Woodworking 101--Tools and Tips

[jimreed2160]

Desk

I grabbed a few shop minutes before the heat of the day. Today's task was to glue on the bookcase standoffs. I am not sure what the skids on the bottom are made of. It was something from the scrap pile--maybe poplar. Anyway, I cut the end grain standoffs from a block of beech. Here is the bookcase ready to go.

And here is one of the skids.

Glue up #1 went well. I used a block to spread the pressure evenly.

And here they are all glued up.

You may notice an extra clamp on the top that is used for a counterweight. The hinges are proud and I had to put the bookcase on a scrap of wood to keep from scratching the workbench. Once I started applying clamps to it, the bookcase became wobbly.

I think I will stand it on its head on the floor when time comes to trim the blocks. That would put it at a nice working height.

Next task is to fashion a piece of trim for the front of the bottom to fill the void under the doors. I deviated a little from the plans and am paying for it now. Small things that go unnoticed can really bite you at the end. Can I work myself out of this hole? Find out in the next episode. Drink yer Ovaltine and stay tuned for more fun.

 

[jimreed2160]

Desk

I trimmed the hinge spacers on the bookcase and then installed the spacers on the desk. Here is one.

Slow but steady progress. WooHoo.

 

[jimreed2160]

Books

So I was prowling that on line auction site late one evening and spied these books.

I threw out a bid and won them for $4.99 + 7 to ship. It will keep me busy at night for awhile. Here is a nice secretary desk pictured in one of the books.

From my little desk project, I KNOW that someone spent lots of time on this one. And it shows. I often thought of making something like that and hiring some budding young artist to help me out with the decoration. Maybe I need to think of something smaller, like a blanket chest.

 

[ztorres]

Well finally moved into our new house. It's been a long couple days moving everything into the new place. I finally was able to measure all of the walls in the basement for the new shop. Here is the rough measurements of everything with the layout.

The ceiling is 7' tall all around except where it's marked low ceiling, that's bout 5.5-6' tall. The floor isn't level every where so I need some ideas about how to level that out. It's raw concrete and I think I want to put in a plywood floor or something along them lines. Nothing too fancy but I'm over the concrete flooring really.


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[jimreed2160]

Zach--Nice space. Good luck getting everything set up. The nice thing about a basement shop is slipping down there in the evening.

 

[cheechi]

jim suggests a great idea. Those of you who have good ww books, recommend them.

 

[jimreed2160]

Books

Here are two nice books on handplanes.

 

[Jolomite]

Did a small prototype project today. Still needs sanding and finish. Not perfect but I think it came out pretty well.

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Why RRich, that is positively too nice to nail anyone too! Hoohoo! . All sacrilege aside- very nice work, sir.

 

[rrich1]

Why RRich, that is positively too nice to nail anyone too! Hoohoo! . All sacrilege aside- very nice work, sir.

Thanks!


Tonight I got the 8/4 pieces of cherry milled down to thickness for the gaming table. Hopefully this weekend I can work on the tenons and accessory slots on the rails.

 

[jimreed2160]

Desk update

There has been no progress on the desk lately as I have hit a roadblock on the bookcase trim concept. Most of my time has been taken up napping the kitties. In fact, one of them is sitting on the desk as I type now. It is hard to type with a kitty stuck in front of the display, but she will not budge. Must revert to typing class mode.

Luckily I had a fever dream last night and resolved enough issues to move ahead. I found a piece of cherry for the trim last night and I guess that sparked something else. Anyway, I hope to spend enough time in the shop today to get it moving. Let's hope for a productive weekend. Time to get moving.

 

[jimreed2160]

Desk bookcase trim

I was rocked up from my nap with the kitty this morning by two well meaning Bible people this morning. I thanked them kindly but sent them to other adventures asap. It was my cue to beat the heat and get into the shop for trim work.

The short board I found was just too nice to whack up into trim so I found another that was more suitable.

I got out my LN #62 to plane the edge. As I was working I wondered how the power dudes get by. This job is a jointer job but the piece is very small. I would hate to run it through the jointer. The plane seems to be a much more suitable tool.

After the first pass, I am reminded too well that this is a cherry board. There was a tearout incident. In my experience cherry is very prone to tearout and one must watch the grain like a hawk.

But that was an easy fix--just reverse the direction of the plane and keep moving. This job was a quick two minutes.

I cut them to length and glued them in place. My initial thought was to use clamps but I decided that two small tacks in each would be better. Then I applied stain so it could dry along with the glue.

Just as I finished wiping up excess glue, sweat started to hit my glasses. Time to escape. More later.

 

[jimreed2160]

In pursuit of perfection

While working on the bookcase this morning, my mind drifted into philosophical mode when I saw the repair on the side.

I had this beautiful board with a random chainsaw cut. The sawyers always have a chainsaw handy at the mill. It is often used to cut metal from logs. My guess is that this defect probably resulted from that. Most often the ww will cut around defects like this one but I was stumped. The board was too lovely and the defect was in a really bad place. After much thought, I decided to repair it with a Dutchman.

The repair came out well and is really not noticeable once the cabinet doors are in place. I was pleased with the result.

Now some may say this defect ruins the perfection of the piece. But I think it shows another side of nature. Wood is a natural product and does contain defects. I like to show these defects because they are interesting to me. Whacky grain, even with tearout, is pretty to me. I love the swirls and bumps.

But that is just me. How to others feel? Should a ww strive for perfection in each piece of lumber? Do repaired defects like this have more distraction than beauty? What is your pursuit of perfection?

 

[jimreed2160]

New projects

Here are some new arrivals to my shop.

There is a whiff of new projects in the air.

 

[rrich1]

Got two cutting boards in clamps right now. The first is done the second needs to be cut and flipped. There is a festival this weekend and my neighbors or said I could put a few items in their booth to try and sell. Will make a few more cutting boards and a few crosses and see how it goes. Never sold anything before.

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[jimreed2160]

rrich--Nice blending of woods. My bet is that your neighbor comes home with cash for you along with tales of happy customers.

 

[jimreed2160]

Bookcase trim

The task today is to make trim for the bottom of the bookcase. There is a gap between the bottom and the front, just under the doors. My plan is to make a piece of trim to fit while adding a little bling to the bookcase.

While scrounging for trim stock this morning I knocked down a light--don't ask. So there was a brief interlude while I repaired the damage and then got back to work. I did find a suitable board.

It is a pretty big piece of stock but will nibble down quickly. There is a double wane with bark on one end and that limits the useful lumber.

I want to clad the outside with birdseye maple. Here is a thin piece of stock.

It has really nice figure.

So I prepared some stock but it had a big worm hole (inactive), so I made another piece. Then I planed it flat.

And prepared the birdseye.

I was ready to glue up the pieces when I realized that I had the wrong piece of cherry trim. UGH. At least I noticed it before I did the clamping. In my defense, the shop was heating up quickly and sweat was dripping everywhere.

Once the glue dries I will trim it and plane it even. Then I can do a test fit and see how I did. Stay tuned.

 

[jimreed2160]

Bookcase trim continued

The glue has had a few hours to set up so I went back to work. I am breaking this task into little segments because of the heat in the shop. Here is the glue up.

I made it a bit oversized and then trimmed it to fit.

The planes did a good job.

Then I hung a door to check for clearance.

Looking good. And it is flush with the front.

Just as a reminder, here is what it looks like without the filler trim.

And here is all that remains from that big board.

Now I need to do some finish sanding, staining, and poly. Whew! It feels good to have this one in the bag. The spacing issue popped up when I decided to make the bookcase a little deeper and forgot to account for the doors. I am happy to finally correct my error.

Things are moving along and I have a good chance of making my deadline. Thanks for watching. Having other eyes on the project gives me motivation to keep up the pace.

 

[jimreed2160]

Bookcase trim

I stained a scrap of birdseye maple last night just to confirm my thoughts. Here is the cherry stain:

Here is the walnut.

And here is my favorite finish for birdseye--BLO.

The pictures are not that great but in person the BLO is a clear winner. It brings out the features and yellows up the maple nicely.

Here is a before:

And here is an after:

I put cherry stain on the cherry:

And now for some drying time.

I want to dowel this thing in place so now I have a chance to use my dowel centers! Stay tuned for more fun.

 

[cheechi]

Since you mention dowels.

I know you have that fancy dowel maker, but what do you guys use for dowel jigs? There are a lot of Dowl It models that I have been trying to narrow down what I want but mostly had questions of you guys.

A domino isn't likely for me.

between dowels & biscuits, do you generally have more than one jig or type of jig? Or do you pick a size and stick with it?

I like this one and will probably get it anyway
http://www.rockler.com/dowl-simpl-kit
but any recommendations, or 'do this not that' type suggestions would be helpful. thanks.

 

[ez-duzit]

This is the one I've been using for decades.

 

[rrich1]

Got two coats of oil on the cutting board yesterday. Need to oil the second board now. My youth pastor came over to help with his table. We got the aprons cut to length and width. Also figured out where all the dad's need to be at. Spent some time teaching and explaining processes to him as he wants to learn so didn't get any of the dad's cut yet. Progress is progress though. Will have them done here this week though.

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[jimreed2160]

rrich--Boards are looking good.

Cheechi--I guess I need one of those jigs. I drill freehand and sometimes the hole is off.

I got a chance at last to use my newly found dowel points.

I drilled two holes in the trim. Here is the left side.

And here is the right side.

With the two 1/4" points installed, I placed the trim in place and tapped with the mallet.

Here is the impression.

I drilled all of the holes and installed the dowels. After that I marked each end for trimming.

Here is the trimmed end before staining.

And here is the trim before poly.

I applied cherry stain to the cherry and put another coat of BLO on the maple. After a few days of drying it will be ready for poly. In the meantime, I can replace the bookcase and attach the hinges to secure it to the desk.

The next big task is to apply the bottom trim. I can see a flickering light at the end of the tunnel. WooHoo.

 

[ScottsGT]

This is the one I've been using for decades.

I bought one of these when I built my display case. Worth it's weight in gold! What I find annoying is Lowe's keeps their biscuits and pocket hole fillers in the tool section, but the short dowel's for these they keep in the back of the store with the 36" long wood dowels.

 

[R_einan]

The BLO looks good on the Birdseye, Jim.

I need to look into one of those dowel jigs, I do mine freehand after marking both directions with a square and using an awl to get a start for the drill.

 

[jimreed2160]

Desk Bookcase

I got the two hinges attached and now feel more confident that the bookcase top will stay in place.

My test fit of the trim piece was only so-so. I only dragged one door into the shop for fitting. Turns out the other door was a smudge longer and I had to sand down the trim a bit. That took an hour of sanding and test fitting. Seems like everytime I try a shortcut I get burned. Oh well, that's how it goes.

It's OK with me because the bookcase looks great rocking its new trim.

 

[KMScott]

Nice job Jim, enjoyed your steps. Looks great.

rrich, very nice job on the cutting board, what oil did you use? looks great.

 

[cheechi]

rich that looks amazing

ez thanks. I was hoping there was a simple answer because they only make 8 different varieties and I doubt anyone needs them all, even if someone happens to have them all.

I've made some jigs in the past that were more like 'guides' than truly jigs. Kind of like the one I linked but over time jigs that are poorly glued, not so square, not having a jointer or planer didn't last.

 

[rrich1]

Jim: desk is looking great.

Kmscott: thanks it's Howard's cutting board oil followed by their beeswax mix. I meant to buy some general finishes mineral oil today but forgot when I was at the store.

Cheech: thanks!

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[rrich1]

A few more simpler cutting boards. I think one might end up being too thin (less than 3/4" thick) think it will be fine?

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[jimreed2160]

rrich--Your thin one should be OK as long as it is not too wide. I have a 1/2" cutting board that I have used for years.

 

[jimreed2160]

Base trim

I made the base trim earlier but had trouble finding stock long enough to cover the front. While I was looking, I had an idea to run it to a decorative piece in the center. The bottom is a little boring and some feature might draw a few eyes. In addition, I could run shorter pieces of the trim to that feature.

Here is what I started with.

Looks a little thick.

I used the bandsaw to slice off about 1/2 of the front and then did a little chevron detail at the bottom.

I am liking it now.

Here is some stock.

One piece of maple is birdseye and the other is quilted. I am leaning towards the birdseye.

That light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.

 

[ez-duzit]

...I made the base trim earlier but had trouble finding stock long enough to cover the front. While I was looking, I had an idea to run it to a decorative piece in the center. The bottom is a little boring and some feature might draw a few eyes. In addition, I could run shorter pieces of the trim to that feature...

JR--you really must rethink this.

 

[R_einan]

I would have to agree with EZ, my humble opinion is the center piece throws off the aesthetics.

 

[jimreed2160]

EZ & R--Thanks for your feedback--extra eyes help. I guess I need to ponder this more as I would hate to add a blemish at this point.

 

[jimreed2160]

Clamping small stuff

I was working on the prototype trim and needed to plane it a bit. Here is how I did it.

Those woodscrews really come in handy.

 

[jimreed2160]

Trim

There are mixed reviews with the trim. I decided I needed to get the prototype trim closer to my vision.

The stock would come from this piece of maple and the sharpie "A" would be a walnut or cherry inlay.

Next, I put some amber shellac on it and put it on the desk.

I will have to look at it for a few days. In the meantime, I sent pictures to the new owner to get her opinion. All feedback is welcome.

 

[ez-duzit]

...All feedback is welcome.

It is difficult for me to believe you find this sort of patch job acceptable. I think you are just pulling our legs.

 

[geyas]

Awesome woodworking bench

 

[shortykorte]

Imho the crest doesn't seem to fit the style of the desk. Maybe if you added more decorative trim to other places it would tie everything together.


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[Craptain]

Having seen jim's humor elsewhere, I am not commenting.

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