Norse Woodsmith Blog Feeds

Not a day goes by that I don’t spend a little time noodling around my favorites on youtube to see if there is something interesting and educational for me to watch.  Here’s a list of those pages, in no particular order.

The Woodland Escape – YouTube

The Outsider – YouTube

Wood and Shop – YouTube

Matthew Cremona – YouTube

Wilson Forest Lands – YouTube

H Carpenter – YouTube

Woodworking Enthusiasts – YouTube

My Self Reliance – YouTube

WayPoint Survival – YouTube

The Prepared Homestead – YouTube

DW woodworks – YouTube

JSK-koubou – YouTube

Townsends – YouTube

Shoyan Japanese Carpenter – YouTube

Rex Krueger – YouTube

Adrian Preda – YouTube

Essential Craftsman – YouTube

翠紅舎 Suikoushya – YouTube

Herrick Kimball – YouTube

Stumpy Nubs (James Hamilton) – YouTube

Northmen – YouTube

maki fushimi – YouTube

The Art Of Lutherie – Guitar Making – YouTube

Wood By Wright How To – YouTube

Windy Hill Foundry – YouTube

myfordboy – YouTube

Bucksaw Woodworks – YouTube

Epic Woodworking – YouTube

BOYU Lacquer Art – YouTube

刷毛や狐 – YouTube

Fair Weather Foundry – YouTube

Sam Alfano – YouTube

Young Je – YouTube

Bob Rozaieski Fine Woodworking – YouTube

The Samurai Carpenter – YouTube

 

These are my craftsman-ish channels, I’ll save those for politics, religion, and guns for another day.

 

 

I have found a new series to watch on Amazon Prime Video. It is Elementary which I remember watching one episode over ten years ago. Spending time watching TV is something I don't do much. I would rather be in the shop or reading a book. However, I do like watching prime videos because I can not only pick and choose what to watch but I can watch in on my schedule. I have watched season one (which had 24 episodes) and I'm into season two. I watched three of them today while the TV (muted) had the football  game on. 5 more seasons to go after this one.

older than my children

This is a Sears Craftsmen pilot drill set. I got this when I was 21 and it still performs pretty well. Back when I got this getting tools at Sears was top shelf with me. I wouldn't even consider buying a tool at a hardware store. It is sad that the brand isn't worth what is was then now. Used this today to drill the pilot holes for the knobs.

felt secure

I put two 3/4" #4 screws in each knob. I shook and rapped the handles with a mallet before this and both of them held. I feel better now that I have screws in them.

disappeared

I like that they are not seen with the drawers shut.

first step

Working on the flat moldings for the top and bottom of the cabinet. The first batter was rough sawing the 45's.

it is about time

The second batter was sweetening the 45s on the shoot board. I wanted to use this but I didn't remember how to do it. Grasping this anywhere is difficult along with a whole lot of awkward. Rob Cosman site has a couple of videos on how to do it. I bought this a long time ago and today was the day to get it installed but not right then and now.

change two coming

I was playing around with the overhang I wanted on the molding. I settled on 3/4" after looking at 1/2" and 5/8". The change is the round over and adding a cove molding is history. I am now going with a broad chamfer. I prefer chamfers and I can put chamfers on the top and bottom ones. IMO the chamfers won't look out of place with the overall look of the cabinet.

the first look

This is what killed it for me. I don't like the look of the cove molding at the bottom. I didn't mind how it looked at the top but at the bottom it looks odd to my eye.

new jig

I didn't make two short moldings yesterday so I whacked them out today. I needed this jig to plane the faces smooth. I could have avoided this if I had planed the faces before I did the miters but I didn't. I think this will be a useful jig to have in the shop.

PM session

While I filled my face at lunch I watched a couple of Rob Cosman vids on how to do this. I had totally zoned out the procedure and I found the vids perfect and they explained it all. The first step was to get the set screws installed. I was totally clueless as to what they were used for.

1/8" drill

The 1/8" drill is used to just make a dimple in the cheek of the plane.

dimple

I checked and the 1/4" hole to come will do into the mass of the frog seat. But I doubt my hole which will be 3/16" deep will penetrate it. This is a war time #6 Stanley with thick walls - much thicker and heavier than prewar Stanleys.

depth stop

Drilling in cast iron is like drilling in pine. It is soft and easy and you don't need cutting oil to do it.

done

It was a little nerve wracking doing this. What idiot drills holes in their planes? This is different because this #6 will be used only on this Lee Valley shooting board. I can't think of another reason I would drill holes in any plane (including hang holes).

why did I wait so long

I waited so long to do this because I was chicken shit about drilling into the plane. Now that the deed is done, this grab and grippie thing is tremendous. No problems pushing the plane now. The grip is secure and it isn't awkward where I would lose momentum pushing the plane through the stock.

I positioned my grip thing where Rob recommended it. I thought that maybe it was too far forward and I would have trouble pushing the plane through the stock but I didn't. The weight and length of this plane is also a definite asset for use as a shooting board plane.

one more step to it

I have to take the plane holder down and notch the outside rail for the grip thing. I'll try and do that tomorrow if I don't forget about it. I don't see myself removing and installing this after and before each use. This is a single purpose use plane so there is no need (IMO) to do that.

accidental woodworker

What I imagine the folks that came to my WIA talk might have felt like, since I covered Japanese saws and chisels in one hour.

I had a fantastic time this weekend at Woodworking in America, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity. Thanks to Phil, Collin, Logan, and the other folks at Popular Woodworking, Woodsmith, and Fine Woodworking for putting this together so well and so efficiently. Organizing an event like this is not easy, to say the least, and everything came together without a hitch.

 Had a short day in the shop because my wife didn't get up until almost 1000. My workbench is directly under her bed and I learned a long time ago to not disturb her beauty sleep. She must be allowed to open her peepers when she decides to. After lunch I fell asleep at my desk - that is the A-fib I have. It makes me tired all the time when I shouldn't be or really don't feel tired. Maybe I'll get more time in the shop tomorrow.

crest rail

This is a little short on the length and the design doesn't fit the cabinet but it does give me a hint of what a crest rail might look like. I am not thrilled with the look of a crest rail for this so I'll put these back in the black hole. 

better choice

A large flat molding overhanging the sides and the front with a cove molding underneath it. The flat molding is a 1/2" thick and it doesn't look right. It should be 3/4" minimum.

hmm.....

I thought of this before I did the bead molding on the edges. I will remove the molding so the snap catch can be flush with the edge of the door.

sigh

I was procrastinating about doing the hinges for the door and I got the perfect excuse to not do it today. I don't have any hinges for it. I thought I had ordered a set but I was wrong. I checked my stack of orders and nada. I placed an order for a pair today.

drawer stops

I wanted to put the stops at the back but there is not enough real estate there for them. Thankfully there is a little more than a 1/8" space on the drawer bottom for the stops. I glued them in with hide glue for any future repairs etc.

flush drawer fronts

It had been about 30 minutes and I checked the drawers. Happy with the alignment of the drawers with the cabinet face. After seeing this I was thinking of using the same 'knob' on the door. Maybe.

Forgot to snap any pics of the installation of the drawer 'knobs' (in the AM session). I was going to cock bead the drawers but nixed it due to a lack of beading. I could only find 3 and it would take 2 to do one drawer. I don't have a warm and fuzzy about these being glued in notches. Both of the drawers have streaks of pitch veins  at the top and I'm not sure how well yellow glue adheres to this stuff. I think I'll put in a couple of screws for insurance.

molding stock

Used some of the sugar pine I bought last week. Prepped the stock for the top and bottom of the cabinet. Still mulling over the edge treatment but mostly likely I'll go with a simple round over.

like this

I have left over cove molding and I like the simple round over look. I'll take a look at my collection of molding planes and see any of the profiles say 'pick me, pick me....'.

accidental woodworker

During his recent visit my brother and I were chatting about my 3,000+ record album collection, in storage and un-listened-to for more than three decades.  I mentioned that my old turntable had frozen hydraulics to render its audiophile cartridge useless, and I was going to order a new one.  That’ll definitely motivate me to get them out and listen to them all over again.  At one time I had my entire collection memorized but now I can hardly remember more than a few dozen of them.  He said, “It’s gonna be just like Christmas when you open the boxes.”

That conversation got me to thinking about something all my music aficionado circle argued about all those decades ago; “If you were stuck on a desert island like Robinson Crusoe, what would be your dozen albums?”

So here’s my list, in alphabetical order by artist.  NB: these are all vinyl albums in my collection, most have been replicated for my CD collection which is itself substantial.

Frederic Chopin – Nocturnes (1827-1846) and yes I know, it is technically a five-record collection IIRC, but I get to make my own rules for my own fantasy.

As a kid my folks were part of the Columbia Record Club and the first time I heard Chopin’s Nocturns, I was probably 8 or 10 at the time, I was hooked.  Since I’ve been listening to them regularly for the past six decades I guess they would be good to have if I was stuck somewhere desolate, like a desert island or New York City or some other forsaken place.

PS;  if you’ve ever wondered whether or not great music of the past could flourish in another time and place, check out this performance of Chopin’s Prelude No. 4 in E Minor from maybe 55 years ago by Led Zeppelin’s guitarist!

Or this:

Dire Straits – Dire Straits (1978)

I was blown away the first time I heard this album when it first came out and remain as besotted as ever.

Edvard Grieg – Peer Gynt Suites (1876)

No little boy listening to “Hall of the Mountain King” could resist marching around and stamping his feet.  Heck, I can barely resist doing so in my 70th year.

Again, listen to this, uh, fascinating version by ELO.

Johnny Hartman – John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963) 

Hartman ranks #1 on my list of male singers and his collaboration with jazz giant John Coltrane remains perhaps the greatest capturing of jazz/ballad vocals ever.  Anyone who has ever spent any time with me in the barn gets introduced to Johnn Hartman.  Think Frank Sinatra but with real talent.

BTW it was when my Baptist preacher parents came into my room when I was listening to John Coltrane that they knew I was , … different.

Keith Jarrett – Koln Concert (1975)

The story itself of this album is a fascinating one.  Jarrett was sick, injured, exhausted, hungry, and playing on a craptastic piano for a middle-of-the-night concert, and wanted to just go back to the hotel to get some sleep.  Instead the recording equipment was turned on, resulting in not only the best-selling live jazz album of all time but the best-selling piano music album of all time!

Gordon Lightfoot – Sit Down Young Stranger (1970)

Though very, very early in his spectacular career I find this album to be unsurpassed.  Not a bad song on the album, well, perhaps a needless comment about any Lightfoot album.  Your Loves Return (A Song for Stephen Foster) still gets me 50+ years after hearing it for the first time.

Little Feat – Waiting for Columbus (1978)

Probably the best live album of its era (perhaps equaled by the Talking Heads 1984 Stop Making Sense), by America’s best rock band.  “Nuff said.

Mahavishnu Orchestra – Inner Mounting Flame (1971)

The first time I heard this album, to be honest I didn’t get it.  Second time, sorta got it.  Third time it entered my rotation for the past 53 years.  It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, barbarians are repulsed by it (just kidding).  Mrs Barn will not allow the music to be played in her presence as the finds it to be discordant and nerve wracking.  I often play it in my earbuds while working on my laptop.

Pat Metheny – Offramp (1981)

I went back and forth on this album, debating it or Metheny’s As Fall Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, but since one of the pieces from this album (“Are You Going With Me?”) is one of two secular selections on my funeral playlist.  No I am not planning any time soon, just being prepared.  I even have the homily titled and outlined.

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Texas Flood (1983)

A promotional copy of this album arrived at the college radio station when I was doing a late night jazz show.  Sometimes either during the show or afterwards I would sample new albums and I wound up listening to this one repeatedly until the wee hours of the morning.  SRV was only one of two musicians whose deaths I mourned (Colin Walcott of the jazz ensemble Oregon was the other).  This CD has been in the player of my little truck since forever.

Jennifer Warnes – Famous Blue Raincoat (1986)

Jennifer Warnes has the voice of an angel, trained as an opera singer and producing (way too few!) albums for more than fifty years.  I’ve got them all.  She was offered her first recording contract at the age of seven.  Really.  This CD has been playing in my “new” pickup since I bought it 3-1/2 years ago and I never tire of it.  Her long-time collaboration with Leonard Cohen resulted in this magical presentation of his songs.  Even if you never heard of her you will recognize her voice from movie songs. I actually know very little about her personally, but often regard her music the same way Benjamin Franklin referred to beer.

Eberhard Weber – Fluid Rustle (1979)

More evenings than not I fall asleep listening to some of this album.  And like Metheny’s Offramp this album has a piece to be included in my funeral, “Quiet Departures.”  Tragically like Keith Jarrett, Weber’s music performances have been silenced by a crippling stroke.

Bonus pick for those truly adventurous, Univers Zero – Univers Zero, a/k/a 1313 (1977)

This avant garde Belgian acoustic chamber ensemble produces music that is impossible for me to characterize.  Discordant is hardly a strong enough word to describe them, but I like it.  Long stretches could best be called “chaotic noise,” but there is just enough creative genius to make it worth my while.  I think it might have been this album here my mom asked, “Are they all playing the same song?”  As a church hymn traditionalist she never really caught on to my musical tastes.

So there, you’re welcome.

I have written a book. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid, and I finally landed on a project I could see the end of -- or thought I could. 

From Sagebrush to Heather is the title. It started out being about a trip four of us, two married couples, took to Scotland in 2022. We had a great time. I took a fiddle along. Tim rented a guitar. We played tunes by ourselves and with others. Our wives tolerated that and kept us in line when we needed it. 

We wandered through several different castles. We toured two distilleries on Islay and peaked into a third. We got to know the Isle of Lewis, at least a little, and that’s really where things started to take a turn for me. Lewis reminded me of where I lived as a small child, the northeast corner of California, Modoc County. Of course they are two vastly different places, one being an island in the North Atlantic and the other being high-desert country. But both were wide open spaces. The geology is similar.  The vegetation has the same coloring. Small towns. Widely scattered homes.

So in the writing of the book, I learned a little about myself, too. What it means to be part of a place, part of a culture. I really had no idea that when one ‘writes’ a book, it can change so dramatically from the first draft to the final.

And ‘final draft’ is a phrase that seems to mean ‘good enough’.  With each new version — hardback, Kindle, paperback — I find more things to change. Minor things. It’s good enough. I believe I told the story I wanted to tell.

The book has many color photos. Over 140. To format this into a book, I either had to find someone who knew how to do that and could put up with my fussiness about which photo goes where — and that would be expensive — or I had to do it myself. I learned how to make Adobe Indesign work for me.

Indesign is a big program. If Word or Pages is an automobile panel with a speedometer, a gas gauge, a tachometer, high-beam indicator, and so on, Indesign looks like the cockpit of a jet airliner. Hard to know where to start. So, I just started. Trial and error, heavy on the error side to begin with. I sought out and viewed many YouTube videos on book-formatting. Eventually, some of the dials made sense to me. Others I could ignore. In the end, learning how to format that book was oddly entertaining.

You can buy my book.

I have hardback and paperback copies in the shop.  If you want to get them online, the hardback edition is print-on-demand (POD) through BookBaby.  

Given that there are so many photos, I had to go with a fixed-layout for the Kindle version. What this means is that you cannot resize the type. It seems to work well on iPads and other tablets, the Kindle desktop app, but not so well on the black-and-white Kindles.

This is the Kindle link. 

The POD paperback version through Amazon is the most recent. It has a few more photos than the hardbound version, and has a couple typos fixed. Here is the paperback link.

My son-in-law Beau Van Greener designed the book cover. Here it is, back, spine, and front:

The pdf output from Indesign, processed through Amazon, looks like this:

And a snapshot of the book:

You can see more photos from the trip in my Flickr album, Scotland trip 2022. Some are in the book, some are not.

 The first thing to address is my overly optimistic time line for completion. Yesterday I thought I might be done with it by sunday. I must have inadvertently taken the wrong medication because that ain't happening. I made progress today and after assessing that I knew sunday was a fairy tale. Maybe next sunday and that should give me some wiggle room.

door #2 stile

The off cut cheek I glued in has set up nicely. 

big gap

I have about a 1/4" gap R/L and zero T/B. Based on the fit of the mortise/tenon I would have bet a lung the gap would have been same T/B as it is R/L.

the fix

The plan is to band the outside of the door with a 1/8" thick banding akin to cock beading. That will fill the gap, hide the bridle joinery, and give some visual interest to the door.

glued and cooking

The door clamped up square - the diagonals inside and outside were dead nuts on.

making cock beading

Used my 1/8" beading plane to round over the four corners. I then ripped them off on the tablesaw and ripped them 3/4" wide. 

nope

I like the banding but I think it is too short (height). The top of the bead is flush with the top of the door frame. It is almost lost and doesn't fully define the end of the door and the banding.

better

Made five more moldings 7/8" wide and I can clearly see them now. No mistaking that there is a bead 360 on the door.

the back up

I whacked this out real quick to satisfy my curiosity. I put the first moldings I did against a chamfered edge. It is better than the molding up against a square edge but it doesn't look as good as the second, higher moldings. The chamfer draws your eye to the molding and gives separation. I'll save the the first moldings for a future project.

glad I did this

This is an off cut cheek that I used to make a 'knob'. I wasn't sure how this would play out. My first thoughts were this might appear to be too modern but I like it.

doesn't look modern

I had also thought of making this out of metal I had some sheet brass but it was only a 32nd thick and that was way too thin. The wooden 'knob' looks good and doesn't appear to be overly intrusive neither IMO. I think I'm going to go with two of these. I just happen to have another cheek off cut for #2.

hmm......

Thinking out loud - maybe I should use the first set of moldings to cock bead the drawers?

almost

I could probably get the two of them in the gap with a little gentle persuasion from a mallet. The gap has to be wide enough for the molding plus a wee bit of wiggle room for the hinges and the door to swing open/close.

consistent gap

The gap is the thickness of the two moldings plus a 32nd - ish. I'm going to have to be extra anal hinging this door because I don't want to have to plane the moldings. That would destroy the bead on the moldings.

looks ok

 I don't think the beaded molding detracts anything from the door or the cabinet overall. But I do think I need to do something on the top of the cabinet. Some kind of a crest rail or a molding over hanging the front and sides? Plenty of time to sort that and decide on later.

accidental woodworker

In my never ending quest for the perfect egg beater drill bit, a fairly common suggestion was the double fluted bits commonly used in push drills. These are fairly rare in my part of the world, or at least I hardly ever see them pop up. A few weeks after my last run at trying a few different bits, Tom Dickey sent me a little surprise package.

I’ve never had to fly to teach a woodworking class before. Usually I load up my car with all the tools. Hope everyone is impressed with my fancy toolbox for Woodworking in America.

Started making the door and immediately proceeded with making a boatload of gaffes. I find doing bridle joinery with a groove a recipe for making me want to sit in a corner and talk to myself. Confusion and an inability to think ahead and picture what I was holding in my hands in the brain bucket crippled me. I waddled like a duck running for water for most of the day before I finally said No Mas and killed the lights.

on a better note

Got the second drawer fitted and it came out as good as the first one. At least one thing went right for me today. I'm rethinking the 'knob' I was doing to make for these two. I'm not sure that it will fit with the overall look of this cabinet. I'll look on line for some oil rubbed bronze knobs. 

door stock

Two stiles and one rail (2" wide) and one bottom rail (2 1/2" wide).

one step at a time

Laid out the door and labeled it. I had thought about this continually last night and I think I got it figured out. I searched for but couldn't find my model bridal joint anywhere. 

hmm.....

Didn't realize it here but I had already made a big mistake. Not only should I have been thinking about the tenon on the rails but its relationship with the stiles and the size of the mortise for the tenon.

ha ha it's a test piece

I had to adjust the saw over - I was removing wood on the wrong side. I was relieved that I was making test cuts with the off cuts before I committed to the real thing.

I'm consistent but still out in left field

The tenon is right but the mortise on the stiles is 3/8" too deep. The 3/8" extra is the depth of the groove and I again missed subtracting that from the mortise depth. All four corners were off by 3/8".

I got it right

Used off cuts to make a mortise and the tenon to fit in it. The mortise depth is not the width of the stile but the depth from the bottom of the rail to the bottom of the groove.

this one is toast

I thought of using the tenon cheek off cuts to fill in the missing 3/8" but nixed it. This is going to get a shellac finish and a fix like that will be visible.

the light bulb is getting brighter

It turned out that I had only made one saw cut in the 'real' door. All the other gaffes so far had been with off cuts. The depth of the bottom rail mortises is the width of the tenon and the same applies to the top rail tenon.

had to do a time out

I thought I had finally gotten a handle on this and I wandered out into La La Land again. Thankfully I didn't saw anything, I was just trying to sort out tenon lengths and widths and how to get them. It doesn't take much to throw a monkey wrench in my brain visualization gears.

got it right

First one done and the first one is correct. The tenon was a bit snug and I had to file the mortise before I got it to seat fully. I did all my trimming on the mortises because the tenon is thinner than the mortise walls.

stepped mortise seat

I was still on the right track but this mortise and mating tenon were off slightly about an 1/8".

what a boo boo

I was happy that I was on the right track and things were falling into place for me. I had done two corners and had a test good one and a 'real' one. So what did I do when I did the second one? I tried to cut a tenon in a stile that already had a mortise. Sigh. I set this one down and correctly sawed the remaining ones. The plan at this time was to glue in an off cut cheek and re saw the mortise.

door #2

Door number one was laid to rest. I'll try and make a 8x10 or a 5x7 picture frame out of it. I still had enough straight grained pine to make another door.

reference edge and face

I planed the edge straight and square and that will be on the inside. The outside edge I left rough sawn because I will be planing that when I fit the door to the opening.

ready for the second round

I thought of making the groove after I had done the bridle joints but nixed that idea real quick. I thought I would be able to avoid having to make mortise depths match tenons but I was wrong. Making the groove after the bridal joints would remove and 'haunch' the tenons. Same problems and headaches but later on in the process.

another thing done right

I'm taking my brownie points where I can. Got a nice fit with the plywood and the groove - self supporting in all four of them.

double, triple checking myself

It would appear that I got it right on this go around. I did one joint at a time checking each one before doing the next one. I was a wee bit anxious but I think I did alright.

tenon shoulders

I cut the tenon shoulders short and then I cut them too long. Here I'm cutting them long. I confused myself mixing up the depth and length. Instead of making the tenon longer I should have made the mortise deeper.

I can fix this one

This is the me-steak stile that I started to saw a tenon on an existing mortise. Caught it before I flipped it and sawed the opposite cheek.

why not?

Door #3 option. Miter the four corners but add a twist to it. The stiles and and top rail are 2" wide and the bottom rail is 2 1/2" wide. This miter is not a 45 and I did this by hand. The front face looks decent and I wouldn't hesitate to glue this up as is. However, the back face is open. I didn't saw plumb so gluing the miter is useless. However, I did get two different width pieces mitered and lined up on the edges.

closer look

I laid one piece onto the other and marked it. I then penciled a diagonal from the bottom to the top. Laid the stile on the rail and the rail on the stile. I don't know the angles but both were less than 45.

top rail

This one gets 45's along with the top of the stiles. Off the saw and this face is good enough to glue. However, the opposite face suffered from me not sawing plumb. Much better than the non 45 miter but not good enough to glue.

dead nuts

The top 45s all came out dead nuts. I rough sawed them first and sweetened them up on the shooting board.

top rail fitted

I'm starting with the 45s and moving on to the non 45 miters last.

not too shabby

The top miters are crisp and tight and the bottom ones aren't as nice but I would go with them. The bottom ones are off the saw and my plumb cuts were about 95% tight.

came up short

I shot the bottom miters on the shooting board. I adjusted it with a bevel gauge for both of them. I allowed an 1/8" on the length of the bottom rail for fitting but it wasn't enough. The two top corners are dead on 90 but the two on the bottom aren't square - both were off a couple of degrees.

I'm not sure where I am going next with this. I had the piece glued in the stile mortise and I'll saw it again tomorrow. The second frame is going to be about a 1/4" less the door opening T/B and R/L. I have an idea for 'fixing' that and I'll eyeball that tomorrow. If I don't like that I'll be making door #4. Whats behind one of them has to be what I'm looking for.

accidental woodworker

Autumn is usually pretty busy at Shangri-la and this year is no exception.  Mrs. Barn is cleaning out her gardens, canning and dehydrating up a storm, we are doing lots of end-of-summer yard work including bush hogging a large section of hillside, and getting the firewood situation in-hand.

I’ve been spending much of the last fortnight splitting and stacking all the tons of wood my brother and I harvested a month ago.  I got all that done (about 80% of what we’ll need for winter 2025/2026) and will go hunting and gathering more fallen trees in the forest to be turned into BTUs.  I’ve already identified about three winters’ worth of trees that are literally a windfall.  Now all I have to do is clear a path for my little 4WD pickup with the knobby tires to get to them.

One of the great helps in all of this is having a very large staging area to do all the collecting, splitting, and stacking.  Many years ago I had a large parking area constructed next to the barn in anticipation of workshops and student parking.  Since that endeavor has drawn to a close, it is free and available for me and my firewood operation.

I met my goal today of getting the two drawers glued and cooking. I got it one step further with getting one drawer fitted. The second drawer might get done and that is dependent upon giving it a couple of hours to cook and then playing with it after dinner. Updates and pics on this bat channel tomorrow.

glued and cooking

This drawer is almost dead square at 6" x 6 1/8". I am not a fan of square-ish things and especially so with drawers. I could go along with the squareness if it wasn't also almost 6" high. The height looks off to my eye. On the cherry cabinet I will shrink the drawer height down to 4 1/2" to 4 3/4". I might also stretch out the front to back too. The height thing is a definite maybe.

slips and bottom fitted

I gave the drawer 30 minutes to cook and then I glued the slips and bottom in. I had a snug fit with the bottom and I didn't need clamps for the slips.

second drawer dry fitted

No me-steaks with the 2nd drawer and I got it dry fitted 10 minutes before the lunch bell rang. I'll glue this up after I fill the pie hole.

wash, rinse, and repeat

Got the slips and bottom dry fitted on the 2nd drawer. This needed help with clamps because the bottom was a loose fit. It wasn't exerting any pressure on the side slips.

I like gadgets

I got an email from Blue Spruce stating these 3" and 6" triangular scrapers were on sale. Since I didn't have any triangular scrapers I had to buy these. They are not thin like its smaller rectangular cousins. These two are as thick as the blades in the Stanley #80. They have special instructions for burnishing them that I will have to download. As is they came sharp and made a boatload of wickedly nice fluffy savings. 

first drawer

I had to trim the bottom flush with the back of the drawer. After that I started planing it to fit the opening.

hmm....

Oh so close but no cigar yet. I thought I would only have to plane the sides to get it to fit but the height needed to be shaved too.

opening and closing smoothly

The margin is about the width of a piece of paper. Summer is gone so I will have to shave the sides a bit more and double what I take off there on the height. That is where the expansion/contraction will happen.

better

The gap on the height is about the same as two sheets of paper. The side gaps aren't consistent neither against each other or individually. I am thinking of making my own 'knobs' for these two drawers. I am already north of $70 just for the snap catch and hinges. Buying bin pulls or knobs could put it over $100. I have a couple of ideas and I'll try them on a model before I commit to the drawer.

Willa memorial pic frame

Finally done. I went to get it yesterday and Maria had made a me-steak and said it would be ready today. The 3 pics across the top are my favorite ones of Willa. The #1 favorite is the largest one in the middle.

This frame is larger than the space where I wanted to hang it. After thinking about my wife came up with a plan. My Navy patch frame is going into the back hallway and the Willa is going where it used to hang. I'll have to figure out a way to get a ladder in place to hang the patch frame before the swap takes place.

accidental woodworker

Case sides of the Kitchen Cupboard on the bench

I am delighted to report that finally the video and packaging files have been sent to the reproduction/fulfillment company and I am now looking forward to receiving a box of product ready to send to those two dozen of you awaiting them.  It’s been a long and winding road punctuated with corrupted files and dying compewders, but finally we are back on track.

I cannot announce this without once again making note of the fact that the publishers of Popular Woodworking and the F&W Media folks with whom I created this video (and others) have released the video intellectual property to me without compensation so that I can get this out to anyone interested.  Well done.

 Slowly working through the prototype. I have already come up with a laundry list of things to change with the cherry one. All the changes so far are carved in stone so to speak. I can't undo them so I'll have to live with them at least for the prototype. But that was the purpose of doing this first - to work out the design and any kinks or hiccups. Going out on the 'walk the plank' and saying I'll be do with it by next weekend.

need a hint

Can you see the two dutchmen I did on the tails? The right side of the first tail from the left is the first one. The second on is on the left side of the 3rd tail from the left. I could have done better job of matching the color on both of these. But they are small and unobtrusive. They were hard to pick out initially especially the on the 3rd tail.

big run of glue

This is the drawer opening and it has to go.

done

Sawed and chiseled the top of the drawer divider flush with the shelf. This won't be visible because the door frame will hide it until it is opened. 

another color me-steak

I didn't notice how white the divider was until after I had taken off the clamps. I have some gossamer shellac that will knock down its brightness a bit. Used the #3 to flush it to the front.

drawer fronts next

I looked around eyeballing the pine I had and nothing came close to the color of the divider. The drawer fronts will match in color and grain.

drats, and double drats

I was eyeballing the cupboard one last time so I could ooh and aah. That got put on hold while I painted this holiday. That light streak about at the mid point just before the chamfered edge needed to be covered.

temporary delay

I decided to ooh and aah while that paint dried. I'm calling this done and I'll bring my wife to shop so she can have a gander at it. 

everything open glamour shot

I was feeling wishy washy about painting the middle compartment shelf (again). I like the painted look but I also like the natural look of the shelves behind the doors.

last glamour shot

I only put one coat of paint on the back. I got decent coverage with it and there are a couple of scruff marks from it being on the sawhorses to glue the tiles on but I'm leaving it as is. No light on this one and I don't think I'll put another one in if I make a 3rd one.

I had to try it

I watched a You Tube short last night that involved these goodies. He super glued two washers together and used super glue and baking soda (or maybe powder). He then whacked the washers with a hammer and the bond held.

didn't work for me

I'm not 100% sure if he used super glue but the bottle and how liquid it was led me to believe it was. I glued the washers together (offset) and nada. The bond was nonexistent. I tried it 3 more times all with the same result. The last one I swapped out this liquidity glue for a gel super glue but I got the same results with it.

I tried to find that short again and came up dry. I am going to try this one more time with baking powder. I know he said baking '........' and there are only two types of that - soda or powder.

messy work

Normally I would enclose the entire back but here it is just the upper part. I did that because the scrap of 1/4" plywood was too small for the whole back.

it looks good

The back almost could be mistaken for being pine.

prepping the drawer stock

I had enough scraps of pine to get all the parts needed for the two drawers.

1/8" difference

The backs and sides are a 1/2" thick and the fronts are 5/8".

one extra

Using slips for drawers. 

tails done

Sawed the tails for both drawers. Next up was chopping the pins for the first drawer.

yikes

Houston, something has gone awry. Hint - this is the back of the drawer.

confirmed

The large pin on the left should be on the right. I flipped this somehow and knifed it wrong.

two times was the charm

I went scrounging around for some pine scraps to make a new back and there was none to be had. Then I remembered I had bought some 1/2" pine for drawer stock last week from Koszela lumber.

first half blind fitted

I avoided doing half blinds because I thought they were too difficult but I have since changed my mind. With practice I'm finding them to be as easy to do as through dovetails.

came this close

In the AM session I thought I would get both drawers glued up today. Just before lunch I changed that to a more realistic one drawer glued up. 4 minutes before 1500 and I have a one dry fitted drawer. Tomorrow I should be able to get both of them glued up. 

After the drawers are done I'll make the door. On the last two cupboards I had problems with the size of the doors. The prototype cabinet door opening is square and I will make the door a 1/8" larger than the opening in both directions. I will plane it to fit the opening.

accidental woodworker

For the lid I am using a piece of butternut. I held it up to the box to mark the needed width. After planing to width, I made rabbets so it would fit into the box’s groove. Rabbets were made with a shoulder plane and a batten.

I saved the offcut from the front end of the box. Sliding this around I could confirm that the edge of the lid would fit into the groove.

For the carving I am using a project from Twenty Decorative Carving Projects in Period Styles by Steve Bisco. I taped the printout to the wood and traced the lines with a ballpoint pen. The butternut is soft enough that the pen leaves impressions, which I penciled in to see better.

To begin carving I traced around the edges with a v-tool, staying outside the lines. This makes trenches for wasting away the background. The background is removed with gouges going across the grain, leaving ripples. This will later be cleaned up with cuts going along the grain.

Once the background is lowered, I cut on the pencil lines. These cuts are almost straight up and down. I try to use gouges with the same curve as the pencil line. This removes the last margins of wood that the v-tool did not.

Next is the shaping or modeling of the devices. In this project some of the leaves/stems go over and under each other. Also there are some convex and concave parts to the leaves and flower. I try to touch every part with a gouge so nothing you see is from the original flat board surface.

This carving was mildly frustrating. There were some tight spaces where my tools didn’t fit or I couldn’t make clean cuts.

It’s not easy to sand something like this. I used a skewer around the edges and tight spaces to remove fuzzies, and rubbed the whole thing with a brown paper bag.

For finishing I used garnet shellac on the butternut and blonde shellac on the sycamore. I usually use a t-shirt rag to apply shellac. That wasn’t working for the carving, so I used a cheap paintbrush. The outsides got four coats and the insides got two.

For the bottom of the box I cut thin paperboard (a frozen pizza box) a little undersized and some black felt a little oversized. The picture shows cardboard, which I swapped out for something thinner. I glued the felt to the paperboard with school glue and weighted it down. Later I trimmed the felt so about 1/8″ extended past the edges. Then I glued the paperboard to the bottom of the box with liquid hide glue.

So that’s my first sliding lid box.

I struck out on getting the tiles to match. I did find some 6x8 tiles but the long dimensions were in the opposite direction I needed. The frame opening on the 2nd cupboard top door is 8" high and 6" wide. It doesn't matter with the current cabinet because it only needs one tile. Most of the tiles I saw on ETSY were square with a range from 4 1/4" to 8" square. After that they became rectangular with sizes exceeding 24" with a corresponding increase in price.

yesterday

I checked the irons after about 3 hours in the solution. The dark ares on the irons were covered with a bright orange rust. There were a couple of darker spots on the tangs so I put them back in to soak over night.

the next day

The black spots are where the rust was and it is now gone.

just some pitting left

I rubbed the irons with steel wool and it easily removed the black spots. The tangs came clean too. These came as clean as any metal I have derusted with EvapoRust. This stuff has the added benefit that it didn't turn all black like metal that has been in EvapoRust for 24 hours or longer. It doesn't come off as easily on EvapoRust as it does on this citric acid solution. I'll definitely use this over EvapoRust. It is a lot cheaper and all three ingredients are readily available and dirt cheap.

done

Rinsed, wiped dry, and a coat of oil applied. No guarantees but hopefully I will finish rehabbing the rabbet planes without waiting another year.

getting there

I eyeballed the cupboard for paint holidays and I didn't find any. The drawer is opening and closing smoothly. It is still sticking a wee bit when opening but it is 99% easier than before I put Feed-n-Wax on it. 

two problems

I had to plane/chisel a small chamfer on the bottom of the base. The 2nd one is I had to paint it - two coats. I got one on in the AM and the second one in the PM session.

one more step

After the base is painted all that needs to be ticked off is gluing the tiles on. I won't be oohing and aahing about it today though but a definite maybe for tomorrow.

this will work

I thinned it down to 5/8" thick. I didn't like the bulky look of it being 3/4" thick and 1/2" looked too thin. I can get the vertical drawer divider and the bottom drawer guide out of this one piece of scrap.

measuring sucks

Finding the center with a rule is not the problem. Cutting 5/8" in half and then measuring 5/16" R/L of the center mark doesn't always work for me. Dividers can account for the 5/8 width of the drawer divider without human eyeball errors. First step is to mark the width on the right and left bottom corners. Step two - step off from the internal bottom corner going to the right and end on the 5/8 line. Repeat the same going from the right to the left. You have the 5/8" width of the drawer runner dead nuts centered.

through dado

This was easy to do and the paring chisel is long enough to span the distance from one end to the other.

good fit

It is + one atom of being too tight. It is snug and I was able to pick the cabinet up with it fully seated in the dado.

they read the same

R/L it is 5 15/16" from either side to the drawer divider.

vertical divider layout

Transferred the dado from the bottom to the shelf. The bottom of it will be in the dado and the top will be captured in a notch. I thought of doing a stopped dado but I couldn't think of a way to set the vertical divider in place (had to do it from the back). If I could have it would have matched the look of the shelf at the front.

After the deed had been done I thought of a dovetailed divider. I could have done a half lapped dovetail at the top and bottom of the divider. Something to think of with the cherry cabinet to come. Glued and clamped the divider and drawer guide in place and set it aside to cook.

dutchmen for the tail chip outs

I tried the chisel getting a couple of dutchman but they came out with the piece feathered with cracks. I got the triangular shape I wanted but it wasn't solid - it was fractured and multi-layered. I had to saw them off to avoid that.

only need one

There isn't any need to have a drawer guide on the top. The bottom of the shelf will keep the drawer from tipping up and the bottom guide will do the job of keeping the drawer moving in/out in a straight line.

I got lucky

I had to cut the tube off about 3/4" to get rid of the dried up glue. Glad because this stuff is $10 each. 

glued and cooking

I was surprised at how quickly this stuff grabs and sets up. 30 minutes after I glued the tiles on I couldn't budge in any direction. Tomorrow is looking promising for some oohs and aahs.

accidental woodworker

Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12692353908068506678noreply@blogger.com0

 I've had my new TV for about a week and I'm in love with it. No headaches or talking back to me  - nada - turn it on and I can channel surf immediately. I'm happy with all this but I do have one quibble. This is a 720P TV and its predecessor was 1080P. That is the only thing I miss about that one. For little time I actually watch this I'm sure I'll get used to it.

pit stop

This is the chisel I intended to use to chop the dadoes but it needed to be touched up. After a couple of runs up/down the runway I have a thin ribbon on the toe that was a ROYAL PITA to remove.

nice find

I found these when I was looking for my 220 grit water stone. I had bought this box from Highlands a few years back but they don't sell them anymore. I can't find anyone that sells a 1000 count box of screws. I only had 5 of these left in my bin.

finally done

It took me seemingly forever to get the toe of the bevel to come to zero with the back of the chisel. The 80 grit sandpaper didn't work fast getting the bevel and I switched over to my 220 grit Norton water stone. I got it done in 5 minutes on that stone. Got it shiny and sharp and ready to chop dadoes.
 

the problem corner

This corner had the tails that wouldn't seat fully. The dovetail side looks good with no gaps. The intention is to leave it natural with a shellac finish so I need the pins/tails too look good.

the pin side

The far right tail has a teeny gap but it really doesn't matter. This will be facing up as it is the top right side of the cabinet. It won't be seen once it is hung on a wall.

hmm......

I didn't think this one all the way through. When I checked this before glue up I just put the chisel in vertically and saw I had enough room to hit it with a mallet. I'll be having some fun for sure chopping these two dadoes.

the plan of attack

Chop down vertically with the butt chisel and then come in from end with the paring chisel and get it as close to depth as I could. Then finish with the router and get it to depth.

first one done

This wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been. The only awkward bit was chopping the end wall at the front of the dado.

finishing #2

The long length of the paring chisel was an asset on these dadoes. I knifed the walls with my marking knife as I worked the chisel removing the waste.

a little tight

I was jammed up a wee bit on the right but not so bad that it effected getting it to depth. I just had to take my time and use shorter strokes.

fitted

The initial fit was too tight and I had to plane the underside of the shelf to get it to fit.

one or two

Whether I do one or two drawers, they will be shallow. The front to back is around 6" so minus the drawer front/back it will probably end up around 5". Not thrilled with one drawer due to the R/L length and I'm still thinking on doing two asymmetrical drawers. Which ever way the wind blows me this will be the drawer front(s).

visible spots

Lost a couple of chips from two tails that I just noticed. I will dutch in a couple of shims tomorrow.

hanging rail

Thinking ahead to whoever is going to hang this cabinet on a wall (it could be me). This should be more than adequate for that purpose.

some cupboard work

I think I am caught up on the touch up painting. I planed the door yesterday (the top 2-3" on the edge) and it was the only spot I had concerns about. The second coat covered well and it should be all I need to do.

sweet spot

Door opens and closes and the margin is consistent top to bottom. I just noticed that I forgot paint a second coat on the errant hole above the snap catch.

fell like a mad scientist

There isn't much to this rust removal solution. I got the citric acid powder from Amazon and I mixed up a batch.

wow

I put the citric acid in the water and stirred it up. Then I put in the baking soda and poof it foamed and spit like crazy. After it had calmed down I poured it into the container with the plane irons.

two rabbet plane irons

The rabbet planes from these two irons have been on the sharpening bench for well over a year. Time to pony up and get them done. I'll check on these in a few hours and if they aren't done I'll let them go until the AM. Pics and updates on the early morning news.

accidental woodworker

I saw these two large (unusual sized) auger bits at a tool show last year and ever since then I've kicked myself for not buying them.  Well, there was another tool show recently and I found them again, but remembered why I didn't pick them up last year - the larger one had had its square tapered shank cut off, presumably for use in a drill press.  Sacrilege!!!!

1 1/8" and 1 1/4" diameter Craftsman bits

I tried using it with my largest brace, a 12" Fray, but the two-jaw chuck could not tighten sufficiently to keep it from slipping as I tried to bore a hole.

One of the guys at the show offered to help me fix it - he's a metal worker and would probable be able to weld on a donor shank.  But he lives a little far from me, so I thought about it and decided to try something myself.  I don't know if this will stand the test of time, but for now it is working.

I first traced the shank from the 1 1/8" bit onto a piece of metal, then cut it out and bent it into approximate shape

Here's the too-large shank next to the two bits

After cutting and filing it down a little, a test fit on the round shank. I had filed a bit of a square taper on the round shank for a better fit.

I had a piece of 7/64 wire, so drilled that size hole to pin the new shank in place

Here, you can see the pin if you look carefully. I had epoxied the pin in place, then peened the ends and filed them down.

And a test cut worked perfectly.

I'm really happy about this.  I hope it works permanently, but only time will tell.  If I bore holes in tougher wood, the stresses might crumble the JB Weld.  But it's good for now.  Being able to save an old tool (maybe this one is not too old) and put it back to work  is so damned satisfying!