Norse Woodsmith Blog Feeds

 I think this is the last step for the bookcase before the oohs and aahs commence. I still haven't come up with an idea for latching the right hand door. I don't have a warm and fuzzy that the door will stay shut on its own. I have time to figure that out. I'll have to find someone that wants this because I don't have the room for anywhere in my house. I'm hoping that daughter #2 will say yes to adopting it.

still no lid stay

I went to ACE and my neighborhood hardware store, and neither had a small lid stay. They both had the exact same one I had that was too large. I searched Amazon for 30 minutes before I found one. It will work and I hadn't expected it to be so hard to find a small one. 

Jewelry box lid stays were too small and most of the Amazon offerings were for large, heavy lids. All I want is the lid won't flop over and rip the hinges off. And no, I didn't want to use a chain as lid stay - I have had too many of them snap off on me. IMO this lid is too large/heavy for a chain stay.

done

Back side of the doors are done. Four coats of shellac and they look good. I am glad that I planed the glazing bars flush with the muntins.

almost done

Four coats on the front but it will get at least one more. I'll get one on after dinner and decide after that if more coats are needed. Either way I'll hang the doors in the AM or PM tomorrow.
 

hmm......

Applying shellac only to the bottom as it won't be visible. The rest will be painted. The interior of the of the miniature chest will get shellac too. I applied shellac to the underside of the lid - for now. I may end up painting it but for now the plan is to go with shellac. 

This was it for today's output. I don't know what the next project for Ralphie's workshop will be. My stash from Gurney's is almost gone. I only have four 1x12 boards left. I really want to start on the desks for the grand kids. That will involve making a road trip to Highlands in New Hampshire.

accidental woodworker

Been a while since I last posted. I made a small video of my current project rather than writing about it. There is an aweful lot that many lessons could be derived from it, but I just found it a little simpler to show it to you rather than go into any great detail on how I arrived making a smooth round table by hand.

 Today is a holiday. I didn't know that and I didn't know until my wife told me that. After lunch I went to ACE but it was closed. No biggie, I thought it was because it had snowed and they were closed because of that. Almost  two hours later, and after going to 3 other ACE stores that were closed, I headed back to the barn. I wanted to get a small lid stay but that will be delayed until tomorrow.

last night after dinner

Took the left door off so I could plane a tapered rabbet. I couldn't wait until the next day before I did it. Before I did the rabbet I planed the glazing bars down to the muntins.

sigh

The middle screw hole is toast. Both the top and bottom screws were pulled out by the weight of the door. I filled them in with unfinished maple golf tees.

2nd round

Missed getting a pic of the fit after the first planing run. Not all of the taper was gone - I would guess ta mate that 95% of it was. I had planed down to the layout line on the first run. On the 2nd one I planed the lines away. The 2nd fitting had to wait until the AM.  

happy face on

The 2nd planing run was the trick. I am happy with how the right door is laying up against the left one. Tiny bit of a gap at the top but I am not going to obsess about it.

hmm......

The margin I have is more than I expected. But it might be in my favor come summer time. I don't anticipate the doors to move much but this will afford some room for it.

80 grit

The bottom shelf had gotten dirty with all the times I put and took the doors off. IMO the quickest way to clean it was to sand it.

the forgotten pic

I don't understand these two doors. Both of them lay flat on each laying here on the bench. Why, how, and what is causing the left door to toe in at the bottom when it is attached to carcass.

attaching the knobs

hmm.....

The knobs don't look unbalanced to my eye. The astragal serves as a distraction for the eye.

more shellac work coming

Sanded both doors, inside and outside with 80 grit. A few planing defects popped out that I had missed. I sanded the edges of them smooth, feathering them out as much as I could.

sigh

One knob didn't fully seat. I noticed it when I sanded the door.  It had only been a few minutes which made it easier to remove. Sawed off the knob and drilled out the tenon. I checked to make sure the next knob fully seated dry first.

done

I hadn't checked before but the tenons on the knobs weren't the same length as the thickness of the stiles.
 

2 coats

I applied shellac on the muntins (both sides) and the inside face. Four coats on the back and then I'll flip them and put 4-5 coats on the front faces. Rehang the doors for the final time (?) and figure out a door catch/latch for the right one.

accidental woodworker

 Made progress on mopping up the bookcase today. I'm going out on a limb but I am confident that I'll be done with the bookcase this weekend. I didn't get any sleep induced ideas but this AM I finally thought of something. It wasn't what I wanted but I have too many calories expended on this already. Starting over again at square #1 or #2 is not an option.

over 14 years old

I can date this as being made before 2011 because the drawers aren't dovetailed. A painted bookcase because the wife wanted it painted. Pretty much the same theme as the current one, sans the drawers. I don't remember having any hiccups with the doors on this.

door astragal detail

I should have looked at this when I did the astragal on the bookcase in the shop. This one has a bead and the two doors are rabbeted on the latch/knob edges.

left side door

I plan on putting this catch on the current bookcase too. You can swap the two parts of this catch. The left door is held in tight to the top door stop and the right  door closes up the rabbet without any type of door closure, latch, magnet, etc.

rehung the doors again

Stood here giving it the absolute goofiest looks I could muster. That usually cracks something open in the brain bucket but not today. I took the doors off and laid them on the bench to see how the two laid up against each other.  No taper between them - the closing side was flat and straight top to bottom. (forgot to snap a pic of that).

hmm......

The right side isn't square at the bottom or the top but the left side is. I don't see any connection/cause between this and the taper between the doors. Besides I planed the left and right side doors to fit their respective openings.

right side door

I thought maybe the hinges mortises weren't aligned and that was causing the taper. However, both the stiles on the right hand door are dead nuts square with the top and bottom shelf. Scratch that off the blame list.

ta da

Problem solved. This I can understand causing the taper. It is a 1/4" off square at the bottom. It is square at the top though. Now that I know what the monkey wrench in the gears looks like, I'll have to put on my nuclear powered thinking cap and big boy pants  and figure out how to fix it.

lid stay

I thought I had a smaller one but as usual I couldn't find where I hid it. This one still had the directions with the measurements. I think these are handed - either left or right. This one is a right hand but I reversed the layout to use it on the left. I just naturally wanted to install it on the left so I did.

)(&@%)*%_)_)^_*)#)_%#

As an aside, the comment is called a gralix. The first time I installed it, it opened and closed. It was hard to open initially so I repositioned where it was secured to the lid. Now the lid won't close any further than this. Removed the lid stay and filled in all the screw holes.

sigh

This screw hole split when I plugged it. I will make a road trip to ACE and buy a smaller lid stay. I have several pairs in my stash but they are all for larger and heavier lids.

step one of the final fix

The top of the doors need a full length stop to close against. Getting a new one installed is in the on deck circle.

checking the stop

Clamped the right side of the door stop to see how the left door is laying against it. There is a 2 frog hair gap which I like.

wash, rinse, repeat on the right side

Gap disappeared at the far end of the door stop. Not sure how to address this here. Both doors line up flush on the front face where it matters. If need be I can plane a few frog hairs off there.

The door stop is installed dry, no glue, with only 3 screws. After the doors are 100% done, I will put in two more screws.

hmm......

I had to stop and think about this for a few. I wanted to ensure that I wasn't looking at this from left field. The gap at the bottom is a strong 1/4" and it peters out around 18" up.

taper layout

The bottom gap is 3/16". That will give me a 16th of wiggle room to play with. Up next is setting the rabbet plane and planing a tapered rabbet going from 3/16" at the bottom to nothing at the top.

layout

Pencil wasn't working on the shellac. I used a micro black sharpie to lay out the lines.

took a while

I don't want a wide margin between the astragal and the rabbet. I had a devil of a time setting the fence on the rabbet plane. It took 9 attempts before I got where I wanted it.

almost

With the left door hung again (the billionth time), The rabbet at the bottom is few frog hairs shy of being flush with the front edge of the bottom shelf. What I was hoping for - I have wiggle room to remove more. 

happy face on

95% of the gap is gone. This was a good time to kill the lights for the day. Tomorrow I will plane a wee bit more at the bottom and fingers crossed, I'll get 100% of the taper to disappear.

accidental woodworker

In August of '24, I had the good fortune of joining several highly respected craftspeople at a lunch hosted by Peter Lamb in Kittery, ME.  The guest of honor was Jögge Sundqvist, who was touring the U.S., teaching classes and visiting friends.  Jögge, a renowned craftsperson and woodworker from northern Sweden, creates pieces that are colorful, playful, and poetic.   

(photo from Joel Paul)

The lunch was a humbling experience, to say the least, and personally inspiring.  Jögge kindly listened to me prattle on about my challenges with market, how I make stuff, sell stuff, and then struggle to make enough for the next event.  All good problems to have, don't get me wrong, but the process has left me wanting, wanting to make more meaningful pieces that push form and meaning in new directions, and wanting not to feel like I need to turn more tops.  Jögge, nodding in understanding, turned and said: "It is all sculpture."

I was reminded of this exchange while teaching at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts this summer.  Haystack is a highly respected craft school, drawing the very best artists and craftspeople as instructors from around the world, so it was a true honor to be there.  But the experience left me feeling out of my depth.  Or, more accurately, I felt out of my field.  Listening to other instructors talk about the meaning of their work, what exhibitions, museums, and television shows had featured their work, and what books they had published, I found myself navigating a space that felt very unfamiliar.  While various classes asked students to give "form to the self through non-representational sculptural narratives" or "explore storytelling through fiber art," my class sought to teach students to turn a bowl on a pole lathe. That's it.

I want to be clear: I am not at all looking down on—or casting aspersions toward—the other wonderful instructors at Haystack, nor on the School’s more artistically oriented approach. That said, the experience left me with a sense of yearning: a desire to say more through my work.

While teaching craft skills is important and vital work—and work I genuinely love—I want to dedicate part of the coming year to producing a body of work that is more intentionally focused on a theme, a form, and/or a technique.

All of the instructors were asked to give a ten-minute presentation on their work, and I chose to speak about craft pedagogy, slöjd, and embodied thinking.  

(Photo: Eric McIntire)

That said, I have even more teaching gigs next year, and a few at schools new to me, so I will be busy!  In April, I will be teaching a five-day introduction to spoon carving and pole lathe turning at Peter Galbert's Workshop.  Instructors at Pete's read like a whose-who of the green woodworking world, and I am really honored to be part of the lineup.  In May, I will be teaching a five-day introduction to wood turning at Snowfarm, another truly impressive craft program.  Finally, I will be teaching classes at the Nantucket Historical Association for about two weeks in July.  I will run short-form adult classes in carving and turning, as well as kids' classes in carving.  Alyssa will come along for a little vacation, and as luck would have it, my friend Michael Frassinelli has an artist's residency on the island at the same time.  It should be a wonderful trip.

Lastly, I am working on two articles for woodworking magazines.  I don't want to say too much right now, but stay tuned. One should publish within the next few months.

That is all (phew)~!?!

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve, everyone.  Stay safe and hug your loved ones.

scrap

This was the original lid for the miniature chest. I ripped off the back stop and then the curved front.

yikes

There was almost 3 lines of twist according to the sticks. Step one was removing the twist on one face and making it flat and straight.

on to step two

Decided to make parallel faces. It has been a while since I have thicknessed a board, I made this one so.

done

Ended up with a board 9/16" thick. I don't need it but I'll keep it in my off cuts stash.

back to the bookcase

I will have to take off and put on the doors several more times before I can call the bookcase done. Putting the hinges back on the doors is the first step. Became aware of another potential problem - what and how will I install a door catch?

PITA upcoming

I find trying to get a screw started in the hinges awkward to say the least. Having to do it at a minimum 3-4 times sucks pond scum.

hmm.......

Both doors hung but the right one ain't cooperating. It is hitting at the bottom and tapers up and away towards the top. With the left door open, the right one will close straight.

nope

At first I thought this was hinge bound. But that wasn't causing the right door's tapered closing. If this was hinge bound, the door wouldn't close fully and it does.

hmm.......

The door is not twisted so that isn't why I have a tapered closing.

2nd check

Other than a hump on where the muntins cross, the door is flat in every plane I checked. I planed the muntins and the glazing bars flush and removed most of the hump but not all of it. The front face is flat and I don't see how this hump on back could cause the taper. Just in case, I planed what I could.

big gap

There is a slight bow in the top door stop. This end on the right side doesn't matter. It has no effect on the taper. Another dead end.

it is square

Next up on the list to check was the top front and bottom front edges were in the same plane. I checked that in a bazillion spots from left to right and right to left. A couple of spots had a some light between the straight edge and the square but nothing to cause this problem.

removing the stop

Going back to square one and that means removing the top door stop. It wasn't difficult removing it but it did leave an ugly scar. Thankfully it is at the top and the next door stop will hide it.

nope

Noticed that this top hinge was not butted up tight against the back. Fixed that and I had high hopes it was the cure but it wasn't so boys and girls.

not frustrated yet

Both doors will lay flush. The left one is few frog hairs proud on the left side stile and it toes in a strong 32nd at the center. The right one looks better than the left with it being close to flush at the top and bottom.

two hours later

I put a door stop at the bottom and nada. With the stops removed and the doors closed on each other, with no taper, I was at a lost as to what the )(&^@#Q%__)(Q^%Q+_+(+(*^%^%@) problem was.

a shaker knob

Not sure if I'll use it but I ran out of ideas for why I had the taper on the right door. I called it quits for the day here. Maybe something will light the bulb in the brain bucket overnight and tomorrow I'll fix this hiccup.

accidental woodworker 

Two recommended recent books on medieval furniture.

Two very interesting books on medieval furniture have been published during the last three years, which I was able to obtain this month: Le Meuble Medieval - ustensiles et ceramiques de 500 a 1500 by Georges Bernage (Editions Heimdal) and Meubles et Ameublements Medievaux en Europe Occidentale - VIe-XIIIe siecle by Cecile Lagane (Presses Universitaires de Rennes). Both books are written in the French language, which is not exactly my forte, but nowadays with the help of your mobile phone and the translate function reading the text is perfectly doable. 

For Le Meuble Medieval this is not even neccesary, as most of the content of the 192 page book consists of photos. The whole set-up gives off the vibe of the DK 'Eye-witness' books and travel guides, but also of articles in the Moyen Age magazine (published by Heimdal) - to which the author also contributed.

The book starts with the early middle ages (6th century) and then makes a jump into the 11th and 12th century (high middle ages), followed by the 13th, 14th and 15th century (late middle ages). The few page articles are ordered by furniture type, as well as country of origin. Indeed, there are clear stylistic differences and overlaps visible between the different regions of Europe. A small part of the book also gives attention to some other household utensils: candleholders, ceramics, glass and spoons. 

Many of furniture examples were taken from auction pieces of Sotheby's, Aguttes SVV or Prunier. These unknown examples (to me) would have been otherwise 'hidden' away in forgotten catalogues. For that alone I would already recommend the book. There are a few downsides for this book. Some furniture types are hardly mentioned, such as the common north/mid-German pointed armoires (Giebelschränk). Whereas the number of photos is exceptionally large, the bibliography is very short and mostly concerns manuscript illuminations. 

Meubles et Ameublements Medievaux en Europe Occidentale by Cecile Lagane is a bit harder to digest, but it is a trove of information, especially on furniture of the early medieval times, such as the beds of the Anglo-Saxons, Franks and Vikings. The book connects the surviving examples from the early and full medieval period with descriptions in medieval literature and art. It contains a dictionary of furniture items in different languages (like the Multilingual medieval furniture dictionary posts 1 and post 2), and it is lavisly illustrated with photos and construction schematics as well. The book meticulously covers all aspects of each furniture type, from wood, iron and polychrome colouring to its use. This book contains a large bibliography, in which I already found some other interesting furniture literature. 

Meubles et Ameublements Medievaux en Europe Occidentale is more than just photos (there are 173 in this book), it also contains discussions on the furniture, schematics, and tables listing examples of similar furniture (on this page the Noyon armoire type III).

• Georges Bernage. 2025. Le Meuble Medieval - ustensiles et ceramiques de 500 a 1500. Editions Heimdal, St Martin-des-Entrées, France. ISBN 9782840486312. 192 pages, 39 Euro.
• Cecile Lagane. 2023. Meubles et Ameublements Medievaux en Europe Occidentale - VIe-XIIIe siecle. Serie Archeologie & Culture. Presses Universitaires de Rennes (PUR), Rennes, France. ISBN 9782753593749. 226 pages, 34 Euro. 

One of the last two (miniature chest) projects is 99% done, just waiting on pigment to arrive.  The bookcase needs the doors hung, knobs installed, and some touch up shellac work to be 100%. I don't have a warm and fuzzy that I'll get either one completed before the ball falls.

it is twisted

I went to the shop after dinner and immediately checked the lid for twist. Sad to say but there was a lot of twist in it. I couldn't check the top face because of the stop but the underside told the story.

I was so concerned and focused on the lid being flat and straight, that it didn't occur to me to check it for twist first. Ignoring this detail has bit me on the arse before. 

it is up over an 1/8"

I couldn't see this twist eyeballing down the edges. Laid flat it jumps right out and slaps you.

shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

This is the second time I glued back on a chip on the feet. After this had set up I rasped a chamfer on all four. I should have done this right after I glued and nailed it together.

new lid

Sawed off a new lid and planed a twist free reference face.

other face was twisted

I was gentle untwisting this face. My goal was to maintain as much of the thickness as I could.

done

hmm......

The opposite face to the reference one - there is a teeny bit of twist but IMO it can be ignored. I left the lid stickered on top of the chest overnight.

AM work

I had an appointment at the hospital this AM. Had a pulmonary function test but I won't know the results until after my MRI on the 9th.  Back from the hospital I played with the new lid. Used the same 1/2 pattern I used the first lid and routed a 45 degree chamfer on the front and sides.

happy face

Got the lid on the chest and no rocking. I had checked the lid for twist before I started playing with it and there was still none.

rasped the feet

The shinto rasp is quicker but I don't like the surface it leaves. I prefer to use this rasp. It is a little trickier to use and you have to rasp in the direction of the grain. The surface is smoother and I find it easier to get a consistent chamfer on each foot.

back stop

New back stop. I did consider sawing off the one on the original lid but nixed it. I had too many scraps to pick from for a new one.

got lucky

I was surprised after checking the two shelves that both were twist free. All I had done to the two of them was to plane away some cupping.

hmm.....

The top had a small bit of twist to it caused my me wandering out into left field fitting the first lid. Corrected that and checked the diagonal corners with a straight edge. I don't know what this proves/checks but I had the straight edge on the bench and did it.

checking the width of the shelves

The front edge of this stop is what the inside faces of the doors will close against. 

hmm.....

need to be wider

it is flush

This was a good feeling. With the shelf width thinned, the left door is flush with the edge of the carcass.

hmm.....

I don't like the amount of movement in the shelves in/out. On the flip side the shelves are the right width and the doors close up flush.Maybe I could a partially fill in the notch to eliminate the excessive in/out movement?

slight gap

I wasn't expecting to see this. The gap on both shelves is about the same too.

sigh

Got clamp rosebuds on the top and bottom. They weren't deep and after eyeballing them, I am convinced that they were caused by the clamp pads. I don't see clamp rosebuds when I use the quick grips.

hinging the lid

I put a few dabs of super glue on the hinge. Positioned the lid and clamped the hinges for a few minutes.

not moving

I have tried this super glue trick without clamping but I didn't have much success. The hinges would pop off with the slightest amount of stress. With the clamps putting pressure on the hinge for a few minutes, no problems. I put two screws in each hinge leaf on the lid. I still have to take the lid off when I finally get around to painting it.

partial ooh and aah

The miniature chest is 99.99% done. It is sanded, all defects filled with wood putty, it just needs paint. The latest update from Amazon says it will come 3 Jan. The other two pigments are still scheduled to arrive on the 5th. Ordered all 3 from the same supplier, why the different delivery dates?

accidental woodworker 

 I came close to finishing this up today but it ain't so boys and girls. I got the glass and the glazing bars installed on the last door and then I ran into bit of a hiccup. I will have to address that show stopper before I can ooh and aah. So maybe tomorrow or tuesday for dancing in the streets of Mudville?

happy face on

This glazing bar had a big gap yesterday that I clamped shut with a couple of ghost sticks. The right side looks like there is a gap but there isn't. Happy with the fit and look of door #1.

hmm......

Me thinks I made a me-steak. I should have applied shellac to the muntins before I installed the glass and glazing bars.

the show stopper

Put the finished door in place and it doesn't fit. The top shelf is definitely too wide. The door is a 1/8" proud laid up against it. The bottom is flush but that could be because it toed in. I might have to make one or two new shelves. Sigh.

oh what a relief

The chest is still square. When I took the diagonal clamp off, the chest didn't groan or move. 

flushing the ends

When I nailed the sides on I left them a couple of frog hairs proud of the end. That way today I could plane them flush.

didn't allow for this

When I adjusted the bandsaw I did it so the front/back were flush in the notch. I planed the rough bandsawn surface smooth and got this. But this is to my advantage. Easier to flush this then deal with the front/back being proud.

sigh

I didn't predrill for the nails and paid the price. I didn't think I needed to do for this because I was nailing into sides. Went back to square one and started again with predrilled bearers.

ouch

The bearers are 3/4" thick and the ends are 3/4" thick. I used 1 1/4" finish nails but all three still stuck out to shake hands with me. Glad that I'm using milk paint on this chest.

bearers done

I clipped off about a 1/8" from each nail and none poked out.

flushed

Filed all the poking nails with a file. One of the clipped ones  poked out a few frog hairs that I filed flush too.

hmm.....

I flushed the top of this bearer with the top of the end ones. A tapered portion over hung on the bottom. Flushed what I could with the violin plane 

2" chisel

What I couldn't get with the violin plane, I got with the chisel. I could have used the chisel to do all of the flushing.

dutchman

I meant to put this facing the inside but it became a moot point when I saw I had another chip/blowout on the opposite face. I enlarged it a wee bit and glued in a dutchman. No need to match grain/color because I'm painting this.

*%&*&_)()(*_+^%@)_$+(

I love my new glue bottle but this red cap I am beginning to hate with a passion. I can't seem to keep it close when I take it off the bottle. I am forever losing it or it walks away on me. It took me 15 minutes to find it this time when I searched for it.

jig time

Made a quick jig to hold the glazing bars while I chopped notches for the glazier points.

2nd door done

Two of the long glazing bars were bowed, one on each side. In the end I got all the bars gap free and down to the glass.

sawing the dutchman

I put a thin piece of wood on the chest to guide the saw so I wouldn't dig into the chest. The portion left proud I flushed with a plane.

done

Again it didn't need to be perfect. The few gaps I will fill in with wood putty.

wee bit of twist

It was rocking pretty good. The sticks showed two lines out of whack which is a healthy amount of twist.

you can knock because it ain't rocking

It took a while but it is laying flat on the tablesaw. No rocking when pushed on any of the corners. However, the chest will not lay flat on the workbench. That is why I use the tablesaw as my reference flat surface.

bottom done

The bottom of the chest was slightly  out of square - the top wasn't. To hide the ugly looking gaps I used the last of my quarter round moldings to keep it down on the bearers. Haven't decided on how to secure them yet. Glue and pin nails or just the nails?

hmm.....

Too much overhang on the front. I am overhanging the ends a 1/2" and I want the front to be the same. The trick there is the front will be curved.

no twist

The lid was rocking and I could see that it wasn't laying flat neither. At first I thought it was the top of the chest but it is dead nuts twist free.

too short

This beam compass is almost 3 feet long but it wasn't enough. I want a shallow curve on the lid and it wasn't happening this way.

first time

I had this flexible layout doo dad for several years. This it the time I can remember using it. Making a half pattern for the front of the lid.

ripping it to final width

The front over hung the front of the chest too much IMO. Nailed a straight edge over hanging the curve so I could run it against the fence to get a parallel cut on the back edge.

hump

The lid still wasn't laying flat on the chest. Just realized as I was looking at this pic that I didn't check the board for twist. I planed the hump and it did improve the rocking some but didn't eliminate it.

hinges mortised

I don't like how these no mortise hinges lay without a mortise. Without a shallow mortise the back end is pushed up about a 1/8".  I don't like the tapered look of the lid. 

like this router a lot

It is only a 1/4" but it is cordless. The balance is good and visibility for seeing the router bit is decent. Used it to rout a 45 chamfer on the sides and front of the lid. I am putting a back stop on this chest too.

glued and cooking

I cut the height down twice on the back stop before I glued it on. I did a 1" round over on the ends and left the rest of the stop square.

hmm......

The mortises weren't flat side to side. I chiseled them even and that made the mortise a wee bit too deep. I try to have the hinges flush or a frog hair proud. With them below the top of the mortise, they become hinge bound.

got lucky

This thin sliver of wood is an off cut from ripping the lid to its final width. With this piece of veneer, the hinges were less than a frog hair proud. Once screws go in it should pull the hing down so it ends up flush.

 Had a good day in the shop and I got a lot accomplished. I have two projects that are both an inch from finish line. The bookcase wasn't the last project of 2025 and the miniature chest might not claim that honor neither. There are 3 days left in Dec 2025 and I might get to start the first project of 2026.

accidental woodworker 

done

I put two more coats on the insides of both doors. Called it done. After eyeballing the doors I noticed that the muntins need another coat or two of shellac. I will deal with that after I get the door hung. 

2nd snowfall of 2025

Got 3 inches of white fluffy snow. Before I got to the shop I shoveled the driveway and the front walk.

3 times wasn't the charm

Before I did this I had to fiddle with the bandsaw. The blade wouldn't track for some reason. Fixed that headache and adjusted the fence for the crosscut on the miniature 6 board chest.

side cutouts

Small cutout for the bottom of the sides. 

doubled them up

Rasped the cutout to the penciled lines and smoothed with 100 grit sandpaper.

glued and nailed

Attached the sides to the front/back with cut nails. I predrilled a 1/8" pilot hole for the nails and no splits. First time I have used cut nails without getting at least one split. I went 20 for 20.

needed some help

I squared this up on the inside diagonals. They were 5/16" off. I will leave the clamp on until tomorrow.

it is glass time

Dry fitted all the glazing bars again. I had to play with a couple of them because I didn't label them.

sigh

I chopped a notch for the glazier points. This one split when chopping it. Initially I glued it with yellow glue and moved on. By the time I had finished all the notches I shit canned this split one and made a new one.

2 down, 2 to go

I did the two small ones to check how the gluing would go. I used hide glue and along with the snug fit of the glazing bars, all is well in Disneyland. I don't anticipate any hiccups with the rest of them.

done

I was bit surprised by how heavy the door was with the glass installed. I put in a couple of ghost sticks because the right long glazing bar wasn't tight and gap free along its length.

glazier points

Setting the points was a bit tricky. I only used 4 per pane of glass. I managed to get them all inserted without cracking/chipping the glass or splitting any of the rabbets.

lid and hinges

I thought I would get this done today but it didn't happen boys and girls. Doing the glass took more time than I thought. I had checked the plans in the book and the bottom is nailed in. No grooves or dadoes. There is also a nailed on molding on the four lid edges. I don't think I'll be copying that detail.

hmm......

This I don't understand. I had dry fitted these a couple of days ago and I had no gaps. All the miters fitted up snug then. Made a new one and got a snug dry fit. I also had to shorten 3 glazing bars. Don't understand how 3 grew and one shrunk.

 I got the glass and glazier points installed in the 2nd door before I killed the lights. I thought I would get both doors done today but I'll have to wait until tomorrow. 

accidental woodworker 

The good words to hear while I was in the Navy coming into port was, "line one going over". That is where I am at with the bookcase project. I am hoping that I will be oohing and aahing over it tomorrow. If not then, then sunday for sure. 

day after xmas 2025

After dinner on xmas I went to the shop and got two coats of shellac on the doors, both sides.

the problem

This rabbet is what I need to stay bare wood. I will be gluing the glazing bars to this. Glue will not adhere to shellac. It will initially but it will fail in a short amount of time.

glazing bar

This edge of the glazing bar is what will hold the glass panes in the rabbets.

shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't

I missed getting shellac on this edge of the glazing bars. I still got four coats on them by the time I killed the lights.

hmm......

Figured out where the knobs will live. The astragal on the right door is eating up some of the real estate  where the knob should go. I can't center the knob on the right door but I can on the left one. Decided to center the left one and try to get the right one as close as possible to center without the knob eating up any of the astragal.

hmm....

I wasn't expecting these long ones to launch into stupid wood tricks. I could clamp these as I glue them but I don't think that is a good road to travel. Instead I will make 4 new ones - I have plenty of extras.

sigh

I made two and I thought I could use the other two original ones. Not so boys and girls. Two new ones at the top and bowed ones beneath them. I whacked out two more.

almost done

Both doors will be done come the AM. I have four coats on the inside and 5 on the outside. I will keep adding coats to this side until it matches the shellac build on the astragal. I am awfully close to that here but I need at least one more coat to make sure.

3 extras

I think the shellac had something to do with the long glazing bars going nutso. Before I applied any to the edges, they were all flat and straight. I had to make two more for the other door. The other two original ones are iffy. They bowed a bit and I think I can glue them but I'll have to wait on that. I have extras to make two more if needed. 

The 6 new ones I made are still flat and straight after getting 4 coats of shellac. Fingers crossed they will still be that way in the AM.

the 3rd one?

The bookcase was not the last project of 2025 and neither was the platform for the tower computer. This is the stock for a miniature six board chest. This one could be the finale for 2025.

where the idea came from

The six board chest is one of 3 projects I will be making from this book by Kerry Pierce. The 8 drawer chest to right of it is the 2nd one.

the 3rd one

I am jazzed about this project. Making a blanket chest with a drawer has been on my to do list since I watched Normie make one in season two(?) of the New Yankee Workshop.

I intend to paint the two chests with milk paint. I ordered a blue pigment for the miniature 6 board and red for the larger one with a drawer. I also ordered some black pigment - thinking of painting the miniature lid black. Maybe. Just thinking ahead.

less than an inch

I have almost emptied another can of shellac.  I almost done applying it but I think I have enough to finish the bookcase. It is just the glazing bars and how much can they soak up?

accidental woodworker 

Happy Holidays, everyone!

    As 2025 winds down, I wanted to express my gratitude to all the individuals who have supported my small business throughout this year and beyond.  It has been a formative year for me professionally, as my craft and my teaching continue to grow.  

    I taught for nearly fifty days in 2025, which was a new record for me.  A healthy portion of that was "Carving Club" at Tinkerhaus, in Newburyport, MA.  This after-school class for kids in grades 3-5 seemed to be a big hit:

We carved soldiers, and made thrones for them:

We made dice, both big and small:

And we received a generous gift of tools from the Flexcut company:

    I continued to teach many classes for adults at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA, and at Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon, NH.  Both of these schools have been major supporters of my teaching, and I want to say a special thank you to them.  I also taught at several new schools, including Haystack in Deer Island, Maine, Historic Eastfield in New York, and the Newburyport Art Association in Newburyport, MA.  It was a real honor to teach at Haystack, as it is widely considered one of the most important craft schools in America.  The space is truly lovely--set on the coast, with mid-century modern architecture.  The quality of the craft and the instructors there was really something else, and it got me thinking in new directions about my own work.  I will reflect more on that in a future post on my goals for 2026.

Haystack was magical

Haystack, right on the coast of Maine

    I set up at markets one weekend a month, at North Andover and Newburyport, and learned some important lessons.  It has taken me several years, but I am starting to learn that there is a season for woodcraft sales.  While you might get a few good days around Father's and Mother's Days, and occasionally you will have a patron who cleans you out, for the most part, I need to concentrate my efforts on fewer events closer to the winter holidays.  I will continue to show monthly at the Newburyport Farmers' Market through the summer, as it builds ties to the local community, but will wait until after Thanksgiving for more market weekends.  

    One final highlight for me was traveling to the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa, and even getting into their archives to study some interesting boxes and canisters.  I then went up to Milan, Minnesota, for the Spoon Gathering and had a chance to catch up with Alex, Paul, and Ty. 

So, once again, thanks to everyone who has supported my teaching, learning, turning, and carving in 2025.  I am humbled that so many folks want to follow along in my journey.  And most importantly, I want to say thank you to my wife, Alyssa.  Without her support, none of my craft work would be possible.  As she said when I was contemplating stepping away from my high school teaching job and taking on craft full-time, "You can be paid poorly doing a lot of things--teaching is only one of them."  Her encouragement for me to take a leap mid-life and pivot professionally, and her steadfast financial support while I get on my feet, make all of this possible.  

empty

I barely had enough shellac in the empty can - what I did have I poured into the front can. Surprised that I blew through an almost full can so quickly. I'm happy with how the  shellac laid down and looks. No hiccups with  5-6 coats I have laid down so far.

before I forgot

Used this carbide scraper to clean up any glue squeeze out in the rabbets. Wash, rinse, and repeated for the other door.

almost

Got three coats on the shelves and one more to go. That one went on after lunch.

one more

The base has 9 coats and the interior has 4 right now with one more to be applied. That means the carcass will get a check mark in the done column today. 

last two

These are going to be a PITA to do. It isn't the brush work but avoiding getting shellac on the vertical walls of the rabbets. I need them to be bare so the glue has something to grab on. I have to be picky doing the glazing bars too. I will need to avoid getting shellac on the outboard edge and the miters.

accidental woodworker

sneak peek

The door astragal came out better than I anticipated it. It doesn't stand out or command any attention. To my eye it is subtle and blends into the background. On the flip side of the coin, it hides the gap on the latch side of the doors perfectly.

hmm......

The shelf that I flattened twice is good. No stupid wood tricks overnight. However, the other shelf felt like it was not getting any love. It cupped a little and too much to ignore.

sigh

Flattening it didn't take up much time. I got full shavings across the width by the third planing run. Stopped there and called it done. The hump on the opposite face I just knocked down. I didn't go nutso getting full width shavings. I didn't want to thin the width anymore than necessary.

????

Not sure what this is. It is soft and squishy but it doesn't look/feel like a pitch pocket. It doesn't smell like pine pitch neither. Clueless as to what it is but I will remove it and put a dutchman in.

squirrel grain

Got some ugly looking blowout when I flattened this face. The grain reversed on itself 3 times where the blowout happened. Got some on the opposite side too. I will rip this off and glue a filler strip on.

too thin

The first strip I ripped was too thin. I had zero wiggle room with it so I ripped another one. Made that one twice the thickness of the first one.

glued and cooking times two

Filler strip on the edge and the dutchman glued and cooking.

done

Happy with how this dutchman turned out. It is almost invisible. I don't mind doing these types of repairs/fixes because this is a shelf. For the most part it will never be seen - the dutchman or the filler strip on the back edge.

sigh

The notches for the shelf pins didn't line up. The width of the two shelves were dead nuts on. Not a big deal, made the notches a few frog hairs wider.

fingers crossed

Everything else I can cross I am doing too. I don't have much more to do before the oohs and aahs commence. Still need to get at least two more coats of shellac on the carcass. After that all that is left to shellac are the shelves and the doors.

So far the bookcase has consumed almost one quart can of shellac. Glad I have three more in backup.

done

This is the finale for me in the year 2025. Four coats on the top and I'm calling this done.

Yikes

It is toast. I vacuumed the area around the desk and I pushed the computer away with my foot and paid the toll. The hard drive connector snapped off and it won't stay on. If I didn't have the fans on order already I would have given this free introductory flying lessons. 

temporary set up

I have gotten used to the size of the monitor and the display on the laptop ain't making the cut anymore. While I wait on parts and fixing the desktop I'll use this - might even configure a two monitor setup.

dead weight

The platform stand looks good and raises the computer up from the floor. Of course the laptop power connection is on the left side so the cord runs across the desk over to the power strip on the far right.

17 years old

The SATA hard drive in the computer is 500G and this one is 160G. This is more than adequate for me as I don't save or run any programs that need this much space to run. I had 21 hard drives and 20 of them were IDE - this is/was the only SATA drive I had. Still in its original packaging, unopened. I'll bring the two drive to a computer shop and have them mirror the 500G unto the 160G hard drive. 

I wasn't expecting to piss away two hours playing with the computer trying to get the hard hooked up and working again. I was a bit frazzled and frustrated and I didn't want to go to the shop and screw up something there. Stayed upstairs and calmed down. I'm just applying shellac but no reason to risk doing something stupid and boneheaded. There is no time line on getting this bookcase done. 

accidental woodworker 

Click the thumbnail photo link below to check out the latest video.

https://www.youtube.com/@ScottWunderWunderWoods

 Merry christmas!

Though there is no snow

for northern new mexico 

this christmas,

i hope you have a wonderful time

with friends and family!

I was asked by a customer to create a cool conference room table for his construction company. He may have said “super cool” or “coolest ever”, but that’s a pretty high bar, so let’s just stick with cool. Either way, it was a challenge that I gladly accepted. Now, I don’t want everything I work on to be a challenge, but I do like to be reminded that I am alive and have something to contribute every now and then, so I said yes. I especially liked this challenge because I got to do some design work with no real limits for a great customer who I have known for a long time, and I knew it would go swimmingly.

I started off with a bunch of sketches (way more than I show in the video link below), many spread out over several days, so I could let the ideas ruminate. I drew a few of my favorites in SketchUp for presentation to the customer, and he picked out two of them – one for the conference room table and one for their “war room”, where they hammer out bids. The war room table was drawn originally at 14′ long, but was resized to better fit the smaller, more intimate room.

The design he chose for the conference room table features two arches leaning in towards each other and appearing to go through the top. I knew it was going to be a demanding build, so I took the time to make a mock-up for the customer. I don’t normally do this, but I thought it would give me a chance to really think about the construction and it would give the customer his last and final chance to raise concerns before we started throwing time and money at the project.

The model building was quite fun, and very helpful. It allowed both of us to see what the final table will look like with the actual wood and stain color. Plus, it was just fun to have a little model of a table to show off, so much so, that both of us were hoping to keep the model after it was completed (I let him keep it).

Click on the thumbnail photo below to see a video of the table design process and the model build.