General Woodworking

More than a month has passed since my last post, and a lot has been happening around here in Tomobe. It’s been difficult to find time to sit down and update the blog, but I’m going to try and get better about that from here on out. So much I want to share. One update… Read More »PettyWork Saw

The post PettyWork Saw appeared first on Big Sand Woodworking.

One advantage of spending a week at the London International Woodworking Festival was the number of woodworkers I knew coming. In my never ending quest to find the perfect drill bit for egg-beaters, I made a few requests, and a bunch of people brought along their favourite bits so I could test them all. Many thanks to Scott Anderson, Ric Archibald and Mattias Hallin for bringing bits along for me to test.

Work progresses on the cupboard and there is no way I'll have it done this sunday. I might have but the cherry panels put the knife into it. I paid for 3 day shipping and they shipped it yesterday (ordered monday). UPS says I'll get it on tuesday. So no reason to rush and rush I didn't today.

dowel max experiment

I read the entire manual last night and I'm missing the DVD that it mentions in the manual. Included in the box was a you tube link with 14 vids so maybe they replaced the DVD with You Tube. Anyways I'm going to try to connect four pieces of wood together with 1/4" dowels.

using the first door

Squared the ends and sawed them to length. Labeled them with check marks just like the manual stressed I do.

hmm.......

 A couple of the holes I drilled were in La La Land. The nuts had loosened and that changed the position of the drilled hole. In spite of being able to tighten the nuts easily with hand pressure they still loosened with use. I didn't catch it for 3 of them because it was something I wasn't expecting.

yikes

These are 3 of the holes due to the nuts loosening. I had one more on another frame part.

nope

The rails are proud of the stiles. I do know that the first two holes I tried to drill were wrong. I drilled in the ends (of the left stile) instead of the inside edge. I obviously screwed up aligning all the check marks. On the flip side if I turned the rails 180 they were flush with the stiles but I could only use 1 (instead of two) of the dowels.

the key to this jig

There are two check marks on the wood - one on the outside face and the other on the top edge. You have to align these check marks with the ones on the dowel max. One thing that surprised me was the instructions stated to make hand tight on the nuts only. Do not use pliers to tighten them. Hand pressure is sufficient and that is one thing that worked for me on this.

I tried this one more time and I got 3 of the right with one OTL (out to lunch). It is going to take a few more practice runs with this before I will feel comfortable using it on the real McCoy.

right drawer tails

Tails done and I planed a shallow rabbet on the inside face. I didn't did this for the left drawer (why not Skippy?). I'm looking forward to see how the right drawer stacks up against the left one.

half blinds first

Pin sockets sawn and the bottom corners quasi squared with the card scraper. It definitely takes a wee bit more oomph in cherry vice pine. Another hiccup I picked up on was it was way too easy for the scraper to go down slanted and follow the grain. I'm glad I was watching it because I don't when I do the same operation in pine.

time for it to relax

It was almost 1500 and I didn't want to start and stop this. I'll let it chill out until the AM.

I couldn't wait

Not enough time to chop the half blinds but maybe enough to fit the left drawer. To facilitate that I had to remove the nails at the back. I thought I would get away with having to remove them from both sides but that was a big negative. I had to pull them from the other side too. After the drawer is fitted I'll put new nails in the holes. I have seen this done countless times on the restoration You Tube vids I watch. Spoiler alert - it works.

first try

I thought I would only have to plane the right side of the drawer because that side is slightly tapered. The vertical drawer divider is out of square on the left side and square on the right side of it.

after the 2nd planing

The right side is ok but there is/was a hump on the left side. Pulled the nails and planed the hump away.

fitted

It took 4 planing runs before it fit in the opening. The last planing run was to knock down the top a couple of shavings. The margin on the left is good and I have to take a wee bit more off on the top right.

came today

I started leafing through this and ended up reading 60% of it. Even though I don't like this style of tool chest, I do like looking at the variety of them. One thing about them that appeals to me is having all of your (or mine) tools in one spot. If I did ever make one of these it would be a monster size. I would guess-ta-mate it would easily be 4-5 feet wide, 14-18" deep and 6 feet high. I have thought some on this already.

at the end of the how to

I read every one of the tool chests featured here. One thing I noticed was the limited number of handplanes. I have 8 handplanes under my workbench along with 6 blockplanes, 3 tenon planes, and one bullnose plane. This is why my dutch tool chest would so big.

accidental woodworker

What makes it a printer stand? I guess having a printer on top is the only requirement. Also I plan on the drawers being wide and deep enough for stacks of paper.

The plan is to have walnut frame with buttenut drawer fronts. The drawers will be graduated in size and not have visible rails between them. The sides will be frame and panel.

I started this project at least three years ago. The height was limited by the length of 8/4 thick walnut I had at the time – about 53-54 inches which I cut in half. I also rough cut some 4/4 walnut for the top and 4/4 butternut for the drawer fronts. Then the project went into suspended animation for years. Here are the parts from yesteryear:

I had to fight the urge to replace it all with stock that is a little taller or wider or better looking. In the end I only replaced two pieces of butternut that had pith.

I glued up the top first. After it came out about 27″ wide and 21″ deep I could finalize dimensions for the front and sides.

Next the legs were squared up and oriented. The sides get grooves for panels, and the back gets a rabbet. I’m not sure what kind of back it’ll have, but there’s a 3/8″ wide and deep rabbet waiting for it.

I calculated where the drawers would go and marked out spots for dados underneath the drawers. These will house the drawer dividers and runners. I decided to make them the width of my chisel and will later plane the wood to match. The dados on the front were cut like half dovetails and those on the back are cut through.

The main reason for a multi-year delay was I wanted solid wood panels for the sides rather than 1/4″ walnut plywood. But I wasn’t capable of or willing to try resawing 7-8″ walnut to get a wide enough panel. Now that I have a bandsaw I can try resawing and bookmatching thin panels. I resawed a wide walnut board and ended up making two side panels about 3/8″ thick, 17″ wide and 22″ long.

Rails were made for the sides from the same stock as the legs, so their widths will match at 1 3/4″. When the rail grooves line up with the leg grooves, the rails are set back 1/4″. They will be dominoed into the legs.

With the legs and rails finished, I trimmed the panels to fit. I planed the backside of the 3/8″ thick panel to fit in the 1/4″ wide grooves, leaving the show side flat. Again I have tear-out on the show side I will need to scrape or sand. Expansion will take place side-to-side and those grooves are 3/8″ deep.

So two sides dry fitted is a good place to take a break. I have cut rails to go across the front and back, and will have to make drawer guides before gluing the whole thing up. Prior to glue-up I will at least finish the panels and am considering finishing everything.

Sigh. Things didn't go so well in the AM or the PM session. Sigh again. Nothing went all the way south but it still sucked the wind out of my sails. Tomorrow is friday and I'm going to Iggy's for fish 'n chips. I'm looking forward to that and also getting back in the shop and dealing with the drawers.

ready

All chopped and cleaned up. Ready to dry fit the first drawer together.

hmm.......

Call me crazy but I think fitting this is going to be beyond awkward to fit the drawer opening. 

Yikes

I thought I might have been able to salvage the sides and just redo the back. That got flushed down the toilet real quick. The left side tails are facing the wrong way. I must have had the side facing the wrong way when I marked the pins off it.

nope

I thought I could flip the side and have it fit. After all I tried to mark them them same but it wouldn't work. I have a finger and half tail that has to be at the bottom of the drawer. 

new side

This fit sucks pond scum and I split the front again too. The gaps are too big to ignore and use. I even trimmed the tails on the inside to improve the fit and that did diddly squat.

onto plan B, step 2.l-3, line alpha

Keeping the original side(s) because (they) it fit a lot better then the replacement one. I cut off the tails and planed a rabbet for the back.

early xmas present

This is a present from me to me. I always buy something for xmas that I want and know that I'll never get. I had wanted a good doweling jig for a long time and I pulled the trigger on it. Bought the Dowel Max from Canada. 

the Dowel Max Classic

I got the 3/8" classic with the accessory 1/4" dowel guide. Nicely made out of aluminum and brass. I'm impressed with it and I haven't even used it.

1/4" parts

It is an easy swap out between the 3/8 and 1/4 drilling blocks. I really like the knurling on the brass knobs. It is heavy and oh so easy to tighten and loosen them. 

figured it out

I was looking at and fondling all the parts and I couldn't figure out what this was for. I had to search through the parts break down before I found it. It is a distance gauge for long pieces. I'll go through the manual tonight to familiarize myself with it. I'll hold off buying 45 mitering jigs and other accessories until after I've used it for a few projects. Did you know that James Krenov used dowels to build his carcasses?

dry fit looks good

Got the back dry fitted along with the two side drawer slips. Made a bone head mistake here. I glued the back on and the drawer slips. What I didn't do was glue the half blinds first. Kind of hard to remove the front if the back and the sides are glued and cooked.

I caught it in time and was able to remove the back, glue the half blinds, and the back and drawer slips again. If I had screwed this up it would have been the final nail in the drawer saga. I would have had to start over from square one.

missed this detail

I wasn't thinking and I glued and nailed the back on. I was a little smug with myself thinking I saved myself from having to clamp the back and wait for it to set up. How will I fit the sides to the opening with nails?

It has gotten seasonal with the weather finally. The last couple of days have had the morning temps hovering around 32F (0C). The day time temps have warmed up with today hitting 73F (23C). Don't know how long this will last but the mornings are getting frosty.

accidental woodworker

Life has ups and downs and making this cherry cupboard is having its share of ups and downs. To me it makes woodworking so exciting. Even though there are only a handful of joints to make the variation of them along with the myriad of ways to execute them is what really makes me want to go to the shop everyday. I think I'm at a stage in my woodworking career where I look forward to how I execute my joinery. Like today, it sometimes has more downs than up and on other days it is reversed. I'll think about today and I look forward to seeing what the up/down count is tomorrow.

set

It is hard-ish. It isn't  solid like a rock but good enough for this. I'll take it because I was expecting it to be squishy soft still.

back off

The wax did its job and it appears that the epoxy hasn't oozed out to where it shouldn't have.

ditto

The bottom one was/is the smaller 'hole' of the two. Both filled up that hole and nothing else.

done

No epoxy in the groove walls or bottom. I was concerned about this but what I did worked. The 1/4" scrap in the groove I put a piece of veneer behind it to force it tightly against the groove wall with the 'hole'.

flushing the epoxy

Epoxy planes very easily and it doesn't have a grain to be followed. 

ain't getting better

The over spill ain't going away quietly. I sanded it and card scraped it and it is still visible. The amount showing after sanding and scraping didn't improve much. Hmm..... I'll have to think on what to do with this.

got to fix this

The leveling screw on this side just spins and won't go in or out. This has been annoying me for months but I've been ignoring it. Stock steps down at this point and the saw blade make a tapered deeper cut there. 

first batter up

The insert is made out of MDF and I'm going to try soaking it with super glue and hitting it with accelerator. If this doesn't work the next batter will be using a bigger screw in a new hole.

Spoiler Alert - it worked. The super glue made the hole smaller and the screw going in it cut new threads. Solid feeling and the inset stayed flushed while making the door bridal joints.

done

I had a few downs and some ups making this. Got confused again when doing it but it was recoverable. I did the tenons first and I screwed them up. Recoverable but the top and bottom tenons aren't the same size. I don't know how but I made them too thin and I caught it after I did the top ones. I then made the bottom ones too thin also but not as thin as the top ones. They are still adequate for bridal joinery.

good - a B+

I couldn't use the same setup to do the bottom and top tenons. The slight gap is from tear out - the top tenon face looks the lunar surface. I had to center the stile on the rail and mark the slot mortise. Another hiccup that made this so much fun was the groove isn't centered. One wall is a 16th less than its neighbor. I did good and gave myself a pat on the back.

one of the bigger tenons

I'm happy with the fit at the four corners. I also think that the tenons will be more the strong enough for the door and to support the weight of the tile on the panel.

dry fit look

The door is a shade over a 16th long T/B and R/L. I'll fit it to opening after it has been glued and cooked.

a down into an up

The panel from the first door fits. Sometimes you get lucky or so I thought.

dry fit

The door is square. The LV square read dead nuts at all four corners. The clamps were in the way of using a tape to measure diagonals.

a real big down

The panel didn't fit and I caught it after I had glued and clamped the door together. I seated the panel in the bottom rail and that left a 1/8" gap at the top rail. Super, super, super happy that I used hide glue for this glue up. Broke it apart, gave the panel flying lessons, and wiped the hide glue off. If there is any left the new hide glue application should melt into the old one. I'll do the next glue up of the door with warm hide glue.

last pin socket

Doing half blinds in cherry isn't any worse or better than pine. The cherry leaves a better wall, but the chopping is exactly the same.

some gaps

Cherry is not as forgiving as pine. I had to trim all 3 sockets before it fit. I used 1:7 dovetails on this and I'm going back to my other dovetail guide, I like the slope of the tails on it much more. These look almost straight to me. I also made the tails bigger so I would cover more of the end grain. I usually make  half pins and center one tail between them.

the other side

A wee bit tight and I forced it. I was using pine muscle memory. Glued and clamped the split until the AM.

hmmm.......

It would appear that I am missing the left side of a tail.

saved it

It is the finger and half tail on the right that screws with me. I have fewer times that I get right and more getting it wrong. In my defense I will say that I don't remember a time where I had to shitcan it and start over from scratch. 

time - 1515

Quitting time and this will have to wait until the AM. I made a groove in the front and I will use drawer slips on the sides. Burying the groove in the bottom dovetail wasn't that bad. I didn't lose that much depth of drawer vice using drawer slips on 3 sides.

accidental woodworker

Progress is moving forward on the cherry cupboard. The door didn't get done today and it was something I wanted to knock out. Just as well because I had to stop and think about how I did the first door. I didn't have any hiccups with it and I want a repeat for the second one. The key is to do the tenons first and then the slot mortise. Doing the slot mortise first is what undid me on previous bridal joints. Maybe tomorrow I can whack out door #2.

I'm impressed but cautious

Both of the breaks feel solid but I'm not even going to cross my fingers on it surviving.

nope

It broke right after I was going to bring it upstairs. Tried some heat to melt the break back together. That didn't work and I started and stopped doing another fix. Started thinking about that and thought what will the microwaves do to the epoxy?

I brought it upstairs and put it in the microwave with one break still together. I'll let this go as is and when and if it goes south I'll buy a new microwave.

prepping

Put wax paper in the groove an d filled it with a 1/4" piece of scrap. The knot goes from the top all the way into the groove.

ready for epoxy

I got both sides of each one dammed up. Fingers crossed that the epoxy won't ooze out to where I don't want it.

black leather dye and 5 min epoxy

I used this before but not with this 5 min epoxy. 

filled it

This stuff was more liquid than I expected it. This one is not that bad but I overfilled the other one. I went to Wally World after this to stock up on band aids. A half hour later it was still soft. Should have been set as it is 5 min epoxy.

The leather dye is alcohol based (I think) and maybe that effected it somehow. The only other thing I can think of is maybe I didn't squeeze out equal amounts of A&B. I put it on the dryer and I'll check on it in the AM.

right drawer fitted

This wasn't that bad to do. Did the bottom first then the two sides and finished with the top.

ready to half blind

The left one was a bit tricky to do because of the tapered out of square right side. I still did it the same way as the right one though. It just took three times as long.

did them all

I didn't have to do all the pins/tails. To keep them all the same I applied the super glued cherry sawdust to all.

hanging rail

Missed this and I thought of it while applying the glue/sawdust to the tails. I had to make a rabbet on 3 edges for it to fit the existing rabbets.

rabbets done

Did them on the tablesaw and used my rabbeting blockplane to fit it.

done

Glued and used 3 screws to secure it. I don't think screwing and hanging the cabinet from the 1/4" plywood back would be a good choice.

tails done

Started with the left drawer due it being the wonky one.

too short

The drawer sides don't reach to the back support thing. Marked them in the front face vise.

dull

I'll need these two to do the drawer tails. They were adequate for the these but neither of them are cutting cleanly. I'll do that in the AM.

6 hours later

It is still soft but not as soft when I checked it after Wally World. I hope it firms up overnight.

accidental woodworker

The time line for completing the cupboard I think has slipped. If it hasn't it definitely has stepped a banana peel. Had a hiccup happen in the AM session that wasn't recoverable. I'll have to wait and see if I can still maintain the timeline.

On a brighter note I have lost weight each of the past 3 weeks. The last weight loss was only 1 pound but I'll take it. As long as I lose and don't gain I have a happy face on. I have changed my diet upside down. I am now going out for breakfast every monday and lunch on fridays. In between I'm watching what I eat and I'm not on a starvation diet. I'm eating protein and limiting my carbohydrates and eating lots of veggies and fruit which seems to be working.

top of the divider

Tiny gaps that I filled with cherry sawdust and superglue.

bottom of the divider

Gaps, the left side of the dovetail is off, and a chip missing on the right. I used super glue and cherry sawdust here too. I'm thinking of painting some of this with black paint to mimic gum pockets.

next project

I watched a You Tuber restore a 1940's school desk made out of oak. I bookmarked it and I'm going to make two of these - one each for the grandsons to use.

out of the clamps

The door looked good to me here but I didn't know it would bite me on the arse in a little while.

consistent gap on the top/bottom

This gap should get a wee bit bigger after flushing the proud tenons.

almost an 1/8

Sizing the R/L might be tricky. I'll have to balance it and shave the same amount off of both sides.

inside look see

You have to be searching for the veneer strips to see them. At least this part of the door worked out well.

flushing the tails

This being proud was bugging me so I flushed it. It sure is nice to have both of the 36" quick grips working. I had to stand on my shop stool to plane the tails flush.

need some cherry sawdust

Grabbed the sawdust under the tablesaw and sifted it through this mesh strainer. I am going to use the same super glue and cherry sawdust on the tails. I saw it on You Tube (he was making a cherry stool) where he used gel style super glue and mixed it with cherry sawdust. Filled in the gaps and hit with accelerator. After that he sanded it smooth and applied a finish. No close up pic of it, but it did look good.

this is working

This is what I got from the first sifting. It was working better than I expected it to.

20 minutes later

I think I have enough sawdust to do ten cupboards

ouch, it is toast

I was hoping that there were wood chips or something under the door but there wasn't. The door was twisted and twisted pretty bad. Even I'm not stupid or (stubborn) enough to try and fit a twisted door.

it is real bad boys and girls

Each line on the winding sticks is a 1/8" and this is over 2 lines. Which means that my door is twisted by more than a 1/4".

can I salvage anything?

The cherry panel can be repurposed for something else. The 3 frame parts on the right are all twisted - they teeter end to end when pushed on. The lone part on the left appears to be twist free. I am going to try and get the 'frame' for the tile out of these.

off cut

This is the offcut from the first panel and I think it is big enough for the 2nd one. I ordered 2 more panels today and I'll have them by friday.

what's behind door #2?

Going with a different look for door #2. The rail grain is kind of straight but it has a lot of color to it and a couple of gum pockets. The stiles have more straight grain and the color doesn't match. That doesn't look good against the rails.

why not

I had to decrease the width of the stiles and the top rail but I was able to get all of the parts from the same board. The stiles have a knot that I like and I'm going to use it. I will fill it in with epoxy and black dye. I have the other set of straight grain stiles to fall back on if needed.

very low expectations

Epoxy and plastic don't seem to like each other. I have yet to do a repair with epoxy/plastic hold on me. The only way I've had success repairing plastic breaks is with heat. This is the ring out of my microwave oven. I had checked on the cost of this a few years ago and it was ridiculously high. I can by a new oven cheaper.  I have the time so I tried it.

15 minutes later

Used 5 min epoxy and it still hasn't set up and bonded. Full strength is 24 hrs but I don't think I'll have a happy face on then. 

what I didn't do for door #1

Two of the frame parts had some twist to them. I planed that away and set the frame aside to relax until the AM rolls around.

flushing the back

The top left corner was high. I didn't go nutso on this because it is the back.

one last check

3 foot straight edge to check that four corners were all in the same plane.

need a rabbet

I had intended to do the rabbet with the electric router from the git go. I did not want to try and do a stopped rabbet before gluing the carcass up. Clamped a scrap board to it to increase the footprint for the router to run on.

so nice to have again

Both clamps worked fine and I couldn't tell you which one I put the new springs in.

squaring the corners

I was going to round the corners on the back but nixed it. I don't know the radius of this and having gaps here would put my OCD into overdrive. Quicker, neater, and easier to square the corners with a chisel.

back fitted

It will be hidden but the panel has several gum pockets to see.

new door parts

I don't expect any stupid wood tricks but I'll give it until tomorrow. Hopefully the cherry panel I have will be large enough to fit the new door.

accidental woodworker

I got a lot done today with things I had planned on doing yesterday. Since I don't have a clock to punch and no one is holding a gun to my head, it is ok as is. Don't want to jinx myself but I think I can be done with this by this coming sunday. I quit the shop early today but it wasn't because of any hiccups on my part. Just felt like relaxing and watching some Amazon Prime TV on the computer and muted football games on the TV.

I finished watching all 154 episodes of Elementary and then I found Castle. This was the 5th or 6th show I was previewing and I liked what I saw. I'm a 1/3 of the way into season two with 6 more to go.

some of my vintage chisels

I like these chisels - interesting styles with the handles, easy to sharpen, and most are firmer chisels. What I don't like about them is they don't hold an edge that long. Easy to get it razor sharp but it dull way to quickly compared to my Ashley Isles chisels.

fitting the panel

Two of the panels were snug, one was just right, and the last one was loose. I sanded the veneer I glued on yesterday with 120 grit until I got a snug, slip fit with each of them.

cooking

This is the front of the door. I picked the side of the panel with straight grain for it. The back side of the panel has cathedral grain. This grain is bland and it won't distract from the tile that will be glued to it.

 I

didn't need a chisel

I used the marking knife and the small router plane to remove the waste for the tail socket.

chiseled the tails

Easy enough to knock out. Used the dovetail square to ensure the slants were square to the faces.

short

When I marked this, I left the pencil line thinking that it would give me some wiggle room. No wiggle room in this universe. Threw this in the shitcan and moved on to #2.

gum pockets

I wanted to use this but now I can't. I checked my extra cherry boards and none of them had any gum pockets to display.

extra stock

All that I need from this pile are the flat moldings for the top and bottom.

awkward but doable

Took my time and used my marking knife to make the vertical cuts that I would have done with a chisel. These are the smallest tails I can recall doing.

worth the $$$

I could never tighten the original brass screw that came with this. This nut works great and no hiccups with tightening it and the iron staying put.

what is this?

What do you call this hiccup? A chip, a split, or something else? I like a lift up split that is still connected. I super glued it back in place.

too tight

The bottom of the vertical divider was too tight and wouldn't fit. I had to plane the sides of it before it seated.

ugh with a big sigh

Didn't notice this until after I had flushed it with the front with the carcass. Couldn't have happened in a more visible spot.

drawer divider

There isn't any need for this to be a bazillion inches high - just enough to guide the sides of the drawers in/out will do.

door cooking too

I used hide glue for the door. I had good, snug fitting bridal joints and I didn't want to use yellow glue on them. I also glued the panel into the grooves - it is MDF and ain't going to move.

sizing the drawers

The drawer openings are almost a dead on match. They are out maybe a couple of frog hairs. The right drawer barely fits the height and the left one didn't fit. I plan on planing both to fit snug in their respective openings.

sample stick

I don't want to have to plane the sides of the drawers other than to clean and smooth them up. Using this sample stick to get the R/L dead nuts.

this sucks

The vertical divider is square on the right side and out a 16th on the left. It is a tapering out of square too. Wider at the top than at the bottom. I used a square against the left side too when I knifed the tails.

drawer sides and backs

Using 1/2" pine for the drawer backs and sides.

bandsawn boards

This will be on the back face of one of the drawers. No need for it to be pristine on this face.

cleaned up a wee bit

I used the #7 and the #3 to clean and smooth all the stock I'll use for the drawers. I didn't bother trying to getting them all within +/- two atoms of thickness. 

all cleaned up

The four boards at the fronts are extras in case I have brain fart and make a me-steak.

accidental woodworker

Got a late start in the shop this AM. I watched a couple of You Tube vids before heading for the shop. The first one was over an hour and a half - the latest from Matt at Diesel Creek. Nice to see someone else on this planet besides me who likes old construction equipment. The timeline I had running through the brain bucket yesterday went awry. (Translation for awry - it went south on the express)

different pic from yesterday

There is a coffee cup in this pic that was missing yesterday. Took the clamps off with no issues.

flushing the back

This was a bit awkward to do. I started with the 5 1/2 and I was tipping the cupboard up when I got close to the other end. The grain was squirrely which didn't help. I finished it with the blockplane. I'm leaving the back of the drawers  open too like I did with the prototype cabinet.

stiles and rails

I stickered these overnight and no surprises a day later.

sigh

The front end of the drawer guide dado is wider than it is at the back. When I fitted this vertical divider I did it at the back. 

snug fit

I couldn't find the rough sawn cherry I had yesterday to get the new vertical divider from. This was hanging out on the tablesaw's horizontal storage space.

another big sigh

The test piece I used to set the groove was not the same thickness as the rail and stile stock. I have a 16th gap between the panel and the groove. I set this aside and I dealt with it later.

bridle joints

I decided to do the slot mortise first. I studied the pieces before I marked them for sawing. I ran the procedure through the brain bucket a few times before I was satisfied I was doing it right. And that I foresaw any potential me-steaks.

sawing the cheeks

I think I had done it right this time. I didn't feel odd or that I was going off into La La Land. I had some clean up to do with both the saw and chisel - I was short on the height of the slot mortises. Better to be short than to be over.

nailed it

The top to bottom is less than a 16th and the R/L is about a 16th over. Nice feeling that it didn't come up short. But if it had I would have put cock beading on all four sides.

dry fit

It looks good but it still needs a bit of shaving and trimming here and there.

making veneer

Ran this cherry board through the tablesaw making a four 16th thick strips of cherry.

fits

Two of them fit snug and two fit a wee bit more than snug. I could still fit the panel with hand pressure. Not sure yet as to how I'll deal with that. It would suck pond scum if the veneer swells between now and when I glue up the door.

second dry fit

I put two pieces of the veneer in the groove and clamped it again. This was mostly a check to the fit of the panel. The panel was solid in the rails/stiles with no rattling or movement.

too wide

The veneer needs to be a 1/4" wide and these are a 1/2" wide. I don't like sawing strips any thinner than this. It looks like crap having it extend past the rails/stiles and I had to cut it down to a 1/4".

one done

I marked a line a 1/4" in from each edge and superglued the veneer to the back of the panel.

first one I cut off

I superglued the veneer on at the pencil line, held it for a few, and then hit it with accelerator on both sides. The marking knife easily cut off the proud edge of the veneer.

better look

The veneer is a frog hair below the tops of the stiles and rails. I did not want to have to trim any of them if they were proud. This is the back of the door and probably won't be noticed at all.

self supporting

Besides gaps, having a loose, rattling, noise making panel will set me off in an eye blink.

now I have two

I found the MIA extension cord while looking for my stash of old chisels. 

too tall

This would be perfect spot for offset mortise lock chisels. Lie Nielsen used to sell them but no longer. I quick search on the internet and  nada. I'm not sure what the proper name for them are and that could be the problem. If anyone who reads this dribble knows of them drop me a comment on it please.

I think I might cut the handle of this chisel down. I can't think of a way to clear waste at the back of the vertical divider tail slot. 

accidental woodworker

I spent last week at the London International Woodworking Festival, taking Chris Schwarz’s Comb-back stick chair class and attending the show at the weekend.

Things are looking better now that the carcass is glued up. I can actually see this done by next weekend. Everything I learned with the prototype is paying off with the cherry one. There isn't that much left to do - a door, drawers, moldings, and then ooh and aahing repeatedly.

8 helping hands

Used the F clamps to get some squeeze out from each tail. Nothing moved, shifted, relaxed or said aah when I took them off.

diagonals didn't change

The front was still a 32nd off and the back was dead on.

surprised me

Based on how much it was proud at the top left corner I was expecting to see a healthy amount of twist. Instead I saw almost nothing - maybe a frog hair.

no twist

I flushed the four corners and checked for twist and saw none. Used the 3 foot straight edge to check that everything was flat in the same plane 360.

marking my gaps

Used blue tape to mark the tails/pins that had gaps (3) for me to fill.

stopped here

I was going to plane/sand the tails/pins flush but stopped myself. It didn't make any sense to do that first and then fill any gaps. Shimmed the gaps first and then plane/sand later.

chip missing

I only had this one chip to deal with.

sizing the fixed shelf

Got the left right dead on. Next up was the notch at the front of the shelf. Had a bit of tussle with the brain bucket trying to wrap my head around it. Took a bit of back and forth before I figured out the negative and positive parts.

oops

This has been falling out quite frequently lately. I have been putting it back together and carrying on. However, today it was not staying back together. I thought I didn't have any epoxy and I was going to stop at Wally World on my post lunch stroll to get some.

test drawer divider

Used the bandsaw to saw the two notches on the fixed shelf. This was the test set up block. I only used one but it was the 4th and final test cut that finally fit.

dry fit is good

I had to shave the ends twice before I finally got this to seat all the way. I'm flush at the front with some proud at the back. That I will plane flush after it has been glued and cooked.

acceptable

The clamps aren't excessively tight with the fit between the notch and the carcass side being minimal. The right side looks better than this side.

right side

I chiseled the dado a little at the back edge of the notch and it improved the fit here. I did the same on the left but it did diddly squat for it.

teeny rabbet

Used the LN 140 to plane a 1/4" wide, almost nothing deep, rabbet on both ends. The rabbet faces down into the drawer opening and won't be seen. There is barely a frog's hair between the rabbet shoulder and the side of the carcass.

I had some

I'm glad I checked this. I was looking for the epoxy kit that my wife had given me and found this. Didn't know I had any 5 minute. Mixed a batch and attached the errant knob to the handle. I let it set up while I filled the pie hole.

need horizontal and vertical dividers

I cut off a piece that I then hand planed to the thickness to fit the drawer divider dado.

reference face

After I got the reference done I ran it through the tablesaw to get close to the thickness. I planed the sawn face until it fit in the drawer guide dado.

 

good fit

Longer than I need it to be but it is a good, self supporting, snug fit.

vertical divider

I have two of them with sufficient stock to make new ones for any potential me-steaks.

hmm......

My eyeballs deceived me. I thought the dado wasn't running square to the front but it is. It widens a little at the back making it look like it isn't square. 99.9% of it is.

which face?

This is the adjustable shelf and I was trying to pick which face would be up. I really the black gum pockets in cherry and this was my first choice.

the winner

I'm going with this face because the grain of it and the fixed shelf are the same. 

I got the fixed shelf glued, clamped, and cooking. Got into a groove with it and didn't get any pics of it. The hide glue was a good choice as it 'oiled' the ends as I seated it in the dadoes.

slight defect

Another reason I picked the winning face. This defect would have been on the bottom of the fixed shelf. With it reversed it disappeared when I planed a chamfer on it.

planed a chamfer

I ran into a bit of awkward grain in a couple of spots. Not a terrible amount of tear out but I'll have to card scrape the chamfer to smooth it out.

vertical divider detail

This is something that I wanted to do on the prototype but didn't. I will do it for the cherry one. This is just one end of the vertical divider. The top will look exactly like this one. Both of these aren't going to be that easy to chop especially the back top on both sides. The drawer opening limits the chiseling I can do there.

reusable

I thought I was going to have to make a new drilling guide for the shelf pin cups but I don't have to. Regardless of soft or hard wood the shelf pin cups require a 7/32" hole. Without using the cups the drill size holes in soft and hard wood are different.

test run

I could flatten and sink the cups flush with the cherry. I didn't think I would have been able to do that but no problem. Instead I'm going with the raised lip on the cups. I'll use super glue to secure them.

stiles and rails

Haven't decided on the joinery for this yet. The choices are miters, mortise and tenon or bridal joints.

flushed and labeled

I flushed everything to match the thickness of the bottom stile because it is the widest of them.

lots to come on saturday

I'll probably get the door done first. It can get it glued and cooking while I work on drawers. I think I'll do the adjustable shelf cups after the finish has been applied. That way I don't have to be fussy with keeping finish out of the holes.

accidental woodworker

Recently, I received a phone call from a relative of neighbors I had in the home we moved from about 8 years ago! He remembered visiting my shop then and contacted me for a project he had in mind. They have a family tradition of wagering on the outcome of the horse racing at Del Mar. The winner is honored by having his name on the trophy and showing it off in their home. As you can see, they’ve run out of room and rather than start all over with a new plaque my challenge was to create a base that they’d be able to use for several generations. Here are the results:

Before and After

The size of the base was determined first by the size of the name plates and then by the amount of material I had available. As I was planning the work I realized that every side of the base would be visible at some time or another so it needed to be constructed in a way that end grain would be hidden. I chose mitered edges with full masonite splines for added strength. This was assembled with Old Brown Glue, my go to for any project where I don’t want any glue to show through the finish. It’s much easier to clean up than PVA glues.

The top was glued and clamped to the base. Having never worked with this species of wood I have no idea as to how much it may move due to humidity changes so left some space. I used a simple glue rub joint on the end grain of the top allow the wood to expand with the grain if humidity affects it — I don’t think it will though.

Top glued/clamped to the base Glue rub joint pieces

Making the bottom from one piece of wood presented the same problem of the edge vs. end grain and there wasn’t enough wood to do that anyway. The solution was making the bottom from 4 pieces using the same technique I use for picture frames. This way no matter how the trophy faces, the edge of the base always presents a nice, profiled piece of edge grain. It was rabbeted to accept the base and attached with screws from the bottom. There are silicone feet embedded in each corner to help anchor and protect whatever it’s sitting on.

Bottom of trophy, unfinished Finished with silicone feet and holes for assembly

For the finish I went with what I’ve been using for many years, Osmo 3043 which is a hard wax finish. Two coats applied 24 hours apart using abrasive nylon pads followed by a coat of Liberon Black Bison wax results in a glass smooth finish. They were finished separately and joined together once dry. I couldn’t resist taking this one picture of the project assembled and finished with the horse in place and texting it to my client! All in all, this was a good challenging project — just what I enjoy taking on. Glad he remembered me and my shop — thanks!

Bottom and base finished with Osmo #3043 Completely assembled, ready for the nameplates

 I am not sure which pt this is on. I kinda fell to the wayside numbering while doing the dovetails. Those were the go/no go point for this build. Dovetails are done, dovetails are good, time to move on with the build. I think I'll start numbering this one as #1.1 until I get past what have numbered already.

cooked

Ready to check this and see how well it healed. I wasn't expecting any issues because it looked and felt good yesterday. As long as it didn't shift I should be ok.

glue squeeze out

The three sides of the split are aligned and almost dead flush. One side is maybe a half of a frog hair proud. The glue squeeze was higher than that.

super glue to the rescue

Chip is solidly secured and I flushed the top of the chip with a rasp.

hmm.......

I was happy with how this glued back together. There was only a 1- 1/2" long spot where the break was slightly proud. I flushed that with the card scraper.

where is it

I can see the break on the top of the handle but I can't see/pick it out on the outside. I can't believe how well this glue up healed the handle.

prepping time

Got the cupboard on the bench with the back facing up. Checking that my corner labels agree and the top is at the top and bottom is at the bottom.

dadoes are next

Before I glued up the cupboard I wanted to chop the 3 dadoes needed. This one is the bottom dado for the drawer divider. I marked this one wrong - I didn't reach under on the sample divider stick and this dado was a few frog hairs too wide. It is wider than any of the stock I have already planed. I'll have to think on how I will deal with this gaffe.

tight

I got a nice, clean, flat bottomed dado for the fixed shelf. I didn't screw myself marking for it wrong like I did with the drawer divider dado.

sibling dado done

The second one came out as tight as the first one. I purposely made it tight so I can plane the shelf to fit dead nuts.

from Rob Cosman

This nut tightens and looses with an allen wrench. Before I couldn't tighten this to hold the iron. It would slip and move as I pushed/pulled the router. I bought an allen ball driver and that works sweet. Nice not having to deal with the iron going off into La La Land on me. I bought one for all my LN routers.

back to glue up prep

I was erasing the pencil marks on the inside of the cupboard. I usually forget this but not today. I also looked over the condition of the inside and I left it as is (right of the planer). The pic doesn't show it but, I wiped it down with alcohol and the grain popped. This cherry is going to look drop dead gorgeous when the shellac goes on it.

hmm.......

I wasn't having any hiccups erasing the pencil marks with alcohol.  However, the pencil left the impression of itself on the cherry. The aren't too deep but I can see them. I'm not sure if sanding will remove traces of it. These are on the inside corners of the cupboard and will be in shadow/darkness. They also tend to blend in with the cherry.

done

Got all the pencil marks erased on the in and out sides. One more check before glue up.

nope

I'm glad that I checked this before trying to glue it up. This is the corner that popped off and I glued back on. It won't fit and it is about 2 frog hairs too tight. I shaved the half pin 4 times before this corner went back together.

done

All is well in Mudville. I dry fitted all four corners and all four fit. I shouldn't have any surprises other than missing a glue drip.

less than a 16th

Due to the snug fit I used hide glue. I didn't want the stress of having to deal with glue freezes or having it set up before I got the corners seated. I had no issues with the hide glue.

The diagonals on the back were almost dead on. On the front they were off a 32nd. I tried to fuss with it a bit but gave up. I can live with and adjust for a 32nd on something as large as this cupboard.

on the front of course

This corner of the cupboard is a lot higher than I would like it to be. The kitty corner to this one is high too but only by a couple of frog hairs. I'll deal with this tomorrow after the glue has cooked.

accidental woodworker

It took me a while to get over the shock of who won the presidential race before I finally got to the shop, late. I had better news and results there - I survived my first trail by fire with cherry dovetails. I tried hard wood dovetails several years ago making a box out of maple and walnut (?). I don't have that box and I'm pretty sure the dovetails were total crappola. Much better results after fast forwarding a few years. BTW 'sont finis' is french for 'are finished' it is some the few french words I remember from high school.

hmm.....

Getting to the last two that have the potential to go south on me. The 3rd tail shouldn't present any hiccups but I wasn't so sure about the last one.

3rd one chopped

I wasn't sure how this would chop. I was expecting a lot of flaking and chips coming off but it chopped clean.

two chips

Chopped the 4th one with only two chips to deal with. Unfortunately for me I didn't scoop them up right away and lost them. Not particularly fond of the cracks/splits in the pin but it does feel solid. I'll fill the splits with super glue and cherry sawdust after it is glued up.

better

I chopped the pins on the last board without coming in from the end grain. I dealt with chopping the slanted trough leaving the majority of the waste as support. The baselines came out pretty good with a minimal amount of tear out.

fitting the 3rd set of pins

So far all three sets of pins went together off the saw. I was not expecting that all. I would have bet a lung I would have had to do a wee bit of shaving here and there.

bit of a gap

Glue isn't going to swell this shut. I'll shim it after it is glued up.

no appreciable gaps on this face

3 for 3 so far and will I go 4 for 4?

I'm impressed

3 for 3 on no gaps on the inside. This is a 70/30 affair with me. I'm getting better at it but I still not a 100% with it. This is encouraging seeing it in cherry.

Yikes!

I noticed a split on this half pin and I tried to open it a wee bit to get some glue in it and it popped off. Glued it back on without any issues and set it aside to cook until tomorrow.

Holy bat turds Batman

The chisel felt funny when I was chopping with it. I ignored it initially until I saw a big crack in it. I'm pretty sure that the handle is bubinga of which I don't have any. I bought a set of these Ashley Isles chisels for the grandsons so I could use that 1" chisel in the interim. Making a chisel handle will be another first time attempt for me.

another chip

I paid attention this time and taped it to the board right away. Of course it is on the outside face. It is too deep to plane and it would behoove me to glue the chip itself back in place vice making a dutchman for it.

went 4 for 4

The ordeal and fight in my mind about doing cherry dovetails has proven to be unfounded.I would rate these cherry dovetails a notch above any of my outings in pine.

one more )@O(&@^(%_)@#*% gap

Got a gap on the tail side but they are all seated pretty good. The gap and the seating cancel each other out.

pin side

This tail board is a wee bit proud. It is a tapering proud too going from high on this end to nothing at the other end. This will plane off easily. I just hope the grain is running from this end going to the left.

wow four for four

I was happy with all four of the inside joints. No gaps at all or they were so small I didn't pick up on them.

hmm....

What to do with this? The only viable option is to remove it and make a new one. Before I drive down that road I'm going to attempt to glue it back together. However, that will negate being able to strike this chisel with a mallet.

cooking until the AM

I got a better squeeze out and a tighter fit in the vise than I got with a couple of clamps.

accidental woodworker

How do you spell cap iron anyway?  Two words? One word? Hyphenated?  Maybe I should just say chip breaker.

Recently I saw a Bill Carter video and on his bench was a cap iron screwdriver.  Seems like I'd seen him talk about it (though I can't recall where) and he espoused the virtue of using it rather than using the lever cap to uncouple the cap iron from the plane iron.  I've been using my lever caps for almost 15 years without any chips to the lever cap, but I thought I'd make a special screwdriver for this task.

I roughed out the shape on paper and found an over-length piece of scrap wood to use for the handle.  I also found an old hinge leaf to shape into the blade.

Some initial thoughts and some steel for the blade. These weren't the final measurements, but they were close.

I started with some careful layout on the wood blank and removed a bunch of material with saw and chisel.  Then it went on my bungee lathe to turn the ferrule post and the "waist" of the driver.

Shaping the front end of the handle on the bungee lathe

While I had the bungee lathe set up, I also turned a small piece of dowel so that one end would fit tightly into a brass plumbing adapter and the other end would fit into my drill.  The plumbing adapter would later become a ferrule.

Brass barb to thread adapter (most of barb end has already been cut off)

At first I thought I'd be able to file the barb end with it chucked into my drill, but it turned out to be far easier to file it while clamped in a metal working vise.

Here's the adapter with mandrel stuck into one end

And chucked into the drill

Filing while in the drill was not optimal - too much flex of the drill

So I just filed it while held in a vise

then sanded and polished it smooth and shiny in the drill

I cut off 5/8" length of the smoothed brass adapter and fit it to the ferrule post.  I sawed and filed a slot in the post for a good fit to the screwdriver blade.  I didn't get any pictures of it, but I filed the piece of steel hinge to the proper shape to fit into the ferrule post.  It's 5/8" wide at the business end to fit a cap iron screw full width.  It's a bit wider where it meets the ferrule and fits that nicely with no sharp edges protruding.  I also rounded the tip of the bit, since the slots in cap iron screws are made with a circular blade and are a little deeper in the center than at the ends.

Put a slight curve on the tip

After several coats of shellac, sanding between some coats, then a rub with 0000 steel wool followed by some paste wax, the handle feels very nice and looks great.

And here it is, ready for service

Fits perfectly

I did have to grind the tip a little to get a good fit in the slot.  The hinge metal was about 3/32" thick and the slot is about 1/16" wide.

Another very satisfying project for sure.  Now I'll never have to worry about the lever caps chipping - that is, if I can break my old habit of using the lever cap and start using this new screwdriver!

Today was a beautiful day with blue, sunny skies with a high temp of 76F (24C). Two mornings past the temp was 32F (0C) when I got up. I wanted to spend the day outside and enjoy it. However, the gas people parked their heavy equipment outside my house. They were digging up the road to install new gas lines. I couldn't drive so I walked. Went on two walk abouts today. Once in the morning to run errands and after lunch. If this weather holds true this winter is looking to be a mild one again.

ready to saw

I knifed the top end and dropped my square lines on both faces. I then knifed my baselines - I only knife each pin between the pencil lines. 

knifing the pins

I reach under the pin a frog hair - about the same as I do for dadoes. I then use the knife line to saw in. I usually always get a snug fit when I do it with pine. Doing it the same way for the cherry. If they don't fit it will be because they are too tight and I can shave the pins if necessary.

sawing the pins

No hiccups or heartaches sawing all the pins. I first saw on the top knife line and then I saw downward at an angle following the pencil line. Exactly the same way I would have done it if this was pine.

think I dodged it

There is knot on the first pin socket on the right. At first I thought I would have to chop the knot but I don't think so after eyeballing it. The baseline is clear and knot free so I shouldn't have any issues. 

chopping the pins

Other than not excavating as much waste, this went hiccup free. I took my time and spent a lot of calories initially chopping on the baselines. I took 4 small bites before I did a healthy thump on the chisel. I did not want to move the baseline with a chisel chop.

Lee Valley tool

Came today - a multi tool for setting shelf pin cups. It has 4 different size heads and I have 3 different size shelf pin cups. 

over a hundred

I bought a 100 more cups and it doesn't look like I added any at all to what was already in there. 100 cups is enough for 25 shelves. 

2nd one?

I would have bet a lung that I had bought one of these last year? I searched and couldn't find it so I ordered another one. For a 12gauge wire extension cord the price Lee Valley is selling it for was too good to pass on (again).

one side done

This is something that I rarely do for through dovetails. I try to leave as much waste attached as possible chopping from both sides. I was having trouble chopping down and digging out the waste. So I came in from the ends like I was doing half blinds to remove the waste. 

first pin cleared

No break out in the middle. I was expecting some but I got lucky. I was going slow and easy, doing lots of chopping and removing waste in small bites.

second pin socket

Got a line with a little bit of break out. Not that it would effect the fit if it did happen.

sawing

This is the back side that I don't see when sawing at the front. For the most part I sawed right on the pencil line removing it. I'm getting better at sawing square on the back sides.

3rd pin socket

This is the type of break out that I was expecting in all the sockets. This isn't that horrible looking nor does it eat up much of the socket.

done

One good, one almost good, and two not so good. Considering I was chopping unsupported wood this is better than to be expected. And again, it doesn't matter to anyone except me. Seeing that break out makes me think something is OTL (out to lunch).

hmm.......

The pins and tails are started with no creaking, groaning, or any other protestations. I was expecting this to be tighter than this.

can't complain

I think there will be a gap on the right half pin. There is a chip missing from it too and I'm not sure if it is on the back or the front.

left half pin

The fit on the left side is as good as the right. This half pin doesn't line up that good. There is a definite gap that is larger than the right one.

I wet myself

To say I wasn't happy with this would be like saying ducks don't like water. I gently tapped this together with a mallet. No headaches or hesitations driving it home. I didn't feel or see any binding or hold ups neither.

extremely happy with this

A couple of tails aren't full seated but overall the fit is fantastic for off the saw. In cherry too on my first go around with cherry dovetails.

it can't get any better

No gaps on the inside and this isn't even glued and clamped. One down and 3 more to whack out. I stopped here for the day because I didn't want to jinx myself and try and hurry up to get the other end fitted. I'll come back to this in the AM.

 accidental woodworker

Having marked the apron lengths in the previous step, I added about one inch to each side for tenons. For this project I wanted to try making integral tenons on the bandsaw.

I had to decide if I would try to make all the cuts on the bandsaw, or only the less visible ones and use a handsaw for the show cuts. I tried making all cuts on the bandsaw. I wanted the tenons to end up 8mm thick so they would fit in an 8mm domino mortise.

The tenons came out close to size but needed cleaning up. I tried a file and then switched to a shoulder plane.

For the front apron I made a curve on the bottom using the same curved bow I used for the front edge of the tabletop. This curve is concave, so a handplane can’t be used to clean the edges. I used a file and sandpaper wrapped around the offcut. The two short aprons were so short I didn’t bother putting a curve on them.

I wanted to drawbore these tenons. I like the look of pinned tenons on shaker furniture and wanted to practice. And I suspected my joinery would be sloppy and benefit from tightening up.

For the legs I drilled the drawbore holes before making the mortises. This way I wouldn’t have to clean up blowout inside the mortises. I drill a starter hole with a 1/4 forstner bit, switch to a 1/4 augur bit and drill until the tip pokes through, then drill in the backside with the forstner bit. The forstner bit helps to have clean entry and exit holes, but it’s not so good for drilling all the way through.

This time I was smart enough not to have the holes intersecting, but I still had a couple collide with the aprons on the exit side. I will scoop out an exit path with gouges.

I made overlapping mortises with an 8mm domino bit and rounded the tenons with a file. The peg holes in the tenons are 1/16 closer to the shoulder, a measurement I did not test but borrowed from my previous project in ash.

Prior to assembly I decided to scrape and sand all of the pieces. Each face of each leg was scraped with a card scraper or cabinet scraper, then hand sanded at 220 and 320 grit. This was the most time consuming part of the whole project. For the aprons I only cleaned the visible outer face.

I drilled some pocket holes in the aprons for the tabletop. I wallered out the top holes to leave the screws loose for movement. The distance from front-back apron is only 8-9″, so I don’t think I have much to worry about.

I glued up the short sides first and later added the long aprons to complete the assembly. I used liquid hide glue on the tenon, shoulders, and drawbore peg. Some of the pegs crumpled, which I blame on using sawn stock rather than split or rived.

Back to the tabletop, I marked the underside where the legs would sit and drew a chamfer about 1″ wide and half the thickness. 95% of this material was removed with a #5 plane, with a block plane, #7 plane, and card scraper taking care of the rest.

For the topside I scraped the glue line as promised. After 1,000 passes or so it was flush. Then I scraped the rest of the top 3-4 times to blend in. I hand sanded the top, the edges, and the fondleable parts on the bottom with the same regimen as the legs.

I also drilled pilot holes for the pocket screws on the underside. I wouldn’t drill pilot holes for pine or plywood, but it seemed like a good idea for hardwood. First I drilled the pocket screws in 1/4″ or so to establish the angle, then backed them out and drilled the rest of the pilot hole by hand.

I read too much about finishing cherry and got analysis paralysis. A lot of what I read was about minimizing blotching, which doesn’t seem desirable for curly cherry. After all, the curls are blotches, right? Anyhow, I don’t have any polyurethane or ‘varnish’ and don’t plan on getting any, so my options included boiled linseed oil, shellac, and lacquer. I made samples of blonde shellac and garnet shellac with and without sanding back the first coats to accentuate the curls and decided to use garnet shellac without sanding back.

The last cleaning up before finishing was to scrape all of the pegs and scrub the glue squeeze-out with hot water. Then I sanded those areas with 220 and 320 again. I also took the table inside to its future home and marked and leveled the feet.

The finish is garnet shellac with 5 coats wiped on the top and 3-4 coats on the legs and aprons. After that I put it in the sun for a few hours.

All put together and in the spot it was made for:

I’m happy with it. A relatively quick project for me. And I practiced making tenons and pinning them.

In this video the back eventually gets reunited with the rest of the body!

Cheers Gary