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 It is not often in life that you get a chance to meet a President.   I consider my life changed by standing in front of Jimmy Carter and having a conversation.  A sincerely human and humble conversation.

He was a great man and the world is a better place as a result of his lifelong commitment to peace and helping his fellow humans.

I need to go back in time to explain how this happened.  My good friend, Del and I shared season tickets for many years at the Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego to support the Padres.  We always sat in the press level, since our seats were next to the owner's box and we were separated from the owners and their guests by only a piece of glass.  In addition, the rest of the fans in the Press Box were serious fans and we were able to watch the game without too much noise and distracting behavior.

The only way to get to our seats was to take the elevator behind home plate, and it serviced only that level in the stadium, reserved for the guests and owners and those who had press level seats.

Del and I got to the game early, as was our custom, and we were standing in front of the elevator door waiting for it to arrive.

Suddenly we were pushed back by several Secret Service men and Jimmy and Roslyn Carter arrived.  They were surrounded by imposing men in dark glasses and I was only a few feet from the President.

Without any hesitation, and without any concern for what might happen, I stepped forward between the two men and held out my hand, saying "It is so good to meet you, Mr. President, welcome to San Diego."  I guess I expected that I would be detained or stopped, but that didn't happen.  Instead, Mr. Carter grabbed my open hand with both of his hands and looked me in the eyes and started talking.  He held on for several minutes, while we waited for the elevator, and we had a fairly long conversation about woodworking and how much I admired his efforts to make the world a better place.

To my surprise, the Secret Service did not stop us, and when the elevator finally arrived, they ushered him inside, preventing anyone  from following.

When I turned to look at my friend, Del, I could see the amazement in his face.  "I can't believe you did that!" he said.  I replied, "Carpe diem.  When you see an opportunity like that, it is important to take the initiative."

During the game, we spent most of our time watching the President and First Lady mingle with those fortunate enough to sit in the owner's box.  The Security men were standing outside the door, so he was free to engage with everyone on a personal level.  Unlike other famous people we had seen in that box over the years, he did not leave early.  In fact he stayed for the entire 9 innings and was the last person to leave, shaking every hand as they left before him.  What a genuine and gracious and humble man.

His wife was just as involved and I still remember her smile.  She was a beautiful woman, and it was obvious that they were deeply in love.  A fortunate couple and a long and fulfilling life for both.

Rest in Piece, Jimmy.  

Source

riving white oak

Twelve-thirty-one. What better time to look at what’s what. I’m not going to write “in 2024, I did this/that/the other…” – mostly. Or maybe that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m still working in the shop, making carved boxes, ladderback chairs and some other odds and ends. And waiting/hoping for the next large commission to come in so I can make some larger joinery projects. I had a couple of series of carved panels – they’ve all sold now. I’m planning on making some boxes next – I have a lot of great oak just begging to be boxes.

last one for 2024

I’m also working a lot on writing my book about my Craft Genealogy – about the people who taught me woodworking, how I came to be learning with them, how they learned and on & on. And there’s some woodworking projects mixed in there too.

I’ve said before, most of my posts end up on the substack blog. That’s been my focus because quite frankly, people pay me to write there now. So I approach that with the idea that I want to deliver them something worth their commitment, thus I concentrate my efforts there. I just posted a piece there about making hayforks/pitchforks.

first bend

The way I structure those blog posts the full post goes out to the paid subscribers ($5 per month/$60 per year). “Free” subscribers get a truncated portion of the blog post. I try to put that paywall about in the middle of the post – the most recent one for instance has 5 step-by-step photos on making the hayfork that are above (i.e. visible to all) the paywall and 6 more below it (visible to paid subscribers). From time to time, I post a full blog post open to all, so free subscribers get something for their trouble. https://peterfollansbeejoinerswork.substack.com/p/making-a-hayfork

I mostly don’t post anything on my instagram or facebook accounts these days. Two in November, zero in December on Instagram. Prior to that a friend had run a promotional program on those accounts that resulted in people being bombarded with posts from “me.” That was to draw people to my vimeo-on-demand video series (plural). But for now and as far as I can see ahead, you won’t see or hear much from me on social media. Unless the blog is social media…I can’t tell.  I just don’t want to dedicate the time to all these platforms and as I said, my concentration is currently on the substack blog. Same goes for youtube. I plan on keeping all those accounts (and this wordpress blog) up and running, but new content will be few and far between. So if you want to see what I’m up to, the substack blog is where most of my action is – even the free subs will keep you abreast of what’s happening here. 

As for teaching classes – I have booked very little for right now. Some at Pete Galbert’s in Berwick, Maine. One at Lost Art Press sometime in the back half of the year. When I have any classes coming up I announce them on both blogs and point you where to go for registration. I know it’s frustrating though – the classes are smaller than they used to be, and fewer of them. So they sell out fast. But I just couldn’t keep up with a full schedule of teaching/travelling – it was unsustainable. 

I’ve been exploring the idea of one-on-one instruction here at my shop – carved box or Jennie Alexander chair. It’s a small space, cold in winter, hot in summer. But in some cases, it could work out. We’ll see. 

I plan on doing more of the vimeo-on-demand projects. https://www.peterfollansbee-joiner.com/videosondemand Those are my idea of a compromise – it’s instruction at your end, income at mine. No travel involved. Not the best scenario for instruction, but we both get to sleep in our own beds. My most recent one was a carving project – I’ve been thinking of another like that or the carved box. Or both. And because I just posted a link to it – in my mind, I’m going to actually make the website functional – but I’ve said that before and fallen short of that goal. Not all New Years resolutions come to pass.

The next project is a familiar one, it is a picture frame. I got a pic of the grandsons from Santa so of course that necessitated making a frame for them. I made it wider than I wanted (an addition error) and that left me enough room for a 3rd pic. Hopefully Amanda has one of the both of them or one of her and her husband.

toy box lid

I was surprised that this lid hadn't broken into two boards yet. This is the lid from the toy box I made for them earlier this year (?). I think (hope) this is the last glue failure that I have to deal with from that bad gallon of glue.

center of the lid

The glue bond failed at the top but the bottom of it appears to be adhered somewhat. 

opposite end

Definitely a glue failure on the top but the bottom appears to be glued. I could open it like a book but the bottom wasn't letting go.

clean break

The two came apart cleanly with no chips or chunks missing. I had forgotten I had used biscuits on this. I think the two were what was keeping the bottom of the glue joint together. There is no evidence of glue residue on the edge of either board. There is glue residue in the biscuit slots.

changed lanes

Before I forgot to do it I swapped back to the towel rack. I wanted to get a couple of dowels pinning the feet. I sawed some cherry to 5/16" square and made some dowels.

made 6 but needed only 4

I was going to make them 1/4" but I thought that looked too big so I made them 7/32". I think that was more in scale for this use.

off set

I don't like to put dowels in line with each other. Especially so if they are in the same line of grain. That is just a split waiting to happen. I also switched the slant of them on the opposite foot.

leveling the tenon

I had to trim/saw a wee bit off the tenon on both feet. There are gaps at the bottom on both and I'm glad that I pinned both uprights to the feet.

another change

I didn't like the scale of the bin pulls to the door knob. I had two more of the knobs and I'll be using them for the drawers instead. 

door stop

I sawed 1/8" off the length and that should be sufficient wiggle room for the door to stop against. I chamfered the top edges just so it wouldn't look square-ish and clunky like a block of plain wood.

back to the lid

Paused here to think about how to best glue the lid back together. My initial thoughts were to scrape the edge, apply glue, and clamp it. However, this lid is already finished and I really don't want to have to reapply it. Another sticking point is I want it to align perfectly again. No proud allowed either on the top, bottom, or ends.

what to do with these

I couldn't pull these biscuits out. For whatever reason the glue seemed to work on them. First option I thought of was to plane them flush and make new biscuit slots. However, the center of the lid is flush here on the top and bottom. I didn't want to disturb that and possibly change that so I left them as is.

dowels on each end

The biscuit slots on the end didn't line up. I think when I did them and didn't use the same reference for both boards. Instead of using biscuits I'm going to try out my new dowel max by putting a dowel on both ends.

rubbery glue residue

The glue in the biscuit slots looks and feels like gummy bears. Usually dried glue is hard and brittle but this isn't.

dowel layout

I did good and I didn't screw up the dowel drilling. I double triple checked myself making sure all my check marks all lined up.

dry fit

Couldn't have been happier with how this came out. Both the top and bottom are flush on both faces. There is a frog hair discrepancy on the left side end. That is a minor fix that a couple of swipes with a blockplane will cure lickety split.

glued and cooking

I had to unscrew the hinges on the ends because they were exactly where I wanted the clamps to be. I added two bessey clamps on the top to off set the bottom clamps just in case.

picture frame stock

I thought of making it out of cherry but I want to paint this one. Painting cherry isn't an option but pine is ok. 

one picture frame

The far left 4 are the pic frame. Going to the right the next 4 are the offset for the back of the frame. This is for the glass, matting, etc etc. The next two piles are the stock for the beading molding that I will apply to the outside and inside edges.

bridle joints

Did the bridle joints on the tablesaw. Here I'm trimming the tenons to fit the slot mortises.

screw order came

Made a me-steak on the #6 screws. I ordered oval head instead of flat head. I got the #6 screws as back up in case the #5 screws were too small. Fingers crossed that I won't need them.

room for more

I got the length of the stiles correct but the rails are 2" longer than what I wanted. I was shooting for a 2" spacing between the pics and the inside of the frame. If I scoot the pics outboard a wee bit I can squeeze in another 5x7 in the middle. 

I left the frame rough, one face is more so than the other. If I planed it smooth I would have run the chance of them not being all the same thickness. That would have made making the bridle joints difficult. Instead I will plane it smooth after it has been glued up. 

good fit on the bridle joints

These were going together off the saw but they were on the tighter side of snug. I wanted a slip fit to avoid having the mortise walls split and break.

I'm an idiot

I couldn't leave well enough alone. I tried to move the tenon jig a frog hair over to shave a frog hair off the mortise. That didn't happen but one of the cheek off cuts filled in the brain fart perfectly. And it will all be hidden under the bead molding.

at a loss

I spent most of the day thinking about this - how and where do I put the door catch? I wanted to use magnets but the 1/2" thick door stop is too narrow and the rabbet in the door is too shallow for the magnetic cup. I did come up with a couple of ideas but I didn't like either one of them. I have plenty of time to come up with something.

accidental woodworker

In early December, I had the great fortune to be invited to see the warehouse of a local museum, the Museum of American Heritage.  The museum itself has interesting exhibits that rotate a couple hundred objects in and out periodically. But the exhibits pull items from the warehouse, which is jam-packed with thousands of vintage items.

I only took pictures of the woodworking items, but there was so much more.  From a wooden-framed bicycle made during WWII metal shortages, to the original calculators, to a punch-clock machine from the company that would later become IBM, it was unbelievable.  I wish the lighting had been better for taking photos.

A couple of post drills

Here's a better pic of the one on the right. I love these things.  Even got to turn it a bit.

A saw set - probably a Stanley #42, not sure

Two spoke pointers - one of them was huge!

Poor picture of a large and LONG T-handle auger

Vintage Shinto rasp - and I thought these were a fairly new tool design

A couple of wooden plow planes

Top shelf has drilling tools and wrenches. Middle shelf has various wooden planes and side rabbet at far right. Bottom shelf has a Stanley 45?, Stanley 75 and Stanley 39 dado plane.

Check this out: an old powered jointer with a wooden frame and tables. Never seen that before!

Stanley #113 circular plane (compass plane)

This is just a sample of the woodworking stuff that I saw.  I also saw a treadle scroll saw, several braces, more planes and other items.

Woodworking was only a small proportion of the overall warehouse.  Everything else was fantastic and fascinating as well.  And I never would have known that it existed.  I wonder how many other small museums (with large collections) exist in other towns around here - or elsewhere for that matter.  If there are any small local museums in your area, by all means check them out.

I’m excited to share that I’ve launched a new blog—not to replace this one, but to bring in some fresh perspectives! It’s called Handcrafted Time Travel and can be found on Substack. Right now, subscriptions are free, but who knows what the future holds? I might introduce paid subscriptions to offer even more in-depth content down the line. 

I hope you’ll continue to enjoy this blog, but I encourage you to look into subscribing to Handcrafted Time Travel on Substack. 

Thank you, and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us!

Well it is 99.99% done. All the woodworking is over and it just needs a finish (or not?). I've been thinking about what finish to put on it. Would the shakers have left it unfinished? After all it is a drying rack for wet things. Some options I've been thinking of that would have been available to them are a linseed oil finish, milk paint, varnish, or linseed oil paint. Today linseed oil is a viable choice along with a oil based poly or a water based one. A paint, of any formulation, doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy. An option not available to the shakers is an epoxy based marine paint. Good thing I don't need to pick one by tomorrow.

first cross member

I lost a chip off the tenon. Other than that the fit is good (ie gap free).

ditto

I am not going to obsess about the layout lines. I don't like them on dovetails but for mortise and tenons, I can go either way. When I cleaned these up I didn't check to see if I had planed them off.

cross members done

I wonder what thickness stock the shakers would have used. 7/8" was the normal thickness back then. If I read the scale drawing correctly 3/4" was used.

marking the outside stretchers

I didn't go nutso trying to get the ends of the stretcher overhanging the cross members exactly two inches. Instead I made this end overhang exactly two inches. The other end was 2 1/16th.

setup/test piece

Used this to check the mortise. I had to reset the mortise gauge because this is 1/2" thick vice the 3/4" for everything else. I made that me-steak on the first go around on the top stretchers. 

?????

I spent a lot calories trying to figure this out and I couldn't. Initially I laid out the mortises on the left one and transferred those marks to the right one. I don't know why but I laid the left/right stretchers on the cross members to check them and the right one didn't align. So I marked the right one directly and it was about a 16th off from the left one.

last stretcher mortise

IMO the stretcher mortises came out a little better then the ones I did in the uprights. With the stretcher mortises I placed the stretchers when I was chopping the mortises so I could be in line with the chisel so I could see I was chopping plumb. On the upright mortises I chopped them with the upright at 90° to me so two of the walls I couldn't really see that I was chopping plumb.

good fit

The tenons ended up around 3/8" and they were a tight fit. I used my modelers rasp to trim them to fit the mortises.

stretcher ass'y fitted

I eyeballed this for a few but I couldn't see the mismatch between the two stretchers. They are far enough apart that the minute difference at one end can't be seen.

dry fitted

The feet haven't been done but this has a lightness and simplicity to it.

kerfs

Cut all the kerfs for the wedges on the bandsaw.

shaping the feet

Roughed them out on the bandsaw and used rasps, files, and sandpaper to smooth them out.

oldie but goodie

I bought this when I retired from the Navy in 1994. It was something I had to have and I did use it a lot for the first few years. But as I got into more hand tool work this got used less and less. I can't recall the last time I used it. Broke it out today to clean up the pesky curves - wasn't getting the results I wanted with rasps.

cherry wedges

I think pine wedges are too soft to do any good especially so in these. They are small, both in width and depth. I had some cherry scraps on the tablesaw so I used them to make the wedges.

glued, wedged, and cooking

I let this cook for an hour while I turned my attention back to the cherry cupboard.

done

Chiseled and planed all the tenons/wedges flush. Sanded the arris off all the parts including the feet. Sanded the whole up to 220 grit. The woodworking was done on this.

One last thing I'm still thinking about doing is pinning the uprights in the feet. I have some cherry scraps that I can make a couple of cherry dowels from. I didn't wedge the uprights and I think pinning them can't hurt.

cherry tile frame rail

This is the one I drilled through the rail. I glued in some cherry and it doesn't look too bad as is. However, with the finish applied they will pop. I am going to use the black paint and 'draw' in some gum pockets covering the boo boos.

changing to a knob

I don't like the idea of cutting the screws down and epoxying them in place for the snap catch. I had a couple of oil rubbed bronze knobs to replace the snap catch.

hmm.....

I'm going to have to eyeball this for a few days. The knob and the pulls match in color and initially these don't look out of place together. I have plenty of time to make up my mind about it.

accidental woodworker

 Had a productive day in the shop. It has been a while since I done a AM and PM session. Today I broke that cycle and it felt good. I lost track of time I was so absorbed into working on the towel rack. I should be done with the woodworking on it tomorrow. Of course that is dependent upon whether or not I go me-steak free. But I think it is doable even if I brain fart.

door stop detail

I got two scraps clamped holding the door flush at the front. I marked the inside face of the door on the cabinet side for the door stop.

cupboard latch

I marked the center line of the height but I didn't like the look of the latch centered. Instead I am going to position it so the bottom edge of the latch is on the center line.

rabbet laid out

The rabbet is 1/2" square and an inch wider than the width of the door stop.

not working

I used the dozuki to make the stop cuts but its kerf is narrower than the thickness of this card scraper. I was hitting it hard but it was hardly moving down. Gave up and I chiseled it all out.

rabbet is done

Pleased with how well this came out. The rabbet is clean and crisp in all directions.

door stop fits

The thickness of the stop is a few frog hairs shy of the rabbet. I am going to reduce the length of it a 1/8" or so. I think the fit is too tight there and some wiggle room closing the door is needed.

me thinks I brain farted

The two front screws for the latch don't have much meat to screw into. That was an unexpected hiccup that really screws up the cupboard latch. My first thoughts on a work around is to clip the two screws and put them in with epoxy. I set this aside for now while I think of some way to make it work.

looks pretty good

My concern with this stock was it bowing like pretzels. There is some of it at the far end but I think I'm ok. I can cut off most if not all of it when I size them.

get to reuse them

The feet look good. The bottom joint line on one is slightly opened but it is the bottom and won't be seen.

hmm......

I had to do a lot of serious butt scratching trying to figure out the length of the top two stretchers. Spoiler alert I didn't get it correct. However, this is the first time I have ever made something using a scale drawing.

did it directly

This is the top stretcher assembly. The short cross members are 2" in from each end. The short cross members are mortised into the two outside uprights. I thought I got it right but refer to the above paragraph.

layout time

I laid out all the mortise and tenons for the towel rack. I did them all in pencil and I then came back and knifed them.

RIP

This is the 3rd time this marking gauge has broken. I was tightening the screw and I got a unsettling feeling and the head broke in two. I have already glued the head back together before and I am not doing it again. It looks like it broke on the same fault line again. It sucks because I really liked this boxwood gauge. I'll have to start looking for another one. I'll keep this one for parts.

practice

I thought the tenons didn't have a shoulder. The drawing doesn't show it and the measured length of the tenons is a inch. I am taking an 1/8" off of each cheek.

feet

I was thinking ahead on this and decided to do the feet mortises first. The mortise should be done before I saw the tenons. The foot mortise is 2" deep.

oops

Wasn't paying attention when I laid out the top stretcher ass'y. It is a 1/2" thick and I did the layout as if it was 3/4" thick. The width of the mortise is a 1/2" and the same as the thickness of the stretchers.

new cross members

I swapped out the 1/2" thick cross members for 3/4" ones. Problem solved and no one will be the wiser.

drilling first

Drilled two undersized holes from each end first. Chiseled out the waste and I was done.

good fit on the first one

I had to tap the upright home into the mortise with a mallet. I'm not sure if this tenon gets wedged - the drawing doesn't show that. I don't think it is necessary because it is 2" long. It has plenty of glue surface.

ditto for the 2nd one

I had to seat this tenon with a mallet too. It is a good feeling getting such a good fit between the two.

bottom of the foot

I was feeling good about doing these mortises and tenons. I still have to saw the legs and that will bring the bottom of the tenon flush with the bottom of the foot. It is looking like I could put wedges in the tenons.

uprights done

Both of them are square to the tops of the feet. It was on to the through mortises on the uprights for the two cross rails.

cross rails done

I am already liking this more than the first one I made. This is light and it isn't as tippy as that one.

good fitting tenons

These are the best fitting and looking through mortises I have ever done. The tenons fit without any gaps all around.

ditto for the opposite side

I usually do good for some and have one or two hiccups. Not this time boys and girls - all four fit good with no gaps.

did it wrong

The cross members are ok but the stretchers aren't. The mortises for them are off by a couple of inches. I could move the mortise layout but the originally layout lines would be visible still.

a new ass'y

I sawed out two new stretchers and used one of the original stretchers to get two new cross members.

hmm.....

Took a time out to figure this out. I don't want to make another ass'y if I can avoid that. The problem is I have to align the mortises in the cross members with the mortises in the stretchers. It came down to an order of operation.

cross members first

This is what I should have done the first go around. Do the mortises for the cross members and then layout the mortises for the two stretchers based on that. I'll do that in the AM tomorrow.

stretcher layout

Once the cross members are done I can lay the stretchers on them and mark their mortises. No measuring needed - it is a direct layout with little opportunity for errors.

I checked on the delivery of the hinges and it says I'll be getting them sometime between Jan 3rd and 7th. The first email said the delivery date was the 3rd. Fingers crossed on it coming then.

accidental woodworker

I got as far as I could with the cherry cupboard today. I had a bad hiccup that I had to deal with it but I survived. Short story - the new part will be here on Jan 3rd, fingers crossed on that. I started a new project but I really wanted to do the school house desk. I don't have the wood for that but I did for the project I picked out. I'm thinking now that maybe I should use 2x construction lumber to make a prototype first. That way I can see if Amanda wants one (or two) for Miles or Leo.

not twisted

The carcass isn't twisted either on the front or the back. It would have been a nightmare trying to 'untwist' it.

yikes

The twist is horrible on the door. It is almost two lines high which is about a 1/4". Since the door is a few frog hairs thicker than 7/8" I decided to try and plane the twist out. (these are Lee Valley winding sticks and each line represents a 1/8")

much better

I didn't plane out all the twist but I did plane over half of it away. That reduced how proud it was at the top right by over half of what it was yesterday.

barely clearing

When I did the hinges yesterday I had put two strips of veneer on the bottom. Today it is a frog hair above the bottom shelf. It is not rubbing but there is barely a sliver of light under the door.

hadn't planned on this

I didn't think the hinges would be in the way of me planing this rail. I whacked the ball on the hinges and it is now hanging on by a thread.

still viable

I broke off the piece and flattened the leaf on my small anvil. I ordered a new pair of hinges and I'll be getting them by the 3rd of Jan. Until then this hinge as is will work until the new ones come.

not perfect but acceptable

I had penciled on the door where it was proud and I planed almost down to them. The door is proud about a strong 16th and I can live with that. I could plane more (plenty of meat on the door still) but I don't want to fall victim to '....one more stroke.....'.

planing the bottom rail

I planed 6 strokes off the bottom rail. I could have done more but I don't want a wide margin at the bottom. I would have left the tight one but the bottom rail might move and cause the door to jam shut.

happy with this

The gap at the bottom is the thickness of two pieces of paper. The margin on the latch side is the widest with the top and hinge sides about the same. 

moving the door stop

I can't go with the stop at the bottom. I thought of just putting a small block at the bottom right inside and that is kind of acceptable but not giving me a warm and fuzzy. This has been pushed over into the '....I'll think a wee bit more.....' before I decide.

possibility

This occurred to me while I was playing with the stop at the bottom or the top. Instead I could put a 6" stop centered where the the cupboard latch will live. That would just need a stopped 6" rabbet on the inside right edge of the door. I am liking this option better than the stop at the bottom or top. 

the next project

I made a shaker towel/laundry rack several years ago.  That one had 5 stretchers on the top whereas this one has two. What attracts me to this is the wedged tenon construction and the size of the individual parts. I don't need it and the wife has already expressed zero interest in it. That means one of my sisters will must likely end up with it.

main frame parts

Two rails and two stiles make up the main frame. All of the parts for this are 1" wide with most 3/4" thick and a couple at 1/2" thick.

the feet

The plan is a scale drawing and the feet took me a while to figure out. They are 1 1/2" thick and 12" long. I am gluing up two 3/4" boards to achieve the thickness but I am making the feet 2" longer. On the other rack I made it had short feet and it made it too tippy.

foot pattern

I made a half pattern for the foot out of 1/4" plywood.

foot pattern penciled on one face

I am going to glue and screw these together. The pattern shows me where I can use screws.

glued and cooking

This glue up came out better than expected. I got a consistent squeeze out all around on each leg. 

relaxing

I am not expecting any stupid wood tricks from this but to eliminate that I'll let this sticker until the AM.

sharpening time

Spokeshaves are a hand tool that I still haven't mastered. I have time to play with them and I'm starting at ground zero. This iron has some reflected light on the toe so I need to sharpen this one again. The other three are questionable so I'll sharpen them again too. The blue record spokeshave has a rounded sole and the others are all flat.

I can do better

Starting with flattening the sole. I had already done this but after a few strokes on the coarse diamond stone I saw that I could do a better job. This is after using my coarsest  stone - the scratch pattern is consistent and covers most of the sole now.

30 minutes later

Shiny as a freshly sharpened iron. I think I'll also strip and repaint this one.

hmm.....

I did these several years ago and I'll be redoing all three of them. The rounded sole one will be a challenge.

Preston spokeshave

I have a lot of spokeshaves and this Preston is the only one that flash rusts on me. It has never gotten any worse than what you see here. I will try to shine this sole up better and maybe that will help with preventing it from rusting.

I have a Lee Valley honing guide for doing spokeshave irons. I'll dig it out tomorrow and give it a try. If it doesn't work out I'll have to do them free hand with the Paul Sellers spokeshave iron jig.

accidental woodworker

 I was feeling pretty good today. The boo boos I got from my bounce test with the sidewalk last week have subsided a great deal. I don't have any pain in my knee, elbow, and chest anymore. The shoulder is lingering but it isn't saying hello constantly. However, I still can't sleep on it and I have sleep on my back or the right side.

I thought today I would get a full day in the shop but it didn't happen boys and girls. My lower back has been acting up for the past few days. When I wake up at night it is hard to fall back to sleep because it aches. And it doesn't matter if I am laying on my back or right side. The lower back pain has been continuing to say hello to me throughout the day. If I sit and do nothing, I don't feel it. It was ramping up in the AM session and I finally said No Mas and cut it short. I killed the lights in the shop a half hour before lunch time.

swapped out

I had some brass FH #5 screws to swap out the oval head screws. Blacksmith bolt confirmed my order but I don't know when I'm getting it. Until then the brass screws will fill in for them.

still fits

The margins I have around the door look to be what I had a few days ago. I am prepared to plane the door to fit if need be. I marked the position of the top hinge and that will be done first.

oops

Before I did the top hinge I turned back to this. I had forgot to drill the pilot holes for the replacement stile. I first drilled for the holes in this rail that already had them. I drilled straight through it out to the other side. I will fill in the holes because I don't want to make another rail. I will if the 'fill' job doesn't look good.

this is genius

Paul Sellers on the clothes wardrobe project set the top hinge on the doors first. Once that was done and then marked and did the bottom hinge. I did the same for this and what a difference. I have always marked both hinges at the same time and and chopped both of the hinge mortises at the same time. No more will that be the SOP in Ralphie's workshop.

what a difference

Having the first hinge done makes the marking of the 2nd hinge so much easier and precise. Both hinges are attached to the cupboard side with one screw each and the door didn't close. The top right corner is proud and the door won't fully close. Took it out and planed the latch side a couple of runs and checked it again.

hmm.....

Got the door to fit better, it wasn't hanging at one spot anymore. Now the problem was it was a wee bit tight along the entire latch side. Along with it being hinge bound slightly. Took it off again and did some more planing.

fixed the hinge bound

I put veneer in the cupboard mortises because they are less likely to be seen. The hinge barrel covers it pretty good. The hinge bound was gone but the door wasn't closing smoothly. The leading edge of the door was hitting the edge of the cupboard but I could push it and close the door. I took it off again and I planed a slight angle (about 2°) on the doors edge.

better

The door is opening and closing ok. There is still something amiss and it isn't the leading edge. It still felt like it was hinge bound a wee bit.

catching still

My first plane run I did at 90 and the door opening/closing improved but it was still hanging up briefly. I used my low angle block plane and planed a slight back bevel on the door. I planed a few strokes and checked it. Kept at it until the door opened and closed freely with no hang ups.

see the sliver of light?

When I used to hang entry doors I would plane a 5° bevel on the latch side. On this cupboard door I didn't bevel the entire edge - only did about a 1/4" wide chamfer. That was all that was needed to allow the arc swing of the door to clear the cupboard side edge.

not good

This is where I am getting some more hinge bound action. I took the door off again for the gazillionth time and planed the corner a wee bit. I didn't the whole length because it was only tight here at the bottom rail.

sneak peek

I looked at this both with the top/bottom molding on and off. I like the look of it with the moldings. The moldings do something for it that I can't put into words. It is kind of like trying to explain why I like the color blue.

about a 32nd

This is all that was needed to free the door. It now closes into the opening freely without hesitation. Nothing is holding it back or hanging it up now.

this sucks

The door has warped/twisted some. It is flush with the cupboard edge at the bottom and almost an 1/8" proud here at the top right.

door stop?

I need a door stop because I'm using a cupboard latch. This is the secondary position for the cupboard now.

my first choice

I can't put a vertical stop here because there isn't any room for it. The front of the shelf is about a 1/8" away from the door when it is closed. The stop is a 1/2" thick and 5/8" wide. I just thought of a possible solution. I could plane a rabbet on the back side of the door that would go over a vertical door stop. Hmm...., something to dream about tonight.

the door fix?????

I don't want to make another door. After eyeballing it for while I think this might work. I don't think having the door being proud looks good. Instead I can have the bottom left corner slightly inset into the opening which kinda makes the latch side of the door flush - ish with the cupboard edge. I'll further evaluate and play with it in the AM.

accidental woodworker