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Well, this is another long video but so, so much to get through!

The bridge is made and I have brief chat about its design, the strings go on and I show you how I set-up my mandolins. And finally……..the New Model Mandolin gets to sing its first notes!

So, cuppa at the ready and off we go.

Cheers Gary

Varnishing, is really time consuming, taking almost as long as it takes to build a guitar…

This reminder is presented annually, revised a bit from time to time.  Despite dozens of recitations, I can never read the last line of The Declaration out loud because I am overcome with emotion. – DCW

Tomorrow my fellow Patriots and I, however many of us there are, will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the most profound statement of human aspiration ever known.  We have already endured two violent wars of secession, the first from 1775-1783 and the second from 1861-1865, and I pray that our third one can be avoided by a peaceful segregation of a populace that no longer shares a common vision.  Again this year I am especially drawn to the passage “mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”  This sentiment was later expressed by John F. Kennedy, as “When peaceful rebellion is made impossible, violent rebellion becomes inevitable.”

As our nation is seemingly rife with incurious, gullible and servile inhabitants, we would be well-served to reflect seriously on the document encapsulating the mission statement for the greatest nation ever known to man, the only nation ever founded on a creed and geography or lineage.   It was and is of course imperfect, no institution created by fallen and sinful men and women can be anything else.

I am an unabashed partisan in the cause of Life, Liberty, and Property (the original draft wording) and find The Declaration of Independence to be the most noble civil document ever created by mankind.  I pray you will read and reflect on the ideas expressed by men who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to pursue the path of liberty.  Reading it is much like reading the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament; more up-to-date regarding the human condition than tomorrow’s headlines.

God Bless America, and may righteousness flourish and wickedness be overcome.

========================================================

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn

Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

John Hancock

Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton

George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross

Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris

Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple

Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry

Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery

Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott

Matthew Thornton

I think it would be good to review and make sense of this handy device that was pictured and cited in the previous post. As you can see from the photo above, this is simply a glue-up of three pieces of flat sawn red oak on a base of plywood. It is 11/16” thick, and […]

dry fitted

Feeling a little better today, still sore and painful with movement, but I could manage it. Chopping the pins took me almost an hour. A concession on my part to minimize antagonizing the pain center. It laid flat on the bench with no rocking but the tails and pins weren't fully seated. 

last one

I didn't forget to do the cutout for the base. Clamped two sides together and drilled a 1" hole. 

one more last thing

Used rasps to smooth out the undulations for the bandsaw. A few swipes with 100 grit and all four were done.

happy face on

A quick check to ensure the dresser fit within the base.

hmm.......

Needed some help closing up the tails and pins. It took me almost 2 hours to get to this point. Before surgery I don't think this would have taken me more than 30 minutes. I am getting a wee bit faster but still not anywhere near where I was prior to surgery.

done

Evened and smoothed the four sides of the base with the #3. A quick sand with 80 grit finished the base.

oops

A mind fart - I made the base on this side out to the outside edge of the molding. It should have been shortened to match the side of the dresser.

hmm......

This cove molding is too tall - The bottom drawer can't open. The bearers are set down 1/8" from the top. If the bottom rails on the dresser had been 3/4" thick the cove molding would have fit but the front and back bottom rails are 1/2" thick.

problem

I didn't want to make another base to fit the dresser. Instead the plan is to put this piece of flat pine at the back covering up the gap.

hmm.......

I had a smaller molding but I didn't want to use it. If fits and the bottom drawer clears it and opens/closes freely. The moldings will only go on 3 sides. It will butt into the flat stock and be mitered at the front.

just needs knobs

I glued the dresser to the bearers. The dresser is barely on the back one so just the front and the sides will carry the weight.

too big

Ten of these 1 3/6" knobs for $2.52 and it is too big for the smallest drawer. It is barely small enough to fit on the 4 larger drawers. Rethinking whether or not to switch back to the shaker knobs. One option is to use a small shaker knob for the top drawer and the metal ones for the other four?

When I enlisted in the Navy in October of 1974 I was 5' 11" and 221 lbs. On my oncology appointment this week I weighed 251 but I had shrunk to 5' 7 3/8". I don't feel shorter and nurse said around age 25 we all start to shrink. I had noticed this over the years but I thought it was faulty measuring equipment. It ain't so boys and girls.

The pain in my left side is getting better as in less painful. I still have a stubborn bubble of fluid on the center of my chest and lower left rib cage. It hasn't changed in size for several days. My heart rate is normalized somewhat. It is now in the high 60s to middle 70s. Still high for me, I usually have a resting heart beat of 45-50. For several days now it hasn't gone nutso racing up to 120 to 130. I still think the fluid bubble is the cause for my heart rate headaches.

accidental woodworker 

I honor of the USA’s big birthday, I’m offering all my online classes at a 50% discount. These are the classes that I made during the pandemic (one that I did with other people like Curtis Buchanan and Jane Mickelborough aren’t on sale this time). The classes are:

GREENWOOD CLASS with ELIA BIZZARRI
WOOD TURNING FOR CHAIRMAKERS with ELIA BIZZARRI
DRAWKNIFE CLASS with ELIA BIZZARRI
DRILL BITS: POSITIVE TOOLS FOR MAKING NEGATIVE SPACES with ELIA BIZZARRI
MAKE A REAMER with ELIA BIZZARRI
OCTAGONAL TABLE with ELIA BIZZARRI
MILK PAINT VIDEO with ELIA BIZZARRI

Happy Holiday!

The post Independence Day Sale: Online Classes first appeared on Elia Bizzarri - Hand Tool Woodworking.

More than thirty years ago I made a built-in cabinet in the living room to hold all manner of contents you would expect for a living room wall unit.  Included in the design and construction was a set of shoji sliding doors using Japanese mulberry bark paper for the screens.  I learned right quick that having paper panels on cabinet doors is not optimal for a home occupied by little ones.  I soon replaced the original papers with new ones and backed them with plexiglass to minimize the puncturing and tearing of the lovely paper.

Recently I took another look at the shoji and saw another dozen or so tears that had occurred of the intervening decades.  One by one I took them down to the basement shop to repair them.  Unfortunately all I had was scraps from the original construction and installation or I would have simply replaced complete sections of the paper en toto.

My first effort to follow that trail was to order some new mulberry bark paper that turned out to be beautiful but not a good match to the originals.  So all I could do was use my scraps of the original paper and make the necessary repairs.

Here’s an example of one repair, a protocol I followed successfully on the nearly dozen tears.

Next time I return to Mordo I will try to remember to take a picture of the finished project.  The repairs really do look nearly invisible, complying with the “Six-foo-six-inch rule” that governed our work in the museum.  In other words, from a standard viewing distance of six feet the repair is invisible, but close-up (“six inch”) it is discernable.

 

 Last night after dinner I experienced a new pain that turned me into stone. There was an intense pain on my lower left side. It was a constant, heavy pain that didn't go away. It said hello with every movement I made, especially so with my left arm. The night was fitful but I did manage to sleep for a couple of hours. By morning the pain had subsided some but movement still woke up the pain. 

I thought I was at the apex of healing/feeling good and sliding down the other side. I spent most of the day sitting at desk watching You Tube. I picked vids that played for a long time because moving the mouse sucked pond scum. I watched hours of The Joy of Painting.

Around 1300 I was feeling a bit better and wandered down to the shop. That turned out to be a me-steak. By the time I decided to kill the lights I had just finished a 5 minute coughing fit. That didn't feel good and it is something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

hmm.......

The back stop thing had cooked and nothing moved when I took the clamps. Yesterday when I put this here it wasn't a problem. Today when I picked it up to move it to the sharpening bench, I felt it. There was a tugging sensation in the left side of my chest. 

stopped chamfer

This looks good IMO. If the chamfer had run out to the end I think it would have been too close to the end of the back stop.

didn't make

Initially I felt good and I thought I could get the pins/tails done and dry fitted. Almost but no cigar. I sawed the pins but couldn't chop them. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel a bit better and I can finish the dovetailing.

I went with a single tail because two half pins and one tail would have been too thin IMO. For a base this will work without any hiccups.

accidental woodworker

Until now, I've stored the irons for my wooden plow plane in a roll that gets put in a drawer.  The roll wasn't some multiple-compartment, fancy leather gizmo; it was nothing more than an old kitchen towel.  The irons deserved better, so I made a box for them.

For whatever reason, I often get stuck on design.  I looked online and found a few images of plow plane iron boxes.  They typically were vertical boxes with a lid that hinged to the side and each iron stands on end in its own slot.  While I liked that, I was having a tough time in my head with grain direction of the parts as well as methods of construction.  In the end I decided on a flat-ish box with a horizontal compartment for each iron.  The box has a sliding lid.  It's got 9 compartments; 8 for the set of irons I bought for the plane and an extra for the iron that came with the plane.

Two 10" long sides and a 6" long front and back

Dovetailed and dry fit

1/8" grooves were made top and bottom, starting 1/8" from the edges

Then (8) 1/8" dadoes were cut into the front and back

Cutting dadoes this small can be a real challenge, but it went much quicker after gaining some experience.  I used my homemade mini router plane to get the bottoms to depth.

The bottom of the box fits into the grooves in the sides, front and back.  It's just shy of 1/4" thick, so I rabbeted the edges to fit the grooves.

Getting ready to rabbet using the moving fillister

Here's the box's bottom rabbeted

Here's dry-fitting the bottom

1/8" hardboard dividers in the dry-fitted box

In this picture, you can see that I've cut down the box's front piece to allow the sliding lid to get in its grooves.  It started out the same width as the back for easier marking and cutting during the dovetailing and grooving stages.

Sliding lid

Two more details: the dividers were shaped to allow easier grabbing of the irons, and a thumb catch was carved into the lid to make the box easier to open.

The shaped dividers, with irons in place

Thumb catch on the lid

The glue-up was OK, though I initially messed up - even after a few dry-fits.  The order of putting the components together was key to get it glued up properly.  I gave the box a few coats of shellac on all outside surfaces, with none on the inside.

Here's one last detail.  The front edge of the box's top has a piece of wood glued to its end grain.  This hides the entry grooves and makes the front of the box look nicer.  I realize it a cross grained glue-up, but I've done this before on a similar box which has held up for about five years now.

Glamour shot

And with the lid partially open

Good little project.  The plow plane irons deserved a home of their own.  Now I just have to figure out where the box will live in my cramped shop.

 

last night

Got the bottom glued and nailed first. Then I sawed the dividers and installed them. One corner of the drawer was up slightly so I weighed it down with paint cans overnight.

hmm......

This plastic container came with 100 screws - it now has 92. It fit in 3 of the compartments I checked. Note to self - next dresser comes with 12 compartments.

off cuts

These off cuts are from when I thinned the drawer parts to a 1/2" thick. They are a wee bit wider and longer then the drawer fronts. Not only would they cover the plywood bottom, they will cover the dovetails.

first drawer

Squeezed in getting the off cuts glued onto the five drawer fronts. I'll be able to play with them when I get back home from the VA.

3 down, 2 to go

The glue up went off without any hiccups. One drawer will require some wood putty work. One corner of the drawer front has a big chip missing.

confirmed

I had set the miter gauge but almost an inch too much. Maybe I'll get lucky and find some odd shaped/long hardware that will fit in these compartments.

sneak peek

I think the veneer looks better than the original drawer front. The top drawer doesn't have the color streak the other 4 drawers have. It didn't occur to me that I could have used a cut off from one of the wider drawers. I was stuck on stupid thinking I could only use the cut off from the thinnest drawer (which didn't have a color streak).

hmm.......

Decided to leave the drawer fronts slightly proud at the front. They are all about the same with the bottom drawer sticking out a few frog hairs more than the others.

losing less than 1/8"

I sawed a bit off the back of all the drawers to even out the amount of proud of the drawers. After I did this I evened out the proud by eye by planing the off cuts I glued to the drawer fronts. 

done

I thought of building out the front of the dresser but nixed it. The proud of the drawers is a little less then 1/8". The amount of the proud doesn't look out of place or odd (IMO) when viewed from the sides.

chamfer done

Did a stopped chamfer - it would have looked crowded against the back stop thing if I had gone to end.

hmm......

Checked my shaker knob supply and this depletes it. I have just enough to put two knobs on each drawer, with either size. I think the drawers are small enough that I could get away with one knob per drawer. This is what I would like to use but maybe not. 

I had bought some blackish knobs on sale at Lowes specifically to use on this dresser. I think I'll use them instead and save my limited supply of shaker knobs for something else.

hmm......

I don't want a three sided base. I want it to go 360 but in order to do that I need to clip the molding holding the back. I sawed it so the bottom of the molding was even with the top of the back rail.

sigh

Made a Lowes run and bought two 1x8 pine boards. Somehow I did a mind meld with a rock and managed to screw up the long sides of the base. 

for tomorrow

Ripped out two new long sides - double, triple checked them correct. Laid out the base cut out for tomorrow. Ran out of gas again. I was feeling tired and I have learned not to work when I feel this way. I'll get back to this in the AM.

The oncology appointment went well. Met with the doc and I'll be doing one treatment of chemo. It will consist of 4 treatments 3 weeks apart. After that I go on a surveillance regimen with MRI s and CT s to monitor my body checking for a recurrence of the lung cancer. 

The important thing with the chemo is this is it. There won't be a follow up chemo round. The doc said because I am only getting 4 treatments that it is rare to get any lingering chemo side effects. And I can say No Mas at any time with it. 

accidental woodworker 

I have accumulated attachments for several handy items on the wall just behind the right side of my workbench. This allows for quick grabs and returns of very frequently used helpers. Here they are, left to right, top to bottom: 1. The shop-made tool oiler. I wrote about making this in a 3/29/2009 post: https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2009/03/09/shopmade-tool-oiler/ […]

 

dry fitted dividers

I applied glue to the underside only. I didn't put any glue on the vertical ends.

hmm......

The dividers were a frog hair off but there is enough flexibility in 1/8" plywood to align them with the grooves. Decided to fit each drawer I've done so far rather than wait until all five are glued and cooked.

layout for the half laps

With the nine compartment layout I only have to layout for one end. I set the distance for it, sawed it, and then flipped it 180 to saw the other end.

fitting

First step was to flush the 1/8" plywood all the way around. It is getting easier to fit drawers. The key for me is one, take my time. And two, look at the fit of the drawer from the front and the rear. Thirdly, don't go nutso and take too many shavings at once.

one down, four to go

I am not that thrilled with the look of the plywood bottom. I glued it to the bottom because I didn't want the bottom inset in grooves. I also didn't want to give the little bit of real estate that would have eaten up. I have been eyeballing the off cuts from sawing the drawers to a 1/2" thick - I can glue it on the fronts and cover the 1/8" plywood bottoms.

hmm.......

Wasn't expecting this. I thought it would have been closer to flush. My first thought on fixing it is too saw the proud off the back of the drawer.

how?

This was making me scratch the bald spot on the roof raw. I don't know how the compartments on this drawer are different sizes.

?????

I laid out the dividers the same for both drawers but one is correct (left) and one wandered out into La La Land. It looks like I screwed up setting the stop on the miter gauge.

3 fitted

So far the first 3 drawers have about the same amount of proud.

3 down, two more to go

From the front I kind of like the proud look of the drawer fronts. The problem is what and how do I deal with the look from the sides?

#4 dry fitted

It was looking like I might get all five drawers at least glued and cooking before quitting time.

yikes

Made two boo boos with drawer #4. The first was I ripped one side a wee bit too much. Not a problem because the bottom of the drawer is flush - this gap will be on the side. I wanted it at the back but it ended up here. 

The 2nd boo boo was the side split when I glued it up. I thumped it with my fist while seating the tail/pin and it gave up the ship. I glued the split and the 1/8" plywood bottom will bridge the split and keep the side together.

drawer #4

The last two drawers will have 12 compartments. A little bit of apprehension that I did the half laps right and it would fit in the drawer.

drawer #4

I think I should have gone with 12 compartments for all of the drawers. If a plastic container  will fit in one of the 12, I'll be golden.

one left

Drawer #4 took longer to fit then the other 3. I think it was because of the 12 dividers which aren't that easy to plane and knock down. Got it done and it opens and closes freely.

drawer #5

This drawer was rocking a little bit. The paint cans flattened the drawer.  After ten minutes I removed the cans to check it. The drawer stayed flat on the workbench. I put the cans back on the let it cook. 

I'll be done with this in the AM. All that is left to do is to make the base which I don't have any stock for.  I used the base stock to get the drawers from. I'll have to make a Lowes run to get some pine for that.

I have an appointment with oncology tomorrow at 1000. I still haven't made up mind about the possibility of having to do chemo. Losing my hair I don't care if it happens. I don't want any nerve damage that would interfere with my woodworking. I'll find out what the game plan is in the AM.

accidental woodworker  

 Last night was the first one since the surgery that I slept through the night. I didn't wake up until 0750. It felt wonderful waking up refreshed and not tired and wanting to roll over and  go back to sleep. Posted the blog a little after 0800 which is a wee bit late for me. I think the blog posting may be erratic until I am mended and feeling 100%.

I am feeling better. The cough is up and down - some days I cough a lot and others I don't. The burning sensation from coughing is almost all gone. One annoying thing left  lingering is the fluid build up. It has decreased a lot but there is one bubble that refuses to go away.  The doc said that it might be 6-8 weeks post op (or more) before I'm back to normal.

don't have happy thoughts

This the top shallow drawer that wasn't laying flat. I hoped that laying it flat on the tablesaw with some weight might keep flat. 

nope

It is a 1/4" off on the highest corner. The twist in this makes the drawer unusable. I have tried in the past to trying to fix something like this only to give up. Planing away the high corners would make the drawer too thin. I broke up the drawer and shitcanned. I'm starting over again at square one.

new drawer

Glad I had extras for making another drawer.

hmm.......

Thinned the drawer so it fits the opening with a 1/8" plywood bottom. I'll be doing this to the other 4 drawers too.

replacement drawer

Dry fitted and laying flat on the tablesaw. I think I had made the tails/pins a bit too snug and that is what twisted the frame.

glued and cooking

I couldn't get the drawer diagonals to agree. I tried everything I could think of but gave up. Used a couple of 90° blocks to square up the drawer.

stepping off

Used dividers to layout the grooves for the compartments.

couple of hours later

The compartments are too big now that I can see them completed. They are bigger then the plastic containers. Started to rethink the compartments and maybe going with 12 per drawer?

bottom on

I lucked on the drawer size. I have 7 sheets of 12" x 24" 1/8" plywood. I'll be able to get two bottoms out of each sheet. The dividers and the bottom will stiffen and strengthen the drawer box. That will help when I plane it to fit the opening.

drawer #2

I'll put 9 compartments in this drawer. With 5 drawers I would have 45 compartments. What I think I will go is 3 drawers with 9 and the last two with 12. That is subject to change. Half lapping the dividers for 9 compartments is way easier to do then it will be for 12.

3 down, two to go

I got the third drawer glued and cooking and ran out of gas. I am still not able to go for hours in the shop yet. I'll pick this back up in the AM.

accidental woodworker 

Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12692353908068506678noreply@blogger.com0

 

I was wrong

I had more than enough pine to get all the drawer parts. Four drawers all the same size and one drawer about 1/4" smaller. Also got lucky that depth and width of the drawers were less then 12".

extras

These are for any oops. I don't know how I missed thinking I didn't have enough stock to get all the drawer parts.

hmm.......

Got one edge flat, straight, and square. I used that to square the ends and get the length.

snug

The R/L is loose - it is about 2-3 frog hairs short. It is good enough for a parts dresser.

first drawer

I will use through dovetails at all the drawers. I thought of using half blinds but nixed it. A single dovetail is enough for drawers of this size.

for the dividers

Each drawer will have 9 compartments. I could have added more but I wanted to ensure that each plastic hardware container would fit in each compartment. Instead of using 1/4" thick poplar for the dividers I'm using 1/8" plywood.

yikes

This side split when I glued the drawer up. I glued and clamped it and it should be ok once it is cooked. I trimmed a 1/8" off all the drawer sides. I plan to glue a piece of 1/8" plywood on as the bottom. 

 Got most of this done in the AM session. I went to lunch to get  my weekly fish 'n chips because I was in West Roxbury on friday. The meal was good but I got massive attack of heart burn that turned me into a blob sitting at my desk. I felt miserable but to close out the PM session I glued up the drawer. One down and 4 to go.

accidental woodworker 

At this point, I switch from the sharpening station to my scraper set up that I have described in a recent previous post. That rig has been working for around 40 years and still going strong.  It pays off to first use your burnisher (you can read about what I use from a few posts […]

We well start from the beginning.  The edge is made flat, straight, and very smooth at 90°. This can be filed first, though I generally find this unnecessary because all can be readily done with sharpening stones. If you prefer, use a smooth mill file and a piece of wood to hold it square to […]

 Spent another sleepless night which translated into me rolling out of the rack a little before 0700. Got no AM shop time because I had to get ready to go to the West Roxbury VA. Got there at 1020 for my 1100 appointment.

The news is I have a 60% chance of living another 5 years. I should make at least one more xmas and fingers/toes crossed it will be a few more.

I found out that I have stage 3 cancer and the doc removed a 8 cm tumor from my left lung. He said that the tumor was stiff and difficult to pull out between my ribs - he said that he doesn't expand the ribs to facilitate the tumor removal. That is why I am sore and have the pain I have when I cough. The doc said I'm doing better than most and that I have another 3-4 weeks before the surgery effects disappear. 

I can drive which is a relief. Not being able to do that these past two weeks has sucked pond scum. The doc told me to be aware of how I turn my head/torso as it may cause a spike in pain. I'll deal with it and drive slow.

start of the PM session

We didn't leave the West Roxbury VA until 1230 and the traffic going home was horrific. What is normally an hour drive was almost 2. Before going home we stopped and had lunch at Gregg's. The only thing I wanted to do here was check on the pine test frame I made yesterday.

looks good

All the miters looked good - no gaps on the joint lines. Nothing moved, shifted, or groaned when I took the frame out of the clamps. You know the glue up is solid and strong when that happens.

dead nuts

17 11/16" on both interior diagonals. The outside diagonals were a frog hair off from each other. I couldn't twist the miters apart with my hands. I rapped the frame on the bench on each miter and nada. With past miters (no dowels/splines), the miters gave up the ship on twisting the miters. I never got to try hitting them on the workbench.

happy face

All the toes and heels are flush. There is zero misalignment on any of them. The faces on the joint line are a wee bit off but still within a frog hair.

no rocking

Neither side of the frame is rocking when pressed on any of the corners. The frame is twist free. I cleaned up both sides with my #3 hand plane.

my boo boo

With this errant hole I can't leave the frame natural. I could put a dutchman over it but that would show. Another option is to fill it with wood putty and paint it. 

better option

I like this option best. I have a lot of thin pine in the shop that I can put on the outside and the inside of the frame. It will also afford me the option of leaving it natural or painting it.

I still can't lift anything heavier then a gallon of milk. That restriction gets eased 6 weeks post op. So I won't be able to use my lunchbox planer so thinning the pine on the tablesaw is my only option for making the drawer stock. Thinking of making a run to Gurney's Saw Mill to get some 1x12 pine. Maybe they will have some 1/2" pine in stock.

accidental woodworker 

last nite after dinner

This had been in the clamps for almost 5 hours and I was anxious to see how it looked. I did some after dinner puttering in the shop.

Mr Starrett says all is good

The outside was good - not dead nuts. There was about 1/2 a frog hair of light on the left end. 

The inside was dead nuts 90

Happy with how this came out. The top face is flush along the joint line but the other face isn't. That is because the two pieces aren't exactly the same thickness. In spite of that the toes and heels are aligned which is the important thing.

hmm.......

Decided to glue the cap on the back rail before heading topside. I clipped the ends at a 22.5° angle.

glued and cooking

In the AM I can get this attached to the sled and road test it with making a frame.

start of the AM session

Flushed the test miter, top and bottom to get a better look of the joint line. Toes and heels were tight and the joint line was tight and gap free. I couldn't break the miter neither. I whacked it on the bench and nada. Tried to pry it apart with hands and again nada. Happy with this and I'll use it for the certificate frame.

laid out the miters

This is the cherry test frame that will be the first one off the miter sled.

clean up

This face needed a wee bit of flushing. After this I sanded both faces and called it done.

done

The miter sled is fini (french for finished). Not sure if I am going to finish this with shellac or anything else. I have a 90° sled that I made 5-6 years ago that I didn't finish. It still is dead on accurate.

sigh

Miters bit me on the arse again and drew blood. At least I was consistent in my screw up. I would lose too much correcting one end to make them usable. At least I didn't screw up the long legs.

hmm......

Looking at the screw up on a brighter note. All four of the miters, according to Mr Starrett, are dead on 45. Not even a teeny, teeny sliver of light escaped. The jig is far more accurate then I had expected.

new test frame

Sawed up a test frame of pine. I really wanted to make a test frame before I committed to making the real one.

joy in Mudville

All the miters aligned and closed up. This was a dry fit and I was so happy with it I could have wet myself. Based on past experiences with miters I was expecting the miters to slip by each other and not come together.

two dowels in each miter

Dry fitted again but this time with dowels in each miter. I had one boo boo with one dowel hole going straight through from the miter to the outside face.

hmm......

The toes are not aligned and it is the only one throwing a hissy fit. I tried to adjust the corners but I couldn't get the toes/heels to align at this corner.

ta da

All four corners are now dry fitted and aligned - all the toes/heels are flush and even. The clamps easily pulled the recalcitrant miter together.

glued and cooking

Had a wee bit of apprehension once the glue was applied. One corner wouldn't come together with hand pressure. Even mallet blows wouldn't close the miter. However, the clamps pulled it tight. Found out that the miter band clamp isn't needed. With the bar clamps and the dowels, the joints came together easily without worrying about slipping or shifting on the mitered faces. 

I'll have to be careful with the dowel placement. I plan on routing the outside edge and I will have to be careful with where the outside dowel is. Nothing would suck pond scum worse then the router zipping away and exposing the dowel.

Didn't get a full day in the shop today. I haven't been sleeping well and have only slept through the night twice since the surgery. That includes my hospital time too. I went to bed last night at 2200, nodded out right away, and woke up at 1248. I stayed awake until around 0430. 

I was tired in the AM and after being in the shop for about an hour I quit and went upstairs. I felt like a wet sack of whole wheat flour. I nodded out at my desk for a while before getting up to walk around. I didn't want to sleep now and go through another night without sleeping. I went back to the shop around 1330 to do the test frame.

Don't know what I'll get done tomorrow. I have to go to West Roxbury for an eleven o'clock appointment with pulmonary. The swelling and fluid build has subsided a great deal but a bit remains and it is incredibly annoying and still painful at times. I hope the doc will have good news about it. I am hoping that I'll be able to drive again - fingers crossed.

accidental woodworker 

The saws aren't sharp upon arrival and I have to give the teeth more set so they will cut proper sized kerf required for the fretwire I use. And the saw blade is backwards, the teeth cut on the pull stroke, but they are not filed and shaped like a Japanese saw. I was always told by old time carpenters that that fancy bit of folded brass on the saw's back is supposed to help keep the saw cutting straight, and they said there was no need for a Westerner to cut on the pull stroke.

I downloaded a template from the Blackburn Tool website...