Accidental Woodworker

 In spite of my previous hiccups and the heat and humidity, I jumped back into the cupboard build. I got the door and drawer hardware along with the LED light for the cupboard last night. So if all goes well on my third trip down memory lane making a drawer and it is successful, I might see some light at the end of the completed cupboard tunnel. I certainly wasn't a speed demon in the shop today. I took my time, second guessing and checking myself as I worked on making the 3rd drawer. Fingers crossed it will fit and slide in/out tomorrow?

4th coat coming

I sanded the paint with 240 before I put on what I hope is the 4th and final coat. I checked the black bandings against the frame color and I liked what I saw. I was thinking of getting another red for the frame but I like how those two colors complimented each other.

back frame

I have been putting a 'frame' on the backs of the frames I have made. I am not fond of putting a rabbet in the frame because it puts the thing in the frame too close to the front face. I like having it pushed back and the back 'frame' becomes the rabbet for the glass, mat boards and whatever Maria needs to stuff in the rabbet.

back frame

Glued, nailed, and chamfered. I am thinking of leaving the back of this natural. It will be up against a wall somewhere in the house and won't be seen. That depends as I may change my mind about this.

3rd drawer parts

I like to pull these off after I run the stock through the saw. That allows me to eyeball the saw blade as I push the stock through the saw.

deja vu

I feel like I could have done the drawer prep blindfolded. I was impatient and decided that I would dovetail the drawer after I got done with planing the stock to thickness.

hmmm......

This is the back and there was some twist in it. It was just at the last 3-4 inches at the end but I can't saw it all off.  There is about an inch that has some twist that would be part of the drawer back. I thought about and decided to keep on trucking with this after I planed the twist away. It is the back and I don't think the twist will come back (fingers crossed).

lunch time

Sides and back marked and ready to plane to thickness. I did that after lunch because I was hungry enough to eat sawdust here.

Wally World

I think these are a bargain to be had at Wally World. 18 face cloths for $5.98. Great shop rags for just about and everything in the shop. This pkg usually lasts me about 6 months.

drawer front fitted

I am wavering on not on leaving the drawer front and doors natural. I like the look of wood against paint but on this cupboard I don't think it will work. That is because of the tiles I am putting on the door panels. The tiles (IMO) are the focal point and the natural wood against the paint will distract from that.

back done

At least I'm not repeating or forgetting what to do this time around. I sawed the width of the back to account for the drawer slip and I made *&^%@#O&Q@&( sure that the R/L of the drawer front and back were dead flush.

I don't know exactly how I screwed up the 2nd drawer back. But I think I didn't push it up against the stop on the miter gauge before I sawed it to length. Did I forget to flip it and saw it to match the front? The way I have missed/forgotten things on this build......

tails for the half blinds

Chopped the tails for the half blind first. I did those second on the first two drawers. 

drawer back tails

As I was chopping the waste my spider sense was nagging me. Something was amiss but I didn't catch at first. I hadn't sawn the half pin off yet. This is something I do first before chopping the tails. I'm glad that I do dovetails in the same manner every time out. It is that out of sequence flow that was slapped me upside my head many times.

caught myself

I started to saw the half pin on the wrong edge. The straight instead of angled half tail alerted me just as I was starting to saw it off. I'll get a patch in this when I glue the drawer together.

back and sides

Got a good fit off the saw - didn't have to trim anything. 

half blinds

I broke the sides and back apart. Tomorrow I'll do the pins on the drawer front. My goal for that is to get the tails in the pin sockets so they are flush or within a couple of frog hairs. + 2 and - 0.

quitting time

I met my goal for today which was to get the tails chopped and ready to mark the pin board. Exceeded that by getting the back tails fitted leaving the half blinds. I should be able to knock them out in the AM and have the drawer glued and cooking before lunch time.

accidental woodworker

 I will be glad to go to sleep tonight and wake up to a fresh, new day tomorrow. Things did not go well for me this AM/PM period. I started it by making the 2nd drawer for the cupboard and ended it with it laying on the deck in pieces. That was the worse that happened along with a lot of small errors and "...how did I forget that...." Quit the shop early and I regretted that too. Upstairs the living room was 85F (30C) and the temp outside was a toasty 96F (36C). Turned the fan on me and read a book.

two coats

Still not thrilled with the color. I thought this would be more of a rusty color. Either way, this needs a 3rd coat. And with the way my day progressed it will need a 4th one. I put the 2nd coat after dinner last night.

hmmm.....

I put the springs over the screws that I got from Rob Cosman and tightened the vise as much as it will go. The drawer part is a 1/2" thick and the jaws are closed too much for it to fit. I have used the moxon for stock thinner than 1/2" So I'll have to do something with the springs.

now I have 3 springs

I used a file and halved one of the springs. Hoping that the jaws will close up more with shorter springs - now 1 1/2" vice 3".

epoxy?

I'm not sure but I think I epoxied the washers in the counterbore. Rob drills this deeper (3/4") for the spring to sit in. I couldn't pull the washer out so I must have used epoxy to secure them.

cut in half

The cut part doesn't coil in like it is at the bottom but the big washers don't mind it as is. They present a large flat surface for this end to bear down on.

this is good

The short springs are over the screws and the jaw is tightened down as much as I could do. I don't anticipate using this to hold paper so this closed width is ok.

the back

Laying out the tails on the back of the sides made me feel like my IQ didn't have double digits. I drew a complete blank on this and I laid it out and erased it 3 times before I got it to something that looked ok. On the bright side the springs were a welcome help with the jaw. 

another brain fart

This didn't look right when I laid out the tails onto to the pin board. The half pin at the top was too large and it flagged me. I stared at this for seemingly an hour before it dawned on me that I had missed sawing the back - it should have been sawn so that the bottom was even with the top of the half pin on the tail board. I feel like I'm making too many of these brain farts lately. 

back dry fitted

I got it right and the sides and the back went together off the saw. Half blinds were in the batters circle.

mini rabbet

I have done half blinds with and without this rabbet on the inside face of the tails. Now I wouldn't consider doing half blinds without it.

off the saw

Got much better results this go around vice the first one. I wasn't out of the woods yet.

proud

This is a lot although it is less than a 16th. 

the other side

This side is a few frog less proud than its sibling. I used a marking gauge to transfer the thickness of the tails to the pin board. From experience I usually am proud but I have been short F/B and with the socket to.

something I rarely do

I can count on two hands how many times I've done this and still one hand to go. I relieved all the outside edges of the tail. Before this I spent some quality time cleaning up tail sockets again.

much better

The pin board isn't dead nuts flush but I can easily plane it flush when I fit the drawer.

took some fussing

The other side didn't want to go quietly. I eased the edges and cleaned the sockets again and they were still proud. They had gone down maybe 1/2 way and stalled. I planed the back of the tails with skew angle block plane. After those dance steps I got better fit than the first one I did.

wow

Came right after lunch and I'm impressed with it. It looks like it is covered in clear epoxy. The colors are bright and the flower is well defined. It also has a better looking margin than the top door. I still have to do some research on what type of 'glue' to use to adhere the tiles to the plywood.

says it is square

To my eye it didn't look square especially so at the back but the diagonals agreed after fussing with it for a bit.

the fatal brain fart of the 22nd century

I should have gone with my eye. The back wouldn't fit in the drawer opening when  I tried it. The front fit albeit on the snug side of things.

yikes

Turns out the back was 3/16" longer R/L, than the front. I was able to break the drawer apart because it had only been glued together for less than 2 minutes.

initial response

I got pissed off at myself for this stupid, _)&#^*)^(*$&))*_ ME-STEAK. I Threw the parts onto the deck I was so disgusted with myself. After I calmed down I picked them up and tried to fix the me-steak. I sawed the back to match the front and reassembled the drawer. One back corner was proud and short depending upon where you looked at it. Salvaging this drawer wasn't happening.

tried too

One of the sides split when I was trying to remove from the back. I was going to try and saw the tails off and re do them That would have made the drawer an inch shorter but I would have been able to put it back together. But after thinking about it I nixed it entirely. I couldn't think of a way to clean up the glued residue. I don't think you can glue titebond over titebond like you can with hide glue.

new drawer #3

I was able to get the 3rd drawer parts from scraps. I didn't have to use the remaining 1x12 for it although that is what I bought it for. I checked and removed any twist in them, smoothed one face with the #3 and stickered them until tomorrow.

did something right

Last thing I did before killing the lights was to make 3 new drawer slips. I had two left over from yesterday but decided to make new ones. I wasn't in the correct frame of mind to try and make a 3rd one to match the other two.

accidental woodworker

 Into some days the fecal matter rises to and above the armpits. That is the way I felt today. I had noticed water on the deck around the sharpening bench but I thought it was from water I had spilled. I had wiped that up but the puddle was back and expanding. My whole house water filters were throwing the hissy fit. The dirt and sediment one was fine but I could follow drops of water coming from the taste filter. The shortest version of the story is I couldn't fix the leak. The gift of my kingdom came down to an o-ring that I couldn't find anywhere.

ready to unclamp

I have to get going on this if I want to get this Maria on saturday. I couldn't work on the cupboard so I jumped into this.

no stupid wood tricks

I learned my lesson with not doing this with the first drawer. These two are flat, straight, and twist free. The other two have some twist I'll have to deal with before planing them to a 1/2".

a PITA

To get access to the filters I have to pull the sharpener bench away from the wall. Doing that puts a serious crunch on where and how I can navigate the shop. Not to mention all the crappola on the sharpener bench that I had to find a new horizontal home for.

before I played plumber

I got the inside bandings fitted. All they need is to be painted and they can be glued in. The outside bandings are a wee bit long still. Only the first one I did is fitted for its side. I'll adjust/plane/fit/glue them one at a time as I go around the picture frame.

isolated the leak

The loop with the filters can be isolated from feeding the house. I did that so I could change the filters without accidentally flooding my shop. With no water pressure on the left filter (charcoal for taste) it wasn't leaking. With pressure it was dripping a leak at a steady rate. I left the pressure on and bypassed the filter (built into the filter itself) and it still leaked. But it wasn't as steady as it not bypassed and with pressure.

I spent the next bazillion years driving around trying to find a replacement o-ring. Lowes no longer sells the Omni Filter U25 nor does it offer any parts support for it. I found this to be a common theme every place I visited. I got a lot of sympathy and "I could help if I had the o-ring" comments.

I went Amazon and find an o-ring but it was a compatible set. I what an o-ring that is an exact replacement. So after pissing away over an hour on the WWW I ordered 2 o-rings made for the Omni U25. With S/H it was $23 and I'll get it ??????

rust

It worked as is but I will take it apart and check out the internals and clean off the rust.

first coat

While I was at Lowes I bought a color sample of red and black. The red looks a lot lighter than the color stick. Hoping that it will darken as it dries and if not I'll buy another sample.

flushing the drawer bottom

First I sanded the cupboard and all the dings and bumps I had filled in. I found two more that I'll sand when I do the cupboard again with 220. Then it was time to flush the bottom of the drawer shelf. I removed most of it with my #6 which has a heavily cambered iron. I squared it up with the blockplane and left it a few frog hairs proud. I did that so I can do the final flushing after the drawer is fitted.

hmmm....

More than a wee bit proud. I had forgot to get a clamp on the back when I glued it up. It is flush at the opposite end so I had about half of it to knock back. Used my Lee Valley bullnose plane as a chisel plane and for the first time since I've owed it, it worked for me. I would knock some down and check my progress with a straight edge. Kept at until I was flush here with the rabbet.

thinning the drawer stock

Using the same dimensions as the first drawer - 3/4" front, and 1/2" sides and back. Stopped here as this is as high as my saw blade will go up.

the best of the failures

Supposedly my 14" Delta bandsaw will resawn up to 6". Well boys and girls it was a struggle. I tried four test cuts and all were toast. This was the best of them and it is tapered. I could see and feel the blade wander as I pushed it through it. I didn't feel like resawing three of these by hand so I did it on the tablesaw.

thicknessing

The scrub removed the web, the 5 1/2" got me to the knife line, and the #3 smoothed it all out.

checking for twist again

This had a wee bit on the rough sawn face that I planed off. I don't want any surprises when I dovetail this new drawer up.

done

I fitted the parts to the drawer opening and I sawed the front short on the R/L when squaring the ends. I had to make a new drawer front but luckily I had extra stock. I didn't have to use the second 1"x12" board.

snug fit

Something else I didn't do with the first drawer.

quit early

Stickered the drawer stock to give it one last chance to do any stupid wood tricks. Moving the bench out and back along with all the up/down chasing the leaks wore me out.

came today

These are springs for the Moxon vise that I got from Rob Cosman. I could have searched and bought them from McMaster but Rob had already done all the leg work. These springs fit a 3/4" acme screw rod which is on my Moxon. I'm looking forward to not having to pull open the vise jaw anymore.

accidental woodworker

 Today is/was my wife's birthday. Her present from me was to go with her on her dead people trips (she is a certified genealogist) and they do to lunch. The birthday present used to be dinner but over the years it has switched to lunch. I did get some time in the shop but it was abbreviated for sure. Just as well as I'm dead in the water and I had to take a step back on the cupboard.

On the worse side of the coin, I have gained a lot of weight. So much weight that my pants don't fit anymore (I've been wearing shorts for over a month). I shitcanned all my fat clothes and this AM I made a road trip to Wally World to get a pair of jeans for today's outing with my wife. Kind of depressing but it is what it is. Buckling back down on my starvation diet sucks pond scum but getting fat and possibly diabetic is worse than that. I had a good few weeks filling the pie hole with all the things I missed so I'll have the memories of that to sustain for the dieting weeks to come. Wish me luck.

changed my mind

I didn't like the thought of leaving the bottom sans a door. It looked funny to my eye and that was due to the depth. If it was a bit shallower I would probably be ok with it. However, the door is back in mostly because I have a tile specifically coming for it.

this is a memory

This drawer is history and I'm not using it. I'll be making a new drawer and starting over again from square one. FYI - be prepared to cry a lot when you change plans midstream and reverse yourself after that. 

confirmed

The drawer diagonals are 3/8" off on the inside and the outside. Initially I thought the inside was within a 16th. I obviously read the tape wrong. The 18" Starrett confirmed that the drawer is a parallelogram. That explains why it fit in the opening in went in/out ok but wasn't flush with the front.

hmmm......

Oddly IMO, this doesn't look weird. The 6" dimension is not where I ideally would like it but there is a slight margin T/B. I left and came back to this and I still felt the same way about it - it is good to go for this cupboard.

nixed this idea

I entertained and checked a lot of veneers and I didn't like any of them. I think it was I didn't like the 'veneer' border at all. In my mind's eye painting the negative space is going to present better then the veneer would. Now I get to agonize over what color that is going to be.

new filler strip

I glued on another filler strip about 3/8" proud of the sides. I will flush it tomorrow after the glue has cooked for 24hrs.

super glue?

I put 3 small drops on the hinge and placed it flush and square to the side. The mortise on the inside is ugly looking but putty and paint will hide all those sins.

better than yesterday

It isn't perfectly flush but it is a huge improvement over what I had yesterday. Both hinge leafs on the carcass are dead flush/square with the sides. The top hinge needs to fussed with on the door to get the top one flush. I'm not sure if I'll do that or just leave it as is.

no longer hinge bound

The shim I put in the top hinge mortise did its job and the door is swinging ok. 

door stop

Putting in a door stop that goes top to bottom. That will block being able to eyeball into the opening through the gap on this side. I will use a magnet for keeping the door shut.

while we were out and about

My wife wanted to go to Stop & Shop and there was a Lowes next door. I popped into there and bought two 1"x12"x4' boards. I paid less than $25 for these two. The last time I bought 1x12s they were over $15 each. I didn't get to Gurney's last saturday to replenish my pine stash but I hope to do it this upcoming one.

new photo frame

According to my wife the pic I want to frame in this should be here by friday. I am going to try and get this done before that. Got it glued, cooking, and set aside until tomorrow.

fixed???

The broom head kept falling off as I shaked/hit it on the shitcan. I put two sheet metal screws in it, one from opposite sides. If the screws fail I will remove them and drill it out straight through and try bolts and nuts. If that fails I will but a new broom/dustpan setup.

banding

I have the new drawer parts acclimating overnight on them. The banding is for the picture frame - it will hide the bridle joinery at the corners. 

paint choices

China blue milk paint for the body and black for the banding. Or red paint for the body and black for the bandings. I have other colors in the shop but I don't like them for the frame body. The red paint is a bright red gloss that isn't giving me a warm and fuzzy. I like the 'red' but I want something matte or satin and duller. Problem is I'm trying to use what I have in the shop but I may have to buy a can.

accidental woodworker

I'm dead in the water now. I got the hinges from ACE today and one hinge leaf broke on me during the install. I had bought the last two hinges ACE had which means I have to wait until next week before new ones come. On the brighter side I now have 4 extra screws. I had lost 2 of the 12 that came in the package. There are other ACE stores but the next closest one is about 20-25 minutes away. Might have an extended road trip on the calendar in next few days.

figured it out

These are M+R bullet pencil sharpeners. I bought 4 new ones because I misplaced the one I was using in the shop. However, I figured out why the sharpener wouldn't work when I replaced the blade in it. The 20 replacement blades I bought are bigger than the ones that came in the 4 new ones. The replacement blade is on the left and the one that came with new ones is on the right. All four of the new ones have the same size blade.

I couldn't find anyone that sold replacement blades for the bullet pencil sharpeners. Those blades are labeled differently than the replacement blades along with being larger. I tried a bazillion websites and none had the smaller blades or any blades that were labeled that way. I am going to try the M+R site in Germany tonight and see what shakes out with that.

one is MIA

The four on the left are the bullet sharpeners and the blades in it are smaller than the blades in the right two (the MIA is the misplaced hopefully I'll find it). The blue box has the replacement blades and they only fit and work in the right 2. The box blades and the sharpeners on the right are labeled the same. They fit in the bullet sharpeners but they will not sharpen a pencil.

base has set up

I used the same template to layout the side cutouts as I did on the front. I had to fair out the center where the arcs met coming from each end. Ready to check that it still fits over the cupboard bottom.

hmm......

I filled in all the dings and bumps that cupboard endured and I thought I had gotten them all. I was wrong. I sanded a few close to the bottom before I tried to fit the base and I spotted 4 new ones.

it fits

No hiccups with the dry fit. I marked the back ends and sawed them. I glued and screwed a bearer to the front and sides. I used that to screw the base to the bottom of the cupboard.

I like the base cutout

I hadn't planned on it but the base cutout kind of matches the pulls for the doors and the drawer. The base is a 1/4" down from the top edge of the bottom of the cupboard.

teeny gaps

I don't find this gap (2 frog hairs if that) on either side to be a problem. I am painting this and I will fill in the teeny crack with caulk.

the drawer fix

This is the amount of taper that I need for the drawer to be flush at the front.

easier than I thought

For some reason I was agonizing about how to rip this out. I was stuck on it having to be cut dead nuts off the saw but it didn't. I have a 1 1/2" of wiggle room at the back. That allowed me to saw off a wider piece. That extra width made it easier for me to plane the rough saw edge.

first fitting

The right side of the drawer is flush and I am short on the left side. I had left the pencil line for just in case. Because I didn't have to plane the entire length, it was easy to hold this thin piece of pine and plane down and remove the pencil lines.

extra thickness

Got another benny with this - no headaches gluing and clamping it to the edge. The filler was thinner than the thickness of the shelf. I glued the filler in flush with the top. The bottom is short but hidden and can be seen only if you get on your hands and knees to eyeball it.

happy face on

The drawer front is flush with the front edge of the shelf. It is still tapered but it doesn't jump out at you. 

lots of real estate

I will be able to put a large drawer stop on either side with a screw(s).

from ACE

The color is a little light but it will do because I'm impatient. I don't want to spend anymore time searching for hardware.

helper block

The top rail is just butted to the side stiles. There isn't anything to stop the rail from rolling out or in. I glued a block from behind and it ties the stiles and rails together at the corners.

bottom back

There was nothing to nail the plywood back to at the bottom here. I glued this scrap of pine to give the plywood something to be glued and nailed to. I glued it in and I may add a couple of screws later on.

 

hard to remove

I should have erased the pencil lines before I glued and nailed the back strips on. This pencil line didn't come off with alcohol and I had to sand it off. The #3 pencils I'm using now are harder than #2's and it left a groove that the alcohol couldn't reach with a rag.

didn't think this through

The drawer is flush with it but the door won't be. The door tapers in the opposite direction of the drawer taper. I couldn't think of anyway to pretty this up. Making the front edge of the drawer shelf flush with the front sides will fix the door but put the drawer OTL (out to lunch) again. 

My initial thoughts on it are to leave the door off the bottom. I measured the drawer again and it is out of square by almost 3/8". If I make a new drawer (that is square) both it and the door can be flush with the front edge. I have time to decide which road I want to travel down.

top door

It won't close. The bottom right corner is a 32nd over. I didn't mortise for the hinges on the carcass side. I wanted to see if the door would fit without them and what the margins looked like. I split the gap T/B and I am ok with it. The door looks to have a consistent gap on the top, right, and bottom. The hinge side IMO doesn't need to be the same as the others.

one down, one to go

Chopping the mortises for the hings on the cupboard was a bit awkward. It reminded me of the hinge mortises I chopped for entry doors. I was able to get through it and get the two of them chopped out.

another headache

The door isn't hanging vertical. The top is kicked out and the bottom is kicked in. On the flip side of the coin, the door opens and closes freely.

only one screw

This is the way I check my hinges. Usually one screw is sufficient to check the fit and swing. If need be I can fill this hole in and use another hole to continue with to check the fit and swing.

The bottom hinge mortise kicked my arse bad. When tightening the screw it pulled the hinge leaf down. That kicked the bottom of the leaf up and over the end of the mortise. I fixed that out and then I had to deal with the long edge of the mortise being a bit wonky. At first I thought that was why the door was cocked but it wasn't. It was the screw again - it was pulling the hinge leaf down and past the long edge at the same time. I didn't catch it until after a few dance steps.

I wasn't done quite yet with learning new dance steps. I made the top hinge mortise too deep and the door was now hinge bound. I had to slip a piece of veneer in the top mortise to correct that.

good place to quit

I was taking the door off to fiddle and faddle some more with the mortises. I let the door go for a brief second - I thought the one screw was enough to hold the door on. I was wrong and the hinge gave up the ship. I have never had  this happen or seen this before. I have had screws pulled out or the leaf somehow pops off leaving the screw behind, but never this. I was starting to think of evil things and giving free flying lessons so quitting happened at a good time.

egret tile arrived

This tile looks a lot better in person than it did on the Etsy site. Now I can think about how to deal with the negative space between the tile and the stiles/rails. I am leaning in the direction of painting it the same color as the cupboard. Still also planning on leaving the doors/drawer natural.

accidental woodworker

 Hit a snag today but I think I got a fix for it. It didn't happen today but maybe tomorrow. I spent most of today gluing little bits and bobs together. It is starting to shape up and I can see it completed in my minds eye. No idea when it will be done as I am waiting for things to arrive. I ordered a 12" LED light bar, 12v power supply, and the power leads from Lee Valley. Kind of like selling a car but you still have buy the tires and the motor.

ghost stick

Got asked what is this for? The extension I glued on bowed in the middle and I used the ghost stick to push it flush with it. I couldn't pull it flush with my hand and clamp it at the same time.

big gaps

The R/L gaps are smaller and acceptable. The T/B gaps are a few frog hairs wider than I like. I'll split the difference and bottom. I might add a backer behind the top of the door. I'll make that call after I get the door(s) hung.

the opposite

It is snug T/B and the R/L is too . This is after I planed all four outside edges. I haven't gotten the hinges for either door yet but I can fit them to the opening without them.

bottom is twisted

I thought I was going to have a plane a lot off to correct it but it only took one planing run. The top was twisted too and that only needed one planing run too.

????

The outside diagonals are 3/8" off and the inside diagonals are within a 16th. The drawer was snug and bound in one spot when I tried it. This was the opposite of what I did yesterday.

hiccup

After planing the drawer the fit going in/out was ok. No binding and hesitating pushing it in or out. However, the drawer is not parallel to the bottom front edge. It has the the least amount of taper with the right side vertical edge flush with the side. 

I checked the drawer opening and it is square. The F/B measurement is the same on the right and left sides. The height of the opening is consistent R/L. One thing I didn't think to check was to see if the drawer was a parallelogram. I didn't want to make another drawer because I don't have anymore pine left.

slips dry fitted

I still hadn't thought of anyway to deal with the drawer. This is something that causes my OCD to go into hyper drive. Decided to glue the slips in and keep on going with this.

side stiles

Chamfered the outside edges before I glued them on. I'll glue the head rail after the side stiles have set up. I plan on putting the LED light bar behind that rail.

the fix?

I thought of this fix while I was dry fitting the side stiles. I will plane a taper on a scrap of pine, rip it out, and glue it to the front edge of the drawer opening. The only problem I can see with it is ripping it out. This should present a straight and clean line  between the drawer and the opening.

bottom base dry fitted

This came out better than I expected. There are no gaps on the sides. I changed the overhang on the ends to a 1/2". That matches the overhangs on all the rest of the cupboard.

cleaning up the arcs

The grain on this pine was a nightmare to plane. I got what I could with the spokeshave but I had to sand 80% or better of it to smooth it out.

head rail

I didn't think I would get this glued today but I did. I am not putting a chamfer on this (the inside edges). I had planed a chamfer on both outside edges on a scrap to eyeball it. I didn't like the look of of the double chamfers. 

too big

These hinges are too big for the top door but ok for the bottom one. I want hinges of this color/look to match the pulls I bought for the doors and the drawer.

slips glued and cooking

I don't have any plywood large enough for the bottom. I need a 60"x16" piece for the back so I'll be buying a full sheet. What is left over from that will give up the drawer bottom.

going to wait

I resisted the urge to continue to play with this. I will wait until tomorrow and give the glue a chance to set up. That is all that is holding the sides to the front of the base.

accidental woodworker

Motoring along with the cupboard build. I got quite a few things ticked off today. It looks like the tiles are going to hold things up. Both are coming FedEx with delivery scheduled from Jul 27th to the Jul 30th. Got another monkey wrench in the gears with hinges and knobs. Need 3 knobs, one for the drawer and two for the doors. 4 hinges bring up the rear and all of it has to be arts and craft looking. I plan on searching for that later on tonight.

last night

I made it back to the shop after dinner last night to get the pins laid out. I stopped there with the intent of chopping them in the tomorrow.

bench hog

I should have done this just before I killed the lights for the day. There were a lot things I wanted to do but couldn't because of this. In the end it all worked out because I had to be done  then or later. 

chopped the pins

I am of the opinion and I have stated it previously, that I should be able to chop anywhere on the bench. I shouldn't be limited to right over a leg. The workbench should be sufficiently stiff and strong to whack away at it anywhere on it.

time to unclamp

I chopped most of the waste of the pins with this here. Now it has to go because I need the vise to finish cleaning up the pins. I got no surprises taking the clamps off.

through dovetails fitted

The through ones went together off the saw. In the batters circle are the pins for the half blind action.

nothing relaxed or moved

Both ends of the drawer shelf are still tight with no gaps. It should stay this way because of the Miller dowels. If it opens up I'll drill out the small ones and replace them with the big boy Miller dowels.

ditto for the bottom

The gap on the inside is acceptable and probably won't ever be seen. The outside is flush and straight and ready for the base.

tail shims flushed

I am leaving the top as is. I will plane and sand this smooth. If I wasn't painting it I might be persuaded to cover it with a molding. The paint will hide all my sins with this.

doors are next

I wasn't expecting any hiccups with either door and got none. Both were square on the ID less than a 16th. I will have to flush the bridle joints - the outside mortise walls are proud at every corner on both of them.

new idea

I thought of this while filling my face at breakfast. I laid it out but I did it wrong. I confused myself on the negative space I had to remove.

figured it out

I had this on the workbench trying to determine the best way to remove the 1/2" waste. This had to be straight because it was going to be married to bottom shelf of the top door opening. I had decided to chisel out the waste because I would have a good chance of getting it straight and clean. That is when I realized I had it wrong. I was lucky because this was wide enough to saw off the me-steak and still have enough left over.

2nd attempt

What I had to saw was short and I was able to use a carcass saw to do it. My first go around had a gap because I made the knife wall on the keep side and not the waste side. Got it right on the 2nd one.

I am also going to put a stile on both sides of the middle opening. I have an overhang now at the top for it to dead end into.

I like chamfers

The ends are too short for a blockplane so I whacked them out with a chisel. I didn't do the front because I wanted the edge to be intact for clamping. I'll do that chamfer tomorrow.

drawer shelf

Planed a chamfer on this  with the low angle block plane. When the iron is freshly honed it planes end grain as easily as a hot knife cuts through a cheap tub of oleo.

waste removed

The cupboard is vertical and off the bench. I finished playing with all the other distractions and I was ready to clean up the pin sockets for fitting.

hmm......

The drawer is lot tighter than I thought it would be. I was expecting it to be a wee bit loose but I'll take this. Much easy to fit an oversized vice an undersized drawer.

all the way in

I could and did push it all the was through and out the back. It didn't take much oomph to do it neither. Dry fit checked off, gluing and cooking was next.

left side

The back ones are good and the half blinds on the left are the same.

ugly looking gaps

I thought with all the half blinds I have done in the past few months that this would be a cake walk. Well boys and girls it bit me on the arse. Disappointing but I think I know why it is so wonky and gap ridden. I really didn't expend any calories ensuring that the drawer parts were flat, straight, and twist free. I had noticed that there were humps in the tails boards that I did kind of address and fix. Hopefully the next time I won't be so nonchalant about drawer prep.

sometimes you get lucky

I didn't hold out much hope but the clamps pulled the gaps out. With that I noticed another potential hiccup. The sides at the top are proud at the front and back and below the bottom edge. Cleaning that mess up is sure to make the drawer shrink in the drawer opening. I'll deal with that tomorrow.

double template

The arcs (R&L) are different. They are about a 1/4" different with the R having an angled end and the L being straight and vertical. I am leaning in the direction of the R one. I like the angled leg better then a 90° one.

partial fix

These strips overhang the opening 5/8" both ways - 5/8" into the empty space of the ID and 5/8" onto the door frame.

1/4 plywood

5/8" should be adequate gluing surface for the 1/4" plywood. I don't know the thickness of the tiles but both should be inset into the ID. I got this part figured out but I am still running ideas through the brain bucket on what to do with the empty space between the tile and the stiles and rails.

The top one is the winner

This is what will be the actual front piece of the base. It will be 4 1/4" high and about 18" R/L. It will overhang the sides about an 1" and the sides will mate with it with a stopped dado. I thought of mitering and dovetailing the corners but I didn't like the look of either of those. I thought of rabbeting the front corners but I especially didn't like the look of that. I think the dado is the better choice.

I haven't picked a color for this yet. I am waiting for the tiles to come in before I do that. I want to use a color that is hopefully in each tile. If not I'll pick a complimentary one.

accidental woodworker

Had a good day in the shop, especially in the AM session. I got on a roll and ended up working right through lunch. Not a big deal as I am still not doing good with my diet. By the time I killed the lights at 1500 I was half way through making the drawer. Still don't know when the tiles are coming via FedEx. I've checked the tracking number a couple of times and no delivery day yet. I still have to make the base and figure out how I'm going to fill in around the tiles on the doors anyway.

looking better

What I didn't like about this yesterday has changed. The door makes it better looking to my eye now. I'm sure the bottom door will help fill out the overall look of it too.

Miller dowels

If I use screws here they would be going into end grain which doesn't offer good holding power. I have had good luck with Miller dowels holding things together. I have a larger Miller dowel but I am using the smaller ones for this.

why I'm using the dowels

This overhang has pretty good contact with the vertical part of the front side.

however,......

The front edge is bowing upwards slightly. It is worse on this side over the right one. I can easily push this down flat and close the gap with a finger. Two Miller dowels should be sufficient for being a permanent finger.

needed some help

Initially the dowel wasn't pulling the bow down tight. I clamped it and after the glue as set it should be ok then. I'll verify that tomorrow in the AM session.

new door

I had enough scraps to get the new rails and stiles from. I was a little fussy with this because I am leaving the doors and the drawer front natural and finished with shellac. The remaining carcass will be painted. The bridle joints are a wee bit too snug so I rasped the tenons to loosen the fit.

did it right

The 2 1/2" rail is at the bottom where it should be. I glued up both doors and set them aside to cook.

changed back

I had changed my mind about insetting the doors and was going to hang them flush with the front edge. I had to change that and revert back to the original way. I like this look and I'll figure out how to hang it with the hinges and door inset.

why they will be inset

This is driving the inset doors. I made the doors to fit the inside and not to the bottom edge of the shelf. It looks funny seeing part of it at the bottom of the door. And I don't have any more pine to make new doors.

3 gaps

Still undecided if I'm going to use a molding or something else around the top. If I don't these neon signs will need to be shut off. Made some shims and glued them in.

bottom glued, nailed, and clamped

Yesterday the bottom was proud of the rabbet and today it is almost dead nuts flush. I used 1 1/2" finish nails where I could and tomorrow I'll nail off the rest of it once the clamps come off.

helped a lot

There was a strong arc of a 16th here and once I got some nails in from the outside most it flattened out. The other side is tighter than this one with no gap at all.

drawer stock

The drawer will have half blinds at the front and through dovetails at the back. The front is 3/4" thick and the sides/backs are 1/2". 

ready for dovetailing

I sized the drawer parts to be a 32nd less then the height of the opening. The sides are 2 inches shorter than the drawer opening depth. That was because I didn't have any longer scraps.

going with drawer slips

I thought had some left over drawer slips from the last project but I couldn't find where I had hid them. The stock for slips came out out of the shitcan.

tails done

I may or may not wander down to the shop and do some more work on the drawer. As of now while I'm typing this up that ain't happening. When I get up and stand my back throws a hissy fit. I have to walk several steps before it calms down. After I am vertical for a while it doesn't bother me. But once I quit for the day and park my arse in a chair, my back doesn't like that option.

WTF

Noticed this last night and I'm clueless as to how. I think the drawer bottom caught on it somehow while being opened and it didn't like it. I'll glue this back together whenever. My wife rarely goes in this as it is mostly for long term storage items.

Klockit

The movement is just a pendulum one. No bim bam or melodies struck on the hour. I will jump into this when the cupboard is done. I'm not sure what to do with the clock once it is done. Most people I have made clocks for can't be bothered adjusting the time or changing the batteries on them Digital clocks are mostly set and forget now and my analog ones can't compete.

accidental woodworker

 Everything was going pretty good until the PM session was almost done. I had gotten the cupboard glued and cooking and I was making the doors. One thing I was acutely aware of was my stash of 1x12 boards had dwindled down to one. I had made a me-steak of sizing stock and then changing my mind and increasing the R/L and T/B measurements. I still have a drawer to make and the last board is more than enough for that. Either way the pendulum swings on this I'll have to go to Gurney's to get another load of 1x12 pine.

last night

After dinner I wandered back to the shop and glued up stock for the drawer top/shelf and for the bottom. I had already glued up the bottom but I cut it the wrong way and it was now too small. However, last night I glued it back together and it will now be the bottom again. Hopefully I will cut it the right way this time around.

new bottom again

The only real difference with the bottom now is that it is a 3 board glue up instead of the original two board one. The bone head saw cut was made with the grain instead of being across it. All the interior shelves have long grain edges facing the front.

hmmm.....

It would seem that this chisel was specially ground for a purpose unknown to me? I looks like it would be good for working into a corner. All the chisels look to be sharp and ready to go.

straight chisels

There are 3 chisels that Chris Pye says to have for lettering that I'm shy of. It has been over a year and I still haven't come across any. 99.99% of what I see are gouges.

tricky one

This drawer/shelf top has two widths on it. One for between the dadoes and the other that extends past the front sides. I've run sawing this operation through the brain bucket and I have yet to settle on a way to get it down. The first thing I will do is make sure it fits in the R&L dadoes as is.

took a while

Not only was the dado a wee bit too snug, the shelf is cupped. I can flatten with hand pressure but it wasn't as easy to do while trying to fit it. I did some flattening of it with the #7 going across the grain followed by the #3 removing the cross grain planing marks. That helped a lot and I was able to get it fitted in the dado on this side.

The opposite side wasn't as easy. It was still rough and not square. I had to pony up and square it and then saw the 'notches' in it. I did that on the bandsaw.

vertical saw cut

The short vertical one I did with the carcass saw. I was a nervous about getting this right. The portion of the shelf in the dadoes had to match the other 3 interior pieces. I also had to get the front portion of it cut square so it would be tight against the sides and lay flat on the protruding short side extensions. I had to get it right or I would be looking at a lot of ugly gaps.

ready for battle

I got the other pieces fitted and fitting this side of it was next up in the batters box. I had to elevate so that it would be above the workbench.

too much

This dado is a 32nd too narrow for the board to seat in it. I think it is too much to plane off the leading edge of the board. I marked it, knifed it, and then chiseled it making it wide enough.

fitted and self supporting

The fit is snug but not nutso snug. I was able to tap it into the dado and seat it at the back. Getting this glued up wasn't looking like it was going to be fun time. I was thinking that maybe I would glue in the top and two of the other interior pieces and put this one in dry. I could then glue it in place after the others had set up.

dry fit

I was able to get the 3 main interior pieces fitted and stand the cupboard up to eyeball it. My first observation is that I should have made the top door opening smaller. The lower door opening looks to be too low. That should improve some when I get the base made and it raises the it up a few inches.

needed some help

Overall I was happy with how it looks. I trimmed the overhang on the big shelf - a 1/2" on the sides and the front. I may knock that back some more to a 1/4" but that is dependent upon how the drawer looks once it is made and fitted.

happy as a clam at low tide

This was the saw cut I was worried most about. The plans call for a stile here but I am not sure I'll use that. There is no gap here so there is nothing to cover and hide.

ditto

This side is as tight and gap free as the right one. The back is a wee bit wonky. The back left is flush with the rabbet edge but the right is a few frog hairs proud. I'll deal with that after it is glued and set.

square is ok

The height of this is 60" and the square is off an 1/8". And that is without any fussing or playing with it. 

top door opening

This is square dead nuts on three sides. The one off side is about a 32nd OTL (out to lunch). I'm hoping that all four will be compliant once it is glued and cooked.

two out of three

The bottom door opening is square at all four corners. The middle opening is not square but nothing is married to it so IMO it doesn't matter. It is about a 16th out of square top to bottom on the left and that was after I clamped the front with a bessey. Before that is was over a 1/8".

The middle opening is for an object d'art of some type. With that in mind I've looking to maybe install some LED (colored?) lighting in it. I searched last night and all I got was confused. I'll have to do more research on this until I understand what I need for what I want to accomplish with the LED lighting.

glued and cooking

I used hide glue for this and I glued the top and three of the interior pieces. I dry clamped the bottom just to help hold the carcass square. The bottom is cupped and I will have to clamp it to pull it flat. I didn't want to deal with that on this glue up. I can use the other shelves to assist in clamping the bottom when its turn to cook comes.

plywood back rabbet

I forgot to plane the rabbet for the back when I did the dadoes. I did the rabbet in the AM session with a noisy, dust spewing electrically powered router. I squared up the top corners with a chisel.

first door dry fitted

In keeping with the quasi arts & crafts nature of this cupboard I decided to make the doors with bridle joints. I've been kicking around what to use for a border around the tile. The egret tile is 8"x8" and there will be a lot of empty real estate between the tile and the stiles and rails. Haven't thought of anything that I like so far. I think it is going to be best to wait and see what the tile looks like inset in the door first.

door #2

This is the door for the bottom opening which is getting the iris flower which 8"x10". Same thinking on this one as the top one. 

yikes

I wasn't paying attention and paid the price. The stiles and the top rail are 2" wide and the bottom rail is 2 1/2" wide. I swapped the rails and stiles and the bottom rail ended up as a stile. I'll have to make a new door.

repurposed already

I will turn this into a picture frame. I already have a pic of Miles to put in it. I just hope that Amanda has a way to make a copy of the one I want.

accidental woodworker

Update - Amanda found it and my wife has already ordered a 8x10.

Made good progress on the cupboard. Fixed and carried on smartly after fixing the dovetail boo boo from yesterday. After that I had to stare squarely into another potential hiccup. I sailed on past that one without having to stop. That one had me thinking about it the entire time I was in the shop. I didn't get to put it to rest until just before I killed the lights for the day.

fixed

Before I took these out of the clamps I had eyeballed the tails on both sides. I wanted to make sure that I hadn't had another stinky brain fart and screwed it up again. Thankfully I had glued it back together correctly this time.

wind shake board

It looks flat after coming out of the clamps. Changed my mind on using this for the cupboard. I don't trust that it won't go off a stupid wood trick rant if I use it for something.

glue joint line

This is the underside of the crack and I can feel and trace where it had split/cracked on the other side. There is even a little bit of glue squeeze out too.

happy with this

The glue joint on both of the sides was almost dead on flush. What little proud there was I scraped away when removing the glue squeeze out.

kind of square

It was a PITA getting the squaring things attached and squaring the top to the sides. The top fit is good (self supporting) in spite of the right side having 3 gaps on the tails. I am ok with that considering the dance steps I had to improvise to layout and saw the pins. The left side is snug as bug in a rug with zero gaps.

had to wait

The two by is a spreader or it is going to be a spacer for the bottom. I couldn't saw it on the tablesaw because my wife was still sleeping.

door layout

The tile for this door is 6"x8". I sized the stiles so the insert ID is 6 1/2" x 8 1/2". Ideally I would like to have the tiles now but adding wiggle room should be ok.

bottom door

Made a change in how the bottom of the cupboard will look. I am losing the dividers and making the bottom door taller. Instead of having a compartment with three dividers I will put a drawer there.

home for the drawer

This opening was almost 9" tall and I didn't like that. I made door taller and the drawer will be about 5" finished.

practice rabbets

Initially made both of the practice rabbets tapered - high outboard going to low into the shoulder. I was able to correct both because I checked my progress frequently. Also used this to get my width dialed into my knife line. Going across the grain with this plane will tear out the rabbet line if the outside corner of the iron and knife line don't line up. And no I don't use the scoring wheel because I can't seem to set it properly. So I find the width and use a knife line.

done

Got both of them knocked out in no time at all.

gap

The bottom has a cup in it. I'll have to clamp the bottom flat before I glue and nail it to the sides.

short

I changed the width of the cupboard (R/L) after I had already rough sized the interior shelving. The original bottom is a couple of inches too narrow now. I think I still have sufficient stock already glued up to get what I need. I was generous in over sizing the stock.

double, triple checking

The sides are mirror images of each other and it is way to easy to screw up the stopped dadoes to come. I put the sides together and checked that each dado aligned across both sides.

last one

Used a 2" chisel to do all the dado work. This chisel makes it easy to chop long  dadoes straight. Relaxing way to while away a few minutes with You Tube playing golden oldies from the 1960's.

two fitted

I am going to recess the doors (top and bottom) about a 1/2" in from the front edge. Haven't worked out how I will do that yet but I have a few ideas that I'll practice first before I commit. 

fitting the opposite side

Two of the dadoes were a few frog hairs too snug. I didn't feel like digging out the side rabbet planes so I chiseled it. This is the first time I have done this. I usually plane the shelf or use the 98/99 side rabbet planes to fit them. I've seen Paul Sellers do this a couple of times and I think I did  pretty good. The line is almost dead straight and any gaps will be on the underside and not visible.

fitted along with a sneak peek

This is the one thing that I have been banging around in the brain bucket for a couple of days now. The dovetailed top is set in stone so that meant I had to measure the other interior cross pieces to fit. I made the shelves a 1/2" and a frog hair wider than the distance between the dovetail baselines.

yea or nay?

It was yea thankfully. The tails went together without protest of any kind. 

almost

There is a little gap on the left on both shelves but for a dry fit it is good. I'm sure they will tighten up with a couple of clamps on them.

1/2" off

Not good enough and I was able to fuss with it and get it to less than a 1/8". There are two more interior pieces - the bottom and the drawer top/shelf. Fingers crossed that the addition of them will to help square the cupboard up. 

6 additions

6 of these gouges still have protective covers on them. They are all #6 or #5 sweep carving gouges. I'm slowly getting the minimum chisels needed to do some letter carving. A couple of sizes are proving to be harder to find than a blanket made from frog hair.

accidental woodworker

 There are/were two big hurdles for me to jump in making this cupboard. The first was getting the sides of the cupboard the same length and width. I got that done yesterday and it went off without any major hiccups. The second hurdle was attaching the the top and the bottom to the sides. I thought I would get that done also today but it didn't happen boys and girls. Maybe tomorrow I'll be putting that check mark in the done column.

unclamping

It felt like it took me almost as long to unclamp all the stock as it did to glue it up.

one Mackintosh Cupboard ala me

I eyeballed the stock and I thought I had everything except the parts for the doors.

wasn't sure

I went through the stock and I thought I was missing one shelf but it turns out I wasn't. I was going to glue up another one but I didn't need to. However, I did have to fix the long board on the bench. It had a wind shake crack that went from the top to the bottom. It didn't go completely through and I glued it and set it aside.

got lucky

The two longer boards are exactly the same. The two shorter ones at the front aren't. I was worried that the back ones wouldn't be flush and doing that would have been a PITA. 

awkward but doable

I clamped the sides together flushing the back edges and the top and bottom. I used my low angle block plane to flush the short side long edges.

wind shake board

I was going to make another glue up for just in case when I saw this. Filled the crack with glue and clamped it to cook away. (oops for the out of sequence pic)

the top

Decided the top would be dovetailed and the bottom will live in a rabbet. Rabbeting the bottom because it will be sitting in a base that will capture it on four sides. Used the Moxon because the top has a small cup to it. The Moxon clamped it flat while I sawed the tails.

ain't working boys and girls

This was my third attempt at trying to transfer the tails on to the pin board. I knew that this wouldn't be easy but I was ready to give this flying lessons. I also entertained sawing the )%&Q)%Q#_)*_)@#% tails off and using a rabbet on the top and bottom. But I'm brain dead about some things along with being mule headed so I kept on at it. I refused to give in.

4 times wasn't the charm

This was the 5th attempt at transferring the tails onto the pin board. This one worked. The first one I did was finicky but after a few dance steps I finally got it aligned to my liking and knifed the tails. The second one was quicker and easier to do.

sawing the pins

I tried first to saw the pins with the board laying flat and overhanging the bench. It felt too awkward trying to saw the pins that way. I could only see the top end grain edge and neither face. I had to move the stool twice while sawing the pins this way but it feel better. I could see the top knife line along with the vertical face pencil line. Felt much more comfortable sawing this way. I didn't have to fight the side board vibrating like I thought it would while I sawed.

first test fit

It is snug and I'll have to trim a few pins but I'm happy with it as is. On to chopping the second set out.

can you see the boo boo?

My heart sunk and fell out of my a-hole when I saw this bonehead me-steak.

YIKES!

To put a positive spin on this, the tails and pins meshed and fitted well. However, comma, back slash, the fronts are pointing 180 out from each other. The question now was how to fix this? 

I had looked and checked to make sure I laid out the tails onto the pin board making sure the corner numbers agreed. What I didn't check was the orientation of the front of the side. The cause of this was I didn't label this the way I do all my dovetails. I thought since this didn't have a dovetailed bottom I didn't have to label the insides. I always put an X on the inside bottom edges on the pin and tail boards. I would have seen that the X was facing in the wrong direction if I had done it.

corrected

Picked sawing off the front short glued on boards vice sawing off the tails and making a new set. My goal for today was to get the top and bottom dry fitted. That will now be delayed one day. 

accidental woodworker

 The plans for this are in Woodsmith Vol. 46 / No. 273, July 2024. I like the overall look of it and I'm following it pretty close. However, I am making some changes to it one being the thickness of the stock. My lunchbox planer is only 13" wide and there are a few pieces called for that are wider than that. I will change the thickness of them from 1/2" to 5/8" and hand plane them to that. 

Another change are the door panel inserts. Not only am I changing the size of the doors, I am putting an artsy looking tile (two of them - one is a flower and the other is an egret) between the stiles and rails. Another change from the plans is the shelf above the vertical dividers - mine will extend at the front and sides.

The top and bottom are mitered (in the plans) to the sides and I am not doing that. Haven't decided if I'll use a rabbet or dovetail the top/bottom to the sides. Stayed tuned, film and updates on the 11 o'clock news. Another change I am doing is I will put this cupboard on a base. I haven't implemented any of these yet because I don't have the stock prepped as of now. Oh, one last contemplated change is I'm going to paint my version of the Mackintosh Cupboard. 

broken knob

I drove the screw home with no hiccups (I waxed it too). The horizontal line going to the right from the vertical one is where I broke the knob apart yesterday.

flushed

This was the last thing I thought I was going to do on these. I was wrong. 

off at this corner

I used the original screw holes at the front and that set the position of the top. This can't be see from the front and I found out that these will be up against a wall. I also figured out why the diagonals were off square but it didn't effect the drawers. Three of the legs are twisted and reading diagonals from the outside faces weren't equal. The interior diagonals agreed within a strong 16th.

the last glamour pic

I misunderstood what my wife is going to do to finish the tops. I thought she was going to stain them a dark walnut or maybe ebony. So I scraped and sanded the shellac off the tops. Turns out she isn't going to stain them - I showed her a sample board with 3 different stains. She told me she doesn't like stain anymore than I do and she is going to use a paint wash? As per usual I am clueless as to what she says a paint wash stain is. Regardless I am now out of the equation.

Mackintosh Cupboard stock prep

Started with the two long sides picking the clearest, flattest, and straightest boards I had left over. Established a reference edge to base everything else off of. Even though I'm painting this I did the glue like I was leaving it natural.

squaring one end

Squared one end of each board off the reference edge. From there I determined my length and sawed/planed that end square.

wee bit off

I squared the last end to match the 3rd end I squared (the longest running one to the shorter one). I did that with the boards aligned and flush on the opposite end and the long reference edge. I did the planing with the low angle block plane, shaving  a little and checking for square and plumb as I went. I find that squaring two sides to be difficult but not insurmountable. For me I have to take my time, frequently check my progress, and most importantly, making sure the boards stay clamped together properly and don't shift or move on me.

both sides cooking

I haven't done it yet but getting the two side exact may be a PITA to get done. I glued on the short width board onto each long one. The short one is the same width/length but the long board widths are different. I have been thinking about that and I think I will flush the two sides together and plane off any difference on the wider board.

top and bottom

Right now the rough dimensions for the cupboard are about 5' tall, 14" R/L, and about 16 inches deep (F/B). These two boards are the bottom (in the clamps) and the top leaning against the bottom.

dividers

This will yield two boards, one for the bottom of the top compartment, and the second one for the bottom of the divided compartments.

vertical dividers

I need 3 vertical dividers. The board in front will give up one and the glued up stock will supply the other two. The dividers are about 9" tall and the F/B is a little less then the depth of the cupboard.

what's left

I am good for what I need to make the stiles/rails for the two doors on the cupboard.

boneyard is the drying yard

This glue up wore me out. I thought I would be done with before lunch but I was overly optimistic about that. I finished up the last one at 1420. I am gladly waiting until tomorrow before I unclamp any of these.

Ocooch wood arrived

I was surprised to see this as it came via USPS. I was looking for it to arive at the end of this week at the earliest. The thing I like the most about Ocooch wood is you get exactly what you order. There is no nominal BS to deal with. You order a 4" wide by 36" long board that is exactly what you receive.

black limba

Not exactly what I was hoping for. I wanted the black to be distributed better than what it is here. This board is for the face of the clock. The white board underneath is hard maple plywood that is the back for the clock.

more black limba

This is for the sides but I'm thinking that maybe I'll glue this to the front board to get the black going from side to side. What is left over will be used for the sides. That was the intended use of this shorter width black limba board.

1/4" thick hard maple

This is the accent wood for the edges of the clock face board. I will keep this wood in the shrink wrap until I'm ready to dive into it. 

I ordered a pendulum movement and hands from Klockit and I should have it by the end of the week. I had 3 pendulum movements in my stash of clock goodies but none for a 1/4" dial board.

I ordered the tiles from Etsy this AM too. The egret tile is 6"x8" and the iris flower tile is 8"x8". The flower is going in the bottom door and the egret in the upper door. I wanted that reversed but the tile sizes dictated who was going where. The tiles were $69 with no shipping but you know it was figured in. It was $11 to ship the clock movement and hands coming to me from FedEx. 

accidental woodworker

 I am calling the restoration done even though I have few more things to attend to. They are minor and I will clean them up tomorrow. For now I'm saying it is officially done. I can now hand it off to my wife and she can do what she wants with it. I don't know when the wood for the clock is coming so I'll probably start the other project tomorrow.

glue break

The end of the molding was running long. I was trimming it flush with a chisel and I splintered off a chunk. Glued it back on and I finishing flushing it later. It was long but too short to saw it flush.

gap

I am hoping that when I screw the back stop thing into the top that it will suck it up tight.

this is interesting

I seriously doubt that this is a factory serial number. Based on the construction of this and the mish mash of woods and some of the construction methods this wasn't made in a factory.

possibility

I think it is the the construction date. This is the way europe does dating - day first, then the month followed by the year. These were the only stamped numbers I found on this.

putting the left top on

I secured the base to the top with two screws at the front. I then marked the back so I would know where to put the screws for the back.

You Tube trick

I saw this on You Tube the other day. I'm sure it could be done with wood glue too. You Tube used toothpicks, super glue, and accelerator. You could probably also lose the accelerator.

worked well

Fill the screw hole with super glue, stuff it full with toothpicks, and spray it with accelerator. After a few secs, saw it off flush.

used it for the second hole

I sanded the ends to a point before I stuffed them in the second hole. The toothpicks with pointed ends fill up the hole better then leaving them round.

left top secured

I elongated the holes at the front as much as I could which wasn't much. After the fact I thought of using figure 8 fasteners but I'm leaving it as is. It feels tighter being picked up by the top at the front and back. It gives some when picked up by the sides - makes sense there are no fasteners along the sides.

5/8" of an inch

There isn't much wiggle room here for attaching the back stop thing to the top. I attached it to the top with 3 screws - one in an inch from each end and one in the middle. No glue, just screws.

back stops done

The left one is slightly tapered going from flush at the back on the right to about 1/8" in from the back on the left. It isn't obvious from the front and I left it as is.

fitting the drawers

Two bearer rails on the left unit were proud on one end. There are gaps also between the end of the rail and the leg stile. Tried to close it slowly and gently with a clamp and nada. Decided to leave that as is as it would have meant taking the carcass apart to fix it.

one big and two small

On the original configuration of this there was a shelf here. All 3 of the holes are too large (IMO) to fill with wood putty.

#8 Fuller countersink

Drilled and countersunk all three holes. I'll fill them in with a tapered plugs.

filled in

The Fuller countersink has a matching taper plug cutter. I usually put the plugs in so the grain of them is at 90° to the grain of the hole. This time I ran the grain of the plug in line with the hole. My wife has changed her mind and said she is now thinking of leaving it natural and not white washing it.

original screws

They are #10 by 2" and with the new drawer boxes they are too long. I swapped them out for #10 by 1 3/4" screws.

not happy with this

I set the drawers so that they were a 1/4" in from the left side and a 1/4" in between them from the bottom to the top. The knob screw is the only thing holding the drawer front on and they are submitting to gravity. Overall it doesn't look that bad from 6 feet away but up close I can see how close the drawers are to the edges of the opening. There isn't a lot of over hang wiggle room and I did the right unit drawer fronts differently.

right drawer front

Doing the layout for the drawer knob. I have the front over hang positioned a 1/4" from the ends and a 1/4" at the top. I used 1/4" brass set up bars to do it. I decided that the top means more then the bottom as any close 'gaps' there won't be as visible as if they were at the top.

I found out doing this on the right drawers that the fronts are uniform R/L but a wee bit off on the T/B. One drawer has it's bottom edge flat and squared off. All the other drawer fronts have a round over on all four edges. None of the bottoms of the drawers had a 1/4" - all were less than that.

took some fussing

I set one side and top and then did the opposite side. I had to fudge a few that were shy of having a 1/4" on the sides but I made sure all of them were spot on a 1/4" on the top.

right side done

I like how the right side came out. The spacing looks uniform and the next batter was pulling all the left drawers out and doing them again like I did the right ones.

the easiest one

The small top left drawer was almost perfect. I had enough play in the knob screw hole to pull the drawer front up so that it was 1/4" above the drawer box. 

#6 screws

I secured the drawer fronts to the drawer boxes with 4 #6 by 5/8" screws. I put one in each corner from the inside into the drawer front.

too big

The hole was too big and the screw was too loose. I couldn't get the knob even reasonably tight. I did the You Tube trick with the toothpicks to fill in the hole. It was too tight then and I had to drill out the knob with the #10 Fuller countersink.

ouch

It was still too tight and the knob split on me. This knob had a crack in it already but it split and broke apart off from that. I glued it back together and I'll have to wait until tomorrow for this to be fully cooked. I had to tighten up 3 other knob holes and on them I only used one toothpick and that was enough.

1/4" brass set up bars

I had to drill one knob hole again on the bottom left drawer. The hole was too low and I couldn't get my 1/4" at the top. I positioned it and screwed in the 4 #6 screws and then drilled the knob hole. It was off just a wee bit and when I screwed the knob on the screw head hid 99% of the slight over drilled hole.

done

With the exception of the knob on the left middle drawer. Easy peasy fix once the knob has sett up. I also have to flush the tapered plugs I put in left and right bottom sides. But other than that they are done.......

fingers crossed

If this splits again on me I'll have to buy six new knobs. I don't have a lathe so I can't whack them out in the shop. I think Lee Valley has similar looking bun style wooden knobs.

accidental woodworker

 Things are going well with the restoration in spite of hitting a few snags. Almost 50 years ago when I first started woodworking I was constantly bugged to fix wooden things. I always resisted because dammit I wanted to be someone who made it not a repaired it. I realize now that I could have learned so much if I had gone down that fork in the road. 

I think  99% of my resistance came from not knowing a whole lot about woodworking. Today I smiled when I thought back on that time as I dealt with the snags I ran into today. My skill level is way above what I was then and I just dealt with them as they came. I might even look for something by the curb that I can 'restore' again.

too wide

The drawer box was binding and stopping in its opening. I initially tried to sand the sides with 80 grit in a sanding block. That helped some and it wasn't stopping anymore but it wasn't going in/out smoothly. The 4x24 solved the width issue in a hurry. FYI - I didn't want to plane it because one it is plywood and two there were brads at the corners.

another hiccup

The middle drawer was a wee bit too snug. I don't want to have to put any oomph on the drawer front to close it or to open it up. I could see that the drawer box was tight on this drawer rail.

the other drawer guide

Used tenon and bullnose planes and they worked on the almost all of it except for the last couple of inches at the back. I had get them leveled with a chisel.

Big Record plane

Got the two drawer guides planed but the drawer was still hanging up on the last 1"-2" at the back end.

another gotcha

I just happened to be looking at the bottom of the drawer guide above the one I was working on. The drawer top was up tight against it. I was planing the drawer guide below it for nothing. Hit the underside with the Lee Valley bullnose plane. It isn't a plane I use often but it excels at getting in awkward and tight areas.

sometimes you get lucky

This is where I saw how tight it was. I was ok with continuing to plane the guide rail below this one and eventually I'm sure I would have planed enough away for it to work smoothly again. I was able to plane away the extra with two dance steps to fix the binding headache.

success

The drawer is no longer throwing a hissy fit. I checked the fit of all 3 drawers in this unit to ensure they were all still operating smoothly. You never know how fixing one hiccup might effect another one.

nope

There were two busted off screws smack dab where I had to put a filler. This side of the unit maybe visible from the side and I have to fill this void in. I tried 3 different sizes and styles of vise grips and nada. I had to hacksaw off the protruding screws and file them flush.

filler piece in

Ideally this filler piece would go from the top to bottom to make it seamless but that ain't happening boys and girls. The last I heard this was going to be white washed so this will be ok. I also have some damage on the bottom where a shelf was originally. Missing finish, a couple of holes, and some left over bits of wood I'll have to plane or chisel off.

second piece needed

The second piece will create the rabbet that I can nail the back on to. The outside part will be glued and the 'rabbet' part will be glued and nailed.

twin damage

The right and left sides have this hiccup I'll have to address at some point.

back stop idea

These were originally at the back of each unit. The curves were on the outboard side and the the flat vertical end butted up against a mirror. I was thinking of copying the curves and putting them on both ends of the new back stop. 

changed my mind

Instead of doing the curvy detail I am going with a simple round over. I didn't like the look of the height of the back stop thing with the curvy details. This stop is simpler and fits in with the new look of these.

1 1/2" round over

I clamped the two of them together and sanded the round overs smooth with 80 and 120 grit sandpaper.

molding removed and reinstalled

Both the right and left side units have moldings nailed on the end grain edge. I had to take one off because both were long and stuck past the back edge a 1/4" or more. I glued the first 1 1/2" at the front edge and nailed it off. I discarded the original nails and used 1" brads to secure it. There were 7 nails in each molding and there were three different size nails used.

labeled

I'm patting myself on the back because I resisted the urge to make both of the back stop things the same length. Turned out the right top is a 1/4" wider than the left one. The left one would have been too short.

crap

The angled blocks were nailed and screwed to the back which is 3/16" solid wood. No wonder the top felt so flimsy when I picked it up and moved it around. I broke it off and I will redo so the back of the top has something substantial to be screwed into. 

it isn't square

The only thing holding the two sides together was a thin solid wood back. It is out of square over a 1/2". The drawers fit and move in/out smoothly so I ain't changing this. The plan is to dovetail a top stile into the back top of the legs.

the new top back stile

I went with a half dovetail because a full tail wouldn't fit. It would have had only a little meat to have a bite on. This one isn't much better but the rabbet is being a PITA here.

not my best dovetailing

Chopping these was awkward, a ROYAL PITA, and it was like chiseling stone with a plastic knife. I had to chop a lot of end grain and the left tail (right one in the pic) had a gap. That was the first one I did and I know I chiseled past my knife lines squaring it up. The right one was better fitting and I filled the gap on the left with a shim.

ceramic screws

2 1/2" long, one in each tail. Even if I had gotten a better fit I still would have used screws. This will present a stronger stile for the top to be screwed down to. I also continually checked the fit of the drawers each time I put the stile in/out for fitting.

drawers working fine

The diagonals are still off but the drawers move in/out smoothly. The drawers are also within a 16th of square on their diagonals. Don't understand this but the drawers work and that is all I care about.

new plywood back

I had enough solid wood for the back but it would have been at least a 4 board back. Decided to use two pieces of plywood. This is the left side unit.

right side unit

Went with solid wood to close up the back on this one. The upper two pieces are solid so I'm leaving that as is. The top is also secure feeling - no looseness or movement in the top when I pick it up to move it. I just nailed the bottom one no glue for the next one that has to work on this.

shellac?

I scraped this and the dust looked and smelled like shellac. I poured some alcohol on the top and let it sit for a few. It kind of got gummy but it didn't melt or remove the shellac(?). I'll try this again tomorrow and see what shakes out with it then.

accidental woodworker

 Not 100% sure that what I am doing is a restoration. When I am done working on it I'm sure it won't be what my wife originally found. One thing I noticed in the work I've done so far is that there isn't any plywood anywhere on it. Everything is solid wood of which I think is 5-6 different species. I'm sticking with calling it a restoration because I will be restoring it to be used either as end tables or bedside night stands. I asked my wife again today which it was going to be and she is waiting until I'm done before making that call.

this is going to be a PITA

I criss crossed from opposite corners and my pencil lines didn't cross where the hole is. 

it is off 90

The pencil lines on the front cross dead on the hole. It looks like the hole was drilled off 90. Not sure yet how I'll deal with it. I'm leaning in the direction of doing the drawer fronts like I did with Leo's bureau.

banding stock

I sawed scraps of pine to the width of the drawer box stock. Next step was to bandsaw strips on the bandsaw.

rough

I thought of gluing the smooth side down to the edge and then planing it smooth after the glue had set. After thinking about that I changed my mind and decided it was better to plane it smooth first before gluing it to the drawer box edges.

hmmm.....

Noticed that I had 3 of these planing jigs and I picked this one to use. I had to add another scrap of pine to it because the depth was a 1/4" and the strips were less than an 1/8" off the bandsaw.

thick enough

The banding came out 3-4 frog hairs below 1/8". That is more than thick enough for the purpose I will use them for. On the top of the drawers it shouldn't be subjected to any abuse intended or not.

made two extras

I made a enough banding to do 8 drawers where I only need 6.

drats, and double, triple drats

I decided to make a few more based on losing more folded up ones than good ones. The final ratio ended up being almost 3 folded to 1 good. The plane would dig in at the lead in stroke and the strip and fold up. I didn't have time to even form 'aw shi....' in the brain bucket before it was toast.

I made more

After I had made the required bandings for the 8 drawers I went nutso and made a a few more. If I counted the broken ones it would have been a boatload. I should have done this after gluing and nailing the drawer boxes together. However, I started down this road and after breaking so many I got pissed and kept at until I had more than I could possibly need.

left top done

I thought that the top was walnut but after gluing the left top back together I'm not so sure. I think that one board of the glue up is mahogany and the other one is walnut based on the grain and pores. From what I have observed I don't think that this is a stained piece. I used a card scraper to clean up the underneath of the knobs and it looked clean and raw wood. The finish was yellowed and the wood shavings from underneath didn't have any 'stain' in them. 

first drawer box

This is the drawer box that was a PITA to dry fit - I had to use clamps to do that. I had to use the clamps to glue and nail it too. I clamped and then glued/nailed around the top 360. Moved the clamps from the top to the bottom and repeated the same.

it's throwing a hissy fit

This was the only drawer that I didn't get to fit its intended opening dry. It is supposed to go in the bottom but it wouldn't fit. It was too tight but that was caused by a nail that blew through and was sticking out on a corner. Removed the nail and the drawer went in but not fully. It was hanging up on the back left leg stile.

nail blow through

Had quite a few of the blow throughs to deal with. Only one drawer survived intact without any. 

rounded the corner

The drawer guide was slightly over to the inside of the leg stile - it wasn't flush with it. Not much but enough so that the drawer back bottom left edge was hitting as it was pushed in. Sanding a round over was the charm for fixing it.

right side unit

Other than the one hiccup with the bottom drawer, the other two were trouble free. Now all 3 slide in/out smoothly with no binding or jamming in the opening.

past lunch

I wanted to get all the drawers glued, nailed, and fitted to their respective openings before I quit to fill the pie hole. The left unit had the same left leg stile hiccup that I had with the right one. I sanded the corner like I did with the bottom right one and all was well in Disneyland again. 

I tried to swap the middle and bottom drawers but both of them didn't like the bottom drawer opening. Both hung up and wouldn't slide all the way into the drawer opening.

round over

It didn't take much to allow for the drawer to fully insert into the opening. I'm glad that this simple fix cured the headache. I wasn't looking forward to shimming or trying some other remedy for fixing the leg stiles and drawer guides being misaligned.

just MHO

I think the banding looks better than the exposed edge of the plywood. I have never liked the look of it and for as long as I can remember I have always covered it if it was going to be visible. The banding is butted together at the four corners

more OT

This AM I thought I would get the drawers done and have the drawer fronts attached. I got the drawers done and banded and that was it.

There isn't a lot left to do on these now. Attach the drawer fronts, make some back stop things and cover the big holes at the bottom back of both units. I will not be painting or doing any finishing work on these. I liked doing the woodworking part and my wife can finish them however she deems fit.

stayed a wee bit longer

I filled in all the nail holes and blow outs with wood putty. I don't intend to finish the drawers with shellac or anything else. I didn't want to leave the nails exposed when the drawers are opened. I'll sand them tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

Before I start one of the two new projects I am going to whack out the night/end tables before I do either them. I don't know what this was before (vanity?) but my wife intends to use them as night/end tables. She hasn't decided if they will go in the living/rec room or on either side of her bed at Amanda's. That is her problem to solve and mine is make new drawers for these.

moving time

Before I started on the honey-do I had to get Leo's bureau out of the shop and into the boneyard. I asked my wife and she said she got the dollies from Amazon. I tried to use all four but ended up moving the bureau with only two. Due to the unevenness of the cellar floor one or two of the dollies would fall off. I didn't have any hiccups maneuvering the bureau into the boneyard with just two of them.

first drawer

The sides and bottom are 3/16" thick solid wood. Species unknown but maybe a pine? The front and back are a 1/2" thick. These drawers are incredibly flimsy both in looks and I'm sure in their use too. I tried to take the drawers apart gently so I can repurpose the thin wood for something else.

some glue residue

The first two sides came off relatively easy. There is evidence of glue but the long grain to end grain glue bond wasn't that solid. I also attempted to save the nails.

hmm....

It was interesting trying to decipher how this was done. The front is screwed to the drawer front with 4 screws in the corners and one center one that captures the knob. I think the box was glued/nailed together and then screwed to the drawer front.

brittle and dry

The sides and the bottom are dry and prone to splitting just by looking at them. The glue bond was a lot stronger on this drawer and the mallet was 'riving' them with each blow. Of the six drawers I only lost one.

success

The first two drawer bottoms didn't come out in one piece. Both of them were two board bottoms and 2 of the 4 split and disintegrated taking them apart.

blast from the past

I haven't seen these types of fasteners for years. The last time I used them was making screen doors a bazillion years ago. Four of the six drawer fronts were made this way. Whoever made this used every bit of any scraps he/she had available.

done

This is the pile I got from taking the drawers apart. I got a nice pile of thin solid stock but I won't be able to use any of it for the new drawer builds. I could glue it to get the width I need but I would be short on the length. Try as I might this stuff wasn't stretching even a frog hair.

it is walnut

This is the top from what I'm calling the left hand unit. There was a good 1/8" of gap between the two pieces. I didn't see much evidence of glue from end to end on either board. I planed the edges square, flat, and straight and glued it back together. The right top is in good shape with tight glue joints. The sides of both units are frame and panels and I didn't see any problems with them.

why it failed

The top is/was screwed to the frame without any allowance for expansion/contraction. I will elongate the front holes to allow for it when I screw the top back on.

a little of this and a little of that

There are all kinds of different woods in use here. The maker obviously didn't devote any calories to doing anything fancy on anything that wouldn't be seen with the drawers shut. What he/she did is solid with nothing loose or rattling around. I'll have to use plywood to fill in the big hole (both units). That is from me removing a board that held the two units apart R/L.

top is cooking

This should be done by tomorrow. The top is short on the F/B but I will be putting a back stop thing to make up the 5/8" I need.

used plywood

I got a mix of different 1/2" plywoods. I used cherry, blonde wood, and some Home Depot Plywood I bought on sunday. I sized the fronts to fit their individual openings - they were all about a 32nd +/- of each other. I made the length of the sides the same for all 6 drawers. I ran a groove on all the inside edges for the plywood bottoms to come.

I am using rabbeted construction for the drawers. I sawed a 1/2x 3/16 rabbet on the fronts and backs. Glue and nails will be more than sufficient to hold them together.

I think I have enough

All the of bottoms are slightly different. I sawed six out to the largest one and I then fitted each bottom to fit each drawer.

dry fitted

Took a wee bit of fiddle and faddle but I got them fitted and sliding in/out. I sized the fronts/backs to be a wee bit under sized from the opening R/L.

throwing a hissy fit

When I was plowing the groove for the bottom I made it a few frog hairs too wide. I adjusted for the groove by bumping the fence in the wrong direction. That looseness made dry fitting this drawer a ROYAL PITA. Only two grooves were loose but it was enough to up the urge to give it flying lessons.

one more to go

I was pretty feeling a little smug with myself. The drawers, with the exception of the first big one, fit in their respective openings. So far (except for the one), the drawers all open/shut without any binding. I don't anticipate any hiccups or changes after I glue and nail them.

last one

I thought I would have gotten more done today. Still a productive day getting all of the drawers redone and dry fitted. Tomorrow I'll fire up the compressor and glue and nail them together.

banding

I don't like the look of the plywood end grain. I will saw up scraps to get what I need so I can cover the top edges of all of the drawers. I have a strong 1/8" of clearance on all of the drawers (T/B) for it.

picked it up this AM

I thought of putting my name or made by grandpa but nixed it. This is for him and this is all he needs to know.

The temp today topped out at 91F (33C) which was 5-6 degrees higher than the predicted temp. This makes 4 days in a row with it reaching 90 or higher. Any bets for 5 in a row?

accidental woodworker

 Today, according to the weather prognosticators, was when the high temps would break. Well boys and girls, that didn't happen. The predicted temp was supposed to be in the middle 80's and instead it topped out at 94F (34C). I think the high temps are here to stay for a while. 

found it

I had given up on finding this in the workshop. I happened to see it in an upstairs bookcase. Walmart sells these but Amazon has them too. I can't remember what the 'cardboard' is underneath it. I think it is card stock and I probably got it from Amazon.

done

I am going to apply adhere adhesive backed velvet to them. So much easier to do it to them vice the bottom of the compartments.

oversized

I made the velvet about a 1/4" wider than the card stock T/B and R/L.

gap

I am leaving this side as is. It will be impossible to see it when standing in the front of the bureau.

did better with #2

I put these in mostly to cover the plywood bottoms and the two screws. Maybe Leo has some flashy cars that will look good laying on it.

branded

I went to a trophy shop this AM to have a brass plate made with Leo's name on it. No trophy shops in my area do pantograph engraving anymore. He told me that was old school and today it is all done with laser etching. So that is what I'll be picking up tomorrow morning. I don't think I did this for Miles's bureau so I'll have to probably make one for him too.

hmmm......

The next project on the workbench was going to be the one on the right. I like the form and style of it but I will be adding my own 'design' improvements. I saw the clock on the left last night and I like the form of it too. I ordered some black limba wood from Ocooch Hardwoods for making my version of it. I especially like the black void that the pendulum bob swings in. 

One idea I have for the right hand project is to use tiles for the panel inserts. I found some online but I didn't bookmark the site so I'll search for it again tonight. Along with the tile inserts I plan on changing the size of the rails and stiles of both doors. 

I haven't forgotten the end tables I have to fix for my wife. I'll be squeezing them in somehow and I might work on them along with either one or both of these. I've been kicking around the idea of using the left over 1/2" plywood to make the drawer sides. That would save my back on not having to run stock through the lunchbox planer.

finally

 This is the zone free DVD player I bought a month ago(?). I initially tried it a few days after I received it and it didn't work. It looked like it was working but there was no visual output on the TV. I fiddled and faddled with it and gave up on it. The DVD player is from China and I thought it had go south on me.

Today I checked all the cables and found the problem. The cable going into the DVD wasn't fully seated. I barely pushed it in a 16th but that was what was holding things up. Now I can finally finish watching season 4 of Spiral.

accidental woodworker

 I didn't get a lot done today but I am calling the bureau done. I still have a couple of cosmetic touch ups here and there but I putting the check mark in the done column. I didn't get much done because me back is acting up. It usually hurts when I first get but it loosens up and I don't feel it through out the day. Not so for the past few days with today it throwing a hissy fit on and off all day long. That along with the high 90's F (33-35C) temps and humidity I wasn't feeling much like working wood.

8" drawer box

I plugged the original holes for the knobs. I don't have to plug the holes in the drawer front. I got it aligned and installed in the PM session.

huge improvement

There is one spot where I painted over bare wood but the rest of the top is smooth and glass looking. There is/was some wood shop dust and debris nobs and nibs that I sanded off with 320. I think most of it came from walking on the floors above it.

drawer fronts

These looked better than the top. I applied another coat on everything again. That is all I got done in the AM session. Once they were painted I couldn't do anything else in the shop. I spent the time wisely doing sudoku and crossword puzzles.

no nails

In hindsight I should have made the rabbet wider (R/L) so I wouldn't have to angle the screws like I did here. I put one screw in between each of the bearer rails on both sides. I nixed the nails because of the thinness of the rabbet and that a screw will provide better holding/pull out resistance.

PM session

Putting the drawers back in so I can align the bottom 8" drawer again. It must have shifted on me the first time without me noticing it.

left side aligned

When I did this the first time I made all the drawers align on the left. I paid extra attention to this making sure the drawer didn't move either R/L when I drilled the holes for the knobs.

hole drilled

I drilled the left hole first and installed the knob. I checked to ensure that the 8" drawer front was still in line with the three drawers above it. Once I was satisfied with that I drilled and installed the knob on the right.

drawer front screws

I put four of these in each of the two small top drawers (top and bottom corners). I used six in each of the 3 large bottom drawers - two each in top/bottom corners and two in the top/bottom of the middle.

where are the screws?

Wandered around looking in the spots where I thought I might have hidden the screws but nada. The screws were in one of the compartments. I didn't hear or feel  them rattling around when I picked it up

secured

No problems getting them in and screwed down. Even the middle one was easy peasy and I was expecting that one to be a expletive laden chore.

glamour shot #1

I really like how this bureau turned out. It is a good size but I doubt Leo will take to college with him someday. It is too heavy and they have to go up a long staircase to climb to get it to his second floor bedroom.

side view

I am going to leave the drawers slightly open and give the paint some time to fully cure before I close them.

striped back

The stripes are from me cleaning/erasing the pencil lines with alcohol. I am going to put a brass plate on the back (name date etc) along with my branding iron imprint.

car storage

Amanda already told me that Leo will be using these drawers to hold some of his toy cars. I am on the fence with putting blue felt in the tray compartments. That will change if I can find where I hid my mini mat cutting machine.

same side glamour shot

I wanted to snap this pic from the right but there wasn't enough room to do that. I will have to move the tablesaw so I can get the bureau out of the shop and into the boneyard. Lucky me that my wife bought 4 mini tri-wheeled dollies that will make that job a breeze. However, they won't work a damn for going up steps.

accidental woodworker

 After I killed the lights I knew that I was a lot closer to being done today than yesterday. What is going to hold up the check mark in the done column is painting. That is what I got done today. I did that in the PM session so I wouldn't stir up dust in the shop if I had done it in the AM session. I'm very anxious to see how all the after the fact sanding and card scraper work paid off. 

setting the drawer unit

Before I painted the top I positioned the drawer unit where it will live on it. I marked the screws and I did all 3. I don't think I'll have any hiccups being able to screw down the middle drawer opening screw.

done

I laid out and drilled the holes for the drawer front screws. I made the hole a 1/8" more than the diameter of the screw shaft.

setting the drawer fronts

I decided it was best to do the drawer fronts now rather than after they are painted. Any dings or scratches done now will be painted over after.

oops

Me thinks I had made a me-steak again. I know I said I would leave the dust panels off until I got the drawer fronts on. But..... I have no way to gain access to the inside of the drawer front so I can drill and fasten the screws.

got lucky

I already drilled the holes for the knobs and I used that hole to screw the drawer front to the drawer box. If I hadn't tripped over this lucky bit I was going to try using a hot glue gun.

huh?????

The screws don't seem to be long enough for the next drawer front (7" one). Both the 1 1/4" and the 1 1/2" screws were too short as was a 2" brass screw I tried.

Yikes!

I have done a lot of bone headed things in the shop but I think this one is now at the head of the line. The screws weren't too short, I hadn't put the drawer box in yet.

wow

I was so happy with how this looked that I almost wet myself. All the margins are perfect dare I say that. I also kind of like this distressed look of the bureau.

it is stable

The bureau isn't tippy in the least with all the drawers opened. Of course there isn't anything in the drawers but this is encouraging. I have never opened all the drawers of my bureau at once so I think I'm good to go.

for the knobs

I got the last package of 2" long 8-32 screws at ACE. The pliers nipped about a 1/4" off and the die chased and cleaned up the threads. Decided to keep going forward and got all the knobs installed too.

another worry dashed

I didn't have a warm and fuzzy about the size of the knobs but now I do. They are going to work fine. I wish they were a tad bit bigger but this is all LV had. Even the two top drawer knobs don't look off to my eye. They are 6 1/8" in from the outside edges and 7" in from the inside edges. 

This bureau is the heaviest piece of anything I ever made. I think only my workbench weighs more than this does. On the bright side it is solid, feels substantial, and should withstand anything a young Leo can throw at it.

the PM paint session

I wiped  down all the parts I was going to paint with a damp rag.

something is amiss

I'm pretty sure that I paid attention to my labels. However, when I was getting ready to remove the knobs and the drawer fronts I noticed a hiccup. The bottom drawer wasn't aligned with the other ones. It was about an 1/8" off to the left. It was enough that I saw it immediately and it is something I'll have to correct.

feeling much better

It had been about an hour after I painted the top when I eyeballed it. It is smooth with no brush marks and no ridges showing. There are a few spots where the paint is over bare wood and they don't look glassy smooth but that is to be expected. I didn't prime the top again and this will take at least two topcoats to finish. Based on the first coat look the 2nd one should come out looking 100% glassy smooth also.

one more coat of shellac

I got four coats on the entire drawer box. I wanted to get one more (possibly two) on the interiors. The insides had a bazillion teeny ridges left by nicks in the planer blades I scraped, steel wool, and sanded off. They may need another coat to melt the shellac and blend them out.

came today

I got something to read before I check my eyelids for light leaks tonight.

 accidental woodworker

success

Home Depot didn't have the blonde plywood brand that Lowes sells but they had this which IMO looks just as good. I almost gave up on because this was not with all the other plywood. It was a few aisles over in  a place I would have never thought of to look for it. I was wandering around up and down the aisles to see what they had to offer and came across it.

I had to wait 20 minutes to find someone to saw the full sheet in half for me. This was $49 for the full sheet which isn't too bad of a price in today's market. I sawed one half to fit the bureau and stowed the other half in the boneyard.

this sucks

I still have brush marks/ridges in the top. I was expecting the paint to fill them in and smooth it out but it ain't happening boys and girls. I don't think even multiple coats will fill/smooth this in/out.

primer

Lightly sanded again with 220 and primer popped out again. This is really starting to draw blood and chunks out of my arse.

the back

I am not going nutso on the back like I intend to on the front. All that matters here is about a nice one inch border on the sides and 1 1/2" at the front. The rest can stay as is.

close

This is right on 1 1/2" and I will sand this out and away. The white dot on the edge is a definite it will be gone candidate.

dry fitted

The back was slightly out of square - I planed a 32nd taper on the right side with a jack plane. I also had to knock down about 5"-6" on the top right to flush it.

screwed in place

No glue, just screws - 5 in each bearer rail. I still have to nail the back into the sides of the carcass. I'll use my nail gun to do that if I don't forget it tomorrow. The bureau is rock solid now along with being a lot heavier. This thing weighs a ton and a half at least but I'll bet a lung it will never rack. 

top attached

I attached the top to the top bearer rails with 8 screws at the back and 8 screws at the front. The first row of back screws are screwed directly into the underside of the top through the bearer rail. All the other screws I elongated the holes so the top can contract/expand towards the front. I didn't put any screws in the center cleats because I remembered them after I got last screw driven home. 

pay me now or pay me later a lot more

I got no one to blame for this crappy paint job but myself. I got lazy and didn't do what I should have done. First I didn't do a good enough job sanding the top before I put the primer on. Secondly I didn't sand the primer coat and subsequent topcoats like I should have. It is going to take a lot of calories to fix this screw up starting with 120 grit. I will sand the top until it is baby butt smooth no matter where I check it. In other words 100% of the real estate will be smooth after this go around.

90 minutes later

Sandpaper and a card scraper and all is feeling and looking good with the top now. I can't see any ridges/brush marks anywhere and it is baby butt smooth all over. I shouldn't have fallen for the paint filling in the smoothing out the top. 

knob screw

The supplied screw is too short.  FYI - did you know that 99.99% of knob screws are 8-32s? My first thought was to install the knob on the drawer front and then attach the drawer front to the drawer box. After thinking on that I nixed it. It would be a PITA to remove the drawer front to deal with a loose knob screw. Instead I will buy some longer 8-32 screws and go through the drawer box and the drawer front. I had some 1 1/2" 8-32s but they were sticking out less than a 1/4". I will buy some 1 3/4" or 2" long ones and cut them down.

tray is done

I got four coats of shellac on the splines. The carcass still shows some open grain but I am leaving it as is. I don't have anything to fill in the pores and I don't want to wait and order something neither.

top dust panel

I used ghost sticks to hold the dust panel in place as the glue cooks. I may also nail it off depending upon how small the pin nail I have are. I also glued in the other two dust panels. The bottom one is just nailed in place.

making a jig

This is going to be my alignment jig thingie thing for drilling the holes for the knobs the same on both sides of the drawer front.

nothing fancy here

A scrap of pine and 1/2" birch plywood is all I needed. A couple of nails and some glue and I didn't have to wait to use it.

all three in one jig

All the knobs for the 3 bottom large drawers will be in line with each other top to bottom and in from the sides about 6".

reversible

The two cleats on the outsides put the jig tight to the side and bottom on either end.

drill guide

Clamps hold the jig in place and the drill guide ensures that have a 90° hole to the face.

done

 The holes on the 3 big drawers are inset from each outside edge 6 1/8" and are slightly off center (1/4") from the bottom. I don't like having knobs dead centered top/bottom. I like the asymmetrical look of it being off center.

small top drawer fronts

I decided to align the bottom drawer knobs with the two top drawers. The knob will be inset from the outside edge (left edge on the left drawer and the right edge on the right drawer) 6 1/8". These two knobs will also be slightly off centered R/L and T/B.

more sanding to do

I am going to sand and correct the drawer fronts like I did the top and the 3 drawer unit. Although I will say the drawer fronts are better than the bureau top.

labeled so I can forget it

This is the back of the drawer front and won't be seen once it is attached to the drawer box. On the backs I only had to sand and correct a border about 1 1/2" all the way around.

a little over an hour

The drawer fronts are sanded baby butt smooth to feel and look. I'll paint them tomorrow because I doubt it will happen tonight. This is was not what I had planned for today but I'm glad I got done what I did.

accidental woodworker