Fallen Into Knowledge

I just finished a couple of signs for a church in St. Helens, which I will install on Thursday. They are finished out to match the church’s existing woodwork: I wanted them to look as if they has always been there.

I spent most of the weekend in the shop, building a small tool chest for my “fine woodworking tools.” Actually, I don’t really need the chest, but I wanted an excuse to try my hand at hand-cut dovetails. It took a long time, and I need to spend a lot more time if I am to get any good at it. Before I left tonight, I put a coat of Linseed oil on, to begin the finishing process. Here are some pics, taken with my crummy phone:

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It may not be taking forever, but I sure am taking my sweet time. I haven’t touched the dresser in months, and tonight I discovered that in the interim it had warped. Which is bad. I fit the back, partly to try to straighten the dresser out. I also began the process of making parts for the drawers: I made the drawer fronts and sized them.

Most drawers made these days are “overlay:” the front of the drawer, when closed, sticks out from the front of the case. For my dresser, I am flush-mounting the drawers, so that they are flush with the case when closed. Flush-mounted drawers are much harder to make, because the tolerances are much tighter, but they also look better than the alternatives.

Tight tolerances + warped case = real problem. I”m still working on a solution.

That’s woodworking: its about solving problems. Perfection doesn’t really happen, so a woodworker has to approach a project in a way that reduces the likelihood that problems will be ruinous or un-fixable. Every once in a while a project will “just come together,” but most of the time - at some point - you’ll make a mistake. Only expect perfection on the last step, allow for a fudge factor everywhere else.

This afternoon, we delivered the first of several batches of cabinets to Bob. Bob is “remodeling” a large tugboat - he plans to live on the boat. I first visited his boat a few months ago, and he has made a ton of progress since then. While we were motoring the cabinets (for the “head” - the bathroom) across the water on one of his work barges - he owns a marina - I couldn’t help smiling and thinking, I’m getting paid to do this!

After looking at the cool (but expensive) carving mallets in the tool catalogs, I got inspired to make my own. Cheaper than buying one. Mahogany and Maple. I coated it with epoxy, but then realized that I screwed up the proportions. So I sanded it back down, removing the epoxy mess. As of these pictures, I haven’t re-applied any finish. I may not.

Over the weekend I rebuilt this bookcase
I got the bookcase for free, which had been used to store paint. When I got it it was painted grey, and had tar and various finishes spilled on it. I took it apart, sized down all the wood, and pretty much started over with it.
I didn’t want it to look “rebuilt” or new when I was done, so I stained it dark and finished it with shellac. My mom had an old upright piano when I was growing up that was exactly this color. The bookcase is built out of CVG Fir - reused from the former bookcase, except for the crown moulding - which is alder (I had it laying around) and the back - which is Philippine mahogany.
I Really enjoy this rebuilding of old things - taking something that is deemed “junk” and making it into something full of worth. It seems a theologically appropriate activity.

Tada! Its done, and in use.

Had fun building on my tool cart today. My tools are more numerous than the space I have for them, so I need to make more. Making my own is cheaper and more fun than buying - plus, I get to design the case how I want. There will be some drawers for tools, a pegboard / clamp rack for hanging stuff, an area for larger tools (skillsaw, etc.) and a shelving unit for paint, stain, and finishes.
Its rare that I use plywood, but building with plywood is fun, because there is no jointing, planing, or gluing up panels. You just cut and build. In this case with 3/4 inch Poplar plywood and 1/2 inch Russian Birch for the drawers and shelves. Also, instead of dowels, mortise and tenon, or dovetails I am using that staple of cabinet makers - pocket holes and screws. The advantage of these is that, when the tool cart is done all the screws will be hidden from view.
I got quite a bit further than the picture indicates. the far compartment will be a bank of drawers, and I got the drawers built and the faces cut out (even with plywood - which will be painted - the grain down the bank of drawers is continuous). I will buy the drawer slides tomorrow so I can finish that. The shelves, which go in the end facing the camera are built and faced.
All that is left is: fit the drawers, put the top on (which is cut, but off to make working on the case easier), insert some panels covering the sides and back of the drawer compartment, put molding around the base and top, prime paint and clearcoat (glossy fire engine red!), and put the plexi top, drawer hardware and casters on. Oh yeah, and fill it with tools.

I have been working on my dresser.  I am building myself a dresser out of gumwood and maple.  The dresser I have is falling apart, and is the sort of furniture wherein none of the parts failed to pass through sawdust on the way to being a dresser.
Like most complicated projects, this one is about number crunching and making jigs as much as it is about cutting.
Above is a picture taken while cutting the datos for the web frames - pictured in clamps at right.
Lower right is a picture of one of the sides of the the dresser.