the shop after dinner tonight. My wife is away at a dead people's event and I will no have no adult supervision until saturday. There isn't much more to do on this chest. Attach the lid, the bottom, and screw the chest to the bearers, apply shellac and ooh and aah.

accidental woodworker 

 

caught it

Glad for muscle memory and doing dovetails the exact same way each and every time. Initially I laid out the tails the wrong way and caught it when I flipped the board to lay out the tails on the opposite end.

wee bit off

The opposite face on the joint line was almost dead on flush. It took less than 5 minutes to flush this face.

off the saw

Each corner went together with a few gentle taps with a mallet.

frustrating

I went back and forth on trying to square this up before I finally got it. The seesawing just pass equal diagonals had me seeing stars and wishing I could give this box flying lessons.

glued and cooking

Finally got it after applying glue. First it was an 1/8" off and then a 16th and then a few frog hairs. Ten minutes after this I checked the diagonals on the opposite side and they were off a 1/4". Resolved that without going nutso which surprised me. After this 2nd round of squaring I got the top and bottom diagonals to agree within less then a 16th.

hmmm......

Got a pitch pocket to fill with a dutchman. This will be facing the interior of the chest with the lid closed.

Lie Nielsen #3

This smoother is the last step. Removes plane tracks like a dream. No sandpaper regimen can hold a candle to it.

almost gone

This pocket wasn't that deep and I recall seeing some of these pitch pockets going from face to face.

profile

I didn't want to put a chamfer on this. This is an ogee (?) profile I think. Just enough detail without being over the top.

yikes

This is the profile I wanted - my favorite Preston wooden molding plane. This was the first try and the 2nd one was on an off cut from the lid. It was just as ugly looking.

working again

Smoothed the pins and tails with this arrangement. Thinking maybe I should try to make a low workbench for hand planing? This worked but it did tend to want to walk forward with the planing strokes.

tails

It cleared the top edge by an inch. I'll drill some holes in the uprights so I can move the platform up.

wee bit of twist

Both the top and bottom had a little twist.

base

Got one corner done before I killed the lights. Glue up in the AM. Rethinking the bottom 1/2" plywood as overkill. I'll make a road trip to Lowes and get a 1/4 panel of birch 1/4" plywood.

accidental woodworker

 Got a request for a box from a family member. Me, being me, I suggested instead of a box I make a miniature hope chest. Not much more difference between making a box and the chest. So before I get started on the next project I'll be whacking this out.

hmm......

This is all I have left from last trip to Gurney's sawmill. I was eyeballing it to ensure I had enough to make the double glass door cabinet.

back of the spice rack pic

This is the pic that drove me nutso. As far as I can tell from the pic the back is one piece of something? Another point of contention are the hangers positioned at the top. They will cause the front of the spice rack to tilt slightly forward and down. I will make sure that Jessica doesn't hang her spice rack from the top rail.

double door cabinet

Figuring out what I need to glue up and how many. I am making this to be a dresser (?). I don't like a depth of 11" (1x12 stock) and I didn't want the depth to be a normal dresser depth neither. I settled on 16" deep so it could also be used as a bookcase or a storage/display cabinet.

the miniature hope chest

All of the stock for this box is coming from off cuts from previous projects.

lid

The lid stock (two boards) had a slight cup to them. Before I glued them up I flattened the concave side of the board.

glued and cooking

One face is aligned pretty good on the joint which will be the up face. The other side is off a couple of frog hairs on the joint line. I'll deal with that after the lid comes out of the clamps.

one miniature hope chest

Overkill but the bottom will be 1/2" plywood. I don't have any 6mm plywood and with either one, it won't be visible. I have some 1/4" plywood but it felt too flimsy and I don't trust it for a bottom.

dutchman needed

Big ugly looking pitch pocket that I will hide with a dutchman. This is the before pic.

dutchman pocket done

I would have had to go deeper to fully remove the pitch pocket but this was sufficient. It is roughly 3/8" deep as is.

fitted

The length fit but the width was way too tight. I shaved off the long edges until it was a snug fit.

glued and cooking

This is one of the long legs for the bottom base. The dutchman will be placed on the inside and at the top.

3 hours later

To think I once dreaded trying to use a dutchman. Easy peasy and please don't bite me on the arse now.

3 stencils came

I don't need the 4th one. I am planning to use only the middle and far left one for the white spice rack.

it is close enough

I got this one because it is small and it has a curve to it. I am thinking of putting this stencil on each end. I can reverse the stencil to do either side. I will have to cut some off the bottom of the stencil to fit in this spot.

center stencil

Not sure which is the top and bottom on this stencil. I am positioning so it flows upward. Like the other stencil I'll have cut some off this stencil too. The pattern is 4" and the space available it 4 3/4".

tails are ready

Using the Moxon vise a lot more lately. Bending over at the face vise is becoming problematic for me. My back doesn't like bending over that low to saw tails and pins. Wish I had a 12' bench and could mount this permanently.

quitting time

Got into a rhythm and lost track of time. Mickey's big had was on 3 and his small one was on 4. I find dovetails to be soothing to do especially more so that I can do them reasonably well. There is something meditative about the whole process that appeals to my OCD. Glue up in the AM for sure. 

accidental woodworker

Didn't get much shop time today. Spent most of it getting the furnace going which made my wife happy. I patted myself on the back that I had paid for an automatic water level gizmo. Well worth the extra $500 (IMHO) it cost. Turned on the thermostat and the water level automatically filled. I vacuumed the furnace inside/outside and the dust collected on the piping wasn't that bad. Considering how close it is to the shop there wasn't a lot of dust on it.

done

I was surprised by how well this went. The moldings stayed in place after pressing down on them for a few. I was able to get all four on and nothing slipped or shifted when I applied the clamps. 

hmm......

One thing I plan on doing is buying more threaded rods and cutting them down. All the ones I have are 24" long and the router box is roughly 12" x 11". Thinking four rods 12" long and four more at 18" should do the trick. Amazon has 12" rods in a four pack for >$10 but I couldn't find 18" or 36" lengths.

sigh

It is going to take another coat - a 3rd one. I sanded it down with 320 and wiped it with a rag and vacuumed it. I rolled on the 2nd coat and it laid down much better than the first coat which was brushed on. It probably would have been better with a 2" roller but I couldn't find any. I had to use a 4" roller and it was awkward trying to roll the interior of the spice rack.

happy face on

5 hours later and the moldings look good. Especially the bead portion on the miter toes. Clean, with the profile intact. I will have to slap a couple coats of shellac on them before I can call it 100% done.

accidental woodworker

 For all intents and purposes, Jessica's spice rack is done. I got the paint for it today and the first coat is curing. I could have done a 2nd coat today but I decided to let this one dry until the AM. It has been cold at night lately with temps barely above freezing and the shop temp is hovering around 62F. Day time temps are barely making it above 60F so it is prudent to give the paint extra time to cure.

sigh....

Just noticed this and I had a brain fart. I had tossed this missing molding in the shitcan last week. Didn't penetrate the skull that this is where it belonged. I thought it was an extra I made.

new moldings

Made a double set because I don't have much wiggle room on the long legs - which are 12 1/2". The moldings are 12 3/4" long which means I don't have much room to say oops. 

fits

Decided to use this mitering jig over shooting the miters in the donkey ear jig. Took a few to widen the groove for the moldings.

nice looking miter

Just as clean and sharp looking as it would come off the donkey ear jig.

bonus

The bead portion of the molding is clean. No ragged out or blow out to be seen. The donkey ear jig chews the bead up.

correcting a me-steak

I didn't scrape the shellac when I glued the moldings on. FYI you can glue over shellac but it will fail. Scraped it 360 concentrating on getting the plywood edges clean of shellac. I'll glue the moldings on in the AM.

hmm....

Big difference in the two spice racks. I know now that I was too centered on the pics of the spice rack Jessica sent me. The back on that one was one piece and and that drove me on how I made these two versions.

the color she picked

As you can see the coverage was splotchy in few spots. I brushed on the first coat and I will roll on any number of subsequent coats.

almost done

I'm not going to buy the spice containers for this one. The shelf spacing is way too wide for them. I am still going to give it to my sister and she can decide what use it gets. 

On monday I'm supposed to receive 2 of the 4 stencils I ordered. The top back stop needs something visual to anchor it. Fingers crossed that at least one of them will fit under the center round top.

accidental woodworker 

 Jessica's spice rack is basically done. A little bit of sanding in the AM and it will be ready to paint. She is going to order the paint from the paint store but I don't know when or if she has done that yet. I'll find out later on tonight. Now that that is behind me I have two more projects on the horizon. One is a box or something like that for my sister Donna and the other is still simmering on the back burner. News and pics on the 11 o'clock news.

fitting the back

Ripped the back based on the measurements and it didn't fit. I had to trim a few more frog hairs off the width and height.

width fit, height didn't

The bottom right corner was the culprit. A few shavings with a blockplane and I got it fitted. Glued and nailed it off.

sigh....

When I routed the rabbet I filled in the shelf dadoes with a scrap. What happened was the router sent the filler flying and I hadn't noticed it. When I did the other five I taped the filler in place. That worked and since this is the back I'm leaving this as is.

nope

The 1/2 pattern I made for the first spice rack wasn't working on Jessica's. It was too high and I didn't like the size and flow of the curves on it. Time to make a new one - this one will be the same size on the height.

hmmm

This isn't visible when looking at the spice rack when it is vertical. I will fill the gap in with paintable caulking. I'll get a tube the next time I go to Lowes. BTW - I am giving this to my sister Donna. Her birthday is next month and I asked Jessica where she bought her spice containers.

1/2 pattern done

I like this one a whole lot more. I especially like the size of the middle and where the two outboard curves intersect it. 

subtle difference

The one for Jessica's spice rack is the one I'll do again if anyone else in the family wants one. The spice containers will be taller then the outside curves. On the white one they are taller than the spice containers.

back cooking

No screws again but I did explore using dowels. Biscuits was nixed right away due to the 1/2" thickness. Thought of using bamboo nails but the rabbet was playing havoc with the brain bucket so I nixed that too. Relying on glue only just like the first one. Used the cutoffs to give a parallel grip for the clamps.

new brush

While I was waiting for my paint at the store I saw this brush and bought it. It is a square brush with a tapered end. Worked like a charm for painting the 90° places. According to the pics on the cardboard sleeve it came in, it is a sash brush. I'll be trying it on my next 'window' project for sure but it sure worked a treat painting this.

almost done

I am still surprised by how easily and quickly I whacked this out. From looking at the pics I was expecting it to be more difficult and longer to do. Stopped here to think of the moldings - 1/2 rounds or the ones I bought at Home Depot.

the winner is....

Decided to use the HD moldings. After all it is my interpretation of the pic Jessica sent me. 

sigh....

I had one nail from the back blow through the shelf. Thankfully this will be painted and this sin will be hidden under putty and paint.

a hiccup

I had to take one more swipe and this was my reward. I will fill this in with wood putty and paint over it.

done

I applied the molding just like the pic showed them. Mitered at the top and bottom and butt jointed everywhere else. It doesn't look that bad and doesn't offend me as much as I thought it would.

one of two

This and one other piece 1/2 this length is all that is left. Used up more of it then I thought I would.

back burner project

I have two of these and I was thinking of making two more glass door cabinets. I was playing around with the layout for the lites.

the next project?????

Why not a two door cabinet? This would be an interesting cabinet build and something I haven't done before. By the time I killed the lights I decided this will be next. A two door cabinet with a drawer (or two drawers) underneath them. Or maybe one drawer (or two drawers) above them? 

another dead end

From the router switch I found the company that made it and what I think is the part number. Unfortunately it was no help. The company is in England and it only sells wholesale and commercially to businesses. The minimum order is probably a  100,000 bazillion pieces.

I checked the switch again for continuity and it varied. A couple of times it looked good but if I moved it the reading went out to lunch. Plastic gets brittle over the years and I would bet a lung that is what is wrong with this switch. Moot point now.

Thought about buying a used router off eBay for parts but I would probably run into the same hiccup with the switch. 

accidental woodworker 

last night

After dinner I went back to the shop and chopped out the pins. Went together off the saw. One corner wouldn't seat fully but a few gentle taps with a mallet and it closed up. Glue up came in the AM.

success

Laid out the shelf positions and all of them agree with a 32nd or less. The tallest spice container is 3 1/8" tall and the four shelf openings are about 3 5/8" strong. A 1/2" of clearance should be enough without excessive dead space.

marking the length

Marked the length one frog hair over. I was surprised that with these 3 shelves installed it didn't square up on its own. It was easier squaring it up with them than without them. 

glued and cooking

I will always double check the diagonals after clamping. I have been bit too many times with the clamps pulling it out of square. Less than a 16th off between the diagonals clamped which is better than without the clamps.

hmm......

Sanded it down with 240 and got another coat on it. Brush strokes were a lot less visible this time. I will be putting a 3rd coat on because I can still see 'whitewashed' pine.

)&(^%@%(+@(^%+_

One more rabbet to go and the router )&Q$)(*&^@%_)@*%&@ quit.

checking the switch first

Big open with the switch off as expected but with it on, I was reading 5-6 meg ohms. The switch is toast and I still had one more rabbet to rout.

it worked

I removed the leads from the switch and jumped them together with a piece 14 gauge house wire. Router worked which made me feel better. There is a variable speed control board that could have been the problem too.

Taped the jumper together and finished routing the last rabbet. I checked 3 sites for replacement parts, 2 of them didn't list the switch at all. The one site that did list it had it as having no replacement. 

However, they did have the part number and the manufacturer number. But the part number given was a dead end as was the manufacturer number. It looks like I'm stuck up sh...t creek with no paddles.

glued and cooking

The dovetails had cooked for about 4 hours. I ripped the shelves to width and glued them in place. The spice containers are 2 1/4" front to back. The width of the of the shelves are 2 1/2".

still sharp

Used it to square up the four corners. Not as sharp as it was when I did the first spice rack but still sharp enough to do the 2nd one. The web was thinner on this one and the corner with blue tape blew out pretty good. All four corners broke but this one needed some tape to hold it together.

in the AM

I will let this coat cure until tomorrow. I'll sand it down again with 320 this time and I'll roll on another coat. Hopefully it will be the last one.

accidental woodworker

 

new spice rack

She wanted the four shelf rack. The outside (stiles/rails) are sawn to finished length with the shelves being over a wee bit. I will do the finished length after I get the shelf dadoes done.

it fits

I might not use this molding but in case I do, it fits on the edge minus a frog hair or two. There were two small flats on either side of the molding that I sawed off on the tablesaw.

I like the 1/2 round molding a lot (used on the test spice rack) and I'm thinking of using them instead. However I don't like the 1/2 round moldings I'm getting off the astragal plane. One side of the round isn't as deep as the opposite side. It takes a fair bit of sanding to get the 1/2 round symmetrical.

tails done

These are easy to whack out. I only have to chop the center waste and saw the two half pins.

 I got the pins sawn but not chopped out. Ran out of time so I'll chop the waste in the AM.

the first spice rack

Made a road trip to the paint shoppe this AM and picked up a quart of 'super white' gloss paint. Got the first coat on it before the lights were killed. It is going to take a minimum of two coats. 

I could see brush strokes after it was dry to the touch. The paint guy said this was self leveling with no brush strokes. I think I'll roll on the 2nd coat and see hows that looks. Another possibility is to use a rattle can. I think the paint shoppe makes rattle cans too. Spraying would lay down smooth sans brush marks.

nope

The spice rack pic has what I am assuming is stencil work. My wife has played around with them but all the stencils she has are too big. I searched on Amazon last night but I didn't have any success finding smaller stencils. I also wanted curved ones  to lay against the curves on the stop rail. There were none of them to be seen and I gave up after searching for an hour. 

accidental woodworker

 The first spice rack is done. A little bit of sanding and then I can paint it. I made a road trip to Home Depot and Lowes this AM - moldings from HD and  New Zealand pine from Lowes. Neither place had the 1/2 round moldings I wanted. Lots of quarter round moldings in 3/8" and 1/2" though.

Lowes haul

I wanted to use poplar for this but neither Lowes or Home Depot had enough 1/2" thick poplar in stock. The NZ pine I got at Lowes was cheaper than 4/4 poplar. I was going to buy that and plane it to 1/2" thickness. 

too wide

I bought two different moldings for the spice rack I'm making for my daughter. However, both of them are wider than 1/2". The plan is to rip them down to thin the width. One molding cost $3.64 each and the other was $4 and small change.

who knew

I have never had any success using this to rout a profile. I whacked this one out like I had been doing it for 50+ years. BTW this half round profile is 3/8".

hmm.....

Pretty much satisfied with this. Width is good and the height is too. It looked good on the edges of the spice rack.

I need more practice

The left one was done first and the right one was second. Routing it wasn't the problem, it was sawing it out on the bandsaw.

learning curve

Made two more with the LN 66 just because I was doing so good. Found out that grain direction has to be paid attention to. Another thing I learned is no matter which direction or how light or firm of a touch, the LN 66 doesn't like squirrely grain. This tears out just as good as any handplane would on the same grain.

back stop rail

Glued and cooking. It was a bit awkward clamping it but I managed. Got a good line of squeeze out so I had sufficient pressure from end to end. Set it aside to cook for a few hours.

5/8 astragal

Went back to the astragal plane to make my 1/2 round moldings. It is quicker/easier to use this plane vice the LN 66 beader.

hmm.....

The left one is the size I'm going with. I made the bigger right one for comparison.

confirmation

It is a fit for the width but it is too high. I had to see it in situ to see it. The smaller one is scaled right for this spice rack. (IMO)

done

Four for the rails and two longer ones for the stiles. Plus one extra for an oops on the rails.

laid out for the next spice rack

I did this layout with a rule. Started at the bottom and worked my way to the left to the top. I think my daughter said she wanted the four shelf version. The store bought spice rack comes with 3 or 4 shelves. I'll check on that before I start.

hmmmm..................

It worked out fine when I stepped it off today. I didn't feel like I did anything different today that I had done yesterday????? Played around with the dividers stepping off from different starting points all with the same results. Hate it when I can't duplicate and figure out what I did wrong.

nope

I really thought that this is what I had done wrong but it wasn't. The shelf spacing was consistent but short. And I couldn't duplicate the short height middle shelf. I even laid out a 3 shelf version and nada. It is a complete mystery to me as to how I screwed up the layout with the dividers.

came today

These came from Lee Valley's Nevada warehouse. It is quicker getting an order from Canada. This should hold for a while on sleeves. Maybe when I have to order them again I won't have to deal with the tariff hiccups.

big hole

Missed this - I wanted it on the back but as usual I wasn't paying attention to it and it ended up on the front. The molding hides 99.99% - I filled it wood putty before I applied the moldings.

a first for me

Got the moldings applied to the stiles and rails - glue and pin nails. I put the miters together off the saw. I didn't trim, chisel, or plane any of them. I was surprised by how well the miters looked. I wasn't expecting them to close up as tight as they did right off the poor man's miter box.

done?

You can see the asymmetrical layout on the shelves. Personally I like asymmetrical but in this case it should have been equal spacing.

nope

Thought I was ready for paint but I ain't. I needed to fill in the pin nails with some putty. Decided to paint this and I'll give it away to my sister Kam. She told me that her kids gobble this stuff up and fight over what I give her.

accidental woodworker 

 Realized today as I was killing the lights that I was basically done with the spice rack build. This was a figure it out build and I had the answers to all. Of course that doesn't mean it will go the same on the real spice rack build. It was a bit of a shock when I was done because I was expecting to play with this for at least another day. I'll take it and start on the real thing in the AM.

how did I do?

The workshop elves left this alone overnight. It didn't groan, sputter, or move when I unclamped it. That was a good sign.

hmm......

Most of the rocking is gone but not all of it. It appears to be laying flat on the workbench and that is the important thing.

when you don't pay attention

The knife wandered out into La La Land on me. I wasn't expecting it to do that since I was knifing across the grain. Good thing this is a proofing build and not meant to be given away.

shelf dadoes

Most of the errant knife marks from above disappeared. I had to make that dado a few frog hairs wider and removed 99% of the oops.

surprised me

Used this old beater Stanley chisel to square up the corners. No problems using it and it was still sharp when I was done. I don't remember how I sharpened this the last time but this time was a huge improvement of that attempt.

crest rail?

Nope, crest rail refers to a chair.  Maybe I should call it a stop rail? Had to glue up a couple of boards for said stop rail.

hmm......

My version of the spice rack stop rail. I made a half pattern first and then sawed it out full size. One problem is mine is too short in the height. Where my finger is has to be more the height of the spice containers which is 3 1/8". This is < 1 1/2".

fixed

Glued on the cutoff and I got my required height.

fitting the back

Used a blockplane to fit the 6mm plywood in the rabbet. I'll glue and nail it later. Still thinking about painting the back first and then installing it or no painting and installing it. What I'm concerned about is the carcass contracting and exposing bare wood at the back of the shelves.

last headache

How do I attach the stop rail to the carcass? Choice one is to glue it on. Because of the rabbet and the thinness of the stop rail, I'm ruling out adding screws.

choice #2

This is the one I thought of doing first. This one cuts out a half notch(?) that the stop rail would sit it (planned on doing this on the tablesaw). Glue and screws would secure it. Choice #2 didn't win the prize. Gluing the stop rail will be sufficient.

5/8 astragal

I wanted the rounded portion of this profile. As far as I can tell the pic of the spice rack shows half round moldings on all the edges.

can't get any better than this

Sawed off the round part and it fits almost perfectly on the edge. The pic has the round moldings butted together and I'm thinking of mitering them at the corners.

7/8 astragal

I measured this one and it is too wide for the spice rack. 5/8 is the winner here.

hmm......

Sawed a dowel in half to see how well that would work. I didn't have a 1/2" dowel so I used this to try sawing it on the bandsaw. Sawing a dowel in half is easier than sawing the round off the astragal. I am going to check Home Depot and see if they have any half round moldings. I think I saw them there before.

mitered corner

I like this better than what is in the pic. On the shelf front rounds I beveled the ends that butted against the stile rounds. I don't like the butt joint look in the pics at all. The beveled ends are a cleaner look than the pic IMO.

sigh

This shelf end was flush when I clamped it. It slipped when I tightened it but I didn't see it because the clamp hid it. I will glue this on and after it has cooked I will plane it flush.

what......

The bottom shelf and the top shelf are the same at about 6 1/4". The middle shelf is 5 5/8". I laid out the shelf dadoes with dividers in the same way I lay out for dovetails. I thought I had laid out 3 equally spaced shelves but something bit me on the arse.

Everything is figured out and I will do something different for the shelf spacing. I'll make a run to Lowes and buy some 1/2" pine - if they still sell it. If they don't I'll resaw some Gurney's sawmill pine to 1/2".

accidental woodworker 

 

not quite a hmm.......

I like these hinges a lot but they are loose pin hinges. The bottom ball end is threaded - had to make sure the loose pin was facing up. To prevent the threaded ball end from falling off, I put a couple of drops of Red Loctite on the threads. That should do the trick with keeping it on.

I had to do some touch up on the paint. Mostly on the retainer bars - the pin nail heads were shiny. Once that was done it was on to snapping pics. 

glamour pic #1

Not so sure about the painted door now that it is done. The color is what I had on hand but thinking maybe a different color?  I like the divided lites I did and the snap catch. Note to self buy a few more of them.

new first glamour pic

Snapping the pics on the workbench was problematic. The lights were washing out the pic and I am not a photographer by any stretch of imagination.

glamour pic #2

 Got both of the shelves on the 2nd position from the top and bottom. Visually I think this looks better then putting both of them at the top and bottom ones - 1 1/2" between positions.

left side glamour pic

I made sure that the sides were clear - no knots or any other kind of defects.

back side glamour pic

This I like a lot and it will be the way I will do backs if possible.

right side glamour pic

Proud on how well the dovetails came out. I had to fill 3 gaps and I had to search to find them. 

before I forgot again

Swapped out the two blades - they are  double sided and one side was fresh and unused. I just swapped them and Ill have to check on how to do them correctly. Not sure if they are auto setting or not.

hmm......

I couldn't move the knob in either direction. After I let it soaked for a few, I could move it but only with slip joint pliers.

it works

This doesn't work all that differently from a hand plane. With that said, it does have a learning curve and quirks to figure out. Planed the edge and then tried to make a chamfer.  I didn't do too good on that so that will be revisited.

should I?

This belt is the original one and it is over 30 years old. Still feels flexible and I couldn't see any cracks or splits in it. I'll search with fingers crossed that they still have belts available.

upcoming project

This is want my daughter wants. She has the spice containers and she gave me the measurements of the largest one. From the pic it appears to be straight forward. The only thing I see as a headache is the moldings on the top back stop. 

practice one

 Using the stock from the toolbox build to make the spice rack. I'll use this build to work on the flow and any kinks I'll have to iron out.

tails done

 Pins laid out and ready to be sawn. I did them after I got back to the barn post lunch stroll.

off the saw

It was a little fussy getting the  diagonals to agree. One thing I learned so far is my spacing of the shelves needs help.

hmmm......

Using 6mm plywood for the back. Jessica told me that the back of the  one she saw was one piece. I don't want to deal with solid wood issues or the end grain of plywood showing - even though this is going to be painted.

One work step is how to attach the top back? I have a few ideas on that and I'll  think on that overnight.

bit of twist

Not sure this will work but I'm going to give it a try. It was rocking with the high corners about a 16th off the bench. I'll find out in the AM.

accidental woodworker

 Fingers crossed, but I think tomorrow I'll be posting the glamour pics of the latest to come out of Ralphie's shop. I probably could have done it today but I want the paint to dry and eyeball it all over before I pull that trigger.

hmm.....

Sharpened and tested. I could see and feel an improvement over the last time I did this. Now we'll see how well the edge holds up. I remember it dulling quickly.

snap catch done

The top of the catch on the right is slightly above the catch on the left. I'm leaving it as is because the right keeper is not the same size as the catch.

hmm.....

There is a gap at the back. Not sure if I will do anything about it. I doubt a box of cereal will fall down through it.

trimming and fitting next

Cleaned the glass and trimming and fitting the retainers was in the batters box. I didn't use any glazier's points, instead I'm relying solely on the retainers to hold the glass in place.

sigh

Getting better at fitting miters but they still manage to bite me on the arse. I cut this miter in the wrong direction. There wasn't enough length to saw it in the correct one. Too big of a gap to fill with veneer so I'll have to make a new one.

3 of 4 done

I decided to make four new retainers so each one of them would be the same. I used one of the retainers for the last one to replace the one with a gap.

last four

Got two coats of paint on them and went on my post lunch stroll.

forgot this

Part of the thought that went into this compressor. This is the drain for the tank to let out moisture. This one is a ball valve whereas the pancake compressor has a screw in/out valve.

what's my IQ?

My 1/2" nails came in and I felt like I had a single digit IQ trying to open this. After fighting with it for a bazillion years, I cut it with a sheet rock knife. I understand the purpose of the nubs on the part on the towel but I could only pull it out about 3/8" and then nada.

done

The last of the retainers are nailed in placed. All that is left is to paint the tops of them.

will it be sharp enough?

I didn't rough saw the miter but left the end square. I think that will be a better test of how sharp the chisel is.

much better

No problems, hesitation, or hiccups mitering this end in the jig. It mitered this end as effortlessly as the big chisel I used for the door. It feels sharper and easier going through the wood then the last time I tried this. Fingers crossed the edge will hold.

accidental woodworker 

 Not sure that it is the penultimate upcoming, but the end isn't far behind. Door is hinged and it is going to take a couple of rounds of painting before it is done 100%. The completion is coming at the right time as I have already turned my attention to my daughter's spice rack holder thing. 

hinging the carcass

Installing hinges at one time filled me with a fear that almost crippled me. Something little always plagued me that threw the installation off. Mortise gains chopped too deep, notches made too small or too big. Another big headache was misalignment between the door and the carcass hinges. Today no such hiccups or problems. 

Hinging the door went off without a hitch. It was made easier because the width of the hinge matched the thickness of the door edge perfectly. No worries about blowing out the thin web of wood at the edge of the hinge leaf. 

I started the hinging of the carcass with the top hinge first. Many thanks to Paul Sellers for showing this way of hinging doors. Got the hinge notch done and the hinge sitting in it flush and then marked the position the of bottom hinge.

I put one screw in that hinge (middle one) and knifed the 3 edges. So much easier doing the hinges this way. It is almost impossible to screw it up because if it could happen, I would be first in line to do it.

top margin

Most of the wiggle room is at the top. The bottom margin is a piece of paper gap. Something most have slipped on me when I laid out for the top hinge. Not a deal killer as the top margin is good as is.

won't close

I was expecting this - I knew the width might be too wide. The bottom of the door while it clears, the margin there needs to be a few frog hairs wider. 

took 3 plane and fit trips

I had to plane the latch side and the bottom of the door to fit it to the opening. It took 3 tries. It fit after the first planing run but the margins on the side and bottom were still too tight. The 2nd run was good and the third one was for the thickness of the paint to come.

hmm.....

The door swings into the interior too much. It is a 1/4" before it hits the front edge of the shelf. I needed to come up with a door stop that stops the door flush with the cabinet edge.

nope

There isn't enough room in front of the shelves to put a door stop. I will have to place it either at the top or bottom where there aren't any shelf sleeves. 

top door stop

This worked and I temporarily secured it with a couple of brads. The door however, had other ideas as the bottom toed in slightly as the door closed against the top stop.

bottom stop

The first way I thought of positioning it was parallel to the front edge. Nixed that because not only did it look out of place, it could possible be a hindrance. Positioned this way would work and take up less space and much less of a chance of it getting in the way.

better

Cut it down to less than 1/2 the length and secured it with epoxy. I scraped the shellac off down to bare wood first.

came today

You gotta love Prime. This was waiting when I got back from my post lunch stroll.

Makita MAC320Q

I like the look of this compressor. It weighs a little more than 50 pounds. I don't know what the pancake compressor weighed but this one is lighter. It is also easier to pick up and move around. Better balance from the handle and not as awkward feeling moving it around.

command central

Nice layout of the two gauges - left one is tank pressure and the 2nd one is the output. The black knob between sets the output pressure to the tool. The pancake which was a 6gal didn't have twin couplers on the output. Something that I doubt I will ever use.

works

Pin nails shot through a scrap of poplar. Worked flawlessly. The only hiccup is I still can't find a source for pin nails for this gun. It is made in Taiwan and so far I haven't find anyone that sells the gun or pin nails. 

I sharpened it a few years ago but it didn't hold its edge at all. However, I think since that sharpening I've upped my game on sharpening and I'm going to try it again. 

This coupler works differently than my other ones. To disengage you have to push it forward by grasping the red part, then pull back on the black part to remove the coupler from the gun. The part that matters is that it fits the nailer and the compressor. Engaging and disengaging will become commonplace with use.

nice touch

It has built cord storage. All and all this is a well thought out compressor. I didn't see any blemishes or crappy welds. The compressor is also a lot quieter than the pancake one was. That sounded like a diesel with an attitude when cycling. This is easily half as quiet. Even with my hearing I could hear a big difference.

closing in

Got the snap catch on the door installed. First coat of paint on the edges I planed. The plan is to get the 2nd coat after dinner.

storage

Not the one I wanted but I had to use because of the length. Needed it for the tire pressure gauge. The oil is for my Paslode finish nailer. The other 3 guns are oil free.

beater chisel

I have 3 of these Stanley chisels that I use when I don't want to risk my good bench chisels. I sharpened it a few years ago but it didn't hold its edge at all. However, I think since that sharpening I've upped my game on sharpening and I'm going to try it again.

hmm.....

There was a big chip on the left side that ate up a lot of calories removing on the runway. The toe of the bevel had a funny looking edge while doing this. It is hard to describe but it was nothing like I have seen when sharpening my good bench chisels. 

stopped here

Got it square and I raised a consistent burr on the back. I'll finish this in the AM.

accidental woodworker