General Woodworking

The past two days this blog got an average of 164 views -then today it got 1,585 views. Must be Chris – yup Chris Schwarz included a link in his post today – to something I wrote almost 14 years ago! About using hand tools, why I do it, etc. I’ll add some up-to-date thoughts on that subject in a minute. But first, thanks for the nod, Chris. If you are one of the 1,500 people who came here today, welcome. These days this blog mostly serves as an archive of my work. I started it in 2008 – and still post something here once in a while, but mostly I’ve been writing on my “new” blog at Substack – https://peterfollansbeejoinerswork.substack.com/ – I started there in 2023 – after seeing Schwarz’s substack blog. That blog has changed my life – the support I get there is a great benefit for which I am very grateful. When I first left museum work, I spent a lot of time on the road, teaching classes in Maine, Connecticut, North Carolina, Minnesota and some further-flung places too. All that travel got pretty draining and made shop work very choppy. Now I’ve reduced my teaching to just a few times each year and instead I put a lot of effort into the blog – trying to make sure that the readers there get their money’s worth. I try to post at least twice a week and aim to make the posts worth the time & money that the readers spend on them…

One thing I talked about in that 14-year old post is how the work I did for 20 years at the living history museum was a perfect situation for me – my living was derived from working with/for the museum visitors – not selling the handmade things I created. I got so much practice there that wouldn’t have been possible in the “real” world – it was quite an education. A quote from that post is “I often maintain that if I had to sell my furniture to make my living, it would not work the way I do it.”

Well – less than 2 years after I wrote that post, I quit that job and struck out on my own. And I’m still plugging away 12 years after that. And it’s partially true – if my whole income was dependent on selling my handmade items, I’d be hard-pressed. But now my income is split among a few branches of this woodworking I do – teaching a few classes each year at Pete Galbert’s in Berwick, Maine https://www.petergalbert.com/schedule , making stuff to sell – that’s mostly furniture, but also includes some instructional videos I’ve created here in my shop and some plans/drawings I developed with Jeff Lefkowitz – there’s links to those things on my little-used website – https://www.peterfollansbee-joiner.com/ The furniture I usually post on the substack blog – sometimes I put it on the website, then write a blog post pointing to it. And the books through Lost Art Press https://lostartpress.com/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=Follansbee&filter.p.product_type= with more to come there.

So – do I still work exclusively with hand tools, now that I’m out on my own and getting older (68 going on 69) every day? Almost 100% yes. I work with green hardwoods – splitting the boards from logs. Mostly oak. Big logs. I split them at the yard where I buy them, then move the large sections here to my yard. So I gladly accept help of friends with a chainsaw to cut those large logs.

For decades now I’ve had the benefit of Rick McKee’s help when I’m log-shopping. He’s deft enough with that saw – and I’m nowhere near competent with them, so lucky to have his help. Plus it’s better to split those big ones with company too – even if it’s just to provide the rest-breaks that come with conversation. Here at my yard, when I need to saw some of the split bolts to length, I use a corded electric chainsaw. Always starts, no gas, etc. From there, all the woodwork is my usual assortment of hand tools. The lathe is still a pole lathe, powered by foot & caloric intake.

I did have some help recently from another long-time collaborator – Pret Woodburn, who helped me build the shop – did some tablesaw work for me. I made this large box from some quartersawn white oak boards – but the boards had wide sections of sapwood that needed to be gone.

If it had been riven stock, I could have split & hewn the sapwood off – but it didn’t look or feel reliable enough to split. And hewing dry stock is not all that pleasant. I can use a ripsaw, but when I marked out all the cuts, it just made more sense to get them machined. From there, I did all the planing and cutting – more than enough of it. And it was a pleasure. (same gig for a walnut box that I started about the same time.) But now it’s back to green wood that responds well to the froe, axe and plane.

The only other concession that I have is a grinder – I’ve just replaced my old Tormek with a CBN wheel on a slow-speed-that-seems-fast-to-me grinder. It’s so new I have little to report, other than good so far.

I feel like I’ve been to confession. My plan is to keep using the tools and methods I’ve used all these years til my body gives out. I’ve planed thousands of feet of riven oak boards and I never tire OF it – I get tired from it, but then after a night’s rest, I’m ready to go again. So until you hear otherwise, I’ll keep slashing away; froe, hatchet, planes, saws, chisels & gouges and more. I’m sure I’ll slow down, but I hope to get quite a few more years in. I have stuff I still want to make. And we still gotta eat.

If you didn’t see Chris’s post – here it is, with the link to my old post at the bottom https://christopherschwarz.substack.com/p/earlywood-if-theyd-had-a-biscuit

 I am not sure that I can send this plane out now. I got the chip removed but the blade's toe was out of square by a mile. Decided to just swap out blade/chipbreaker. That opened a huge can of worms, bugs, and other slimy things. I couldn't get the plane to make shavings. Spent the better part of the day tiring and failing miserably.

Before I broke the plane down I was able to make RML (right/middle/left) shavings. After that, nada. It turned out to be a complete shit show. I don't remember who I bought the plane from but I am fairly certain that it is a plane made after Stanley acquired Union. Not sure what I am going to do with it now.

next day

Left this cook in some cauls overnight. Got a wee bit of hide glue squeeze out on 3 edges.

hmm......

Got some bleed through but it won't interfere with the upcoming shellac finish. 

finally

What a total, complete, Royal PITA it was fitting the veneered top into the groove. I had to be neat about because it is the underside of the lid and will be visible when it is open. Plane, sand, and check the fit. Wash, rinse, and repeat a bazillion times.

took a break

I needed to step away from playing with the Union. Dry fitted the box and clamped it. It wasn't a horrible experience and I will glue it up the same way. This way I won't have any indentations from the band clamp metal corners.

a great big HMM.......

I struggled for a bazillion years trying to get the iron to project past the mouth and nothing worked. I tried all the tricks of the trade from the 100+ planes I rehabbed. I just happened to look down into the mouth and there it was - the chipbreaker/iron is too wide. There was a bit of casting build up at the bottom of the inside cheeks there that I filed away.

finally

Took my time and carefully filed the outside edges of the mouth until the chipbreaker/iron fit through the mouth. This is the first time I ever filed the mouth of any plane.

ta da

There are a couple of frog hairs of clearance on both sides of the iron. I was able to now advance the iron past the mouth but barely.

another headache

Got the plane back together and I couldn't advance the iron past the mouth far enough to take a shaving. WTF? Just happened to see this when I took the lever cap off. The chipbreaker/iron is stopped from advancing because of the lever cap screw.

hmm.......

There isn't enough meat to file away to allow the chipbreaker/iron to be advanced. More time lost pissing away into the wind.

another break away

Dropped playing with the plane and glued up the box. No problems and no urge to cuss or to offer my free flying lessons. Got almost no squeeze out which I didn't expect. Fingers crossed that it all didn't go into the interior of the box.

my Lie Nielson #3

Lots of space between the lever cap screw and the slot for the chipbreaker.

Lie Nielson #4

Still a space but not as much as the #3 has.

Stanley #7

Lots of real estate here for movement. This Stanley #7 is a favorite plane probably because it is the easiest to set and have it stay.

Lee Valley low angle jack

Of all the planes I checked for space, this one has the most.

Stanley #6

I only use this as a scrub plane when I thickness boards.

????

The slot for the lever screw is the same on both irons. It is the same as the ones on three #4 chipbreakers. This ain't the problem. Back to the drawing board to see what else is OTL (out to lunch).

fixed one and this one.......

I got the iron to advance as it should. It took a lot of back and forth adjusting the frog back and forward before it worked. However, the iron is slanted in the opening and high on the left. This hiccup is one that I've had to deal with since I first rehabbed it. 

I know this plane works because I got the plane to spit out RML shavings perfectly just a week or so ago. Albeit with the blade adjuster thrown as far over as it would go. That played havoc with my OCD but the plane worked but there was no more room left with the blade adjuster. 

Nothing I did for the next hour worked. I couldn't get the plane to make shavings on the right. I double and triple checked that the iron and the chipbreaker was square from the right sides. Ideas anyone ?

photographic proof

I can make heavy to wispy shavings but only on the left side. Drove myself bonkers trying to reverse it and nada. Too big for a paperweight and useless as a smoother. Gave up on the plane again for today. Being that I can be stubborn and totally brain dead about things like this, I will attack this again in the AM.

for tomorrow

I have been putting off sharpening the irons of my block planes. Only two of these get 99% use but I decided to sharpen the irons in the entire herd. That way I'll have a few spares if needed in the heat of a moment.

couldn't resist

As I was killing the lights I thought of something and checked it before I did that. There is adequate space above the lever cap screw. I checked to see how the chipbreaker/iron was laying on the yoke. It was laying off square. The left side of the chipbreaker/iron was down further then the right side. Why was the question?

maybe?

The left side seat has a battle scar that splits it in two. The front part is flat/smooth and the rear half is scared and a few frog hairs lower than the front part. The square seems to be laying flat from L/R and R/L. I thought maybe the left side was a wee bit lower than the right side seat. Not sure where to go or what to check/do next.

accidental woodworker

Yeah, that dining room table was supposed to be done last year. Well, that didn’t happen due to what I’d describe as a combination of excessive chaos and lethargy. However, work was accomplished, if not by way of kicking and screaming.

The top has been complete for some time. My progress became slower when it got too large for me to move by myself. Because each additional board required the top-in-progress to be moved to or from the bench three times, that turned into a multiple of times when I needed to find someone to help, which turned out to be more problematic than I would have cared for.

Nonetheless, here is the top, sitting on (and therefore, annoyingly, blocking the use of) my sawbenches:

Then I moved on to the legs. I’ve had those glued up, squared, and dimensioned for a couple of months:

And I’m stalled there for the moment. The next steps will involve some mortising in those legs, and I’m not quite ready for that. Or something. Sure, I felt like I wanted a little more experience with my mortiser, for one, but there’s been a bigger problem.

The “new” shop in NJ has been sort of a wild animal, and I feel like I’ve had difficulty finding a way to get things organized in a way that doesn’t involve tools, parts of projects, boxes, and wood sitting all over the place, getting in the way.

Mind you, especially in light of how many times I’ve moved over the last 20 years, it was never terribly good.

This time, it felt worse. I don’t know what it was. It’s felt like I’ve been constantly fighting with the tools and benchtops, trying to keep the former off of the latter, but not having much luck because, sheesh, where is this thing supposed to go again? See below (I know, I know, you’ve seen a lot worse than that, but clearing this all of the time is a drag, and I have to clear it on a regular basis):

Maybe it started with the circumstance of needing to install a new floor before I could even really do anything. It took me more than half a year after moving in to gather the time, energy, and come up with a plan to do that.

Maybe it was discovering that the movers had kindly dented my bandsaw during the move, and that they refused to pay for it despite being obligated by law to. (Trust me, movers, and especially your bean-counters, I will remember that.)

Maybe it was the dust collection saga. I didn’t really have use of my bandsaw and thickness planer until I got that sorted out. I did mostly get it sorted out, though I have to ask why it had to be as unbelievably annoying as it was.

Maybe it was having to deal with lighting for the umpteenth time and still not completely nailing it (yet).

Maybe it was discovering that my vision had managed to get even worse, necessitating new near-vision glasses just to be able to saw to a knife line again.

Maybe it’s still not having a good solution for storing long boards.

Or probably, it’s been a combination of all of these things. Is this preventing me from doing work at all? No; I have done quite a bit of work in the new shop (after installing the new floor, of course). Much of that has been necessity, such as new drawer fronts and such for the kitchen, moulding for parts of the house, and so on. But it’s felt like a struggle, more than it should be.

I resolved to do something about this a few months ago. The difficulty I’ve been facing is that it’s not just “one thing.” There’s no silver bullet that will magically make everything better. However, somewhere along the line, I noted that the things I had stubbornly slugged my way through, such as the floor and the (still in-progress but mostly acceptable) dust collection, had really improved the situation down there.

So I’ve subconsciously mixed in shop improvement with furniture projects this year. Even something as simple as looking at where some boxes are and discovering how they can move a little bit to yield some more usable floor space helps.

And that brings us to the mystery project. I’ve gotta do something about the general hand tool organization problem. Yeah, I’ve got shelves and stuff, but they kinda suck. So here is the start of phase 1:

So, yeah, it’s a frame for something. I still need to make the front door, side and rear panels, and some other bits and pieces, but it’s been rolling along pretty well. Hey, I said I wanted more practice with the mortiser, and this thing has delivered (I should also mention that I built a new table for the mortiser, which has been a serious improvement.)

Of course, all of the mortises mean that there are plenty of tenons, and I’ve been working away at sawing those. I’ve tried out a new technique for marking those which seems to be going well, but I want to fool around with it some more before describing it. (And I’ve found myself thankful that I finally bought a shoulder plane; it really does a nice job at that one thing that it’s supposed to be good at.)

So, phase 1. I don’t think I’ll get to phase 2 before I’m in the final stages of the dining room table, but I’m going off of the assumption that any improvement is… an improvement.

cooking done

No rocking on the test surface. Sanding and then I can start  applying shellac.

Leo's desk top

There is a teeny bit of rocking evident when I push down on a corner. I still have to flatten and smooth it so I'll check for rocking again once that is done.

#3

The shavings on the desk top are all that it took to flush it.

the start of my not so goo day

Got both the glue joint line on both sides flushed and I moved on to sizing the top - which would have been about 27 x 36. Didn't get there because the top is 27 7/8 x 33. I screwed up when I ran the saw against the wrong edge of the base. 

After all the work to get it clamped and then flushed up and I brain fart. Instead of having Leo's desk top I now have a rather large paper weight. It is too short R/L to be a desk top IMO. I'll have to add the wood for a new top to the list when I go to Highlands. 

hmm......

My last 5/4 board - almost 6" wide and 6 feet long. I got two boards almost 12" wide. Not fond of the upcoming top glue up. It would be a 4 board top and I would rather have a 3 board. Fingers crossed that Highlands will have 10" wide 5/4 boards in stock. I'll use these boards for making slats.

2nd  bookshelf

The left divot will be facing the front and the right one will be facing the back. There is also a 'chamfer' on the right one on the back and the front. I set it aside while I thought about how to fix and use these.

a couple of hours later

Decided to turn the errant desk top into a small table. Turned around my not so good day. I ripped off one of the boards to drop the width (front to back) to about 18". I then ripped out 5 legs from the 8/4 board. It wasn't enough to get four 1 3/4" square legs but I got five 1 1/2" square ones.

cleaning up the legs

Cherry burns so easily. I have given up trying to saw it cleanly. It only took a couple of minutes to clean and smooth all four faces of the legs.

need apron stock

I am thinking that this table could be used by daughter #2 by her front door. I am not putting a drawer in it and I am leaning toward putting a shelf on the bottom.

pen box for my sister

My oldest sister Donna asked me to make a box for her to keep her pens in. I thought it would be a two or three pen box but she said she had about 20 of them to stow in it. Using poplar and it will be a mitered box. 

I tried first to run the grooves on the tablesaw but nixed it. Still having hiccups with the blade height changing. I still don't want to dig into that bag of worms so I plowed them by hand.

the box top

I'm going to dress up the box a wee bit by veneering the top with cherry.

first dutchman

This one was easy to plane down flush. Not thrilled with the look of it even though it will at the back.

2nd dutchman

This one was bit more challenging to knock down. I didn't think it would handle the stress of me hand sawing it off.

hmm......

Knocked it down with the bandsaw. The first cut was simple and easy. The 2nd one was awkward because I couldn't lay it flat on the table. I had to free hand it through the blade.

they both stick out

This one is on the front. I looked at my cherry scraps but I only had one that could be an end panel. I'll have to think some more on whether or not to use these  two.

it's gone

This Union plane was the only one that didn't sell until I got the final email. $25 plus the dreaded shipping and handling. Breaking it down and cleaning it up in preparation for sending it out.

hmm......

There is a chip on the toe on the right. Sharpening an iron wasn't on the menu but I can't send this out like this.

Yikes

The iron isn't square and I didn't need the square to confirm it. I replaced it with a spare iron. I have to get a small box - the smallest priority box is too small and the next one up is too large. It sucks because I just tossed a bunch of boxes from Amazon.

Got an overall idea for the small table. I don't have any stock for the aprons and the maybe bottom shelf. I'll make a run to Koszelas tomorrow to see what they have for cherry.

accidental woodworker

Lately I've been working on some old tools that I've found at garage or estate sales.  I found myself in need of building something - anything!  So I though I'd make another tea box, similar to one I made a couple years ago.

This one is made from red alder, which can be a really beautiful wood.  Some boards that I've seen have white streaks, and I'm not a fan of that, but the wood for this project was very nice.  The back and left side even have some figure to them.

The sides have a 3/16" deep rabbet that will hide grooves at top and bottom

First corner dovetailed and fitted

All four corners dovetailed

After leveling the top and bottom rims, 3/16" x 3/16" grooves are run

The top and bottom are identical.  All four edges get a 3/8" deep x 3/16" wide groove.  I was unable to do the end grain edges with the plough plane, so I used a saw and chisels.  Something was not quite right with the plough.  I suspect the iron and wedge were not properly fitted - the iron was not forced against the steel skate and that resulted in poor performance.  I need to look into this some more later.  After the grooves were cut, the inside face was cut down about 3/16" on all edges.

Fitting the bottom into the grooves in the main box

The short divider is housed in 1/8" deep dadoes. The long divider is half-lapped with the short one and its length is fitted to the assembled box interior length.

I didn't show it, but the box sides are curved using an approximate 10 3/4" radius.  This makes the top and bottom edges of each piece about 3/16" to 1/4" thinner than the middle.

Yesterday the mercury hit 84F/29C and today it got pushed up to 86F/30C. Along with the temps there was a ton of sunshine, blue skies, and fluffy white clouds. I think it is safe to say it ain't going to snow again for a few months. And I noticed that the trees are starting to bud out. 

slip nuts came

They were delayed for a day but they came last night a little after 2000. This is going to make adjusting the threaded rod frames a whole lot easier. Pushing the button disengages the threads in the nut and allows you to move the nut up and down the threaded rod lickety split.

$11.98 from McMaster-Carr

These are dumb down simple. The threaded rod goes through the hole in the part I'm holding. There is a spring and that is all there is to the nut. A wee bit expensive but the ease of use makes them worth their weight and gold.

storage

Unfortunately if the nuts aren't engaged on the threaded rods, they fall apart. Since I don't want to lose any parts I think it is best to keep them on the rods. I'll play with the nuts and a frame later this week.

done

A couple of swipes with the #3 and the glue joint line was dead flush end to end. This has got to be one of the best glue ups I've ever done.

hmm......

First dry clamp of the entire desk top. The glue joint line isn't as flush as the first glue up did. But I also didn't have any flattening cleats on the top neither.

out of the clamp

It felt secure and the joint lines looked good top and bottom. What happened next you ask?

nope

Am I the only person on the planet who can not glue a miter joint and have it stay together? This one broke the 2nd time I dropped it from about 6". I am going to try it one more time and use epoxy.

better

Got the flattening cleats on and it made a big difference. The glue joint line is mostly flush but a couple of spots are a few frogs misaligned. Noticed that the middle of the glue up there is daylight under the flattening cleats. And that is where the glue joint line is off set.

planing a camber

Planed a 6-8 inch long camber on each end of the flattening cleats. That helped with getting the glue joint line flush, not 100% but good enough. I can easily plane it flush after it comes out of the clamps.

stress free glue up

I only had one 2x4 left so I had to use another wood for the right flattening cleat. Sigh. I had some 8x4 sapele but I didn't want to use it as a flattening cleat. So I went to ACE hardware and they were bone dry in 2x4s. They didn't even have a pressure treated one.

I didn't want to but I made a run to Lowes to get a 2x4. They had a rack of 2x4s in two and four foot lengths. Bought a 4 footer for $3 and change. Got the top glued and let it sit on the workbench. I had tried to move but it was too heavy and awkward with all the clamps I left it on the bench.

done

Don't know what I might use this for but it is ready. Both side glue joint lines are flush.

glued and cooking

3 hours later and I removed all the clamps except the bar ones. Nothing moved, shifted, or groaned when I took the others off. The glue joint line stayed put and I'll let this cook until the AM as is. I eyeballed it several times before I killed the lights for the day.

first of the last two bookshelves

Blew off a big chip at the front of the shelf dado. Glued it and set it aside while I worked on the opposite end.

first two slats

I'm impressed with how well the back slats fit in the mortises. They are both gap free and tight 360. Oh, and they are snug and self supporting too. This is a long ways from my first one where these were loose fitting, had ugly gaps, and were south of self supporting.

stayed past 1500

Cut the bottom at 7°, made a cutout for the feet, and rounded over the front and back top corners.

outside shelf corners

Sawed an angle and used a chisel to clean and smooth them.

can't beat this

I firmly believe a sharp chisel is the handiest tool in my shop. The finish left by the chisel didn't need anything else.

glued and cooking

I stayed past quitting time to glue this up. Killed the lights at 1534. I'll whack out the 2nd one tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

The set of five bedgers tools in a box
A few weeks ago I wrote about about the actual gouges and hook tools used for mainstream turning - as opposed to the scraping tools used mostly in ornamental turning on fancy hardwoods.

In that post I mentioned that I was unaware of any current manufacturer that makes hook tools today. Since I wrote that I have found a few specialty makers that make machined, beefier versions of traditional hook tools for turning the inside of a bowl. As it happens, while I have no practical experience with hook tools, I own a set of hook tools from the late 18th century made by Salt, a company based in Birmingham, England. Some of the tools look exactly like the images in the various books, and some are shapes that I've never seen illustrated anywhere.

So far I have been unable to track down any details about Salt. I think the tools themselves are probably a set (two of them are stamped Salt, but the others have no markings on them), the case seems a later addition. All the tools show a fair amount of wear - and are not sharp enough for use. The surface finish suggests that they were pretty rusty before they became a collectible. The handles are longer than average lathe tool handles because typically people would tuck them against their body and under their arm when using. The dealer who sold these tool told me that they were 18th century bodger's, or chairmaker's, tools. I have no idea if he is correct. Until I can track down the maker, I won't know for sure. Similar tools were used by chairmakers at least until before World War II.

The three hook tools in the kit
Three of the tools are hook tools: a tight hook, a larger hook, and a third straight hook that are all right out of Moxon.

The two "gouges" in the set both have their cutting edges on the inside between the rods
The other tools look like gouges, but the cutting edges are on the inside of edge of the blade, not the outside, and the insides show extensive sharpening. The general geometry of the way the tight and larger hook tools are sharped, and in particular how they curve down from the handle, suggests that they are designed to work with the shaft of the tool on the toolrest and the cutting edge dangling below the center line of the lathe, shaving wood upwards. Green timber would turn wonderfully this way.

These tools were designed for use with a pole lathe. On a powered lathe, or even a treadle lathe, the added speed could be scary. I haven't had the courage to sharpen them up to give them a try. Maybe when I am a better turning and feel more in control I will.

This small hook tool is very elegantly bent
The well worn middle size hook tool that's in the kit
"Salt" of Birmingham - the maker

done

Leo's bookshelf done with 4 coats of shellac. Just needs his desk to put it on.

glutton for punishment

Redoing the miter that failed with yellow glue. Shot the miters clean and glued it up.

fingers crossed

Got a good dry fit. Miter closed up toe to heel. I'll find out in the AM how the hide glue performed.

hmm.....

This has got to be a Guinness World record. I put the boards on the bench and liked what I saw. I didn't bother trying any other combinations. This will be Leo's desktop .

brown knot

This one is loose I'll dig it out and fill in the hole with epoxy. Leo's and Miles's desk will both have a gum pocket on the desktop.

not easy going

Two of the boards are bowed and I finally got to use my Horrible Freight deep reach clamps. It took me a while to get the glue joint line flat and straight. After that I expended more calories getting the glue line flush. I was thinking of using dowels but nixed it. I couldn't see anyway to flatten the two boards to engage the dowels in the two boards.

wow

The bow is 1/8". The two glue lines are being a PITA but at least the bowing is the same direction on the two. I'll have to do the top glue up in two steps. 

one hour later

I only had two deep reach clamps and I needed more. Sawed a pine board to help out flattening the top.

finally happy

Ignoring the bow and just looking at how the laid up against each other. The goal I was shooting for was the joint line to be tight along the entire length with no clamp pressure. That took a lot to accomplish. A lot of in/out of the vise and eyeballing the joint line. Mostly used the #8 followed by the 5 1/2.
 

good feeling

Checking the 3 boards for twist. The first one was ok along with having a slight hump running the entire length. The 2nd one was twist free but the third had a wee bit which I planed off.

better then F clamps

When I first started woodworking I bought a lot of C clamps. Mostly because I couldn't afford F or bar clamps. I bought most of these at yard sales and I doubt I paid more than a buck each for them. 

I haven't used them in years. The F clamps popped off if I brushed them but the C clamps held firm and exerted a lot more pressure on the flattening cleats.

first dry fit

I had dry fitted the other two board which went off with no hiccups. For the second one I made new flattening cleats out of a 2x4.

this surprised me

As I was removing the flattening cleats I noticed that the boards remained as is. They didn't shift or move and the boards remained as flush as if they were still clamped up.

another surprise

This one made me feel better about this upcoming glue up. The amount of the bow is half of what it was from the first dry clamp. This is my first time attempting to glue up 3 bowed boards.

glued and cooking

I spent the morning prepping and dry clamping the top. Started a little after 0800 and quit at 1115. Decided to fill the pie hole before gluing it up.

The glue up went beautifully. I was expecting the the boards to slip and slide but that didn't happen. I removed the flattening cleats and the deep reach clamps to wipe the glue up from underneath them and the joint line remained nice and flat along the entire length.

Happy with how well this happened. No stress and the glue line looks real good. Fingers crossed that the 2nd glue up goes just as well.

checking

Before I set this aside to cook, I checked that every clamp was laying flat and tight against the top.

leave it be until the AM

I am still a wee bit out of sorts with not needing the flattening cleats and the deep reach clamps. I came and checked this several times before I killed the lights.

last two

Got the layout done and the dadoes and mortises knifed and ready to be chopped out.

labeled

Labeling is important on this because the slat mortises are individually knifed off the back slat. The same with the dadoes for the shelf.

2nd one knifed

I expected to get at least one of these at least dry fitted. However, I also didn't think that I would spend the entire AM session getting 1/2 of the top ready to glue up. Miles's desk top took me less than two hours. 

accidental woodworker

It has been a long time since I have posted a blog with this many pics. 30+ when I checked the upload. So that means I go lean on the keyboard diarrhea and rely mostly on the pics to tell my story.

out of the clamps and zero rocking

Leo's on the left, Miles's on the right

sigh

Defect in a bad spot. Decided to saw an angle to remove it.

nope

Dropped this on the bench from a height of 6" three times. I broke apart on the 3rd one. I'll try hide glue because I have seen miters in furniture older than me that are still tight.

oops

I used the center punch on the wrong side of the line. I'll have to find a way to fill them in. Oh, BTW it had to be a blurry pic too.

clipping the corners

looks like crap to me

Initially I had just sawed angles on the front and that looked worse to my eye than this did.

better

I rounded over both the front and back angles.

checking/adjusting for square

whizzing shavings

This didn't work as well as I thought it would. Less than half turned into dust. I had to sand a piece of cherry with 80 grit to get the sanding dust I needed.

hmm......

I balled up a bunch of old T-shirts to apply a coat of shellac to the pic frames.

better

This worked - The T-shirt ball eliminated 90% of the brush strokes on the frames. I'll repeat this in the AM and call them done.

hmm.......

Super glue and cherry dust.

fake gum pockets

The filled in center punch holes popped and looked out of place because they were directly above the Miller dowels. This black pen is not alcohol based and shellac covers it without streaking or erasing it. 

thought I had but.....

I didn't fully seat the shelf against the back of the dado. Filled it in with superglue and cherry sawdust.

hmm......

From 2 feet away I couldn't tell that these weren't real.

one coat of shellac and the fake gum pockets look good

the other end

I like this one better than the other. This end I only had one center punch hole to fill.

proving it wasn't a fluke

chamfed the holes

wasn't a fluke

I still get over the simplicity of using this doweling jig and the results. The joint line isn't dead flush R to L, but it is barely a frog hair off here and there.

3 coats

Leo's bookshelf might be done today if I go back to the shop after dinner.

Big Red says it is square

Found this under of pile of crappola. Remember making it but never using it.

from 2013 - on the list to redo

Nine different joints (?) - interested in seeing how well I do it this time.

one square on the right

The middle and right ones are used with a plumb bob. I didn't see/find any blobs with these two.

square needs helps - wee bit out

twisted on both legs

2 more cherry bookshelves - on the list for the AM

taking inventory

I have enough 5/4 cherry for Leo's desk top.

hmm.....

I don't much stock. I need more poplar for the drawers and a couple more 4/4 boards for rails and slats. Don't need much for Leo's desk.

sigh

I need another board of 8/4 cherry for the legs. I can only get three legs out of this.

wash, rinse, and repeat

Tried the T-shirt ball on the Miles's desk top. I am not trying to french polish it, just knock down the brush streaks (which drive me postal almost as much as gaps do). It worked but it is going to take a few more outings to get it to my level of satisfaction. Did I mention it is tiring doing a wax on, wax off routine?

why not

Found this board on the drill press and I'm adding to two I glued up an hour ago. I don't have a need for this, just playing around with the doweling jig.

definitely not a fluke

I almost feel giddy about this. Repeatability rules out chance.

Had a good day in the shop with most of it spent getting Leo's bookshelf ready for shellac. I'm thinking now that maybe I'll check Koszelas lumber before motoring on up to Highlands in New Hampshire.

accidental woodworker

hmm.....

I was leaning towards painting these two frames but maybe not now. They have two coats on them and the poplar isn't white. There is a slight greenish tint to them that I like. A couple of more coats to go before the command decision hammer drops.

Leo's bookshelf

I thought I had made Leo's bookshelf already but if I did I can't find it. The size of the cherry matches the one I made for Miles. There wasn't anything else on the workshop plate so I did this.

I'm going to try and go to Highlands this week to get the cherry for Leo's desk. I'm hoping the weather cooperates because it has been nice for the past few days. Hoping that Mr Murphy doesn't want to shake hands with me.

layout

The ends have some sapwood on them but one has twice the other one. I am positioning that towards the back inside. If they had been about the same I would have put it on the front outside faces.

ready for chopping

Got the dadoes for the shelf knifed and the mortises for the back slats. I was concerned with the mortises because some of the back slats for the desk came out looser than I liked. The goal was to not repeat that with this.

first one

I would guess the first goal is to make it self supporting. The 2nd would be a gap free fit. Achieved both on this one.

first two

Self supporting, clean, tight, and with snug fitting tenons and mortises. Happy face on. Went 4 for 4 on the mortises and 2 for 2 on the dadoes.

hmm......

The mortises are not long enough to get a router to do the depth. I had to do them with just a chisel. It turned out not to be the nightmare movie I had floating around in the brain bucket. Did them by chiseling lightly and then scraping the mortise flat with the same chisel. Check the depth, wash, rinse and repeat until it was a 1/4" down.

dry fit

All the joints were snug and I was able to seat everything with some gentle mallet blows. There is something about doing this - layout, chopping, and fitting that revs my motor. Seeing what I did by hand fitting up as it should is incredibly satisfying no matter how many times I do it. 

small cutout

There wasn't much room for a cutout but I had planned for it. This cutout is about 5/8" at the highest point but it still has 4 small feet.

glued and cooking

Started at 0800 and it was glued up before lunch time. A pretty good AM session IMO. 

first time (dry fit)

I have had these bessey corner clamps for almost 20 years and this is the first time I have ever had a miter close up in it. I had four of them but one crashed and burned during its first free flying lesson many, many moons ago.

sigh

The miter broke way too easily. This is one of the miters I glued up yesterday that was going to be a setting jig that I didn't use. My miters are getting better but what isn't improving is the glue bond. I didn't size this but that doesn't seem to matter. 

glued and cooking

I got a good tight fit on the miter, toe to heel. The experiment is to see how well the glue bond is. You're saying maybe I should try hide glue. I have and the results were the same as with yellow glue. I will find out in the AM how this one turned out.

 accidental woodworker

out of the clamps

Both frames are laying flat on the tablesaw with zero rocking. The 5x7 frame is spoken for and the larger one is in stand by. My wife changed her mind on buying the map but it is ready for whenever.

none worked the best

I used all of these gizmos to screw in the table top clips. The four clips under the drawer guide rails were the worse. I had to use the offset screwdriver to do them. Those four took me a bazillion years to do.

this one took the longest

This one was the most awkward one to do. I just couldn't maintain downward force along with a good grip on the offset screwdriver. Note to self - on Leo's desk screw the top on before I do the drawer guides then unscrew it.

glamour pic #1

This is based on the desk I use everyday. The only quibble I have with mine is that it is too small. But with a bigger desk top I would just have a ton more crappola on it. This should be more than adequate for an eight year old.

glamour pic #2

I really like spindles/slats. Thinking ahead to Leo's desk maybe I should do a wide center slat like I did on the back, on the sides.

glamour pic #3

I am glad now that I got the epoxy filled knot hole facing out. Now that it is done it compares favorably to the epoxy fill knot hole on the desk top. IMO it looks like it is a natural occurrence in the wood. 

final glamour pic

I am going to give Miles the bookshelf along with the desk. If Miles doesn't want to keep it on his desk that is his choice.

hmm......

Too big for the desk, it eats up a wee bit too much real estate. However, after seeing this, a gallery with drawers might work. I am making another cherry desk for Leo but I don't like giving the boys the exact same desk. Thinking now of making a gallery for his desk. Just something a little different between the two.

spline groove

Working on the two new pic frames. Got the spline groove  done on each corner. I used cherry for the splines because I didn't have any poplar.

back frame

Nailed and glued the back frame on. This creates the rabbet for the glass, mat, and pic to sit in. I like having whatever is framed set back toward the rear of the frame. I don't like having the pic up close to the front face of the frame.

chamfer

I hadn't planned on doing a chamfer on the frame but I had to. The small frame fell off the bench and one corner got dinged. The chamfer removed it.

shellac

Thinking of leaving the frames natural to highlight the cherry splines. If I don't like how they look I can paint them. The shellac can be a primer coat for the paint.

accidental woodworker 

 Getting awfully close to the finish line on the desk. The slats are done and I got 4 coats on the base. I'm happy with how it looks with that many too. After dinner tonight I'll get the final coat on. In the AM, first thing, I'll attach the top to the base. I'll be done with it by sunday at the latest (fingers and toes crossed).

done

Got two coats of shellac on the frame. I brought it to the Frame it Shop after lunch today. Don't know when it will be ready but no one is holding a gun to my head on it neither.

shoulda, coulda, woulda, but didn't

I have this miter frame clamping gizmo and I forgot all about it. This could have been used to clamp up my wife's map frame. hmm.... since I am waiting for the base to dry I might as well try this while I'm standing around giving everything my best goofy looks.

hmm......

First thing that shook hands was what a PITA it is to spin the wing nuts down the threaded rod. I was tempted to cut the rods down but I resisted. I don't make the same size frames so that wouldn't advantageous. I got the rods set loosely to the size of the frame I just made.

new frame

My wife mentioned that she was thinking of buying another reproduction map so I'm getting ahead of the curve. Made another frame and shot the miters on the shooting jig. Now I'm running into a storm of hiccups.

There is going to be a bit of a learning curve on how to use this type of clamping setup. I fiddled and faddled with it for almost 30 minutes and nada. I couldn't get the frame to square up. This set up is not self squaring as far as I can see. It has to be square to what is being clamped up and each corner tightened individually but in unison. I got a wee bit frustrated with it.

not aligned

This was the 3rd time I tried to dry clamp this frame and failed. So far one corner has been off on the toe to heel. One a brighter note this was the best I did so far. I kind of figured out after this about getting the clamp frame kind of square before tightening it down. 

I gave up on trying to get the clamp frame work. The frame came together dry almost perfectly. So it should have clamped up without any hiccups. I even set the clamp frame by measuring the diagonals to be the same. That worked but I still couldn't get one corner's heels and toes to align.  

I'll try this again because I refuse to let it win. I bought four 1/4-20 slip nuts from McMaster-Carr (~$12 each) and I should have them monday or tuesday. Slip nuts will definitely speed up getting the nuts on/off the threaded rods. 

hmm......

Clamped up without so much as a whimper in the Sears Craftman clamps. This 2nd one looked better then the first one I did yesterday - all the miters were tight and gap free on both sides.

my band clamp

This clamp can be fussy but I was able to clamp it and get all the miters closed up. It has the same problem I had with the threaded rod clamp but this one was easier to get and keep the miters aligned toe to heel. 

This frame came from the off cuts from the frame above. It is big enough for a 5x7 pic. 

helping hand

This clamp tends to pull up on one corner - one closest to hand screw. Placing a heavy thing on it flattens it and keeps it that way while it cooks.

getting there

I put the moving blanket on the workbench to keep the base clean. I had noticed that my dirty workbench top was getting on the legs. Should have done this before I first put it on the bench.

oh....

I didn't think this all the way through. The intent was to put a spline across the miter face. My spatial thinking said this would work. I was wrong and I blame the spatial hiccup. This is going to be a jig for positioning the table top. This is part one and part two will be two pieces of plywood that will set the offset between the base and the outside edge of the top. 

ready for the last coat of shellac

One more on the bottom of the legs and then the legs and rails. Happy face on. The base looks good and the slats don't look any different the rest of the base.

accidental woodworker 

ready

The frame has been sanded smooth, front and back, and it ready for paint. It is laying dead flat on the workbench - no rocking at any corner.

needed

The spray shellac is working fine. It is laying down smooth and drip free on the slats. However, the aerosol spray lingers like a fog in the shop. The fan does a good job of airing out the shop in just a couple of minutes. Glad for that because is it sill only in the middle 40's F/7C outside. 

4 coats

I should be done with the slats today. The can says it dries in minutes which I assumed was 4-5. It stayed tacky for almost 20 minutes and not dry to the touch for almost an hour. I got time but I'm getting impatience waiting until I can apply the next coat.

missed it

Glue squeeze out and it isn't the only spot I missed. I started applying shellac to the base because I didn't want to leave the shop. The shellac made it pop, because without it the glue blended in with the cherry. I removed it here and 2 other spots with a chisel.

the base

There aren't any glaring differences between the spray shellac and the batch I mixed. There is only one coat on the base, 5 on the slats, but they look the same. 

2nd coat

On the first coat I tried to paint the whole frame. That kind of worked and kind of didn't. The biggest headache was holding the frame to lay the paint down. Decided it wasn't worth it and I only put a 2nd coat on the back of the frame. After dinner I'll put a 2nd coat on the front and that should do it. 

2nd can of shellac

Got my answer on how much shellac per can before it is empty. I got four coats on the slats from one can. Noticed that the weight of the can went down after each spraying and it was as light as a feather after the 4th coat.

Getting real close to getting a check mark in the done column with this desk. I should be done with it next week hopefully. Won't be too soon and I'll have to motor up to Highlands to get cherry for Leo's desk. 

accidental woodworker 

 

hmm.......

To my eye it looks like a design element of the desk. (the little doo hickey things on the underside of top rail against the legs). It hides the end grain of the front rail from being seen. Note to self - on Leo's desk make all the top rails the same width .

happy face on

Out of the clamps and all is fine in Disneyland. All the miters are tight heel to toe on this side. On the opposite side it is the same except one miter is a 1/2 of a frog hair open at the top. Overall happy with the outcome and the frame withstood me scraping the miters on both sides.

)(&@%)Q&@*_Q

Made the first batch of splines too small. Only one might have been usable but it had zero wiggle room. Made a new batch oversized more than I allowed on the first ones.

not my fault

I know this spline was loose because I checked it dry. When I applied glue it froze about 1/8" shy of bottoming out. Glued in a shim from each side to close up the hole. Clamped all the splines and set it aside to cook.

 

PITA

Got the rails and legs sanded and ready for paint without any hiccups. However, the slats are proving to be a massive PITA. I had planed all of them before gluing them to the rails and now after the first sanding with 120 all kinds of ugly tear out are popping up to shake hands.

I worked on resolving that until the dinner bell rang. Got one side and the back done but left side still needed attention. I dealt with that after I filled the pie hole.

better

Got  6 spray coats on the test piece and it matches the top pretty good. Even the depth of the finish looks about the same. It looks like 6 spray coats on the slats will do the job. 

prepping the frame

Used the #3 to smooth and flush the miters. I am keeping the frame as is. No chamfers or any other molding edge detail. The map is a formal document and the frame will match it.

back rabbet frame

Glue and nailed 3 sides first. Then I fitted the last one to it. Filled in the nail holes with putty. I'll be painting it black in the AM - not milk paint but a latex black paint.

hmm.....

First spray coat on the slats. I did that so I could if any spots of tear out were missed. Cherry is a pretty wood with a finish applied. I will spray on 6 coats before I brush shellac on the rest of the base.

accidental woodworker 

When I found this brace a few weeks ago, I grabbed it because I didn't have a 6" brace.  And because it's a Fray.

John S. Fray 6" brace

John S. Fray was in business from the late1850's to 1909 or 1920 (accounts differ), when they were bought by Stanley.  But Stanley continued to use Fray-marked components after the purchase, so it's not clear when this brace was made.  There's some evidence below that it's post-1932.  I'm sure there are some people out there that could nail it down, but I'm not one of them.

THE JOHN S. FRAY CO.

BRIDGEPORT, CONN U.S.A.

The only other marking is this "7" on the ratcheting area, but it's a 6" swing!

I'm not certain, but the handles might be rosewood - I saw examples on the web that had rosewood and some with walnut.  Either way, they're in great shape and I did nothing to clean them up.

The part of this brace that I want to point out is the chuck, or bit-holder.

Jaws opened

Jaws closed

I found a website by George Langford that had a list of patents related to Fray braces.  One of them, applied for in 1928 and granted in 1930 or 1932, shows a bit holder very similar, if not exactly like this one.  That's several years after Stanley had bought Fray.  Apparently it took a long time to use up the Fray parts that they had purchased.

The chuck jaws were like none other I'd seen before.  It is a two-jaw chuck and after wrestling with them for a while, I got them removed from the housing.

Pointing to what I think is an oil port. Loosening the screw to the right allows the jaws to come free.

The jaws removed and cleaned up

Looking down into the chuck where the jaws go. The bright spot is part of a threaded section on the inside wall of the knurled outer shaft.

In the picture of the jaws above, you can see a threaded section on the jaws, just next to the leaf springs on the right end.  These engage with inside threads deep inside the chuck.  When the knurled section of the chuck is turned, the chuck pulls the jaws inside and they clamp on the shank of an auger bit and grab it tight.  That little screw on the knurled part of the chuck's housing somehow keeps the jaws in place.  I can't quite see what's going on in there, but the screw does it's job.

Here's another picture looking down inside the chuck while the jaws are in place.  Down in the bottom, there is a recess shaped to accommodate the square tapered shank of an auger bit.

Tough to get a good picture of the recess where an auger bit sits

After a bit is set in that recess, the knurled shaft is turned and the jaws grip tightly on the auger bit.  And I mean it REALLY grabs tight!

Here's a bit tightened in the jaws

If it helps to understand the mechanism, here is a picture from the original patent (thanks to DATAMP and Google Patents).

I hope this pic comes out OK.  It downloaded as a PNG file rather than JPG

Here's a link to the Patent picture, if the above doesn't show up well in the blog.

The tough thing about this brace is that I can't remove the chuck to clean the innards.  I cleaned what I could with dental tools and small brushes (and I pulled out a lot of crap), then oiled it generously.  It worked as found, but it works more smoothly now.

To clean up the brace, I wire-brushed most of the metal parts fairly lightly just to clean off the grunge.  And I left the wood parts alone - they were already in pretty good shape.

And there she is

It's always nice to see different mechanisms like this.  I don't necessarily get all there is to understand about it.  For example, what are the leaf springs on the ends of the jaws for?  And why is that little screw in the knurled section needed?  Well, it's good to learn about these things anyway.

My first bowl I made that I like

I'm catching the wood turning bug. The biggest issue for me is developing automatic skills. When I cut up wood, I cut square by hand automatically: I don't have to think about it. When I'm turning I still have to think about it. But I am thinking far more automatically than I was even a month ago.

Above is a picture of my first bowl. It's the same bowl that I was working on last week - but finished. It's made out of cherry, and I think it's a little thicker in section than I would like, but I'm new and I didn't want to press my luck. Producing it took me about two and a half hours plus breaks on the treadle. I worked up a light sweat and a heavy heartbeat, and that was very good news. I saved a trip to the gym, which for me is a big part of the appeal of a treadle lathe. My knees are also in much better shape than they were a few months ago.

Learning to turn has been a wander at my own pace, up to learning curve. Technically this is not my first bowl; it's actually my fourth. And the picture below shows the progression. I was skimming YouTube for turning videos a few weeks ago and I came across this "Make a bowl out of a 2x4" video. There are actually a lot of these types of videos out there - this is a common, popular project that seemed easy enough. So I took a 2x4, cut off four inches of it, and away way I went. On the first one (back), I had real trouble cutting the foot to attach it to the chuck. On the second one (left), you can see there are huge chunks out. There's two reasons for that: pine is a rather brittle wood and if you hit something the wrong way you get cataclysmic problems. I did not know how to use my tools correctly at this point and I was using a 3/8" spindle gouge. For the third bowl (right), I reground the spindle gouge to a bowl gouge and that was a big improvement.

I have my quibbles with the finished bowl, but I can at least say it's a bowl-shaped object. If I were a better turner, a bowl or spindle gouge wouldn't have made much of a difference, and the pine would have been fine. For a beginner, these factors can pose real challenges. Last week when I ordered some wood, I also got a 2x6 cherry board to make some more bowls and I tried again.

Originally the bowl was just going to have a smooth outside, but then when I was turning the outside, I ended up having sort of a ghost of a beginning of a lip. I really liked it, so I made the lip a feature. The inside was as deep as I dared going. I'm pretty happy the way this came out even with some tear-out on the inside. My next bowl is on the lathe now (see last picture below)) made of the same material. I just finished rounding the square stock.

In related news: Most of the first round of pre-orders for the lathe have been shipped. We will be contacting the remaining first-rounders to arrange delivery very shortly. The second batch is probably two months down the road.

My first bowl with failed attempts
My second bowl in the works

sigh

I kind of thought this might go south on me. The saw blade had slipped so the slot mortises and the tenons were different lengths. Being brain dead, I glued it up anyways and hoped for the best. Well boys and girls, it bit me on the arse and drew blood.

new frame

I am going miter this frame. I didn't feel like digging into the saw blade height hiccup. Besides I have to master making mitered frames in spite of how much I dislike miters.

hmm......

The mitering was going fine. No hiccups other than a little see sawing with getting the sides to be the same length. I allowed a 1/4" of wiggle room on the overall length to plane the miters.

encouraging

Planing done and the frame dry fitted with all corners closed up.

no expletives said

Dry fitted the frame with my Sears miter clamps. No hiccups and all the corners look good. Three are dead tight and one has a bit of a gap at the toe. Other than that I'm happy with how well the clamp up yet.

survived

Of course with glue applied all the miters tried to out do each other with slipping and sliding in/out and up/down. I got it done without the urge to give it free flying lessons. Added the extra clamps to pull the miters together tight from heel to toe. I will let this cook in the clamps until the AM.

fixed and ready to go home

Happy with the paint job but it isn't completely done. I wasn't going to paint the drawer unit on the top. However, I noticed that there were a few dings with some white showing. But there is a color difference between the drawer unit and the dresser. I have time to paint it to match the dresser.

so far, so good

The three rails I glued back in place appear to be secure for now. I have manhandled this quite bit since I glued it and nada. When I first shipped this down to North Carolina, one of the rails popped loose putting it in the car. I tried to replicate that stress/strain and the rails have behaved. Fingers crossed that it stays that way this time.

back rabbet stock

These are off cuts from making the first frame. I'll add them after the 2nd frame is done and splines are installed in the miters. 

came last night

I don't have any experience using spray shellac. I am not sure how many cans I will need to do the slats. I'll be finding out later this week.

hmm.....

The top has 6 coats on it and it looks good but I'll be adding a few more. For now this is good enough to set aside as is while I sand the base.

left drawer

At the end of pushing it in the drawer stuck a little. I was still able to push it fully but there was a bit of hesitation I didn't like. I planed the top a couple of times and that cured it. Easily pushes in fully without any binding or hesitation.

done

Both drawers are done, well almost done. I'll have to put a couple of coats on the top of the left drawer before it is a 100%.

I like

IMO I think the oil bronze pulls look good. I thought of using brass but nixed it after seeing a knob on the cherry. The almost black color of the pulls matches the black gun pockets perfectly.

hmm......

I was on the fence about doing a small chamfer on the outside edges of the legs, specifically just these edges. There is a ding on the back left leg edge that was driving this decision. A chamfer would hide it and wouldn't look out of place. Putting chamfers on the other 3 edges is doable but not as easy. Plenty of time to kill some brain cells thinking on it.

sigh

The bottom of the front rail bottom is visible from the side. It looks unsightly IMO although I doubt anyone other than me would notice/pay attention to it. 

the fix

I'm going to glue a small block on the bottom of the side rails at the front and back. Don't need it at the back but it balances it.

the top

The top has a shine that I like but it also has a depth to the finish. It will live here until it comes time to marry it to the base.

I hate sanding

I am using 3 grits to sand the base - 120, 180, and 240. After starting I had to add the Stanley #112 and a card scraper. One of the back legs had minor tear out on squirrely grain that the sandpaper did nada on. The #112 and card scraper removed it. 

hmm......

3 coats of the spray shellac. I can see a difference between the two. I'll spray on 3 more and see how it looks than.

hmm......

I thought I was done but one more leg wanted to shake hands with me. With the flashlight and the pencil I high lighted several problem spots on the legs. The #112 wasn't working well and neither was the card scraper. Sanded it first with 80 grit and that took three attempts before they disappeared. 

Followed the 80 grit with the other three and they were history. Smooth leg with no tear out anywhere on it. Went dead in the water here because of the blocks I had clamped. It restricted how I could position the base for sanding. I'll pick it back up in the AM session.

ugly looking

I shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't clean up the glue squeeze out when I clamped it. Out of the clamps and I removed the glue squeeze out with a carbide scraper and it torn out chunks of wood along with the squeeze out. It is tedious work but I'm making slow progress using a chisel as a scraper to clean up the damage.

accidental woodworker 

underside

Three coats and I'm calling this part done. Three coats is sufficient for the underside IMO.

topside

No evidence of the indentation but the chamfer and the end grain needs a touch up. Sanded them with my sticks from 100 up to 220 grit. After that I was read to apply the shellac. Spent the rest of the AM session applying said shellac on the top and the drawers.

new pic frame

My wife bought a reproduction of a 1689 map of the Plymouth Colony. I was asked to make a frame for it and this is it. 1/2" poplar frame that I use bridle joints to join the corners.

glued and cooking

I'll let this cook until tomorrow. I'll bring it to Maria after I get it painted.

4 coats

This batch of shellac is super blonde and I can see a difference in this compared to my last batch which was blonde. This is a lot clearer without a hint of a yellow/orange tint. 

my OCD was in overdrive

I had to replace the left drawer tilt rail. Super glad that I didn't use glue on this.

hmm......

The pine drawer tilt rails are strong enough for this purpose but I am concerned about the poplar wearing against the pine. There is over an 1/8" of clearance between the tilt rail and the top of the drawer. I'm going to glue a 16th inch thick cherry strip to the underside of the tilt rail. Cherry should wear better than the pine would.

done (almost)

Wear strips glued and cooking. I had tested the wear strip clearance and the drawer slid in/out smoothly still. It knocked down the slight tilt the drawer I had to almost nothing. 

much better

Better fit with no gap this time. Installed it the same way as the original, no glue and one screw.

hmm.......

I'll let this cook until the AM to ensure a good bond. It is only a glue connection, no nails or screws to help out.

Got the spray shellac from Amazon so I can't put it off anymore. I will be done with the applying shellac to the top by tomorrow. The next batter is sanding the base which I ain't looking forward to.

accidental woodworker

couldn't wait

Went back to the shop after dinner to check on the dent. It had been a couple of hours since I steamed it and it looked good. It was flush - I couldn't feel it at all with my finger tips. Happy with that but I could still see the outline of it. 

twenty minutes later

Scraped and sanded the indentation outline until it disappeared. I wiped down the area with alcohol and 99.9% of it was gone. One small spot could be seen in raking light but I stopped here. Made a command decision that this was good enough.

surprise

UPS delivered the drawer pulls at 2034 on saturday. I can't recall ever getting a saturday deliver from Lee Valley. The pulls are smaller than what I thought they would be. The under grabbie space is adequate - my fat fingers fit - so it will definitely work for Miles/Leo.

checking the indentation in the AM

The work I did on it after dinner last night still looked good in the AM. Even the small spot I saw in raking light was hard to find this AM. The final check mark will be what will happen once shellac goes on.

hmm.....

Wiped the area where the indentation was first with alcohol. Nothing popped out with the alcohol. I then wiped down the entire top with alcohol  to see if there were any other holidays.

fingertip test

Ran my fingertips all over the top to feel for any rough spots. I had sanded the top after wetting it with water and I found a couple of raised rough areas. The indentation was no where to be seen. I think I'm finally done with the top.

template

The screw holes on the pulls are on 3 1/4" centers. Which means the holes are 1 11/16" on either side of the center line. Used this to transfer the screw holes to the drawer front with a center punch.

Editing update. While proofing the blog I saw that I had lost a 1/3 of the blog post. It was going nutso trying to save it and it went south into the black hole. Stercus acidit. This is the second time in the past couple of weeks that this has happened. Another annoying quirk to deal with?

Recap of what blogger shitcanned on me - got 3 coats of shellac on the drawers except for the fronts. Three coats of shellac are on the bottom of the top. Mixed a fresh batch of clear shellac that I'll use for the rest of the desk. 

To help with applying shellac on the slats I bought 3 cans of spray shellac from Amazon and I'll have them today. From past experience, applying any type of finish on slats is difficult and time consuming. It is maddening trying to keep drips and runs from happening. I'll brush shellac on all the drawer fronts, rails, and legs.

accidental woodworker

flushed

The epoxy planes easy and clean but it is kind like planing cherry. I'm not going nutso on cleaning the bottom at all. It is flat and straight in all directions and that is all that really matters. 

hmm.....

I'm going to install a couple of anti drawer tippy things. I have them on my desk and I'll put them on Miles. The drawer tips downward a little and it is a wee bit floppy so this will cure that. However, I can't put them centered on the drawer because I have table top clips in the way. Instead I'll position about 1/3 of the way in from the drawer edge.

reinforcing the top rail

Found a bunch of #12 two inch screws for the rail screw job. I had ordered some #8 by 2 1/2" screws but now I think they would have been too small for this.

Yankee screw driver

I was surprised by how well this screwdriver handled the #12 screws. I had no hiccups driving them 99.9% of the way and no headaches locking it and driving them flush. I like using these Yankee drivers - I have 4 of them - for driving screws. Unlike using a cordless drill, it is almost impossible to over drive or strip the head of a screw with them.

underside of the top rail

I only put one screw in the center divider along with one each at each end. Feel a lot better about the table top clips not failing due to the rail going south.

checking

Since I had the base on the top, I checked that my overhang  was consistent all the way around. I checked each and every position for the table top clips. One to make sure that they fit and two, that I would be able to screw them down. The drawer guide assembly wasn't interfering with any of them. 

boring work

Routed a 45° chamfer all the way around and now I'm sanding the end grain smooth with the sanding sticks starting with 100 grit.

cherry ain't easy

The 100 and later 120 grit sanding sticks were making poor progress on smoothing the end grain. Decided to try a card scraper and it worked. I was not expecting it to work as well as it did on end grain. In spite of it working much better than the sanding stick, it still took a lot of time and calories to smooth the end grain.

sigh

Sanded the top starting with 100 and ending with 200. This spot has a couple of indentations that came from ?????? I tried to scrape them away but nada. I thought I was  done with the top but it ain't so boys and girls.

test piece

I am using 3/4 pine for the drawer tilt thing (drawer tilt rail?). I cut a slot centered on each end for a #0 biscuit. Did a test piece to make sure I figured out how far down from the top of the rail the mating biscuit slot had to be. Got it on the first try.

done

The biscuit is just to hold the rail in place. I drove one screw in at each end to secure it. No glue, just an one inch #6 screw and a #0 biscuit.

hmm......

Eyeballed this for a couple of minutes and I think I'm done with the woodworking. I didn't see anything I might have missed but that is not to say something in the days to come won't bite me on the arse.

underside of the top

Sanded the underside with 100 grit and stopped there. Branded and initialed it. This has a check mark in the done column.

better pic

I didn't notice this after I was done sanding so it happened between then and when it shook hands with me. Tried sanding it with 220 and nada. Plan #2 is try steaming it out with my shop iron.

done

Continue to be impressed with the paint job with the smooth finish roller. I think I'm done, I didn't see any holidays .

drawers

No streaks from a paint brush and it looks pebbled now but after it dries it will be as smooth as a state zero sea.

Steamed the hiccup on the top and it didn't go smoothly. I accidentally spilled water on the top so I had to flood and wet the entire top. I'll be sanding it again in the AM but I think I managed to get the indentation raised. I'll find out in the AM how well that went.

Didn't get any pics of the initial fiasco but I was optimistic about how the iron did steaming the indentation. 

accidental woodworker