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Making a Schwarz "Short Back" Chair, Part 3

Woodworking in a Tiny Shop - Thu, 08/29/2024 - 7:45pm

So I've got the seat, legs and arm/back support sticks prepared.  The next part to make was the arm bow.  I figured I'd do a prototype to work out the kinks.  With a prototype I can use mismatched and totally unsuitable woods.  This arm bow is made up of three pieces (eventually it was five pieces).  The middle piece is a 1 5/8" thick chunk of redwood and the rest is 3/4" red oak laminated to make pieces wide enough.  The parts are joined using barefaced tenons on the redwood piece and the oak is glued to that, kind of like a lap joint.

Redwood sitting on the arm bow template with two angled ends

The ends have had a 3/4" thick section removed underneath

The oak was glued into the removed section (big rabbet?),
creating that lap joint

You can see in the above photo the special clamping blocks that pull the joint together as the clamp pressure is increased.  These worked OK, but the adhesive-backed sandpaper that was supposed to keep the blocks from sliding didn't work perfectly - the adhesive slipped.  But in the end it worked well enough to get a good glue joint.

Here's the (mostly) shaped arm bow

And here it is roughly in place, positioned using the arm bow drilling jigs

Unfortunately, it seemed like the arm bow was way too short.  It started out 10" along a centerline from the inside curve at the back to the tips of the arms.  I half-lapped on another 3" piece to make the arms 13" deep.

An extension piece on each end added 3" to the arms
(shown before shaping)

The next step was to figure out how to bore the holes through the arm bow, in a direct line to where the holes in the seat need to go.  I had laid out the hole location in both the arm bow and the seat.  The key to getting the chair together is to get the arm bow holes to line up with the seat holes.  I noodled about this for quite a while and tried a few things before I got it right.

First idea: using a straight stick from seat to arm bow to align the auger bit to.
The right side of this stick (where my finger is pointing) is aligned with the 
arm bow hole and seat hole locations.

Using this method, I had to place the bottom of the stick a distance forward of the seat hole location that was the same as the distance from the arm bow hole location to the front of the arm bow (about 1 1/4").

Boring a hole in the arm bow, lining the bit up with the stick

I also had a mirror on the workbench giving me a view from a right angle
to see if my bit was lined up with the stick

But this method left too much to chance, as evidenced by the arm bow holes not coming close enough to being in alignment with the seat hole locations.

My next idea was to use a special stick with one end pointed so it could sit in a small hole (made with an awl) at the seat-hole location.  The upper end of the stick had a glued-on extension to help point the auger bit.  This also wasn't quite right.

This stick has a point in line with one side and an a triangle-shaped
extension at the top end 

Here's another method I tried.  I'm trying to line up the holes in arm bow
and seat using a ruler and square.  This also wasn't the answer.

After trying several things, I realized that I could line up the bit
in this direction (left and right in this view) fairly well by eye.
But I still needed something to dial in the front / back lean of the bit.

It took a few days for this to gel in my mind, but here's the solution.
The stick has a point at the bottom end (left in pic).  The two extensions that are
glued to the stick are 5/16" different in width.

With this stick, the upper extension can rest against a 5/8" auger bit, bringing the bit in better alignment with the seat hole location.  The width of the two extensions was large enough for the stick to clear the arm bow when in use.

The stick in use.  It's not easy to see in this picture, but the bottom
of the stick has a point sitting in a tiny hole at the seat hole location.

Note that the auger bit has to align well with the edge of the upper part of the stick

Finally I was getting holes bored in the correct alignment!  Most of the arm bow holes were bored before getting this stick right, so they're not aligned properly.  This arm bow was a prototype, so I'll be making another, and that'll be in another post.

Donna's dresser & box finale..........

Accidental Woodworker - Thu, 08/29/2024 - 3:28am

 Not much happened in the shop today. Did some painting and did some shellac. Now it is just hurry up and wait. Being overly cautious I'm thinking the dresser and the box will get a done check mark friday? As for the next project - a 2nd cupboard - it is itching for me to start. 

I still have the first one and I plan on making another one that will be almost a clone. The one change that I have in mind is to do the tiles differently. Currently I'm thinking of putting them in a frame within the panel. I'm also of thinking of going with dividers that would replace where I put a drawer in the first one. The dividers would probably work better for Diane - I'm making it for her.

I went for a walk today and it was iffy. The temp was 86F (30C) which was about the same temp when I got heatstroke last year (it was a lot more humid too). I decided to go on it because there was a nice breeze blowing. And it blew on me for the entire stroll too.

 lines

The lines aren't too bad but I can see them under the paint. I sanded it with 220 to feather them out before putting the another coat on.

 ironing

I weighed the two boards down to flatten the peel 'n stick. It was still trying curling up on me. I let this go as is over night and this AM it was flat and stayed that way.

ok

Still couldn't see or feel any problems with the shellac. I can see the build up of shellac along with the sheen from 2 coats. I'm happy with it and I stopped at 3 coats.

 2nd peel n' stick

The second peel 'n stick laid down well. Flattening it out definitely helped out with laying it down. I got a few slight gaps on the right side. The other 3 are tight and gap free. This is a huge improvement over the first one I did. Vacuuming it clean also paid off. No bottom nibs popped up into the peel 'n stick and this one seems to be sticking better too.

 caught it

The hinge mortises are at the top and that is the back of the box. I first laid down the peel 'n stick with the flowers a 180 out from the pic. 

done

I think I got 4 coats on this. Even if I don't, I like the coverage I have. This is the inside of the lid so it doesn't need a bazillion coats.

measuring

This is what I'm thinking of doing for framing the tiles. I plan on using the same tiles on this cupboard too. The top door isn't tall enough for the top tile frame pieces. I don't need or want the same distance on the sides as on the top but the first door dimensions need to be stretched T/B a minimum of 3 inches.

glamour pic #1

The lid frame has 4 coats on some parts and 2 on others. Overall I am ok with the coverage and I'm calling this done. 

glamour pic #2

I don't know what Donna will use this for if anything. I was thinking maybe quilting supplies etc that won't fit in the 5 drawer miniature dresser.

glamour pic #1

This (and the box) are hanging out in the living room for a few days. For all intents and purposes both are complete. The bottom drawer is sticking a little. I have to ensure that I pull it out and push it in straight. If I deviate a frog hair off straight it throws a hissy fit. I'll evaluate it after it has sat for a few days.

Noticed a hiccup with the knobs. The first of the 3 large drawer knobs are off. The bottom two drawer knobs are inset 1 1/2" and the first one is 1 1/4". I doesn't look too terribly OTL to me. I don't think I could move them over a 1/4" and cover/hide the first hole for the tenon. I'm leaving it as is. 

Another thing that caught my eye is the reveal between the bottom of the last drawer and the base. It is barely an 1/8" and it looks lost compared to the spacing between the other drawers. I should have reversed the reveal by putting the bearers for the bottom of the dresser 1/8" from the top of the base leaving a 3/8" reveal. 

 right side

The taper that was here matched the taper that was on the left side. Don't know how it disappeared after painting but it did.

 blurry left side pic

You can still see the shim I put in to fill the taper. It could stand to be another inch longer. I don't think my sister will pick up on it. You else besides another woodworker is going to check out all sides on this?

the back bottom

This is the second shim and I'll check on it in few days. I need to ensure that the shellac 'glued' this and the tapered one on the left side in place.

Willa is still hanging on. She moves constantly during the day but only within a one foot radius. Her breathing is getting shallow and the respiration interval is getting longer. Still isn't eating or drinking. She doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort because she still likes to be patted and caressed. She doesn't flinch or meow when I do it neither.

accidental woodworker

How to Choose Antique Hollows & Rounds Molding Planes

Wood and Shop - Wed, 08/28/2024 - 7:19am
How to Choose Antique Hollows and Rounds Molding Planes Bill Anderson shares advice on choosing a set of antique Hollows & Rounds molding planes for hand tool woodworking.   By Joshua Farnsworth  |  Published 28 Aug, 2024 How to Choose Antique Hollows and

Using the right type of marking gauge for each type of wood

Journeyman's Journal - Wed, 08/28/2024 - 4:10am

Not every marking gauge works well for every species of wood. This is how I tackle it.

Categories: Hand Tools

Donna's dresser pt XIII.......

Accidental Woodworker - Wed, 08/28/2024 - 3:34am

Moving forward and moving backwards at the same time with the dresser and the box. I think it would be overly optimistic saying they will done next tuesday. I looked over both of them studying them so after I painted them I wouldn't find any gotchas. I can repaint in 2-3 hours but I am going to wait 12 or do it the next day. I just wish the paint was as easy and quick to do as the shellac.

base attached

The blue paint is a PITA. I ran my finger tips over the top and left a trail of the four of them being dragged across it. And it attracts dust like a magnet sucks up iron filings. Now that the carcass is done I will bring it upstairs and let it chill out for 3-4 days.

back

The coverage is good with no light streaks of primer showing. I like this color a lot - blue is my favorite with cobalt blue #1.

filling it in

The gap at the back is a couple of frog hairs shy of 3/16". I don't like the look of it so I am going to fill it in. I found a scrap and planed it until it fit.

 done

I had to notch the ends to fit because the back is recessed in from the edge. I am leaving it proud too because it is at the back.

 tapered gap filler

There was a tapered gap on on both sides before I painted the carcass. With paint there is only a tapered gap on the left side. I was going to fill it in with caulk and paint but I don't know what I did with the caulk. It took me two attempts to make the tapered shim. It was a bit awkward trying to plane it and I had to sand it to fit.

 double, triple checking

All the drawers fit yesterday and today they still do. All five went in and out without any hiccups.

 shellac for glue

No woodworking glue on the back or the side shims. I covered both of them with shellac and put them in place. Throughout the day I applied several more coats of shellac to glue them in place.

hinges done

No hinge binding and no oil canning on the leaves. Lid goes up and down smoothly throughout its range. I am putting in a new peel 'n stick. The first one was bugging me. There were gaps between it and the sides and there were a ton of dust nibs in it. I didn't vacuum it out before I applied it - I brushed it out.

 almost done

I still have the 3rd coat of paint to do on the lid. That is what is holding up the done check mark .

double lid stays

The chain is delicate and I didn't have a warm and fuzzy with just one.

 proud

I was going to leave them as is but reversed myself. I wanted to avoid having to paint it but it is what it is.

 better fit

This is the first one and I was dismayed at how easily it separated from the bottom. I rubbed this too to insure I got good contact with the plywood. The second one is a much better fit and hopefully I'll do a better job of getting it laid down.

why not

Since the peel 'n stick was gone I decided to shellac the sides. I got four coats on before I killed the lights.

 looks so much better

Looking at this pic I am seeing that I should have planed the entire length of the side. The strip of paint in middle may show lines when I paint it. I will definitely check that tomorrow.

 hmmm......

I went back to the shop after dinner and this still had the wet look from the Goo Gone. I put Goo Gone on the dry areas until the entire panel look was uniform. Today I applied the first of 3 coats of shellac to it. A half hour later it was dry and I didn't see any problems with the shellac. Wasn't sure if there would be any problems with the shellac sticking to the Goo Gone.

 missed a spot

This is the back of the lid and I am not planing it flush. I had already chopped and fitted the hinges in the mortises. If I planed this edge it would change the hinge leaf fitting the mortise. And I got a 4-0 fit too.

Willa is hanging on to what I don't know. She is just a bag of skin with bones. She hasn't eaten anything going on 4 days now and this morning I saw she was having trouble trying to get a drink of water. The desire to cling to life appears to be the same for cats as it is for humans. I know what is coming but I'm still not ready for it.

accidental woodworker

Donna's dresser pot XII.........

Accidental Woodworker - Tue, 08/27/2024 - 3:38am

Things with the dresser and the box  time line have slipped on a banana peel. The dresser will be done (maybe) before the box but both will done closer to the upcoming weekend than sooner. I have touch up on the dresser that will take a couple of days and some planing on the box. I will have to flush the tenons and then 2-3 coats of paint  which equates to a couple of days. Good thing a gun isn't being held to my head, eh?

On a sadder note, my female cat is going to be passing any day now. She has been suffering brain seizures and has deteriorated health wise badly for the past six months. The vet said there is nothing medically that she can do for Willa, even CMO is out of the question. She recommended putting her down but my wife and I said no. She isn't in any obvious pain and as long as she exhibits that she will stay with us and go when her time comes.

2 more points for the home team

Firstly and most important all the drawers go in/out easily. Fingers are still crossed that they will stay that way even after I paint the dresser again. One area I'll make sure to address are the bottoms of the front bearer rails. The white primer shows up like a beacon.

looks good

The green of the peel 'n stick compliments the blue frame nicely. A bonus is the flowers are going top to bottom (or B/T). I think I might buy a roll of wallpaper and all the ancillary crappola just to have it in the shop for a future box(es). This was a dry fit and the mortise cheeks are proud at all four corners.

 another snag

This was a big blog of paint that stuck out like a sore thumb. I used a chisel to remove down to bare wood.

more paint blob removal

There were some blobs on the inside on the grooves that snagged the peel 'n stick and rolled it up a little. I scraped all of the grooves with the marking knife.

inside edges

Before I could glue this up I had to paint the inside edges (tops of the grooves) first. I don't want to even entertain trying to paint them after the panel is inserted and the frame is glued up.

 dresser was next

The dresser looked pretty good coverage wise. When I lightly sanded it with 320 it looked like crap again. There were a few dust nibs that when sanded went down to the primer coat. That means at least two coats to cover them.

Still on the fence about applying shellac on the drawers where I removed it previously. I'm little gun shy  about the drawers sticking on me again. But IMO they look crappy having sides and tops showing bare wood. As it is I have lots of time to decide what to do.

read the can

The cans says a minimum of two coats (no mention of a primer coat) and 3 for hard wear surfaces like tables. Application is under optimal conditions with a 3 day curing period before applying general finishes oil. If anything I will be using shellac.

traditional hide glue brushes

I have tried several times to buy these at various luthier sites but no joy. They were either out of stock or mostly they didn't sell them anymore. I found these after reading a Lost Art blog post - I got these two from the BRODART CO. After I got them I found them at Tools for Working Wood. If they aren't the same they look to be awfully similar. I got them for the clear piggly no wiggly glue from LAP.

haircut time

This december I will be 70 and I am surprised at how dark my hair still is (what I have left). My father had less hair then me at 69 and what he had was gray and mostly white. I have a sprinkling of gray around the temples with the rest of my hair being black. Go figure on that. BTW buying a full size cordless hair clipper was a game changer for cutting my own hair.

hmm......

Just picked up on this in raking light. In spite of the thickness of the hinge leaves, they oil canned on me. The alloy used for the brass is soft because this is pine which itself is soft. I'll have to pay better attention to these when I tighten the screws down.

3 hours later

Inserted the panel dry and then pulled it out to check the peel 'n stick. I found one spot where it had rolled a bit on me. Fixed that, applied some glue, clamped it and set it aside to cook.

more shellac

I branded the bottom of the box and slapped on another coat of shellac. I got four more on before I killed the lights for the day.

one of 3

I wasn't expecting to find blobs on the top. They usually accumulate on the edges of 90° corners. The white one on the left was a dust nib and the right one was ????

the back

This where blobs tend to be. When I painted it another long blob popped out on the bottom edge of the back thing. I had scrape that off too and that went down to bare wood also.

two coats

I didn't like the look of the bare wood against what had shellac. I put on two coats only just to cover the bare wood. Fingers crossed that it won't bite me on the arse when fitting the drawers.

 white streaks

It is more like a white bluish haze but that indicates that it will need at least one more coat to cover. Covering all these spots is what eats up a lot of time.

 inside of the lid

I got a few smudges of blue paint on this when painting the frame. I tried to clean them up right away with a wet rag and nada. It barely did anything to remove the paint.

Goo Gone

This stuff is pretty good at cleaning up latex paint but this is the first time I have tried it on something like this. It did better than the wet rag but it still didn't remove it all. The next step I tried was to sand it and scrub it again with Goo Gone. that got 95% of it and I'm leaving it as is. What tiny bit of blue paint left blends in with the grain structure of the panel.

 a question mark hmm......

I hope that the Goo Gone doesn't leave a stain. It had been about 15 minutes and the panel still had this wet look. If it does stain it I'll wipe down the whole panel to get it 100% 'wet'.

 nope

I tried sanding it again to see if the friction and heat from the sandpaper would dry it and it didn't. I'll leave this be and check on it in the AM.

A big thunderstorm is rolling through my part of the universe. It is dumping a lot of rain along with a lot of noise but no lightning that I could see. It is freaking out my male cat especially when the thunder cracks and booms. He either hides under the bed or he keeps circling my feet. Today he decided to circle.

accidental woodworker

A Week at Pete’s

David Fisher - Carving Explorations - Mon, 08/26/2024 - 6:36am
It’s been a week since my bowl class at Peter Galbert Workshops ended. While I’ve settled back in and have returned to some projects that were underway, my time at Pete’s is still fresh on my mind. What a pleasure … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools

Donna's dresser pt XI........

Accidental Woodworker - Mon, 08/26/2024 - 3:42am

 The time line slipped on the dresser and the box. Didn't figure in spots that didn't get any paint. But the biggest hiccup were the drawers. I checked them this AM and only one of five went in/out easily, 2 others hung, and 2 wouldn't go in at all. I wasn't expecting the paint build up to cause these headaches. So it is looking like later in the week that I'll ooh and aah.

 done with shellac

Or so I thought. I had to plane and sand shellac off the sides, bottom, and top on 4 of the drawers. I have my doubts that the only drawer that fit easily will be the same after the 2nd coat of paint dries.

 wish I hadn't

This bottom drawer would not go in and I finally saw that the guide had curled upwards at the end. The back of the drawer was held off from closing by over an inch. I used a bullnose plane to remove the upward tilt. It would have been a lot easy to do if I hadn't put the back on. I didn't think at that time that I would have headaches with the drawers again.

 rubbing off paint

In spite of leveling the drawer guide this drawer was still hanging. It would go in/out but I had to fiddle and adjust as I pushed it in. I'm between a rock and hard space. The drawers were fitted loose before paint and I am leery about removing too much now and getting a sloppy fit. I switched to sanding the 'hang' spots with 80 grit.

same drawer, other side

It is rubbing and hanging with the blue spots showing me where I need to sand. I got the drawer to go/in out and stopped. I still have one more coat of paint and possibly two to go on - I'll cool my heels before working on them anymore.

 painted the back

The back isn't pristine looking but if she decides to place so it is visible it looks better painted than the look of bare wood.

The second coat covered pretty good. Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that I won't have to do a 3rd coat tomorrow.

peel 'n stick

In hindsight I should have asked my wife to do this. She is way more patient and angelical dealing with this )_%@#^%_@) crappola. This was my first time using this and the results weren't too bad. 

 I like it

This certainly dresses up the box. Want I don't like is the plastic look to it. I wanted the flowers to be vertical but the peel 'n stick wasn't wide enough to do that.

test piece

The peel 'n stick is attached to a scrap of the same plywood panel for the half lapped frame. I wanted to ensure that this would fit in the grooves.

 2 points for the home team

The test piece fit in all four of the half lapped frame parts. No binding - a nice slightly snug fit. I was able to move it up/down in every groove without any binding.

 hinges

I got half of the hinges installed. I plan on applying shellac to the outside of the box only. I would do the inside too but I don't want to cut in and around the peel 'n stick.

 slight twist

It was rocking a little when I checked it on my tablesaw. I planed the high corners and it laid flat on the tablesaw.

ACE hardware run

I don't use #6 screws that often and I do have a good selection of them but nothing longer than an inch. I needed six  1 1/4" long screws to attach the carcass to the base. It was cost effective to me to buy a box than spend 20 cents each for six screws.

 needs shellac

I will wait to shellac the drawers again until after the paint has dried and the drawers are fitted for the last time. The two bottom drawers on the left don't have any shellac at all and one above them does. I can see the color difference from a bazillion feet away.

accidental woodworker

Donna's dresser pt X........

Accidental Woodworker - Sun, 08/25/2024 - 3:23am

 The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger. The drawers are almost done getting shellac as is the base. The carcass got a topcoat on today. And I made lots of progress on the drawer turned into a box. I changed my mind on how to finish it a bazillion times but I think I'm done with that. I should be oohing and aahing over both of them by monday, tuesday at the latest.

last night

After dinner I went to the shop with the intention of applying shellac to the drawers. I rubbed them all down with 4-0 steel wool and vacuumed them clean. I didn't get to the shellac but I had 3 coats on the bottoms and backs with two coats on the rest. The idea was to get 3 on the bottoms and sides and 4 or more on the interiors and fronts. That is where I picked it back up in the AM.

half lapping next

 I dug out my test half lap joint because I always screw it up. After studying it for a few I jumped into making it.

Before I started half lapping I had come to the shop after breakfast and put another coat of shellac on the drawers and the front. I went back upstairs after that and failed badly on the sudoku puzzle - bit myself on the arse by inserting a duplicate number in a cell. While I was failing at that the shellac was drying and setting up.

 fingers crossed

Thought I understood the steps needed to whack this out. Having this as visual was helpful but......

 bowed

All of these were bowed and I planed that off. Because they are so thin on the width I didn't bother checking for twist. I established a reference face and edge.

0 for a bazillion

A big negative on doing it right in spite of having an example to look at after each step. The tenon is a 1/4" short on the width. I eyeballed my screw up and the example and I couldn't put on finger on what I me-steaked on.  This was a test joint so I thought I could correct it and do the 'real' one right.

 test and example joints

Still confused because what I did and the example looked the same to me. But no idea why the tenon part of the half lap ended being toast. The width of it (T/B) was too short and the length just right.

 sawed the 2nd part of the half lap

I sawed the mortise first and the tenon second. I was able to use the marking knife to remove the waste cheeks on the tenon. That didn't help with the resulting joint.

 nope

Thought I had sawn the tenons correctly but I didn't. They came out short again. I put the frame together and it was short on the R/L. I had made the width and length over by 3/8" but that wasn't enough to make up for the tenon being short.

wash, rinse, and repeat

Plane the bow off and make a reference face and edge. Plow a groove and then stare at them giving it my best goofy looks.

 got it right

I don't understand this but the proof is in the pudding. The example half lap has the tenon done first and then the mortise. I did it the opposite way twice - mortise first and then the tenon. After having this light bulb come on I'm hoping that I will remember it for the next one. I prefer half laps over miters.

it fits

I got about 1/8" overhang on the sides and a 1/4" at the front. That will serve as the lid pick it up.

 Wally World

Peel and stick wallpaper because paper wallpaper was more than twice the cost. And I would have had to buy paste, brushes, and squeegees. I am not fond of peel and stick but this was $12 and wallpaper alone was $35.

 possible spot

I am going to paint the frame blue, the same color as the dresser. I'm doing that because there is a gap on one of the shoulders from an errant slip while using a chisel. Putting the peel and stick on the panel insert would be easier than trying to put it into the bottom of the inside. 

stiles

The paint coverage on these wasn't any better than the last time I painted. I will say that the roller laid it down more evenly but it will definitely need another coat or more if subsequent ones are rolled on.

double coverage

I rolled on the first coat and it looked like absolute crap. It wasn't streaky but it barely covered/hid the white primer coat. After I had rolled on the first coat I went back and brushed on another coat. The carcass is better covered but it is still streaky with splotches of white showing. I only painted the tops of the drawer opening and the sides because that is what may be visible when the drawer is opened.

 the back

As of now I have no plan to paint the back. I nailed and glued it on and it stiffened the carcass up a lot. It might happen tomorrow because of the paint I got on it at the top and making my OCD tingle.

 inside bottom

I think I will tackle getting the bottom covered with this. That is because the inside is .0001% away from being 100% dead nuts square. As for the panel insert I may skip that if a test panel with the wallpaper doesn't fit in the groove.

almost done

The bottoms and sides are but I want to get at least one more coat on the insides and the front. This won't hold up the check mark in the done column but the painting might throw a hissy fit yet.

accidental woodworker

Morley Bar Stool – Seat Rails

orepass: Woodworking to Pass the Time - Sat, 08/24/2024 - 10:17am

Chairs have angles and in the case of this stool the angle of the front legs is 6.5 degrees from the back legs. The design of the stool actually means that as long as you are consistent the angle could vary slightly.

I spent the morning dimensioning and cutting to size for the rails two for each chair (8 total). Generally things went smooth with a small problem.

As I finished up some of the lumber dimensioning a couple of fun things happened. The first was the movement in some of the off cuts I had set aside. Walked out of the shop for a few hours and these slits had opened up considerably. The second item is less enjoyable. Saw Stop blade struck what remained of a staple in the end of board, another blade damaged. If I had trimmed the end a few mm further up the board would have saved a lot of money.

It was necessary at this point to take a walk!

Categories: Hand Tools

The beauty of vintage Norwegian wooden boxes

Working By Hand - Sat, 08/24/2024 - 9:42am

The open-air Voss Folkemuseum in Voss, Norway, is a wonderful place to visit. They have a great museum with a number of farming artifacts, and folk arts. Some of the most interesting artifacts are historic chests. Two examples are shown below, illustrating differing forms of assembly.

These chests are both small, and simple in construction. The first uses butt joints fastened using wooden dowels or pins. The second chest uses dovetails. Both have large strap hinges, top handles, and simple metal locks. What is interesting is the fact that the simplicity of the joinery does not detract from the beauty of the chests. This is quite different from the modern inclination to produce wooden chests with perfect joints.

Chest joined with wooden pegs

The chests both have very ornate decorations, embodying both chip and scratch carving. Undoubtedly the decorations elevate the beauty of both chests.

Chest joined with dovetails
Categories: Hand Tools

Donna's dresser pt IX......

Accidental Woodworker - Sat, 08/24/2024 - 3:40am

Slapped paint and shellac on the dresser today. I would have gotten more of that fun done today but I had to help the wife out. She needed muscles to haul books to the storage unit. I wonder how many coats of paint it will take to cover the dresser? Today I applied primer and tomorrow will be the first top coat.

 ugly plywood plies

There are two paper thin face veneers with a thick middle ply. This plywood is as a light as a feather and doesn't instill a warm and fuzzy that it is stiff enough. I used it because it is what I had and I hope that it will be ok for this. I'll be hiding this with banding.

 looks good

I checked over all the fronts and only the biggest drawer had a few hiccups. 99% of it is stuck solid but there are a couple of dings and divots on the edges between the face veneer and the drawer front. They might crumble if hit just right.

 sawing the ends flush

The cut off saw did a good job of sawing the overhang flush. The cut was smooth and I left it as it. I used a blockplane to flush the top and bottom overhang. 

 smoothing the faces

I glued the smooth face to the drawer front and left the rough sawn face up. A couple of passes with the #3 left them glass smooth.

 done

I went with a color for the drawers - it wasn't possible to do both color and grain. The two top drawers are one color and the 3 large ones are white with little grain showing.

knobs done

All of the knob tenons were a 64th over 3/8". I used my modelers rasp to thin the tenons to fit the drilled 3/8" holes. For the top right and the bottom three drawers I placed the knobs 1 3/4" in from the ends and centered T/B on each respective drawer. Eyeballing it here I think I should have placed it further in from the edge. 

 bandings

I used super glue, accelerator, and yellow glue to attach the bandings. I didn't want to clamp them and wait. The super glue will hold them in place while the yellow glue cooks.

primer coat

It still surprises how quickly this dried to the touch. It is an oil based primer and the ones I was familiar with took hours to do that. No problems anticipated with getting the first topcoat on tomorrow.

top coat color

This is the paint I used for the shaker step stool I made for my niece Kimberly. I have other paints but I don't like the color of them. Besides I seem to remember that this covered better?

dust panel cooking

I was going to paint the base the same color as the carcass but I changed my mind. I like the dovetails showing so I will apply shellac to it instead.

 maybe an oops

I planned on putting wallpaper or newspaper in the interiors of the drawers. Wasn't thinking ahead and applied a coat of shellac to all the drawers. I don't know how that is done but I'll search the web later to see if there is anything out there on it. Fingers crossed that don't make a me-steak again.

 stiles and rails

This is for the lid and I will half lap it. Maybe I'll get to try the wallpaper/newspaper thing on the panel insert.

accidental woodworker

Donna's dresser pt VIII........

Accidental Woodworker - Fri, 08/23/2024 - 3:45am

Another day where I made good progress. I got back to the barn from the VA at 0815 and went right to the shop. I didn't even stop to do my daily sudoku and crossword puzzle. Got all the drawers fitted and met my goal of all of them opening and closing easily. There isn't much more for me to do woodworking wise before I can slap paint on it.

 from last night

I glued slips in the last two drawers and starting planing this one (smallest of the 3 big drawers). I got it to fit in its opening about 2" before putting it down. I didn't want to rush the fitting so I headed back upstairs.

 about 4 inches

I took my time fitting the drawers. It is incredibly easy to take one too many swipes and end up with gaps big enough to throw a dog through. I stopped fitting this drawer and started on the smallest one at the top left.

 evaluation

I had a gaps on both sides and the top but the drawer hung after 4".

 look see at the back

The sides of the drawer are tight against the sides of the dresser. The gap at the top looking at it from the back is tight. Fitting the drawers consisted of looking from the front and then the back to figure out where to plane. 

 first one fitted

The drawer slides in/out but not easily or smoothly. The margins at the sides aren't even. The margin at the top doesn't come into play because the top overhang hides it.

 much better

The margins on the sides are consistent and the drawer easily slides in and out.

yikes

The margins are the sides are huge and a puff of air could open or close the drawer. I also don't remember putting a knot facing the front?

sigh of relief

This drawer is almost a square. The sides are a strong 1/8" off from each other. The T/B margin is greater than the smaller one on the left so I just had to contend with planing the sides to fit. The overhang is my friend here.

two down, 3 to go

Having second thoughts on my drawer size choices. I think now that I should have made the smaller drawer a wee bit wider R/L.

 finished fitting it

3 down and only two to go and lunch time was still a ways off.

 this sucks pond scum

I super glued the break and hit it with accelerator after waiting about 10 secs. The accelerator was melting the plastic. I seem to go through headphones as often as I change my underwear. All of them have gone south due to the cheap plastic breaking. The phones sill work and I'll keep using them until I can no longer put them over my ears.

 back fitted

I will hold off putting the back on until the last possible moment. 

 inset a wee bit

I planned for this and that is why I fitted the back now. All the drawer sides are the same length and the back will be the drawer stop. This small inset will be flush after I glue the pine veneer on the drawer fronts.

 and then there was one

I kind of like the inset look of the drawers. I am committed to using the veneer though so this will be something for another one in the future.

done

All the drawers are fitted and all easily open and close. My margins aren't perfect but once it is painted I'll eyeball them again. The drawer fronts will be natural and will stand out against the paint. I'll make adjustments as necessary then.

 this drawer was hanging

This is the top right drawer and it was bumping into and hanging up on the back vertical drawer divider. It wasn't doing it every time the drawer was closed but enough to annoy me. I rounded off both of the back corners which helped some with it not hanging up on it. Rounded both corners because I rounded the wrong one first.

gluing on the veneer fronts

To prevent the veneer from shifting when I apply clamp pressure I used super glue in two spots to hold the veneer in place. I used yellow glue and I applied a double dose on the end grain ends of the tails.

cooking

I will let all five of the drawers sit and cook until tomorrow. I don't want to have to deal with any of the veneer not adhering a 100%.

 the me-steak drawer

This was the original middle drawer on the dresser. I made it too short on the height and I'm turning it into a box. 

I'm painting it

As I planed the sides little gaps popped out on the tails. I filled them all in with wood putty and I'll be painting this now. I have always had in the back of my head an idea to apply wallpaper to the inside of a box. I have also seen newspaper glued to the inside. I am going to give one of them a try. I think with the paint it will make it an unique box for my sister.

banding

I glued and nailed the bottom on. This plywood has some of the ugliest end grain plies that I  have ever seen. I should have used the 5mm plywood  as its end grain plies are solid and could have been easily painted. I'll hide these with the banding.

 almost ready for paint

Got the chamfer on the sides and front done along with gluing the back stop thing on. I can't think of anything else that needs to be done on the carcass. 

 prepping the base

I flushed the corners and cleaned up the base. A couple of gaps popped on it too that got filled with wood putty.

dust panel

This is the only one on the dresser. There are small gaps at the four corners that will allow for some air movement. It should keep the dust bunnies from invading the drawers.

I've been doing good on the diet since I strapped myself back in the saddle. I've lost over 20 lbs in the past 4 weeks with 30 more to go. Yes boys and girls I packed on 50 lbs but I am resolute in getting back down to at least 190 (currently weigh 215). 

One of the problems I have maintaining is the constant denial of eating the things I like and want to shove in the pie hole. What I have done for the past 4 weeks is indulge myself one day a week. I picked monday because it is the day after my daily weigh in. I've been going out for breakfast and lunch. I shove everything and anything I eyes settle on and then go back on my diet for the remaining 6 days. So far it is working and I look forward to losing and rewarding myself. 

For the rest of the week my diet consists of 3 Quaker rice cakes for breakfast. I smear two of them with peanut butter and the other one with nutella (yummy stuff). For lunch I alternate between a can of soup or a frozen meal (300 or less calories) with an apple for desert. For dinner I have a salad (lettuce, cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, a red pepper, and broccoli) with two TBSP of extra virgin olive oil with a splash of of balsamic vinegar. I have 2nd apple as snack around 1900. I figure my total caloric intake is less than 2000 calories a day. 

I don't want to be fat again and have to buy a new wardrobe again. Mostly I don't want the health problems that come with being over weight with diabetes being a big fear. I have also started walking again. I took about 7 weeks off because of the heat/humidity and not really wanting to do it. However, I have noticed a change in myself and I feel different now than I did when I was walking daily. Different as in I felt better walking and wasn't as stiff as I am now as when I was walking. Another thing I'll strap myself into the saddle with too.

accidental woodworker

Rebuilding a Drawer

MVFlaim Furnituremaker - Thu, 08/22/2024 - 5:47pm

I bought this old cabinet at an antique show last month. I didn’t realize it at the time that the left drawer was an imposter. It’s basically the drawer face screwed to a smaller drawer. Shame on me for not checking before I bought it.

here is the drawer. you can see Bentley is not impressed.

So I took the drawer face off the stupid faux drawer and decided to rebuild the whole thing with some white pine .

I cleaned up all the nails that the previous owner used to “fix” the drawer in order to use the existing pins as a jig to cut the dovetail tails. I also cleaned up the pins so that could work again.

Basically, what I did was scribe the pins onto the drawer side and cut tails into the wood. No different than making a drawer from scrap. The only difference is that not all the pins survived over the years, so there are ghost pins within the drawer side.

After I cut the front tails, I made normal dovetails on the back to match the other two drawers that survived.

I made a new bottom and stuck it in the drawer to make sure it worked. Everything was square and fit into the cabinet opening.

Here’s the drawer finished and glued together. They all fit nicely back into the cabinet and everything is good to go. I also glued one of the cabinet doors back together and attached both of them back on the cabinet.

Donna's dresser pt VII.......

Accidental Woodworker - Thu, 08/22/2024 - 2:31am

Had a good day in the shop and I made a lot of progress on the dresser. I got all the drawers glued and cooking. I didn't think I would 3 drawers done today (the largest ones too) but I went balls to wall when I saw that it was possible. Fitting them tomorrow is happening for some of them for sure. 

Tomorrow I have an appointment with podiatry at 0730. I'm going to try the first appt of the day and see if I like it. I plan on leaving for the VA a little after 0600 (avoid rush hour traffic) so I'll have less than an hour to kill. I'll bring my cellphone and hearing aids and binge watch You Tube. The cafeteria and Starbucks doesn't open until 0700 so I'll drink my fill of Joe before I leave the house.

 2nd drawer cooked

Before I glued the slips in I checked the bottom for twist. I planed that away and glued the slips in. The next day I flushed them.

ready for fitting

Got the bottoms fitted and nailed off at the back. No glue, just a few brads at the back. I like to have the bottoms installed before I do any planing on the drawers to fit them.

 got lucky

I didn't think that I had this many small shaker knobs. The small ones on the left are for the two top drawers and the other 3 will get the knobs on the right.

 I like them

I like the proportions of the knobs for the large drawers. I was going to use one knob on the top right drawer but changed my mind on that. It was long enough R/L to need two knobs.

off the saw

3 drawers done with two more to go. It was almost lunch time here and I didn't have a warm and fuzzy I would get the last two done before 1500. It was taking me longer to do that I thought it would.

 drawer slips fitted

The drawer had to set up for a while and I still had to check and correct for any twist in the bottom first.

 2 done, one to go

When I got this one glued I thought I would get maybe 75% of the last drawer done. 

 broke out the Moxon

Used the Moxon because the last drawer was too wide and wouldn't fit between the guide rods in the face vise.

 off the saw

I made it - 1448 and the woodworking on the last drawer  is done. I glued it up and dry fitted the slips for it. I will go back after dinner and glue the slips in. That way tomorrow I can flush them, get the bottoms in and start fitting them.

1505

From start to finishing at this point took a little over an hour. I don't know why but for whatever reason I thought it would only take me about 20 minutes to make a drawer. I was wrong and I don't think I dilly daddled but worked on all the drawers steadily. At least I have an realistic idea of long a drawer takes me to whack out.

accidental woodworker

Sandpaper Wars

The Barn on White Run - Wed, 08/21/2024 - 10:30am

Perhaps it’s an age thing, perhaps it’s a “working alone” thing, but I have had a lot of time reminiscing lately while up in the barn.

50+ years ago when as a teen and newly arrived into a real-live cabinet shop I was introduced to the deep-seated passions of European craftsmen.  Prior to that I was a “scratch and dent” man at a couple of furniture stores, which, though a legitimate service, is not the same as working alongside men with years of apprentice training and decades of life on the job.

This shop was operated by a New Yawker of Greek heritage and produced amazing interiors with frame-and-panel rooms, carved detailing, and exquisite finishing.  (I was an underling in the finishing room; they did not consider my week(?) at a Mohawk workshop to be really valid for what they did and trained me in their way of doing things enough that I could next catch on to the Schindler’s shop where I spent the following few years)  Since the talent pool in south Florida was not up to his standards the owner hired guys from Long Island to come and work there, they were amazing craftsmen/artists.

Hans was a German-trained cabinetmaker in charge of that side of things.  Joe was an Italian who was my boss in the finishing room.  Both men were incredibly generous in teaching me what they knew at a level I was able to learn, and sometimes that created conflict between them when Hans said one thing and Joe said another.  I mean, real conflict to the point where the big boss had to step in and send them back to their corners.

Perhaps the most intense quarrel I recall was about how to fold sandpaper.  Really.  Hans was insistent on the “quartering” method of preparing and using sandpaper.  In this technique the sandpaper was twice folded in half along the perpendicular center lines, then cut to the cross-fold along one line then folded into a stacked quarter.  According to him, this was the only way a REAL craftsman used sandpaper.

Joe bristled at both this method and the insinuation that he was not a REAL craftsman (they were both just shy of magicians in their work).  According to Joe the only true method for preparing and using sandpaper was to cut the sheet in half along the short axis, then fold the paper twice to yield three identical sections when folded over.  To be honest a version of this method is the one I have used more often in the subsequent five decades.

But the experience of watching two late-middle-aged men almost coming to blows over how to cut, fold, and use sandpaper was indelibly burned into my memory and provided a lot of insight into the human condition.  If we want to, we can gin up conflict over the most inconsequential things while letting the existential stuff slide by with barely a notice.

Design?  Pshaw.  Construction details?  Shrug.  Finishing schedule?  Whatever.

But sandpaper?  Put ’em up, buddy.

Categories: Hand Tools

The Guitar Maker of Taos, New Mexico: Visit My Online Storefront!

Wilson Burnham Guitars - Wed, 08/21/2024 - 8:14am

I am very excited to announce that I have a new online storefront at Luthier Bench, a new Online Marketplace and Knowledge Base for Luthier Built Guitars! Please visit my store to see some of my latest guitars.

I will continue to sell guitars through Savage Classical Guitar! Rich Sayage, the owner of Savage Classical Guitar, is a great guy and an amazing guitarist! I am very fortunate to work with him!

I also updated Guitars Currently Available on this site.

Currently listed at my storefront are two guitars, a Western Red Cedar/Santos Rosewood double top classical guitar and a circa 1832 René Lacôte style European Spruce/California Laurel Romantic Era “guitare à la Sagrini”. Guitar specifications are listed along with sound samples.



Western Red Cedar double top 


Santos Rosewood back


Lacôte Style Romantic Guitar



 

Categories: Hand Tools, Luthiery

New Substack Post

Wilson Burnham Guitars - Wed, 08/21/2024 - 6:58am

 I posted on Substack yesterday, check it out!



Categories: Hand Tools, Luthiery

How to Choose a Dedicated Antique Molding Plane and Beading Plane

Wood and Shop - Wed, 08/21/2024 - 4:01am
How to Choose a Dedicated Antique Molding Plane and Beading Plane Bill Anderson shares advice on choosing an antique dedicated molding plane and beading plane for hand tool woodworking   By Joshua Farnsworth  |  Published 21 Aug, 2024 How to Choose a Dedicated

Donna's dresser pt VI......

Accidental Woodworker - Wed, 08/21/2024 - 3:46am

A me-steak free day in the shop. I didn't out do myself with any new bone headed maneuvers. I'm now at the stage of making the drawers and maybe wednesday or thursday I will start fitting them. I will try to resist the urge to fit them as I make them but no promises on that.

last night

I wandered back to the shop last night because I was fighting the urge to fill the pie hole. I laid out and sawed the tails for the first drawer - starting with the smallest one and going from there.

#3 iron

Tried to take a pic of this but I couldn't get the camera to focus. The edge of this iron looked like a serrated knife. Before I went to town on the drawers I had to sharpen the irons in the 3 planes.

 my LN iron collection

All three of these irons fit the LN 5 1/2. One of them is an O1 and the other two are A2 (I think). LN labeled the O1 irons and left the A2 irons blank. Currently the O1 iron is the back up for the LN 51 shooting plane.

 not working so good

I am used to the runway eating up irons quick but it ain't working so good on this A2 iron. It is 80 grit and it going painfully slow trying to remove all the chips on the edge. I made the switch to waterstones to see how well they worked. Before I switched to diamond stones I used water stones (Norton stones).

 1000 grit stone

I was surprised by how quick it was to remove the chipped out edge with the 220 grit stone. After the 220 stone I moved on to the 1000 grit one and this (high?) popped out. I was able to get the entire bevel shiny.

 over an hour later

Got all three irons sharp and shiny. The #4 took the least amount of time followed by the 5 1/2. The #3 was the worse of the lot.  

I got this setup from Lee Valley a bazillion moons ago (25 years ago?). I couldn't tell you the grit of the two brown waterstones but I used the 'pond' to soak the Norton stones in and use them to sharpen. No matter how you slice it waterstones are messy. You have to soak them, then clean them after each use and flatten them. However, I think the edge came out better than what I get with the diamond stones. It is looking like I will need to start using waterstones again for my A2 irons and the diamond stones for the O1 crowd.

RML shavings with the #3

Getting the LN planes spitting out shavings is so much easier and quicker than it is for Stanley or other Bailey planes. I got even thickness/width and full length shavings on the first try.

 ditto for the #4

5 1/2

I got RML on all 3 on the first try. I went from thick to fluffy to see through without a hiccup. LN doesn't sell Norton waterstones anymore but the Ohishi stones they sell now are comparable in price to what I remember paying for the Norton stones. Water stones wear awfully fast too. I took almost a 1/8" off the thickness of the 220 grit stone.

didn't make it

I was hoping to get one drawer glued and cooking before lunch but it didn't happen. Sharpening the 3 irons ate up most of the AM session.

after lunch

Diagonals within a 32nd, glued, and set aside to cook. I had to clamp the front to keep the tails seated. Without the clamps there were gaps at the baselines.

 doesn't fit

The top/bottom fit is snug and no go on the R/L. The fit was as expected.

 blurry pic of drawer slips

I sawed and fitted the drawer slips dry. I'll glue them in after the drawer has cooked for a couple of hours.

 lights out

Figured a way to glue the 3 slips all at once. I was gluing the front one first and then the two sides. I have two scraps of the plywood bottom in the slip grooves to keep them aligned while it cooks.

drawer #2

Two glued and cooking with 3 more to go. Punched the time clock and killed the lights.

accidental woodworker

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