General Woodworking

 Yesterday was the first day of the heating season for me. The temp dropped down to freezing (0C) overnight and I set the thermostat at 70F. I don't play with it and I'll leave it set at that until I shut off the heat in may/april next year. I struggled taking the radiator covers off and stowing for the season. Coughed a lot and got short of breath quick too. Got it done albeit at an ninety year old man's pace.

need a good cleaning

I've been thinking a lot lately about a post by CS at Lost Art Press he posted a few years ago. It was about him going to shop and just looking around. No work just him contemplating the space he occupied. In that post he also wrote about a wood carver who couldn't work anymore but still went to the shop just to be in a familiar space. Enjoying his time there even though he couldn't carve anymore. 

I'm feeling a lot like the wood carver now. Two weeks ago I was aligned with CS. Today I went to the shop to do some woodworking and I did nothing. I looked around the shop noting the things I've made and the thought of that not happening again popped up and said hello. 

I don't have a warm and fuzzy about getting the console/entry table done now. Or it just might be the last project to leave Ralphie's Workshop. I am going to try and make it even though I will have to work slowly, I find that thought more comforting than sitting on my arse at my desk.

cherry Welsh stick chair

I think I waited too long to take my head out of my arse before starting this chair. I have been thinking more and more of selling it because I can't see myself being able to make it anymore. If I do part with it I'll include the templates for it too. I got to sit in a Welsh sitck chair at the Lost Art Press when I took a class there. It was the most comfortable chair I have ever sat in. That is when making one went on the future to do list.

On a brighter note, last night was the best nights sleep I've had in days. Maybe it was my wife coming home from North Carolina that did the trick. Coughed a little after the 3rd toilet trot race but I dropped off right away and didn't wake up again until after 0800. 

Wish me luck with the lunchbox planer saga tomorrow.

accidental woodworker 

This video is all about making the neck blank from some very special Cuban mahogany. Also, I set myself the challenge of making a head inlay to match the mandolin’s rosette as seen here-

Cheers Gary

clean up time

Put all the tools away except for the allen wrenches. Buttoning up the lunchbox was next on the menu. I had planned to go to the tool repair on Jefferson but it didn't happen today. I was getting the directions when I noticed that it isn't open on saturday. Saved me some time and gas on that one. It opens on monday at 0830 and I'll head that way after breakfast at Johnny's Chalet.

neat and tidy

This is all I got done today and this took a bazillion hours to get done. I woke up feeling ok but by mid morning I had a headache that felt like it was going to split my skull in two. It was manageable if I sat and did nothing but that sucked pond scum. I had wanted to go to the shop and make a box. After suffering with it I finally took a couple aspirin. I have to be careful with that because I take blood thinners for my A fib.

For the 3rd night in a row I have repeated the coughing fit dance steps. Again last night it was the 3rd time I woke up that was the worse. It looking like the early blog posting is going to be a thing of the past.

Fingers crossed that the tool repair shop will be able to get the belt on the DeWalt. Glad that I got two when I ordered it.

accidental woodworker 

 Having removed the rotten timber, it's time to use it as a template to make the new pieces.

Time is of the essence. This building houses a school, and it's easier to do the work when the children are not here i.e. at the weekend. 

Transfer the shape of the cruck plate to the new section.

Inserting the new cruck foot.

Inserting the new plate.

A nice tight fit. Bolting through.

A historic chamfer repair had to be removed, before making the cuts to remove the rotten parts. This unfortunately fell into pieces.

So, carefully glued it back together.

Offering it up, so trimming can happen, to fit the new shorter cruck foot.

The boltholes plugged with aged oak, the historic chamfer repair re-fixed over the cruck foot repair, the new architrave and the new oak darkened with it's own juices etc. The first visit from Prides Plastering, to apply a dubbing out coat of lime to the adjacent masonry.

FINALLY

I tried to get the belt on with the rod but got nowhere. I got a teeny bit of the belt on the big pulley and that was it. The belt would not cooperate at all and after 30 frustrating minutes I removed the rod. I felt like I had given birth when I got the belt partially on both pulleys then.

blurry pic matches my mood

I couldn't get the belt to fully engage on either pulley. I did manage to get about 3/4 of the belt onto to the bottom pulley and then I stalled. Even though I got 3/4 of the big pulley, the smaller one was gong in the opposite direction. I started with 1/2 of it on but by the time I got 3/4 on the big one, the smaller one had moved outward and barely had a 1/4 on the smaller pulley.

I cursed and threatened it with going postal on it and still nada. I tried to hit the belt with a hammer as I turned it and that did absolutely nothing. It wouldn't move even one more groove onto either pulley.

it got worse

I got most of the bottom pulley on but the smaller one was in danger. The belt was only on two grooves there. What idiotic engineer came up with this design? It shouldn't be this difficult to change a high wear part like this.

hmm...........

This was the last thing I tried trying to get the belt onto the pulleys. I turned the switch on and pushed the plug in briefly. I was hoping that the motor turning would cause the belt to ride over onto the pulley. No such luck boys and girls as nothing happened. As the belt didn't change its position on either pulley one iota. The belt didn't shred or break so at least that is a point in my favor. 

I tried doing it a couple of more times without any success. Maybe if I had another set of hands I could have used a screwdriver as lever to push the belt as the motor turned it. But I am done trying to do this. Tomorrow I will go to tool center on Jefferson and talk to the service tech about it.

came today

I'm glad I didn't wait for this to come in as it took a while for a in stock purchase. To further increase my fun, this kicked my arse all over the house trying to get it open. I could see that the bottom was screwed on but the label was adhered with a glue that wouldn't let go.

nice looking bit

This is the first purple colored router bit I have seen. The six cutters and the mass of the head should make for a clean and smooth cut. I'll road test on the twisted sapele board tomorrow or the next day.

Had another rough night sleeping. Woke up 3 times, 2 of them I coughed a little and drifted back off to sleep. On the third wake up I thought I was going to cough up a lung. I watched YouTube for over an hour and tried to sleep again sitting up against the head board. I had stopped coughing and I didn't want to risk another fit going horizontal on my side. "Wandered in/out of sleeping and I finally laid down on my side and after coughing for a while I finally was able to fall asleep. 

I don't know what time that was but I didn't roll out of the rack until 0815. Maybe it is time for me to change my blog posting to around lunch time. I felt better today than yesterday when I went vertical. No blah feeling and no feeling tired and washed out. After my first pot of coffee and finishing my two puzzles it was 1030. 

Since today was fish 'n chips day I waited until after lunch to do battle with planer. Thinking now that maybe I should have taken the entire day off from it and gone to shop and made a box. At least then I would have something to show for the day.

accidental woodworker 

I’ve never liked the idea of giving my instruments a name other than one that describes it, i.e. parlour guitar, twin-point mandolin etc.  Clearly, the different instruments must have some means of reference, especially as all enquiries for my instruments come via email and a prospective client needs to communicate their needs.

You would probably have seen my previous “New Model Mandolin” build series: I called that instrument “New Model” as, at the time I was undecided on a suitable name.

Around 2007/08 I was designing a couple of instruments to my own shapes. One was a steel-string acoustic guitar which I designated Model 1. Another shape was designed for multi-course instruments and this was designated Model 2.  Over the years that shape was scaled down and tweaked to become my electric mandolin and now, the shape of the new acoustic mandolin (temporarily dubbed New Model). So, after much deliberation it seems fitting, henceforth to refer to this new shape mandolin as Model 2 Mandolin. Simple!

If someone tries to steal your watch, by all means fight them off. If someone sues you for your watch, hand it over and be glad you got away so lightly. ― John Mortimer

A watch is an essential tool to anyone who must perform a job within contractual time constraints, or when She Who Must Be Obeyed demands punctuality using the cat-o’-nine-tails that is her tongue (ツ). Not critical for fishing, cleaning rifles, or watching TV perhaps, but indispensable when engaged in work-related activities such as installing cabinets, pouring concrete foundations, or erecting structural steel frames.

In this series of articles your most humble and obedient would like to relate a few ways I’ve used my watches at work, and the sticky ends some of them met.

In this first article I will relate a true story of an effective, time-proven way to use an honest wristwatch to stave-off venal, criminal bureaucrats for good purposes. I don’t know the watch’s ultimate fate but, for a time at least, it ended up in the hands of an undesirable person.

As background information, I should first share my sartorial philosophy about timepieces, because after all, fashion is my life (ツ).

In our time, the wristwatch is the only jewelry, besides a wedding ring, a manly man can wear during manly pursuits. That said, my exquisite sartorial standards do not mandate fancy watches, for while a finely crafted diamond watch can make a serious fashion statement, IMO an expensive luxury watch clasped on the wrist says nothing positive about the man, manly or no. That said, at one time in my career in international construction I was compelled to buy, wear, and even drop a luxury clepsydra (wristwatch) in public. No diamonds…

Allow me to explain this contradiction.

At the time of this story I lived in Tokyo and was employed by a major Japanese general contractor, indeed the largest general contractor in the world at the time.

As you are aware, commercial construction requires many sheets of drawings. Nowadays, we think nothing of transmitting vast quantities of digital data instantly and very cheaply, via the internet, data devoid of weight and volume. But at the time of this incident, internet access was available only to a few major research Universities and government agencies, so architectural and technical drawings, which were all drawn by hand at the time and printed out as heavy, bulky, paper blueprints reeking of ammonia copy fluid, were delivered to government agencies, bidders, suppliers, subcontractors, and jobsites either by slow boat, airmail, courier or hand delivery. Accordingly, the cost of reproducing and distributing such bulky documents internationally was a major project cost that made UPS, DHL and Fedex highly profitable back in the day.

Time and traffic aside, the taxes and extortion these drawings and specifications faced when the customs agencies of some countries (actually, many countries taxes and tariffs) got their mitts on them were monumental.

In this case, my employer had been awarded a turn-key hospital construction project inside the Philippines through an agency called JICA. JICA selected the designers, and contractors (always Japanese companies) and funded 100% of the design and construction costs with all payments made following JICA procedures inside Japan. This means there were no transfer of funds within the country where the public hospital was erected.

As you can imagine, while the local residents no doubt appreciated the improved, indeed unprecedented access to health care this facility provided to the poor, the JICA system prevented the local government kleptocrats from embezzling or stealing the project funds, so they hated JICA projects with a dragons’ bitter hate. Gentle Readers familiar with both large bureaucracies and international construction will gasp immediately grasp the ramifications.

Chief among these ramifications, IMHO, is the evidence it provides that corrupt governments would rather their citizens suffered and died if their survival meant local politicians and/or government employees might be denied an opportunity for graft and extortion. This is not even a tiny exaggeration.

I don’t know about now, but at the time Japanese taxpayers and general contractors smiled on JICA projects because it provided a an actual, physical, world-class hospital to people in third-world countries desperately in need of health care quickly, reliably and at a reasonable cost, thereby showing Japan’s benevolence to countries the Japanese military ravaged during past foreign adventures, all while maximizing retention of taxpayer funds within Japan. The Philippines is one such country.

But graft, corruption and outright theft are always a problem with construction in the Philippines, and the local politicians, at least those I knew at the time, also loathed JICA projects because funds for the construction work were paid directly to the Japanese construction companies, like my employer, in Japan, giving the famously corrupt government in Manila no opportunity to embezzle them. Likewise, Japanese politicians, also extravagantly corrupt, loathed JICA projects because the opportunities for graft and embezzlement were much much fewer than a standard construction project.

Here’s a word to the wise: Be extremely distrustful of any politician in your nation that goes to a foreign country to discuss, negotiate, or visit a government-funded construction project because it’s almost guaranteed that they will use the opportunity open an account in the Bank of China and arranage to receive bribes from foreign governments, contractors and suppliers free from the risk of detection of wrongdoing by their own government. I say this based on direct experience.

But I digress. Meanwhile, back in Manila, at that time customs demanded a payment of 25% of the full value of the actual physical construction work reflected in the drawings. Not just the cost of producing and/or printing the documents, but the cash cost of placing physical concrete and erecting actual steel. That’s a lot of money, millions of US dollars in fact, and involved a big time delay while the amount is evaluated and negotiated.

But as with most problems, there was a way to sidestep the problem. To whit, my superiors in Tokyo asked me to courier the drawings to Manila on several occasions. The reasons for this, as it was explained to me, is that Japanese companies have a history of being generally more agreeable to demands for bribes, so they are pressed harder than American citizens, such as your humble, befuddled servant, who have a reputation for refusing demands for bribes entirely, and then angrily calling on embassies to support them against undue pressure from foreign governments. It’s illegal under American law to pay bribes, donchano.

But because vague assurances from Philippine government officials of speedy, honest treatment could not be relied upon, in preparation for my visit at Manila Customs, my superiors required me to buy a Rolex watch, with my own funds, with the promise they would reimburse me in due time. So I bought a GMT-Master II.

At the airport I retrieved my bags and three big packages of specs and drawings and toddled off to customs inspection. As soon as the agents at Manila customs saw the heavy pile of drawings their eyes lit up, but before they actually demanded a percentage of the total construction cost, I followed my superior’s instructions, extended my left arm over the stainless steel inspection table, displayed the watch, deliberately released the catch on the watch band, and allowed the watch to fall clattering onto the table.

The inspector quickly picked up and examined the watch, and glanced at me questioningly. I just nodded to him respectfully, loaded up my documents, grabbed my travel bag, and left without saying a word. As I was passing through the doors isolating the inspection area, I glanced back and saw the custom inspector smile like a maniac, stuff my watch into his pocket, and wave his next victim to his station. And so the ancient game of taxes, tariffs, bribes and extortion continued.

Of course, my associates were waiting outside the airport in an automobile by the curb to receive the drawings. We drove to the office to drop them off, and then went out to one of the many clubs in Manila to relax until my return flight to Tokyo was ready to depart.

Why a Rolex GMT.Master II watch, you say and not the Breitling Navitimer James Bond wore in Thunderball or Scaramanga’s Rolex Cellini King Midas seen in The Man with the Golden Gun, or even the economical Swatch GE218 that Blowfeld wore with such panache? This was before the fake “Swiss Made” watches deceptively sold by Rolex recently destroyed their reputation were available, but until recently Rolex watches were immediately recognizable and were considered as good or better than cash in many countries, including the Philippines. Indeed, it was standard operating procedure back in the day for businessmen of all nations to wear a Rolex watch as a last-ditch source of emergency funds, especially since the prestige and value of this brand of watch was instantly recognizable, unlike a cheaper Omega or a more-valuable but little-known Patek Phillipe.

BTW, this is exactly why the solid gold Rolex Presidential watch sold so well for a time in many backwards countries.

And why was I instructed to ostentatiously and noisily drop the watch onto the metal table and then walk away without a word? Three reasons. First, because if one offers government employees cash, it’s obviously a bribe, a crime even if the customs officer demanded the bribe at gunpoint. And as in the United States, superior officers are always eager to use the color of authority to steal cash from subordinates. Just ask Congress, US military, or the IRS where they misplace billions of US dollars every year. But a watch is just a timepiece without a receipt.

Second, human avarice being what it is, an argument about the amount or method of a cash payment is likely to arise, especially if the prospective recipient has the power to demand a look into one’s wallet, as the man with the gun does. The Rolex simplifies all that.

Third, if one pays cash, unlike a single timepiece that cannot be easily divvied-up among other customs officials, arguments and long delays in backrooms will always arise. But if the bakshish is just a single watch of obvious value that cannot be divvied-up like cash, dealing with the custom agent’s coworkers and relatives becomes his problem to resolve after his shift is over and you and the drawings are long gone. Indeed, if he’s clever and discrete, they may never know the transaction occurred.

And lastly, if the customs agent suddenly decides a watch is not enough compensation, and in mighty, puffed-up, hypocritical umbrage tries to turn the tables by claiming a crime has been perpetrated, you can play dumb and insist you innocently, clumsily, or accidentally dropped the watch, and you thought the agent kindly picked it up to return it to you. Cash would not work for this approach.

Clever no? I didn’t think this technique up, but I saw it work well 5 times. Welcome to the wonderful world of international construction.

While it was good to provide a hospital to poor people, I’m not proud of my role in this tale. Gentle Reader will draw your own conclusions from this account, but I will be so bold as to state that it’s a stretch to criticize the person being extorted when the person doing the extortion is one government official among many making the same demand, and he has a gun.

Corruption always lead to destruction of civilizations and the suffering and death of innocents.

In future articles in this series well consider the attributes of a useful watch for the woodworker, and examples of how to use one to improve one’s efficiency at work.

YMHOS

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Ursula Andress, at one time considered by many in the West to be the most beautiful woman in the work, decked out as a blonde Ayesha

 Had an absolute horrible night. I woke up 3 times, and 3 three times I had coughing fit that lasted for a bazillion hours. The upside of that was I was able to fall back asleep once things calmed down. Not the best night I have had and it was awfully close to being the worse one.

I rolled out of the rack late and felt blah all day long. Not sick blah or tired blah but something entirely new for me. I played with the DeWalt a few times but most of the day I spent molding my butt cheeks to my desk chair. The crappy blah feeling didn't go away but I did get bone weary tired in the late afternoon. 

My patience with getting the belt changed is wearing super thin. If I can't get it changed in the AM (if I'm up to it) I'll bring it to a tool repair center. I found one on Jefferson Blvd which is only 5 minutes from my house.

hmm.......

I tried to get the belt on with the rod off. Don't know if not feeling 100% had anything to do with it but nada. I couldn't even get a smiles worth of the belt engaged on the big pulley.

I watched the YouTube vid again but it was muted. I learn better visually over reading or an oral rending. I was listening to a podcast at the same time. I watched it twice to make sure I understood how he maneuvered the belt unto the big pulley. 

ouch

I spent more then 5 minutes trying to screw the rod back on and nada. Initially I thought that it wasn't engaging the first threads but that wasn't the problem. The rod is threaded left handed. I was putting the rod back in because that is the way the vid has it.

nope, nope, and nope

I couldn't get the belt to partially engage on the bottom pulley. I could get it to pass by the rod after the 3rd attempt but couldn't get it started. The vid made a point of not levering against the rod and damaging the threads. I was able to get the screwdriver under the belt and the tip on the nut. Tired to pull the belt and turn it at the same time and got nowhere.

I left this here as is and watched the YouTube vid again with the audio this time. Discovered a tidbit that I missed from watching it muted. I had been putting the belt first fully on the top black pulley but I should have been putting only 1/2 of it on that pulley. I revised the battle plan for the AM. 

accidental woodworker

 Things didn't go merrily, merrily down the lane today. Spent the AM at the DMV getting my license renewed. The clerks there must attend 6 months learning how to be arrogant and exasperating all the while smiling smugly. IMO the forms are confusing, and the instructions when available make it even more confusing to fill out. After filling the pie hole I drew up a new battle plan for replacing the belt.

my absolute best goofy looks

Cleaning up the two pulleys was a royal PITA. Holding a flashlight to see WTF I was doing and trying to scrape the remnants of the old belt off took me almost two hours. The lighting SNAFU was the worse annoyance to deal with until it came time to put the new belt on. BTW the goofy looks didn't help one iota.

hmm.......

I wanted to take this pulley guard off but I stripped out the screw. Made it awkward trying to get a pick and a steel wire brush on the small pulley. I could get the front 1/4" easy enough but the back had me cursing up a storm.

finally

Managed to get the big pulley cleaned up. I turned it slowly and got all the little spots I had missed. It looked brandy new to me. The smaller, black pulley to top left was not being as cooperative.

it worked

I got the acetone to clean up the big pulley and I wasn't expecting it to do anything with the belt residue. It softened and removed it. It worked on the black pulley but it wasn't as easy removing it. However, it did soften it sufficiently that I could get a pick at it and remove it.

I thought of drilling out the screw on the black pulley cover and went so far as to find my set of screw extractors. I only two, one for a tiny screw and one for a 1/4-20. Neither of them would have worked here. Briefly thought of drilling it out too but nixed it. I endured the tedious process of wiping it with acetone, picking out with a pick and knife, and then wiping up what I could. Wash, rinse, and repeat 25 bazillion times before the pulley was clean.

another hmm.......

I couldn't see how you could one, get the belt behind this rod and two, then get it on the bigger pulley. To my thinking this rod has to go. Started with removing the plate at the bottom held on with two screws.

nope

I got the plate at the bottom off but the rod wouldn't unscrew so I nixed doing that. I tried to get the belt onto to the big pulley and nada. I couldn't get it downward so I could get a piece of it onto the bottom of the pulley.

this sucked pond scum

I had to remove this sprocket in order to unscrew the rod. Up to this point all the screws were imperial but not so on the bottom boys and girls. Here it was, lets switch over to metric. The two set screws holding the sprocket were 3mm held on with blue locktite.

off and out of the way

The bottom plate on this is set in a groove on the rod which locks in the proper position of the rod. Nice touch that it doesn't need to be aligned or adjusted. 

frustrating 30 minutes

I tried everything I could think of to lever the belt onto the bottom pulley and nothing was working. I had soaked the belt in hot water from the tap for about 10 minutes. I don't think the water was hot enough because the belt hadn't seemed to stretch at all.

because I'm brain dead

I also like pissing into a head wind and say it is raining. Let the belt soak in boiling water, off the fire, for ten minutes. This was no better and the first hot water experiment. The belt didn't even feel hot to the touch.

No Mas

I called it day mostly because I was getting nowhere getting the belt on. Instead I went back on YouTube and looked up the belt vid again. I couldn't find the one I watched where the guy did the hot water trick but I did find one YouTube vid from 'ereplacement' that was an eye opener. 

First off I found out that you can remove just the side panels without having to take off the top. Secondly and most important is you don't have to remove the threaded rod. He showed how to get the belt in position on the big pulley after getting it on the smaller one. Then he uses two screwdrivers levering against the rod and using the nut on the big pulley as the fulcrum point. Zippty Doo Dah and the belt was on.

I don't remember seeing this vid when I searched the other day. If I did I might have ignored it thinking it would be an advertisement for 'ereplacement'. I will try the belt replacement dance steps in the AM following this vid (which I bookmarked). Right now all I want to do to the planer is see how well it will survive me going postal on it with a 3lb sledge hammer.

accidental woodworker 

A couple months ago I came into possession of an old Russell Jennings auger bit box.  Somewhere along its life, someone had altered the box by removing from the first two tiers the grooved shelves that held the auger bits safe from rattling around.

The old box

The top tier with grooved shelf removed and ugly compartments installed

Middle tier with grooved shelf removed

Bottom tier with grooved shelf still intact

This got me thinking about how to repair the box.  A few years ago I made a different (but similar) type of box for a set of auger bits, so I was confident I could recreate the grooved shelves.  But in the end I decided to make a whole new Russell Jennings style of box from scratch.

My version of the three-tiered box

I don't know what wood the original boxes were made from, but mine is oak with poplar bit trays.  The Russell Jennings boxes are made with 1/8" box joints at the four corners and no doubt they were made as a single box and then sawn apart to create the three tiers.  Due to the narrow recycled oak I was using, I decided to make mine as three separate boxes, each joined at the corners with 1/4" box joint fingers.

Before making the boxes, I played around with making the grooved trays.  It took some trial and error to get the layout right so that all the bits would fit in their respective trays, and so that the box would have the right dimensions.  If I remember correctly, the box needed to be 4 1/8" front to back, with 3/8" thick sides, which left 3 3/8" width in which to fit a bunch of auger bits.

Middle tier laid out - these need not be perfect half circles

Here's the middle tray partially grooved

I think I made each layout curve about 1/16" greater in diameter than the bit that would fit in it.  The grooves were cut starting with a plow plane.  Then, depending on the size of the groove, I followed with either round planes or scrapers in a scratch stock .  For the largest grooves in the bottom tray, I also used a gouge to chop away some waste.

Top tier almost done, plow plane and scratch stock in background

Middle tier was done with plow plane and a small round plane

Here's a preview of the three tiers

Grooves were plowed in each tier's ends to receive the trays, which were rabbeted to fit into those grooves.

Grooves in one of the tier's ends

Forming a rabbet: saw close, then clean with chisels and rabbet plane

The bottom tier was special with this rabbet ...

... and a rabbet on the underside so the tray's bottom would be in line with the box's bottom

One more detail: the square tapered shank of auger bits is wider than the business end for the 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" bits, so they don't sit right in the box unless the end where the shanks of those bits rest is relieved.

An old Russell Jennings box showing the relieved area

Marking out

After careful paring with chisels

Now they play nice together

The hardware is nothing special.  I used cheap butt hinges and front clasps from Lee Valley.  Most of the small brass screws I had were 1/2" long, so I had to cut them down to 3/8" so they wouldn't go through to the inside of the box.  Screw holes were pre-drilled and the screws were waxed to ease them into the hard oak.  The hinges were not mortised into the box but were surface-mounted, similar to the way some old Russell Jennings boxes were made.

Hinges on the back

The front clasps were nailed on and I predrilled holes for the nails.

Installing the clasps

Clasps on the front

I gave the outsides of the box 3 coats of shellac and a coat of wax.  The box is about 3/16" taller than the old boxes.  I could have easily gotten the correct height in my box because my top tier tray was deeper than it needed to be.  But overall, I'm happy with it.

Something unexpected: I got a free can of shellac on "freecycle" and it was cloudy.  I've been mixing my own shellac for years and it's always clear.  But I tested this shellac on a scrap and it hardened properly.  Anybody have this issue with some cloudy shellac?

Cloudy shellac

If I was a real maniac, I'd try to duplicate the label that R-J put on the inside of the lid of their auger bit boxes (see pic #2 above).  I'll leave that for the real gung ho out there.  All for now.  I'll leave this with a couple of glamour shots.

The finished box

And with bits on display

 The weather forecast changed and now there was rain in the morning and cloudy skies in the PM. Based on that I decided to wait on changing the belt until tomorrow. The skies looked like they would open up at any moment and drop rain like a cow letting loose on a flat rock.

done

Got the jig set so both aprons are inset an 1/8" from the outside edge. The first leg was 1 1/4" and this one is 1 3/16". The dowels didn't bypass each other so I had to adjust and play with them until the aprons seated fully on the legs gap free.

only a 16th

I was surprised that I could see a difference between the two thicknesses of the legs. Once this one has the chamfers on it, it should look a little more thinner and slender.

Stopped here and did some grocery shopping and dropped off a package at FedEx. Decided that I would change the belt in the back hallway rather then wait until the next day.

ready to do battle

Didn't know it here but I hadn't brought all the tools I would need. I ended doing the one thing I wanted to avoid at all costs and that was trotting up and down the stairs getting things I forgot. Getting the outer shell off the planer was painless and incredibly easy to do.

worth it

I purposely made this little tray to hold screws etc etc. These things can go MIA in a heartbeat. As long as I don't knock it over I should have them come time to put it back together.

this sucks pond scum

The old belt had melted on the bigger pulley. The smaller one (up to the left) had some melted crappola but not as much. I have to remove and clean this up before I can put on the new belt. It doesn't look like it is going to easy to do.

found it

The block with the knives wasn't turning which was making cleaning the big pulley a ROYAL PITA. Now that I found this I won't have to flip the planer 180 so I could have access to the bottom of the pulley.

incoming headache

I got some of the melted crap cleaned off and stopped. I went back to the shop and got my vacuum and more tools. That wore me out and I sat at my desk to rest and fell asleep. When I woke up I tried to get the belt on - just to give it a look see.

Getting the new belt on isn't going to easy.  The belt has to stretch about a 1/4" to fit. The procedure says to install the new belt first on the top, smaller pulley and the bigger one next. The bigger pulley has a rod in front of it. No mention of any hints to help. The YouTube vids I watched, one of them soaked the belt in boiling water which helped him. I still have to clean the pulleys before I can have fun, fun, fun with the new belt.

accidental woodworker 

 Things are getting worse for me with my breathing issues. Leaving the shop and coming up stairs is exhausting for me. It now takes me about 15 minutes before I fully catch my breath and stop coughing. I'm learning to work around it by moving as slow as a glacier. That helps because if I do my normal balls to the wall walk I cough for a bazillion hours and get short of breath. 

So I've been carefully planning before I go to the shop (going down is problem free still). I try to stay as long as I can before going topside. I try to make that as close to lunch time so I don't have to make any extra up/down dance steps. Once in the shop I can carry on albeit nowhere near at the pace I used to do. Regardless, I'm just happy to be able to make shavings and sawdust no matter what my body annoys me with.

cut list

I didn't see any reason why I couldn't cut out the aprons, top, and bottom shelf now. I know how wide (front/back) my wife wants it but she made no mention of the length (R/L). The top is 9" wide and 30" long. The bottom shelf is 6 1/2" wide by 26" long. The aprons and the one stretcher are all 2" wide but different lengths.

ouch

I couldn't find the wrench that came with this router. The only joy I take from that is that it is too big to sweep up with shavings and shitcan. I'm sure it will turn up in some totally unrelated black hole.

done

End aprons, top and bottom shelf, and the bottom stretcher. I am not putting any long side aprons on the bottom of the table. That will keep the table light and airy looking.

hmm........

Rounded the ends of the top and the bottom shelf. It isn't much but it lightens up the top continuing the delicate look I'm going for. I'll hold off sawing the round off until the aprons are glued and set. Leaving it square will be easier to position them and do the layout for the table top clips.

done

Got check marks on everything on the cut list. Once I get the legs done, finishing this will take no time at all.

tough going

Initially I got winded quick but the more I did it the easier it went. It didn't go fast and I got all the aprons, the stretcher, and the top and shelf planned and smoothed on the edges. I'll the do the faces before I do the glue up.

This is all I got done today. There is nothing on the horizon yet as the next project and I had taken this one as far as I could for now. Tomorrow I'll saw out a piece of scrap 1 1/4" square because that is the size leg I decided on. I'll use that to set the length of the dowels and the offset for the aprons. 

2 for $18

These came as I was finishing up this blog post. The email had said friday but I'll take it. I checked the weather and tomorrow will be cloudy but no rain. I had watched YouTube on replacing the belt and none of the vids looked difficult. Taking the planer apart to replace the belt was what I thought it would be. None of the vids said that any alignment was needed and it was put back together in reverse order. That is a bonus. 

accidental woodworker

 The legs for the table are in limbo for now. The belt for the planer is on order and this AM I got an email that it had shipped. A 2nd email said it would arrive on this friday. When I ordered it the write up said 2-4 day delivery, so maybe that is close? In the interim I decided to play with leg designs so I could eyeball the look of it.

first set of experiments

I've been running different ideas through the brain bucket since my wife asked me to make it. Because it will be narrow and delicate looking, I didn't want just plain square legs. I don't have a lathe so any turning options ain't happening. I'm starting with two blanks 1 1/2" square.

first changes

The 1 1/2" square size looked too clunky IMO. The leg on the right I ripped down to 1" square and I like that size. I don't have a warm and fuzzy about the leg cutout at the bottom. The real estate sitting on the ground is a little more than 1/8" by 1". It looks too thin. Note to self - 1" square is ok, the leg angle is history.

hmm.......

This kills it for good. The angled cutout looks flimsy but I did get the depth of the dowels dialed in. That took me 3 tries before the aprons seated gap free.

worked

I was worried that the size of the leg wouldn't be large enough for the dowels on adjacent faces to pass each other. They did, barely but neither set hit the other one.

Got one hiccup with the aprons. The set back is off - one side has it and the other doesn't. Taking the angled leg cutout into account screwed me all up when I drilled the holes for the dowels.

nope

The idea I had was to make the angled cuts so they were on the outside and front inside faces. I'll kill all the suspense and fess up that I screwed it up. The 2nd cut itself was good but I had sawn them on the wrong faces. The cutout at the bottom was painfully small. It looks delicate but it also looks like someone walking by it would cause it to snap in two.

hmm......

I'm scratching angled leg cuts off the to do list. I'm not happy with how thin the bottom of the leg looks. On to the 2nd option rattling around the brain bucket.

too small

Changed my mind on the size of the leg. I want a wee bit more separation between the sets of dowels and also to have more dowel sticking out. I think I'll eyeball what 1 1/8" and 1 3/16" square looks like before I decide. I think either one is still small enough to look delicate.

hmm......

I don't want the aprons to be flush with the front. I don't care about the inboard face position. I played around with the shims until I got a setback I liked. I'm leaving the dowel jig and the depth guide set up for this.

this is winning so far

The 2nd option was to plane a chamfer on the outside 90° edge of each leg. I planed the first one free hand which was a bit awkward. I whipped out a 45 planing sled lickety split and it worked perfectly for planing the 2nd leg.

hmm.......

I think I found the winning entry. A large chamfer on the outside 90 and smaller ones on the other 3. The other 3 are subject to change because the short side aprons haven't been factored in yet.

stopped chamfers

The inside edge opposite the could go all the way up to top of the leg. The plan is to stop the chamfer a 1/2" below the bottom of the aprons. Again this is subject to change. 

2nd leg

An alternate for the chamfer is a round over or maybe a round over with shoulders. I do like the look of the chamfers on all four legs. They make the leg look thinner and should make the larger legs look the same too.

accidental woodworker

Hara-kiri on this cruck foot. The suspected dry rot is exposed. No problem; it's source of water has been removed and the socket is now dry. Contrary to common belief, dry rot needs a water source to grow. The pillow/corbel/cruck plate was a bit bent!

ready, almost

I left these on the workbench to make sure neither of them had any stupid wood tricks up their sleeves. Spoiler alert - they both behaved themselves.

checking for flat

Put the boards together and they were flat against each other end to end. No humps and no playing Mr Helicopter. In all combinations the two of the lay together gap free 360.

the big sigh

This board wasn't planed on this face, it still has the scallops from the router. I was tired yesterday and not really paying attention 100%. The last two times I ran the boards through the planer, there weren't any shavings being spit out. I assumed (wrongly) that the setting was too high and the board just went through underneath knives.

hmm......

I ran a board through and nada. The roller pushed it through but no shavings came with it. I took off the cover and I didn't find any interlocks so I turned it on and nada. The motor spun up but the cutter head didn't move. My first thought was a drive belt or maybe a gear was broke. 

what's left of the drive belt

Glad it is just this and not a stripped or broken gear. I checked the WWW for a replacement belt and the prices caused a hacking fit for a bazillion minutes. The OEM price averaged $80 but eBay prices were about $12-18. Those were a lot more reasonable. I also had checked the wrong Model #. I have a DeWalt #734 and I had checked prices on a DeWalt #735. The prices were better for my machine and I got a replacement belt on order.

This put a rather huge monkey wrench into the gears of making the console table. There aren't any tool repair centers within a reasonable distance from my house so I'll be the mechanic replacing it. It looks to be a fairly simple job but I'm not sure how much of this I'll have to disassemble to replace the belt. And if there will be any alignment(s) associated with replacing the belt. I'll be spending some quality time on You Tube tonight.

accidental woodworker

 Today started a whole lot better than yesterday. No coughing fits going on continuously for a bazillion hours. The shortness of breath is still kicking my arse but the coughing has toned down a ton. That was a welcomed relief. I didn't do anything in the AM but sit and veg out. I wanted to make sure that it would keep going on as is.

I went to Gregg's for fish 'n chips and I when I got back home I started working on getting the boards planed to final thickness. It took me a long time and I spent four times as much resting then I did doing any planing.

80 pounds - 36 kilos

I had to do everything one at a time. The only things I doubled up carrying out were the extension cord and my hearing muffs. The boards, the back hall bench, and the planer I brought out one at a time. In between each trip I had to sit and rest to catch my breath. On a bright note, I didn't have to suffer through spasms of coughing. Definitely looking that yesterday was  a bad day.

planer was last

I will have to do these dance steps 3 more times. One to bring this all back into the house and then twice more tomorrow when I plane the individual legs.

hmm......

I usually put the planer in the middle of the driveway (to the right). That is a distant memory now. That is now too far to carry the planer to. This was manageable but I think this is something that I won't be doing again. 

done

I am not sweeping up the shavings. It was breezy and the pile on the left was already 1/2 blown away. Besides the wind owes me a favor.

This was all I got done today. I got all the stuff back into the house and brought the boards down to the shop. Overall I was kind of happy with how things went this PM. The shortness of breath sucked but after resting for 10-15 minutes all was well in Disneyland again. Tomorrow I'll try to do get the remainder of the donkey work done.

accidental woodworker 

 I can't remember the last time I didn't go to the shop during the day and made sawdust. I had gone to the shop in the AM to get my ear muffs. At that time I had fully intended to haul the lunchbox planer outside. That didn't happen boys and girls. I spent 99% of the day seated at my desk watching You Tube listening to pod casts.

I had a terrible night sleeping and woke up for the final time a little after 0300. Every time I moved or rolled over I would have a coughing fit. I must have drifted off again because I didn't roll out of the rack until after 0700. Things didn't get any better once I went upright.

I went through one coughing fit after another for half an hour. The coughing sucks pond scum but now I was being rewarded with the pleasure of losing my breath with each fit. I let things settle down and after not coughing for over an hour, decided to haul the lunchbox planer out to the driveway. Within a couple of seconds of walking about, the coughing fits started again.

There was no way I would be able to haul my heavy arse planer out to the driveway today. That much exertion would probably bring on a massive coughing attack. Decided then and there to take the day off and veg out at my desk.

Tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sunny so at least the weather is cooperating. Now I just have to get my body agree with what I want to do.

accidental woodworker 

Will Myers shows how to make the incredible tusk tenon joint using woodworking hand tools How to Make a Tusk Tenon Joint In the above video, expert hand tool woodworker, Will Myers shows how to make the coolest wood joint ever, the tusk tenon joint! The above tusk

 

quick check

Wonky rocking board is on the left and it still is rock free on the workbench. The other board that I got twist/rocking free is now rocking. 

I tried

There appeared to be a hump and I tried to plane it away. I knocked back some of it but not all. Rather then chase my tail on this I decided to put this board into the jig and flatten it that way.

hard going

My shortness of breath ramped up this AM big time. Trying to plane the hump off took a lot of calories and a lot of rest stops to catch my breath. Made something that should have taken a few minutes take a bazillion minutes

secured

Used six blocks to keep the board in place. I had to shim three of the corners to eliminate any rocking. Ready to commence the dance steps again.

Lie Nielsen pure beeswax

The router was stuttering on the rails. I waxed the rails and the base of the router. The stutter stepping went away and I only had to use the wax once.

see them

The board has what I'm calling scallops across the length. They are similar to plane tracks (when the iron isn't parallel to the sole).

much joy in Mudville today

The board is rock free. It was an ordeal to plane the face I routed. The shortness of breath was getting in the way much more today than in previous days. It was like someone flipped a switch that kicked in the turbo. Both boards are ready to be fed into the lunchbox planer.

hmm......

There is a noticeable difference in the two boards now that the flattening is done. the thinner one on the right was the wacky, wonky rocking machine. From eyeballing it I like the thickness of it for the legs. It will probably be a bit thinner before I am finishing running through the lunchbox.

The plan was to get the lunchbox planer out in the driveway and plane these two to thickness. Then rip out the four legs and plane them equal in thickness. That didn't happen boys and girls. I had zero energy left after bringing the boards up from the shop to the back hallway. I'll try doing this in the AM if the weather permits. 

I didn't get any time in the PM session. I had some errands to run and getting gas was one of them. $57 to fill up the truck that was between a 1/2 and 3/4 empty. I checked on Maria and the frame wasn't ready and then I went grocery shopping. I had a tough time on the walking portions of these stops. I hope that today was just hiccup in the time line I have left.

Going down to the shop doesn't upset things but coming back up the stairs does. I have two sets of stairs to navigate and the first one I have to stop and rest to catch my breath. The 2nd set has only 3 and I'm now getting short of breath going up them. For the most of the day any movement on my part, turning, moving my arms, blinking would make me short of breath and usually followed up by repeated fits of coughing. Not a pleasant day sports fans.

I spent most of the PM glued to my desk chair but I did jump into the rain locker for a shower. This was first for me, I got short of breath 3 times showering. I still take a navy shower - get wet, soap up, rinse off, and repeat once. It has me thinking about how much longer I can keep making sawdust. Not to mention if I will be able to tackle the Welsh stick chair.

accidental woodworker

A Victorian style rustic fence over a stream
I grew up near Central Park, but I am less familiar with its northernmost parts. Last Saturday had fabulous weather - a great time to explore the park. The north end of the park was intentionally designed to be an area of hills, hikes, and nature. Since the park's opening, a large public pool and some ball fields have been added, but this part of the park is very much substantially the way Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, the park's designers, envisioned it.

The Conservatory Garden
We started at the Conservatory Garden on Fifth Avenue and 105th Street. The Conservatory Garden is a staggeringly pretty formal European garden. In the spring and summer you'll see multiple wedding parties getting photographed, but at this time of year you'll find folks who enjoy the peace and beauty. Then we walked, mostly uphill, to two waterfalls tucked away in the woods. The north end of the park is very hilly. And by hilly I mean OMG up and down, up and down, all the time. The hills are bad enough so the bicycle loop that goes around the park has a shortcut at 102nd Street if you don't think you can make the hills on the full circle that goes to 110th street. It's bad: I've done it.

If this part of the park has a style, it would be "Victorian Rustic." It has just enough organization so the rock formations allow you to step up to the waterfall, but not so much organization that you feel you're at a tourist attraction.

Like many centrally located urban parks, Central Park is incredibly heavily used. There are rowers, hikers, picnickers, people playing sports of all kinds. There is a roller disco dance area and bird watchers everywhere. There was a formal birdwatching activity for kids - in fact you can see a person dressed as a cardinal in the corner of one of the photos. And it's all free, one of the great goods of the city.

The park was built in the 1850s, the first landscaped park in the US. It was designed to serve its residents, who needed a place to cool down in the steamy summer heat and relax in nature, and also showcase the city as a major world class city with an urban jewel park as other cities had.

There was a lot of opposition to the park, but as speculators and another opportunists realized, there was also tons of money to be made. Central Park was built with a fair amount of corruption thrown in. Whole neigborhoods were condemned and torn down. Thousands of people were hired to shape the park. Mountains were blasted, valleys were dug, and the park came into being. And this is the point of this blog. What astounds me about Central Park is that the city government, complete with all its corruption, managed to build such an incredible public good. These days when I read in the papers about politicians overriding the will of the people to build things like data centers and tear down environmental protection, in return for donations, I think to myself, at least back then some of the corruption was for a public good. Now it's just money.

Here are some pictures of my trek in the north of the park. Bear in mind that Central Park is only three avenue blocks (5th - 8th) wide, so you're never really far from "civilization" (a good bagel). Traffic though the park is hidden from view by several deep transverses. The brilliance of the park's design, with its winding paths and architectural features, makes you forget that you are at most 1200 feet from a densely populated streetscape.

If you like the rustic furniture, you might find "Rustic Carpentry" a welcome addition to your library.


An original stone staircase
One of the waterfalls; note the cardinal in the corner
A babbling brook
Reading and watching the ducks
Birdwatchers sitting on a rustic chair
Very low res picture of ducks
View from a path
The Reservoir