Best selling wood projects - Building a Rosewood Hall Table Part 1

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The ukulele is progressing, but has gone on the back burner while this commission is completed.

Preparing Stock 

For this hall table I will use some very old Australian Rosewood.
It was felled over twenty years ago and has sat around all that time waiting to be turned into something beautiful.
Hope I do it justice.

 

The exterior of the rosewood has deteriorated but the timber underneath is quite lovely.

The bandsaw makes short work of ripping down to size.
Here I am cutting the legs.

Note the push stick on the right for assisting with the feeding when using the fence on the bandsaw.
Saves losing fingers if things slip up.

Here is the slab that will become the top of the table.

Already some interesting grain is evident and this will need to be watched to prevent tearout when working with tools.

There is a natural edge to this slab which I will preserve as the leading edge of the table top.
It is weather beaten and grungy, so it will need refining when the time comes.

In its present shape this slab is too long and will be trimmed to size, being careful to remove as much cracking and checking (see far end)   as possible.

Next step will be to mill the legs.  These will be square in section at first but will be tapered later.

The four legs are all 45mm square to begin with.

First step will be to cut these to length.

Before tapering, the mortices that will house the rails will be cut.  It is much easier to do this with square stock than with tapered stock.

Also, the rails need to be housed in mortices that are square to the rail ends.

The grain in the legs is not straight, and has a distinct sloping attitude to it.  I will use this to advantage when it comes time to taper the legs.  The tapers will follow the grain.

Next step is to cut out the front and back rails as well as the side rails.

These will be the same width and thickness.

Here I have cut more rails than I need.

there is some checking towards the ends of the individual timbers and the grain varies with the timbers used.

There is also some significant sapwood that shows some signs of  insect larval damage.

I want to use the sapwood in the design if possible, but will carefully remove any damaged sections first.

The rails need truing and the bandsaw marks need removing from the edges and faces.
Here I am using a Stanley Number 31 transitional plane as my jointer.

The edges are checked for square against a strong light.  As you can see, this edge still needs work.

The Legs

Once the legs have had their mortices cut - I use a router for this - then the legs can be tapered.
A rough taper is cut on two faces of each leg on the bandsaw.

The legs are then smoothed using the Stanley jointer once more.

Once smooth, the edges need to be dressed to prevent splintering and the base of each leg chamfered.

This chamfer stops the bottom of the leg splintering, and also creates a shadow line under the foot - adding a little elegance.

In the next part, I will dress the table top and gather all of the parts before final assembly.
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Best selling wood projects - Time Out and a Road Trip

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We have had a week away from the village, catching up on family and friends.  It is always a pleasure to spend time with loved ones, and to meet new friends along the way.  Our sojourn took us south through Newcastle and Sydney to the Blue Mountains, then after a night with my lovely sister in Kurrajong - onward to the south west.
Bathurst, Carcoar, Cowra - then to Young.
Plenty of pix, of course.

The autumn (fall) weather was spectacular.  Even from the car window there was always something happening.

Carcoar is NSW second town established west of the Great Dividing Range, and is totally classified by the National Trust.  We love stopping here at any time, but April is colourfully splendid.




























The old railway station hasnt been used for yonks, but still holds an air of elegance and grace.

Its been a while since the last train rattled along these tracks:

The use of wrought iron lacework and the attention to detail in the construction are a real delight.

The only construction happening at the moment is being done by the paper wasps as seen below:

The last of the summer grasses are starting to brown, but recent rains have brought forth a flush of late wildflower growth - before the frosts arrive to cover all in white.

As if this wasnt enough, the evening skies also entertained.

To top this all off, I discovered some great old tools and some fabulous timber.  More on those next time .....
.................... and happy woodworking to all .............
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Best selling wood projects - Making A Boat Paddle Tenor Ukulele Part 10 Assembling all the Parts

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Roll Call of Parts

Here are the front and back skins that were made previously.
At the moment they are over-large, and they will be trimmed to size after gluing them to the body.

Shown below are almost all of the parts - assembled before fitting and gluing together.

From top to bottom:

1. Body
2. Four tuners
3. Laminated neck
4. Headboard - to be glued on before tuners are added
5. Fretboard and 
6. Nut
7. Bridge
8. Back skin
9. Soundboard

There is much remaining to be done.


Final Assembly Steps

Here is a guide to the remaining steps in order.

1. The mortice for the tenon on the neck, has to be cut into the neck block on the body.
2. The neck is only roughly formed and needs shaping.
3. The fretboard needs to be laid out, and cut for the fret wires.
4. The fret-wires need to be inlaid.
5. The back needs to be glued in place.
6. The neck without fretboard is glued to the body - before the soundboard is attached (see number 9 for care in fitting).
7. The soundboard is glued to the front - covering the neck tenon (see number 9 for care in fitting).
8. The fretboard is glued in place, over the top of the neck and over the top of the soundboard.
9. It is important that the top surface of the neck, and the top face of the soundboard are in exactly the same plane when finished, so that the fretboard covers them cleanly.
10. Headboard and nut are glued in place, and trimmed to fit the outline of the headstock.
11. The holes are drilled for the tuners.
12. Final trimming, and the body cleaned and sanded.
13. The bridge, nut and fretboard are covered with tape to protect them from overspray - and the whole body is given several finishing coats of lacquer.
14. Tuners are fitted, and the ukulele is strung for playing.

Since the neck is my next major project - here are its parts laid out:

As you can see, the fret-wire comes in lengths to be cut as applied.
The fretboard is already inlaid - I did not do this lovely work - a skilled artist in Saigon was responsible for this, and I purchased several of these inlaid fretboards for the ukuleles that I intend making.
This is the first time that I have used such a fretboard, and am excited to be able to include it.
It is Indian rosewood inlaid with mother of pearl and abalone shell.

The tuners shown are black, but I may change these to ivory if I think it suits the finished uke better.

OK - enough for now.
Ill post again as the assembly process continues
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Best selling wood projects - Spring Days and Ukulele Nights

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Where does time go?
The weather here has been fickle - some stunningly beautiful spring days, mixed with winds carrying dust and smoke from hazard reduction burns.

The ukulele is still getting its layerings of shellac when weather permits.
The Hastings Woodworkers Guild is keeping me busy as well.

We retrieved some fallen timber that we will mill in our Club bandsawmill.
These logs are eucalyptus grandis - also known as flooded gum or rose gum.
Only found along parts of the east coast of Australia, this was a rare and lucky acquisition for us.

The tree blew down in a wind storm earlier this year, and has awaited collecting since then.

Rose gum is a beautiful, straight grained pink to red timber, that is easily worked and gives a lovely finish.
My friend and singing (a cappella - base/tenor) partner - Ken - seen here directing operations on the back of the truck, donated the timber - and our club is extremely grateful.

Adrian organised Peter and his truck for the pickup and delivery.
Events for the club are coming thick and fast as well. We have had weekend after weekend doing demonstrations and publicising our upcoming wood show - Port Panthers Auditorium - 5,6 & 7th October.
Here are some of the woodies at last weekends antique fair over at Wauchope:

On this occasion we were demonstrating pen-making, and scroll saw work. Chris takes a turn ........

Rod regales a visitor about the qualities of hairy oak ................

In between, there has been Uke-night - (an absolute hoot this week), local meetings, and all the regular things that make up life at the moment.
I am itching to see the ukulele finished, and find out what it sounds like.

In the meantime here is some Taimane Gardner to blow you away:

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Best selling wood projects - An Elegant Jelly Cabinet Construction Part 10 Amish Design for Contemporary Use

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Finishing the Door

Remember that hole in the door frame - caused by inattention. I had cut the mortice too deep and the tenon simply didnt fill it.  Turns out I had done it to both sides - so two fixes are needed.

Solution: Add more tenon.
It is about as elegant as I can be in this position.

And it worked fine - not conventional, but necessary.

One end done - now to do the other.  This time I thought I would cut the tenons first so that they wouldnt suffer the same skinny fate as before.
How hard could it be?

Guess who forgot to allow for the panel grooves.
Gnats with lobotomies dont make these kinds of mistakes.  A lesson in humility - AGAIN!
A frantic search of the workshop found  an offcut that will substitute as another rail. Saved!

The Australian Rosewood panel had to have its edges reduced to fit inside the groove in the frame.  I used a router with a dished bit and created a raised field in the middle of the rosewood.  This field sits at the same level as the frame, and the play of light and shadow between it and the frame is quite pleasing I think.
The groove needed some adjusting as well.  Good old side rebate plane to the rescue once more.  Long ago, before I acquired this plane, I could not have imagined how much use it would get.

Here is a trial fit:

Before assembling, I took the chance to break the inside edges of the frame with sandpaper - being careful not to round over any place where the edge formed a square joint.

When assembling, it is important to check for square. The easiest way is to measure diagonals to both sets of outside corners - luckily they were the same and the frame did not need racking.

Applying the Mouldings

 These had been made previously  and are to be fitted to both the top and the base.  When I tried them, they complemented the top very nicely, but looked too heavy for the base.  So the base mouldings were thinned down to a shadow of their former selves.

Fitting them is tricky.  Do them one corner at a time - and get it right before cutting the mitre on the other end. It always takes more of the moulding than your measurements will show.

I like to cut them over-long, and sneak back to the finished size in very thin increments.  You can never add length to an over-cut mitre.  Whats that old saying:

 "...... Damn, ........... Ive cut it twice - and its still too short!" 

 


I deliberately start with the bottom moulding - if Im going to make any errors that I have to learn from, it will be on the minor moulding, not the major one at the top.
 Trial fits are essential - especially in establishing the mitre. Sometimes 45 degrees will not work, and 46 is needed.
After lots of trial and error I clamp the front moulding, and and mark its position before adding glue.  It is amazing how slippery these can be with glue and clamps added, and the reference marks are then vital.
The others are done one at a time - there is nothing worse than gappy mitres that look like they need orthodontic help.

I only have enough soft-jawed clamps to keep any two mouldings in place, so while the second - at the base - is drying, I can make a start on the top.

Getting a grip on a sloping moulding can be difficult.  Here I use an offcut from the same profile, and reverse it to give a square surface for clamp adhesion.

The Finished Product

All rightee then ...........

Fit the feet ................................

............................    fit the door, clean up clamp marks and give everything a final sand.

I recently acquired a box of reproduction antique door handles from one of my woodworking associates, and one of these suits the door remarkably well.  Many thanks Bob.

Will it be a Jelly Cabinet?
No  ........................... not even a jam cupboard, or even a cabinet for preserves.
This is its heritage of course, as it hails from an Amish or Mennonite Furniture design - however here at Telview Hill, it will be used for storing board games and puzzles that we use with the grand children.

Now if the weather will only stay kind for a week or so Ill be able to attack the next project - repairing the gables .....

Joyful days and small mistakes .....................

................. and happy woodworking to all ............................
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Best selling wood projects - Building a Ukulele Part 10 Applying the Shellac Finish

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The first ever - Riverside Ukuleles - tenor ukulele has been completed - to the point where the shellac finish to the body can be applied.  This will be a time consuming process.
Here it is after four coats:

 

Up to this point the shellac has been applied with a brush.

After six coats I will change to a soft pad, and it will be Karate Kid style - wax-on ....

And the front ................

 

The fretboard has had the mother of pearl (MOP) fretmarkers inlaid into the top, and the side markers inlaid  as well ....... remember those knitting needles ......

I think Ill give the fretboard a waxed finish after it is glued on - wait and see ........

Now this shellac-ing is sometimes referred to as French polish, but it seems that French polish was bees wax based, and that shellac was actually an English finish - whod - a - thought.

The process is going to take some time, so Ill spare you the wait .......

In the meantime, enjoy some Brittni Paiva ..

... and even if you dont live in Alaska .... Uke-on ............!!!!!!!
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