General Woodworking

It’s long overdue, but at long last I have some images of the finished modular tansu cabinets to share. I finished this project up back in February, but that was followed by crating and shipping which was a bit of an ordeal, and I was hesitant to share any images until the cabinets were safe… Read More »Modular Tansu – Final Post

The post Modular Tansu – Final Post appeared first on Big Sand Woodworking.

This is Mrs. Ralph. Ralph will be back to doing too much in the shop, even though he's supposed to be resting, later today. Wishing you all happy woodworking.

 

I completed the little tasks until there was nothing left to do but wrap it up.

I added guides on the sides of the drawers to keep them inline. They are only glued in place. The edges facing the drawers were planed smooth. Later I waxed these surfaces and the mating edges of the drawers.

gluing in guides on the side

The drawer pulls glued in without wedges. My flush cut saw is a cheap one from harbor freight. I rubbed the teeth on a diamond stone to remove the set. It has so many teeth-per-inch that it's slow, but it works.

cutting off drawer pull stub just needs a little scraping

Most of the drawers needed planing on the sides to insert fully. Only one was seriously off on the face. Notice the gap between it and the next drawer up is tight on the left and wide on the right.

uneven gap above drawer

Likely the whole drawer box was twisted but I didn't try to untwist it. I planed the underside on the left to drop it down a little, then I shimmed the underside on the right to raise it a little. It didn't end up perfect but it got better.

glued on shim, before sanding

To finish I sprayed the walnut and butternut with three coats of garnet shellac. After I used that up I switched to blonde shellac and sprayed 2-3 more coats. The blonde shellac also went on the sides and interior of the drawers. After drying half a day I rubbed everything with a brown paper bag, waxed the drawer slides, and screwed on the top and back.

Printer Stand

full view

The stand is 27.5" tall, 27.5" wide, and 20.5" deep. The carved drawer fronts put together make a canvas of 21.5" square.

front view

The carcase and top are walnut, with the side panels being resawn. The drawerfronts are butternut with walnut pulls. Secondary wood is poplar, basswood, and plywood.

side view 1 side view 2 with back

My goals were to have a stand for the printer and for the drawers to be wide enough for stacks of paper. Having a carving continue across multiple drawer fronts was a side goal.

I dusted my printer for this picture wide enough for two stacks of paper carving detail

Other posts in this series:

• Printer Stand 1: Plans & Rough Cuts
• Printer Stand 2: Carcase and Pre-oiling panels
• Printer Stand 3: Drawer Construction & Homemade Pulls
• Printer Stand 4: Carved Fronts & Little Things

 Tomorrow (today as you are reading this) I'm the lead off for getting sliced and diced. I have to be at the hospital at 0630 to check in. I should be home around lunch time - fingers crossed. I go back on monday to get the catheter out. I'll ask again but the I'm sure the doc said I could do my normal routine. For those not in the know a TURP is a transurethral resection of the prostate (resection is a medical term for surgery). It is basically a rake and scrape of an enlarged prostate. Not looking forward to the procedure but I am towards having it over and done with.

glad I'm a pack rat

The tile layouts are set for each of the 7 coasters. I'll put them in these bags until it is time to set them. The coasters don't care which tiles they get, I asked.

the bottom one

That is the one I had to trim to remove an out of square corner. The opposite one was rounded due to me dropping it on the deck. I had to saw an eighth of an inch off.

odd looking but......

There is a pattern to it. I went back and forth on removing the middle one and making another sized like the others. Decided against that and this is what Amanda is getting.

too thick

This was a sliding lid for something that I'm repurposing for the shelf for the coaster holder. I am thinning it down to 7/16" thick.

Lee Valley scrub plane

I don't use this much as I prefer the Stanley #6. This one is a better choice for doing small scale stock like this. It is about 3 1/2" wide and 5 3/4" long.

snug fit

I am finally getting a consistent snug fit with this joinery. It has taken me a lot of years to get here. One down and one more to go.

shelf dry fitted

Got a snug fit with the other stopped dado. The next batter is the back stretcher above the shelf.

blind mortise

After I had seen the dry fit I saw that I should have put the stretcher on the outboard side of the line. No hiccups chopping the two blind mortises. I knifed the perimeter, made a knife wall, and chiseled out the area between the outside walls.

self supporting

It is a wee bit snug but that is what I wanted. I find it easier to under size the mortise and then plane the stretcher to fit the mortise.

first one done

Achieved a snug fit with the first one. It was a bit awkward getting it to depth. The router I used left a hump in the middle but it got both ends of the mortise flat and in the same plane. I chiseled the slight hump off and I will rely on the ends for seating the stretcher on.

starting the 2nd one

First step is to define the perimeter with a knife wall. That virtually eliminates me being ham fisted and accidentally making chisel marks on the perimeter.

first dry fit

Happy with the fit and the overall look. The sides are square to the shelf and the stretcher. Both the stretcher and the shelf are the same length and feel/look like they are fully seated in their respective dadoes and mortises.

too much wiggle room

I didn't think I had left this much wiggle room for the coasters. This is too much and I shortened the stretcher and shelf by 3/8".

better look at the gap

My first thought on seeing this was to make another coaster but nixed it. I want to be over and done with this and move on to something else.

better looking gap

The gap now is 3/16" which I am ok with. None of the tiles extend up past the banding so they won't or shouldn't get banged or hit moving in and out of the holder.

rounded the tops

I free hand drew a gentle curve from the front to the back. I also did a small round over on the front corners of the shelf. I was going to leave this natural but instead I'll be painting it. This way everything will be a match for each other.

oops

I forgot to do the cutout for the bottom edge of the holder. Not a horrendous me-steak but it would have been easier to cut it out before I glued it together. I'll have to do it with a coping saw after this has cooked.

accidental woodworker

 Rain, rain, and more rain. I couldn't stroll yesterday or today because of the rain. And that sucks because the exercise I get from that definitely helps me out on sunday when I weigh my tonnage. After 3 weeks of zero weight loss this past sunday I dropped 3 pounds. I would like to stay on losing side of things with this. I'm hoping to stroll tomorrow because the weather seers are predicting sunny/cloudy conditions.

nope

Shifted and moved too much to correct. This is one of the two coasters I glued up yesterday. Neither one of them are usable and have been tossed in the 40 gallon circular file holder (aka shitcan).

nail pin box dividers

The size of the pin nails go from 1/2" up to 1 3/16" by eights. 

new bandings

I bought three, 4 foot long pieces of 1/4" poplar. From one piece I got 44 bandings. I double, triple checked myself to ensure that these had enough length to allow for shooting the miters on the jig.

I only got grout at Lowes (and I got the last tub). I looked at the sealer and it was too high in price. I'm into these tile tables for a pretty shiny penny. Wood, paint, mastic, grout, and tiles have set me back about $350.

ready for poly

I sanded both parts with 320 and I used up a lot of calories doing it. I found waterfall drips in places I hadn't seen yesterday. Wiped it off with a rag and then used a tack cloth on it.

coaster work

Gluing them with the band clamp wasn't working out. Instead I glued and pin nailed the bandings on.

3 done, 4 to go

This is going quicker than I thought it would. 7 is an odd number for a coaster set but I am not buying anymore tiles to make an even numbered set.

woodworking done

This what the seven will look like. One of these I had to trim a wee bit off  the base because one corner wasn't square. I can only pick it out if I put between two other coasters. I will be adding making a holder for these - can't give them to Amanda loose like this.

Next step with these is to apply a primer coat and then the topcoat. Which will be the same as the tile tables. Setting the tiles on these should be a lot easier along with grouting them. Hopefully Lowes will have another tub of 'warm gray' grout back in stock in case I need it.

used it

Christened this yesterday and it worked. I thought there might have been a hiccup with extending the line from one face to the other - would the break for the hinge leave a gap? Well boys and girls it didn't. Each part of the saddle gizmo allows you to run the line right to the edge. That was pleasant surprise and it may turn the tide for me liking this new toy.

double drats

 The plan was to apply poly to this as the last thing I did today in the shop. That didn't happen boys and girls. All the waterfall drips were smooth and flat to the touch but I could still see them in raking light. Poly doesn't cover up sins like this with subsequent coats. So instead of applying poly I used the card scraper to remove all the waterfall drips on both parts.

pin nailer box

Flushed the bottom and the tops of the dividers with 80 grit and the LN 102.

OCD already kicked in

I started getting the heebie jeebies about filling in the empty slots with pin nails. I've had this pin nailer for over ten years and the nails too. I thought I had at least one more size but as usual I came up empty searching for it. If I remember I'll stop in to Horrible Freight and buy some pin nails when I'm in that neighborhood.

no brush work

I was careful brushing the poly on but I'm getting old and slipping. Instead of brushing the poly on I'm going to use a balled up rag. I used a shop towel to see how well it would work. Way back in the dim mists of time when I used poly exclusively I used a foam pad and T-shirt rags to apply it. The only downside to T-shirt application is you have to apply 4-5 times as much as brushing it on. But it was exactly as I remember it being.

no more haze

Another thing that slipped in the queue to be done today. I should be able to finish grouting both of them tomorrow. Fingers crossed with that happening.

Ending with a rant about belts. I have a 35" waist according to the jeans I wear. However, a size 36 belt, IMO, is too small. I bought one at Wally World and it fits but only on the very last hole in the belt. Bought a 38" belt made by the same mfg that made the 36" one. I thought I would catch a hole at least a couple away from the end one but it too only fit on me in the very last hole.

 I am of the opinion that a belt caught on the last hole in it looks like crap not to mention there isn't a lot of wiggle room if your weights balloons in the wrong direction. I'm in and out of Wally World at least once a week and the next time I'm in there I'll try on a 40 and 42 inch belt and see how they shake out. Rant over.

accidental woodworker

 I got two pairs of cargo shorts from Carhartt on sunday. Size 35 and I was excited about trying them on. I could barely get the top ends to meet let alone button it. I checked my jeans and all 3 of them (which fit) say they are 35 waist with a 29" inseam. Based on how the jeans fit and how the Carhartt shorts fit, I would have to buy a size 38 Carhartt? I didn't want to risk buying them and have them be too big or fit tight.

On the flip side the return of them went off without a whimper of trouble. I snapped a pic of the QR code on my phone and brought the shorts to the nearest Whole Foods store. The guy scanned it and said have a nice day. Quick, easy, no wait, no fuss, and I was in and out a few minutes.

I went to Wally World after the return adventure and I was disappointed at the offerings in the shorts department. Again, nothing in size 35 and no odd sizes above 36. I tried one size 36 and they were snug. A 2nd size 36 was loose - they wouldn't stay up on their own. Contemplated trying on more but I was getting pissed and frustrated. I think I'm going to buy some regular jeans and find a tailor to make them into shorts. That will take some doing because the tailor I have used in the past retired. 

sigh

Not only aren't the tiles square, they also vary in size and thickness. The row above the perimeter was the last one I did. It really doesn't blink like a neon light because the margins vary in width and none of them run straight and true. 

some curve slightly

I checked each tile individually to make sure they were stuck fast. None of them budged a frog hair and all felt secure. At least that worked out for me as I was concerned due to the first batch of mastic I used.

putting the ladder together

Putting the cover blocks on along with all the screws. I have some work to touch up on the edges. I saw a lot of waterfall drips on both parts of it. 

done

The last pieces of hardware are the bolts and nuts for marrying the two of them together. They will go in/on after I'm done with the touch up poly work to come.

ran out

Got the 2nd table 99.9% grouted. I think I got most of the bubble holes on the first table done too but I'll have to eyeball it seriously in the AM. I didn't have enough grout to finish either table so I'll be making a road trip to Lowes tomorrow.

The haze on the table is after the first run with the sponge. It took me well over an hour before the table appeared to clear and haze free. I checked it again just before dinner and looked clear.

left over tiles

I don't think I'll use these tiles for anything else so I decided to make some coasters. I had enough to make 7 coasters with 2 tiles left over from that.

enough for 4 coasters

Found some leftover poplar from banding the two tables and sawed out banding for the coasters. I will make them the same way I did the tables.

good fit

I didn't allow enough length when I roughed out the bandings. The coaster pad is 3 1/2" square. I shot two of them on the 45 jig and they ended too small. This is the fit of the bandings as they came off the saw.

)@&)%)@Q*%Q_@_ gaps

The first one looked good and this one ain't. It will be painted but this gap would still be visible through it. I have to go Lowes tomorrow so I'll add a couple pieces of 1/4" thick poplar to make new bandings.

last thing for today

Decided to make a box to hold my pin nails. I dropped the 5/8" ones and I no longer have strips of them but a pile of little ones. I should have done this a bazillion years ago. After this one is done I'll be making another for my 18gauge brad nailer.

The box is simple stupid in construction. Rabbeted joinery with 1/8" plywood dividers. I will glue a piece of 1/8" plywood on the bottom but no lid.

5 slots

The dividers are in there dry, no glue. They are helping to keep the box square as it cooks. I am planning to do a cutout on them to help with getting the nail strips out of the box. I'll do that in the AM.

an hour later

The grout is still leaving a haze on the tiles. I sponged this again and I was still dragging a wee bit of grout. I had to wait for the grout to set up more before the sponge stopped dragging grout out of the margins.

hmm......

All the perimeter tiles had some grout build up against the banding. No problems scraping that junction clean with a chisel. The tiles being glass made for an easy clean up of the grout on it. The grout didn't seem to want to stick this side of the tiles.

cleaned up

I will be scraping each tile individually. I tried a few of the interior tiles and they all brightened up after scraping them with the chisel.

accidental woodworker

 Got the second tile table done. However, I thought I had forgotten to fix the bubble holes in the first table but I was wrong. Today was mastic and setting the tiles. Tomorrow I'll grout table #2 and then I can fix the bubble holes. That is all I got done today in the shop. I am thinking of sealing the grout lines because Amanda told me that she plans to use these for placing drinks on.

maybe next time

Got a comment on using a set up like this to tile the table standing. Unfortunately for me I didn't have any boards long enough. Or I should say I did but I didn't want to saw the board I had in half and nail/screw in to the workbench. Instead I parked my cheeks on the same stool I used for doing table #1.

ready to set tiles

I'm doing the 2nd table the same way I did the first one. I set all the perimeter tiles first and then filled in between them. I swung in the opposite direction with water in the mastic this time - I didn't put enough. This time around the mastic was stiff and not as easy to butter on the backs of the tiles.

tiles at the ready

I noticed that there were a lot of wonky tiles here. I missed that when I dry set them. I tossed 5 tiles when I removed the interior ones to these two boards. I put a few extra tiles out so I could replace any more as needed as I set them. 

lunch time

I stopped here because it was time to fill the pie hole. Since I was buttering the backs it won't effect laying the rest of them. Just as well because the mastic was starting to set up.

done

I was paying more attention to the grout lines this time. The margins on these tiles are more 'uniform' than table #1. I split any differences between the tiles and the margins fudging them and taking into account the neighboring tiles too.

I put in a couple of hours more doing battle with the ivy removal. I have about a 2 foot area left but it looked to be bare of ivy runners. I'll find out for sure when I get back to it. That will probably be a couple of days because rain is forecasted to start late tonight and continue into all day tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

Sometimes life gives you an opportunity you didn’t know existed.

My friend Tim called me last summer saying that he cuts the grass for our old Junior High Shop Teacher, Mr Morganroth, and he had some old tools he wanted to sell. Mr Morganroth was our shop teacher in the seventh grade. In class, we would make swordfish and ducks out of a piece of walnut, then attach painted metal for the fins and the wings. The class was the basics of woodworking, where we learned the simple steps of using a rasp, grades of sandpaper, and cutting things out on the band saw. These simple steps got me hooked on woodworking, and I started to slowly build a shop in my parents’ basement when I was in high school.

Mr Morganroth said he was moving to Tennessee in a few months and wanted to get rid of some old tools he had been collecting asking if I would be interested in them. I told Tim I was but wanted to know what he had beforehand, so he sent me a few picks from his phone.

Tim sent me the photos, and I took a close look at them and I said I was interested, but I don’t want all of them since a lot were just common tools. Unfortunately, Morganroth wanted to sell them all at once, so I just let it go and forgot about it.

Then, a few weeks ago, Tim called me again and said Morganroth really wanted to get rid of them, so I contacted him directly and asked to send me better picks of what he has. Morganroth said he wanted to sell everything but the cooper’s tools as they were his grandfather’s.

Understanding that, we went back and forth for a few days, and I gave him an offer for the tools he wanted to sell (I really had my eye on the slick at the time). He responded that he would think about my offer. 

Then last week he got back with me and said he’ll include the cooper’s tools as well and he’ll also throw in some woodworking books he had. I made him an offer higher than the first one I gave him, and he agreed to the price.

Friday, I went over to his house and picked up the tools. He had them hanging in his house for 30 years. He said his kids have no interest in them as neither of them work with wood, so he was glad they were going to a good home.

I brought them home and clipped them off the barn wood they were attached to to take a better look at them. The tools on the bench are the tools that his grandfather used when coopering. I plan on keeping them together as a set. I’m even considering making a tool chest for them.

It’s an incredible honor to buy old tools from the man who got me started in woodworking over 40 years ago.

 A warm front moved in on friday and that is supposedly going to give us cloudy skies all next week. This morning it looked like that would be true. However, after an hour or so the sun starting peeking out and eventually burned off the cloud cover. The mercury got pushed up to 80F (27C) which made for a super nice day. I wanted to walk for hours on my post lunch stroll but didn't. Instead after getting back to the barn I helped my wife out with some yard work. And I did battle with the ivy again.

first look see

I liked what I saw this AM with the table. The grout lines were full with no separation anywhere. There tiles were cloudy but expected.

bubble holes

One of a couple of spots where I got some bubble holes. I got less than I expected but it is an easy fix. When I grout Amanda's table I'll hit all the bubble holes then. I might have to do the same after grouting Amanda's table too.

done

I wiped the grout haze from the table with a sponge and dried it with a towel. Ten minutes later the haze was gone and there is a check mark in the done column.

base pic

I like the floating aspect of the table top and I don't regret the bottom stretchers. I still think it would have been wonky and unsteady without them. The legs extended down past the top stretchers too long not to do stupid wood tricks. The bottom stretchers stiffen the legs and solidify what is a small table.

On the flip side I did like the look of the original top stretchers sans my bottom ones. However, there were only two rails - the short sides with a center stretcher connecting them forming an 'H'. I think the legs would have curled in and out if left that way.

hmm......

I forgot to apply poly to these covers for the dowel rod. It will be easy to get some on them after I'm done with the front and back assemblies.

came early

Last I checked on this the delivery date was monday the 5th. I will set the tiles for this table tomorrow.

sigh

 This also came today and it is something I didn't order. It is also the 2nd time something has come from Blue Spruce that I didn't click the 'buy it' button. I had gone to the site to look at this saddle square and I had clicked on the options for it. I didn't add to the cart nor did I click buy it now. The other time this happened I ended up with a small mallet. What I think is happening is PayPal is automatically buying it for me somehow(?) because that is what paid for both. I'll have to stop looking at new stuff from Blue Spruce when I get an email from them.

 I'm going to keep it but I'm not a fan of this style of saddle square. It is handy for laying lines on two adjacent surfaces that aren't square to each other. I like a solid, one piece, 90° saddle square. I'll found a home for it and see if I'll use it.

hmm......

I popped off these two test tiles I did a couple of days ago. Both came off easily and almost no mastic was left behind on the wood. Got good coverage on the backs of the tiles though. I think it was because the wood wasn't sealed and that is why it didn't stick. I don't think I'll have this problem with the tables. The plywood is rated for tile layment and it was sealed with a primer coat of paint.

clear of ivy

The area in front of the old garage I am declaring ivy free. I've been dumping urine on the ivy in this area for a couple of weeks and I could see the ivy dying and withering away to nothing. I'll have to keep an eye on it because the ivy comes under the fence back into my kingdom.

kind of clear

Last year I cleared all the ivy from the old garage pad to the end of the fence. There are a lot of dried out and dead ivy vines laying about but the root system on them is extensive and some still have life in them. I have about 10-12 feet to dig and uproot before this battle is over. I worked on it for 2 hours in the PM today. I'll try to work a couple of hours a day on it until it is done.

accidental woodworker

When dovetailing the sides the only thing I did different this time was to stack them.

sides stacked to chisel all at once

This saved some time as I didn't have to reposition the holdfasts so often.

I planned a carving across all of the drawer fronts. This is not something I've seen a lot of, so I wonder if there's a good reason for that. I settled on some flowers, which is the reason I've been practicing carving flowers into butternut lately.

First I clamped all five fronts to make one large canvas. I made thin spacers to account for the gap between drawers. I didn't want to clamp pennies in between the boards as I thought Honest Abe would leave an impression.

thin butternut strips to account for space between fronts

I printed some clipart, resized it, and laid it out on the drawer fronts. The flowers I faithfully traced, the rest I was more relaxed about.

drawer fronts clamped together with flower clip art my graphite paper worked so poorly I threw it all away

Then I went through the steps of carving. Lining in and lowering the background is relatively fast and satisfying. But the leveling the background and setting in took multiple sessions over more than a week. By contrast the modeling step I completed in one day.

lining in with v tool lowering with #7 gouge leveling and setting in modeled, wet with alcohol

After this I unclamped the boards and applied refined linseed oil. Normally for a flat surface I would use a cotton rag, but that doesn't play well with my carvings. Neither does foam. So I used a large paint brush normally used for household painting.

I just apply the oil to wet the piece and deepen the color and contrast. I wipe off the excess after a few minutes. I later oiled the walnut carcase as well.

With the carving done I thought I could knock out all the rest quickly. Put the drawers together, attach a back and top--how hard could it be? Then I had to accept reality. Each of those tasks has many little details to keep track of. And there's only so much time, so many clamps, and so much free space to stack all the parts.

For the top I made a crude chamfer on the underside. There was a defect on one edge that I thought would disappear with chamfering. But the geometry in my head didn't agree with the geometry in reality.

I thought that defect would disappear. It didn't.

The top will be attached with tabletop fasteners. The slots are made with the domino, with some wider to allow movement.

5mm slots centered 13mm from top edge

The back I made from scrap plywood that was the right thickness and almost the right size. A fancy solid wood back will have to wait for another project. I wanted it colored dark to be less noticeable, so used india ink.

applying india ink to old plywood back fitted with holes for screws

Now the fitting of the drawers has slowed me down. I've been fitting the drawer backs and gluing the boxes together one at a time. Then I usually have to plane the sides to get them to slide all the way in.

x marks where to plane

Since I know the fronts fit the opening (and they have been oiled) I try to only plane the basswood. I use a piece of plywood overhanging the bench to drape the drawer over while planing.

Setup for planing drawer sides. It helps to not have the bottom in.

Once they can be inserted all the way I mark the back end of the sides to cut off the excess.

The drawers have side-to-side play inside the carcase. I will have to add strips to all of the existing guides to keep them in line.

too much play side-to-side

So compared to carving it feels like the home stretch. But it's still a lot of small little things to do one at a time. I still haven't got to the point of seeing if all the drawer fronts and their carvings line up well.

Next up on the loom is creating kerfs on the front and back pieces for the yarn to go through. While thinking about it a groove on the front and back faces just where the kerfs end will prevent the yarn from slipping out. So grooving time it is.

 Finally I have one table done. I got it grouted and I just have to wait for it to set. Fingers crossed that I won't see holes or gaps between the grout and the tiles. It has been years since I've tiled and grouted. I think I may have made the grout a wee bit too wet which could lead to it to shrinking and pulling away from the tiles. I'll be smiling or crying in the AM.

self supporting

I sanded the outside face of the keepers but not enough yet. The lid is a nice fit and self supporting. I know from experience that the shellac build up from a couple of coats will render the lid too big to fit on the bottom.

smiley face on

The tiles are set and unmoving. This was my first attempt using/setting small glass tiles. My tiles aren't that random overall. In fact there are several patterns evident scattered about. Oh well, initially it looked random but after the tile setting was done I saw it wasn't as random as I thought. I won't have to fret about this with Amanda's table. I checked the delivery date for those tiles and they are due monday the 5th.

need some 1/8" dowel pins

Decided to fill in the old screw holes in the box with mahogany pins. I did this sizing of this mahogany starting at 3/16" working on down to 1/8". I tried to push the wood through the holes by hand over using a hammer to drive them through.

violin plane

It is small but it also isn't a toy. It excels knocking the square corners off on this thin mahogany. Hit the corners and then pushed it through the doweling jig as much and as far as I could by hand. Pushing it through the doweling jig leaves a 'shoulder' that I used to tell me where to start/stop planing.

more violin plane work

One tap with the hammer and the 'dowel' broke. I won't need them but I have 3 extra 'dowel blanks' to use. I have more than enough with the broken one for what I need.

looks odd

I got the holes plugged with the mahogany and it looks a bit odd to my eye. I thought the holes were slanted in the same direction R/L from the ends. 

split it in half

I would have wasted over half of this grout if I had mixed it in its container. I roughly halved it and I should have enough left to do Amanda's table too.

adding more holes

I didn't like the look of the 4 holes as is and decided to add 8 more. This will now look deliberately done and a planned design element. Or not, depends on if you are a 1/2 full or 1/2 empty type of guy.

ready for clean up

Got the heebie jeebies when I added water to the grout powder. Initially the water wasn't being absorbed by the grout - it was like trying to mix oil and water. However, after mixing it seemingly forever it started being absorbed and the mixture turned into a creamy peanut butter like texture. I let that sit for 5-10 minutes and floated it on the tiles.

It went on a little watery so I may have added a bit too much water. The only awkward spots to float were the four corners. It took extra care and dance steps to float the grout fully into the margins there. I had to fight leaving bubble holes in the grout as I floated it. I went back and hit them individually. Time to wait now for about 30 minutes before I cleaned the tiles with the sponge.

first sponge run

IMO I was pulling too much grout out of the margins on certain areas - there were about 5-6 tiles higher then their neighbors. I did manage in spite of that to get the tiles reasonably clean and there wasn't a lot of haze on the tiles 5 minutes later. Did another sponge run to remove that. I let it set up for another 15 minutes and did the sponge dance steps again.

ready for shellac

In between sponging the tiles I sanded the keepers on the box. Got a loose fit and lost the self supporting bit.

holes done

Not exactly an eye catching design but it is one I have to live with now. I may repeat this pattern on the front with 4 holes each on the sides.

ring box

I might as well finish this box at the same time. I'll have to search for another ring holder. The first one I got was total garbage and I could have gotten more value  flushing that $$$ down the toilet. I sanded these keepers a little bit and stopped. I think I'll keep the lid and bottom together when I shellac it - I won't apply any finish on the inside of the box at all.

looks hazy

One thing about this I'm happy with is there wasn't any mastic on the tiles to speak of. A couple of them had some specks but they all came off cleanly. Did a 3rd sponge run and I didn't see much if any haze on the tiles which told me the grout was setting up.

thick grout line

All the grout lines vary from thick to thin. I thought I had eyeballed the tile margins tighter then this. Something to be more on my toes about when I do Amanda's table.

one more at least

I think I have close to 3 coats on this. The edges may be behind on that total but the rest of the ladder has 3. I'm going to put at least one more coat on this in the AM. 

I have been searching for dungaree shorts jeans. It is ridiculous the prices I'm seeing for them but the most annoying aspect are the sizes. Almost nobody offers odd sizes. Everyone was only selling even size shorts and I need a size 35. 

Most sell only even size but I found two who offered my size 35 for a ransom price. However, I am not paying $69 to $79 for shorts. It is looking like it is cheaper to buy full length jeans and have them tailored into shorts. Stayed tuned to this channel for updates.

accidental woodworker

 Happy with the digital antenna I bought. I was going to buy one that cost $139 but instead I saved myself a few $$$ and bought one for $30. The picture I am getting from each station is in HD and only one of them is iffy. I don't have a listing of the digital channels in my area so I can only select/surf the stations the TV picked up. I am getting one iffy channel and it is similar to a scrambled pic from an premium channel. So far so good and I just have to find a Digital TV listing. I think I'll get a digital antenna for the TV in the bedroom too.

prepping for the 2nd coat

 320 sandpaper on the entire ladder. The small scraper is for the drips and runs. Sanding them with 320 doesn't work. Scraping them is quicker, easier, and yields the best results.

mahogany

I got the 2nd coat on the kitchen ladder and I didn't want to start laying tiles before lunch. This mahogany is the last of the solid mahogany from the table I got from Facebook Marketplace. I bandsawed off two strips a wee bit thicker than a 1/8".

keepers

I decided to finish this box and not use hinges on it. Instead I am going to put keepers in the lid and use them to secure the lid to the bottom.

dry fitted

I mitered the corners on these keepers vice using butt joints which is why I made them so thick.

clean look

The lid fit (dry) without me having to plane or sand it to fit. It is a bit snug and with shellac I know it won't fit then. For now this is ok as is but I'll have to plane/sand it for a loose fit before applying it.

screw holes

I went back and forth thinking about these holes. Use them and go with hinges or use keepers and deal with the holes. I didn't like my hinge choice so I'm going to deal with filling in the holes somehow. I'm leaning in the direction of dowels, no putty. I'll do that after the glue has cooked on the keepers.

ready for laying tiles

Using a stool I made last year. It is the perfect height for playing with the tiles on the table. This stool will be going to live with youngest sister Kam sometime soon after this.

way too much

Mixed up a batch of the mastic. I tried buttering the backs of two tiles, one with the mixing stick and the other with the putty knife. Surprising to me was the putty knife won. I thought it was too wide to place mastic on the backs of the small tiles.

kept going

The plan going into this was to lay the perimeter tiles only. Let them set up and then do the inner tiles. I thought it would be time consuming to butter the tiles and set them in place. Instead it went rather quickly. My concerns about handling the buttered tiles were unfounded. Getting to this point took about 40 minutes.

done

Of course I had to arrange the tiles again as I laid them. I couldn't remember the orientation of the tiles I placed on the first table tops. I found that out on the second row when the same tiles were butting against each other.

My grout/margin lines aren't straight and neatly laid out R/L and T/B. There was no way that was going to happen because of the tiles - none of them are square and the overall sizes varied too. However, I think the wonkiness of the tiles blends in with the wavering grout/margin lines nicely. They both compliment each other.

The tiles for Amanda's table will be here tomorrow via UPS (which just laid off 20,000 drivers). I don't know when it will get here but I doubt I'll get lucky and get to it tomorrow in time to lay them. I will however, be able to finish up the 2nd coat on the kitchen ladder. I'll eyeball it then to see if it needs a third coat. I may put a 3rd on the treads due to the high scruff wear they will get.

accidental woodworker

Spent a good portion of today running errands. One of them I've been putting off for quite a while. It was nice to finally checking that off the to do list. In the PM I went out with my wife to look for plants/flowers for the yard. I would like to put a weeping red maple in the front side yard and she agreed with me. I had to rephrase and ask her again twice before I believed her. I basically leave the yard to her. About all I will do with it is battle with the ivy along the back fence. It will be interesting if she asks to transplant a maple for her.

done

Maria does awesome job on cutting the matting and setting the pics. The two circles were ovals in the original paper mat and I had told her I didn't want ovals on this one. I would have been happy with square or rectangular openings (didn't tell her that)but I am ok with the circles. The trick now will be finding open real estate somewhere on a wall upstairs.

The pic in the upper right corner is of a younger me. It was taken 49 years ago. Where did all those years in between go to?

2nd side

I never went back to the shop last night after dinner. I did manage to get the other side's first coat on today. I like the poly - it is called warm satin. It has the teeniest of hints of brown in it.

looks bare

Got the 2nd side done and it either soaked in or I missed a big spot. The outside leg between the two steps is the problem area. It felt tacky to the touch so I think I got poly there. I'll have to wait and see how it looks/feels in 3-4 hours.

WL Fuller stop

I had to replace 3 bits in this holder and all 3 replacements stuck out like sore thumbs (two were black oxide). I would have gotten this haul the last time I came here but I couldn't remember the 3 bit sizes I needed. I have several 1/4-20 taps but I didn't have a 1/4-20 die. Fixed that with one from WL Fuller.

another distraction

This digital antenna kit came today and of course I had to immediately play with it. I wasn't expecting the antenna to look like a piece of black paper. I played with it for over an hour. The instructions (chinese) weren't that horrible. I could understand and follow them. It took me 5 channel search and set up runs but in the end I got my local stations. I have ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. I will be able to watch football come this fall as the games are on one or all of them. ESPN carries some games but I won't be able to watch them. I couldn't find a digital channel for them.

prepping

The game plan is to remove all the interior field tiles. I took them out and placed them on the original tables that I made too small. I will secure the perimeter tiles first and then do the rows one at a time.

ready

I'll start on this tomorrow. I have to find chair or make a stool to sit on. Standing in front of the table bending over to remove the tiles hurt. Securing the tiles is going to be tedious enough and I don't need to be aggravated with my back singing arias for me.

nope

It had been over 3 hours since I applied poly but it was still a wee bit tacky. The shop was a toasty 64F (18C) and it has been that temp for over a week. That is plenty warm enough for the poly to set. Maybe I'll get it sanded and another coat of poly on it after dinner today.

hmm....

This feels the same as its sibling. However, the bare spot is gone. I looked for it in raking light and nada. It feels rough to the touch too but that is to be expected after one coat of poly.

accidental woodworker

 Well boys and girls I misread the website. I had ordered new mosaic tiles and initially I thought they were arriving on May 1st. When I checked the Etsy site this AM I was a bit disappointed in what I read. Today the arrival date was between May 1st and May 5th. Yesterday there was not anything else after May 1st. With my luck they won't be here until the 5th at the earliest. I can work on my tile table first and work out any kinks with it. 

Lowes road trip

This is what $63 looks like. A ten pound of mosaic and glass tile mastic, a grout sponge, one grout float, a small container of light gray grout, and a quart of 'warm satin' oil poly.

Switched to the mastic over the silicone because I couldn't think of a way to use the silicone. I will have to butter the back of each tile as I set them. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to control flow of the silicone with the caulking gun. Also I don't have any idea how long of an open time I would have with the silicone. Too many unknown variables that I didn't have a warm and fuzzy with so I picked the mastic.

I have done tile work in the past with mastic and I feel comfortable using it. I can mix up small batches of it (I'll still have 9 1/2 pounds left) and not worry about it setting up quickly. A ten pound bag is the smallest amount that they had for sale. The grout I will probably have to buy another small tub of for the 2nd table.

Got the poly because I didn't have a warm and fuzzy about the spar varnish I had. I didn't like the color of it (turning a brownish color) and I have had this can in the shop for at least a couple of years. Thought it best to suck it up and buy a new can of poly.

hmm.......

I missed two of the same color tiles side by side. After fixing this one, I noticed and had to correct 3 others. These tiles tend to blur en masse after checking a couple of rows.

gotcha?

Both of these tiles appear to be black but they aren't. Each tile has a smooth glass face and the other side has a design/imprint on it.

one was copper

Both of the tiles had the design side facing up. I went through touching every single tile making sure the glass face was up. The tile above and to the left of my finger has the design face up. The one under my finger has the glass face up.

I am going to have to come up with a better way to set these tiles that doesn't require me to stand over it, bent at the waist, listening to the protests of my back screaming in my ears. I never sit in the shop while working but I'll make an exception for doing this job.

I think I got it this time

Having multiple tiles in row like this doesn't bug me. Touching at the corners is ok but butting up against each other on their sides ain't allowed. Overall it still looks like all the tiles are randomly aligned. I broke up this three in a row copper tiles because it was the only one I could see.

yikes

This is the worse tile of the ones I had to deal with. There are several more on the table with one tapered side but not anywhere near bad as this one. The ones I kept blend in well with the uneven grout lines and aren't that noticeable.

ready for poly

Sanded it with 180, tack clothed it, and vacuumed it. This is going to be awkward to get poly on. I'll tackle it by applying it to one side, let that dry, and put a coat on the other side. Wash, rinse, and repeat for the 2nd coat and then do the same dance steps for coat number 2.

still sticky

My wife had bought me a roll of tack cloth a bazillion years ago for xmas. I stuck it in a cabinet and forgot about it. Surprisingly it is still sticky and picked up a lot of sanding dust. This is my first time putting poly on a maple project. This is also my first maple wood project. I remember making a maple miniature blanket chest back in the 80's that I never finished.

hmm.....

Before I started this I looked around the shop for a spot to hang this so I could apply the poly to whole of it at once. Found a spot but not a way to suspend it. The plan was to poly the inside faces first and maybe after dinner do the other side.

must have IMO

If you do any amount of painting or using oil based finishes, having a brush spinner is a nice tool to have. You can't clean a brush as well as you can with this by hand alone. I've had this one for about 30 years and it is getting worn but still spins a brush like a helicopter rotor.

bench hog

The can states that you can recoat in 3-4 hours which is pretty good for an oil poly. Until that time this gets to have the bench for its exclusive use.

oops

The right side bottom is hanging out in the air. I put poly on the bottom edge when I shouldn't have. It won't effect it drying in 3-4 hours though.

wow

As I was leaving the shop I noticed two black tiles side by side. I played with this studying it for almost an hour this AM. I thought I had flipped all the tiles glass side up and didn't have any tiles of the same color butting against each other. I'll have to eyeball this again before I start setting any of them permanently.

accidental woodworker

 I'm starting a trend it would appear with short shop days. Today was another one where I punched the time card for the AM and zero for the PM. I had walked to Johnny's Chalet for breakfast and I got to the shop around 0830 and I worked until a little past 1100. Had lunch and went for my post lunch walk about. Came back to the barn and fell asleep at my desk. Woke up from that unplanned nap at 1430. Needless to say all I did in the PM session was to kill the lights.

dry run

This is the bonus table I'm making to give Amanda. She may not like this as it is made up of random, different colored tiles. However, I do like it a lot. I think the randomness of the tiles fits in well with wonky gaps between them.

This was not easy to do and I'm glad I made a dry run first. The tiles moved a lot on me due to me inadvertently hitting neighboring ones. I still have the joy upcoming of securing them individually with silicone. Oh what fun that will be, eh?

over an hour later

These are the tiles that Amanda picked out. I couldn't use 8 of the 156 tiles I needed. They were over an 1" wide. Several of them had tapered sides that hadn't snapped off cleanly when cut. 

I'm not happy with how this looks. I don't mind the mismatch between the tiles - they are both blue but with different patterns. I played around placing these tiles in the middle and this is the best I could come up to my eye. After playing with it I said NO MAS and I ordered another bag of 25 tiles. According to Etsy I'll have them by the 30th.

coming up with a battle plan

I know already going into this that I am not going to have nice straight, symmetrical grout lines. The plan is to secure the perimeter tiles first. Those will then be how I will gauge/set the remaining tiles against. 

better

I wasn't happy with how many black tiles were holding hands. I took the 8 blue tiles from Amanda's table and reworked my random table. I know it looks like there are still black tiles side by side but there aren't. I also moved around the other tiles so none of them were side by side. I like this layout better than the first one.

I'll be able to use this table as test bed. On my post lunch stroll I spent most of it thinking about doing this. My biggest concern is the grout lines and being able to reposition the tiles. I have no idea how long I can play and move the tiles around with the silicone. Setting the perimeter tiles will be the easiest to do and I'll be able to gauge my 'play' time with them.

have 25 coming

I ordered the same tiles as the ones here along with another bag of the same pattern but in purple. I don't like this all same color and I'll be able to fill the center in with the purple tiles. I can take a pic of it and ask Amanda if she likes it. But that decision will be hers to make. I'm just the '....can you make....' this guy?

I emailed Lee at The Best of Things last night and he replied - I had my answer this morning. He stopped selling new tools but is still selling vintage ones. So it was a no to getting a pad saw blade from him. I think my best bet for finding a new blade is searching tool sites in England. The pad saw was more prevalent there than here.

accidental woodworker

Yesterday (saturday) was rainy and today turned sunny again but a bit on the cool side. Worked in the shop in the AM session and that was it. I went on my post lunch stroll at 1145 and I got back to the barn at 1315. Went to the shop in the PM and just killed the lights. Spent the rest of the day perusing my FoxFire books. There is lot of info to soak up in them.

its new home

The first box I was going to use for this was too big. This one is a bit on the large side too but less so. I had to remove the blade because it wouldn't fit with it installed in the handle.

it worked

I had a lot of doubts about this working but it performed a bazillion percent better than my pad saws. I was especially surprised at how well the gadget worked on squaring up the corners. I had drilled a couple of holes and sawed between them.

pad saw

You expose only as much of the blade as you want. The blades I had were roughly 11" long and they buried themselves in the handle and came out the butt end. They had coarse teeth and this blade snapped in two on me. Every time I used one it either snapped in two or mostly the blade bent on me. 

As I was typing this I realized that I never checked to see if the blades were sharpened. Sharp does cure a lot of hiccups so I'll have to check it out. However, I don't think I have anymore pad saw blades. But I could try sharpening what I have left on this one.

I checked the The Best Things website and he is selling tools again. I thought he had stopped that but it appears he didn't. I didn't see a search function nor did I find a parts/accessories radio button to click on. I shot him an email asking if he still sells pad saw blades. As an aside, he has a american Disston pad saw for sale $48. Both of my pad saws were made in England.

almost ready

I thought about this but I couldn't think of a way to secure the top to the base after tiling it that I liked. Got my pilot holes drilled in the table top and the leg tops.

done

Mixed up some slow set epoxy and applied a thin coat to the tops of the legs. Before doing that I had lightly sanded the top of the legs to give this epoxy something to bite on. Two screws in each log and Bob was your uncle.

hmm.....

Me thinks I got ahead of myself a wee bit. I should have painted the tops of these stretchers before I secured the tops. Got them painted in spite of me getting ahead of myself.

I like the color

This light gray paint is called a high falutin name - silver lining. It isn't a color I would have thought Amanda would like. It will play nicely against the blue sparkly tiles she picked. 

After the tiles are set the last step is grouting. Haven't got that yet because I am going to wait until I have the tops tiled. I am leaning in the direction of a light gray grout and maybe I'll get lucky and find one called silver lining.

my new shop iron

Ordered this off Amazon same maker as the wife's iron. The model my wife has was $90 and this one was $39. I showed it to my wife and told her to ask me before using it. I'll keep it in the box it shipped in until I can make a replacement wooden on. Might be a a good candidate for a japanese tool box?

accidental woodworker

I bought a Disston D8 Thumb Hole Rip Saw and wanted to restore it. The saw was in pretty good condition when I bought it. The only issue it had was that the back of the handle was broken with a chip missing from it.  It’s a pretty common issue as that is where your thumb and index finger ride when sawing, so it’s under a lot of friction.

I wanted to repair it, so I carefully carved out an area to glue a new piece of apple wood in its place.

After the glue dried, I shaped and sanded the wood to match the rest of the handle. It came out well , it just needed a little bit of wood putty to close up the gaps between the new wood and handle.

After the putty dried, I sanded the whole handle and applied a few coats of shellac to it. The handle looked nice, but the putty stood out like a sore thumb.

This is where I put my artistic hat on. Playing with a paint kit, I mixed up a few colors of red, brown, and yellow, mixing them around to get the best matching shade I could create. It wasn’t about creating the perfect color but laying three different colors down so that it would blend with the rest of the handle.

After a few minutes of painting, I was happy with how it turned out, so I let it dry.

The saw came out nice, and the broken end of the handle won’t dig into my skin when I’m using it. Now that is all left to do is to sharpen the blade and put it to use.

Another saw saved from the scrap heap.

 

 I'm at the least favorite stage of anything I make. That is applying the finish and it doesn't matter if it is teeny or something as large as the tile tables. Today I painted them and that is all I got done. Even though I used a latex paint, I still have to go dead in the water at least till the paint is dry to the touch. Finishing means that is all that gets done until it is done. 

new home

I read a couple of chapters in book #1 and I'll go through all 12 reading what catches my attention. I had CD/DVD bookshelf in this hole that I'll have to find a new hole to stick it in.

done?

I have one coat on the bottom side and two on the banding. I'm on the fence about putting a 2nd coat on the bottom.

no difference

I wanted to see if the table top could be see or reflected upwards through the tiles. The two on the left are on the top coat and the right ones on the primer coat. I couldn't see down through either one of them.

2nd coat

Initially I thought I was going to get away with one coat. But after cleaning the brush after the first coat I saw that it wasn't going to happen. The paint was drying and had streaks in it where I could see the primer coat underneath.

missed it

After I got the 2nd coat on this I went over the entire table smoothing out any drips and runs but this one survived. I tried to scrape it flat with a razor blade but it took it off down to bare wood. I'll have to sand this to feather it out after I get the first coat on. It'll be a few more days before this has a check mark in the done column.

one on

This will be visible as it is the top rail. I could already see that it would take another coat. The rest of the table has two and it looks good to go.

2 to 1

I used the plastic spoon as my measuring device. I chose this penetrating epoxy over a slow set epoxy.

it penetrated

I used this epoxy to size the end grain on the tops of the legs. This  is where I will screw the top into. Once this epoxy has set I will apply a slow set epoxy on top of this to secure the top to it along with a couple of screws.

accidental woodworker