General Woodworking

 I'm over the hump with the frames that morphed from 2 to 3. Got all the woodworking done on the last two today. All that is left to do with them is to apply shellac. I will easily get the two out to the Frame it Shop on wednesday. A lot of days between now and then with no new project tickling my fancy yet.

ta da

The new Declaration frame has cooked and it is laying flat on the tablesaw.

hmm.......

Three of the corners had no rocking but this last one has a teeny bit. It isn't much but I don't understand how 3 aren't rocking but this one is. Regardless I'm happy with how this came out.

wife's certificate frame

I got lucky and the outside routed profile didn't play peek-a-boo with  any of the dowel pins. Routed a small chamfer on the inside edge. 

back done

I didn't miter the back frame - used butt joints. The short sides hide the end grain ends on the long sides. The end grain from the short sides faces up and down and won't be visible if viewed from the sides.

final prep

Set the nails and filled them with putty. Used alcohol to remove the layout pencil lines. One more frame to prep and the shellac party commences.

hmm......

Not getting a big warm and fuzzy with the profile. I like the chamfer as they helps to draw the eye into the frame. This profile doesn't match the profile of the first certificate frame I made in june of 2023. It is close and this frame is about the same size as that one. (about a 3/8" longer in the long direction)

came today

I got this set mostly because of the centering punch on the far left. Pretty impressive set for $20. Not sure if I'll keep it in this plastic case or make a stand for it.

I got one coat on the two frames and a 4th coat on the first Declaration frame that is now repurposed for a family pic layout. The plan is to get at least one more coat on the frames after dinner.

I've been sleeping better lately. It is about the same now as it was before surgery. Still getting up for at least one toilet trot race but I able to fall back asleep afterwards. My middle night You Tube surfing has disappeared too. Feeling much better when I finally decide to roll out of the rack.

accidental woodworker

Continuing on from the last post… with the old doma gone I could proceed with structural work for the kitchen. But before diving into that lets take a step back and look at some photos from when we first moved into this house, now nearly two years ago. The house when it was first built… Read More »Kitchen Remodel – 1

The post Kitchen Remodel – 1 appeared first on Big Sand Woodworking.

after dinner last night

I went back to the shop and got the 3rd and final coat of shellac on the back. That dried quickly so I got one coat on the front. Went looking for the pics I plan to put in this frame and nada. Couldn't find them and my wife said she didn't know where I had hidden them neither. 

3rd (and final?) Declaration frame

Sawed the short leg miters on the right and the long legs on the left. Probably don't have to do it this way but so far it is working.

done

I think I have figured out the how of the inside and outside lengths. The 3rd frame is spot on with how I want to display the Declaration in the frame. The blue tape denotes the up face of the frame.

hmm.......

The Declaration has irregular edges all the way around. If I mat this they will be hidden and I will lose a part of the look of this reproduction. Instead I will ask Maria to mount it so that the edges will remain visible. I sized the inside of the frame (correctly) so that it is about a 1/2" wider R/L and T/B. There will be a small margin visible on all the edges.

had an oops

The frame, miter wise, went together good. However, this miter was misaligned on the faces by a strong 16th. That is too much to plane and feather out. Filled in the first dowel holes and I'll redrill them after these have cooked.

hmm........

Found the culprit causing the misalignment. While drilling the new dowel pin holes, I saw the jig move backwards a frog hair. The thumb screw was loose and it hadn't occurred to me to check it. Tightened it down with help from the allen wrench. I'll be adding checking that this remains tight in future uses of this jig.

sigh

Found two more corners that were misaligned, not as much as the first one, but more then 3-4 frog hairs. I glued dowels in the holes and redrilled them after waiting 30 minutes for them to cook.

done

All four corners closed up nicely on the dry fit. None of the faces of the miters are off flush more then a frog hair. Worth the calories and rework to get this done right.

clamped and cooking

Clamped it and took it out and laid it flat on the tablesaw. No rocking, Clamped it back up and set it aside to cook until the AM.

3 coats

I am really liking how this frame is popping with the shellac. I think this may turn into a Xmas present this year.

certificate frame

I hate to say it, boys and girls, but I might have to make another frame. The blue tape says this is the up face but I am not sure of that. The dowels I drilled I had offset them so that they were a wee bit below center. I did that to leave more meat above them for the router bit profile to come.

which option

The first option is to just rout a small chamfer on the inside and outside of the frame. Regardless of where the dowels are, I am fairly certain that I could rout the chamfer without any headaches.

The second option is to rout a 3/8x1/4 rabbet. Again I don't think the dowels will interfere with that. Even if they do it will be on the back side and not seen.

The final option is to rout the profiles on the outside and inside edges and use these thin strips to make a back frame. Of the 3 options I'm thinking of, I'm going with #3. I will rout the the outside profile first. Fingers crossed that the dowels don't get exposed. The inside edge will get a small chamfer that I'm not concerned about.

I'm now a month post op. I still have some fluid build up over my left side. I get winded more then I like but that is getting better each day. My stamina is improving a wee bit each day. I still can't lift anything heavier then a gallon of milk. If I do I feel a tugging in my left lung which tells me to put it down, whatever it is.  My heart seems to have settled out - still higher then what it was pre surgery but it is cycling and fluctuating like crazy. Still don't know what the long term holds for me. Like AA, I'll take it one day at a time.

accidental woodworker

Want to learn how to cut a groove on a board with antique plow planes? Affiliate Disclosure: When you purchase through certain links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission, at no cost to you. Learn more.

 One step forward and then slam into reverse and go backwards at 80mph. Ran face first into a a huge boo boo, me-steak, brain fart extraordinary loud and stinky. Survivable and recoverable but it certainly let the wind out of my sails. It is upcoming.

certificate frame

Flushing the corners with my #3. Cherry is such a sweet wood to plane until you run into squirrely, reversing grain. 

happy face on

No rocking from any corner. I expected it to be so but confirmation left me with a good feeling.

Declaration frame

Routed a shouldered round over on the outside edge and a small chamfer on the inside edge. Penciled the corners square and chiseled the round square.

sigh (the boo boo etc etc)

This didn't make me go postal or want to give the frame free flying lessons. I got the offset correct on the R/L but not on the top/bottom. I didn't add 3" to the inside measurement, I put it on the outside. That made it almost exactly the same as the T/B measurement of the Declaration. 

It sucked pond scum to be this close to the end and come up $1.27 short. I'm sure that Maria could have made a mat for it but it would have been off on the on the R/L. There was no way to make it even that I could think of.

hmm......

This might have worked. I could remove the back upright and the frame would fit flat on the jig. Nixed doing it and decided to suck it up and make a 3rd Declaration frame. I have a use for this frame already. I'll use to make a family picture frame - the grandkids and their parents.

first coat of shellac

I planed a small chamfer on the outside edge of the back frame. Set the nails and filled them and the gaps in the miters with mahogany putty.

finally dawned on me

Most of my headaches and problems with miters are with the miters themselves. Looks like I have to add determining the inside and outside lengths too. This measurement told what I had missed on figuring out my lengths.

hmm.......

Broken vix bit that I found replacements for on Lee Valley. They had replacement drill bits in more sizes then I have vix bits.

5/64"

This is the size of the bit in my #3 vix bit. I searched on line for my 'vix bits' and nada. I found a bazillion different vix bit sets and individual bits. However, none of them looked even remotely close to what I have. Given that these are over 40 years old I found a 10 piece set on Amazon for $20 that I am waiting to pull the trigger on. I'll add the 5/64" drill bit on my next Lee Valley order - S/H is more the cost of just the drill bit.

yikes

This can leaks, it is a slow leak that left a big puddle of shellac on the cupboard shelf. So far the paper towel has worked at keeping it contained. Got the 2nd coat on the frame and I'll get the 3rd one on after dinner.

hmm......

The outside edges of this cherry board has straight grain. I can get a long and short side out of both sides and still have a good length off cut.

3rd frame parts

All four of these laid flat without rocking on the tablesaw. I will let them sticker here over night and in the AM I'll make the frame.

off cuts

If need be I can get two long or two short frame parts from this.

I spent a couple of hours in the AM session in the shop but not in the PM session. After lunch I just vegged out at my desk. I had absolutely zero desire to do nothing except suck in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. I did that well until I dragged my butt down to the shop at 1400 and sawed out the 3rd frame. 

The Frame it Shop is closed until the 15th so there is no rush to get this or the certificate frame done. I'm thinking now of routing a 3/8x1/4 rabbet in the certificate frame as that is what I did on the other certificate frame. I'll have to wait and see which way the wind blows me in the AM.

accidental woodworker 

shaker knobs

I got these quick. The top bag on the left has the largest knobs and they are ones that I don't use often. The top right bag has the size I use the most and they are cherry. I didn't realize that until I checked on the delivery and saw they were cherry. The bottom bag has small knobs with 1/4" tenons. After I eyeballed it, I think they are something I probably won't use much of. 

I will check the site off and on to replace the cherry ones. I prefer maple or birch over cherry.

certificate frame

Laid out the position of the dowels and drilled them.

dry fit

No rocking which put a happy face on me. All the miters looked good dry fitted. 

glued and cooking

I did two dry clamps runs first before I glued it up. One corner froze on me and there were a few anxious moments before the clamps pulled it tight. There was a slight misalignment on two miters but they will flush up easily. I anticipate zero problems with them.

Declaration frame

Got the back frame on the Declaration frame. I like this method because the framed object is set back from the front of the frame. It draws your eye into the frame to look at what is framed. I'll wash, rinse, and repeat this with the certificate frame in the AM.

Spent another day making multiple trips to the shop not spending more than 20 minutes a session. Yesterday was tough because I spent most of the afternoon having coughing fits that drained me of my strength. No fits today so far and I have my fingers and toes crossed.

It is looking like this is going to be my shop schedule for the foreseeable future. The coughing fits yesterday blew up the fluid to close the size it was when I left the hospital. I am also getting winded quick. Going up the stairs is not easy and once I'm up in the living room I have to sit and catch my breath and recover. 

accidental woodworker

Back in February I got this small incannel gouge at a tool show.  I cleaned it up and sharpened it at the time, but I didn't really put it through its paces until recently.  When I  sharpened it, I knew something wasn't right.  I just couldn't seem to get a good consistent edge.  It sat on a shelf until this week waiting for me to look more deeply into it.

New Haven Edge Tool Co.

The curve of the gouge is part of a 9/16" diameter circle (9/32" radius).  The cutting edge measures 7/16" corner to corner.  The handle is clearly a user-made job, and it had come loose while I was working on it, so I made a new one.

When I tried sharpening the gouge, something wasn't right.  The wire edge that forms would get too large and end up flaking off more metal than it should have.  One time, when I finally got a good edge, I tried to cut some wood and the edge just crumbled.

Result of using the gouge lightly.  Can you see the chip in the edge?

I figured the tool had lost its temper somewhere along the line.  So I annealed it by heating to cherry red and plunging into a bag of vermiculite to allow the heat to dissipate slowly.

My heat-treating set-up: two torches pointing at a steel can. The gouge is stuck in the vermiculite at left.

After it had cooled, I hardened and tempered the gouge.  This was the first time I tried to temper a tool by watching the color advance towards the cutting edge.  When the edge got to a straw color, I plunged it into oil to stop the tempering.

You can see the colors here on the convex side of the gouge

After cleaning up the blackened and discolored steel, I gave it a good sharpening.  But I got an equally crumbly edge!  I'm aware that when heat-treating an edge tool that has a sharp edge, the thin cutting edge can get overly brittle.  So I ground back a couple of millimeters and re-sharpened it.  This time I finally got a good cutting edge without crumbling.  I tested it on some end grain walnut and finally didn't ruin the edge after just a single or even multiple cuts.

Testing on end grain walnut

When I was satisfied that the steel was in good enough condition to warrant a new handle, I got a chunk of cherry, sketched a pattern on some cardboard and got out the bungee lathe.  The shape didn't come out exactly how I had planned, but it'll be fine.

Showing the new handle and the lathe set-up

This was my first time re-handling a tanged tool.  To fit the tang into the cherry handle, I drilled successively bigger holes at successively shallower depths.  I had to adjust the hole a bit to get the gouge to align better with the handle.  I used the brass ferrule from the original handle, which had a 5/8" outer diameter and just shy of 9/16" inner diameter.  It was very satisfying when I tapped the handle home up to the bolster.

New handle next to the original

I gave the handle a single coat of BLO, which really brought out the color of the cherry.  Another tool in the arsenal.

Completed

I was pleasantly surprised that the Museum of Modern Art was open on July 4th, when it was a million degrees in my apartment and most other activities were closed for the holiday. I figured the museum would at least have good air conditioning. Evidently I was not the only one with this idea. The place was fairly crowded, with art lovers and natives and World Cup tourists alike.

One of the high points of the visit was seeing furniture made by Frederick Kiesler (18901965) an architect who immigrated to the US from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 1920s. Although Kiesler didn't have much of an impact commercially in furniture design, he did design some important buildings and some landmark furniture.

The Kiesler work shown here are the original Surrealist-inspired "Multi-Use Chairs" that Kiesler designed in 1942 for Peggy Guggenheim's "Art of This Century" gallery in New York. The chairs are made of linoleum clad oak. The original materials bill was $9 each. Depending on how you flipped or stacked the chairs, each unit could also serve as a rocker, table, bench, sculpture pedestal, easel, or painting support. Kiesler claimed 18 distinct uses (which might be hyperbole, as the show included no official list). The idea is that depending on the gallery and the usage, you could reconfigure the same furniture for different uses.

How practical or comfortable these pieces are I have no idea - the museum did not welcome visitors to take a load off their feet. I don't know if the materials used - Oak and Linoleum - were chosen because of ideological commitment to the Bauhaus movement's veneration of common materials, or if Kiesler was being practical and frugal and therefore took some solid oak flooring (that looks like it was repurposed from something else) and some linoleum was just handy, fit the budget, and got his point about form and function across. Nine bucks for materials even in 1942 was not a lot of money. These days I would think the end caps would be fancy plywood, with fancy bent veneer instead of linoleum for the sides. And at a hundred times the cost.

The pieces are too modern for Ikea. (The market for really ground breaking shapes and forms is pretty small.) And they are certainly not what Ikea specializes in (cheaply made versions of Scandinavian / Mid-century modern) but I could easily imagine something like these pieces in a modern apartment. They'd offer a comfortable conversation piece, if nothing else. Unfortunately I couldn't find any drawings of how this thing is put together. AI bot Claude said that a 1942 original in the Brooklyn Museum (not at MoMA) measures 29 1/8" 30 1/2" 15 5/8".

What's important is that 84 years after their introduction, the pieces still look modern and avant-garde, and a striking departure from what most people imagine when you say the word "furniture." And more importantly: the work isn't an evolution of an existing design vocabulary, much less a stop on a recognizable tour of furniture design movement with Colonial, Shaker, Arts & Crafts, mid-century Modern/Danish modern/Ikea, etc. It really is a new approach. They are wildly original.

The lesson for all of us is that our design approach and what we build are always influenced by our training, budget, and history. Coming up with anything good that is also actually new is hard. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. But at the same time, recognize your influences. It is perfectly excellent to design something where you take a known design and push it into something you like, with better construction, materials, and more appropriate design for the intended space. But it's also worthwhile to occasionally go all the way out to left field, and pluck a design from space.



You see what I mean about repurposed materials

 

much rejoicing in Mudville

The Declaration frame has cooked and it is laying flat on the tablesaw. No rocking from any corner tapping.

new home

This is where the hardware dresser will live for the time being. The empty hole to the right of is for the sanding block box.

sigh

The lid for the sanding block box went south on me. I couldn't believe that I had done this because the screws hardly any purchase at all in the lid. I'll have to put new hinges on this.

stop hinges

I like these hinges because they have a built in 90° stop. They will be surface mounted to the lid and the back of the box.

hmm.....

Found an immediate use for the first Declaration frame. Dug the sapele frame out of the shitcan to serve as patterns.

wee bit long

There isn't that much waste using these to make the certificate frame for my wife. Initially I was going to use a 5/4 cherry board but I'll use these instead. For some reason I thought that these were sapele.

couldn't wait

I had to see how this frame looked after a quick clean up. Flushed the corners, front and back, and did a light sanding with 120. Happy with how it looks. The plan is to keep it simple looking with just chamfers on the inside and outside edges.

kept going

This frame has some birds eye figure but not on each side. This face has 3 and the other has only two. IMO it is a crap shoot as to which one faces out. Most likely I'll go with the face that has 3 if I remember it. 

temporary home

I need a couple of more thin strips to make the back frame for the Declaration, the glass, and the mat. That will probably get done in the AM.

dutchmen

I glued in shims to flush the mortises - I had to do that before I could screw through the hinge into the box/lid.

sigh

The drill bit for my #3 Vix bit broke. I can't complain because I've had my Vix bit set for about 40 years. I got my money's worth plus more. I wonder if replacement bits are still available? 

certificate frame

I did some rearranging of the parts. One long side had cathedral grain while the other 3 are mostly straight grained. I want this frame to be seamless grain wise 360.

Had my oncology appointment where the RN explained to me what to expect with each treatment. There weren't too many surprises and everything looks to be manageable. She explained to me how important my white blood count and red blood count is before each treatment. If it goes too low I can't get the treatment. I'll deal with it as it comes - first treatment is on the 21st.

accidental woodworker 

 

sigh

Didn't get a pic of it but this frame was toast, as in burnt toast. The frame was badly twisted - 3 of the corners rocked. First time I had seen that. I was pissed and whacked the frame on the tablesaw and one corner opened up. Kept whacking it until all the corners came undone. 

nope

My first thought as to why the frame was so twisted was the miters weren't square to the face. They weren't all perfectly dead nuts but nowhere near being the cause of the twist. 
 

yikes

Checked the first one for twist and there was a ton of it. The thought to check the board before ripping out the frame never lit a bulb in the brain bucket. 

1 for 4

The three on the left are twisted, with the longest one the worse. The lone one on the right is twist free. I know understand how and why the frame was toast. The miters were all dead nuts 45 but 3 sides were twisted. When I glued it up I compounded the twist by gluing the sides into 90° corners.

2nd sapele board

The twist in this board is horrendous. It is beyond the 4 lines on the back stick. It didn't look like it was twisted - I thought it was cupped but not twisted. The board I ripped the frame out of must have been twisted too. I didn't feel any binding or the saw blade stalling when I ripped them out. Doesn't matter as the frame was tossed into the burn pile.

needs one more

Never got the 4th and final coat of shellac on the dresser yesterday. Wasn't sure if I would get it today neither. I had already been to the shop twice, staying for less than 30 minutes before heading topside again. The swelling/fluid build up is driving me nutso. My wife thinks I am doing too much and I should be more sedentary and even spend time in the afternoons laying in bed. I'm trying the sedentary part but not the afternoon part.

Declaration frame

Got the frame dry fitted and it isn't rocking. I checked each side of the frame for twist and there was none. I had to cut the dowel pins again, they were too long.

success

On the 4th trip to the shop I glued up the Declaration frame. After I glued it up I took it out of the clamps and checked it laying flat again - it passed with flying colors. Clamped it back up again and left it to cook until the AM.

5th and final trip

Got the 4th and final coat on. I looked around the shop for a hole for this and nada. The only spot that looks promising is the sharpening bench. I'll have to rearrange some things but I might be able to squeeze it in.

accidental woodworker 

 

fixing a missed step

I didn't plane a reference edge before I ripped the cherry frame to width. All four of them were uneven - they had humps that didn't line up. Went back to square one and planed one edge flat, straight, and square to the reference face. Still making me-steaks that bite me on the arse.

sigh

This was the 4th attempt to make the frame for the Declaration. I kept missing getting the length of the sides correct. I kept screwing up the inside and outside lengths. This frame is ok - ish but not correct. The mat would be less than 1" all the way around and I want it to be a minimum of 1 1/2".

I got the reference edge and ripped all the parts to the same width. I like the look of a thinner frame. One miter was off when I checked it with Mr Starrett. I had to redone both of the two short sides to fix the errant miter.

last one

Made a command decision and put the current frame aside and ripped out 4 new frame parts (with reference edges). I did two miters on the left and the other two on the right. All 8 miters were dead on 45 according to Mr Starrett.

shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

This is how I should have measured the frame from the git go. The inside measurement for the short leg was 15 3/8" plus 3 1/2" for the mat. No me-steaks this time. I thought of doing this but I was concerned about it getting dirty. Turned out that wasn't a problem.

hmm.......

I've always been curious of this kind of mitered returns. My 4" Starrett said the two outside corners were dead on 90°.

the certificate frame

Got the dowels drilled - made sure that I set the dowel jig the same at each miter. I had set it so the dowel holes were slightly off center.

nope

The bar clamps drew up the miters tight. All the toes and heels aligned but I couldn't get the clamps to lay flat on the tablesaw. As I tightened them, it would pull it off the table. I didn't want a twisted frame. 

laying flat now

Switched to the besseys and the frame is laying flat. The frame is tight to the clamp bars and it is laying flat on the tablesaw. It doesn't seem to have the twist that the bar clamps had.

cooler today

The four day heat wave is gone and the highest temp in the shop hit 81F - 27C. A lot better than the living room which hovered in the low 90's F for the past 4 days. Today it got up to 85F and with a fan blowing it wasn't that bad. Not perfect but tolerable.

Declaration frame

I will glue up this frame in the AM. I only have 5 bessey clamps so I have to wait until the other frame has cooked. I plan to keep this frame simple - I am putting a small chamfer on the outside and inside edges only. 

hmm......

The two first cherry frames won't be wasted. I can use them to make two more frames. I think I'll leave them as is until I need to make one.

I'm post op now about month and I am feeling ok. Still not up to what I was before but getting a little better each day. I tend to get winded easier but the cough is way better. The bubble of fluid however, hasn't gotten the memo on healing yet. In the morning it is almost nothing. Within ten minutes of getting out of the rack and moving, it starts to fill up and grow. 

accidental woodworker 

 Had a major brain fart tonight. I thought I had written up my post but I hadn't. I deleted all the pics I would have used to write it up. I went and snapped a few after the fact pics to use. The heat wave continues and it sapped me. I didn't get a lot done today but maybe tomorrow I'll double it. The heat wave is supposed to break?

done - ish

Filled up the rest of the compartments I could. I have two coats on the dresser and the drawer fronts. When I find a new hole to stick this in I'll have to move it sans the drawers. I tried picking it up with all the drawers and my body said no way moose breath. Two more coats and this will be 100% complete.

frame for the wife

I had plans to gett this one glued and cooking but it didn't happen boys and girls. Maybe in the AM.

hmm......

This is the frame for the Declaration. Two of the miters are toast - Mr Starrett said they weren't 45. It is smaller then I wanted it to be but still doable. Nobody will ever know any difference.  

I'll redo the the two errant 45s which make the frame even a little bit more smaller. I noticed when sawing the 45s on the sled that I had to clamp them down on to the jig. I think I missed clamping the two errant 45s.

test miter

I made this one to test/check that the dowels I used won't interfere with routing that I plan to do on the outside and inside edges of the frame. To help out further I used two, one inch dowels. I didn't have problems closing up the miter when I clamped it. 

I don't know the name of the profile I plan to use on the outside but it is about 7/8" wide and 3/8" deep. The inside molding will be a shallow chamfer. The test miter sides are the same width as the Declaration frame. I don't think I'll need to make a test miter for the wife's frame. There is only an 1/8" difference in the width between the two.

accidental woodworker 

At last I’m back with an update. A lot has happened over the past few months. I’ve been working on our renovation project pretty much nonstop, aside from a few breaks for some small commissions and teaching. But the big project dominating my time this year has been renovating our kitchen, and I’ll share the… Read More »Old Doma Demo

The post Old Doma Demo appeared first on Big Sand Woodworking.

Well, this is another long video but so, so much to get through!

The bridge is made and I have brief chat about its design, the strings go on and I show you how I set-up my mandolins. And finally……..the New Model Mandolin gets to sing its first notes!

So, cuppa at the ready and off we go.

Cheers Gary

switched

The metal knobs were too large (IMO) for the dresser drawers. Decided to use one shaker knob per drawer. All of the tenons on the knobs were about a 64th over 3/8".

quick jig

The tenon length was 3/4" and the drawer fronts were a 1/2". This jig allowed me to saw the length to a little less than a 1/2".

done

I centered the knobs on each drawer front and it looks good to my eye. I found a site that sells shaker knobs. It is wood-dowel dot com. I was able to get three of the sizes I use the most. The one size that wasn't available was the largest but I don't use that size often. I'll check back on it occasionally to see if they pop up.

hmm.......

I have 31 containers to transfer to the drawers. I have 51 compartments available to fill up. There are 7 containers that are wood screws that I am not putting in the hardware dresser. I intend to put machine and metal screws only along with washers, nuts, etc.

new frame project

I don't remember where I saw this but it was (email?) about a printer who makes paper like they did in the 1770s. He printed copies of this Declaration using the font and printing methods from this time period. I'll be making a frame for this and another for a certificate my wife wants framed.

heavy

I didn't realize how much weight the hardware would impart on the drawers. I'll keep an eye on it and see if it makes the drawer runners sag.

found more

I found 5 cardboard boxes of wood screws. I remember these being left over from a McFeely's order from many, many moons ago.

There is a heat wave in its 3rd day in my part of the universe. It hit 97F - 36C  at my house today. It kinda sapped me and I didn't do anything in the PM session except to start filling up the dresser. All that is left to do on the dresser is to fit the base molding and slap on a few coats of shellac. Hoping to get that done in the AM and start on the two new pic frames.

accidental woodworker 

dry fitted

Feeling a little better today, still sore and painful with movement, but I could manage it. Chopping the pins took me almost an hour. A concession on my part to minimize antagonizing the pain center. It laid flat on the bench with no rocking but the tails and pins weren't fully seated. 

last one

I didn't forget to do the cutout for the base. Clamped two sides together and drilled a 1" hole. 

one more last thing

Used rasps to smooth out the undulations for the bandsaw. A few swipes with 100 grit and all four were done.

happy face on

A quick check to ensure the dresser fit within the base.

hmm.......

Needed some help closing up the tails and pins. It took me almost 2 hours to get to this point. Before surgery I don't think this would have taken me more than 30 minutes. I am getting a wee bit faster but still not anywhere near where I was prior to surgery.

done

Evened and smoothed the four sides of the base with the #3. A quick sand with 80 grit finished the base.

oops

A mind fart - I made the base on this side out to the outside edge of the molding. It should have been shortened to match the side of the dresser.

hmm......

This cove molding is too tall - The bottom drawer can't open. The bearers are set down 1/8" from the top. If the bottom rails on the dresser had been 3/4" thick the cove molding would have fit but the front and back bottom rails are 1/2" thick.

problem

I didn't want to make another base to fit the dresser. Instead the plan is to put this piece of flat pine at the back covering up the gap.

hmm.......

I had a smaller molding but I didn't want to use it. If fits and the bottom drawer clears it and opens/closes freely. The moldings will only go on 3 sides. It will butt into the flat stock and be mitered at the front.

just needs knobs

I glued the dresser to the bearers. The dresser is barely on the back one so just the front and the sides will carry the weight.

too big

Ten of these 1 3/6" knobs for $2.52 and it is too big for the smallest drawer. It is barely small enough to fit on the 4 larger drawers. Rethinking whether or not to switch back to the shaker knobs. One option is to use a small shaker knob for the top drawer and the metal ones for the other four?

When I enlisted in the Navy in October of 1974 I was 5' 11" and 221 lbs. On my oncology appointment this week I weighed 251 but I had shrunk to 5' 7 3/8". I don't feel shorter and nurse said around age 25 we all start to shrink. I had noticed this over the years but I thought it was faulty measuring equipment. It ain't so boys and girls.

The pain in my left side is getting better as in less painful. I still have a stubborn bubble of fluid on the center of my chest and lower left rib cage. It hasn't changed in size for several days. My heart rate is normalized somewhat. It is now in the high 60s to middle 70s. Still high for me, I usually have a resting heart beat of 45-50. For several days now it hasn't gone nutso racing up to 120 to 130. I still think the fluid bubble is the cause for my heart rate headaches.

accidental woodworker 

DON'T TOUCH YOUR PLOW PLANE until... Affiliate Disclosure: When you purchase through certain links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission, at no cost to you. Learn more. DON'T TOUCH

 Last night after dinner I experienced a new pain that turned me into stone. There was an intense pain on my lower left side. It was a constant, heavy pain that didn't go away. It said hello with every movement I made, especially so with my left arm. The night was fitful but I did manage to sleep for a couple of hours. By morning the pain had subsided some but movement still woke up the pain. 

I thought I was at the apex of healing/feeling good and sliding down the other side. I spent most of the day sitting at desk watching You Tube. I picked vids that played for a long time because moving the mouse sucked pond scum. I watched hours of The Joy of Painting.

Around 1300 I was feeling a bit better and wandered down to the shop. That turned out to be a me-steak. By the time I decided to kill the lights I had just finished a 5 minute coughing fit. That didn't feel good and it is something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

hmm.......

The back stop thing had cooked and nothing moved when I took the clamps. Yesterday when I put this here it wasn't a problem. Today when I picked it up to move it to the sharpening bench, I felt it. There was a tugging sensation in the left side of my chest. 

stopped chamfer

This looks good IMO. If the chamfer had run out to the end I think it would have been too close to the end of the back stop.

didn't make

Initially I felt good and I thought I could get the pins/tails done and dry fitted. Almost but no cigar. I sawed the pins but couldn't chop them. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel a bit better and I can finish the dovetailing.

I went with a single tail because two half pins and one tail would have been too thin IMO. For a base this will work without any hiccups.

accidental woodworker

Until now, I've stored the irons for my wooden plow plane in a roll that gets put in a drawer.  The roll wasn't some multiple-compartment, fancy leather gizmo; it was nothing more than an old kitchen towel.  The irons deserved better, so I made a box for them.

For whatever reason, I often get stuck on design.  I looked online and found a few images of plow plane iron boxes.  They typically were vertical boxes with a lid that hinged to the side and each iron stands on end in its own slot.  While I liked that, I was having a tough time in my head with grain direction of the parts as well as methods of construction.  In the end I decided on a flat-ish box with a horizontal compartment for each iron.  The box has a sliding lid.  It's got 9 compartments; 8 for the set of irons I bought for the plane and an extra for the iron that came with the plane.

Two 10" long sides and a 6" long front and back

Dovetailed and dry fit

1/8" grooves were made top and bottom, starting 1/8" from the edges

Then (8) 1/8" dadoes were cut into the front and back

Cutting dadoes this small can be a real challenge, but it went much quicker after gaining some experience.  I used my homemade mini router plane to get the bottoms to depth.

The bottom of the box fits into the grooves in the sides, front and back.  It's just shy of 1/4" thick, so I rabbeted the edges to fit the grooves.

Getting ready to rabbet using the moving fillister

Here's the box's bottom rabbeted

Here's dry-fitting the bottom

1/8" hardboard dividers in the dry-fitted box

In this picture, you can see that I've cut down the box's front piece to allow the sliding lid to get in its grooves.  It started out the same width as the back for easier marking and cutting during the dovetailing and grooving stages.

Sliding lid

Two more details: the dividers were shaped to allow easier grabbing of the irons, and a thumb catch was carved into the lid to make the box easier to open.

The shaped dividers, with irons in place

Thumb catch on the lid

The glue-up was OK, though I initially messed up - even after a few dry-fits.  The order of putting the components together was key to get it glued up properly.  I gave the box a few coats of shellac on all outside surfaces, with none on the inside.

Here's one last detail.  The front edge of the box's top has a piece of wood glued to its end grain.  This hides the entry grooves and makes the front of the box look nicer.  I realize it a cross grained glue-up, but I've done this before on a similar box which has held up for about five years now.

Glamour shot

And with the lid partially open

Good little project.  The plow plane irons deserved a home of their own.  Now I just have to figure out where the box will live in my cramped shop.

 

last night

Got the bottom glued and nailed first. Then I sawed the dividers and installed them. One corner of the drawer was up slightly so I weighed it down with paint cans overnight.

hmm......

This plastic container came with 100 screws - it now has 92. It fit in 3 of the compartments I checked. Note to self - next dresser comes with 12 compartments.

off cuts

These off cuts are from when I thinned the drawer parts to a 1/2" thick. They are a wee bit wider and longer then the drawer fronts. Not only would they cover the plywood bottom, they will cover the dovetails.

first drawer

Squeezed in getting the off cuts glued onto the five drawer fronts. I'll be able to play with them when I get back home from the VA.

3 down, 2 to go

The glue up went off without any hiccups. One drawer will require some wood putty work. One corner of the drawer front has a big chip missing.

confirmed

I had set the miter gauge but almost an inch too much. Maybe I'll get lucky and find some odd shaped/long hardware that will fit in these compartments.

sneak peek

I think the veneer looks better than the original drawer front. The top drawer doesn't have the color streak the other 4 drawers have. It didn't occur to me that I could have used a cut off from one of the wider drawers. I was stuck on stupid thinking I could only use the cut off from the thinnest drawer (which didn't have a color streak).

hmm.......

Decided to leave the drawer fronts slightly proud at the front. They are all about the same with the bottom drawer sticking out a few frog hairs more than the others.

losing less than 1/8"

I sawed a bit off the back of all the drawers to even out the amount of proud of the drawers. After I did this I evened out the proud by eye by planing the off cuts I glued to the drawer fronts. 

done

I thought of building out the front of the dresser but nixed it. The proud of the drawers is a little less then 1/8". The amount of the proud doesn't look out of place or odd (IMO) when viewed from the sides.

chamfer done

Did a stopped chamfer - it would have looked crowded against the back stop thing if I had gone to end.

hmm......

Checked my shaker knob supply and this depletes it. I have just enough to put two knobs on each drawer, with either size. I think the drawers are small enough that I could get away with one knob per drawer. This is what I would like to use but maybe not. 

I had bought some blackish knobs on sale at Lowes specifically to use on this dresser. I think I'll use them instead and save my limited supply of shaker knobs for something else.

hmm......

I don't want a three sided base. I want it to go 360 but in order to do that I need to clip the molding holding the back. I sawed it so the bottom of the molding was even with the top of the back rail.

sigh

Made a Lowes run and bought two 1x8 pine boards. Somehow I did a mind meld with a rock and managed to screw up the long sides of the base. 

for tomorrow

Ripped out two new long sides - double, triple checked them correct. Laid out the base cut out for tomorrow. Ran out of gas again. I was feeling tired and I have learned not to work when I feel this way. I'll get back to this in the AM.

The oncology appointment went well. Met with the doc and I'll be doing one treatment of chemo. It will consist of 4 treatments 3 weeks apart. After that I go on a surveillance regimen with MRI s and CT s to monitor my body checking for a recurrence of the lung cancer. 

The important thing with the chemo is this is it. There won't be a follow up chemo round. The doc said because I am only getting 4 treatments that it is rare to get any lingering chemo side effects. And I can say No Mas at any time with it. 

accidental woodworker