Accidental Woodworker

Starting feeling like crap yesterday afternoon. I couldn't sleep last night for more then an hour. My snot locker was stuffed full and I couldn't breathe with the CPAP machine lying down on my side. I spent a fitful night sleeping propped up against the headboard. Didn't feel much better in the AM.

broken dog

I lost the doo hickey at the top of the dog. Found this on the deck when I came to the shop in the AM. I would have just made a new one but as usual I couldn't find something. The something I was searching for was the bullet catch on the side of this dog. So instead of a replacement dog, I glued a new doo hickey on at the top.

checking the leg stock

Both boards behaved themselves over night. They looked to be still flat and straight. Neither one grew a hump back too. Cleaned one short edge on both boards. I'll make them 90 before I run them through the lunch box planer.

happy face on

Both boards passed the flat test with flying colors.

both for $6 and change

I couldn't resist the miniature bin. I like that it is clear so I can see what I have in it. The 5gal bucket was a lot cheaper than I expected. Lowes even had pink buckets for the ladies.

pic frame coming

I sent a pic of the frame I made for Leo's drawing and he remembered doing it. I didn't want Miles's to feel left out so I'm making a frame for a pic he sent me before my CT biopsy. 

done

After I got back from Lowes I finished the fitting the doo hickey on the dog. The dog is maple and the doo hickey is too. It keeps the dog from falling through the dog hole in the bench.

flushed the top

I still have the original metal dogs from when I built this desk. I switched to wooden dogs the last time I nicked a iron on them. I haven't noticed any difference in gripping power between the metal and wooden dogs.

shooting the miters

I'm making Miles's frame the same size as Leo's but Miles's is 3/4" thick. I didn't have any 1/2" thick stock but I don't like making the exact same thing for the grandsons. 

sigh

Gave up on this again. The slip nuts were nice with adjusting but I couldn't get all four miters closed and gap free.

hmm.....

And this slip nut wouldn't tighten, as it got close it slipped. Go figure on that. I switched it with another one and the same thing. I didn't feel like playing with it to find what went south. I won't be playing with this clamping method for the foreseeable future.

nope

I was able to get 2 then of the 3 miters to close up tight. I fiddled and faddled with it and then gave up. I went back to the miter shooting board and touched up the miters again. That didn't improve it and one miter was still open a frog hair.

sigh

I was expecting this to be the winner. I even tried sweetening the miter heels with a block plane. It worked for one but with the 2nd one I started chasing my tail around the frame.

this surprised me

This is the first time I can remember all four miters closing up tight with these miter clamp doo hickeys. I took it apart and repeated it with the same results. Decided to glue it up with these. If this hadn't worked I was going to try my metal band clamp.

success

With glue applied, one miter wouldn't close up tight. I tried but with glue applied I didn't have a lot of time to play with. I put bar clamps on and that worked closing up the miter tight. I put two more clamps the opposite way to equalize the force. I'll let this cook until the AM.

Clamping this up wiped me out. I didn't feel winded or tired, just spent. Like I had nothing left to give. I think I'm coming down with a spring cold because my snot locker fills up quicker than I can empty it.

Didn't go back to the shop for a PM session. Instead I sat at my desk and watched Unforgettable on Amazon prime.

accidental woodworker

 Made the trip to Highlands today and now I'm thinking maybe I should have waited a few more days. A lot of the cherry shorts were rough sawn while last month when I got wood for Miles's desk the cherry shorts bin was stuffed full with S4S. Not so today. But I still managed to get what I needed for his desk. Albeit it is going to take more time to prep it.

rough sawn 8/4 cherry

There was no S4S 8/4 cherry to be had. There also wasn't any wide rough sawn 8/4 cherry (for four legs). I picked these two out to get the legs from.

4/4 cherry

The  S2S 5/4 and 4/4 cheery bins were full. The two stacks on the right here are 4/4. The wide boards are for the miniature cherry chest that is coming after Leo's desk. The thinner width 4/4 boards are for the rails. A lot more than what I need but the extras are for the cherry chest. 

5/4 cherry

I bought two 10 foot boards for the top and had them sawn in half. I only need 3 with one orphan board.

hmm.....

Both of the 8/4 cherry boards are cupped. I am going to flatten one face on both first to allow them relax for a few days. I always start by knocking down the hump side of the board. I will flatten and straighten that face first and then ran them through the lunchbox planer.

legs?

The plan is to get the legs from each outside edge. They are mostly straight grain which is what I want for the legs.

hmm.......

Might have some trouble with this board. The outside edge straight grain on the right is a little thin. I'll put these two legs at the back.

comparison

Cherry is a pretty wood off the plane.  The right board is almost there. It has a wee bit of twist and I still need to smooth it out from the #6 plane.

still some twist

Along with the twist there was still a hump. I traversed this board at an 45° and a 90° several times but it was slow going. 

hmm......

I like this plane because it works equally well pushing or pulling it. Here I pulled over an area that I identified as high. It took a lot of back and forth before I got this one flat and straight end to end.

2nd board

Wash, rinse, and repeat. Of course this one had a hissy fit and went into camera shy mode.

no twist

After the first 4 planing runs over the board I checked it for twist. There was none and it stayed that way until I got it flat and straight.

sigh

This board was a pain to flatten. The hump refused to cooperate and go away.  I attacked it with 5 different planes but it was as stubborn as a mule. The first board took about 45 minutes and I was already well past that with this board.

wow

Time flies when you are having fun. I stayed until I got the 2nd board done. I wanted to have both of them relaxing over night.

LN #4

This plane got a work out on the 2nd board. It was only plane that seemed to be knocking the hump flat. I spent a lot of time pulling the plane vice pushing it.

finally

This check is the last one I do - checking it for flat. I grab the far end of the straight edge and move it left/right and watch for where it pivots at the opposite end. For the longest time it was pivoting about the 1/2 way point - still had a hump. 

Here the straight edge pivoted around the pencil mark from this diagonal and the other diagonal. That proves the board is flat. I got this tidbit from watching Keith Rucker at the vintage machinery website. Anyways it took a lot of time and calories before this board got flat and straight.

final check

Still twist free which surprised me. With all the back and forth I did planing the hump flat I was expecting some twist to shake hands with me.

before I left the shop

The left and middle boards are 11" wide and the top needs to be about 26-27 inches wide. I got two boards with a partially open knot/gum pocket so I can match Miles's desk. The far right board is 10 inches wide and I only need about 5" of that one. Not sold on this but I won't probably get to the table top until next week, maybe monday.

accidental woodworker 

 The foot was a wee bit sore when I rolled out of the rack this AM but it was so much better feeling than yesterday. No problems walking or standing but I took it easy nonetheless. I wandered up down to the shop several times but I didn't exert myself. I think the most strenuous thing I did all day was to sweep the deck in the shop.

sigh

I can't bring myself to shitcan these cherry scraps. Went searching the shop for something to put them into and nada. I'll have to make a Lowes run and buy a 5 gallon bucket. 

hmm........

Thinking about doweling Leo's desk. I read the literature again on the Dowel Max and tests showed that doweled joints were stronger than mortise and tenon. I had no problems doweling the small table. I don't anticipate any headaches with the desk. I checked and I can get 7 dowels on the ends of the top rails.

only one

I put 2 1/4" long screws in the top - one at each block. On the bottom I put one screw at each end and two in the middle block. On the bottom I don't have to allow slots for the table top clips.

ouch

The screw I put in at the top split the end block. It wasn't a complete break and it closed up nicely when I glued it. Instead of putting a 2 1/4" screw back into it, I put a 2" screw. It held and the block didn't split, break, or crack again.

youngest grandson is an artist

I am going to hang this one in the shop somewhere. I will have to do some rearranging but I'll find a hole for it.

for my wife

My wife is fascinated with old township/district maps from the late 1700's to the middle 1850's. 

proof

This is one of five frames that I made for my wife. All of them are still together. All the miters are tight still and zero evidence that they are planning to go south.

Union #3

Because I am brain dead I pissed away a couple of hours trying to get this spit a shaving that was the full width of the iron. After the umpteenth time putting it back together I noticed that when I screwed down the right screw in the frog, it titled backwards pushing the bottom edge at the mouth up. 

Screwing down the left screw wasn't the same - no tilting or  movement. With that one screwed down first the right still cause movement in the frog. But it wasn't as bad as when the right one was done first.

unbelievable

I put the plane together for the last time intending to put it on a shelf and forgetting it. However, I tried to make RML shavings one last time. I couldn't believe what I saw. The last time I had made RML shavings the lever adjust was fully over to the left. Today it is full over to the right. ????????

RML shavings

All three are the same thickness but the right one isn't as long as the other two. I made two more runs and I got RML shavings that were all about the same. The right ones were a wee bit more wispy than the RM ones.

I'm done with plane. Now that it is together I put it on top of my shop cabinets to gather dust.

accidental woodworker 

I didn't sleep that well last night. My right foot was sore and achy. It woke me up a couple of times to shake hands with me. When I got up the foot really said hello to me. It hurt like hell to walk and I limped for the entire day. The pain lessened a little but it flared up off/on all day. Something is not right with it and I'll be calling the foot doc for an appointment.

I thought of going to Highlands today because it turned sunny before lunch but I didn't. I'll be going on friday which is supposed to be partly sunny/cloudy here and sunny in New Hampshire. 

Getting ready for that trip I filled up the pickup and I was less then a second from having an involuntary bowel movement. I had gotten gas less then two weeks ago for $3 and change a gallon. Today the same gas was $4.17 gallon. The trip to NH is going to be expensive I have fill up before I leave (done), fill up again before I leave NH, and one last time after I get home. Ouch - it was $45.87 to fill up from a 1/2 tank today.

forgot this

This pen box was the third thing I worked on yesterday but I forgot to include it in that post. It is done - four coats on the inside and outside. Tomorrow I'll rub it down with wax and ship it off to my sister.

glamour pic

Plain and simple with little adornment or embellishment. Just the way I like it. 

done

The two cherry bookshelves are done with 3 coats of shellac. The walnut one I'm giving to Maria at the Frame it shop. It had a blemish on the shelf that I had to add another coat of shellac to.

Don't know what I'm going to do with all bookshelves I made in the past couple of months. I have 12 of them - one is being used (my shop books),  two are going with Miles's and Leo's desks, and one to Maria tomorrow. The other eight are waiting adoption.

rejects

Worked on sawing the slats to width and thickness. These are the rejects from thicknessing. I added 8 more when I sawed the slats to width. I had to do this in batches because standing wasn't that comfortable. Surprisingly going up and down the stairs was easier than walking and standing.

plenty

I might have to make a new 2" wide slat. When I measured it after cleaning it up with the 5 1/2 it was dead on 3/8" thick. All the narrow slats are 1/64 more than 3/8". I'll check the fit of it after I chop the first narrow slat mortise.

the drawer runners

Went to Lowes to get some 1/2" maple for the drawer runners but nada. What they for sale was all twisted, cupped, or bowed. Bought some New Zealand pine instead. I'll let this relax in the shop until I make the drawers.

more drawer stock

The prefinished plywood will give up the two drawer bottoms. I have enough poplar to make one drawer. I have my wood list for Highlands and it includes two six foot 1/2" poplar boards. 

I might be taking it easy tomorrow too. Maybe the walk I went on yesterday is the cause of my current foot headaches. I could check up on my reading because the pile isn't shrinking at all.

accidental woodworker 

 The VA appointment was easy peasy. The tech took my vitals and then I walked for 6 minutes, and he took my vitals again. They both agreed - oxygen was 97 pre walk and 95 post walk. The blood pressure readings were almost the same. 

The only time they do this test is at 0900. I couldn't reschedule so I went. I wanted to go to Highlands because today was sunny. The next sunny/partly cloudy day is friday. I'm going to try and go then but is there is another sunny/cloudy day in between that, I'll jump on it.

ready

Out of the clamps and all is well in Disneyland. The drawers fit one frog hair loose R/L but no fit top/bottom. 

top rail

The top rail is 1 1/8" wide and the bottom is 3/4". The top is wider because it will get the table top clips. Noticed that the rail has bowed a wee bit. Not sure how to address that to straighten it out. I've got plenty of time to figure it out.

hmm.......

Cherry is such a pretty wood. This is after the first coat of shellac. 4 more and it will get a check mark in the done column.

sigh

I had wiped the shims I stuck in the gap with a wet rag. Still got some residual glue squeeze out. I cleaned that up by chiseling the end grain like I do on half pins with dovetails.

scraps

I need 34 narrow 3/4" slats and one slat 2". I think I have enough with the left overs from Miles's desk to get want I need. Should have a few extras too on the narrow slats.

1st round

Got the 2" wide slat and 37 narrow ones. As I was ripping these to rough width/thickness I saw a few iffy ones. With these slats it pays to have a few extras. 

60 narrow slats

I went nutso on the extras. I could have stopped at 40 but I had two more boards. I should have more that enough to pick and chose from.

almost forgot

My friend asked what/how the ends were so important. First step is to saw the rail length a couple of inches more than needed. 2nd step is to saw out the top and bottom rails. 3rd saw out the center block (mine is 3"). 4th is to cut out ends leaving them long. 5th is to position the ends in towards the center block. That is too make up for the saw kerfs and the length of the drawers. Glue it up and let it cook.

Went for a walk today for the first time in a couple of months. Back in November when I was first was told I might have lung cancer I said screw it to the diet. Now that is up in the air and the doc said it will be 7-10 days before I get the results of the CT biopsy. Still waiting.

The result of that is my weight ballooned. On april 21st I weighed 267 pounds. My heart rate is higher and my blood pressure is elevated. I piled on 72 lbs and I am now back on the wagon. I want to drop some tonnage so my BP drops down to what it used to be. 

My normal range was around 110/85 and now it is running 150/90. I had a good run and ate like a condemned man. Cookies, ice cream, candy, and lots of take out. All gone now for the foreseeable future. Looking forward to getting back down to 195-ish.

accidental woodworker 

last night

I didn't glue it up but I did do a dry clamp up. Everything fitted nice, nice. I left it in the clamps until the AM.

clipped the corners

I don't like leaving the corners of the shelf at 90°. I don't think a round over fits in with the overall 'square' look of the bookshelf so an angled corner it is.. 

happy face on

Getting better at chopping these mortises. All four came out with clean with crisp edges. I hope the upcoming slat mortises for Leo's desk come looking just as good.

ready

Planed and sanded the insides of the ends and the back slats. In the on deck circle are four clamps and glue.

Leo's front drawer rail

I was going to motor up to New Hampshire tomorrow but that got nixed. I have a VA appointment with pulmonary for a 6 minute oxygen evaluation walk, whatever that is? But I can work and get the drawer rail done. 

Tuesday is supposed to be sunny/partly cloudy. The rest of the week has rain forecasted until the weekend. It will be next week before I can go north to NH so I'll have to fill in my shop time with something new project wise.

layout done

I think I got this one figured out. The drawers will have a continuous grain flow L/R (or R/L). I'll have a good piece of this left over - roughly half the board. 

done

I sawed out the parts and dry clamped them back together. I won't be repeating the brain fart with the drawers I did with Miles's desk.

happy face on

The drawer fronts are a couple of frog hairs longer than the drawer openings. The key is making the two far ends (that get the tenons) longer than necessary.

been a while

I haven't used this shooting board for a whole bunch of full moons. Checking the plane body square to the stop. Spoiler alert, it wasn't. The drawer fronts weren't square and I shot them square and a wee bit smaller then the drawer opening R/L.

snug fit

I didn't plane the top/bottom to fit the opening. I'll do that when I start on the drawers.

clips came

I thought that these were thinner than the ones I used on the small table. Turns out that they are exactly the same. These new ones are lighter in color but they are the same.

blurry pic

Cleaning up the 2nd cherry bookshelf. The pic I snapped is blurry and I don't understand why. I shoot my pics with the automatic setting selected. Usually when I get a blurry pic it is because the automatic setting got moved somehow.

last two

The 2nd one is in the back. I'm leaving the top as is. No round overs or clipping the corners. I also didn't make the top of the ends  parallel to the bottom.

one down, one to go

Most of the pre prep for shellac is sanding the end grain. Cherry is a wee bit harder to do - takes more time and calories than doing pine.

sigh

 

My nemesis shook hands with me again on both sides. Small gap but my OCD goes into overdrive no matter what the size is. I glued a piece of cherry veneer in both.

ready for shellac

Sanding and branding is done. But no shellac today. Mickey's big hand is on 12 and the his small one on 3. Quitting time but I might get a coat on after dinner.

hmm.....

I don't know what this is (top board), certainly not a gum pocket. It is exactly where the half blind tails want to live forever.

worth a try

I soaked then with super glue. I don't know what or how they will like being sawn and chopped. Hopefully the superglue will consolidate and fill up the voids?

accidental woodworker

 

hmm.......

I am liking this rag ball for applying the final shellac coat. It flattens the brush strokes it makes the top looks like glass. Thinking out loud, would a foam brush do the same?

nope

Out of the clamps and the lid won't close. It fits on 3 sides but still won't close. I knew that it would take some fussing to get that to happen.

the fix

I have made several of this type of box lids and none have closed without any help. The sanding sticks make it a quick and easy process.

sanding stick safe edge

The safe edge on the sanding sticks keeps me from sanding a groove into the top edge of the bottom.

closed

Took a while but I finally got the lid to close. It needed a wee bit more fettling because it was too snug. With shellac applied it won't close. I want the lid to fit loose so it is easy to take off and put back on.

finally

Got the lid to fit on the bottom in both orientations. However, it is loose one way (X on the lid/bottom aligned) and tight the other. Too tight to call it ok.

getting closer

The left side is a few frog hairs higher than the right. The corners were keeping the lid from freely closing. I used my 1/2" shoulder plane to knock down the corners because the sanding sticks were working too slowly.

ta da

The shoulder plane worked a treat. Lid closes easily both ways and a little on the loose side. That should tighten up when I apply shellac.

hmm......

I should have used this plane from the start. Sanding sticks are still the ones to use on squirrely grain keepers but with anything else the shoulder plane goes to the head of the line.

splotches

They are hide glue bleed through from the glue up. I wanted to use a oil/wax finish on this but I didn't. I know shellac will lay on hide glue but I don't know if the oil/wax finish would do the same.

two coats

Started applying the shellac on the box doing the bottom of the bottom and the top of the lid. After I get 5-6 coats I'll switch and do the interiors of the bottom and the top.

cherry bookshelf

Getting the depth of the back slat mortises the same as the shelf dado wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The key for me was to chop the first run shallow and sneak up on it. I did it mostly by scraping the bottom of the mortise with the same chisel until Mr Starrett said I was to depth.

rasping the feet cut out

I survived another angled bottom cut. I had to make a a couple of trial cuts to make sure I would get it right. The angled cut should be done (and the cutout) before the glue up. Much easier to get it done before the glue up.

ready for glue up

Planed the inside faces of the ends and chamfered the ends of the back slats. The dry fit of the back slats were snug. I had to plane the left end of the shelf before it fit in the dado.

sigh

Glad I caught this on the dry fit before I laid down any glue. I glued and clamped this boo boo and set it aside. I was hoping to get this glued and cooking but it didn't happen boys and girls. But it might if I haul myself down to the shop after dinner.

coat hanger

This is what I came up with to hang the frame. Wedged a board between the floor joists. From that I hung a short length of coat hanger to catch the wire on the frame.

for air flow and standoff

Silicone feet to keep the frame from touching the cement wall and let circulate behind it.

looks good

Maria did an awesome job of matting this. The glass is a conservation glass that blocks 99% of UV. Helps with keeping the poster underneath it from fading or discoloring. It cost me $90 which I think is a bargain. 

accidental woodworker 

easy table top clip installation

I still have to put in 4 more clips but I was surprised by how strong the clips I did install were. The top was tight to top of the rails and easy to pick up and move around. And no headaches with getting the last four done - nothing in the way of that. 

bottom shelf

The shelf is flat and tight to the bearer with two clamps holding it down. Nothing moved when I screwed it. No glue - just one screw at each end. This way any repairs will be easy.

6 ounces of shellac

Running out of shellac so I mixed up a new batch. 6 ounces of shellac and 3 cups of alcohol giving a 2lb cut. Turned out that I didn't need this because I had just enough from the last batch to finish the table.

splines

I don't want to rely on the miters staying together even with the help from the top/bottom panels being glued in the grooves. Going with 1/8" thick  cherry splines to help out the miters.

WOW

Went to the Frame it Shop before lunch and this is all that was ready. I think this looks absolutely awesome and I can't wait to get it hung. Maria told me the other stuff I gave her will be ready by wednesday.

its new home

I got this painting after I got out of the Navy in '94. Never thought of framing it but it is going bye bye now. The Periodic Table of Wood is going to hang there now. Just have to figure out how to do that so the frame doesn't touch the cellar wall.

sigh

I had tapped each spline with a hammer to fully seat them. This one didn't get the memo. I'll fill it with a piece of the scrap shims.

sawing the lid free

I saw a You Tube vid where someone was sawing a lid free. Normally I start sawing at the corner but I tried it the way I saw it by first sawing about 1/8" down on the shortest side. From there I sawed down a long side using the kerf on the short side to guide me. Worked well and I did good sawing the lid off. I'll have to try this a couple of more times before I can say whether or not it is a game changer.

Had no problems sawing it off and cleaning it up with a couple of planes. Planed a small chamfer where the lid and bottom meet for visual interest. 

cherry keepers

Dry fitted with mitered corners. It didn't fit on the bottom in either orientation. I'll dial that in after it is glued and cooked.

Initially I was going to hinge the box but changed my mind. The lid height wasn't high enough for the surface mounted hinges I planned to use. Went with keepers instead.

glued

One of the long sides had a gap that I didn't like. The keepers need to be tight against the inside of the lid. If not fitting it can be a headache.

glued, clamped and cooking

No more gaps. All the keepers are up tight against the inside of the lid now.

hmm.....

Saw two white spots on the bottom shelf. I don't think are glue because they are too large. I scraped them with a card scraper and applied shellac over them. The seemed to disappear with the shellac.

ready to use

Been a couple of hours and the shellac is already to use. Whizzing the flakes up in a spice grinder speeds it up dissolving in the alcohol. I added a little more alcohol to the shellac to knock the pound cut below 2.

first glamour pic

I like this a lot and if I had room for it in my house I would keep it. But my daughter already yes to adopting it. Just hoping that my wife doesn't convince her to paint it down the road.

glamour pic #2

Side view. Still on the fence with the number of slats. I like the wide center one but maybe I should have added two more narrow ones?

A quick and easy project that I whacked out lickety split. Fingers crossed the weather will be nice next week. I have to go to Highlands to get cherry for Leo's desk. Thinking out loud, will the 2nd one be done quicker?

accidental woodworker 

 

a good sigh

First of the make up mortises on the correct side of the rail. I think it is now impossible for me to screw this up again.

hmm.....

Got the banding at the top done all the way around. When I did a sneak peek preview, the bandings were not visible with the top on. There is a one inch overhang of the top past the outside edges of the legs.

bottom shelf

The new bland bottom shelf. I had thought of sizing the bottom shelf so that it extended to outside faces of the legs. Switched lanes and decided on this - the shelf in between the inside edges of the legs. However, I think I made it too tight R/L. I don't have to worry about expansion/contraction this way but I didn't like how tight it was.

hmm......

I think this will look more balanced if there is a slight gap on the ends.

another look

I don't think this looks out of place. The important point is that my me-steak table top clips are covered and hidden. When I chopped the mortises on the correct face I ended up with through mortises. I had chopped them (both sides) about a 1/2" deep and the rail is only 3/4" thick.

hmm.....

My normal glue up would have been two boards of equal width. That would have put the glue joint right on the screw in the bearer. With unequal width boards, the screw wouldn't be on the glue joint line. I am hoping that the shelf will only need one screw on each end to secure it. With one screw I don't have to worry about expansion/extraction.

clearances

There is a 16th of a gap on both ends and a 1/4" on each side of the shelf at the legs. The 1/4" clearance should be sufficient for the shelf to expand and contract. The 16th gap on the ends gives a shadow line.

low angle jack

Giving this a try - planing the end grain to see how smooth it comes out. Did this to avoid having to have to sand them from 100 to 220 grit.

the last bookshelf

I had glue a blowout on the top so I started back on the bookshelf. Checking the ends for twist before planing them down to thickness.

done

I had sawn off the waste fairly close to the knife lines. I didn't have to make a lot of runs with either plane before the the knife lines disappeared.

three times

This chip threw a big hissy fit. The planing on the end grain kind of worked but I still had to sand it. The chip was blown out with a sanding stick. The first two times I glued it, it came off when I pulled the tape off. The third time was the charm for me.

2 coats

I routed a chamfer on the top and shelf, smoothed both with the #3, and followed it up with the RO sander up to 180 grit. I will get the 3rd coat on the bottom of the shelf and top after dinner.

This is almost at the finish line. My tabletop clips are scheduled to arrive on monday but I don't need them to attach the top. The 4 that will be missing I can install after they come. I should be done with this by sunday at the latest.

accidental woodworker

first one

This looks a lot neater than the first six. For whatever reason, I thought you couldn't chisel the outline a 1/8" wide mortise (too narrow?). I was wrong and this looks almost as good as the routed mortises.

done

These will probably never be seen again but at least I know how well they looked.

yikes

My 18" Starrett holder gave up the ghost. I pulled it out and the pine doo hickeys broke off. Made a pit stop to repair it because it is something I use every time I'm in the shop.

long rails

This glue up went off without a hiccup. I let this cook for a few hours. I wasn't having any issues with the lung biopsy, but I still took it easy today. No pain, soreness, or shortness of breath, still working but at a more leisurely place. 

sigh

I'm beginning to see a pattern here. I chopped these 3 table clip mortises on the wrong side. I hadn't checked before I chopped them that I was on the right face. I have made a rash of avoidable me-steaks on Miles's desk and now on this small table. Note to self - take your head out of your ass and look and verify before jumping.

the fix

There is no way to 'fix' this screw up quick and easy. The first thought in the brain bucket was to fill them in with shims. That didn't appeal to me because this is a show face and the filled in mortises would be visible.

Union #3

Gave up on getting this plane to make RML shavings. All I could do was to get shavings to spit out on the left side. The problem is the left side flat frog seat. It is chowdered up for about halt of it and it is lower than the right one. 

I thought of trying shims to raise it up but that would be a PITA. The sensible fix IMO is to braze/weld up the left seat and then mill all three seats parallel/flat to the sole of the plane. For a plane that I paid $25(?) for, a repair like that isn't warranted. I'll put it back together and put it on a shelf to collect dust.

sneak peek

The bottom shelf is history. I am giving this to daughter #2 and she doesn't share my love for grain (she didn't like the pic I sent her). I will reuse this top on a miniature chest. I've wanted to make one out of cherry for a long time. Which means that I'll have to make a new bottom shelf.

new bottom shelf

I used my Stanley doweling jig to put in three dowels to help with the glue up. Didn't have to, but I'm experimenting and getting used to using it. Killed the lights here and let the shelf stay and cook overnight.

accidental woodworker

The lung biopsy today at the West Roxbury VA went well. No hiccups and after almost 6 hours in the PACU, I was allowed to go home. I had instructions to not operate any equipment nor engage in any stressful activity. Tomorrow I am cleared to resume my normal ADLs  (activities of daily living). Which for me means I can work in the shop.

No results on the tissue they took from lung though. All I now for sure is that  the lab said the tissue was ok to analyze. I'm hoping that they have something for me in a few days.

Before I left for the Providence VA at oh dark thirty five, I sprayed one coat of shellac on the end panel slats. After that I looked around the shop for a few and killed the lights. Headed out to catch the shuttle to West Roxbury.

back home and hmm.....

It can't be all that stressful to remove the clamps from the bottom shelf.

side by side

The top (right) and bottom (left) can't be confused with being from the same tree. I'm going with this side for the bottom shelf too. I like it too much and I believe it adds a lot of visual interest to the table. 

the other side comparison

These two are very similar in graining but not so much in color. However, once shellac is on it that should blend and agree more. Moot point as it will be facing the floor.

before I hit the rack

I got three more coats on this before I went to bed. Spraying the slats beats the snot of brushing them. No matter how careful I am, I always have drips and runs to deal with. 

I had to scrape one slat because it had 2 glue drops that I missed seeing on the first two coats but caught on the 3rd one. Shellac will stick to the glue but it will not hide it.

hmm......

After seeing (and liking) how the mortises for the table top clips looked like off the router I am trying something different with the make up mortises for the end panels. I knifed them all the way around. They should come out a lot cleaner looking then the first errant ones I chopped.

I would have chopped them after dinner but I declined. The doc said to take it easy and I didn't want to push the issue. I can whack these out in the AM lickety split.

accidental woodworker

Not much shop time today. I rolled out of the rack late and I had an appointment at the VA. No complete glue up but I at least got the ends cooking. I had to do the vampire act also. The doc put an order in for blood work and they drained me to fill 11 vials. Never had that many with any previous blood work.  

Tomorrow will be a zero shop time day probably. I have a lung biopsy at the West Roxbury VA at 0900. I expect to get home late - after 1800 so I'll only get to go to shop and look around and fondle whatever tools I have on the workbench.

sanded

Last night after dinner I had done some sanding. I finished that up first thing this AM.

hmm......

I'm a wee bit short on these clips. I need four more of them. Ordered a 100 of them from Lee Valley last night. Woodcraft sells them too but the last ones I got from them were stamped and they were thin. I like these because they are thicker and stiffer. I haven't deformed any screwing them down like the thinner Woodcraft ones did. (I've since shitcanned them)

before I glue up

Wanted to chop the mortises for the table top clips now before the legs are attached.

glued and cooking

Made good progress. I wasn't sure I would get these done before I left for my appointment.

shelf

Squeezed in gluing up the shelf. It will be roughly 12-13 inches wide and about 28 inches long. One board will be 9" and the other about 5". I didn't do equal width boards for the shelf. I didn't want the screw through the bearer to screw into the glue joint between the boards.

wow

I like the grain pattern on this side. Black gum streaks, soaring cathedral point, and a sliver of sapwood are all like eye candy for me.

stress free glue up

I got an almost dead flush glue joint on both faces. The only hiccup were these two clamps needed a helping hand laying flat on the top.

the front runner

I like this a lot but I am not sure others will share that opinion. At this point it is the leading contender for being the up face.

opposite face

This face grain is a lot tamer. On the glue joint there are matching black gum streaks that make this look like it is one wide board. Both sides IMO are a winner but I'm still leaning towards the one above.

just noticed this

I have done a lot of bone headed, brain fart induced me-steaks but this has got to be the leading contender for the #1 spot. How could I chop 6 of these mortises and not see that I was all by myself out in La La Land? I'll have to chop six more on the correct edge.

last 8 mortises

Did these with the plunge router and a carbide 1/8" router bit. A lot cleaner looking than the hand chopped ones.

shim stock

I don't think these slots will visible but I am going to fill them in anyways. I was hoping to bring these out to the driveway and spray shellac on the slats. I might be able to squeeze that in after dinner.

last three

This filled up the mortises better than I had hoped for. The mortises weren't that clean and smooth but the shims filled them in good.

accidental woodworker

 Almost got the table glued up but it didn't happen boys and girls. No life alternating glitches or brain farts stopped it, just the work flow didn't go as fast as I thought it would. Maybe tomorrow I'll get it glued and cooking. All I have to do besides some mind numbing sanding is to glue up the bottom shelf.

Miller Dowels

Put two dowels into the shelf from each end. I didn't put any in the back slats. The bottom shelf will keep the bookshelf together. The back slats were fitted snug into the mortises with glue. I doubt that they will ever give up the ship.

epoxy clean up

This isn't 100% cleaned up but close. It looks good with no bubbles and the color is uniform through out.

table top epoxy fill

The epoxy shaves off easily even with a dull iron. 

the opposite face

There is a void on this side. Debating whether or not to fill it in. This is the underside and will never be seen. hmm.......

sigh.....

I was planing the burn marks off and both stretchers bowed on me. The left one you can see. The right one bowed up. Both of these are toast so I'll have to come up with another plan for securing the bottom shelf.

bottom shelf bearer

Three times is the charm for me. That is how many attempts before I got it right. I'll have to fill in a few holes after this is done. I screwed the bearer to the bottom rail dry, no glue.

chopping mortises

The depth of the bottom mortises are 3/8" deep and I chopped the top ones 1/2" deep.

fitting the slats

I purposely made the slats oversized in the width and thickness. Planed each one to fit their respective mortises.

not a me-steak

I forgot to saw the slats to length. Not a boo-boo but a work slow down. 

another boo-boo

One tight fitting dowel threw  hissy fit. It broke off flush with the top of the hole when I tried to pull it out with pliers. I had to drill it out again with the doweling jig. I left it on the bench just in case I ran into this again. Measured for the length of the slats with the end dry clamped.

left side

I like this. IMO it better than not having any slats at all. 

done

Got both ends dry clamped and two of the slats have gaps. All the slats fit snug and I don't need to glue them. The two gaps are at the ends that I will fill in with wedges.

hmm......

I don't like this look. The miter heels should be facing down and not up. The miters will be partially visible and will look better that way.

super glue

This rail has a bazillion little cracks that I filled with super glue. I don't know exactly what they are but I filled them mostly so they won't show when the shellac goes on.

Weather has gone screwy lately. Last week it was unseasonably hot for a couple of days. Now the temps have dropped and the overnight temps will be close to freezing (0C) for a while. I was going to shut the heat off but that won't be happening for a while yet.

accidental woodworker 

blurry but readable

Unclamped it and checked for more splits and I found none. Both of the two 3 1/2" wide boards will give up the aprons/rails for the table.

hmm......

I am going to dowel the table together and the doweling jig matches the width of the apron/rail boards. I was expecting to get maybe 3 dowels and not all 5.

done

Having 5 dowels on each end will strengthen the leg to rail connection. I paid attention to the alignment tic marks before I did any drilling. Paid off because I didn't screw up any of them. I usually brain fart on this step due to not paying attention and jumping before I look.

birds eye cherry

I looked this up and there is such a thing as birds eye cherry. There isn't a lot of it but enough to catch my limited attention. I have two 6 foot long boards of this.

got it right

There is a 3/8" spacer with the jig which put the center of the dowel holes dead on the center of the leg. 

no problems

The dowels don't hit/touch on each other. I was able to fully seat both of the rails and close them up gap free.

survived

Doing the leg doweling was nerve wracking. First baby steps were getting the layout for the aprons/rails. There are 6 of them, two each on the sides, and two at the top front and back. There are no bottom front/rear aprons/rails.

Once I sorted that out, which took a while and involved a whole lot of erasing, I drilled the first one. I set a reference face for the doweling jig and I agonized about getting it right for all six locations. A lot of second guessing and double checking but I finally got it done with any brain farts.

sneak peek

I like this but after seeing it I think I should have made it a little higher - 4-6 inches?

hmm.....

A single stretcher on the bottom isn't enough. The bottom shelf will be in between the inside of the bottom rails. I will have to put two stretchers in to support the bottom shelf.

side slats

Played around with this and initially went with 5 slats and then changed that to 3. Finally settled on this, one center wide slat with two outside smaller ones.

filling some holes

I stuffed a bunch of cherry shavings in the hole on the top before filling it with epoxy. The one on the rail doesn't extend to the opposite face. When I checked it an hour later it had sunk below the top. I'll have to fill it with a second round of epoxy. The second hole on the rail didn't sink so it won't need to  be refilled.

the new table

Everything needed to make the table except for the bottom shelf. I am still deciding on whether to use the birds eye or plain sawn cherry.

sigh

The first stretcher I sawed out bowed before I set it aside. The next two came out flat and straight. I'll let them relax for a couple of days and fingers crossed they stay this way.

accidental woodworker 

 I went to Koszela Lumber today and got the cherry for the upcoming small table. I finalized the plans for it in my head but that doesn't mean that is what I'll make. I'm still a little fuzzy about how to attach the legs and the number of aprons are still subject to change. Hope to start on that in the AM or monday at the latest.

4/4 cherry

I was hoping for rough sawn but she didn't have any. This 4/4 is dead on 3/4" thick. Two, five foot boards 3 1/2" wide for at least 4 aprons. Three six boards 9 1/4" because they looked too good to leave there. Two of the boards have a bunch of pin hole knots that look like birds eye maple. One of those will be for the bottom shelf.

sigh

I think I finally have solved this plane. The right side flat seat is lower than the one on the right. This is the best I could come up with to measure it. Would be better if I had some machinists measuring tools to do it properly.

hmm.....

This is a new iron from Lie Nielson for my 9 1/2 blockplane. There is a flat at the toe which means I have a lot of runway work to do first. I set this aside and picked a different iron to start with.

Donna's pen box

The toes aren't dead on even, but there aren't any gaps.

the cherry top

The rest of box looks on the plain side. Maybe I should inlay some banding to break all the whiteness of the poplar.

first iron

The iron is out of square. Not much but enough that I need to address it. I have found over the years that it way easier to deal with multiple iron problems one at a time. There are two with this iron - first I addressed the out of square by dragging the iron vertically down the runway until it was square.

The 2nd problem was sharpening the iron. I find it is easier to not drive myself postal trying to sharpen and square at the same time. Of course I had to expend a ton of calories to sharpen because squaring the iron left a flat on the toe.

got lucky

I found a piece of 5/4 scrap cherry under the sharpening bench. Now I have enough stock to redo the ends for the 2nd bookshelf.

messy work

With all the runway grinding I had upcoming I changed the sandpaper on both runways. I usually use mineral spirits to soften the glue residue but I gave alcohol a shot because it doesn't smell as bad as mineral spirits does. 

Might smell better but mineral spirits softens the glue residue a hundred times better than alcohol.

3 left

Got two irons for the LN 102 and 103 block planes both of which have flats on the toe. The last iron to be done is for the violin plane. It was almost 1300 when I got back to the shop to finish this up. I had thought I would have been done before lunch but it took a lot longer than anticipated.

violin iron

These jaws for the LN honing guide are for short length irons etc. I can't use my normal 25° setting jig but this old Lee Valley setting jig works fine.

done

Seven irons finally done. Three were out of square, three had flats at the toe, and two just needed to be honed.

RML shavings

After the stones I stropped each iron before getting each one to spit on a set of RML shavings.

ain't done yet

Missed one iron - left it in the block plane. Didn't notice it until I tried to put a freshly sharpened iron in it.

almost there

Most of the waste got (>1/4") removed with the tablesaw and the ryoba saw. I just have to plane it down to the knife lines. Just found out that I've been spelling the japanese handsaw wrong. It is Ryoba not Ryobi.

yikes

Big split on the apron/rail stock. Opened it up, slathered some glue in/on it and clamped it.

hmm.....

Turns out that there were two splits that required my attention.I will let this cook until tomorrow and I'll eyeball it for any other splits in the AM.

accidental woodworker 

 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

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

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

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