Norse Woodsmith Blog Feeds

I thought I would be posting that the cupboard was finally done. The paint job bit me on the arse and there is going to be a delay. I painted the cupboard in the AM thinking I was done with that but I wasn't. Found a boatload of dust nibs on the middle opening. I got no joy with the doors either. Found several boo boos that will take time to correct. It is now looking like it will be next week before it is done.

first look

This was encouraging to see. Two of the largest vertical surfaces looked good from a couple of feet away.

doors

I had high hopes that this would be the final coat and I would be done with painting. It wasn't so boys and girls.

scraped

I didn't get all the bleed through but it looks a whole lot better now. The 3 coats of shellac certainly helped with keeping the spread to a minimum and with scraping it. I'll touch up the shellac tomorrow.

adjustable spoke tenon cutters

The top one I was rehabbing but never finished it. That was because I couldn't get it do a shouldered spoke tenon. Now I know what the two screws holding the plate over the blade are for. I have to adjust them to do not only the size of the spoke but the shoulder.

measuring stick (new 5/8" one)

Noticed this when I lightly sanded what I thought was rusty metal. No numbers but it clearly has divisions for inch markings.

raking light

Ran the light all over the cupboard, inside and out. The outside passed but the inside underneath of the top needed more paint coverage.

a lot of white streaks

It is almost like I didn't paint this at all. 

back dry fitted

I think putting the LED light in the middle is a good choice. I like the color but the back half 1/2 of the compartment is in darkness.  I had entertained leaving the back of the middle open but this is the way to go with this. Besides with a continuous back it will stiffer and stronger.

door handle time

I centered the door handles T/B and R/L on the stile.

hmmm.......

The screws for the handle are proud and will keep the magnet away from the disc on the door. I removed the screws and drilled a counterbore for them.

8/32 screw

I cut off a wee bit more than 1/8". However, that wasn't enough as the screw was still too long. I had to lose more than a 1/4" off the screws before they would tightened down.

I hate this

There was a rolled up bead of paint that I had to scrape down to the primer coat to remove. I missed this yesterday but the raking light showed it. This is going to be a royal PITA to repaint and cover.

forgot this

On the large bottom door there was a gap here and diagonally at the other corner. I totally zoned out filling this with caulk. Another setback but the caulk is paintable in 30 minutes. The tube says that it won't show through paint neither.

blob

I don't know how I missed this big blob of paint. Instead of scraping this off I sliced it level with a razor blade.

another hmmm......

One of these screws is in the way of the door stop. Undecided on whether to counterbore it (or both) or notch the door stop. I have time to figure it out and I'll deal with it later.

painted

These are the two edges I scraped down to the primer and then repainted. This paint doesn't cover worth diddly squat. The paint has an annoying way of breaking when being brushed - it goes from full coverage to almost none.

a boatload of dust nibs

This shelf was covered front to back and I had to sand it smooth with 220 grit. I decide to repaint this with a roller. So far the roller has covered a bazillion percent better than brushing. Had to make a road trip to ACE because my wife was out of of small rollers (forgot to clean the one I used).

$16 dollars later

I am going to do all the touch up I have left to do with the roller. I bought a pkg of rollers for just in case. I should be able to wash and reuse the one that came with tray.

marketing genius

ACE sells this as a 3 piece set. I know I felt better buying it over it being packaged without it saying it was 3 piece set. To me that is like buying a car and the salesman says it comes with a steering wheel.

feeling better

I rolled out paint on the shelf and I am optimistic that this is the last coat of paint it will receive. This time around I will not do anything else in the shop that will make dust nibs float around and land on it again.

I still have more touch up painting to do on the doors. Thankfully this is latex and I'll be back in the shop after dinner painting some more.

accidental woodworker

As I move forward assembling my tool kit for the upcoming 18th Century Trades Fair at my friend Tim’s place down in center county, I am beginning to pack out my vintage tool chest, acquired many years ago for almost nothing at one of Martin Donnelly’s summer warehouse-clearing shindigs up in central New York.  The place to start was the drawer unit sliding till.  Here goes.

Drawer #1 (sorry for the photography) contains several oilstones (waterstones and diamond stones need not apply for this kit) and a shop knife.

NB – the organization of the drawers remains in-process until, well, probably until I take my last breath.

Drawer #2 is all about layout tools, including small scales, dividers, mortise gauge and panel gauge parts, etc.

Drawer #3 is a mix, a small wooden spokeshave, another folding scale (clearly should be in drawer #2) a couple hook knives, a small hammer and a scraper burnisher.

Drawer #4 is the home for my chisels, including the pile of mortising chisels I made from derelict plow plane irons, some ancient bench chisels, and a couple homemade dovetail chisels.

Drawer #5 includes the set of brass Roubo-ish squares I made while preparing for that workshop years ago, along with a scraper in an envelope.

Drawer #6 is all about hole-making, including gimlets, spoon bits, tapers, some ancient twist bits, etc.

Drawer #7 has some small planes and a travisher.

There’s still an occasional and cranny, probably for a small screwdriver or two.

Stay tuned.

 All carved.

I thought I would be done with painting the cupboard today. Sad news boys and girls, it didn't happen. I got the the 2nd topcoat on but that it ain't going to do it. I'll need to touch up here and there with at least one more coat of paint. Maybe by sunday I'll get to ooh and aah over it.

looks good

The drawer front looks good with two top coats. I can't see any streaks in raking light so this is good to go.

not so nice

I got some bleed through on both sides under the blue tape. I'm going to try and scrape it off with a razor blade.

trying the roller

I didn't have any choices for the roller. I would have liked one with a smaller nap but this worked. Besides it was donated by my wife.

impressed

I like how the roller laid the paint down. The coverage was way better than I expected it to be. The two outside faces look great with no brush marks. This is the first time I have ever used a roller to paint a project. I'll be trying a roller again for sure.

hmm......

All done and I was eyeballing it and came across this. Not sure if it is something I missed or it was a coverage issue. Using the roller on the inside was a bit awkward, especially so on the underside of the top and shelves. Those were also spots I had to use the brush to ensure complete coverage. The roller doesn't get into the corners.

from Jenny Bower Engraver

These came today during lunch. Wow, I think they look great. I plan on getting the rest of my bench plane lever caps engraved too.

my first one

I had this one done by Catherine Kennedy but I couldn't get in touch with her to do these. A reader of my blog (sorry I don't remember you) gave me Jenny's name and she engraved them. I think she did a great job - the initials look exactly like I had done it on the lever caps in ink. I have used this 'signature' marking what I made for years.

the LN herd

Thinking about it I have 3 more Stanley planes to engrave - #6, #7, & #8.

5/8" spoke tenon cutter

I pulled the trigger on this as soon as I saw it on the Timeless Tools and Treasures website. I have two spoke tenon cutters but those are both adjustable and this one only does one - 5/8".

good length

The iron needs some love on the stones and it appears to be the original iron. The japanning is 100% and I don't think this was used much. It doesn't show any signs of mileage at all.

interesting tidbit

When I saw these screws I thought that there was something missing. Turns out that this is 100% complete. These screws are used to tilt the blade up/down side to side. Do they allow the blade to be cocked so the shoulder can be squared off or at an angle? Or is like the lateral adjust on a bench plane? I looked at the other two I have and they have the same two screws for the blade. Both of them are munged up and shows signs of a lot of use. I thought they were to secure the blade. I'll revisit these two and play with that feature and sees how that shakes out.

accidental woodworks

 The cupboard got its first topcoat. After it was dry to the touch I eyeballed it and it definitely needs a 2nd coat. I am not a fan of rolling paint but maybe it is something to try. Rolling it wold eliminate the streaks I get with a brush. I might try it for the 2nd one. My wife has a lot of rollers and trays.

I can feel them

I can also see them - the brush marks. I sanded the cupboard with 220 grit with and against the grain until it felt smooth to my fingertips.

empty space

I am using construction adhesive for the tiles. Not sure if it will work over paint so I'm leaving it bare. 

done

Calling this pic frame done. I am happy with the red color and given that I'm not fond of orange its good that it isn't rust colored.

second sanding run

After finishing the first run I went back over the cupboard and sanded a few more spots that I still felt brush marks.

last step

I damped this rag with paint thinner and wiped down the cupboard. I had previously vacuumed the cupboard before the rag dance steps.

about the same

It took about the same amount of time to paint the topcoat as did the primer. I was expecting to shave about 15 minutes off it the second time around.

different Lowes

I went to Home Depot and checked out what they had for 1/4" plywood. There were 3 different types and the one I would have picked was light as a feather. I bought a 5mm full sheet at Lowes and it is heavier than the HD one. After I left HD I went to the Lowes up the highway from HD and its cutoff saw was working. I got the back sawed on the tablesaw slightly oversized.

1/8" out of square

I got this track saw in the late 1980's and this is the first time I have used it in years. This side of the back needs to be tapered to match the cupboard. This is the only thing I had in the shop long enough to draw it.

planing to the pencil line

I have a scrap of wood clamped to the edge to beef it up so I could scrub plane it close to the line. Switched to the low angle block and planed to the line then.

R/L good

Wash, rinse and repeat for the top and bottom. The taper is an 1/8" going to nothing. I marked and planed that to the pencil line. Got it fitted to the top and sides and marked the bottom and planed that.

fitted

I was able to do the bottom with a sheet rock knife. No problems knifing the line from both sides. The cut came out clean end to end. I like this plywood but I wish it was 6mm thick. 1/4" Baltic birch plywood at HD was $49 and this was $24(?) at Lowes.

first coat drying

Decided to not do the 2nd coat today but wait and do it tomorrow. There is no rush on getting a check mark in the done column.

last thing done

I got the first coat on the face of the doors and I also painted the edges of them. I wanted to see how well a 2nd coat would cover. The second coat on the drawer front looked good with no streaks or white showing.

accidental woodworker

Around the beginning of this year Kay and I started thinking hard about prolonging our stay here in Japan. There were a bunch of reasons to stay, despite promises I made to family and friends saying we would be returning to the US. But plans change, and truthfully we are really enjoying life here in… Read More »Tomobe House

The post Tomobe House appeared first on Big Sand Woodworking.

My latest conversation with long-time fried Brian Wilson is now available on this Now For Something Completely Different podcast, a labor of love for him to stay occupied in his retirement.  After 55 years of broadcasting he can’t kick the habit.

These sessions could be titled “Don Uncensored” because I talk frankly about a variety of forbidden subjects (there is never any foul language, that only happens inside my head when I make a mistake at the bench).

As always, find it for yourself and avoid it if strident observations offend you.

For almost the entire month of July and now well into August the weather for my location has been telling us we’re under an Excessive Heat Warning. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in the desert but this is getting to me!! My shop isn’t air conditioned and it’s not a possibility anyway but by lunch time temperatures are in the low 100’s and I’ve recorded a high of 118° many afternoons. Coolest is usually in high 80’s/low 90’s. I can tolerate the heat for the most part but am unable to do any finishing or gilding. Glue-ups can be done in the house but finishing creates too many fumes so I’m at a standstill for to complete two frames currently ready for finishing. One of them is this one with twisted feathers carved in the corners and I’m anxious to see how it will look when finished. Click on the link for a brief YouTube video of it.

In the meantime, I’ve tackled a few projects to keep myself in the shop and off of the couch! A friend approached me and said he needed a boot jack and wondered if I’d be able to help him out on that. Never one to turn down any project/challenge I told him sure and proceeded to educate myself on them. The internet is full of information (not all valid unfortunately) so you need some discernment. They’re basically a board with either a rounded or V-shaped hole at one end which is elevated a couple of inches to allow your boot to slip in and then pull your foot out of it. Here’s what I came up with:

I had some Peruvian Walnut (aka Tropical Walnut) which I thought would be a good choice for this project. If you follow my blogs you know I’ve recently been experimenting with leather so decided it would be a nice touch to add a monogram. I was able to copy/paste and then resize an alphabet from free internet sources and transfer that to a piece of 3/16″ vegetable tanned leather. For that authentic western look I had some small clavos which were nailed in each corner. The piece that elevates the boot jack is inserted into a dado then glued, screwed, and plugged. Although this wood is great to use hand tools on it can get splintery, especially when it’s in a hot shop in a dry climate; almost like a kiln! I could have used a router to cut out the inlay but prefer the quietness and process of using hand tools. Here’s a photo montage of that process:

Once the perimeter was chiseled to depth I used a bench chisel to take out the center area, leaving it somewhat pillowed. When the depth was close to what it should be my antique Stanley 71 took care of getting the bottom flat and uniform to the required depth. That area was taped off and 3 coats of OSMO 3043 were applied. Once dry, the leather was installed with contact cement and the clavos. I enjoyed the look on my friends face and his appreciation when I gave him his boot jack — that’s what it’s all about

The other project I completed was this display board for Diane’s studio where she can put her in progress paintings. She tends to work on more than one painting at a time and would place them on the floor between sessions. There is a limited amount of wall space and it’s also possible to kick them accidently. It’s also difficult for her to really see her work as a potential buyer would too. The board was made from a 5’x5′ piece of 3/4″, pre-finished Baltic Birch. It’s located on a wall a good distance from her easel so she can study it at a distance. She’s mentioned a few times already how having it at this height and on a neutral background really helps her study her work. Many times I’ve seen her take a painting from our wall that’s already been framed to make some minor changes to that she hadn’t noticed at the easel.

Making this was fairly straight forward and as you may know Baltic Birch plywood is heavy! The first step was to layout and drill the holes for 1″ dowels. We decided on 6″ centers and 3″ from the edges. This worked out evenly for the 60″ dimension. I made a template from some MDF and drilled small holes in it to locate the center of each of the 100 holes. My first choice was to use a forstner bit since they make the most accurate holes, however; Baltic birch plywood is so dense and has lots of adhesive the bit I used was toast after about 4 holes! Next up I tried an auger style bit but it too had a difficult time even starting. Final resort was a spade bit that had a spur on each edge, this worked well as long as I kept the speed of the drill slow, matter of fact I used the screw setting on my Makita. To prevent blow out the plywood was placed on the cheapest piece of 1×4 I could find and this worked well. To finish off the holes I used a router to cut a slight chamfer in each one and also added that chamfer to the outside edge.

Next up was installation. I’ve always been a fan of French Cleats and saw that the largest internet retailer had 30″ aluminum ones. Great, or so I thought until I got them. Very flimsy and worst of all it came with flat head screws but the holes weren’t countersunk so when you attempt to slide them together the head of the screw stick out and prevents the cleat from seating!! Glad they have an easy return policy and proceeded to make my own cleat from a piece of Poplar. Actually was a blessing in disguise because the stud spacing on that wall isn’t the standard 16″ on center. Here’s some pictures to illustrate the process, click on them to see the entire photo.

 About a year ago, Gustav completed his exam as a carpenter and got his journeyman's certificate.

Needless to say, I was as proud as a peacock. If I remember correctly, they had 2 days to complete their building assignment and then one day where they had an oral exam.

The building assignments are drawn by lots, and each holds to focus points. There are off course measurements that has to be observed and adhered to, and beside that they also need to make an assessment of the delivered materials and make remarks if they would have sent some of it back in real life if it is twisted or otherwise damaged. 
Gustav had to make an inside corner with a roof that has to be prepared for clay tiles, and the construction of a wall and an opening for a window.

For the oral exam, I think they also drew a lot and had to talk about that subject. Gustav got a question about moisture based problems in wooden constructions.

The building part is made as a small portion of a building to save materials. They have to show how the things are constructed, so they deliberately leave part of the wall and roof uncovered so the censors can see that they know how to place the sub roof and the wind breaker and insulation etc.

When all the projects have been examined, the tradition calls for that the families and the colleagues from the various companies including the masters meet at the school to congratulate and to have a look at the completed building assignments. 

Finally the next day, the school hosts an arrangement for the parents and the masters where the actual certificate is given to the new journeymen.

For someone like me who has got a bit of interest in history and traditions, it was awe inspiring to participate in the ceremony where the certificates were handed over. the certificate itself hasn't changed the last 100 years I think, and the feeling that this ceremony has been going on continuously for the last 500 years or more was just so amazing. The recognition of the fact that this small certificate means the same now as it did back then, and that it is recognized from Australia to Zimbabwe that a carpenter is someone who can build a house or a structure out of wood is just amazing.

Pedder from two lawyers toolworks gave Gustav an ebony handled dovetail saw with a German silver back. That was almost enough to make me want to be a carpenter!

In Denmark if you get straight A's at a journeman's exam, you will get a silver medal. The idea behind that it is not a gold medal is that no handcraft can be perfect, because perfection is divine. And even the most skilled carpenter can't see inside a piece of timber if there is a small defect hidden inside. and that is why silver is awarded as the highest recognition. (Gustav got a silver medal)

 The start of the beginning of the end kicked off at  0900 today. Found the oil based primer and painted the cupboard. Tomorrow the first topcoat will go on and I'm planning on doing at two. I have everything I need to finish the cupboard except for the plywood back. Still haven't made it to Home Depot to check what they have for 1/4" plywood. The last time I checked on that they under layment, CDX, and some lightweight chinese plywood. If I get no joy there I'll buy it at Lowes and cut it myself in the parking lot.

portable chest of drawers

The glue up healed nicely but it didn't align flush top and bottom. I sanded it flush on the bottom (proud there) and feathered it out on the top.

good match

Two feet away I couldn't pick out the glued crack. Up close and personal I could. I checked all the drawers opened/closed easily and I had to plane two of them. I made all of them as loose fitting as I dared.

only one

This is the only loose fitting drawer and the drawer beneath it is the one I need to fix. I can't pull it open. The two large drawers on the left open/close easily and the other two open/close but need a wee bit of oomph.

it worked

I rapped on the back with the mallet and the drawer popped out. I wasn't sure that this would work because the drawer margin top/bottom was tight. I planed this drawer until it easily went in/out. I lightly planed the drawers above and below this one for the same action.

doors batted first

The doors might be a PITA to do. This is an oil based primer so once the paint goes on the door can't be moved and I have to be careful about raising dust in the shop. I only painted one side but I got the other side done in the PM session.

drawer

No oil primer for the drawer front. It has 3 coats of shellac on it and that is a good primer coat. 

worth its weight in gold

This is left over from the rehab I did when I got my hip replaced. My 70 year old knees love it dearly. Started painting at the top and worked down. If I didn't have this or knee pads I would have put the cupboard on the workbench to paint it. I can only take about 1-2 minutes of bare kneeling on concrete.

50 minutes

I painted every surface except for the drawer opening. I only painted 2-3 inches in from the sides and top/bottom. I also have to paint the bottom of the base sides and front. That got done in the PM session too.

oops

Have you ever wondered about where the ubiquitous white paint drops come from? I cleaned this but didn't get it all - it was on it too long before I saw it.

base

I am not priming/painting the bottom of the cupboard. I am only priming the bottom of the sides and the front.

drip patrol

The paint was 99% dry which surprised because it oil based. I was expecting it to be tacky still but it wasn't. I eyeballed the entire cupboard especially checking points like this where multiple surfaces intersect. Paint tends to pool in these areas and I cleaned them out with a razor blade and touched them up again with primer. Another spot for blobs are the vertical and horizontal edges. Brushing tends to leave build up on the arris - I did pretty good on that and didn't find much that needed scraping.

older than dirt

This is a brush spinner that I got when I painted with my father. Stick the brush in it and spin the solvent and paint away. Makes cleaning brushes almost a no brainer. I only use it for oil based products. Latex ones I wash and clean by hand in the sink.

forgot this

I meant to do this last week and it would appear I forgot it. This is at the top of the cupboard and will catch the top edge of the plywood back. I couldn't glue it because I had already primed underneath it so I secured with 3 screws.

FYI

You shouldn't paint the mortises for the hinges. Paint can build up and interfere with how the hinge seats and swings. Another FYI is to remove all hardware and stick something - old screws, toothpicks, rolled up blue tape,..... - in the empty screw holes so they don't fill up with paint.

another sore spot

Got an early out for today. If I do it right I might (should) be able to get both top coats on tomorrow. The paint has a 2 hour layover time between coats.

accidental woodworker

 The ground on this is sloping.

Let the real carving begin.

I’ve laid the bench over to drill the holdfast holes in the apron.

As I prepare for the upcoming Historic Trades event over Labor Day weekend I am bringing to completion this latest of my Nicholson benches, originally fabricated for use in the Build A Gragg Chair workshop two summers ago.  Well, something like “completion.”  Given the utilities needed for that exercise the benches were never “finished,” all they needed were to be solid worktables able to hold Moxon and Zyliss vises.

With a drill jig I easily bored as many holes as I wanted across the front and in the top.

I went back and forth on this; do I add a nice leg vise?  How about twin screw face vise, a/k/a Moxon.

In the end I decided to follow the muse of Mike Siemsen, whose brilliant video is a “must watch.”

I might go back and add a big screw leg vise, mostly for the experience of making the threaded screw, but for now I’m going to use this as a bare-bones bench.  If I have time before the event I will tooth the work surfaces,

Woodworking in America 2024 registration is open, with promo code! →

I’ll be the first to say that I don’t do the woodworking commerce thing very well. In fact, I’ve never taken on trying to sell merch, monetizing Giant Cypress, or anything like that.

So this is a bit of a new one for me. The link above takes you to where you can register for Woodworking in America 2024. If you use the promo code “wilbur”, you get 15% off.

Hope I did that right!

And here’s the description for the workshop I’m teaching.

Wilbur Pan — Japanese Tools for the Western Workshop

Japanese tools are a great addition to any woodworking shop. In this session, you’ll learn about Japanese chisels and saws, why they are so great, and how to incorporate them into your shop to make your woodworking better. We may even get into Japanese planes. Spoiler alert: there’s no hype, and you don’t have to work on the floor.

Wilbur Pan is the author of the Giant Cypress blog. He has given demonstrations and talks on Japanese tools and Asian woodworking at Woodworking in America, the Society of American Period Furniture Makers, and Kezurou-kai USA. He has written articles for Popular Woodworking and Mortise and Tenon magazines. He lives in beautiful Central New Jersey.

 I've got sad news boys and girls. I didn't get any paint on the cupboard. While getting ready to sand it I saw another hiccup. I ignored one on the back but I couldn't do that for the front. Hopefully tomorrow I be slapping paint on it. As for the picture frame it suffered the same fate as the cupboard. Saw a hiccups that I had to fix. Maybe I'll get it to Maria friday or saturday.

hmmm......

I wasn't expecting to this. I had painted it again last night after dinner and the red paint still wasn't covering the black then. This morning it is - must have been the drying that did the trick. I was thinking I would maybe get this to Maria wednesday.

one more coat

The back looked ok but there were some scruff marks that another coat of black hid. I waited a couple of hours and put on a coat of shellac.

can't ignore this

The doors are inset and these will shine like a neon light on a foggy night. Before I fixed it I finished sanding the cupboard with 100, 150, and 220 grit.

timber mate

I didn't want to use the wood putty because it takes too long to harden. Paint doesn't care what it goes over and timber mate will set up in a few hours.

gave up the ship

After cussing, threatening, and cajoling this I said NO MAS. I just couldn't get that little piss ant _+)*%&^@)#%^)(_&@_)*%+(@Q screw started for the light bar clip. I could not see what I was doing and I was relying solely on touch which wasn't that helpful. I thought of using super glue to hold it while I screwed while I was upstairs cooling down. I'll try that tomorrow and see how that goes because it wasn't happening today.

a couple of hours later

I did a quick run over the timber mate with a sanding block and it had setup. I'll have to do another coat to form the 90 between the top and the front edge.

what gives?

I sign into my You Tube account upstairs and in the shop. What I don't understand is why the home page on the two of them isn't the same. It must have something to do with the shop computer being Win OS and upstairs is Linux.

picture frame hiccup

The paint is latex and it raised the grain on two sides. It not only looked rough, it felt rough. I sanded all four outside edges with 100, 150, and 220. This is why it won't be ready to go until friday or saturday. 

first of two

Painted the outside again and I'll get a 2nd coat on it after dinner. I am liking the red color a lot more now that I've had a chance to eyeball it dry for a few days. It certainly dries a different color than when it is wet.

fixing time

This split happened how? Don't know but I pulled out all the drawers and brought it to the shop to glue it.

glued and cooking

I expect this to have anymore stupid wood tricks to surprise me with. Fingers crossed just in case.

another fix it

Two of the 13 drawers wouldn't open. The two 6" drawers were throwing a hissy fit. I wasn't sure how the 6" drawers would behave and now I know. The large single 6" drawer still slides in/out easily. These two wouldn't budge a frog hair.

nope

I tried to use the mallet from the inside (with a block of wood) to rap on the inside of the drawer face. Didn't budge, didn't complain, stayed in place like a stubborn mule.

tight

I couldn't get a frog hair in between the drawer top or bottom and the rails. I was able to push the drawer out by hitting the ends with a mallet and a block of wood.

tight against this

After pushing it forward I saw that the top of the drawer was too against this back rail.

knocked the ends down

I had to plane the entire top to get it to slide in/out smoothly.

front

I had to plane the top front of the drawer too. It was going in beautifully but was hanging at the front cross rail.

the sibling

This drawer was clearing the back cross rail but had problems at the front. I could push it in flush and pull it out with a little oomph. I planed this drawer like I did its sibling until it when in/out smoothly.

one more

I double triple checked all the other drawers and this one was hanging up a wee bit. I planed the entire top rim with 4 passes before it opened/closed smoothly.

where it was hanging

It was only this corner that was too tight. I didn't go nutso on this and only planed what was needed for the drawers to open/close freely. I don't want to see this come winter that there was now a 1/4" gap.

another high spot

I could see this spot - just where the back goes into the side- was rubbing on the back top rail. Being able to take the back off (so glad I didn't glue it) was incredibly lucky for me. If not I would have had to wait for winter and see then if I could open these drawers.

two coats shellac

I'm pretty sure that I used the same blonde shellac on the drawers that I mixed up yesterday. After two coats I can't see a color difference. 

I found the sticking drawers a few days ago while I was in the boneyard. Out of curiosity I checked the drawers to make sure I could open and close them. Got the first 13 to open/close but 14 and 15 didn't want to play. The second portable chest of drawers I made has a few sticking drawers still. I have already sanded those drawers twice to get them to open/close. I'll deal with that one tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

In my collection of 3,000+ vinyl albums is the Pink Floyd double live album Ummagumma, with the memorable photograph of their traveling equipment artistically arranged on a landing strip.

It is reminiscent of my own preparations for my upcoming Introduction to Historic Woodfinishing next week in Earlysville VA.  As I’ve said previously, I found out long ago that the only way I could make the workshop complete and beneficial for all the attendees was to provide absolutely everything they need, in terms of workpieces, tools, and supplies.  And that adds up to quite a pile of materials.

At this point I’m about 2/3 of the way there.  All I know is that by the time I pull out of here next Wednesday the bed of my truck will be full.