Accidental Woodworker

 

didn't forget

Molded the front edge of the 3 shelves. There is no way that this could be done after the shelves were in place.

hmm.......

I have run into this hiccup before. After eyeballing it I think is should have put the end of the dado behind the back edge of the notch in the shelf. Will I remember this tidbit the next time I do this.?

glued and cooking

I am going to let this cook until the AM. The 'hole' at the notch got a lot smaller. Decided that I'll fill in the smaller 'hole' with wood putty.

picture frame

Got the frame parts out of a scrap leftover from the Leo's bookcase. I will mold a 1/4"bead on the outside and a 3/16" bead on the inside of the frame. I can't do anything else with the bookcase so I'll knock this frame out.

ouch

I have had problems with the 3/16" bead lately. This bead was against the grain but it is real ugly looking. This is the worse tear out I've gotten with beading, with or against the bead.

ta da

The original mat for this had a 3" border which I think was too wide. The drawing has also faded and I can see the outline of the mat. I'm going with a thinner width of about an 1". I am leaning towards a black mat also. The original one was white as was the frame. There wasn't any separation between the frame and the art work.

dry clamp was good

I initially went into panic mood on this because with the dowels installed, one corner was wide open. I rearranged the sides and it came together perfectly. Don't understand why that happened. I only used one dowel at each corner. There wasn't a lot of room to get two dowels at each miter. I may add a spline on the toes later - depends on whether or not I get a warm and fuzzy once this is out of the clamps.

glued and cooking

I'll let this cook until the AM. If I feel the need to have two dowels on each miter I'll make another frame. I have a lot of scraps to use to make more than one more if necessary.

Feeling a wee bit better today. No queasiness or nausea to deal with which was nice. The tiredness was kind of still there but I didn't feel like I had to lie down and take a nap constantly. The shortness of breath is picking up and I'm learning how to deal with it. It is annoying but there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

accidental woodworker

 

hmm........

First thing in the AM I checked the squareness of the carcass. I had squared it up yesterday and left it as is overnight to cook. The left side, top/bottom, was square. The right side was a wee bit off. Not much and visually I can't see it.

the top secured

The top was glued down in spite of me having  doubts it would be. I had used hide glue for this and the top was down tight to the sides. I used four Miller dowels on each side.

need to remove this to the line

I didn't notch the sides to fit in the top stopped dadoes, instead I dead ended the sides into the ends of the dado. I purposely left it long so the sides would be tight against the ends. I had thought of sawing it off before I glued and nixed it. Decided it was better to leave it long and then plane it off. It is/was only an 1/8".

checking

I still have to rout a rabbet for the back so this needs to be straight and flat from side to side. 

hmm.......

Got it straight and flat but not square. I had to plane it by going from the right to the left which screwed up me eyeballing square. Corrected that boo boo but around the center was a brown knot where the grain swirled. So that spot is ragged and torn out and I'll have to smooth it out. The router bearing will just follow it and rag out the rabbet.

shelves

I sanded the shelves with 150 grit on both faces. I will apply primer next and 150 should be good enough for that. I had also sanded the inside faces of the carcass before gluing it up.

first one fitted

The left end fit snug but the right end I had to plane and check the fit 4 four times before I could seat the shelf in the dadoes.

hmm.......

I have yet to see a defect like this before. It isn't a pitch pocket and it is unusual looking. Wonder what caused it? Regardless this is on the back edge and will be removed when I saw the shelf to width.

took a while

Got all three fitted and it took a while. Got a good fit and I might help things out by putting Miller Dowels in the ends for just is case. Can't remember if I had done this for Miles's bookcase.

dry fitted

Clamping the bookcase improved the square a little - didn't remove it but it helped. With the shelves clamped I marked the front edge for the notch.

notches

It is only a 1/4" and it will be inset from the front edge of the bookcase about 1/8".

needs a frame

This is the drawing that daughter #2 wants me to make a frame for. She wants it to be the same as the frame I made for the bumblebee orchid pic. Not a problem and I might whack this out before I get back to the bookcase.

Didn't get much done today. I had wanted to get the shelves glued and cooking but it didn't happen. Yesterday I felt queasy for most of the day and so tired I could barely keep my eyelids open. I hit the rack before 2100 and didn't roll out until a little after 0600. 

Felt a little better this AM but only marginally. The queasiness was almost gone but I still felt tired. I was dragging in the shop taking seemingly forever to do things in hours that took minutes. I actually nodded out after lunch too. I haven't taken a nap in the afternoon since I don't know when. 

I'm still coughing and having fits but they are shorter in duration and not as frequent. The chemo cocktail side effect is helping there and I appreciate it. I hope it keeps at it until my last cocktail on the 21st.

accidental woodworker

 

hmm.......

Whacking out the shelves and it wore me out. I got short of breath on all three before I had sawed 1/2 way across. Got it done and marched on smartly.

the top

I barely had to plane a frog hair off on the joint line. I had fussed a wee bit when I glued this up getting the joint line flush.

brown knots

This is the top and I went back and forth on whether or not to put it aside and make a new one. I soaked the knots on both faces and after it had set it all of them felt smooth to the touch. 

prepping the shelves

I planed a reference edge and squared one end. I will saw it to length and width after the carcass is glued and cooked.

stopped dadoes

Router work is in the on deck circle.

ouch

I did a horrible job knifing the dadoes on this side. This is the worse one of the three. The furthermost line to the right is the one I need. It was a comedy of errors doing this. The square wasn't tight to the edge and the blade slipped as I knifed. I would like to say it was the knife wandering off into La La Land but it wasn't. Spoiler alert I dodged the bullet on this.

hmm........

I had soaked the errant knife lines with super glue before I chopped the wall. I took my time on that and went super duper slow and the wall ended up intact end to end. The opposite wall won't be a problem at all.

happy face on

All three shelves are self supporting, even the one with a bazillion knife lines.

feel better about it

The knife lines I soaked with super glue felt smooth. I couldn't feel any ridges or bumps. It was flush feeling from the wall going to the left.

done

All the dadoes are done and to depth. I had two more to do for the top and then I would totally done.

marking the top

Clamped the spacer and got the overhang R/L the same on the top. Made my knife nicks and put the top on the workbench to chop the dadoes..

not quite

The left side slipped down perfectly but the right side is throwing a hissy fit. I tried tightening the clamps and that did nothing. After I took them off the top dropped down onto this side. The dadoes came out clean but the fit is loose. I'll secure the top to the sides with Miller Dowels.

Mr 18" Starrett

The combo square says that the inside of the carcass is square. All four corners said I'm 90. The diagonals were less then a 16th off. I was expecting this to fight because the top wasn't really secured because of their sloppy fit.

ok

I made a story stick for the length of the shelves. Shelves 2&3 agreed but #1 was short by almost an 1/8". I checked the top corners and they were square so I next checked the side for bowing but nada. They I saw that the dado on this side wasn't down to a 1/4" depth.

Made good progress on the bookcase these past two days and I should be done with the woodworking and slapping paint on it this weekend hopefully.

accidental woodworking

 The bowling alley project is dead in the water. I thought I had some maple left over from a step ladder I made but I didn't. I had one 5/4 board that was too thin and not long enough. So I pivoted and started on the bookcase for grandson #2. I do have a couple of projects in the queue from daughter #2 but I'm waiting on her to send them my way.

Kreg pocket hole jig box

This is done. I got the last coat of shellac on it (4th) and it has a check mark in the done column. I will leave the lid propped up for a couple of days to let the shellac set and harden.

3 flat boards to start with

The first two I dug out were cupped and not suitable for the sides, top, and bottom. I will try to use one of them for the base. Unfortunately I don't have any clear boards left. All of them are peppered with small brown knots.

prepping

Planing my reference edges and faces first. From them I'll saw them to width and length.

need a dutchman

This is going to be a painted project but paint will not stick to a pitch pocket. I thought it was shallow but I was wrong. BTW this doesn't extend out to the opposite face.

done

I used a 3/8" thick dutchman and it sucked up a 1/4". I didn't knife it carefully enough because I have a gap on the inboard edge I'll have to deal with. This will be at the back of the bookcase too.

the top

1x12 pine is only 11 1/4" wide and I need a board that is 11 3/4". I don't like gluing skinny width boards to wider ones. I glued on a 3" board and I'll saw it to the final width by taking it off the wider board.

filling the gap

I packed the gap with super glue and pine sawdust. I will check it in the AM and give it a second helping if needed.

brown knot work

Brown knots can and will shrink and possibly fall out. I soaked all the knots with super glue and then used the putty knife to push it down into and around all the knots (on both sides). I thought of covering them with dutchmen but nixed it. The superglue and paint should hid them all.

almost

The bottom of the bookcase is dovetailed and the top of the sides are in a housed dado in the top. I am use to four corner dovetails I laid out tails on both ends of this side. I caught it when I checked that the layout triangles on the sides and the bottom agreed.

barely

I had to move the Moxon to the left because the workbench foot was in the way. If this hadn't worked I would have piled some boards on the bench and clamped the Moxon down on them. I have a couple of stools in the shop that I could have stood on to saw the tails and pins.

hmm.......

Not going together off the saw. I made the pins a wee bit too fat. Did the same for the left side too.

rasped them 3 times

I didn't have much to trim and I prefer to use a rasp for taking off a few thin frog hairs. I find the pins keep their angles and squareness better than I can do with a chisel. It took 3 dance steps of rasp and check before the sides mated with the bottom.

spacer

Got the sides seated and squared off the bottom. I sawed this piece of 1/2" plywood to the distance between the two inside faces. I will clamp this to the inside at the top when I knife the sides to the top housing dado.

shelf layout

I am trying to make this a clone of the first bookcase which I think is Miles's. I'm not shooting for an exact match but a visual one. When I made Miles's bookcase I had made a me-steak when I chopped the housing dadoes. Chopped on the wrong side of the knife line changing the spacing. I'm keeping the mistake spacing for Leo's bookcase.

double triple checking

Making sure that the dadoes line up and they do. I have made some bone headed me-steaks laying these out in the past. No such hiccups today but I still have to chop the dadoes starting in the AM.

wow

I had come back to the shop a little after 1200 not intending to stay long. I had looked at the clock and was surprised by how late it was. I got into the flow of things and time just slipped by me. No hiccups with the chemo cocktail I had yesterday. I felt good today and I wasn't coughing much neither. I hope tomorrow will be a good shop day too.

accidental woodworker 

I had my 3rd chemo cocktail today with my final one scheduled for the 22nd. So far I still haven't experienced any of the scary side effects. Fingers crossed that holds true for the last two. One thing I'm looking forward to is today and tomorrow is the chemo has knocked down my coughing (and fits) significantly on the previous two infusions. So far today I've coughed but have yet to have a 5 minute fit of it.

I left before 0800 to have blood work before my appointment. I didn't get back to the barn until a little after 1200. It made for a long day and the delay was with the blood work. The doc didn't get the results until after 1000. I guess I'm lucky with only one more to go. The other patient in my room was going into his 8th month of chemo. Needless to say I didn't get a lot of time in the shop.

nope

I had intended to return to the shop after dinner last night but didn't make it. I was bone weary tired and kept my butt cheeks molded to my desk chair. There isn't anyone holding a gun to my head to get this done.

first glamour pic

This done for all intents and purposes. The top needs one more coat of shellac but you don't know that just from looking at this pic. Got the cup pull install with no hiccups.

cup pull

This oil rubbed bronze is running neck and neck with polished brass. IMO I thought brass wouldn't look good against all the white of this poplar. I got the cup pull from Lee Valley and no screws come with the pull. I used black oxide, oval head #6 screws I got from Blacksmith Bolt and Rivet Supply. The color match between the two of the is perfect.

side glamour pic

My wife likes this because the wood is white but mostly because there isn't any pronounced grain on the legs and slats. The shelves not only have grain they have green streaks in them (which I like). I had to put something in this that I liked too. This is going to North Carolina to live in daughter #2's house.

half lapped shouldered dovetail

I like how this looks. There is just enough color difference to highlight it a wee bit. Even the plug fits and doesn't stand out (at the bottom left corner of the drawer).

If I make another one of these it will have adjustable shelves. That is the only thing I would change. This fixed shelf looks ok but I like the ability to change the shelf spacing based on what you want to put on it. The reverse of that happens with this arrangement.

hmm........

This is the large half pin after sawing off some of the height. I don't like skinny half pins because I don't think that they are strong enough but this size is over kill. It is almost the size of the tail.

got around to it

I leave this chisel on the workbench and use it for the odd things that I don't want to use my #1 set of chisels. Its only draw back is this chisel will not hold an edge for long and the bevel edge chips just looking at it. But right off the stones it works flawlessly.

hmm......

The hinge holes don't line up. I had left the hinges on when I applied the shellac and that wasn't the correct thing to do. I couldn't get the holes/hinges aligned in any orientation of the lid. The big me-steak was the right hinge went south on the express.

ouch

The right hinge warped, bent, cupped, and bowed all at once. I guess I abused it too much clamping it in the vise to drill the pilot holes. I shitcanned the both of them and I'll be using two new ones.

next project?

I've had these bowling pins for 6-7 years. I had started to make it once and abandoned it. Thinking of making it for the grandsons. Not sure if they will use it though. Miles is into anything trains and Leo is a baseball nut. But this will take a couple of shop days to do and give me a chance to think of what next to make.

makes me sad to look at

I really like the look of these marking gauges. It has been years since I used any of them. I had stopped using them because the head/fence couldn't be secured. I went nutso using them before I realized the head was slipping and moving as I marked with them. I tried all three again hoping the summer had swelled them but no joy there. 

All three slipped and moved just like the three bears. The baby one moved too easily. The mama bear one moved with a little pressure. Papa bear almost worked but I couldn't mark a line all around the end of a board. You can't use a marking gauge that won't hold its head when set.

nope

I had put a U bent piece of metal under the screw to help it bite down on the arm and stay stationary way back when. It didn't work then when I first tried it and today it didn't disappoint me again. I cranked down on the screw and marked the end of a board. No dice, as the line didn't line up on two faces. Did it again and I could see the fence moving slightly as I marked around the board. BTW this was the mama bear marking gauge. Still pretty looking but useless as marking gauges IMO.

accidental woodworker

cooked

I resisted the urge to come back and play with this after filling the supper pie hole. When I sawed off some excess the half pin it left was a wide half pin. Due to that I wanted the box to cook overnight in the clamps to strengthen those corners.

sigh

Made another boo boo, brain fart me-steak. Sawed the groove wrong again. Didn't I just do this a couple of days ago? I'm not going to fill this.

sigh, again, and again

I made this boo boo when setting the fence on the tablesaw. I'll fill this one in because it is on the outside face. At least I caught it before I got to the other end.

the lid

Got lucky that I found two scraps of New Zealand pine to make the lid. It isn't my preferred way as I like one board lids but this is a shop box. A two board lid will keep out the dust just as good as a single board lid.

two options

The bottom is overkill and too large for this lid. The top one is doable.

nope

This hinge isn't swaged (not a deal killer) but this does kill it. There is no countersink for the screws. The screws when tightened down would be proud of the hinge leaves. That means the hinge will not fully close even with a generous mortise for the hinge.

right one is the winner

I wanted to use the left one but the screws in the box and the lid would have been too close to the edges. BTW these are both 90° stop hinges which makes them borderline acceptable.

needed some work

The hinge is sized for a #3 screw but all my #3 screws are flat heads and this needs a round head. Drilled it out for a #4 RH.

pilot holes

Used a numbered drill for the pilot hole. My smallest fractional bit was too small. This is about all I use this eggbeater for. It excels at it and the only annoyance is the chuck needs help to open and close.

box prep

Planed the four sides leveling and flushing the pins/tails. Filled in a couple of gaps and once it has set I'll sand it.

hmm......

I had to reset this hinge. The barrel was below the top of the box. The hinge on the opposite side has its barrel sitting less then a frog hair above the top. As is the lid would have protested when opened/closed.

it works

Used a scrap to check the swing the of the hinges. I used tape and the truncated lid swung freely. Both hinge barrels are inline now.

3 hours later

Sizing the lid. I barely had enough overhang R/L but squeaked by. I ended up with the R/L with a couple of frog hairs overhanging with the front of the lid being flush with the front face.

done

Whacked out a quick finger grabbie thing. I had thought of putting a catch but nixed it. No need for it IMO. This is ok for giving a place to open the lid with thumb or finger.

last step

Used the sanding sticks to smooth the end grain ends. Next batter was slapping some shellac on it.

3 coats

I steel wooled between each coat. I'll do that for each coat I put on from here. I also ran my fingers across the top to make sure it was still flat and smooth. 2 more coats and this should be getting a check mark in the done column.

accidental woodworker 

finish done

I can't see a color difference between the blonde shellac and the super blonde underneath it. I'm happy with the build and the shine. I'll check it in the AM for drips, runs, and holidays.

shelf bottoms

I put two coats of the blonde shellac on the bottom. The build was iffy after one and the shine wasn't there. With two coats the build and shine is now good enough for the bottoms.

Kreg jig box

Can't do anything else on the honey can you so I'll be whacking out the box for the pocket hole jig.

hmm......

I must have dropped this because one corner was dinged and below its mate (more than the half pin). I sawed off 1/8" to remove it and square this end again. I had plenty of room because I had about 3/8" of wiggle room to play with.

it was lunchtime

The tails were done and I got the pins sawn. In the PM session I chopped them and fitted the box together. I have been thinking lately about sawing out the waste on the tails and pins with a coping saw. I am seeing this step on You Tube more and more. 

oops

 The box is too big. I am ok on the length and depth but the height is way OTL (out to lunch). I thought I had sawn the box to width already. I thought wrong boys and girls.

hmm......

There is over 2" of dead space which is too much. About 1/2" of the dead space will be eaten by the bottom but it still leaves too much.

better

I dry fitted the box and flushed the bottom with the #4. Then I sawed off about an inch leaving a little less then an inch of dead space. This is acceptable and I'm going with the height as is.

divider

The router is small but it works but it has its annoying quirks. Both the height adjuster and the lock loosen with use. The divider separates the screws from the pocket hole jig doo dads.

everything fits

I was going to saw the top off but I changed lanes on that. Instead I will hinge an applied top. I glued the box and divider and set it aside to cook until the AM.

yikes

Before I killed the lights I ran my fingers over the top and I thought I was dragging them across a washboard. I tried initially using 120 grit  to smooth things but that did diddly squat. It gummed up from the shellac and I had to drop down to 80 grit before the top felt smooth. I sanded it back up to 180. I'll get shellac on it starting in the AM.

accidental woodworker 

Slow shop day. Nothing exciting happening and I spent most of the day molding my butt cheeks to my desk chair watching You Tube. The honey can you is essentially done. I need to slap a few coats of shellac on the carcass, install the top, the shelves, and the cup pull for the drawer. I had ordered that from Lee Valley and it is coming sometime on Monday. I'll put off the glamour pics until then.

came at lunch time

It looks like any other blonde shellac I have bought. Smells the same and the flakes don't look any different. I was kind of expecting something from the bottom of the barrel full of bug parts and tree debris. And it weighed a little more than 1.1 pounds. Mixed up a batch to have it ready to go for tomorrow.

hmm........

This shellac whizzed up into the finest powder I have seen. The batch from two days ago was powdery but it was coarser then this batch. Based on the finest of it I expected it to dissolve immediately. 

dissolved rapidly

I mixed up a 2 pound cut - 6ozs of flakes and 3 cups of alcohol plus a wee bit more to fill it to the top. Initially the flakes dissolved easily with a little bit of clumping. The clumping went away with extra stirring and clumped a wee bit more when I stopped and checked it again 15 minutes later. 

The batch I mixed two days ago dissolved immediately and stayed that way. An hour after first mixing it there were no more clumps and it looked ready to slap on the project.

no difference

This batch wasn't as thin as the two day old batch (which was 99.9% gone). After waiting 2 hours I put a coat on the shelves, top, and drawer front. I couldn't feel or see any difference in its application then I did with the previous batch. It dried to the touch within five minutes and I think I'm calling it done. I think this coat is the 4th one and that is adequate for the undersides.

almost done

The slats have 6(?) coats on them I think. Three spray coats and 3-4 brushed coats. I used up the previous batch getting the last of it on the carcass. I like the build and shine so far but I am going to slap on at least one more coat of the 2lb cut shellac. (that depends on how it looks on the undersides) I am going to wait until the AM to do that. It will give the previous shellac time to set up.

accidental woodworker 

first one

Last night after dinner I went back to the shop and put on the first coat of shellac on the shelves, the top, and the drawer. Doing the tops of them first followed by the bottoms. I hate this part of a project. I don't enjoy applying finish and certainly not the wait time between applications. Not to mention I can't do much of anything else while I do these dance steps.

got 3rd coat on

This one pound coat isn't building and it is going to take more than 3-4 coats before it shines like I like it.

hmm......

I hadn't forgot this box for the Kreg pocket hole jig. I got the layout for the tails done but I don't have any room to get the Moxon vise on the workbench.

in the workshop

The humidity is/was high today. I didn't want to bring it up to the driveway and chance having the shellac blush on me. 

first coat

The vertical slats look darker than the legs and rails. It was a little awkward applying the shellac to the interior - there wasn't a lot of room to spray.

PM session

Got 5 coats on the shelves, the top, and the drawer front. I got four coats on the interior of the drawer and I'll put four on the bottom of the drawer.

hmm........

Got two spray coats and I rubbed them down with 4-0 steel wool. Applied the 3rd coat and I didn't have a warm and fuzzy with how much spray shellac I had left.

its dead Jim

The can went dry spraying the on the 4th coat. I only got one side of one of the vertical slats before it gave up.

hmm........

Used about 2/3 of the batch I mixed up yesterday. I hadn't expected to use so much of it just on the shelves and the top. I still have the bottoms of them get shellac on. I got a pound on order but it won't be here until next week. FYI - the cost of 1 pound of dewaxed  super blonde, with S/H, was $87. That is about $20 or so more than my last order. 

I had bought it from shellac dot net and the price of the same shellac on 4 other sites were all within a few dollars of the shellac dot net price. I then checked on Amazon and dewaxed  super blonde was the same price. However I found blonde shellac, 1.1 lbs, for $30. I don't know if it is dewaxed or not but I'll have it tomorrow. Fingers crossed that I will have enough of the current batch to finish this project.

accidental woodworker

hmm.......

This back doo dad thing needs to be secured now. There isn't any way for me to clamp it after the top is secured. And speaking of the top, it is going to be tricky to do. I will have to place the carcass on the top upside down so I can screw the table top clips. The doo dad thing is going to be a PITA then.

centered

I got the top, the doo dad thing, and the carcass aligned on the center. The overhangs are less then a 16th off. I thought I would have trouble getting an even overhang because the the top was out of square. It looks good to the eye and no one is going to measure it.

 

hmm......

I have cleaned up glue squeeze out a bazillion different ways. A toothbrush, hands down, has been the easiest and cleanest way to remove it. I've had toothbrushes in the shop for years and never used them. I saw a japanese You Tube woodworker using a toothbrush to clean up squeeze out. I won't be using a rag and a putty knife to clean it anymore.

cooked for 3 hours

Probably wouldn't have mattered but I planed the doo dad thing flush with the back edge of the top. 

overkill

I used 5/8" pin nails to temporarily hold the top while I screwed it. Two of the pin nails were proud and I hammered them flush. I'm not going to bother with setting and filling them. Who (besides me) looks at the inside front of a drawer?

hmm.......

Missed filling in two. I filled in the back and the opposite side yesterday and missed these two.

snug fit

I sawed a piece of the same wood as the drawer box. Used a chisel to shape it to fit the hole. When the drawer is opened now you won't see any holes.

another oops

The end grain on the ends was coarse and rough to the touch. This would look like crappola with shellac on it. Sanded the ends from 80 to 180. My 220 sanding sticks need fresh sandpaper.

slight gap at the bottom

The gap was a lot bigger. I had loosed the screws on the inside at this end and clamped the drawer front to the drawer box. Tightened the screws again but I didn't get it all. I did manage to get the opposite flat and tight. There is a slight cup to the drawer front that wasn't there yesterday.

branded

I like to apply the brand to a fixed, non removable part of anything I make. The top is removable as is the drawer and shelves.

for tomorrow

I had a little over 3 ounces of flakes so I mixed up a 1 lb cut. I'll have to put on a lot of coats to build it up. I have pound on order.

hmm.......

The end grain chamfer is a little rough. I was expecting this to be smooth coming off the router. I felt it when I playing around with the doo dad thing.

done

I didn't need to go through all the grits. 150 and 180 made it baby butt smooth. I did the three shelves also. Now I think I'm done with the woodworking.

canned shellac

The left can is almost empty but the right is full. I intend to use the spray shellac on the vertical slats. If it is sunny in the AM I will try to get 4-5 coats on them before the lunch bell rings.

accidental woodworker

last one

What a PITA installing the back screws on the bearers. I hope that the next time I make one I'll remember this hiccup.

hmm......

Replacement shelf fitted. No more gaps at the front/rear between the legs.

another sneak peek

I sawed another shelf and the top first thing this AM.  This is the new shelf fitted along with the top dry fitted. I didn't feel like screwing the other bearers on to see what all the shelves looked like. This was good enough to give me a sense for the overall look.

Lowes run

Laid 1/4" spacing on all four sides and attached the drawer front with pin nails. I was happy with the fit of it and secured it with six 3/4" #6 FH screws.

still catching

With the drawer front applied the drawer is catching again. The bottom edge of the drawer box was catching on the top forward edge of the bottom rail. I rounded it over removing the arris - it helped but it was still catching. I don't know what else I can do to stop it so I'm leaving it as is.

last one

Planed the top and the 3 shelves smooth. The step for the final prep is to sand the end grain edges - 80 grit up to 220.

routed the chamfers

Routed a chamfer on the drawer front first. The top and the three shelves I chamfered just the sides and the front. Left the back squared off.

had to check the look

I like the look of the chamfer. Readily evident at the front and not so much on the sides. At the back from 4 feet away I couldn't tell you if it was chamfered or squared off still.

I was hoping to get this fully prepped today and ready to apply shellac. That didn't happen boys and girls. The shelves and the top are ready for shellac but the carcass needs the arris knocked back on the legs and the slats. But I think the all the woodworking is done. I'll have to screw the table clips and the shelves but that is a minor operation. 

I had to quit early because tomorrow is garbage day and I had to saw up some branches. They won't take anything that is longer then 3 feet. I had to drag two 33 gallon shitcans full of yard waste out to the curb. That was a chore. What should have taken 3 minutes got stretched out to 20. The shortness of breath is getting worse. I had to stop and rest several times bringing them curbside. Maybe I'll sleep good tonight because I'm feeling dead tired as I type this blog post.

accidental woodworker

 

half laps done

The shelf bearers fit perfectly F/B. These were on the to do list for today. Spoiler alert - got to them in the PM session.

can't see it

Got lucky that the errant groove is the front of the drawer. I hadn't tried to match it for grain/color but I stumbled into it. It took me a while before I could pick it out.

fitting the drawer

It is a snug fit on the height and no go on the R/L. This is ground zero and I'll have to account for the drawer opening being out of square.

drawer planing set up

The clamp on the left (by the coffee cup) keeps the drawer tight to the workbench edge and from lifting up. The 5 1/2 tends to lift up the back end as I planed forward. 

knocking down the top

I got the side to side partially fitted but the top needs to be dropped down a few more frog hairs. There is only a paper width of clearance and I want at a minimum a 32nd.

hmm......

I thought I had the side to side but I was wrong. It is hanging up before the 1/2 way point.

one step forward, one step back

At this point I had already planed the top edge 3 times. There some clearance but the drawer while being pushed in was binding and being uncooperative. However, I like the process of planing, checking, and fitting. One important thing I have learned is to resist the urge to take one more swipe. That is the difference between a smooth in/out and a sloppy, binding, hesitant in/out.

wee bit more than 1/2

The first half is smooth but the back corners of the drawer are up tight on the side rails. There is clearance at the front so I only have to plane in about a 1/3 from the back of the drawer. This is because of the out of square hiccup.

done

Drawer slides in/out easily and smoothly. There is no annoying shifting and binding as the drawer goes in/out.

top needs more love

Although the drawer is moving in/out ok there still is barely more than a paper thickness of clearance. I almost went nutso on this but caught myself and calmed down. I made four passes and I was happy with the gap I had at the front between the drawer top and the top drawer rail.

hmm.......

The arris on the back was catching on the bottom drawer rail as the drawer was pushed it. Planed and sanded the arris off and all was well in Disneyland again.

hmm........

Due to the out square hiccup, the drawer front needs a little more love. I want the applied drawer front to lay flat against the legs and the rails. I will have to plane off a taper that is about a 16th at the widest point.

fixed

I got some tear out planing the taper but not a problem, It will never be seen again once the drawer front is secured to the drawer box.

nope

This was going to be the drawer tilt doo dad but not anymore. Centered on the back means there is a conflict between it and the table top clip slot.

the work around

Going with two tilt doo dads positioned between the table top clips. I am going to screw these to the underside of the top. The front to back length is about 1/4" short which is for expansion. That gap will be placed at the drawer front.

hmm......

Forgot that I had these - hide glue brushes. I had wanted to buy more of them but the French company stopped making them. Found these while working on my bar clamps.

came yesterday

I couldn't find the little tubes of this so I bought these - the cheapest price I saw. I also two more clamps, I have 14 of them not 12. The bars I got from my old work in the attic. These were the hangers for the fluorescent lighting circa 1958. The bars are thick walled and heavy, perfect for clamps. Now I don't have to deal with the clamping heads rotating as I use them. 

ok

Drilled a pilot hole in the bottom of the shelf bearers. Checking to make sure that the screws aren't too long.

finally

Trying to get the screw in the back of the shelf bearer was a miserable job. I tried a bazillion different methods and the vise grips got the Kewpie doll prize. It was still slow going due to the space constraints I had to deal with. Glad that I only have four of these to do.

the goodie parade

The big problem with the back screw, other then the lack of space, was I couldn't get a pilot hole for the screw. I'm securing the bearers with brass #8 round head screws and they suck for trying to screw into wood without a pilot hole. So what I did was to vise grip a #8 sheet metal screw to make the pilot hole for the brass one. Worked fine on the first two but it was slow going.

sneak peek

Got the shelf bearers for the top shelf done. I will remove the bearers and the shelves before I slap on the shellac. It would be a ROYAL PITA to do that with all the shelves/bearers in place.

nope

I wasn't getting a warm and fuzzy with this shelf. The gap on the left was noticeably wider than the right. This part of the carcass is relatively square when I checked it. The top is off 3/16 and this space is a strong 16th off.

better

The vertical slats aren't in line with the inside edge of the legs and that was throwing me off a lot. I got the shelf to be snug at the front between the legs and the same for the back. I had to plane the outside edges at the back a little to get the shelf to fit properly.

happy with the fit and look

I am going to chamfer the edges of the shelf. Thinking of just doing the front and sides and leaving the back squared off. Plenty of time to figure that out. 

Tomorrow I'll finish the shelves and make the top. The drawer front I'm thinking will be 1/2" poplar. Lowes has 1/2" poplar and a 1x4 would be perfect. The drawer opening is 3" and a 3 1/2" wide poplar board would span the opening by a 1/4" on all sides,

accidental woodworker

 The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. There isn't much left to do on the honey can you project. I just have to finish the drawer, put on the top and the three shelves and I'll be done. A couple of days to slap on some shellac and I can be oohing and aahing maybe this coming weekend.

drawer stock

Got a snug fit on the height and the R/L. I didn't have to be so fussy with this because I am applying the drawer front to the drawer box.

last one

Went together directly off the saw, no trimming necessary. 

flushing the bottom

Before I could do the grooves for the bottom, the bottom had to be flushed and straightened out.

oops

Got the bottom fitted and saw a boo boo. I brain farted when I sawed the grooves for the bottom. I don't know if this is the back/front of the drawer or not. If it is I'll put this at the front.

the fix

I used one of the off cuts from the drawers to fill the groove. This isn't the first time I've been to this rodeo.

drawer runners

These will be screwed on only, no glue. These are a high wear item and just being screwed will make it easier to replace them.

double checking

The drawer runners are square and straight to the front leg and bottom drawer rail.

hmm........

The shelf bearers got thrown a curve ball. The inside edge of the front leg isn't in line with the inside face of the back leg. This will make the shelf bearers a wee bit interesting to do.

test bearer

I had an extra bearer and used it check that my layout was correct. It is looking like I won't be able to center a screw at the back but I'll find out for sure when do it.

I am going to change the shelf spacing because it will no longer be adjustable. I had played with it briefly but nothing is carved in stone yet. I'll do the final spacing when I have the two middle shelves to play with.

the front edge

This looks a bit softer than leaving it squared off. This may get rounded in the final iteration. Depends on which compass point the wind is blowing from.

for the AM

Got the angle done on the bearers and in the AM I'll do the half lap for the back end. Three shelves and the top are on the A list for the AM too.

accidental woodworker 

 

sigh

As I was eyeballing this I saw two gaps that I know weren't there on the dry fit up. Way too late for an immediate fix now.

ugh and double drats

The bottom shoulder is tight but there is a 1/8" gap on the top one. How? Maybe it has something to do with the top being 3/16" out of square?

right side

There isn't a gap on the right. The 'gap' is actually the pencil layout line. The teeny gap here I would call borderline acceptable.

drilling jig

The plan was to use two adjustable shelves. I had initially planned for two shelves to be 10 1/2" apart. These shelves will be11 1/4". I glued two pieces of 1/2" thick plywood together and after it has cooked I'll drill the holes.

nope

I was going to make the drawer box out of 3/4" poplar but nixed it. That is too thick IMO so I'm using 1/2" thick New Zealand pine that I've had in the shop for a couple of years. I will apply the drawer front to the box which will be 3/4" poplar. I'm going with an overlay drawer front, not an inset one.

yikes

There isn't any room to drill holes on the back legs. There also isn't any room for the back of the shelf neither - the slats are in the way. Change one upcoming.

done

I chopped three slots for the table top clips. I forgot to do them with the router before I glued it up.

top drawer rail

I put a one inch #6 screw into each tail on the top drawer rail. I will attach the top to this rail with a couple of screws. The screws will beef up the rail and strengthen it against the pull of the top. Glued in a shim to close up an ugly looking gap on the left tail.

bearers

The bottom shelf will be fixed and secured to the bearers. One each on the four sides.

hmm......

The heads on these clamps will not stay tight. It is annoying when using them and the head flops around. I have 12 of them I'll try red loctite on each of them. Spoiler alert - ran out of Red Loctite, more on order.

happy face on

The left end of the bottom rail which had the big 1/8" gap. I had to stare intently at it at the distance I shot the pic and had trouble finding it.

ditto

The left side looks just as good. I can't say the same for the top rail gaps. I filled them with the long grain shims facing out. At least 2 of the 4 came out ok.

accidental woodworker 

last chance

Eyeballed the sides for a while before the glue up. I was thinking about what to do next and if gluing the carcass up would interfere with that. I couldn't think of anything but I went topside for a coffee break first.

Lowes run

Decided to add pocket screws to the front and back, top/bottom rails to strengthen them. I was a little shocked at the cost - this haul was $49. Cheaper options were available on Amazon but I didn't want to wait for it to come from them.

instructions

The instructions are clear and a little confusing at the same time. There is no indication for 1" stock. It jumps from 3/4" to 1 1/2". I was putting the  pocket screws in 1" thick stock. I had to play with it on a scrap of 1" thick stock to figure out how to set the drilling guide. It took me 5 tries before I got it.

step one

I glued the dowels in to each rail, each end first and let them cook for an hour. This should cut down the time needed to glue and clamp the carcass up later. Made the Lowes run while these dowels were cooking.

done

This step gave me the heebie jeebies. I must have double, triple checked myself continually a bazillion times. Didn't catch her but I drilled the pocket holes on the back top rail on the wrong face. Missed that there weren't any slots for the table top clips on the same face.

hmm.....

I did twenty bazillion checks of the connection before I drilled the pocket holes. I kept confusing myself because I was flipping the rail from one side connection to the other the wrong way. I finally sorted it out but delayed doing it. I went topside and filled the lunch pie hole.

update

I bought this glue bottle last year (?) and so far I'm happy with it. I thought the size would be a PITA to keep refilled but that hasn't been a headache at all. I next thought I would give it flying lessons because it dispensed glue through a tiny opening. Again, not a hiccup at all. I've found the amount of glue it dispenses actually worked in my favor. I  found out that I don't have rivers of glue squeeze out to deal with like I did with pint/quart Titebond dispensers (which clog shut regularly).

I had tried this bottle because I was tired of the other dispensers clogging shut. This one isn't perfect and it has clogged on me a couple of times. Clearing the clog was easy and it was due to me not cleaning the tip after each use. Even with this infrequent hiccup it performs 100% better then other dispensers I've tried.

yikes

I had clamped up the carcass and moving it around on the workbench the top back rail came off. I had to run a clamp from the bottom rail to the top to pull it back into alignment.

hello idiot

Not paying attention before doing the drilling. At least it is at the back and won't be seen. I had sawn out a1/8" thick piece of poplar to fill it but nixed it. 

clamped and cooking

I checked the diagonals on the inside of the top and they were off by 3/16". I checked it late and I couldn't fix it. I tried clamping across the long diagonal and nada - it didn't budge a frog hair.

next project

I'll need a box to stow the Kregg pocket screw jig. I will make it big enough to hold four boxes of screws - I'm missing the 1" & 2" sizes. I'll finish this maybe tomorrow but definitely some time next week. 

accidental woodworker 

nice feeling

My layout triangle is correct front and back and side to side. I have only been labeling my stuff this way for a few years and it has saved my bacon numerous times. The sides are solid with an inch of dowel spanning each leg/rail connection.

ain't working

This has been my go to scraper to cleave the back corners. I can't get it to go down anymore than this. Same headache on the left side too.

sigh

The front outside corner split when I chopped the pin socket. It was a clean split and I was able to slather glue along the entirety of it and clamp it. The dovetail is gappy but it is a snug fit. The top doesn't matter as it will be covered and I will add a nail or screw in the tail.

better

The right side came out better. Still a wee bit gappy but still snug fitting.

it fits

Got the back top rail fitted along with the top drawer rail. On the dry fit all looks well in Disneyland. I wanted to make sure that I got the baselines correct.

I wasn't going to.....

But I'm glad I did. This was going to be the bottom drawer rail but it is short by about a 1/2". Tossed this one and sawed another one.

it isn't short

I half lapped the ends and I checked the fit. The distance between the end of the rail and outside of the leg is a 1/4". That 1/4" is the notch that I'll chop in the inside edge of each leg.

half lap dovetail

I didn't saw the tail slopes because I couldn't get the saw started. Instead I did the slopes with a chisel. Checking and adjusting them ensuring the edge is square to the face.

right side

The top edge of the dovetail is flush with the outside edge of the leg. The dovetail was a wee bit too snug for the pin socket. A little trimming and fussing with the pin socket and I ended up with a gap free, snug fit.

came today

I had met Mike a few years back at tool meet. Nice guy, easy to talk to and makes woodworking look incredibly easy. I think I saw and touched this toolbox then too. I don't need another toolbox but I like this one and the plans are in the book.

hmm.......

The drawer height shrunk on me. I was, or thought I would have a 4" drawer but the opening is 3" now based on the positions of the drawer rails.

left side

The first step is to whack out the notch. Then set the rail in it and knife the tail on to the leg.

wash, rinse, repeat

Do the same for the right side. Took my time doing both and both notches fitted up tight. That was goal for this bottom rail. I wanted the joint to be a wee bit more than snug and gap free.

dry fitted

Extremely happy with the left side fit. This joint will be highly visible in the finished project and it gets a big check mark with a happy face emoji.

ditto

Both sides are read to shine. They are both a few frog hairs proud but I'll plane/sand them flush after it has been glued and cooked.

success

Got the entire carcass dry clamped with no headaches. All three of the rails on the front are aligned and square to the legs. The dimension at the top is less than a frog hair off from the bottom. I'm calling it good to go.

drat, and double drat

I have a gap at the front on the left and right side. I thought I had knifed the back of the tail short so the shoulders would be pulled in tight. It would appear that I brain farted and went in the wrong direction on that. 

Thought of making a new rail but I have never laid out tails from the pin socket. I'll make some poplar veneer and fill the gaps in with that. I'll also do an overhang at the front with the top putting the top rail in shadow helping to hide it some.

hmm......

I am going to have to extend the clip slot from the left end over another 1/4". As is it is too close to the front rail and won't allow for expansion and contraction to the top.

So far I'm not experiencing any chemo side effects. Fingers crossed that joy continues. My 3rd chemo cocktail is scheduled for the first of Sept. I'm still getting short of breath with the most mundane of tasks. I don't push it when it happens and I slow down until I am back up to speed. The only annoying hiccup is the coughing. It has increased and I'm having  continuing coughing fits that can run for several minutes.

Some of them I hack up phlegm but most of them are dry. I also seem to cough without anything productive being done. I don't get any warning nor do I know how long I will try to hack parts of my lungs. Lately I've been coughing at night but so far it is only when I am awake for the toilet trot races. I have yet to wake up coughing. Movement seems to be what sets me off coughing but movement is hard to avoid.

But it is what it is and I'm going to call pulmonary and ask for a different cough medicine. They gave me a pill that I take in AM but I think it is doing diddly squat for keeping me from coughing so much.

accidental woodworker 

glue up time

I'm going to glue the sides first. Started by gluing the dowels in the legs. I did it this way so I minimize myself brain farting and stinking up the shop. 

hmm.......

The depth for these dowels is a few frog hairs more than 5/16". Not what I would have liked but I think it will be ok. Ideally I would have liked it to be at least 3/8". The top will be secured as will be the bottom shelf. That will help keeping it square and together. I've been thinking of maybe putting pocket screws in the back rails to help things out. Just a thought that is echoing in the brain bucket.

glued and cooking

test set up

I am using table top clips to hold the top on. Used my router and a solid carbide 1/8" bit to rout the slots. Been thinking of getting another router because this one is awkward to use for this. I'm not use to this style router but routers, regardless of style, are ridiculously expensive.

not flush

The rail was almost flush but not quite - less than a 32nd towards the bottom. Flushed it leg to leg with the 5 1/2.

2nd side table top slots

It was lunch time but I managed to get the layout for the clip slots done before I headed topside.

top drawer rail

I used the back top rail to get the distance between the baselines. This top rail is thick enough so the top of the drawer will clear the table top clips. Undecided on how to attach the top to this rail. Choices are table top clips or screwing through the rail into the bottom of the top. The 2nd choice simles for me so far.

bottom drawer rail

This was my 2nd attempt on how to do the bottom drawer rail. The first one was a notch that didn't quite look good to my eye. And that had nothing to do with now crappy the joint looked. I like the dovetail look better over a square notch joint. 

However, this one went south on me on the express. I had too many layout and knife lines and confused myself repeatedly on which one to use.

the winner

This will be visible and I don't mind this look. Another option was a mortise and tenon but the rail is one inch by 3/4". The tenon would be awfully small and it would need to support the drawer R/L. This joint with the dovetail will keep the R/L from moving. The rail is also notched a 1/4" into the leg and that will support the drawer.

how it looks

I used this joint on the grandson's dresser for the drawer rails. I first saw it when Paul Sellers used it. It is a a tricky joint to do and I'll have to be at my best when I commit to doing it on the honey can you project. (still haven't come up with a name for it)

accidental woodworker

bumblebee orchid pic

This is a birthday present for my son in law. It is almost a month late but I got it out to him today.

hmm......

The back rails are a little longer than the side ones. Between the legs and the first slat (on either end) is about 2 1/4". I hadn't checked or noticed the difference before doing the layout. If I had I could have spaced the slats out a little more. 

done

Whacked out these quicker than the others before this. No splits and all the mortises are clean and nice looking.

first one fitted

I had made two of the slats a wee bit wider than then other three. Two of the mortises were wider R/L than the others. I'm glad I checked them with the two extra slats from yesterday before I ripped out the 5 needed for this.

done

Got it fitted and together. The slats are ready to go as they were all planed on all four edges. All that is left is to sand the rails and I can start the glue up.

inevitable

Got a split across 3 mortises. Didn't happen when I chopped them but when I was fitting the center slat. After I got the last two fitted I glued and clamped it.  I had clamped across the split while chopping the last three. 

fixed

This side assembly I had put the bottom rail on backwards yesterday. I reassembled it correctly to check it with no hiccups. 

side and back sub assemblies

I sanded the rails with 120 and 180 grit. Before I glue them up I have to come up with a plan for the dowels. I had drilled the holes for 2" dowels but with the dowels having to by pass I need to do a dry fit up before I commit to glue. I'll start on that happy journey in the AM.

accidental woodworker 

 

working on the slats

Getting the length between the rails and adding 5/8" for the mortises. I sawed the length of the slats 1/8" less then the OAL.

3 down with 2 to go

Cleaned up the four edges of the slats with planes and then fitted the top mortises first. For the most part the mortises were fairly close and I only lost one slat. I had planed it like the previous 4 but it came up short on the R/L of the mortise. I checked and it was too loose for the remaining 6 mortises. 

first side done (right)

I got the bottom rail on backwards but it didn't matter because the dowel holes are centered on the ends. I'll correct this when I do the glue up. 

left side slats

Wash, rinse, and repeat for the other side assembly.

I'm not coughing much in the shop but it still happens. I have noticed that I am a lot slower than I used to be. Not helping much with me pulling my head out of my arse and making stupid me-steaks though. (like above) Working slower and not as long anymore. But as long as I can trot down to shop I'll continue making sawdust and butchering wood.

hmm......

I like the sides but there appears to be a big hole of nothingness on the back. I checked the pic again it is appears that there is a solid back. I am not fond of that look. I understand that is most likely to keep objects on the shelf from falling off at the back. 

more slats

Slats won't be the barrier that a solid wood back (1/4" plywood) would be but I like the slat look on the back. I have two slats left over but I'm not a fan of even numbers, I like odd much better.

3 slat layout

I like this look but there is still a lot of 'oops' spacing for things to fall and play the bounce test with Mr Floor.

huh

I stepped off the top one with dividers starting one inch from each end - kinda like a dovetail layout. The bottom one I divided it into three with dividers starting from one end and going to the other. Not much of a noticeable difference between the two.

Since I have to make one more slat to go with three I might as well make 5 and match the sides. Although the back won't be as visible as the sides, it should be an adequate backing to keeping things from falling out the back.

accidental woodworker 

first one done

Checking that the depth is 3/8" deep on each one.

helper

This spans the two rods of the vise and I set the narrow rails on top of it. Solid base to chop the mortises on.

oops

I was being careful, taking teeny whacks so I wouldn't do this. Didn't help as I still split the outside face from the left corner of the mortise to the end and halfway past the mortise on the right. I guess I was lucky because of the four rails, this was the only split I had to fix.

mortising half done

I was getting quicker the more mortises I chopped. Finished the two narrow rails and started on the tall boy rails.

After I had chopped the tall boy mortises, I checked all of them were at the same depth. It wasn't so boys and girls. The combo square had slipped from 3/8" to a 1/4". I had to deepen 9 mortises to get them to at least 3/8". 

hmm......

The vertical slats are a frog hair less than a 1/2" thick. I can two slats out this 6/4 board (actual 1 3/8"). I should be able to get all ten from this one board with extras if needed.

spoke too soon

This 6/4 off cut (the only one I have) is a 1/4" too short. I'll have to use 5/4 or 4/4 stock to get the slats from.

5/4 stock

Checked and rechecked and went back to get slapped one more time. There was no way I could resaw this board and get two slats. I can only get one out of it. 

not superstitious

Had to use two 5/4 boards to get 13 slats. I only need ten for the project.

wee bit oversized

I purposely did this and I will plane each end of each slat to fit its respective mortise. I want them to be snug so there will be no gaps. 

hmm.......

The width is smaller than the thickness of the slats. However, on the R/L, it is oversized slightly on all but 4 mortises. It is looking like it is a frog hair under. Based on previous slat work I've done, the mortises shrink and tend to close up tight on the slats. Fingers crossed that these 4 aren't too short.

stickered

I'll let these hang out until the AM. One is bowed a little and another is bowed a lot. Having 3 extras is paying off already.

why I did extras

These are the off cuts and I'm sure that I can use them for some future use. The 2nd one in from the left bowed as I sawed it. That is the one that gave up the slat that bowed the most. Fingers crossed that I only need to scrap two. But if not, I have one last 5/4 board I can rip out a couple of more.

 accidental woodworker