Accidental Woodworker

  Had a great day in the shop along with feeling pretty good. I got 3 hours in the AM session and almost 3 hours in the PM. It has been a long time since that has happened. I only had two coughing fits but even then they weren't as long as they used to be. I snapped a bazillion pics too so I think I'll go with pics with captions and as little verbiage as is possible for me.

tray dry fitted and original tote bottom repurposed

nope - stock isn't thick enough and too close to the angles

using 1/8" dowels - two down from the top

two angled ones inserted above the break

2nd handle mortise fitted

wee bit too snug

dry fit alignment checked out

inside joints are gap free

rounding the bottom edge of the handle

some spoke shave action with 100 grit last

saw kerf for the wedges

handle fits - 5/8" sticking out both ends

tray glued and clamped

cherry for the wedges

fitted in the kerf

Didn't realize it here but I made the wedges too thin and the saw kerf too shallow.

tray grabbie thing

 Showed a pic of the finished tote to my wife and she like the tray. Surprise again.

saved the cut outs for the glue up

flushing the plywood to the tray

flushed the top corners

half laps for the tray handle

gap on the bottom  had to trim the half laps

tray handle glued and cooking

flushing the ends with a blockplane and 120 grit

rounding the top of the handle

100 grit - no sharp arrises comfortable to the hand

miller dowels to help the rabbets

1/8" dowels

There isn't enough meat to use miller dowels on the ends.

why I used 1/8" dowels

had to angle the 1/8" dowels

glamour pic #1

ooh and aah glamour pic #2

I will slap on three coats of shellac because I'm sure my wife will paint it. 

The wife just gave me another honey do - she wants a small console/entry table. Wood choice left up to me. Surprise again.

accidental woodworker 

 Caught up on lost sleep from monday today. I didn't roll out of the rack until after 0700. I found it hard to get motivated and spent most of the morning engrossed in You Tube. I  started watching one vid and that led to another and another and another. By the time I had my fill it was after 1000. It didn't help matters much that I felt nauseous and tired too. 

I finally made it to the shop just before lunch to spend a few working on the tote. After filling the pie hole for lunch, I went back to the shop then and worked until I killed the lights at 1502.

first change

The initial plan called for the bottom of the tote to be 1/2" plywood (actually 12mm). Decided that would be too much weight for the size of the tool tote. My wife won't be putting any power tools in it. Swapping that out for 1/4" plywood.

missed it

The end panels had plane tracks on both faces. Used the #3 to smooth the tracks and followed that up with 120 grit in the RO sander.

handle layout

I didn't want to use a dowel for the carrying handle so I'm using a rectangular one that I will round the bottom corners off. It will protrude about a 1/4" on both outside faces and I'll wedge it to secure it.

nope

It looks too clunky to my eye. The sides and the height of the ends looks good but the end width is too much. 

better

If this isn't wide enough for my wife I'll make another one. I would have liked to have had all the tools on hand but I am going with just the pic of the blow pack looks like.

angles need some work

Before I can glue up the tote I had to saw the angles on the ends, clean and smooth them, chop the two mortises for the handle,then dry fit it and saw it to length. 

fitting the bottom

Screwed up on the first one making the length of it too short. I measured for that one and this one I'm marking it directly off the tote. Started with the width to fit in the ends first.

sigh

Shoulda, coulda, but didn't do it this way. This is where I went out into La La Land. I didn't account for the end panels and ending up making the first bottom a 1/2" short. Can't go wrong marking it directly this way.

new bottom fitted but

Got an ugly gap on this corner. The other three are tight. From looking at this I can't see if it is the end panel or the side that needs help.

it was the end panel

I couldn't fully correct this. There was some saw blade wobble and if I planed it smooth I would have to saw the other end panel to match it.

yikes

I seems I was a wee bit too aggressive chopping the first mortise. This throws a monkey wrench into the time line, eh?

2nd mortise

No hiccups so far with the 2nd mortise. Will it fit? A loose fit isn't a deal killer because a wedge will expand the 'tenon' some.

snuggish

I'm happy with the fit and I'll have to cool my heels are getting the length.

sigh

It is better it happened now rather then later. This popped off when I sanded it. These two boo boos are making me rethink the end panels. I will have to reinforce the breaks with more then glue. I have tonight to dream up something.

cooking away

The breaks were clean and went back together seamlessly. I'll let these set up until the AM.

tray bearers

Sanded the sides and glued and nailed the tray bearers on. The drop down on the bearers is 1 1/4" and the tray will be one inch deep. This is it for today boys and girls. I have had a wicked headache simmering all day and it picked this time to shake hands with me.

accidental woodworker

 My wife asked me for a tool tote. She bought a blow pack of 'apartment tools' and said that it was too confusing. But obviously all of those tools tossed together in a tote magically unconfuses a heap of tools. I have learned not to try and decipher her reasoning on some things. I started on the tote this AM.

ta da

Look at what the idiot couldn't see. I thought of this last night just before I hit the rack. It just popped into the brain bucket and I verified it first thing in the shop this AM.

updated glamour pic

I didn't need the domed nut I stole from the other tenon cutter. This wing nut would have looked better IMO if left bare metal but it was pitted and ugly looking.

MIA depth indicator

I kind of know this works already. The scale for the thickness of the tenon is confusing. I couldn't get it to fully engage on the largest diameters. I'll play with more later.

tool tote

I was going to make the tote out of this 1x12 7 footer and changed my mind. I have a lot of pine off cuts scattered around the shop that I can use first.

hmm.....

I am making a small classic carpenter tote with a tray. I don't have enough stock here for it. The end panels will be about 10-ish inches wide and 12-13 inches tall. You can't get 12-13 inches out of a 1x12. I'll have to glue up for the ends.

too thick

I am going to size the stock to 9/16" thick to help reduce some of the weight. Started prepping for that by establishing a reference edge and face first.

end panels

Got the panels glued up oversized on the width and a 1/2" on the height. The plan was to size these two in the PM session.

not quite

The tray is going to be made of 3/8" thick pine and this is not a perfect resaw on the bandsaw. Initially the blade twisted when I first pushed the stock into the blade. However, the rest of it looked decent. It wasn't tapered and outside faces appeared to be parallel looking. The bandsaw marks were heavy though and I made the resaw thicker to account for that.

hmm....

Did a couple of more test cuts with similar outcomes. The blade still deflected and twisted but not as much this time. I tried to feed the stock into the blade slowly applying pressure against the stock tight to the fence. Helped but didn't eliminate it entirely. Scratched resawing the tray stock on the bandsaw.

tote long sides

These are oversized in the width and length. Still trying to get a feel for them. My wife gave me 9x14 for the tote size, not too shallow and with no lid. I'm thinking of 10-11 by 15 for the tote. I don't think her 9x14 is the OD for the tote.

tray stock

Resawed it on the tablesaw. Got some thick pine veneer (on the right) that I like but will probably never find a use for. That ain't going to stop me from finding a home for it.

first long side

Marked the board and started with the #6 planing down close to the knife lines. This was tough going for me and it took a long time. Partially soaked my shirt sweating but catching my breath was the hiccup. This should have taken me maybe 10-15 minutes to knock out. Instead it took me over an hour to do both. I had to slow down and take a break to catch my breath before I could plane again.

It wasn't life threatening and I got through it albeit a lot slower and a lot more tired. Initially it was rough with a lot of coughing but that seemed to improve and lessen the longer I worked at it.

wash, rinse, and repeat for #2

I'm not sure if this is something I'll be able to do again. This is a relatively small thicknessing project but I'll wait and see. I just will have to accept that I can't be the speed demon doing this.

blurry acceptance pic

These two panels don't have to be exactly the same thickness within  +/- an atom. They are less then a frog hair from being flush with each other. Good enough for a tool tote.

start of the PM session

Late start as I ran out of gas. I had a sandwich for lunch and then nada. Didn't feel like standing up and going to shop for over an hour. I finally went back and started to plane the end panels.

troublemaker first panel

It ain't cooperating. It isn't twisted and this diagonal is throwing a hissy fit. Getting the reference face and edge can be a PITA sometimes.

hmm.......

This thicknessing session went a lot better then the first one. I only got winded a couple of times and then only because I pushed the envelope. The coughing was way down too - no spasm fits, just a couple quick ones.

done

Went quicker but these are smaller then the sides. A bit awkward due to the grain orientation running on the short width vice the longer length. I tend to not do good planing with the grain on stock this size but it came out acceptable.

best laid plans of mice and men

accidental woodworker

clean up first

I had to clean up the shop and put things away. It seems that I only have a clear and clean workbench top when I start a new project.

hmm........

I can't bring myself to shitcan these leftover slats. There has to be something I can make with them. Nothing was rattling around the brain bucket so I'll have to find a interim home for them until then.

another pile

I really thought something would pop up besides a box but nada. This cherry is too nice looking to go to the landfill. Finding a home for this pile is going to be difficult but I will figure it out.

side by side

I needed the left one to get the right one together. Initially I had put the iron 180 out from where it should have been.

sigh

I lost the gizmo that sets the height of the tenon. I have the securing screw for it but not indicator. I searched the shop for almost an hour but no joy.

done

I painted this the same two colors it had when I got it. There are a couple of spots I left bare even though there were still a few faint paint spots. I left the two sliding surfaces clean and paint free. 

sigh

This was missing this nut and I took it from the tenon cutter. I looked on McMaster-Carr for a replacement but I couldn't find one. The top is domed and the bottom is flat - what is the name of this nut? 

glamour pic #1

Engells Coach shop uses an adjustable tenon cutter in a drill press. I thought about trying to get that setup on my drill press. It would certainly make doing the chair tenons easier.

business end

There is a scale for size that I'll have to check for accuracy. I will have fettle, adjust, and swear at getting the iron positioned correctly. I've did those dance steps when I got it. The iron is sharp and ready to go.

accidental woodworker

top goes on first

I have six coats on the top and I was happy with the look and the shine. Clamped the top to the base - the towel was to keep the clamp heads from marring the top. I was surprised that these clamps alone pulled the top down tight to the base all around. I was expecting the slat sides to have daylight that they didn't.

wash, rinse, repeat for the shelf

Got the shelf positioned and clamped and then I flipped it to screw in the table top clips.

hmm........

Clips screwed in and there is a bit of daylight on the slat edges. From the bottom I could see the clip was visible from the there. However, on the opposite side I couldn't see it. 

hmm........

I had to do one more coat of shellac. There were four boo boos from the clamp pads. I didn't think with the towel that would happen. I had used wax paper on the shelf and nada. Zero hiccups with the clamp pads there. Easy fix - quick rub with 4-0 steel wool followed with some shellac.

first glamour pic

This is a good match for the tall drawer unit I just made for my wife. The oak legs look pretty good IMO against the poplar. 

2nd pic

Feel iffy about the bottom shelf. Not entirely happy with the margins with it but it is what it is. In reflection I think it was a better choice then a shelf that fit between the legs front to back.

last pic

After I shot this pic I went looking around the house and I found 8 things I had made that had slats in them. I don't know what it is about them but they have become a signature of things I make.

accidental woodworker 

Three days out from my last chemo cocktail and I ain't feeling so good. Not any of the nasty side effects but just feeling blah. Woke up a wee bit on the nauseous side but a pill knocked that down into the dirt. Glad that I didn't have a lot going in the shop. Slapping shellac on projects is slow going so that is working in my favor. Looking forward to feeling better in the AM.

hmm......

Both of them passed with flying colors. After dinner I had checked them and there was zero raised grain anywhere I checked. I got a coat of shellac on it then and the 3rd coat went on this AM.

done

I rubbed the carcass down with 4-0 steel wool and brushed on a final coat of shellac. It looked ok with the bazillion coats I sprayed on but I decided to brush on the final coat.

getting two more

As is the bearer is held on with one center screw and glue. I don't think that is sufficient to hold the top down tight. All of the downward pulling force from the screws into the tops will be on the ends of the bearers. It is just glue there securing the bearer so I am adding on more screw close to the bearer screw slot at each end.

had to put a finish one

I have several wax and mystery finish solutions to pick from and I chose this one. It is a simple one coat finish to apply. You apply it with a brush until no more of the oil soaks in. Wait a few and wipe off the excess before the oil gets tacky.

oil applied and wiped off

The oil certainly made the end grain of the plywood pop. The box underneath is the same plywood but it has no finish on it. I like the look of the finish on the rasp box over the raw unfinished look of the bottom box. The finish only needs 8 hours to dry so it should be ready to use in the AM.

4th one coming

Been a couple of hours after the 3rd coat and the 4th is getting slapped on now. I rubbed the 3rd coat with 4-0 steel wool before putting on the 4th. The build is coming along nicely but I think it is still going to take one or two more to satisfy me. So this should be at the ooh and aah stage by sunday at the latest.

fingers crossed

I have two coats on this and there are still some partially covered spots. Painting on what I hope will be the last coat. I'll check on it in the AM.

We have high winds and rain in my part of the universe. The wind has been picking up steadily all day but no where near the strength the weather seers predicted. So far no rain and same seers are saying the rain could bring on flooding. Supposed to be wednesday before the sun peeks out again to say hello.

accidental woodworker

I let it cook

I resisted the urge to play with this after supper last night. It is better I let it cook because it it only held together with glue.

why not?

Decided to spray shellac the entire base. There are still a lot of tricky drip and run spots for brushed on shellac to go nutso.

lid separated

Did the lid on the tablesaw. I don't know how but I got a step on one of the short sides. I had to plane and sand it flush more than I wanted to. thankfully I had more the enough depth to give up.

cherry keepers

I planned on mitering the corners but changed my mind. The short end pieces would have been toast. The butt joint corners will work for this. I also didn't have any more cherry to make two new pieces.

hmm.......

The files fit in the box but they aren't secure. They can bang around inside the box and possibly damage their teeth. I need to keep them in place in the box somehow. 

hmm.......

I got a 3rd coat on the shelf and the top last night after dinner. It felt dry to the touch and smooth. It wasn't tacky anywhere I checked. One more coat and the backs of these two will be done.

glued and cooking

I'll let this cook for a few hours and then I'll fit the lid to the bottom.

holder

This works, the files can't bang around and touch each other.

oops

I had sized the holder to fit inside the lid. Missed that the lid didn't have keepers to account for. I sawed a wee bit less than 1/8" off each side.

hmm.....

Initially it didn't fit but I sanded the outside edge with a 100 grit sanding stick. I kept at it until I got the lid to fit in either orientation. I got a snug fit too.

done

I planed a chamfer on the top/bottom outside edges. I like this look and it hides that the joint line isn't perfectly straight.

holder thing glued and cooking

The holder keeps the rasps safe in this static position. But with the lid on the rasps can get up and dance around with each other.

not anymore

This short block is a few frog hairs below the bottom edge of lid. That is still enough to keep the rasps from jumping out of the holder when the box is moved and handled. I'm not going to put any finish on it for now. 

any surprises forth coming?

It was in the green areas that had the raised grain on the bottom. Both of these were planed and sanded with 220 grit. Both felt smooth to the touch all over. I put on the first coat of shellac and I'll check it after dinner. I don't know what to expect but hopefully it will be a normal first coat of dried shellac.

Haven't been sleeping well the past few days. After sleeping through the night I am now waking up around 0200-0300 and not falling back to sleep. So I toss and turn and sometimes I watch You Tube. Neither of them make me sleepy and I didn't get out of the rack until 0730 today. It was nice to sleep through the night and fall back asleep after getting up for the toilet trot races. Fingers crossed it will come back. 

accidental woodworker 

bearers done

I was a good boy and after supper last night I glued on the two short bearers. I got one screw in the middle and I'm thinking of adding 2 more. One each close to the ends, R/L,

hmm.......

These rasps can't be used in either direction. There are arrows on them that point in the direction of use. They don't hog a lot of wood with one push neither. They are coarse and fine but IMO opinion both are 'fine'. These are detailing rasps for refining etc etc.

a lot of work

Made a hollow with the convex rasps and tapered the end with the straight rasps. They left a smooth surface, both the coarse and fine ones. IMO these are for fine smoothing, almost like using 320 grit sandpaper. Not so sure now that these will be any help in making the stick chair.

working the bearers

Had to flush 3 of the 4 of them.

passed

All four bearers are square to the outside apron face.

prepping for shellac

Planed both sides removing all the pencil lines. Planed poplar doesn't really leave a smooth surface. It was kind of smooth but I added an assist by sanding the top face with 220 grit sandpaper.

chamfer time

I am not putting a back stop thing on this. Since this is a bedside night stand a back stop isn't needed IMO. 

inside corner layout

I dislike rounded inside chamfered corners. I extended the lines and I chiseled the inside corners next.

one down, three to go

This is a much better, presentable look then leaving it rounded. If it was a larger corner it might have been acceptable but nothing of this size.

step one

Used the chisel to define where the two chamfers met in the corner. A light tap on the chisel to break the cross grain fibers.

hmm........

This helps with getting a clean chip when chiseled into the corner from the left and right chamfers. Getting a errant chip out here ruins the look.

cleaning the corner out

Take small sweeps with the chisel going into the corner. Small bites yields a crisp, clean corner at a 45 that is sloped. Of course having a sharp chisel is a no brainer. I ran the chisel on my strop before I did each corner.

sneak peek

The top is not dead flat but I know that once I screw it down it will be. I will apply shellac to the top and bottom shelf first and then I'll install them.

end grain work

I had sanded the end grain of the top and bottom shelf and I had to sand the chamfer after routing it.

hmm......

I got lucky that Lowes still sells this. $16 and that is the same price I saw on Amazon. If I had to order from them it would have been a while before I got it. I used the spray shellac on the slats.

ouch

I missed a couple of pencil marks. Easy to correct as I only sprayed on one coat. I wiped the pencil marks with an alcohol soaked rag. That removed the shellac and the pencil marks. If it hadn't I would have scraped/sanded the marks off.

got two coats on it

I always start with the bottoms/backs first. 3-4 coats there and 5-6 on the tops.

wow

I wasn't not expecting this from the shellac. A couple of spots on both the top and shelf felt like 60 grit sandpaper. The grain had raised up into a miniature mountain range. I first used 2-0 steel wool and it did nothing to knock those areas down. I had to use a card scraper to smooth it.

The shellac was a wee bit gummy too. I was not expecting that at all. It is a little on the cool side and I thought the shellac would have been dry and ready for another coat after almost 2hours. I had to do some errands while it dried.

no problems

The spray shellac behaved. I saw and felt no hiccups with it when I hit the slats with the 2-0 steel wool. I set the top and bottom shelf aside to set up more. I'll check on them after supper tonight to see how the feel. If I don't like it I'll let them cook until the AM.

can you guess what is coming?

I don't want these rasps rattling around in a drawer so I'm going to make a box to keep them in. Using leftover 6mm and1/8" birch plywood.

miters done

Made a groove for the 1/8" plywood in the sides on the tablesaw. The 1/8" plywood I have I had to plane/sand a small bevel to get it to fit the groove. This batch of plywood is the first that didn't fit the groove made by the 1/8" thick saw blade.

done

Glued, clamped, and cooking. I'll let this set up until the AM. Then I'll saw off the lid, make some type of a holder thing for the rasps, and keepers for the lid. I can the hear the oohs and aahs now.

accidental woodworker

thinking cap on

Started to think about this last night at my desk. Chopping the 8 slots for the table clips wasn't that appealing. Thought of gluing a bearer at each corner and then screwing up through it into the top holding it down. Should work, shouldn't it?

This is all I got done in the AM session. I had my final chemo cocktail party today and I am now in the monitoring phase. Every 3 months I'll get a CT of the lungs and have it reviewed by the oncologist. Fingers crossed that is a long time before 'it' returns.

On a brighter note the 'who is one first doctor routine' was figured out. The oncologist told me she does chemo and nothing else but she was a good friend with a pulmonologist. He came during my treatment and gave me some pills to help with my cough. Prednisone and azithromycin antibiotic for the nodules. And he told me to call the clinic right away with any problems. The bombshell, the original pills given to me he said don't work for the cough. I'll be thinking happy thoughts while I take those pills.

final iteration

Decided during my chemo to use a full length bearer vice smaller blocks just in the corners. To my thinking this will be stronger as it will glued across the full length of the apron along with a couple of screws. BTW the last cocktail party lasted almost 5 hours. Yikes!

first two glued and cooking

I will let these cook until after dinner. I'll return then and glue on the last two.

hmm.......

Originally I was going to notch the short bearers at the corners. Instead I sawed them to fit between the legs. The screws are still fairly close to the legs and will pull the top down tight to it.

why I'm waiting

This bearer is a wee bit proud of the top of the apron. I'll plane it flush before I do the last two bearers. The opposite side I got dead flush along the entire length.

done

Got the 5/8" tenon cutter finished. I think I finally understand what the two screws underneath the iron are for. They set the height/depth of the iron and this big screw on the top secures it in place. Makes sense to me.

the two screws

The iron is laying flat on the top cross piece. It was here that it looks like by adjusting these two up down, the iron's position will move up/down slightly. 

The PM session was cut short because I had to address a banking SNAFU. It was my fault and I finally figured it out. When I opened a new account at the credit union down the street from me I had switched a deposit from another credit union to this one. Forgot all about that little detail and chased my tail for over an hour researching it. All is well again in Disneyland until the next crisis wants to shake hands with me.

accidental woodworker 

done cooking

I was a good boy last night and after dinner I went back and glued the two other sides. I didn't feel like it - I was feeling tired and if I sat for more than ten minutes I nodded out. I did it so I could keep working on it in the AM first thing.

flushing the tops

I used the scrub plane first to knock down the majority of the proud. Found the LN big boy plane (60 1/2) was easier and quicker than using the #4.

hmm......

There was a wee bit of daylight under Mr Starrett that I couldn't shut out. It was flat and straight across the legs so I left it as is.

no twist

I checked this across both the long and short sides. Both agreed that neither way had any twist. 

sigh

The top was rocking so I knew the sticks wouldn't show me their happy face. There was twist again with the front left and back right being high. The underside was kind of ok. It had a teeny bit of twist and I dealt with that first. Then I attacked the opposite face.

slow going

I don't like the grain orientation between the top and the bottom. Originally the top grain was running R/L giving a 1/2" overhang all around. Aligned the top and bottom grain (F/B) with a new overhang for the top. The overhang now on the top will be a 1/4" front/back and 3/8" R/L. 

frustrating

I did these dance steps yesterday with it helicopting on one diagonal and not the other. Played with it for seemingly a bazillion years before I got it rock free on the tablesaw table.

I didn't forget

There are no slots for the table top clips on the top or bottom aprons. I didn't do them before hand with the router because I confused myself. I thought that the clip slots would be where the slat mortises were. Here at the top that wasn't the problem.

the bottom was the problem

The clips would poke into the slat mortises on two sides of the bottom aprons.

found them

I wasn't looking for these but they shook hands while I was looking for something else. I didn't find that but I will stick these in the brain bucket so I can forget where they live again.

first one done

I thought I would have more room to swing a chisel then I had. I am going with one clip per side for the bottom shelf. If that isn't sufficient, I'll chop more slots and add more clips.

no help

Went searching for a 1/8" chisel that was shorter then the 1/8 bench chisel I was using. I found a 3/16" chisel that I was going to shorten to a stubby 3-4" length to chop the slots with. Rather then hack sawing the blade I thought of sawing off a portion of the handle and nixed the whole idea. I'll suffer through chopping the slots with what I have and rethink the stubby chisel idea.

last bottom one

Finished the bottom clip slots and awaiting me are the eight slots for the top. I am putting the slots close to the legs so the clips will pull down the corners tight to the tops of the leg. I'll be doing those in the AM.

2 out of 3 against

The stand is rocking on the workbench and not rocking on the tablesaw. The sticks are telling me there is no twist between any of the legs. I'm on the side of 2 and I'm calling the bottom good as is.

back order came today

These are japanese rasps - 2 coarse and 2 fine (flat and convex). I got them for the chair build. I haven't forgotten about that. It is just that I only have one bite at the apple and I don't want to screw it up. I've been thinking of making one out of 2x12 lumber first?

I had to buy it

I am attracted to miniature tools and the LAP small books have embedded their hooks me too. Always willing to see and learn how someone else builds something. 

how did they know

I've been thinking of cut nails for a while. I have two the nails show here and both have kicked my arse and I have split wood using both. For what ever reason these nails are like kryptonite to me. I don't achieve consistent results with them, it is hit or miss with miss in the majority. So I'm always on the search for anything written about them.

shop library bookshelf

Besides I have lots of room for more small books. My OCD goes into overdrive every time I look at this and see the empty space.

I had my audio/video link up with West Roxbury VA this morning. Got some clarification on the results of my last lung x ray and CT. There are nodules on my lower right lung. I had the cancerous tumor removed from my left lung. But the doc said that the x rays and CTs have been consistent don't show changes.

The doc was helpful and explained every question I threw at her and I had a bagful to unload. Because I'm going through chemo right now, the oncologist is my lead doc. I am going to ask her about my coughing because she rules my case for now. 

The coughing was gotten steadily worse and I get winded a lot after some coughing fits. I had one today that went on for 2 minutes (timed it) before it stopped. I quit the shop early because of it. I felt like a wrung out wet dish rag and I wanted to lay down and sleep until next thursday. The West Roxbury doc thinks it (the cough) might be treatable with antibiotics but that call will be the oncologist doc's call. I'll find out in tomorrow when I atttend my final chemo cocktail party.

accidental woodworker 

first replacement slats fitted

No hiccups getting this set fitted. Wasn't sure that I would have room to move the apron up/down on to align the dowels.

hmm......

I tapped the slats down fully in the bottom apron. On the top one I set them in part way. I then use the mallet to tap the apron up/down until the dowels in the legs aligned with the dowel holes in the aprons. Yesterday this was dicey as the slats would pop out before I got the alignment set.

checking the 2nd set

I had 9 slats to chose from and I started with checking the slat fit in the mortises. I had to reject 2 slats because they were too thin.

6 slats

I had to reject a 3rd slat due to it being short on the R/L. It was the same on all 10 mortises which surprised me. I thought it would have been good on at least one or two of them.

Houston, we have a problem

I couldn't get the the top to align. Mallet work did diddly and I even tried clamping it. That failed too and the conclusion was I made these 5 slats too long (or just one).

almost a 1/4"

Laid the first set on top of the second and the second one was 3/16" longer. 

confirmed

Took one of the slats from the first set and checked it against the 2nd set. Not quite a 1/4" difference. There was no way this would align as is. I sawed off a 1/4" off on one end of all the slats and started over at square one.

something is amiss

Got the 2nd set of slats fitted with no hiccups and zero cussing. However, I put the slat assemblies on the wrong faces of the legs. My triangle ain't a triangle. Back to square one and redo it.

correct

prepping for glue up

Planed the arris on the legs and then planed the faces removing all the pencil marks and smoothing them.

short aprons

Planed the long faces and I'll do the top/bottom edges before I glue them up.

glued and cooking

It was just before 1400 when I got these two glued, clamped and set aside to cook. I'll let them set up until after dinner and I'll glue up the short rails. I should have this done and oohing and aahing about before the weekend.

I opted for no glue in the mortises. I had a good snug fit with all of them and the length was spot on this time. The slats are captive and without glue I didn't have to deal with glue squeeze out. 

accidental woodworker

first set

I had to replace the two outside slats, #1 and #5. I had to replace them due to gaps and fit them again. 

80 and 120 grit

I sanded the rough side of the ten slats needed for the night stand.

extras

Sanded these for back ups in case I have to say oops.

first side dry fitted

I clamped it to ensure that the aprons got closed up tight to the legs. Washed, rinsed, and repeated for the other side.

hmm......

This shelf fit yesterday, I have photographic proof. 

stinky mind fart me-steak

I sized it for the wrong side. Totally missed this when I did it. This is toast and I'll have to make a new shelf.

hmm......

I hadn't wanted to notch the shelf but I don't have a choice now. I sawed out the notches on the bandsaw. I noticed that the cuts weren't plumb. That led me to spending a few frustrating minutes squaring the table of the bandsaw to the blade. Maybe this is why I am getting tapered resaw cuts on the bandsaw?

nope

This shelf is too small R/L for this purpose. The front to back is ok but I need the R/L too. The gaps are too wide between the legs and it looks like crappola.

a gap

Noticed this while fitting the shelf and marked it for replacement. I also replaced the #4 slat for a gap that I didn't like.

2nd shelf

All the notch cuts were plumb. I've been looking to do more machine work lately because of my breathing issues. I still do a fair bit of handwork and I'll continue this way until I can't do either one.

too tight

I had to saw the notches twice, on the first go around it wouldn't fit at all. It fits after the 2nd saw cut but it is way too tight. There isn't any allowance for expansion and contraction. I sawed off another 1/8" on each side (R/L), front and back. I also sawed off another 1/8" of the R/L against the slats. I left the cross grain part of the notches as is because they don't move.

not sure

Plenty of room for expansion and contraction. Might be a wee bit too much as winter is coming and the gaps at the front/back may get larger. I'm not sure how much poplar shrinks but I'll guess I'll find out.

bandsaw marks

Tried to clean up the bandsaw ripples with a chisel first and it was tough going. Used this large and smaller modeler's rasp to clean the two bandsaw cuts.

replaced

Ugly looking gap gone. With my experience with doing slats I have found that the mortise walls shrink and tighten on the slats. The short ends don't change much so gaps there usually stay.

done

I had to replace two slats but it was worth it. No gaps on any of the slats, top and bottom.

sigh

Got the ugly feeling that I made the slats too short. While assembling them a couple of them popped out. Can't have that boo boo happening.

measuring the length with sticks

I had measured the distance between the top and bottom aprons, added 3/4" for the depth of the mortises, and subtracted 1/8". The sticks remove any errors from measuring with a tape.

hmm......

This is what is above the tops of the legs. I thought about removing it on the tablesaw and nixed it. I'll do it with planes after the nightstand has been glued and cooked.

too short

I now know why the slats were slipping out. The slats are 5/16" shorter then the what the sticks say is the length. That means with the slats fully seated in the bottom mortises there is only about an 1/8" in the top ones.

new slats

I had a lot of slats left over from yesterday but I can't use because I had sawn them to length already - too short to use on round #2. I have five on the left ready to trim and fit. To the right I have enough to get the five needed for the other side. I'll do this in the AM.

nice ray flecks

accidental woodworker

first mortise chopped

The width is a snug fit with the slat. The R/L is several frog hairs over but I knew that. What I wanted was the width to be snug or slightly undersized too. I made the depth of the mortises 3/8". 

dry fitted

I like this trim and fit step. I get to control how tight and gap free the mortise is with the slat.

almost made a me-steak

I had all four of the long aprons but I was missing one of the short ones. I was holding it in my hands without knowing it. I was looking for the mortise layout on them and that was the almost me-steak. The short aprons don't need mortises because they don't get any slats. Worked in my favor because instead of 8 aprons to chop, I only had to do four.

oops

This apron had the one and only split I got from chopping the mortise. I glued it and set it aside to cook.

hmm.......

Went back and ran the mortising gauge again defining the walls. With them deepened I could run the marking knife in them making a wee bit deeper. That made it much easier to define the edges when I chopped them with the chisel.

before lunch

Still going out for fish 'n chips every friday and breakfast on monday. I added another breakfast on wednesday. Breaks up the week nicely for me.

step one

Chopping the mortises went quickly and easy. There was only one hiccup that resulted in a split. Back to step one - chiseling the outline of the mortise.

step two

Outline done and that keeps the top crisp and clean. Step two is chopping the webs between the drilled holes. I didn't do this on the mortise that split on me. I thought I had enough empty space that chopping the walls straight down wouldn't cause a split. I was wrong and didn't repeat it.

last step

Chop straight done doing the ends first, then the long walls.

done

Potential headache to deal with. The dowel, on both ends, sticks into the mortise a wee bit. Decided to notch the slats (top and bottom) to account for the dowels intrusion into the mortise. 

ouch

Made a bone headed me-steak. I laid out the mortises on the aprons with them all in the same orientation. I should have laid them in sets, with the top and bottom mortises laid out with marking gauge from the outside face. At least all them came out the same and I just lost the 1/8" set back I had. 

hmm......

Not a deal killer and I'm not making new aprons. I should have done the mortises on the edge facing up above the legs.  This is a minor hiccup to address and I got my 1/8" set back too. 

the notch

I was generous with the notch to clear the dowel. This would bite me on the arse and draw blood in a few.

fitting the slats

First I rasped a chamfer on all four edges of the slat top/bottom. Then I planed the width until it fit. I didn't have to plane the width at all. I will have to address the rough sawn side of each slat. I think I'll hand sand them because I can do that and stay away from the portion that fits in the mortise better then I can if I use a plane.

yikes

I put a bandaid on the arse to stem the blood flow. It seems that I made the notch a wee bit too big.

dry fit was good

I don't know what it is about slats, but I can't deny the appeal they have over me.

double whammy

Both the top and bottom notches are too big, on both of the end slats. These two are toast and I'll have to replace them.

hmm.......

I got 3 sizes of the metal rule - 12", 18", and 24". Don't use them for measuring much and they mostly get used as a straight edges. I prefer the wooden rule, it is double sided with eights on one face and sixteenths on the other. I find the metal rules to be too busy and difficult for me to measure with. The mortise to mortise length is 16 1/4" and I made the slats a 1/8" shorter to allow for the glue.

change of plans

Decided that notching the slats ain't a good idea. Instead I'll saw the dowel short. I will only have to do for 8 of the 24 dowels.

accidental woodworker 

aprons

I had two small scraps of 7/8" thick poplar that I used to get the 8 aprons for the nightstand from. The short side aprons are only an inch shorter then the long sides. That is because the top is 15 and change by 14 change. Not quite a square and barely a small rectangle.

hmm.......

The red paint skimmed over - it had a skim coat on it yesterday too when I painted the first coat. What is underneath that seems to be viable and the 2nd coat covered and looks good. I'll find for sure in the Am.

good to go

The black looked good but still needed a 2nd coat in spots. Happy with the 2nd coat coverage and I'm calling the black done.

dry fitted

The base dry fitted. No surprises or hiccups and all the joints closed with hand pressure. 

oops

Drilled from the wrong end of the jig. I'll fill these in before I glue the aprons. 

what to do, what to do

The top has a 1/2" overhang all the way around. The bottom shelf is what was occupying my attention. How do I get it fitted between the four legs? Initially I thought to notch the four corners to go around the inside of the legs. Changed my mind on that because of the slats on the two long sides.

finalized

Decided to place the shelf so it was just inside the legs front to back. After seeing this pic I realized that maybe I should have run the grain front to back instead of R/L. I'll have to plane the outside edges of the shelf so that there is about a 1/8" clearance between the legs and the outside edge of the shelf. The shelf overhangs the front and back aprons by a 1/2" matching the overhang of the top.

about a 16th

I'm pretty sure that I can pull this down tight to the legs/aprons with the table top clips. However, that won't make the cup go away. A top should be flat and straight in all directions right out to the ends. I had to flatten at the top.

sigh

One headache with these dowels is that they are snug. This dowel through a hissy fit and broke off when I tried to remove it. I had made the egregious me-steak of putting the dowel jig away too. That is a no no and shouldn't have been done until the aprons were glued, clamped, and cooking. 

ouch

I tried first to chisel out the dowel and got nowhere with that. Drilling it wasn't working much better neither. Other than making a inverted cone in the dowel, it wasn't drilling through it. For whatever reason when I pulled the drill out the dowel remnant came with it. 

slat mortise layout

Still thinking on how to best chop these. I don't have a chisel that matches the width and I also don't have a forstner bit that matches the width neither. Chopping wasn't happening today so I have until the AM to figure out a game plan. 

hmm......

The top is cupped/bowed along with some twist. Flattening this is going to be an adventure.

hump side

Doing this was a PITA. I used 4 planes to flatten/remove the hump. Missing in the pic is my #4 and a little later on I also used the #3.

hmm.........

This diagonal is playing helicopter. The other one is flat and straight. Getting this diagonal to be the same took a boatload of calories with me sweating out 43 gallons of sweat and soaking my shirt. I got a little winded but it didn't slow me down. What did me slow down was a coughing fit that went on for several minutes. I got winded more from that then I did planing. 

still rocking

Two corners were being stubborn and trying my patience. I think it took me about 30 minutes to finally get this rocking free. I would plane the high corners diagonally and check it. It took a bazillion plane and checks before it laid flat and rocking free on the tablesaw.

wash, rinse, and repeat

After the down face was done, I repeated the same dance steps for the top. I made no attempt to get the faces parallel - I was shooting for flat. I'll check it before I screw the top down to the legs and aprons.

done

I'll let this relax and let it work out any stupid wood tricks it might have hiding up his sleeve. Fingers crossed that it behaved when I check it in the AM.

multiplied like rabbets

I was able to saw the slats in half and got two out of each one. Lucky for me that the wife's project slats were so long. This gives me than enough for any oops.

hmm.......

I didn't center the slats on the top of the aprons. I hope that I did this right. The plan was to have the short width side facing into the interior. I'll find if I laid this out from the correct face when I do another dry fit. Updates and pics on the 11 o'clock special news edition. 

accidental woodworker

needs to be shiny

The after on top and the before on the bottom. Chucked it in my drill and ran it on 220 grit sandpaper. The action not only shined it, it also removed the burr on the slot sides.

hmm......

Not quite done with the screws. Got the heads and slots cleaned and shiny. I cleaned up the threads on my grinder with a brass wire wheel. I had a steel wire wheel but I found it to be too aggressive and it left scratches that made shining up harder.

first coat

I might be able to get away with one black coat but it ain't happening with the red. 4-6 hours before recoating but I'm going to let all of it cook until the AM.

2" thick oak

This is the start of a new project. I am going to make a night stand for the grandsons. It will be painted gray to match their respective dressers and bookcases. I hate to paint the oak because two faces have quarter sawn faces. But I don't have any other stock thick enough for the legs. And I don't like gluing up thinner stock to make thicker stock.

The two boards underneath them will be the top and bottom shelf. I went back and forth about a drawer and for now it is toast. That may change as I get into sawing out the aprons and the wind blows me in a different direction.

wasn't easy

The tablesaw had trouble sawing this oak. It was bogging and stalling when I tried to saw it out in one pass. Instead I had to saw it half way, flip it, and finish sawing it out. Planing the sawing marks wasn't an issue. Pushing the plane kicked my ass. I would do 3-4 strokes and have to stop to catch my breath. By the time I got to the 4th leg I was able breeze through with the planing without getting short of breath. I had to take shallow cuts too. 

ouch

Instead sawing the legs off to the right of the blade, I sawed the legs off to the left of it. I didn't want to chance the blade kicking a leg back at me sawing on the right. Because of that the legs each came out a wee bit different in thickness.

hmm.....

Got the legs within a frog hair or two in thickness. Now I had to address the humps in the legs. Three of the legs had humps and 2 of the had their ends high (bowed). Got a little winded but nothing that made stop what had to be done.

hmm.......

I guess I wasn't done because I was doing one last check when the bottom (or top) leg was doing its helicopter routine. I did one last plane/check with each of the faces that were opposite each other.

slat layout

I am going with 5 slats on each side with none at the back. Did a layout on some scrap to get a visual and for how many slats to use.

I have 11 and need ten

There are off cuts from the slats I made for the project I just finished making for my wife. They are a frog hair under 3/8" thick and one inch wide. I would have liked the thickness to have been a bit more then 3/8" but I'll use and deal with what I have.

accidental woodworker 

pic from the past

This shaker step stool had been on my A list to do for a bazillion years. I finally made this one (my first) about 11years (?) ago. I gave it daughter #2 and she uses it as a plant stand. That aside what interested me about this pic was the back wall. Not only doesn't it not look like this anymore, the workbench has changed too. 

At the back right is where I first kept my drill press. The left side of the workbench has the remnants of a back tool well. I didn't like it and I took out the bottom of it. Kept the rest because it extended the front/back depth for projects.

what it looks like today

The wall has exploded over the years as I accumulated toys. It blows my mind when I think of what I had back then and what I have now. I may not use all of them every day, but I do use a good percentage of them daily.  

hmm........

When I first took this out of the Simple Green I thought it hadn't worked at all. The body was black but 90% of the japanning was history. There were the obligatory spots in the nooks and crannies that held some stubborn bits still. Overall I was happy with how well the Simple Green worked. I had missed checking it on monday.

wire brush

The wire brush work got 99.9% of the remaining japanning. After that I spent seemingly a bazillion years with a file cleaning up the casting boo boos. The only spots I couldn't do were the inside of the vertical flutes.

done

Spent the entire AM session getting the cutter to this point. I thought I would have started on the painting but it didn't happen boys and girls. Before I paint this and the adjustable tenon cutter, I will scrub the both of them with acetone first.

There wasn't a PM session. I started getting a wicked headache before lunch and it was full blown before I finished filling my pie hole. I wasn't sure if I could take Tylenol so I didn't. I spent the next 4 hours sitting at my desk with my head in my hands. By 1630 it was gone and hopefully tomorrow I can get started on painting these two cutters.

accidental woodworker 

hmm.......

I wasn't expecting this gap to fill in as much as it did with just paint. Made a command decision to see if I could close it up with paint alone. It will be a while before these will make the trip to North Carolina so I can check on it.

final check

Used flashlight to cast raking light to highlight any boo boos. Found two on this shelf.

hmm........

The light highlighted them and I could see them without it too. Paint, especially a shiny one, defects pop out like blinking neon lights.

think I got all of them

I applied wood putty to 8 spots. I wasn't expecting this because I thought I had steamed all the boo boos out already on this side. I guess the moving around I did with the bookcase wasn't as damage free as I thought.

done

A couple of hours later I sanded the spots and slapped another coat of paint on them. Did one final eyeball and flashlight check and I was satisfied that I had not missed any. This was ready to get the back on.

nails first

Used 1" brads to nail off the perimeter. If I make another one these I will make the rabbet bigger. The depth was good but the width was a wee bit shy of 5/16". I had to nail the brads angled on the sides due to gaps. If the width was 3/8" I could have nailed them straight. 

screws second

I put five #6x3/4" FH screws through the back into the back of the three shelves. This really stiffened the bookcase up a lot. I doubt a small block Chevy would make any of the shelves sag.

only one glamour pic

Happy with how this came out. It was easier making a 2nd one. If I wasn't feeling so washed out this probably wouldn't have taken me as long as it did -12 days.

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

They aren't exactly the same and I didn't try to make a clone. At a glance they look to be the same but there are subtle differences. The base cutouts aren't the same and there are small dimensions that you can't see with the eye. Most of them are less then a 1/4".

Another blah day. I had to set the bookcase down 3 times taking it from the shop to the boneyard. The shortness of breath is getting worse. I can longer go up the stairs from the shop without having to stop to catch my breath. It doesn't seem to pop out as I work in the shop. Don't know if I am subconsciously making allowances for that or not. For me the important thing is I can still work in the shop and make things. 

accidental woodworker

sigh

I should not have played with this yesterday. I didn't notice this and I thought that the base had twisted. I was wrong and this is way out in left field all by itself. 

opposite end

This end is seated properly on the side and the front. This is the one I had probably looked at and then wandered out into La La Land.

not twisted

This end isn't seated because it isn't fully seated in the rabbet front to back. Fixing this boo boo was way easier then fixing a twisted base.

almost

I got two screws from the base into the bottom of the bookcase - the 2nd screw came out all the way through at the front. The front edge of the base was away from the bookcase almost 3/8". I had to use a mallet to drive the front edge up tight to the bookcase. Used clamps to hold the base in the correct position while I drove the screws home.

hmm......

Initially the back didn't fit. The lower right corner was over the edge. I was able to whack the back into the rabbet with my fist. I laid out for the screws going through the back into the back edges of the 3 shelves. I'll screw/nail it off after the base molding is secured.

doing the base moldings

I got the two ends secured. Decided to use yellow and super glue to secure them. This way I don't have to fill in any nail heads. I gave the ends a few to set and then started fitting the front molding between the ends.

small molding shooting board

This have proven to be a handy thing to have. I sized it specifically for my large LN block planes. Took lot of fit and check dance steps before I got it to fit.

oops

I forgot to sand the right miter before painting it. I hadn't trimmed the blow by from planing the miter before gluing it. I'll sand it off before I put on the 2nd coat of paint.

done

An hour later I sanded the miter flush and smooth. Happy with how tight both miters (R/L) came out. No gaps but I do have a gap at the top front of the molding between it and the bottom shelf of the bookcase. To me that looks like crap so I'll be filling it it. Instead of wood putty I think I'll use paintable caulk.

Feeling a bit better today. Not as blah and tired but still not more then 85%. Don't know what is next on Ralphie's shop hit parade but I'm sure something will grab my limited attention span.

accidental woodworker

I did not have good day today. The oncology nurse had told me this would happen and today it shook hands with me. It wasn't so much that I felt wrung out hard tired, it was the zero lack of anything. No ambition, no desire other than to exist in space, suck in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. It is/was a crappy way to feel IMO. I kind of felt this way yesterday but it ramped up today. Needless to say not a lot of shop time. I went down four times and it was mostly because I was doing the laundry.

2nd trip to the shop

Sanded down the dings and holes I filled with putty yesterday. It took way longer to do then it should have. Eventually I got it done and then vacuumed it, the back and the base. Gave up after that and headed upstairs back to my desk chair.

4th trip

On the 3rd trip I rolled on the 2nd topcoat. I was really surprised by how many holidays that were on the bookcase from the first top coat. The back panel and base had much better coverage. I screwed the base on and it is a wee bit rocky. Something I'll have to address later on. 

The plan is attach the moldings and paint them. They won't be getting a primer coat. At that time I'll eyeball everything else and do any touch ups as necessary.

nope

I lost all interest in getting the moldings done. I will say that I was happy with the fit off the saw. With paint on them they would look flawless but it didn't happen today boys and girls. All I wanted to do here at 1455 was to mold my butt cheeks to my chair. Maybe tomorrow I'll be motivated to finish this bookcase.

accidental woodworker 

oops

I forgot to tape this off before I put on the primer. Today I sanded and scraped it to bare wood. I need bare wood so I can glue the bottom edge of the molding to it because that and a couple of pin nails is what will secure it.

slow going

The chisel is for blobs and drips. Two sanding grits - 120 for problem spots and 320 to sand the primer smooth. It took a while to get this done. I have had to slow down doing things a lot so I don't get short of breath. This is virgin territory for me because I've always gone at things balls to wall until done. Maybe slower is a good thing now?

hmm......

I don't need to buy a container from Wally World after all. This milk carton is big enough for this to soak in. Hopefully I'll remember to do that before I kill the lights.

how?

I put on two coats of paint and didn't see this. It is a Miller Dowel that got set a few frog hairs below the surface. As you can see it as visible as a flashing neon sign at night. I'll fill it in with wood putty. That will negate me getting the 2nd top coat on today, maybe. Depends if I trot back down to the shop after dinner and do it.

mini card scraper

I was not expecting rolled up paint on the edges because I had used a roller. They are there at every single 90°. Not as bad as brush leaves but still annoying to me. Scraped them all flattening the 90° on both sides. All three pieces - carcass, back, and base - are fully prepped and ready for the 2nd (and last?) topcoat.

didn't forget

All of the japanning is covered with Simple Green. This will soak until monday and I'll check it then. 

accidental woodworker