Accidental Woodworker

 Finally got the bookcase done and it is going to daughter #2 later on this month. Until then I'll have to find a hole for it in shop or the boneyard. I also need to point out that this wasn't the last project for 2025. It was the 2nd to last one but either way it is done and oohs and aahs were long and satisfying.

ready to hang

Waxed both doors and buffed them. Cleaned the glass of shellac by scraping them with a razor blade followed up by glass cleaner.

essential

This is what is called a radio man ratchet screwdriver. It is incredibly awkward trying to hold the door in place and start screwing in the screws with a hand screwdriver. This ratchet screwdriver is light and the perfect size for initially driving the screw home. Made hanging the doors a wee bit easier. The only headache I had with it was it like to roll away right onto the deck

helping hand

Sawed a shallow rabbet in a scrap of pine. I will use it hold the door latch at the proper height.

the latch

I don't remember how I installed this the last time but makes sense to me. This way the latch stays square and in place while I mark for the screws.

glad I did

I didn't wan to make any errant holes in the door so I decided to first do it on a scrap of pine. It would have been too low if I hadn't tried it this way first.

done

I had looked at this with the two parts reversed and it took up about the same amount of real estate. The part that is attached to the door rolls up over the part on the shelf and drops down and locks the door.

not perfect but....

Still having nightmares about this left door. However, the right door closes up against without it having a a door latch.

first glamour pic

I'm calling this done but it still needs a latch/catch for the right hand door. The doesn't lay flat on the left door. At this point I decided a putting in a magnetic catch. I got one from my neighborhood ACE hardware.

glamour pic #2

If I make another one of these it will be wider. That is the only quibble I have with this. 

glamour pic #3

This is a big project that is going to eat up a lot of shop real estate until it goes bye bye.

side/back glamour pic

Next to cherry, pine is my favorite wood. I just wish it was a wee bit harder to take the dings from building it.

it's possible

Glamour pic #4 of the back isn't horrible. It could be shown as is. The only defect is the top left edge of the panel. It is chipped and torn out a bit.

 

hmm.......

I think I have enough width on the top door stop to mount the magnetic catch.

less than $2

This surprised coming from ACE. I find most of their offerings to be a wee bit high. But they are convenient being down the street from me. And it came with screws.

fans came

I forgot about these coming today. 

catch installed

The magnetic pull on this catch was higher then I expected it to be. I had to balance closing the top close to being able to open the door one handed. I pulled with for few and closed the gap some more.

done

New fans in and tested. A whole lot quieter - I could hear the old ones but not the new ones. The new fans turned silky smooth. Monday I'll try to find a computer shop to clone my drive. If I can't I'll install Linux Mint on the new SATA drive and start over again.

accidental woodworker 

came last night

All three came at the same time even though Amazon said two were coming on the 5th. I might buy another blue pigment, this one has shiny things in it. I want a flat blue color. I'll have to think on it for a while.

how to waste hours

We had an Epson ink jet as the main printer but it went south. After days of paper jams and ink jet headaches I tossed it. I bought this Canon 6030w because it supposedly is Linux ready. That ain't so boys and girls. The drivers supplied didn't work. I loaded and deleted them a bazillion times before I cried NO MAS.

On the Canon website, the drivers offered were garbage. They had none for this model laser printer - I loaded and tried the ones offered but none worked. After pissing away hours I gave up loading drivers. I have to add, that I needed the drivers to access the WiFi.

The printer came with a USB cable and that worked but it also gave me fits. I didn't have a free USB port on the laptop. Everyone one of them were taken for the keyboard, mouse, etc. I thought I had saved a USB hub but if I did I couldn't find where I hid it. So I ordered two of them from Amazon - insurance in case one won't work.

The printer worked with the USB cable with no problems. I use it 99% of the time to print out my sudoku and crossword puzzles. The added headache is the printer USB cable was short and I don't have anywhere to put it close to my desk (because no WiFi). Where I want to put it would require a 8 foot USB cable and I don't like using USB cables that long.

Needless to point out, the time line on the bookcase has slipped once again. I finished getting shellac on the doors before I started playing with the printer around 1000. I said NO MAS with that at 1408. Maybe tomorrow I'll ooh and aah along with letting out a long breath of relief.

why???????

I saw a half can of this on eBay for $250. I've had this can for a bazillion years. I don't use it much because the smell of it gives a headache. I'm using it to wax the door fronts - this knocks down the brush marks and smooths it out.

needs a 2nd application

About 90% of the doors got smoothed out. What didn't get smoothed sticks out too much IMO. I rubbed and shined the first coat and tomorrow I'll do a 2nd concentrating on the spots that are being a PITA.

accidental woodworker

 I think this is the last step for the bookcase before the oohs and aahs commence. I still haven't come up with an idea for latching the right hand door. I don't have a warm and fuzzy that the door will stay shut on its own. I have time to figure that out. I'll have to find someone that wants this because I don't have the room for anywhere in my house. I'm hoping that daughter #2 will say yes to adopting it.

still no lid stay

I went to ACE and my neighborhood hardware store, and neither had a small lid stay. They both had the exact same one I had that was too large. I searched Amazon for 30 minutes before I found one. It will work and I hadn't expected it to be so hard to find a small one. 

Jewelry box lid stays were too small and most of the Amazon offerings were for large, heavy lids. All I want is the lid won't flop over and rip the hinges off. And no, I didn't want to use a chain as lid stay - I have had too many of them snap off on me. IMO this lid is too large/heavy for a chain stay.

done

Back side of the doors are done. Four coats of shellac and they look good. I am glad that I planed the glazing bars flush with the muntins.

almost done

Four coats on the front but it will get at least one more. I'll get one on after dinner and decide after that if more coats are needed. Either way I'll hang the doors in the AM or PM tomorrow.
 

hmm......

Applying shellac only to the bottom as it won't be visible. The rest will be painted. The interior of the of the miniature chest will get shellac too. I applied shellac to the underside of the lid - for now. I may end up painting it but for now the plan is to go with shellac. 

This was it for today's output. I don't know what the next project for Ralphie's workshop will be. My stash from Gurney's is almost gone. I only have four 1x12 boards left. I really want to start on the desks for the grand kids. That will involve making a road trip to Highlands in New Hampshire.

accidental woodworker

 Today is a holiday. I didn't know that and I didn't know until my wife told me that. After lunch I went to ACE but it was closed. No biggie, I thought it was because it had snowed and they were closed because of that. Almost  two hours later, and after going to 3 other ACE stores that were closed, I headed back to the barn. I wanted to get a small lid stay but that will be delayed until tomorrow.

last night after dinner

Took the left door off so I could plane a tapered rabbet. I couldn't wait until the next day before I did it. Before I did the rabbet I planed the glazing bars down to the muntins.

sigh

The middle screw hole is toast. Both the top and bottom screws were pulled out by the weight of the door. I filled them in with unfinished maple golf tees.

2nd round

Missed getting a pic of the fit after the first planing run. Not all of the taper was gone - I would guess ta mate that 95% of it was. I had planed down to the layout line on the first run. On the 2nd one I planed the lines away. The 2nd fitting had to wait until the AM.  

happy face on

The 2nd planing run was the trick. I am happy with how the right door is laying up against the left one. Tiny bit of a gap at the top but I am not going to obsess about it.

hmm......

The margin I have is more than I expected. But it might be in my favor come summer time. I don't anticipate the doors to move much but this will afford some room for it.

80 grit

The bottom shelf had gotten dirty with all the times I put and took the doors off. IMO the quickest way to clean it was to sand it.

the forgotten pic

I don't understand these two doors. Both of them lay flat on each laying here on the bench. Why, how, and what is causing the left door to toe in at the bottom when it is attached to carcass.

attaching the knobs

 The centering of the knobs on each door was different. The right one is centered on 1 3/8" while the left on an 1 1/8".

hmm.....

The knobs don't look unbalanced to my eye. The astragal serves as a distraction for the eye.

more shellac work coming

Sanded both doors, inside and outside with 80 grit. A few planing defects popped out that I had missed. I sanded the edges of them smooth, feathering them out as much as I could.

sigh

One knob didn't fully seat. I noticed it when I sanded the door.  It had only been a few minutes which made it easier to remove. Sawed off the knob and drilled out the tenon. I checked to make sure the next knob fully seated dry first.

done

I hadn't checked before but the tenons on the knobs weren't the same length as the thickness of the stiles.
 

2 coats

I applied shellac on the muntins (both sides) and the inside face. Four coats on the back and then I'll flip them and put 4-5 coats on the front faces. Rehang the doors for the final time (?) and figure out a door catch/latch for the right one.

accidental woodworker

 Made progress on mopping up the bookcase today. I'm going out on a limb but I am confident that I'll be done with the bookcase this weekend. I didn't get any sleep induced ideas but this AM I finally thought of something. It wasn't what I wanted but I have too many calories expended on this already. Starting over again at square #1 or #2 is not an option.

over 14 years old

I can date this as being made before 2011 because the drawers aren't dovetailed. A painted bookcase because the wife wanted it painted. Pretty much the same theme as the current one, sans the drawers. I don't remember having any hiccups with the doors on this.

door astragal detail

I should have looked at this when I did the astragal on the bookcase in the shop. This one has a bead and the two doors are rabbeted on the latch/knob edges.

left side door

I plan on putting this catch on the current bookcase too. You can swap the two parts of this catch. The left door is held in tight to the top door stop and the right  door closes up the rabbet without any type of door closure, latch, magnet, etc.

rehung the doors again

Stood here giving it the absolute goofiest looks I could muster. That usually cracks something open in the brain bucket but not today. I took the doors off and laid them on the bench to see how the two laid up against each other.  No taper between them - the closing side was flat and straight top to bottom. (forgot to snap a pic of that).

hmm......

The right side isn't square at the bottom or the top but the left side is. I don't see any connection/cause between this and the taper between the doors. Besides I planed the left and right side doors to fit their respective openings.

right side door

I thought maybe the hinges mortises weren't aligned and that was causing the taper. However, both the stiles on the right hand door are dead nuts square with the top and bottom shelf. Scratch that off the blame list.

ta da

Problem solved. This I can understand causing the taper. It is a 1/4" off square at the bottom. It is square at the top though. Now that I know what the monkey wrench in the gears looks like, I'll have to put on my nuclear powered thinking cap and big boy pants  and figure out how to fix it.

lid stay

I thought I had a smaller one but as usual I couldn't find where I hid it. This one still had the directions with the measurements. I think these are handed - either left or right. This one is a right hand but I reversed the layout to use it on the left. I just naturally wanted to install it on the left so I did.

)(&@%)*%_)_)^_*)#)_%#

As an aside, the comment is called a gralix. The first time I installed it, it opened and closed. It was hard to open initially so I repositioned where it was secured to the lid. Now the lid won't close any further than this. Removed the lid stay and filled in all the screw holes.

sigh

This screw hole split when I plugged it. I will make a road trip to ACE and buy a smaller lid stay. I have several pairs in my stash but they are all for larger and heavier lids.

step one of the final fix

The top of the doors need a full length stop to close against. Getting a new one installed is in the on deck circle.

checking the stop

Clamped the right side of the door stop to see how the left door is laying against it. There is a 2 frog hair gap which I like.

wash, rinse, repeat on the right side

Gap disappeared at the far end of the door stop. Not sure how to address this here. Both doors line up flush on the front face where it matters. If need be I can plane a few frog hairs off there.

The door stop is installed dry, no glue, with only 3 screws. After the doors are 100% done, I will put in two more screws.

hmm......

I had to stop and think about this for a few. I wanted to ensure that I wasn't looking at this from left field. The gap at the bottom is a strong 1/4" and it peters out around 18" up.

taper layout

The bottom gap is 3/16". That will give me a 16th of wiggle room to play with. Up next is setting the rabbet plane and planing a tapered rabbet going from 3/16" at the bottom to nothing at the top.

layout

Pencil wasn't working on the shellac. I used a micro black sharpie to lay out the lines.

took a while

I don't want a wide margin between the astragal and the rabbet. I had a devil of a time setting the fence on the rabbet plane. It took 9 attempts before I got where I wanted it.

almost

With the left door hung again (the billionth time), The rabbet at the bottom is few frog hairs shy of being flush with the front edge of the bottom shelf. What I was hoping for - I have wiggle room to remove more. 

happy face on

95% of the gap is gone. This was a good time to kill the lights for the day. Tomorrow I will plane a wee bit more at the bottom and fingers crossed, I'll get 100% of the taper to disappear.

accidental woodworker

scrap

This was the original lid for the miniature chest. I ripped off the back stop and then the curved front.

yikes

There was almost 3 lines of twist according to the sticks. Step one was removing the twist on one face and making it flat and straight.

on to step two

Decided to make parallel faces. It has been a while since I have thicknessed a board, I made this one so.

done

Ended up with a board 9/16" thick. I don't need it but I'll keep it in my off cuts stash.

back to the bookcase

I will have to take off and put on the doors several more times before I can call the bookcase done. Putting the hinges back on the doors is the first step. Became aware of another potential problem - what and how will I install a door catch?

PITA upcoming

I find trying to get a screw started in the hinges awkward to say the least. Having to do it at a minimum 3-4 times sucks pond scum.

hmm.......

Both doors hung but the right one ain't cooperating. It is hitting at the bottom and tapers up and away towards the top. With the left door open, the right one will close straight.

nope

At first I thought this was hinge bound. But that wasn't causing the right door's tapered closing. If this was hinge bound, the door wouldn't close fully and it does.

hmm.......

The door is not twisted so that isn't why I have a tapered closing.

2nd check

Other than a hump on where the muntins cross, the door is flat in every plane I checked. I planed the muntins and the glazing bars flush and removed most of the hump but not all of it. The front face is flat and I don't see how this hump on back could cause the taper. Just in case, I planed what I could.

big gap

There is a slight bow in the top door stop. This end on the right side doesn't matter. It has no effect on the taper. Another dead end.

it is square

Next up on the list to check was the top front and bottom front edges were in the same plane. I checked that in a bazillion spots from left to right and right to left. A couple of spots had a some light between the straight edge and the square but nothing to cause this problem.

removing the stop

Going back to square one and that means removing the top door stop. It wasn't difficult removing it but it did leave an ugly scar. Thankfully it is at the top and the next door stop will hide it.

nope

Noticed that this top hinge was not butted up tight against the back. Fixed that and I had high hopes it was the cure but it wasn't so boys and girls.

not frustrated yet

Both doors will lay flush. The left one is few frog hairs proud on the left side stile and it toes in a strong 32nd at the center. The right one looks better than the left with it being close to flush at the top and bottom.

two hours later

I put a door stop at the bottom and nada. With the stops removed and the doors closed on each other, with no taper, I was at a lost as to what the )(&^@#Q%__)(Q^%Q+_+(+(*^%^%@) problem was.

a shaker knob

 I had bought this several years ago and never used it. The piece at a right angle to the shaft can positioned anywhere along its length. It can be turned and capture the right door to the left one. Thinking that maybe it will pull the taper to zero.

Not sure if I'll use it but I ran out of ideas for why I had the taper on the right door. I called it quits for the day here. Maybe something will light the bulb in the brain bucket overnight and tomorrow I'll fix this hiccup.

accidental woodworker 

One of the last two (miniature chest) projects is 99% done, just waiting on pigment to arrive.  The bookcase needs the doors hung, knobs installed, and some touch up shellac work to be 100%. I don't have a warm and fuzzy that I'll get either one completed before the ball falls.

 

it is twisted

I went to the shop after dinner and immediately checked the lid for twist. Sad to say but there was a lot of twist in it. I couldn't check the top face because of the stop but the underside told the story.

I was so concerned and focused on the lid being flat and straight, that it didn't occur to me to check it for twist first. Ignoring this detail has bit me on the arse before. 

it is up over an 1/8"

I couldn't see this twist eyeballing down the edges. Laid flat it jumps right out and slaps you.

shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

This is the second time I glued back on a chip on the feet. After this had set up I rasped a chamfer on all four. I should have done this right after I glued and nailed it together.

new lid

Sawed off a new lid and planed a twist free reference face.

other face was twisted

I was gentle untwisting this face. My goal was to maintain as much of the thickness as I could.

done

 I didn't make the two faces parallel. My thoughts on it were this - the reference face will be down on the top of the chest. The opposite face just has to look flat and straight, which it does.

hmm......

The opposite face to the reference one - there is a teeny bit of twist but IMO it can be ignored. I left the lid stickered on top of the chest overnight.

AM work

I had an appointment at the hospital this AM. Had a pulmonary function test but I won't know the results until after my MRI on the 9th.  Back from the hospital I played with the new lid. Used the same 1/2 pattern I used the first lid and routed a 45 degree chamfer on the front and sides.

happy face

Got the lid on the chest and no rocking. I had checked the lid for twist before I started playing with it and there was still none.

rasped the feet

The shinto rasp is quicker but I don't like the surface it leaves. I prefer to use this rasp. It is a little trickier to use and you have to rasp in the direction of the grain. The surface is smoother and I find it easier to get a consistent chamfer on each foot.

back stop

New back stop. I did consider sawing off the one on the original lid but nixed it. I had too many scraps to pick from for a new one.

got lucky

I was surprised after checking the two shelves that both were twist free. All I had done to the two of them was to plane away some cupping.

hmm.....

The top had a small bit of twist to it caused my me wandering out into left field fitting the first lid. Corrected that and checked the diagonal corners with a straight edge. I don't know what this proves/checks but I had the straight edge on the bench and did it.

checking the width of the shelves

The front edge of this stop is what the inside faces of the doors will close against. 

hmm.....

 One shelf was short of this by a 16th and the other one was a 16th over.

need to be wider

 I planed the wider shelf a 16th. I had to make the notches for the shelf pins wider. As is there was gap between the back edge of the shelf and the carcass back. I thought of filling the notches in (still might do that) but for now I just made them wider.

it is flush

This was a good feeling. With the shelf width thinned, the left door is flush with the edge of the carcass.

hmm.....

I don't like the amount of movement in the shelves in/out. On the flip side the shelves are the right width and the doors close up flush.Maybe I could a partially fill in the notch to eliminate the excessive in/out movement?

slight gap

I wasn't expecting to see this. The gap on both shelves is about the same too.

sigh

Got clamp rosebuds on the top and bottom. They weren't deep and after eyeballing them, I am convinced that they were caused by the clamp pads. I don't see clamp rosebuds when I use the quick grips.

hinging the lid

I put a few dabs of super glue on the hinge. Positioned the lid and clamped the hinges for a few minutes.

not moving

I have tried this super glue trick without clamping but I didn't have much success. The hinges would pop off with the slightest amount of stress. With the clamps putting pressure on the hinge for a few minutes, no problems. I put two screws in each hinge leaf on the lid. I still have to take the lid off when I finally get around to painting it.

partial ooh and aah

The miniature chest is 99.99% done. It is sanded, all defects filled with wood putty, it just needs paint. The latest update from Amazon says it will come 3 Jan. The other two pigments are still scheduled to arrive on the 5th. Ordered all 3 from the same supplier, why the different delivery dates?

accidental woodworker 

 I came close to finishing this up today but it ain't so boys and girls. I got the glass and the glazing bars installed on the last door and then I ran into bit of a hiccup. I will have to address that show stopper before I can ooh and aah. So maybe tomorrow or tuesday for dancing in the streets of Mudville?

happy face on

This glazing bar had a big gap yesterday that I clamped shut with a couple of ghost sticks. The right side looks like there is a gap but there isn't. Happy with the fit and look of door #1.

hmm......

Me thinks I made a me-steak. I should have applied shellac to the muntins before I installed the glass and glazing bars.

the show stopper

Put the finished door in place and it doesn't fit. The top shelf is definitely too wide. The door is a 1/8" proud laid up against it. The bottom is flush but that could be because it toed in. I might have to make one or two new shelves. Sigh.

oh what a relief

The chest is still square. When I took the diagonal clamp off, the chest didn't groan or move. 

flushing the ends

When I nailed the sides on I left them a couple of frog hairs proud of the end. That way today I could plane them flush.

didn't allow for this

When I adjusted the bandsaw I did it so the front/back were flush in the notch. I planed the rough bandsawn surface smooth and got this. But this is to my advantage. Easier to flush this then deal with the front/back being proud.

sigh

I didn't predrill for the nails and paid the price. I didn't think I needed to do for this because I was nailing into sides. Went back to square one and started again with predrilled bearers.

ouch

The bearers are 3/4" thick and the ends are 3/4" thick. I used 1 1/4" finish nails but all three still stuck out to shake hands with me. Glad that I'm using milk paint on this chest.

bearers done

I clipped off about a 1/8" from each nail and none poked out.

flushed

Filed all the poking nails with a file. One of the clipped ones  poked out a few frog hairs that I filed flush too.

hmm.....

I flushed the top of this bearer with the top of the end ones. A tapered portion over hung on the bottom. Flushed what I could with the violin plane 

2" chisel

What I couldn't get with the violin plane, I got with the chisel. I could have used the chisel to do all of the flushing.

dutchman

I meant to put this facing the inside but it became a moot point when I saw I had another chip/blowout on the opposite face. I enlarged it a wee bit and glued in a dutchman. No need to match grain/color because I'm painting this.

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

I love my new glue bottle but this red cap I am beginning to hate with a passion. I can't seem to keep it close when I take it off the bottle. I am forever losing it or it walks away on me. It took me 15 minutes to find it this time when I searched for it.

jig time

Made a quick jig to hold the glazing bars while I chopped notches for the glazier points.

2nd door done

Two of the long glazing bars were bowed, one on each side. In the end I got all the bars gap free and down to the glass.

sawing the dutchman

I put a thin piece of wood on the chest to guide the saw so I wouldn't dig into the chest. The portion left proud I flushed with a plane.

done

Again it didn't need to be perfect. The few gaps I will fill in with wood putty.

wee bit of twist

It was rocking pretty good. The sticks showed two lines out of whack which is a healthy amount of twist.

you can knock because it ain't rocking

It took a while but it is laying flat on the tablesaw. No rocking when pushed on any of the corners. However, the chest will not lay flat on the workbench. That is why I use the tablesaw as my reference flat surface.

bottom done

The bottom of the chest was slightly  out of square - the top wasn't. To hide the ugly looking gaps I used the last of my quarter round moldings to keep it down on the bearers. Haven't decided on how to secure them yet. Glue and pin nails or just the nails?

hmm.....

Too much overhang on the front. I am overhanging the ends a 1/2" and I want the front to be the same. The trick there is the front will be curved.

no twist

The lid was rocking and I could see that it wasn't laying flat neither. At first I thought it was the top of the chest but it is dead nuts twist free.

too short

This beam compass is almost 3 feet long but it wasn't enough. I want a shallow curve on the lid and it wasn't happening this way.

first time

I had this flexible layout doo dad for several years. This it the time I can remember using it. Making a half pattern for the front of the lid.

ripping it to final width

The front over hung the front of the chest too much IMO. Nailed a straight edge over hanging the curve so I could run it against the fence to get a parallel cut on the back edge.

hump

The lid still wasn't laying flat on the chest. Just realized as I was looking at this pic that I didn't check the board for twist. I planed the hump and it did improve the rocking some but didn't eliminate it.

hinges mortised

I don't like how these no mortise hinges lay without a mortise. Without a shallow mortise the back end is pushed up about a 1/8".  I don't like the tapered look of the lid. 

like this router a lot

It is only a 1/4" but it is cordless. The balance is good and visibility for seeing the router bit is decent. Used it to rout a 45 chamfer on the sides and front of the lid. I am putting a back stop on this chest too.

glued and cooking

I cut the height down twice on the back stop before I glued it on. I did a 1" round over on the ends and left the rest of the stop square.

hmm......

The mortises weren't flat side to side. I chiseled them even and that made the mortise a wee bit too deep. I try to have the hinges flush or a frog hair proud. With them below the top of the mortise, they become hinge bound.

got lucky

This thin sliver of wood is an off cut from ripping the lid to its final width. With this piece of veneer, the hinges were less than a frog hair proud. Once screws go in it should pull the hing down so it ends up flush.

 Had a good day in the shop and I got a lot accomplished. I have two projects that are both an inch from finish line. The bookcase wasn't the last project of 2025 and the miniature chest might not claim that honor neither. There are 3 days left in Dec 2025 and I might get to start the first project of 2026.

accidental woodworker 

done

I put two more coats on the insides of both doors. Called it done. After eyeballing the doors I noticed that the muntins need another coat or two of shellac. I will deal with that after I get the door hung. 

2nd snowfall of 2025

Got 3 inches of white fluffy snow. Before I got to the shop I shoveled the driveway and the front walk.

3 times wasn't the charm

Before I did this I had to fiddle with the bandsaw. The blade wouldn't track for some reason. Fixed that headache and adjusted the fence for the crosscut on the miniature 6 board chest.

side cutouts

Small cutout for the bottom of the sides. 

doubled them up

Rasped the cutout to the penciled lines and smoothed with 100 grit sandpaper.

glued and nailed

Attached the sides to the front/back with cut nails. I predrilled a 1/8" pilot hole for the nails and no splits. First time I have used cut nails without getting at least one split. I went 20 for 20.

needed some help

I squared this up on the inside diagonals. They were 5/16" off. I will leave the clamp on until tomorrow.

it is glass time

Dry fitted all the glazing bars again. I had to play with a couple of them because I didn't label them.

sigh

I chopped a notch for the glazier points. This one split when chopping it. Initially I glued it with yellow glue and moved on. By the time I had finished all the notches I shit canned this split one and made a new one.

2 down, 2 to go

I did the two small ones to check how the gluing would go. I used hide glue and along with the snug fit of the glazing bars, all is well in Disneyland. I don't anticipate any hiccups with the rest of them.

done

I was bit surprised by how heavy the door was with the glass installed. I put in a couple of ghost sticks because the right long glazing bar wasn't tight and gap free along its length.

glazier points

Setting the points was a bit tricky. I only used 4 per pane of glass. I managed to get them all inserted without cracking/chipping the glass or splitting any of the rabbets.

lid and hinges

I thought I would get this done today but it didn't happen boys and girls. Doing the glass took more time than I thought. I had checked the plans in the book and the bottom is nailed in. No grooves or dadoes. There is also a nailed on molding on the four lid edges. I don't think I'll be copying that detail.

hmm......

This I don't understand. I had dry fitted these a couple of days ago and I had no gaps. All the miters fitted up snug then. Made a new one and got a snug dry fit. I also had to shorten 3 glazing bars. Don't understand how 3 grew and one shrunk.

 I got the glass and glazier points installed in the 2nd door before I killed the lights. I thought I would get both doors done today but I'll have to wait until tomorrow. 

accidental woodworker 

The good words to hear while I was in the Navy coming into port was, "line one going over". That is where I am at with the bookcase project. I am hoping that I will be oohing and aahing over it tomorrow. If not then, then sunday for sure. 

day after xmas 2025

After dinner on xmas I went to the shop and got two coats of shellac on the doors, both sides.

the problem

This rabbet is what I need to stay bare wood. I will be gluing the glazing bars to this. Glue will not adhere to shellac. It will initially but it will fail in a short amount of time.

glazing bar

This edge of the glazing bar is what will hold the glass panes in the rabbets.

shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

I missed getting shellac on this edge of the glazing bars. I still got four coats on them by the time I killed the lights.

hmm......

Figured out where the knobs will live. The astragal on the right door is eating up some of the real estate  where the knob should go. I can't center the knob on the right door but I can on the left one. Decided to center the left one and try to get the right one as close as possible to center without the knob eating up any of the astragal.

hmm....

I wasn't expecting these long ones to launch into stupid wood tricks. I could clamp these as I glue them but I don't think that is a good road to travel. Instead I will make 4 new ones - I have plenty of extras.

sigh

I made two and I thought I could use the other two original ones. Not so boys and girls. Two new ones at the top and bowed ones beneath them. I whacked out two more.

almost done

Both doors will be done come the AM. I have four coats on the inside and 5 on the outside. I will keep adding coats to this side until it matches the shellac build on the astragal. I am awfully close to that here but I need at least one more coat to make sure.

3 extras

I think the shellac had something to do with the long glazing bars going nutso. Before I applied any to the edges, they were all flat and straight. I had to make two more for the other door. The other two original ones are iffy. They bowed a bit and I think I can glue them but I'll have to wait on that. I have extras to make two more if needed. 

The 6 new ones I made are still flat and straight after getting 4 coats of shellac. Fingers crossed they will still be that way in the AM.

the 3rd one?

The bookcase was not the last project of 2025 and neither was the platform for the tower computer. This is the stock for a miniature six board chest. This one could be the finale for 2025.

where the idea came from

The six board chest is one of 3 projects I will be making from this book by Kerry Pierce. The 8 drawer chest to right of it is the 2nd one.

the 3rd one

I am jazzed about this project. Making a blanket chest with a drawer has been on my to do list since I watched Normie make one in season two(?) of the New Yankee Workshop.

I intend to paint the two chests with milk paint. I ordered a blue pigment for the miniature 6 board and red for the larger one with a drawer. I also ordered some black pigment - thinking of painting the miniature lid black. Maybe. Just thinking ahead.

less than an inch

I have almost emptied another can of shellac.  I almost done applying it but I think I have enough to finish the bookcase. It is just the glazing bars and how much can they soak up?

accidental woodworker 

 

 

empty

I barely had enough shellac in the empty can - what I did have I poured into the front can. Surprised that I blew through an almost full can so quickly. I'm happy with how the  shellac laid down and looks. No hiccups with  5-6 coats I have laid down so far.

before I forgot

Used this carbide scraper to clean up any glue squeeze out in the rabbets. Wash, rinse, and repeated for the other door.

almost

Got three coats on the shelves and one more to go. That one went on after lunch.

one more

The base has 9 coats and the interior has 4 right now with one more to be applied. That means the carcass will get a check mark in the done column today. 

last two

These are going to be a PITA to do. It isn't the brush work but avoiding getting shellac on the vertical walls of the rabbets. I need them to be bare so the glue has something to grab on. I have to be picky doing the glazing bars too. I will need to avoid getting shellac on the outboard edge and the miters.

accidental woodworker

sneak peek

The door astragal came out better than I anticipated it. It doesn't stand out or command any attention. To my eye it is subtle and blends into the background. On the flip side of the coin, it hides the gap on the latch side of the doors perfectly.

hmm......

The shelf that I flattened twice is good. No stupid wood tricks overnight. However, the other shelf felt like it was not getting any love. It cupped a little and too much to ignore.

sigh

Flattening it didn't take up much time. I got full shavings across the width by the third planing run. Stopped there and called it done. The hump on the opposite face I just knocked down. I didn't go nutso getting full width shavings. I didn't want to thin the width anymore than necessary.

????

Not sure what this is. It is soft and squishy but it doesn't look/feel like a pitch pocket. It doesn't smell like pine pitch neither. Clueless as to what it is but I will remove it and put a dutchman in.

squirrel grain

Got some ugly looking blowout when I flattened this face. The grain reversed on itself 3 times where the blowout happened. Got some on the opposite side too. I will rip this off and glue a filler strip on.

too thin

The first strip I ripped was too thin. I had zero wiggle room with it so I ripped another one. Made that one twice the thickness of the first one.

glued and cooking times two

Filler strip on the edge and the dutchman glued and cooking.

done

Happy with how this dutchman turned out. It is almost invisible. I don't mind doing these types of repairs/fixes because this is a shelf. For the most part it will never be seen - the dutchman or the filler strip on the back edge.

sigh

The notches for the shelf pins didn't line up. The width of the two shelves were dead nuts on. Not a big deal, made the notches a few frog hairs wider.

fingers crossed

Everything else I can cross I am doing too. I don't have much more to do before the oohs and aahs commence. Still need to get at least two more coats of shellac on the carcass. After that all that is left to shellac are the shelves and the doors.

So far the bookcase has consumed almost one quart can of shellac. Glad I have three more in backup.

done

This is the finale for me in the year 2025. Four coats on the top and I'm calling this done.

Yikes

It is toast. I vacuumed the area around the desk and I pushed the computer away with my foot and paid the toll. The hard drive connector snapped off and it won't stay on. If I didn't have the fans on order already I would have given this free introductory flying lessons. 

temporary set up

I have gotten used to the size of the monitor and the display on the laptop ain't making the cut anymore. While I wait on parts and fixing the desktop I'll use this - might even configure a two monitor setup.

dead weight

The platform stand looks good and raises the computer up from the floor. Of course the laptop power connection is on the left side so the cord runs across the desk over to the power strip on the far right.

17 years old

The SATA hard drive in the computer is 500G and this one is 160G. This is more than adequate for me as I don't save or run any programs that need this much space to run. I had 21 hard drives and 20 of them were IDE - this is/was the only SATA drive I had. Still in its original packaging, unopened. I'll bring the two drive to a computer shop and have them mirror the 500G unto the 160G hard drive. 

I wasn't expecting to piss away two hours playing with the computer trying to get the hard hooked up and working again. I was a bit frazzled and frustrated and I didn't want to go to the shop and screw up something there. Stayed upstairs and calmed down. I'm just applying shellac but no reason to risk doing something stupid and boneheaded. There is no time line on getting this bookcase done. 

accidental woodworker 

 

squeezed in one more

This is a teeny table for my desktop computer. It is now the last project of 2025. The top is bowed a wee bit but I was able to clamp it flat to the base when I glued it up.

hmm.....

The shelf I flattened yesterday did have stupid wooden tricks still up its sleeve. This end of the board cupped across the width again. The opposite end is flat - ish. The center of the tree is about 4" in from the far end of the board. That is what is causing the cupping.

still cupped

I had planed the hump on the underside of the board first. It made that flat but did nada to top side. Took it back to the bench and planed directly across the board just on the right end. Stopped once I got full width shavings.

sigh

When planed the molded edge again, I got some tear out along the top edge of it. Used the small record plane to remove it. I had to do it at a slight angle but you can't see it unless you eyeball it up close and personal.

looks better

The top shelf is the one I flattened. From six feet away it looks flat to the eye. It still has a wee bet of cup - there is light under a straight edge but it isn't too bad. I'll evaluate it again tomorrow.

computer table banding

Nailed on the banding using butt joinery. The nails didn't pull the bandings tight to the edge so I had to use clamps.

door astragal

Thought about this and decided to glue the astragal on before applying any shellac to the door. I clamped a board spaced 3/4" from the door's edge. That was to keep the astragal from shifting when I clamped it. I covered it with wax paper because these clamp pads will mar and leave their imprint on the shellac.

getting there

First coat on the carcass. I have four coats on the base and I will apply more shellac to the base as I do the carcass.

almost done

 3 coats on the base and I'm calling it done. With any luck I'll be able to get 3 coats on the top before tomorrow.

the fix

The tapered filler is visible but only up close. Standing directly in front I couldn't see this.

smaller fix

The bottom left corner tapered filler is smaller. This one disappeared even more than the top right one.

accidental woodworker 

 The end is in sight now.  The only woodworking step left that I can think of is gluing the glazing bars in the rabbets. Shellac went on today. It is going to take a while to get the shellac on this bookcase. The doors are going to take the longest followed by the bookcase. The shelves will be easy but they will hog a lot of real estate while they get the finish applied. It is going take a couple of days to get it done.

hmm.....

I was sanding this when I noticed the ends were wonky looking. I shot the ends on the shooting jigs just enough to clean them up and get them back to square.

almost an 1/8"

This shelf cupped on me. I could see it no matter where I stood to eyeball it.

test pieces

I applied shellac on the face and edge. From how it flowed and its liquidity, I would guess the cut was around 2lb. 

flattening the shelf

I didn't go nutso on this. I basically flattened it by eye. I was only going to do the top face but I could see the hump on the opposite face. I planed most of the hump away - stopped when it looked good to my eye with it in place.

done

Smoothed both sides with the #3 and called it done.

looks flat

There is still a wee bit of a cup but to my eye it looks flat. I'll check it again in the AM to see if the shelf has any stupid wood tricks up its sleeve.

two coats

About 15 minutes after the first coat I put on the 2nd one. First coat dried and the 2nd one laid down over it without any hiccups. I was happy with whatever pound cut I had mixed.

ouch

Went to the House of Glass and got my 8 pieces of glass. $59 and change to walk out the door. Glad that I don't have anymore frames I can use for doors.

nailed it

The glazing bars weren't too thick. With the glass installed the bars were flush with the door. If they hadn't been flush I would have planed them flush after the glue had set.

last re-mix

I transferred shellac from the full can into the empty one until they were roughly the same level. I started first with a cup and 1/4 of alcohol to see how it laid down.

first coat

The 1 1/4 cups of alcohol were ok. The first coat laid down about the same as the two test pieces. I now have  4 quart cans (mostly full) of shellac. I shouldn't have to mix any for quite a while. 4 cans should be more than enough for 6 months.

hmm.....

I like this putty a lot. It is a good color match for pine and it is easy to apply. I got a tube of it when I stopped at the paint store to get my empty quart cans.

first coat

The plan is to do the bottom and back first - 4 coats. After that I'll do the rest of the bookcase. Along with this I am also doing the door astragal at the same time.

the true last project

Making a raised platform for the computer. This should help with how much dust gets sucked up into the the computer.  The base is 1/2" plywood with poplar legs and pine rails. I used dowels to connect/secure the legs to the rails.

I will glue the plywood to the base and cover the plywood edges with pine bandings. That will happen in the AM.

door astragal

This has 4 coats of the final mix of the screwed up shellac. Coverage is good and it is shiny. I am happy with the shellac and how this looks. I'm calling it done.

blurry pic of my computer

The computer is running a little better than before. One fan is still making an occasional noise. It is not constant but comes and goes. The fans I ordered are coming from England and they shipped with delivery scheduled for Jan 5th. Until then I'm going to leave the side panel off.

accidental woodworker 

2 down, 6 to go

Things were going slowly today. Yesterday I got a pain in my shoulders and it hasn't gone away but it has diminished a wee bit. Doing the glazing bars wasn't stressful and while doing it I didn't feel the pain in my shoulders. When I am idle I definitely can feel it. Better to keep busy.

done

I like the repetition of this work. Rough saw the miters, shoot the miters until it fits, then move on to the next glazing bar. There is satisfaction to the rhythm of the work 

hmm......

I gotta fix these divots. The doors should look good from either side and this would stick out like a neon light.

one down, one to go

With all the glazing bars I made I couldn't find one that matched the color of the door.

glued and cooking

Time to go fill the pie hole. I finished this after lunch.

made a command decision

I have been eyeballing the backstop for a couple days and something kept nagging me about it. Dawned on me this morning that it was too high.

much better

This is what this should be. Small, unobtrusive, almost like it isn't there. I like this look. Just high enough to stop things from falling off at the back but also like you have to look twice to see it was even there.

glued and cooking

Glue only, no screws or nails. The only woodworking left is the two shelves. I think that is it.

boo boos fixed

Planed them flush and you can see them. They don't stand up and slap you, but they are noticeable if you look.

shelves are next

The shelves final width is 9 1/2". Kicking myself for not gluing up stock to get a wider width. However, this would still work for 60% of the books I have. 

my favorite molding plane

I have been molding this profile on all the shelves I've made in the past 2 years. It is a Preston plane and the profile is an ogee?

done

I had to trim both shelves to fit the opening. The front to back was slightly out of square. It was wider at the front tapering in towards the back. I planed a small taper (a strong 32nd) on each end. No problems with the shelves fitting in any of the positions. I chopped four mortises on the bottom of each shelf for the shelf pins.

hmm....

The shellac on these two sticks is thick. Way thicker than what I see after one coat with my normal mix. I had gone out before lunch to the grocery store intending to stop at the Dollar Store to get measuring cups but I forgot to do it. Went and got a red set just before quitting time.

need one more can

I took half of the contents of one of the shellac cans and filled the empty one. After that I put a cup of alcohol into both cans. I'll repeat the same for the other shellac can. The paint store they should have quart cans in stock on monday. I guess-ta-mate that I have roughly a 2lb cut now in these two cans. I'll be trying it out on some scrap to check that out.

accidental woodworking 

 Last night my desktop computer finally gave up the ship and sank. The intake fans were noisy, the CMOS battery voltage was low, and the knife in the heart was the keyboard stopped working. Since the desktop isn't heavy enough to be a boat anchor, I now had a big ass paper weight.

dust bunnies

See the pile of dust bunnies above the light spot? This was just one of several inside the computer. All told I think I sucked up about 9 pounds.

yikes

The silver and copper thing is the CPU cooler. The black thing in front of it is where the intake fans are. I wasn't expecting to see this much and it is mostly my fault because I have only cleaned out the computer once in the last 4-5 years.

hmm....

The outlet side was clogged shut - very little air was moving through the grill. There are two fans there. One blows air across the CPU cooler and the other blows air across the memory sticks. There is no fan on the CPU cooler.

took a while

A search on line said there was a fan on the CPU cooler. It ain't so boys and girls. The fins on this were full of dust bunnies too.  I got the board clean after 30 minutes of brushing and vacuuming.

silent

Both fans are working with no noise coming from either one. Neither one wobbled and both seemed to spinning freely.

CMOS battery

These button batteries last for a long time in computers. This battery is common and I got a replacement at CVS.

the noise maker

One of the fans started to make noise and this was the cause. This explains why I heard the noise off and on. I thought it was the bearings in the fan being toast.

I got two replacement fans on order for $19 each. I got them from Amazon and they had the same fan for a low of $19 all the way up to $59. Same maker, same specs, so why the discrepancy in the pricing? I should have them the week after xmas. I'll limp along with what I have for now.

sigh

This is where I found out the top keyboard was toast. I changed the batteries first and nada. My spare board worked. The computer booted up and loaded with no problems. Home page came up and YouTube worked perfectly. Other than one of the fans making a little noise all was well again in Disneyland.

battery leaked

Changed the batteries again and nada again. I saw this and said ok, problem found? Cleaned it and tried the batteries again. Keyboard working again. This is something I check frequently, usually once a month. I also check my flashlights for battery leaking. I've lost 3 of them in the past few years.

back to the bookcase

Started finishing up last bits of woodworking. Glued and nailed the quarter round to the base starting with the right short side.

done

The left side short quarter round was last. It took 6 plane the miters and checking before it fit. I am happy with miters, all four corners are gap free.

hmm.....

Sneak peek at the astragal. I like that it doesn't stick out or over power the simplicity of the doors. 

huh....

This I don't understand. I had already trimmed and leveled the tops of the doors. The first time it was the left one and now the right one is a wee bit high.

last thing for today

Just before this I had nailed the cove molding in the top back. I glued toothpicks in the screw holes. I had put in and taken the doors off so many times the holes were enlarged and the screws weren't biting anymore. I am going to try and wait before I put the doors on for the final time.

Didn't get as much done on the bookcase that I thought I would. Getting my desktop computer back up and running again ate up a lot more time than I expected. One of the last things to do is to glue on the back stop on the top of the bookcase.

came today

If memory serves me still, Stanley was called the Rule and Level company in the 1850's. I was a history major until I switched to business. I like reading the histories/biographies of companies and people. This author also wrote a book on Stanley planes which I have in my library.

eye opener

I got this book a few years back and it blew me away. I had assumed that rules were just inch scales etc. I was wrong, so very wrong. I couldn't believe how many different types of rules were made. Each industry had their own needs that went beyond simple measuring rules. It was eye opening and interesting. I've read and skimmed through it several times since I first bought it. 

accidental woodworker

sigh.....

This is my main computer that lives besides my desk. It is a Dell T3500 which means it is obsolete. Lately the fans have been acting up. I've lost 60% of my hearing and this AM I could hear the fans laboring while I was in the bathroom with the door partially closed. Time to pony up and fix it.

After searching on line for a while I found out that there are 2 fans in the computer. One on the CPU cooler and two intake fans. I have always hated Dell computers because they purposely make replacing any parts almost impossible. You either buy from them or you have a big ass paper weight. Fans are available still on eBay and I'll have to open the computer up and see which fans are acting up. I have a laptop I can use in the interim. Tomorrow, maybe because it has been almost 20 years since I've played computer tech.

door stop

Found 4 of these buried in the black hole and I am using one as the top door stop. I think I had made these a few years ago when I rehabbed a bead molding plane.

marking

I hung the doors, closed them, and marked the backside of the stop molding.

hmm....distracted

I could have sworn that I had a gap here yesterday. I'll add some veneer in the carcass mortises to increase it.

going slowly

I clamped boards from the back holding the door stop where I had marked it. Taped it in place and checked it with the doors closed. Both doors when up against the stop, were flush on the front.

glued and cooking

I double, triple checked the door stop was on the layout lines on the back of it. I won't have any chances to adjust once the glue has set. Fingers crossed that all will be well in Disneyland tomorrow. Just glue to secure this, no nails or screws.

door astragal

Glued the two parts together. I'll hold off gluing it to the right hand door until the last moment.

quarter round molding

The short right one is fitted. The other three are over length. Once I get the right one glued and nailed, I will secure the two long ones followed by the short left one.

door astragal

This is ready to be glued on. I sawed 45's on the ends and then sanded them started with 100 grit ending with 220.

gap filled

This is the back and I could have let it go but I couldn't. Glued in a piece of veneer.

securing the back

I clamped two boards so I could push the back up against them. This allowed me to secure the back with screws and Miller dowels while ensuring the back was flush.

top

Used five 1 1/2" screws to secure the top.  No glue, just screws. The top stop will hide the screws. 

Miller dowels

Both sides got 5 Miller dowels each. The bottom is free floating. No screws, nails, or Miller dowels for it. I didn't want to unscrew the base to get Miller dowels or screws into the bottom.

no gap

Back frame assembly is in and secure and the light leak I know I had yesterday is gone. I'm still going to put the cove molding here but now it will hide pencil marks I didn't bother to remove. I'll glue and pin nail it in place.

another gap

I can't believe I hadn't noticed and addressed this hiccup already. Same treatment as the back - I glued in a piece of veneer.

glazing bars

I went nutso on this and made double what I needed. Used up most of the waste and off cuts from the bookcase build.

one done

These glazing bars are on the thin side. They aren't thick enough to nail through. I will glue them in place with hide glue. I did one just to check the depth and to ensure that I can fit a pane of glass in the rabbets along with the glazing bars.

I'll survive the brain fart

 A couple of days after my mixing hiccup, both cans are liquid still. No clumps of undissolved shellac in either one. The right can I shook before opening it and the right I didn't shake first.

it is thick

I usually mix a 1.5 to 2 pound cut and the shellac on these stir sticks is pretty thick. Much more so than what I see with my usual mix. I plan to transfer half of each of these two cans into another one. I'll then add alcohol until it looks and feels like my usual mix ratio.

look what I found

I had an empty quart can all along. I had seen this on the cabinet but I assumed it had shellac in it. I was wrong. Tomorrow I'll go to the dollar store and buy a cheap set of measuring cups so I can transfer from the full-ish cans to the empty one. 

accidental woodworker 

done

Got the 2nd attempt on fitting the back panel done. Got the first 3 sides fitted and the last one was a cake walk. This pic was snapped with me standing about 6-7 feet away.

this will work

On the back side there isn't a gap but in the interior there is a tiny sliver of light visible along the top edge. This cove molding is small, unobtrusive and blocks the light.

reusing the mistake

I needed stock for the door astragal and I used this boo boo. I sawed it into four pieces and used one to get the door astragal.

thin or thick

The thicker one is 3/8" thick and it was my first choice for the base. The thinner one is about 3/16".

my hinges

This is an unswaged hinge. There is a healthy space between the leaves when they are parallel.

hinges flat against each other

With swaged hinges the two leaves lay flat against each other when they are closed. Makes it a bit harder to mortise. Hope this helps Frank.

left one done

I chiseled the hinge mortises a little deeper and then evened the four of them with the router.

won't close

I closed the gaps between the hinges and the side of the carcass. But the doors won't close - the right one over hangs the left one about 1/8". This is the uncertainty I have with these hinges. I wasn't sure how deep to make the mortises so I did a little and checked it. Wash, rinse, and repeat until done.

I made another chisel/router run making them a wee bit deeper. That along with planing the latch side of the right door, the doors closed and opened. I got the gap to a 16th. I can make it wider if necessary because I can hide it with the door astragal.

hmm....

This is the right side door and the hinge margin is zero. It is closing ok but I like having some daylight between the door edge and the carcass.

insurance

I put a #4 screw in the ends of the muntins. Probably didn't need it but it is giving me a warm and fuzzy. Muntins are usually mortised into the stiles and rails.

changing lanes

The door astragal on the left is history. The base under the 1/2 round is 1 3/4" wide and it would eat up too much real estate and not leave sufficient room for the knobs. The right base is 1 1/2" but I couldn't find a smaller 1/2 round for it. I found a scrap of pine 3/4" wide by 3/8" thick.

back to thick or thin

I don't like the 3/8" thick base for the astragal. I think it is too heavy looking for the doors. I am going with the thinner base - the size of it doesn't overwhelm the scale of the doors.

sneak peek

Looking like what I envisioned it to be. There isn't much left to do woodworking wise. I'll have to get the glass for the doors and that should be the last thing I have to order/wait for.

fixed

The top of the left door was about a 16th higher than the right. Marked it and then planed it to the line.

door astragal

Rounded over the outside edges on both pieces and sanded them smooth. I'm holding off gluing the two of them together for now. Once I have it cut to length, I will saw the ends at a 45.

the ends

I think leaving the ends at a 45 (which I can saw, plane, and sand) it a better choice than trying to round over the end grain ends.

better

Got a gap now. Before it was a little bit hinge bound at the bottom. Something I hadn't noticed before. I had to add a shim in the carcass side mortise to get this gap.

hmm.....

The shelf width will about 9 1/4". I was shooting for something at 10" or more. Maybe I should have glued up to get wider stock.

accidental woodworker

 

fitting the back panel assembly

I laid the pattern on the back, adjusting it until it looked ok and I marked where I had to remove and where I had to add. I had to add fillers on two opposite edges.

haircut day

It still surprises me with how much dark hair I still have on the roof. I have some distinguished gray at the temples but the rest of the rest is black. It is winter so I cut my hair to a 1/4", the other 3 seasons I mow it down to a 1/8".

ready to plane

Fillers cooked and I laid the pattern on the back and penciled its outline onto the it.

sigh

 One side of the coin has the back fitted. It is a snug fit with no large gaps, a few teeny slivers. On the other side this is a boo boo. This side should be facing into the interior.

the brain fart

I hadn't thought this all the way through. The pattern fits the back perfectly but the rub is I penciled the the pattern the wrong way. I should have penciled the pattern on the back of the panel assembly.

fitting the back

I was oblivious to this  being wrong at this point. All my OCD attention was focused on fitting this. Started by getting the bottom first, then the right side, followed by the top, and finally the left side. 

found out my boo boo

This is the unfinished side of the plywood panels. It doesn't look that bad. There is one white spot on the right panel that I could paint/blend to hide.

this is a no no

This splintered edge is not what I want to see. It looks like crap. I now had two choices, make a new panel assembly or start over from square one with this.

chose option two

I double, triple checked this a bazillion times. I checked that I was laying the pattern correctly on the back face several times before I committed to tracing the pattern on it.

two more fillers

I had two large gaps on the frame - at the top right and the bottom left. My plan was to fit the bottom, right side, and top first. After I got them fitted I would glue the final filler on the left side and fit it.

gotta love McMaster Carr

They are wee bit expensive but they are worth. Ordered these yesterday and got them at 1320 today. These will be used for hinges mostly. A hundred screws in each box for about $10 each.

3 sides fitted

It took a while but I found it relaxing sneaking up on the fit. And I got it correct this time.

last one

I think, at least for me, this was the way to do this. Trying to get all 4 in one shot would too much. The large gap at the top is a frog hair shy of a 1/4". The right side large gap was just shy of 3/16". 

maybe tonight

Got the last filler strip on and I'll let it cook until whenever. I might come back to the shop after dinner to fit but that depends. If not I'll finish this up in the AM.

It is looking like this will be done probably before xmas. I might be able to squeeze in another last minute project to close out 2025.

accidental woodworker 

 

came yesterday

I was tempted to start on these last night after dinner but I didn't. That aside, these 2" hinges will do the job. Nice touch with brass and steel screws but I won't be using either of them. Both are philips head screws and I don't like them. For nice brass hinges like these I want slotted brass flat head screws.

sweet

These hinges cost $34 a pair and they are well worth it. Ball tips are the cherry atop the sundae.

fitting the panels

Laid out the pencil line and planed down to it.

hmm......

The center stile wouldn't align with the dry fit tic marks. However, it is square, on both sides, at the top and bottom. I got both panels dry fitted and I'm happy with how it looks. Forgot to snap a pic of it for proof.

dutchman glued on

I had seen on a YouTube vid where he applied yellow glue to one side and superglue to the other side. No attempt to have clear spots for either glue. I decided to give it a try and see what shook out.

planing the waste

I didn't want to risk sawing any of the waste off. It would have been a awkward working around the clamp and sawing with my non master hand. There didn't seem to be any headaches or hiccups with the mixing of the two glues.

done

This repair will be at the upper left corner of the bookcase. It doesn't look that bad this close and once it is in the bookcase it will be invisible.

glued and cooking

I got the tic marks on the center stile to align. The right side stile ended up a bit proud though. It won't be problem because I still have to plane this to fit the back.

hinge layout

I have come a long way with installing hinges. They don't fill me with dread anymore. I just treat as another step to complete the build.

not perfect yet

The leaf wasn't flush on the left side. Flush on the right though. A piece of cherry veneer brought it up flush.

needs a #5 screw

Not only were the supplied screws philips head, they were too long. They would have been ok in the carcass but not on the door. They were a few frog hairs longer than 3/4" (metric ?) - they would have poked through.

 I didn't have enough screws for the 4 hinges. Blacksmith bolt were I usually buy my screws didn't have any #5x5/8" in stock. I ordered them from McMaster Carr and I should have them tomorrow.

sigh

I blew out the back twice. I only waited the first time a few minutes (used super glue) but this time I let it set for over 30 minutes.

insurance

I clamped a backer at the back and it worked. I didn't blow it out again.

one down, one to go

Left door swings easily in/out. The margins aren't even, the bottom is thinner than the top. They are parallel and consistent though.

nope

The bottom is beyond snug. There is no way this will close. Glad now that I didn't go nutso fitting the doors earlier.

done

Both doors swing in/out freely. No hang ups top or bottom but the doors won't meet/close on latch side. The right door overlays the left one about 1/8".

why they won't close

The gap on the hinge side of both doors is too wide. That is because the hinges aren't swaged. The hinge leafs don't lay flat on each other. I knew that going into this and I expected this. I will break out a router and use it to increase the depth of the mortises on the door and the carcass.

yikes

I was playing around with fitting the back when I stepped away to get something off my workbench. The back fell out of the carcass and on the floor (failed the bounce test). This corner broke. I glued it back together and I'll let it cook until tomorrow.

for tomorrow

Fitting the back into the carcass is going to be a huge PITA. The back is out of square by a 1/4". These glue ups will be used to facilitate making the fitting a wee bit easier.

accidental woodworker