Accidental Woodworker

 

yikes

The  platform I made to hold my #8 was starting to separate. I had nailed and glued the 1/4" plywood to the back edge of the platform. Sure glad that I noticed this before the platform dumped the #8 on the deck. This was the first distraction to deal with.

distraction #2

This is philippine mahogany left over from something. Just enough to make an open box to hold a water stone. Using water stones is incredibly messy and you have to contain it. That is what I hope to accomplish with this.

the plan

The 1/8" tongue will be my water stopper. I'm hoping that it will swell and keep the mess inside the box. Not sure how it will go because this wood is dense and heavy. No clue as to whether or not water can soak into it.

oops

One corner miter will be a wee bit shy. Originally I had planned to rabbet the corners but that would have exposed the groove for the spline. So I switched to mitering the corners but came up a wee bit short. The spline groove will still be hidden and this is a shop project.

dry fit check

The walls are 3/4" high which should be sufficient. The water stone doesn't need to be soaking in water while it is being used. 

survived the glue up

The dry fit went off without any hiccups but with glue applied it was like I suddenly lost my ability to use my thumbs. Finally got it clamped before the glue flashed off. I will let this cook until tomorrow.

surprise

I forgot that I had this - the red thing. It is a water pond for water stones that I got in the early 1980's from Lee Valley. I didn't need to make the water stone station that I just glued up.

surprise #2

Forgot that I had made this water stone holder too. The original water stone holders finally got flying lessons. They were tippy, fiddly, and a PITA to use. This holder worked a bazillion percent then they ever did, even when brand new.

hmm.....

The bevel on this iron was 30° and I changed it to 25°. The water stone is 220 and it did a good job reducing the angle. In fact I couldn't see/feel much different between it and the 60 grit sandpaper on the runway.

???

There is a nice shiny bevel around the middle with two dull looking stripes at each end. I seem to get this just about every time with my plane irons. I applied more pressure on the outside edges and nada. I had a consistent burr from R to L and a straight edge laid on the bevel showed no light under it. It doesn't seem to effect making shavings. This is the 8000 grit water stone but this stripe effect shows up on the 220, 1000, and 4000 stones too. Just a '...what is this?....

one more to go

I didn't know that I had 3 extra LN irons. These will fit in the 4 1/2, 5 1/2, and the 51. The one I'm holding I am pretty sure I sharpened on the diamond stones and it wouldn't make a full width shaving. I'm betting on the water stones to fix that. Fingers crossed and I'll find out in the AM.

the herd is getting lonely

I hadn't expected this to take this long. These four should go quickly because they only need a touch up.

came today

Twenty five 1/4-20 wing nuts for $13 and I only need 8 for the pic frame clamps. I also ordered 20 black oxide 1/4-20 wing nuts from Blacksmith bolt. I should have them by friday.

hmm.....

Beefed it up with a piece of 1/2" plywood this time. I glued and screwed that to back edge of the platform (original was glue and brads). The other one lasted for a couple of years and this one should outlast me. I'll put the #8 in it in the AM.

accidental woodworker

60 grit

I have tried in the past to square or remove nicks from the toes of blades with 300 or 600 grit stones. You are there forever so I started using adhesive backed sanding strips. At first I started with 220 and progressed down to 60 grit. From there I go back up to 80, 120, and 180 before finishing on my diamond stones.

I don't like using a grinder mostly because of I'm not good at it. Practiced on a couple of used up irons and the results weren't pretty. So I stay away from that tool. Then there is the issue with drawing the temper out of the iron. All and all it is safer for me to use sandpaper. 

My 'runway' is a synthetic threshold I got from Home Depot. This one I only use one side but my second one I use both sides of it. I should set this one up to be dual sided too. I have stops on it but I found out through use (on the 2nd one) that I don't need them.

clean up

I use a heat gun to remove the sanding strip and paint thinner to scrap the adhesive off the runway. Splash a little paint thinner on it, wait 10 seconds and you get to scrape up a gooey, sticky glob of adhesive.

Lowes run

Bought a 2x2 and a 2x4 foot 1/2" birch plywood panels. I made up my mind on the shelves and this is what I'm using. 3 fixed shelves or maybe only two. The bottom shelf is going to be hard to see the back of it, especially the very bottom shelf of the cabinet. I might eliminate that one or put in a 1/2" shelf.

LN 51 iron done

 Off the miter saw jig - rough and ugly looking. Took a while due to having to remove a nice sized chip at the toe. Forgot to snap a before/after pic of that.

dead nuts smooth

Sharp does cure a lot of ills. This is the same molding that the LN 51 chewed up and destroyed. I tried planing it both ways and both the LN 51 smoothed them both dead nuts.

chip

The bevel and toe of this looked good and I thought it would be easy peasy to knock out. Instead when I made 4-5 strokes on the runway to establish the look of the bevel, it showed a chip almost dead center on the toe.

woodpecker square

This square is awesome for checking square on chisels and plane irons. Before I got this trying to check it with my 4" adjustable square was frustrating to say the least. The inside faces on this square are 1/2" wide which allow it to register on the edge of a piece of paper with ease.

almost ready to road test

This chisel didn't take as long to do as the LN 51 iron. I tried to use this chisel before but set it aside because it wouldn't hold an edge. I'm hoping that with the passage of a few years since then my skill at sharpening as been upped a wee bit. 

super clean and smooth

The chisel worked this 45 better than I remember it working. Sliced through it like a hot knife through a tub of cheap oleo. To prove it wasn't a fluke, I did two more of them with the same results. I don't recall this chisel staying this sharp.

2nd O1 iron

5 strokes on the runway and I have a thin ribbon right at the toe that ain't cooperating. It took me over 45 minutes to completely remove it. This was the last O1 I had to sharpen. Tomorrow I'll start on the A2 irons.

finally done

The toe looks fractured and erose but it isn't. That is the burr on the backside. The burr is consistent in size from the R to the L. This is ready for the diamond stones.

for tomorrow

It was a few minutes past quitting time so this will get done in the AM. This is my spare iron for the LN 51.

my Makita hand planer

I broke this out because if I didn't do while I was thinking about it, it would stay in its black hole forgotten for who knows how long. This is bigger than what I remember being. The electrical cord is still in decent shape - supple and without any cracks or nicks.

hmm.....

This I totally don't recall. I thought I had two thick irons with slots in them. This looks exactly like the blades that are in the WEN hand planer. I'll search You Tube to see if there are any tutorials on blade changes/setting.

accidental woodworker

 At 1238 this PM I officially had adult supervision again. My wife came home after visiting the grandkids in North Carolina. Once I no longer have to babysit Mr Darcy (our male cat) I'll be visiting NC too. As an aside, Mr Darcy did his normal cat routine and treated my wife like she was a stranger. That will learn her for going away without giving him any treats.

the storage part

I ordered some black oxide 1/4-20 wing nuts from Blacksmith bolt today. McMaster-Carr has brass ones - pkg of 25 for $13 plus S/H. Haven't pulled that trigger yet because Blacksmith bolt had a cheaper price. I have it in the cart so I can indulge myself later.

Made one boo boo with the box. I forgot to center the middle three sided box - it is 1/2" to the left of center.  

getting better

These are Lee Valley clones of Stanley cornering tools. I'm getting better at using them. I'm getting less and less tear out but I still have some. I rounded all 3 edges on the lid moldings and only the top of the bottom molding. No finish for this - yet. But if I change my mind I'll probably slap a few coats of shellac on it.

glazier's points

These are bigger than I wanted but they are also the smallest ones I could find. Fingers and toes crossed that the paint store has the smaller ones. These will be good for the larger lites due to the thickness of the glass. I think these are too big for the smaller ones though.

hinges

These are stop hinges and I'm happy with them. I initially thought that they were flimsy but I have used them on several boxes and all of them have withstand the abuse I've heaped on them so far.

hmm.....

Decided on using a snap catch but I forgot how to do them. It has been a long time since I used this kit.

ta-da

Figured it out. I eyeballed the snap catch on the box the catches were in. Muscle memory kicked in and I knocked it out easy peasy.

done

I'm happy with how this turned out. I don't have a warm and fuzzy about the threaded rods but they shouldn't get munged up as is. (fingers crossed)

glass retainers

Made 6 long ones whereas I only need 4. Started working on the smaller ones for the smaller lites. I need 24 of them.

stockpile

Made 40 of the smaller ones with one to use as backer when I shoot the miters.

short retainer

All of the horizontal muntins are the same length. The small vertical muntins are a 1/8" longer than the horizontal ones. I roughed out all of the retainers a wee bit longer than that and I'll fit them individually when the time comes. That will most likely be after I paint the cabinet.

LN side rabbet plane

Used it to widen the groove so the glass retainers would fit in them.

happy face on

No light peeking on either leg. Used the 45 clean up jig on the two miters. As an aside, off the miter jig the miters looked ok when I checked them in the lite rabbets.

found it

I found this molding plane in the boneyard and it is the one I would have used over the one I did. I like this cleaner, simpler look but I would thin the width of the flat above the curved part.

the after pic

I sawed a 45 on this and it looked like a country lane after a rain storm. This is the look after I cleaned it on the miter jig.

the before pic

The LN 51 tore this up badly. It looks like slice of swiss cheese now. Happy I was able to clean and smooth it up on the chisel miter jig.

what it is for

I noticed that when I swing the door shut it flexes. The top and bottom corners move inward. I don't like that because it possibly could crack or break a lite. The first pencil line closest to the front edge is the back side of the door when latched. The 2nd one, furthest from the front edge is where the door stops when latched. I positioned the stop in between the two lines. I secured it with 3 drops of super glue.

done

I opened and closed the door several times and the stop held secure and the door didn't flex or wobble when it hit the stop. It had a nice secure stop feeling when I shut it. I will put a couple of screws in it later on. For now I want to leave as is and monitor it as I open/close the door.

upcoming maintenance

The tear out/rough surface I got with the LN 51 was most likely due to it not being sharp (or I was planing against the grain or both). Since I had to sharpen/hone it, I might as well do the other LN planes in the herd. I only have two O1 LN plane irons with the rest of them being A2. A2 sharpens better on water stones so I will break out the waterstones to do the irons. Before that I cleaned up the blades and chipbreakers with mineral spirits. I work mostly in pine and the edges of all of the blades had pine goo on them. 

Along with sharpening the blades in the herd I will do the 3 extra LN irons I have at the same time. Added to the plane irons is one 1 1/2" wide firmer chisel. I will attempt to use it to clean the miters on the glass retainers.

my preference

The O1 LN plane irons are labeled as such with the A2 irons being blank. All of my herd plane irons are A2 and all of their irons are blank - no markings, logos, or writings. I haven't found any LN O1 for sale for years and I check fairly regularly for them. LN stopped making O1 several years ago.

spare LN iron

I've been pushing this iron up/down the runway for 30 minutes and I've reduced this chip by 80%. I will tackle and finish the remaining 20% in the AM.

Killed the lights and headed topside to chat it up with the wife.

accidental woodworker

 Spent most of the day working on the box for the new picture framing clamps I just bought. I thought I would have gotten that done today but it didn't happen boys and girls. Worked some more on the cabinet and I'm on the fence with the shelves. I think I'm fairly committed to 3 shelves but I'm vacillating about whether to use solid wood or plywood for them. The big concern is solid wood movement vice no movement with plywood. I have the luxury of a few days to wait but I'll have to decide within a couple of days.

1/4 round molding

I checked and I can get all 16 short legs out of one molding. I will need two moldings for the 4 long legs of the big lites and one molding for the vertical retainers on the small lites. If I don't screw up I should have almost no waste at all.

I'm getting a headache

It is looking like the 1/4 round isn't going work. With my spatial abilities swirling around in the toilet trying to orient this in my mind ain't working so well. The miters aren't lining up on this corner. I think I could get it to work if I coped the ends but I haven't ever done coping on such a small molding.

it worked

The molding is a bit larger (height) than the groove and that allowed me to apply downward pressure to it while I chiseled the miter clean/smooth.

1/4 round in place

I don't mind the reveal/margin at the front. What I was concerned with was the molding extending above the muntin bar - it doesn't. It is 3-4 frog hairs below it. However, the miter isn't facing in the direction to pick up the vertical 1/4 round.

happy with this

I cleaned up both miters in the jig and there is zero light which means the miter is dead nuts on.

the problem

The moldings aren't uniform which sucks. The left one is fatter than the horizontal one. That hiccup aside, the miters don't line up on either side. I couldn't resolve this hiccup even after giving it my very best goofy looks. Decided to shit can the 1/4 round moldings and go with 1/4" square moldings.

done

Made a boatload of square moldings. More than enough even if I trip up into a string of oops to deal with. BTW these all came from scraps I was going to shit can.

out of the clamps

The miters all look decent. There is some glue squeeze out on the toes but they are pretty tight.

L moldings done

After the square ones were done I made the 1/2" L moldings. I made 6 long ones (27" long) and 4 short end ones.

separated

I initially wanted to do this on the bandsaw but whacked it out on the tablesaw. It came out a lot cleaner than I expected it to. There are zero fuzzy wuzzies on either the lid of the bottom.

nope

These are the miters off the jig and although they are ugly looking they are an improvement. I'm still having hiccups sawing the vertical on the miter jigs.

new fence

I sawed off the original fence on bandsaw and glued on a new one. After the glue has cooked for a couple of hours I will saw new miters and a 90 saw stop.

sigh

Better but still a degree shy of the exalted 45°. This is why miter shooting jigs were invented for people like me. My shooting jig was off too - it took me 5 plane and checks before Mr Starrett gave his blessing.

yikes

Noticed this after it had been clamped for several minutes. I had see the toes proud but I canl plane that flush after it has set up. At least this gap will be facing down and won't be readily visible.

dry fitted

Got a better fit on what is the lid. No gaps on the under side and all the miters are closed up pretty good.

hmm.....

This was a big surprise. This knurled nut is from the pic frame clamp and I thought it would be metric. After all this is from china but instead of it being a 6mm, it is a 1/4-20 thread. One thing I want to do is get some1/4-20 wings nuts - preferably brass but that will be dependent on the cost.

storage arrangement

I put 3 'compartments' along the back wall - one at each end and another in the middle. In between them I'll put the 90° corners. The space in front of the 'compartments' will hold the threaded rods.

hmm....

This wasn't working. The left end of the bottom one is just plain being ornery. The deeper I planed the profile the more I was ripping out chunks of wood on the left end. The top one I will use on the bottom shelf and the knot will be at the back.

just in case

Still haven't decide if I'll use fixed shelves or one fixed and two adjustable ones. If I go with the former I'll have the shelf supports ready. 

accidental woodworker 

 After almost a month of work on the glass door cabinet is winding down. I received the 1/4 round moldings I'm using as glass retainers and the Lee Valley hinges finally came in albeit too late. I have to find some diamond glazier points - I'll try the paint store when I go to pick out a contrasting paint color. Fingers and toes crossed that  they will have the ones I want. Painting this is going to be a PITA and I am projecting that it will probably eat up a week plus a few days.

top line

That is how far up I have to move the latch side to be flush with the keeper. It is too much to ignore.

fill in the old holes

The dowels I used were a perfect fit. I just had to sand them a wee bit to get a snug fit with the screw hole.

crisis averted

There was much joy and rejoicing in Mudville. The mighty Ralphie had fixed the faux pas.

 

close

I made two more shelf supports. The one above to the right was the first one and I planed that one against the grain. These two don't have to be dead nuts because they aren't married to each other. They will be on opposite sides of the cabinet and impossible to focus on together. Close is good enough and besides most of it will be hidden under the shelf.

Right and Left

I made a practice cut on the against the grain one to eyeball the angle. I was happy with it and how it looked - this will be somewhat visible and will present a finished end to this shelf support.

WTF?

I lost one of the moldings I just made. Couldn't remember where I had put it down and I saw it 3 times and didn't recognize as the MIA molding.

found it

The MIA molding was atop the cabinet and I finally realized it the 4th time I looked at it. I made another one and I had a backup set of shelf supports because I am now leaning toward putting in 3 fixed shelves vice one fixed and two adjustable. It is still subject to change.

shelves

Flushing and smoothing the shelves. All three were flush on one face but a wee bit proud on the other.

major brain fart

One shelf is salvageable but the other two are toast. Both of them are short on width. I thought I had made them all an inch longer in both directions. The single one on the right is about a strong 16th short on the width - the depth is over long because I didn't do that one yet. From what I could measure I made these squares - the shelves should have been 16x19 and I made them 16x17. They won't go to waste and I'll use them for some future project.

new toys

I've wanted to try these clamps forever. Woodcraft has these on sale for 50% off. For the price of one, I got two.

superior tool site

I wanted everything but the level line sights. $122 shipped to me. If anyone wants the line sights make an offer - the box for them is great shape as is all the others.

hmm....

It was advertised that these will clamp 48x48 inches. They do that using a coupler to get the 48" clamp length.

need a box

Of course I have to make a box to hold all the goodies in one place. 1/2" plywood for the box with a1/4" plywood for the top and bottom.

dry fit

The miters fitted up good with no gaps. I will saw the lid off after it has been glued and cooked.

glued, clamped, and cooking

I will let this cook overnight and hopefully I'll finish it by the PM session.

brand new

There isn't even an errant scratch on it anywhere. This is another curiosity that I needed to have its itch scratched. The box even has the instructions in it.

still readable

I don't do door butt hinges but it looks like this would do the hinges for the current project. One of the arms has a measurement scale that is dead on accurate. I checked it and was surprised that it was.

doweling jig bushings

I checked all 5 bushings with the auger bits I have. Only the 1/4" and 5/16" bushings fit the auger bits. The 3/8" kind of fit with the initial lead in tight but once it went in about a 1/4" it turned freely for the rest of it.

L molding

This is the homemade molding I will use to cover the plywood edges. The plies on this plywood are particularly ugly looking IMO. 

WEN hand planer

The only metal topside on this are the screws that old it together. I have only used this once without reading the instructions. Still don't know what some of the 'orange' bits and bobs do. However, I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by how well this worked flattening a poplar board.

depth setting

This worked but I didn't measure how deep it was cutting. I set in at 1/64th because I wasn't sure how well this would perform. I didn't want to over stress it and have it burn out the first time it was let out of the gate. I had played with the two orange turn knobs - I don't what they did and they were hard to turn in either direction.

right, off, left

This gizmo directs the shavings to the right or left or shuts it off. Don't see what the benefit of that is. It didn't work that well. I had the shavings bag attached and it barely had some dust in it when I finally took it off. I finished the poplar board without the bag and just let the shavings spew out.

the sole

The sole is aluminum with a V groove on the front shoe. I did see that this is for chamfering but I didn't try that function.

3 1/4" width

I bought two sets of replacement blades. I haven't changed these yet and supposedly they no set. I like that because IMO these hand planers can be a bit fiddly when replacing the blades.

thick sole

The end has a plastic kick stand. The thick sole should stay flat but aluminum can turn gummy and sticky. That can make pushing this hard and cause it stick and stop. That didn't happen on this one use though.

35 year old Makita

The blueish case holds my Makita hand planer. I haven't used it a bazillion years because it needs new blades. If memory serves me the ones on it are nicked pretty bad. This planer was a PITA (for me) to set new blades based on the one time I did it. I'll have to open it up and check it out. It has been a long time but my skill set has improved a wee bit since I last used this one.

Only time and use will tell how well the WEN holds up. I think for the infrequent use I plan for it (only to flatten/thickness boards) it should last a few years.

accidental woodworker 

 

1/4" margin

The door is resting on the bottom and the plan was to split the margin - 1/8" at the top and bottom. With that decided in the batters box was chopping the gains for the hinges on the cabinet.

top one set

This one rocked a wee bit and I trimmed and checked until it lay flat and flush.

did this differently

With past hinge jobs I would knife/mark each hinge at the same time and then chop both of them out. Today I chopped the first one and installed it with one screw. With the top one fixed, I marked/knifed the bottom hinge and then chopped the gain for it. I saw this on a Paul Sellers video and what a game changer. 

Usually what happened with the previous method was one of the hinges would be slightly off. I would have to chop the R or L end of the gain a bit more. It didn't happen all the time but the Paul Sellers method avoided those small errors that made me wear my grumpy face. 

done

This had to be the easiest hinge job I have ever done. The door opened and closed sweetly with the cabinet on the workbench.

still swinging freely

I was half expecting the door to hang a wee bit on the latch side (right) but it didn't. 

checking the margins

The top is tapered - high on the right and smaller on the left. The latch side looks kind of tight in a couple of spots but there is zero binding. I won't have to plane a back bevel on this edge of the door. The bottom margin I'm leaving as is - I don't see any need to go nutso and play with it. The only way to see it clearly is get on your knees.

the bottom

The bottom has a consistent margin but it is a wee bit smaller than the top one.

shelves

I am going with 3 shelves. The spacing between them is roughly 12".

15" x 18"

I have to glue up to get the dimensions needed for the shelves. Not my favorite way for shelves but I didn't feel like going to Lowes to buy plywood. 

done

Rethinking about how the shelves will be done. I am leaning towards making the middle shelf fixed. Doing that will increase the rigidity of the cabinet.

sigh

Got the snap latch installed but it isn't even. The left part isn't flush with the keeper on the right. It is enough that it is bugging me and I'll deal with it in the AM. The screws are too long also - they are poking out about a 32nd. Another sin with the screws is they are phillips head. I'll be switching them out for slot head screws but I'll have to buy some bronze paint so they will match the latch.

playing with molders again

Looking at profiles for the front edge of the shelves. I don't want to leave the front edges squared or rounded off.

shelf support

I like this profile for the middle shelf support.

contender

This is a window sash plane and it is one of two. From my understanding these came in pairs with #1 used first and #2 next for cleaning and smoothing. I don't have the #2 plane. 

my favorite

This is a Preston plane that was advertised as a profile for shelves and edges. I think I'll use this one because it doesn't take up as much real estate as the previous one does.

accidental woodworker 

 I got my Lee Valley order yesterday but no hinges. LV had split my order and the hinges were in the 2nd half. I got the shipping notice from LV but UPS says that they haven't received it yet. If I don't get it by friday it will be early next week. That put a crimp in my plans for finishing up the glass door cabinet.

part of the first Lee Valley order

All I wanted were the red #2 Robertson drive bits. I had lent my 2" stubby to my wife and she is clueless as to what happened to it. While I was at it I bought a #0 and a #3 driver bit, both I didn't have.

back door

Got the casings on the door nailed off and up next is dealing with this where the baseboard needs to go. I got two 2x2 foot 1/2" gypsum boards for this. The gypsum board I had is 3/8" and the repair boards had to be 1/2".

half done

This small job confirmed for me that I hate doing sheet rock repairs. Especially ones at floor level. Working on my knees to do this sucked pond scum. I thought I had some mud but all I could find was the tape. I didn't feel like driving back to Lowes so I'll get a pail of it in the AM.

oops

Confused myself here - I thought I had to shorten the coat rail by 3/4" because of the hinge side casing. FYI - I didn't have to do that.  The coat rail being short by 3/4" but (IMO) doesn't look out of place. Coats will hide the gap and it will look like a board with coat hooks on it.

2nd choice

Thinking now of using this instead of the big oval brass knob. If I use the brass knob I will also have to figure out a way to keep the door closed with a magnetic catch or something else. With this one I get a knob to open/close it and also a way to keep it closed.

3rd choice

This is the one I think I'm going to use. The 2nd choice lost because I don't have any dark bronze hinges. (I have one but I need two). I get the same benefits and I have hinges that match this finish.

first one done

This one was a bit fiddly to do. It rocked when I initially checked the fit in the gain.

done

Just a teeny bit of rocking on this hinge. Both of these hinges have loose pins which I don't like. Mostly because you have to check and make sure that the loose hinge pin end doesn't face the bottom.

 accidental woodworker

 Slow day and I didn't get much done. The PM session was a hurry and wait for my annual CPAP check up. Just like the cable company it was I'll be there between 1400 and 1600. I didn't set the world on fire in the AM session either. The House of Glass is still open and still in business. I got 1/8" glass and it was $78 which was twice what I thought it would cost. I had to go back after lunch and pick it up. They don't do wait while they cut anymore.

coat rail

Scraped it clean and smoothed it out with 40 grit. Happy with how it looks and how it feels. I filled in all the holes with wood putty. 

it's gone

Used the skilsaw to zip off some of the overhang. I am surprised by how smooth of the edge the saw left. The big bonus is there were zero fuzzy wuzzies.

looks better

The side overhang looks wider than it does on the front. But it isn't - I measured both and there is less than a 32nd difference.

the baseboard

Three of coats of paint plus one coat (or more) of a clear coat, possibly shellac. This paint/shellac scraped off easily.

from ACE

I thought I had bought a box of 4d and 6d finish nails. I was wrong and bought two boxes of 4d nails. Which are too thin and too small for nailing the casing to the door jamb. Rather then return the extra 4d box I'll just buy a box of 6d in the AM.

tomorrow's work

Filled in all the holes and a bunch of divots and ruts. I have to replace a strip of the drywall behind the baseboard. I saw some 2 foot square pieces of drywall at Lowes the other day. I have some at the house (?) that I hope will be enough though.

got it

I cut my post lunch stroll short so I could go and get the glass and have time to check these before the CPAP rep came. Good fit of the glass in their individual homes, just need to buy some glaziers points to secure them.

The hinges should be coming today according to UPS so maybe I'll get them installed in the AM. Time to start thinking about what will occupy my time in the shop next?

accidental woodworker 

 First thing this AM, after breakfast, I went to the House of Glass to get the lites I need for the cabinet. Closed, in fact it looked like it was a ghost town. Went home and found the next nearest 'house of glass' was over in Cranston. It was closed too when I got there. Then it dawned on me, today is Labor Day. A national holiday which explained why there was so little traffic on the roads. I'll try this again in the AM - fingers crossed the House of Glass is still in business because it didn't look like it was just closed for a holiday.

Got a shock on sunday when I went to Lowes to get the glass cut. Found out that they no longer cut glass. Gone, no more, no notice, and it has been gone for months according to the rep that told me that tidbit. 

After my post lunch stroll I jumped into getting the casings for the back door done. That turned into a 3 stooges routine in a heartbeat. Spoiler alert - I got it done just before 1600 rolled around.

lock side

This is a good fit and it aligns with the 1/4" offset layout marks dead on. It also lays up almost flush with the horizontal board on the right of it a little ways down from the top. 

I ran out of nails and I couldn't nail off the left side of the casing into the door jamb. I could have used my finish nailer but I didn't feel like breaking out the compressor and cluttering up the limited space in the back hallway. I'll go to ACE and buy some overpriced penny nails in the size I need.

sigh

Can't get the hinge side casing in place. The horizontal board is in the way and I would have to remove it to get it in place. The other choice is to remove the door from hinges. I would have to remove the butt hinge at top on the door jamb along with removing the door. Decided that removing the board is the better choice. I always leave taking a door off as an absolute last resort.

surprise

I brought 3 saws to do this and I got it all done with this one. I was floored that I was able to make the saw cut with it. 

expended a lot of calories

This is a carbide scraper and it took me seemingly a bazillion years to scrape this and I didn't scrape it all neither. I found where the studs were behind the board and hunted for nails or screws. News update - I found zero evidence of either one.

ta da

Got it off finally and there were only 3 nails holding it on the wall. And one of the nails was a small piss ant penny nail that only went into dry wall. I still couldn't see where the nails were on the face side, based on where the stuck out on the opposite face.

hinge side casing

 Fell onto the door jamb easy peasy. Remember Alka Selzter -  'oh what a relief it is' - that is what this popping into place was like.

hmm....

A 1/4" gap here at the bottom. The right side of the casing against the hinges is straight but the left is tapered. It goes from wide at the top to thin at the bottom.

not as wide

I'm leaving this as it is. Once all the coats go back on the board here, it will be invisible. I will fill in the gap at the bottom with backer rod and caulk. At the top I think I can get away with just caulk.

hmm.....

Used pine for the head casing but it is not wide enough. This is tapered too with it 1 1/2" on the left side end and 2 1/16" at the right end. The top of the casing is parallel to the ceiling L to R but I don't want to use backer rod and caulk for this. It is too visible and it may pop out too much.

grabbed the wrong one

The left end of the right one is 1 1/2" and it is the one I should have put in as the head casing.

done

Nice fit with a much smaller gap that is parallel to the ceiling. This one will fill in smoothly with caulk and not be visible. 

I'll get the hinge and top casing nailed tomorrow. I cleaned up my mess, put away my tools, and rested my hands quietly. My carpal tunnel in my right wrist started protesting and my right thumb was humming arias. Grateful it wasn't singing and I could still pick up and hold my coffee cup later.

accidental woodworker 

the forgotten pic

Along with forgetting to snap and post his pic several posts back, I forgot to apply glue to the back edge. The only thing holding the top down are the screws. It feels solid and I doubt it will give up the ship for a few decades.

2nd putty run

I sanded the first application and it didn't look that bad. With it horizontal I saw another hole underneath on the bottom round over. I think this will do and I won't need a third run. Updates and pics on the 11 o'clock news.

hmm.....

Made a command decision and I'm cutting down the front to match the sides. I don't like that the front overhangs this much. I don't need it be as much as it is because the door will be insert.

sigh

I got lucky on this because it is facing down and not readily visible. On the fence about whether to fill it with a shim or caulk. I have time to decide without calling a full board meeting.

done

Planed this down to the same thickness as the pine board I'll get the hinge side casing out of. This will give up the lock side and top casings with something left over.

divot

A chunk of this popped off when I ran this through the lunchbox planer. I can still use it and place this defect down and against the wall. I will saw out the casings I can get out of in the AM.

I struggled getting the lunchbox planer out of the back hallway and on to the stand in the driveway. I felt a couple of sharp pains from my groin and the old hernia repair site. I didn't sense/feel any aftershocks though. It looks like I might have to hire someone younger to haul it out and bring it back. I can pick up and move it but the initial lift didn't feel all that good. Oh well it is just another concession to age. 

accidental woodworker

ready

Changed my mind on veneering this box. I was going to use walnut but I don't like the dimensions of this box. This one is too wide and long along with the height being too short. I cleaned the box up, planed the sides smooth and the top and bottom flat/twist free. I will try out the LAP wax on it to see if it will pop on this light wood.

new jig

I finally found some small quarter round. I bought four, 48" long 1/4" quarter round moldings from Rockler for $7 each. I made this jig to clean the miters smooth at 45°. The moldings I have coming are supposedly a 1/4" on each flat and the groove is just shy of a 1/4" in both directions. I practiced on some 3/16" square pine scraps and I got a 90° corner. The moldings coming are birch (no pine available) which is a lot harder than pine so I will hone my chisels when they come.

need some casing stock

Pine is (IMO) too soft to use for door casings. I am going to use this poplar board I bought a few months ago. Step one is getting one face kind of flat and thickness it with the lunch box planer.

switched

Initially I started working on this face with my Lee Valley scrub plane along with my Stanley #6 with a cambered iron. Working this poplar was like scrub planing stone. Ornery and stubborn with swirling grain that grinned back at me. 

Then I remembered that my sister had given me this Wen hand planer. I set the depth of cut between 1/64th and a 32nd and went to town with it. I had expended a ton of calories for almost and hour and I barely made a dent in half of the board. The Wen impressed me with how well it worked. I was expecting it to be a total piece of crappola but it sung a #1 hit tune eating up this poplar. 

15 minutes vs 42 minutes

Got the board smooth from end to end with the Wen planer. The shavings are stringy but not wispy. The board is smooth but it is twisted with two humps, both on the right side edge that I had to deal with.

half done

Because of the length of the board (82") I checked and corrected for twist in quarters. I got the first 40" twist free along with flattening one of the humps. I did all of it with the Wen. I did try going back to the hand planes but this poplar was not cooperating. I have a ton of empathy for the old guys that had to do this strictly with hand planes. 

PITA half

The first half from the top to the middle is twist free. The half from the middle to the near end gave me fits. I was seesawing until it finally dawned me that there was a 3rd hump centered around the middle to the 3rd quarter line. I got rid of that but it took a while before the twist went bye bye. I must have planed and checked my progress 8-9 times. I'm more than happy that this poplar board started out thicker than 1" because I ate up over an 1/8" flattening it.

sigh

From the half way point to the far end I was reading twist free. In between these two I wasn't twist free. I spent 6-8 times as long removing the twist and the last hump on this end than I did on the top end. Again the plan wasn't to go anal and get this dead nuts flat end to end. I was just shooting for flat-ish surface to run through the lunch box planer. Once I got that I put the Wen away.

what a mess

The Wen did the job well and I was surprised by its performance. I don't think that it would ever survive being a daily user but occasional use for stone like ornery wood I will definitely use it again. And I have two spare sets of carbide blades for it too.

The board is twist free from end to end. I checked it first every 10", then at 20", half way, and finally end to end. All read twist free.

using it again

Epoxy and silica filler. I like this epoxy but not the cure time. Which is ~24 hrs but you can play with it for around 30 minutes to reposition or add to it.

where it is needed

I didn't think I would have exposed any dowels when I cut the top of the door. I packed the epoxy in the gaps at the ends of the dowels and along the tops of them. I did this because the top of the door will be visible to anyone over 5' foot tall.

clean bench and shop deck

The shavings didn't blanket the shop like when a router is flinging its bits of wood all over creation.

tomorrow

It has been a while since the door was installed. It has held up nicely since then through several days of rain and a few thunderstorms. No water came in anywhere around the perimeter of the frame. I also found no evidence of air leaks. Come this winter the back hallway should feel considerably warmer.

I have enough poplar for the lock side and the top. The hinge side I will use pine. It is out of the way and it shouldn't get any dings or bumps where it will be. I didn't feel like bringing the lunch box planer out this PM so I'll do it in the AM.

accidental woodworker 

can you guess what is coming

Decided to make the glass retainers myself and I need to make thicknessing jig first. The one I have here is for a Stanley #4 and the Lie Neilsen #4 won't fit in it.

almost done

I had a 1/4" rattling around in the brain bucket. I made this sled a 1/4" too wide. My 5 1/2 is too wide and my Stanley Bedrock #5 is too narrow. Having it this same width as the plane is not 100% necessary.

a little help from my friends

I glued two 1/8" thick pieces of plywood to the side walls. The plane is now a nice slip fit end to end.

glued and cooking

I feel like I made a bridge truss. I only have 6 of these small spring clamps and the ghost strips did a good job applying even pressure against the 1/8" plywood.

hmm.....

Here's the plan for the retainer strips. Thickness a piece of pine to a 1/4" thick and mold a round over on the top and bottom edges with a beading plane. Saw that off and a small 1/4 round molding is my reward.

Houston.....

I like the round over but this is a 1/2 round and not the 1/4 round over I wanted. I figured it out (after minutes of giving it goofy looks) that I have to saw if off to get this and then saw this in half to get my 1/4 round.

too small

Got my 1/4 round but it is way too small to use as a glass retainer for this door. At least I got it figured out how to make it.

2nd attempt

This is better size wise but it is taller than it is wide. I want both flats to be the same or within a few frog hairs.

I like very much

I like that the height is just a frog hair below the top of the muntin bar. I also kinda of like the bit of reveal that is in front of it. IMO the quarter round is a bazillion percent better then caulking or a square retainer.

nope

Bumped the bead up from 3/16 to 3/8. I thought I could get two from each side of this donor scrap of pine. Not going to work because the quirk (the middle flat thing) doesn't extend to the same depth as the round over does. I can only use one of them to make a quarter round.

wrong pic should be a hand plane

This is a hand planed astragal which has the same problem as the beading plane. The quirk is not to the same depth as the 1/2 round is. But here it doesn't matter because I can only get one profile here. However, sawing this one out should be easy. I will have to set up and saw out all of them first for one saw cut and then repeat for the second one so they stay consistent.

Tried to do that and it turned out to be burnt toast. The first cut was a breeze but the 2nd one sucked pond scum. It was small and difficult to saw the second cut. It came out wavy and corkscrew like - it was burnt toast and unusable. On to plan 3A.1, rev 2, alteration 5Vii.

router beading bit and true 3rd candidate

Same problems sawing this out as I had with the hand plane astragal. I refused to accept defeat and I entertained making a router table. The thought was to put a quarter round bit in the table and rout a round over that covers the entire edge eliminating the second saw cut. I didn't get past doing some layout on a plywood router table top.

bringing up the rear

I made two cuts on a 3/8" dowel and it didn't come out that bad. I ended up with two sets that were pretty much the same size. However, I will need 32 retainers for the door and I doubt I would get any consistency sawing them out free hand from dowels. I would need a jig of some type to saw them out repeatedly on.

first one done

I now have two thicknessing jigs for a #4 bench plane. This one will take either the LN #4 or a Stanley #4 and thickness to a 1/4". The older one can only be used with a Stanley #4 will thickness to 1/8".

why not?

The plywood under the #3 I had used as a caul to glue in the 1/4" thick strips for the #4 to ride on. I noticed that it was wide enough to make a sled for the LN #3.

not quite a 64th shy

I thicknessed two pieces of pine and they both ended up being barely a 64th over 3/16" thick. I measured the side strips and they were both a 64th over 3/16" thick.

close

It is about 1/2 a frog hair from being dead on flush with each other. Threw it back in the planing jig and made a few more shavings.

sigh

Needed a piece of 1/8" thick plywood and look at what I found. 6 panels of 12x24 6mm plywood. Forgot I had it and I didn't need to make two trips to Walpole to get some 6mm. Now I have a boatload and these are all different thicknesses too. But they are all pretty close to each other.

1/8" thicknessing jig

I needed a 1/8" thick piece to act as a stop for the LN #3 jig. I prefer these jigs to use bench planes. I've found that the LN102 will plane a high/low outside edge like it did on this one. A few taps with a plane iron setting hammer and all was well in Disneyland.

perfect fit

A slip fit that is a wee bit below the side strips.

ditto

The LN #3 performed planing to a 1/8" as well as the LN #4 did planing to a 1/4".

experimental box

The hinges won't be here until tuesday. That will give some time to rethink how to make my retainers and while waiting I'll work on this box. The plan is to veneer it with whatever catches my fancy from veneer filled pizza box. What type of lid is up in the air but I'll think of something to match the veneering.

accidental woodworker

stopped chamfers

I used the router butting against the stop to set the stopped chamfer. Added bonus is I get somewhat of a lambs tongue at the end. 

attaching the top

Eight holes - the back one three are 5/32" (same size as the screw) with the middle two and the three at the front 11/32".

pan head machine screws and fender washer

The back screws will keep the back edge of the top flush with the back of the cabinet. The middle and front holes are oversized and will allow for expansion and contraction of the top. The fender washers span the 11/32" holes and they are not that readily visible. I bought 1" machine screws because ACE didn't have any 1" wood screws with a round head.

2nd use

I have 6 of these bar clamps. I had bought the pipe and the heads 30 years ago when I was going to make a bed. Didn't make the bed and only use one of the six clamps once before today.

It took me a bazillion years to get the top on, aligned, and dry clamped. Incredibly frustrating as a tap in one direction caused another to go OTL (out to lunch). Finally got it and I'm still sane and the cabinet didn't get free flying lessons.

the winner

I bought a box of 12 of these from Lowes on the clearance shelf a few years ago. You can't go wrong with shiny brass. Even after having these for a couple of years there is zero evidence of tarnish on any of them.

found the glass knobs

I don't like any of these for this cabinet. These knobs are quaint and artsy fartsy IMO. My daughter gave these to me for xmas. Still haven't find a project for them.

poor man's miter box

Attaching the cove moldings on the base and I needed a miter box. I am getting better at sawing the miter saw kerfs. Still not exactly spot on vertically - I don't seem to have a problem getting the 45° dead on. 

dry fit

This was a PITA doing. The miter work was fine but the up down and fighting gravity sucked pond scum. My ceiling is too low to put this on my set up table so I had to do up/down clown routine.

switched

I was trying to nail on the moldings and only succeeded getting one on. Kneeling and holding the brads with needle nose pliers wasn't working and I quit on trying the first nail on the second molding. I broke out the 22 gauge pin nailer and got the last 3 on easy peasy.

gap filler

I glued in this strip of pine to fill a gap at the left front. I thought of using caulk to fill it in because I'm painting it but decided to fill it with wood because it is on the front. There is a gap at the back that I will fill in with caulk.

top molding

Maybe a boo boo but maybe I dodged a bullet. I made the side overhang one inch. What I forgot to do was to add 3/4" to that for the molding. As it is now there is a 1/4 space on the sides and 3/4" at the front.

ugly looking

I think this is going to take a few rounds of putty work. The first one didn't hide/fill in everything.

sigh

Wasn't expecting this happen. I think this will be up against a wall but in case it doesn't, this gap can't be seen.

the gap cause

This was misaligned and I used the 4x24 belt sander to flush it. In order to do that this outside edge got rolled down a bit leaving the gap in the above pic.

glass measurements

This is the second measurement list, the first one is MIA. My usual place to get glass closed last year. I will check on line to see if there are any other glass houses and if not I'll get it from Lowes.

plywood edge cover

For just in case - I'm going to put a thin piece of pine to hide the plywood.

chamfered

I don't think this looks that bad. It doesn't look like it is applied but is for a purpose. The plywood is covered and I dead ended it a 16th into the ends of the side moldings.

glued and nailed

I'm basically done with what I can do on this. Until I get the new hinges from Lee Valley I am dead in the water. 

accidental woodworker

 Yesterday I ordered some goodies from Lee Valley. Today I updated it because I inputted my credit card number wrong. So my order will be delayed and I doubt I'll get this week now. Which will delay finishing the cabinet. I bought a new set of brass extruded hinges and I paid $51 for them. That was the price I saw (+/- $5-$7) checking various web sites. Sure hope they are worth the shiny brass they are made out of.

got lucky

When I had eyeballed this a week or so ago, I thought I would only be able to fit 2 frames across but I got 3. There is 1/2" gap around the middle frame and the two outside ones are tight against the corners.

6 of 7

Ran out of room to get the 7th frame here. I have another tool frame at Maria's being done with two more to follow. I'm doing those one at a time. I have the two walls (R/L) to populate with those along with the orphan 7th Stanley poster one. Plus I have additional real estate for more.

got lucky again

I figured out the R/L length and this back stop is only about 1/8" longer than the top. I can easily blend the ends of the stop flush with that.

checking for square

Penciled in the new outline and rasped and sanded it down to the lines. I'm getting better at eyeballing work like this for square. The right side is a wee bit high - that is usually the case. The lead in side that I rasp from tends to be higher than the exit side.

sizing the top

The molding wrapping the top is 3/4" thick and I made the overhang plus 1". The last step was to sand the end grain ends with my sanding sticks.

bisecting to find the angle

The last time I did this was when I was doing baseboards. One corner of the cabinet (right side) isn't square. It runs inward from the front to the back a couple of degrees.

glad I'm painting this

I don't have a shooting board that will let me shoot an angle more/less than 45. This isn't off much but enough that I have to allow for it. I was expecting gaps and some misalignment to come.

top is sized

I put the top on and placed a molding at the front and it overhung too much IMO. I changed it so that it overhung the molding by 3/4" vice 1". I left the sides overhanging 1".

1/4" round over

I wanted to break the square edge look of the stop. I ran a 1/4" round over on just the front face. I left the back squared off.

molding fitting time

Cut the miters with the Ryobi saw. I wasn't trying to get a perfect fit off the saw. I was prepared to chisel, sand, and fill in with putty to do them. A couple of coats of paint will hide all my sins.

front one first

This is the side that was off square and the fit off the saw was much better than I expected it to be. Two down and one more to go.

42 degrees

The angle on the front molding was 48 degrees. I checked them with a fancy protractor I had bought a couple of years ago. It was the first time I used it and I didn't have to make this jig. Forgot to snap a pic of that.

last one

When I shot this on the shooting board the profile torn out crazily. I had to trim it a bit on the backside to close up the toes. I might use epoxy on filling the gaps on the miters.

back stop

Glued and cooking. I will rout the chamfer on the sides and front after it has set.

the base

It was a bit tricky attaching the base. The first 3 screws missed and came out the sides. No glue and only four screws to keep it in place.

hmm......

I have been running paint colors through the brain bucket over the past few days. Thinking of painting this with two colors - black for the base and back stop and a teal for the rest.

sneak peek

The door doesn't seem to fit as well as it did yesterday on the width. The top to bottom is ok. Still haven't found a knob I like for the door. I have some but 99.9% of them are too small. I have some antique glass and colored glass knobs but I don't remember where I hid them.

I'll have time to hunt for them because I'm basically dead in the water now with this. I need the hinges before I can finish this up and they are delayed now. I don't want to use the hinges I bought from Horton Brasses because they take #4 screws. I don't want to risk hanging a heavy door like this with screws that size.

accidental woodworker 

hmm......

I'm kinda liking this reverse look of the base. Cleaned and sanded smooth, ready for the oohs and aahs.

nice

I just realized looking at this pic that I had screwed up. The follow up to this was to rout a 45 ° chamfer on the front and up to the back stop. As I was envisioning that I saw that I hadn't trimmed the top to its final size. I don't think I'll be able to redo the pattern on one end. If not, I'll save it for a future use and make another one.

cleaned up

The epoxy didn't like being rasped so I did most of the smoothing with sandpaper starting with 80 grit. I was able to smooth/flush the epoxy on the knot with my violin plane.

warm and fuzzy

I added two more screws (total of 5) to each of the bearers. The weight of the cabinet and its contents will be felt on the four of them. Feel better knowing I added the extra ones. No glue - just screws.

something is awry

I checked the front rail and it was square to the sides when checked from the R/L. I checked the door and it was not square. How that happened I am clueless. I had checked that the layout line was square but I missed it somehow. Easy fix and I had some wiggle room to square it off again.

got lucky

Squaring off the top proved to be exactly what I needed. The margin at the top and bottom is perfect. Both the top and bottom margins are consistent and even from R to L.

working the long sides

The door was a hair over a 1/4" wider than the opening. I ran both long sides through the tablesaw taking a wee bit less than a 1/8" off each one. That left the door a few frog hairs shy of fitting the opening. On the first plane and check run I planed 3 shavings off of each long side.

2nd run

Got a snug fit after the first plane run. Got a slightly better but still too tight of a fit on the 2nd run. I only did 2 shavings this time. 3 times was the charm again.

almost there

The margin R/L isn't consistent top to bottom. The left side (which will be the hinge side) is good until the top 6-8 inches were it is tight against the side. I planed that area and checked it again - good margin top to bottom. The left side has about a 16th gap and the right is tighter. I am going to leave it as is for now until I get the hinges installed and door hung.

home depot

I bought 13 feet of this molding this AM. I couldn't find any of the small moldings that I could use for glass retainers. The smallest quarter round available was too big - that I what I wanted to use. This molding appears to be maple and it is for underneath of the top.

I was looking to buy a large cove molding but the selection at HD is smaller than what Lowes offers. I have to go there to get the glass cut so I'll check what they have for any large cove moldings.

profile

This is a baseboard cap molding and it was cheaper than I expected. 13 feet cost me $25. It is also 1 3/4" wide and the top rail is 2 1/4" wide. This will break up the wide flat expense of the top front rail and the top rail of the door. 

I was wrong

I thought I wouldn't have room for the pins and cups. I was hung up on the insert door sticking in too much but I now can see just how much room I have to play with. I am also playing with the idea of making adjustable wooden shelf supports. That is something that I haven't done before.

shelf pin drilling guide

I have a couple of these already but they are all too short. This one is 41 inches high. The lowest the bottom shelf height can be is 10" and the highest the top shelf can be from the top is roughly the same.

I will need 64 cups and 12 pins for this. I ordered some from Lee Valley along with a new set of shiny brass hinges. Hinges are getting expensive and the ones I bought from LV don't come with screws. I bought 40 #6x5/8 flat head brass screws because I didn't have any this side. I'll need these for the hinge leaf attached to the side which is 3/4" thick.

almost done

I gave the first couple of coats of finish a few days to dry before applying this hard wax to the box. I like how it looks on the darker wood but the white wood still looks unfinished to my eye. After a couple of days I'll mail this out to my sister.

accidental woodworker

I've been thinking about the shelves for the glass door cabinet. At first I was going to use shelf pins but I'm shying away from that now. There is a space limitation due to the insert door and the groove for the panels. Instead I'm now thinking of using fixed shelves - 2 definite and one maybe. News and updates on the 11 o'clock news.

bad oops

I tried to cut too tight of a curve with the bandsaw and this chip popped off. I tried to glue it back on with superglue first but that failed. Used yellow glue this time and I glued this yesterday and gave it 24 hrs to cook.

glad I'm painting this

The kerf says it all. If I left it off the hump would have been smaller than its sibling on the other side. 

both sides

I had to do the layout on both sides of the long base sides. The throat on my bandsaw isn't wide enough. The good thing is it turned out pretty much dead on both sides.

cleaning and smoothing

Doubled up and did the front and back as one. There is no way that any of the sides can be compared to each other.

sigh

I soaked this knot with super glue a couple of times yesterday. Today it seems to be tight and solid. Unfortunately I thought this was going to be on the back but it ended up on one of the short sides. A headache to deal with.

epoxy and silica dust

Using this to fill in the saw kerf, add some to the hump, and slather all over the brown knot.

insurance

I put it on with a wooden stick and then pressed it down into the knot as hard as I could with a putty knife. I put epoxy on the two sides and the top of the knot.

rethinking the top

Initially I was going to wrap the top (all four sides) with a molding. Instead I'm going to only do the sides and the front. I will wrap the bottom with a cove molding.

hmm......

The top now overhangs each side 1 1/2". I don't need it at the back and it is probably too much for the sides/front but it offers some wiggle room. It is still possible that I might make a left hand turn on this again.

hmmm.....

This is interesting turn of events. I ordered these hinges from Horton Brasses and got a shipping notice from John Wright and the package came from Amazon. I thought I had ordered bright brass hinges and these are satin. And I just noticed that I didn't get any screws!!

forgot one

I didn't do the short leg with the epoxied knot because it hasn't set up yet. I'll do that one in the AM. I thought I had done this short side - duh.

no twist

I flushed the four corners, top and bottom, and checked both for twist. Where I was expecting some due how much I had to plane off one corner, there was none. 

bearers

Screwed the bearers in with 3 screws in each one. I may add two more to the long ones but for now this will do. No glue, just screws, in case I want/need to revisit this.

fits

I set the bearers down from the top 5/16" and with the cabinet in place the base covers about half of the 1/2" plywood.

the cove molding

The cove molding completely covers the 1/2" plywood bottom with a reveal in the bottom front rail. 

using gravity

There is still a considerable amount of glue left in this bottle. I will leave it as is to drain down and I'll empty it in the AM.

came back for this

 I had killed the lights and I was going up the stairs when I thought of this. Invert the pattern and trace it on the back stop for the top. If I don't like I can think of something else. But I do like the look of the penciled layout.

accidental woodworker 

hmm......

A bit of an experiment to see how it would go. The thought of the router tipping on the thin muntin bar wasn't far from my mind doing these two bottom lites. The first run wasn't too bad but the second one on the opposite side was the worrying one. I survived it by going as slow as pouring molasses in winter. After a bit of contemplation I jumped in with both feet and did the rest of them.

2nd potential hiccup

Wasn't sure how well the chiseling on both sides of these would go. I sharpened the chisel before diving in. Whatever chiseling stress there was it didn't seem to matter. The corners are clean, crisp, and square.

survived

No weeble or wobble - no divots on any of the muntin bars. It took a while but I got it done hiccup free.

done

All the corners chiseled and I'm happy it is over. The biggie is I don't have to make another door.

one of two hiccups

Two chips popped out when chiseling this and another corner. The knife lines from the half lap layout were the cause. Glued the two of them back on with super glue. 

sneak peek

I like the door and the lites. I measured the small and large one lites and all were within a 16th of each other.  I don't like the top front rail of the cabinet. I think I made that too wide. I made it that wide for a molding but it will allow me to put a large one there.

top

Made the top oversized by 2+ inches on all four sides. A lot of wiggle room that is dependent upon the size of the planned molding.

base

The base is 3 1/2" high and it will wrap the four sides. This way the cabinet can be positioned so the back can be visible.

ready for dovetails

I sized the base so that is will be an 1/8" inch more in the front/back and side/side inside measurement. The gap will be hidden with a cove molding.

oops

This is the door stile I screwed up and I was going to try and get molding stock out of it. Forgot that there were three 1 1/2" mortises in it. I did get one piece long enough to use to make moldings.

cove molding

This is a 1/2" cove molding and I just realized today that the other 3 cove molders I have are also 1/2". This one is too small to use as the molding under the top. 

4 profiles

I like the two top ones but again I feel that these are too small to go under the top. The two coves on the bottom are toast. The left one is uneven and the right one is tapered. Glad I experimented first with the molding planes. I'll need to make a few more practice runs to get the feel for them.

I like this one

Totally clueless as to what this is called. I have something to say about the width of it and I can use that to size it to fit the underside of the top. This one is in the top two choices.

a 'S' curve molding

The 2nd one in the top two. I like this too because I can vary the height of it. However, I'll have to practice more on making it. The left side is a bit higher than the right side. In other words I have a wonky looking tapered S molding. The ends will be mitered so it has to be a consistent thickness end to end.

what I wanted

I found it - my large cove molding plane. This is my preferred molding for the underside of the top. This one looks decent to my eye. It isn't tapered and it is acceptable in evenness from left to right. However I think this plane was made for stock thicker then 3/4". The bottom edge of the cove is awfully thin and the plane hadn't bottomed out yet neither.

I really don't want to buy any moldings but I may have to. All my other choices for molding planes is limited. Most of them make too small of a profile and I need (IMO) a large molding for under the top.

ready for the tails

I've been using the Moxon vise more and more for dovetailing. I used to do single tails (like this base) in the face vise. But lately my back has been protesting doing them in the vise. I don't have my back talking to me when I use the Moxon vise.

last pin chiseled away

Just had to clean up the pin sockets and do a dry fit.

dropped over easy peasy

Got the fit I wanted - there is roughly a 16th gap all the way around.

left over moldings

I will use the cove moldings for the hiding the gap on the base. The quarter rounds to the left of them are too big for the glass door lite rabbets. I'll be making a run to Home Depot because they have a nice selection of small moldings, smaller than what I have here and the prices aren't prohibitive. 

patterns

I made most of these patterns after I got out of the Navy in 1994. I made them after seeing them in a book on colonial furniture. I only used four of these and all were for a bookcase I had made for my daughter Wendy. Time to pick one for the cabinet base.

the winner

Looks better than just a simple half round into a straight run.

accidental woodworker

muntin bar layout

The center vertical muntin bar is fitted. In the batters box are the 3 horizontal muntin bars. I was apprehensive about marking this layout because the vertical muntin bar laid across the center one. Upcoming was a half lap, two notches, and tenons. All dependent upon how well I did the marking times 3.

none fit

I would rather deal with a too tight, non fitting half laps, then one that is sloppy and loose. The center muntin half laps are ok, it is the horizontal ones that are too small. Notches and tenons after tweaking the half laps.

after a bit of fussing and tweaking

I got the half laps done. Overall I'm pretty happy with my results. I didn't see any gaps on the front face but a few popped out on the back notches.

teeny bit proud

The ideal joint would have it flush on both the front and back. The front face is dead flush but the back is less than a 32nd off. Since the front is flush and that is more important than the back, I'm leaving this as is. After it glued and cooked I will plane the back flush.

notches done

I chiseled all the notches splitting the pencil lines. Need to make tenons before I can check the fit.

splitting the tenon cheeks off

All the cheeks split off easily and cleanly with a chisel. 

wee bit proud

The fit of the muntins in the notches is good but all of the horizontal ones are proud. I don't understand it because the half laps are flush on the front and almost on the back along with the tenons laying flat in the bottoms. I tweaked the tenons by removing more with a router and dropped it some more but still not flush. Another thing I'll leave as is and plane flush after the glue has cooked.
 

smiley face on

The layout/chiseling was spot on and the muntin bars dropped into their notches without any hiccups.

sneak peek

I like the look of the lites but after seeing it I think I could tweak it some more. I would only use a top and middle horizontal muntin bars - leaving 3 graduated lites. Baby bear at the top followed my Mama bear in the middle, and Papa bear at the bottom. Something to think about if I make another one of these.

glued and cooking

A productive AM session and goal met. Door is glued and cooking and I'll be able to play with it when I get back to the barn after my lunch time stroll.

notch gap

Out of 8 notches I had to fill gaps on 3 of them. This is the last one to be filled with a wooden shim.

flushing

No hiccups with the flushing. I didn't get any tear out planing the muntins where they terminated in the notches - planing from with the grain to across it. However one muntin bar didn't cooperate and I got some tear out due to reversing grain. I was able to smooth that somewhat by planing in the opposite direction.

hmm......

I had planned to do the rabbets on the back side with the electric router. But seeing how many I had to do and the narrow width I had for the router to sit on, time to back up and implement plan B.

plan B

The plan is rip out the rabbets and glue and nail them in place. I made these muntin bars differently than I did the book case doors. On them I made the vertical and horizontal muntin bars thinner and secured them on top of the rabbets. I applied the front face of the muntin bars with a thin piece of stock completing the rabbet. I need a bunch of 5/16" x 7/16" 'rabbets' with plan B.

4 long ones

16 short ones

Got two extra long ones and a boatload of the short ones. I can oops quite a lot before I get bit on the arse.

planing gauge

This is what I will use to smooth the bandsawn face down to. 

Houston we have identified a problem

My idea wasn't thought out fully. If I add the 'rabbets' it will make the front of the muntin bars too wide. It will also be unbalanced because there are only two added 'rabbets' per lite. I thought of checking this just before I was going to kill the lights.

back to the electric router

This rabbeting bit is already set for the depth and it will cut a 1/4" rabbet. They should leave a 3/8" center shoulder on each muntin bar. I still have a mismatch in that there will be different sized rabbets in each lite due to the rabbet I did before. Dealing with that won't be too big of a headache as the next step would be to start over and make a new door. Hope to say that ain't happening boys and girls.

I'll deal with this in the AM.

accidental woodworker

Made good progress on the glass door cabinet today. Door is half done and I put a decent dent in getting the muntin bars done. Happy with how this coming out. There isn't much more to do. I'm sure the door is going to consume the most time to finish this cabinet. I ordered the hinges from Horton Brasses and they should be here the first of next week. Hinges don't fill me with dread anymore. I'm looking forward to knocking them out easy peasy.

door rail measurement

The door is isn't dead nuts square. It is off about a 32nd which isn't that bad. I decided to make the door oversized by a 1/8" in the width and height. That should be sufficient wiggle room for trimming and fitting the door to the opening.

dowels

I have never doweled a door of this size together before this. Four dowels in the top rail and 5 for the bottom rail. I didn't screw this up and drilled the all the holes correctly.

set up and rock hard

All of the holes I filled in with the epoxy were all still proud. None of them had sunken or dripped away. Flushed them with a blockplane and touched them up with some 120 grit sandpaper.

dry fit

hmm..... it would seem that I made the door a 1/4" wider than the opening. Not a big deal because I made all the stiles and rails a 1/8" wider. 

glue up time

I thought doing this glue with yellow glue might be a PITA due to open time. I wasn't sure that I could get glue on all the dowels and in some in the holes before the glue froze. I managed ok and no hiccups. Did the dowels/holes on one stile, added the rails, and repeated it on the other stile. Worked well and nothing froze and I got a got a nice line of squeeze out on all four corners.

center rail

This rail is dry - no glue or dowels. It is to help keep the stiles from bowing in/out and from twisting during glue up.

glued and cooking

I clamped the the top and bottom over and under to keep the rails straight into the stiles. I also made sure that the door was laying tight against both clamps. Trying to fix a door that is twisted is like trying to put socks on a pig. 

bottom front rail

This front bottom rail ended up proud of the bottom of the two sides. Used my big LN blockplane and frequent checks with the straight edge to flush it.

door stop

I'm thinking of two more door stop possibilities. Maybe another full width one at the bottom and a partial one on the stile where the knob will be. The partial one is a definite maybe because it will also have the magnetic catch to keep the door closed.

muntins

I made the muntin bars 7/8" wide and 3/4" thick. Still running how to do the muntin bar rebates for the glass through the brain bucket. Going with wide muntins to help stiffen the door. 

asymmetrical layout

The top and bottom muntin bars are 7" high with the two between them about 13" high. I may change the height of the top and bottom after the center vertical bar is installed.

1/2" plywood

The bottom isn't going to be visible and short people won't be able to see the top. Either way both are getting painted and that will hide what type wood it is. Glued and nailed both of them in place with 1" brads.

top done

The top overhangs on 2 sides because neither the top or the bottom is square. 

flush trim bit

This plywood is a )(@&%&)@Q&%*)(Q@_ to hand plane. Decided to flush the sides and front with some electrical help.

no twist

It looked flat/straight to my eyeballs but I wanted confirmation. The sticks said that there is zero twist in the door on the either face.

a wee bit proud

3 of the 8 rail/stile connections were a bit proud. Scraped the glue off first, then knocked most of the proud off with the block plane, and followed that up with 120 grit sandpaper.

what a mess

I had planned to do the rabbet in the door from the git go with the electric router. I couldn't come up with a game plan for doing the stopped rabbets by hand that I liked. After listening to the router scream and the mess it made in the shop maybe I should have brain stormed a wee bit longer.

last corner squared off

The rabbet is 1/2" deep and 3/8" wide. 

vertical muntin bar

The ends will be buried in the top and bottom rails about 3/4". That should be enough to provide a secured glue joint and keep the muntin bar from twisting.

will it fit?

 

Got the tenon and the notch chopped without incident.

hmm.....

Top was too tight and I had to plane the top outside faces before it fit in the notch. I didn't make the tenon long enough. The bottom face of the muntin bar needs to be flush with the face side of the rails.

it fits

There is slight gap at the top and bottom where the muntin bar shoulder meets the rail. I will epoxy a shim in them when I glue the muntin bars in.

less than 16th

I purposely marked and sawed into the waste side when I did this. I thought I would end up having to trim it to fit but I got a couple frog hairs worth of a gap to deal with.

I'm hoping tomorrow that I'll be done with the muntin bars. So far it is going much quicker then I expected and with no screw ups. Fingers crossed that joy continues in the AM.

accidental woodworker

 About 49 (wowie?) years ago while I was in BEE school (basic electricity and electronics) in the Navy I was late for school one day. There were 11 other late comers all in a line being drilled by the Master Chief as to why we weren't where we were supposed to be? I was 4th in line and 3 previous all said the alarm clock didn't wake them up. When he got to me I told him I had no excuse I wasn't where I supposed to be at the time I supposed to be there. Me not having an excuse threw him for a loop and he  asked me if I would do it again. I told him no because I didn't like the idea of having to stand here explaining why again.

When the Master Chief got done he let me go and kept the other 11. I was the only one to own up to being late with no excuse. All of them blamed their problem on alarm clocks. That was the only time I was late or missed an appointment until today. I woke up at 0705 having a podiatry appointment at 0730. I couldn't get a hold of the clinic until 0816. Embarrassed to have to make that call and reschedule. I don't oversleep often and I certainly didn't think I would do it today. I'll blame it on being 70+ years old and not setting the alarm clock.

last dry clamp

Got all the biscuit slots done and did a dry clamp to rehearse for the real one with glue. Did it twice hoping that hiccups would bite me on the arse.

needed two more

I forgot the biscuit slots for the bottom front rail. The backer was to allow something for the entire fence of the jointer to rest on. Without it, almost half of the fence was hanging out in the air. This is a pic of the top front rail slot. I found I hadn't done the bottom ones on the dry clamp run.

glued and cooking

Got this done just before the lunch bell chimed.

hmm......

Checking to ensure that the door stiles have lots of wiggle room.

hmm......

Happy with the diagonal report - less than a 16th off from each other. Repeated the same for the back.

sneak peek

There is a base coming for this that will raise it up 4-6". Haven't decided on a design for it yet but it will be something simple.

side sneak peek

I just realized that with the back I did this could be viewed as finished from all four sides. There won't be a need to bury the back up against a wall.

with home made filler

I was going to buy some Bondo to fill in screw heads and biscuit slot ends but then I remembered this. Epoxy and silica dust will work just as well and save me a few $$$.

over filled

I am not sure how well this will stay in place. This will go vertical and the filler may flow out with gravity helping it. This epoxy also takes 24 hours to set up and stays workable (from past uses) for at least 45 minutes. I'll find out in the AM if I need to do another round.

accidental woodworker