Best selling wood projects - Building the Wall Mirror

Best selling wood projects

Once again, I have sifted through my stash of recycled timber to find suitable lengths from which to make the mirror.
It will be a simple affair with a touch of Greene and Greene in the design.
I found some lengths of well aged silky oak that had once been the frame of a cupboard door.
It was either originally made with unseasoned timber, or it was made none too carefully.
The lengths were neither straight nor evenly dimensioned.
They needed truing and squaring.

This piece had a hollow edge and had to be jointed before it could be ripped to width.
To help the number 8 plane remain at 90 degrees to the side during the cut, I used a Stanley jointer fence.  Because of the depth of this fence, the board had to be planed before ripping or it would foul on the vice on the way through.  Jointing before ripping also provides one true edge to run against the table saw fence.

Once ripped, the four sides are cut to length and the ripped edges are also jointed. Not as simple this time because the wood is too narrow for the jointer fence to pass the vice, so it must be removed.

Without the fence, it is important to continually check that the edge is square.

It is too easy to tilt the plane during the cut, creating a rise on one side.

All four boards need to be squared and trued in this way.

Some of the scars left over from the boards previous life.

The cupboard door had been assembled with dowelled joints - and just like tattoos, the marks are there forever.

These are unsightly and I will remove this section and fill it with a piece from a suitable offcut.

First step will be to cut the mortise.

Once the size of the mortise is established, then the appropriate sized filler piece can be cut to match..

This will be glued in place and planed back flush.

Before banging away with the mortise chisel, it is best to cut the sides with a paring chisel, so that the possibility of tear-out is minimised during the mortising operation.



This is an old Stanley - perfect for this job.

Righteeo - here we go.
The mortise chisel matches the width of the mortise for size.
Go at it and clean out that hole.

Next steps will be cutting the plug to size and gluing it home.

More next time.

Best selling wood projects

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Best selling wood projects - Bubble and Squeak

Best selling wood projects

When I was a little tacker, I recall Mum cooking up leftovers in the frying pan for Sunday night dinner.  It was always called bubble and squeak, even though it was never the same recipe twice in a row.
All I remember was -YUM!
Well, the leftovers that are coming together to make this cupboard will likely never be repeated, so I am thinking of naming it my bubble and squeak cupboard.
I have settled on one shelf divider-cum-mullion, as this makes the best use of the materials that I have available, and generates the least waste.
A couple of daggy old boards were glued together to create a panel wide enough to serve, but these needed some serious cleaning up afterwards.

I pulled out my low angle block plane - its a little Millers Falls 56 - to clean up the glue line, and was enjoying the experience so much I just kept going - using it as a small smoother.  The timber is sugar pine and meranti, so is as soft as butter.

Trimming to size comes next. While Disston Keystone saws were not exactly their premier line, this one is lovely in the hand, and cuts sweetly.  Disstons advertisement for Keystones reads:

In Keystone made by DISSTON Hand Saws, the
Merchant has a good utility product - a line made in
grades that will appeal to home owners, farmers, stu-
dents and all others who are willing to pay only from
$1.00 to $2.35 for a hand saw.

........Hmmmmmmm, it says something about the quality of manufacturing at the time (c1935) when a utility line product is as good as this.

What the heck - I like mine.

The shelves will be supported in the middle of the cupboard by this mullion.  It is too narrow to cut dadoes in both sides, so I have decided to use the time-honoured technique of adding cleats.

Measuring both sides is easily done by transferring the measurements from one side to the other.  These have to match the dadoes that already exist in the two side panels.

The cleats are nothing more than some left over rippings from timbers used in making the bench.  Because they are hardwood, and in thin strips hardwood is prone to cracking when nailed, I pre-drilled the nail holes. I used cut nails that I found deep in the nether regions of my collection of screws and nail-type things. I think that these were a legacy of an estate bundle acquired somewhere along the way.  I know that nailing isnt even considered as a serious fixing method by some, but there are plenty of occasions when it works a treat.

A little of the woodworkers friend - old mate PVA - on the back of the cleats, and we are good to go.  Clean up the excess glue with a damp cloth.

A simple nosing piece will cover the front of the mullion and hides the cleats from view.  It also adds some visual width to the mullion - and you cant have too much visual width I always say.

Next steps will be the cutting of the shelves, and adding a facing to tart up the particleboard from which the shelves will be made.

Cant wait.

Best selling wood projects

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