Best selling wood projects - What You Can Do With Leftovers

Best selling wood projects

Shed time has been hard to find this weekend, as the rain-caused problems needed attention yesterday, and a trip to and from Coffs Harbour took up most of today.
As well, the tomatoes needed staking and the climbing beans had gone skyward without support. I was reminded of Jack and a certain giant. (Interesting little colonial story that one - use up all your own resources then go to another land and steal all the possessions of the inhabitant, before scarpering home and living happily ever ...)
I digress.
In trying to be more resourceful than Jack, I am pressing into service some re-cycled timbers collected from demolitions.
The bench is near complete. Last tasks were to panel the back for bracing, and to strengthen the unsupported particleboard shelf underneath.  Nothing fancy - a scrap of old masonite for the back and a piece of roughsawn roundback for the stringer.

The glued and screwed roundback stringer clamped to dry.

When I glued the nosing piece to the bottom shelf, I thought I had on hand more wood packers than were actually the case.  The glue was drying and I didnt have time to go cut some more - so - I did what every self deluding woodie does from time to time - I told myself that - just this once - it wouldnt matter, because the clamps would probably not mark the timber anyway.  

Doh!

The evidence is before you in the next picture.

After I removed the clamps, I sent myself to the corner to write out a hundred times - I must not listen to the little voice of stupidity that lurks in the impatience zone of the cerebral cortex. 

Gnats with lobotomies dont make this mistake. 

Double Doh!

 The near complete bench.

Next step will be to construct the carcass for the cupboard that will sit atop the bench.

I have a couple of demolition panels that I thought were meranti (pacific maple).  Turns out they are veneered solid pine core.  Good and solid with plenty of stability. 

veneered solid pine core

These will form the sides of the cupboard, and as an added bonus, they are already dadoed.  

The spacings arent what I would have chosen, but they are close enough.  

There will be a shelf divider-cum-mullion, (or maybe two, havent decided yet) in the middle, which will need dadoes on both sides.

Pre-dadoed panels  - eeeh ha!

This week in the shed is going to be interesting.

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Best selling wood projects - An Elegant Jelly Cabinet Construction Part 9 The End is in Sight

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Lots of Little Bits

The door frame is finished and the bottom rail repair came out very well.  Clamp and glue time - as the door frame is fitted to the front edges of the carcass.

It is time to start adding the various parts to bring the cupboard to completion.  Before this, however, I like to give the straight carcass a complete sanding outside.  It is much easier to do this before the top and the mouldings go on.  Of course there will be final sandings later, but since this wont take long Ill do it now.

The picture on the left shows the difference that this initial sanding makes.  The ripple marks from the power jointer can be seen towards the top left corner.  The sander is an old German Metabo  RAS - still going strong.  Today was a magnificent early autumn day, so out front of the shed was the place to be. Blissful it was!

 
Now is a good time to break those sharp edges with a sanding block.  Here I am using 180 grit. The sun came out onto where I was working - look at that beautiful timber.

 This is the back panel - inside and outside. Note the rebated edges so that it can slide into the back of the cabinet from the bottom.  The sun came and went as I worked - what a joy.

I glued the top to the  sanded carcass and set it aside to dry.  Should be set by tomorrow.  Meanwhile its time to attack the door.


Making the Frame and Panel Door

The frame for this door is quite narrow, so I have decided to use an open slot mortice on the stiles, and tenons on the rails.  This should give me a larger glued area and a stronger joint - even though the end of the tenon will be visible at the corner of the door. The frame pieces already have the groove cut previously, so part of this has to be removed for the joint to work.

I could have chosen to mitre the face edge of the groove, but decided to keep it simple in keeping with the cabinet.  I now wish I had, because I would have given it a little more thought, and avoided the mistake that I went on to make.

The astute reader will see the makings of the "Oh Shit!" moment in the layout of the picture above.  If you dont see it yet, be patient and it will be revealed.

I chose to cut the mortice first, and good old Spear & Jackson sawed the cheeks, and a little jewellers saw cleaned out the waste.  Spotted the blue yet?

Chisels to the rescue to tidy up the saw cuts and square the bottom of the mortice.  I like to undercut the bottom as shown in the last picture - right - as this leaves somewhere for the glue to pool, and guarantees a flush fit.  That middle chisel is a slim tapered Mathieson, the only one I have - wish I had more in different sizes.  It is perfect for getting into the mortice to gently adjust the interior by removing any high spots.

OK - time to cut the tenon.  Measure up against the mortice - (that middle picture is a give-a-way to the clanger that is about to happen).  Cut carefully and fit.
Look at that last picture - right - almost perfect .............................................. almost !!!!!!!!

AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.... and it was looking so good up until then.

Another fix is necessary.  Ill still glue it up and add an appropriate sized plug to fill the hole.  Lucky its on the hinge side of the door, so will rarely be seen.

The mistake was mine from the get-go, and it happened because I was tired when I started this, and didnt think it through.  I was smart enough to stop at this point and do something simple before calling it a day.

I decided to add some dowels to the middle of the tops of the feet, so that they will register easily with the bottom corners when they are glued in position.

It was a daggy old piece of dowel, but wont ever see the light of day - so - good enough!

Rightee-o, one more post and this will be finished.  Cant wait.

LOML is hounding me about starting work on the repairs to the house gables.  Guess that will be next.

May your days be joyous and your mistakes small ....

 ............................ and happy woodworking to all .......
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Best selling wood projects - Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Best selling wood projects

Eons ago, in our first year in the Village, a good friend of my son thought to help us out, by delivering a grocers dozen of near-feral chooks that had been terrorizing Upper Rollands Plains. These, the boys had rounded up in one afternoons feathered version of catch the greasy pig.  A car boot load arrived just on sunset - and unannounced.
What the ...!
Where to put them - no chookhouse, no cages of any kind - in short - no preparations at all.  The boys stood there like cheshire cats, so proud of their contribution to Tele Point self-sufficiency.
The poultry spent the night in a zincalume garden shed, and the next day it was all hands on deck to .....lets go make a chookhouse.
There wasnt much in the way of materials - a little wire mesh, some scraps of corrugated iron sheeting, and an old childs swingset pipe frame without the swings.
Inside a day we had a lean-to roof and a half, and a wire enclosure with a rudimentary door.  Good enough for now - well build a better one down the track.
Seventeen years later, and the original dogs breakfast of a chook house was still there, and in need of a make over.

Out came the door, and in its place went a mezanine of nest boxes - three in all.  A new door was added in the side, and that same side extended to provide an A-frame yard. Another door, and we can walk in without stooping.  Add some more corrugated iron to protect against the southerlies and westerlies, and mesh on the northerly outlook - and it was nearly finished.
A small offcut of shadecloth to temper the summer heat, leaving a sunny corner for those cold days - and we are done.
All we need now is for the ladies to arrive and take up residence.
That should happen this week if the chicken gods are kind.

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Best selling wood projects - Bubble and Squeak

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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.

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Best selling wood projects - Summertime and the Livin is Easy

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Well, it isnt officially summer yet, but the last few days of 35 degrees (95F) have certainly made it feel so.
The hens are delayed and wont arrive until early December -mutter, mutter, grump, groan!  The other jobs around the patch havent stopped, and after a few days of rain, the grass is jumping out of the ground.
Yesterday saw a valiant attempt to tame the front padddock, and all was going well until the ride-on threw a belt.  Not the easily replaced blade belt, but the main drive.
While I await the pleasure of the repairers, it is off to the shed to get some more work done on the new bench and cupboard that will house some of my woodplanes.
Fine woods and fancy joinery are often presented as the objective in all woodwork.
These are eminently suited to furniture, and I will address both of them from time to time.
But this will be a utilitarian piece made from what is available - I know that there is some hardwood and a few left overs of particleboard.  These will serve well enough for the bench, and there is some re-cycled meranti that will make a useful cupboard to sit on top.
Theres an old saying - perfection is the enemy of good enough.
For this cupboard, good enough will do nicely.
Ive been attempting little bits and pieces on this project for a while now, but they always get shunted sideways when higher priorities intervene.
Today I finished the legs and assembled both sides. The front and rear rails are cut and the top roughly dimensioned. Photos later.

Chillaxing by the pool sure felt good this afternoon.

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