Best selling wood projects - Interlude Artisans Expo at Mondrook

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It is always a pleasure to attend workshops and demonstrations no matter where they are held.  This weekend there is a superb Expo being held at the Artisans Retreat - Tinonee Road Mondrook - near Taree, and I was lucky enough to attend the opening day today.

Peter Calabria, the owner of Artisans Retreat, was on hand to show off his new Cougar Lathe, and to demonstrate his ultra thin walled technique in bowl turning.  He will be workshopping over the next two days. He was kind enough to include all of the following artisans in the expo.

Alan Williams is one of Australias finest makers of beautifully sculptured bandsawn boxes.
Apart from seeing his expertise on the bandsaw, we had the opportunity to talk hand tools - in particular the old hand tool makers.

His planes repertoire consisted of a Stanley number 5 jack plane, but fettled for smoothing, and a venerable Stanley 65 low angle plane.  Both of these were set with a Japanese laminated blade and a tight mouth for fine results.

We both agreed on the quality of the old Ward and Payne laminated blades from Sheffield England.

Speaking of quality hand tools, Colin Clenton was there with his superb selection of measuring and marking hand tools.

He also carried with him a wide selection of hand planes from Terry Gordon.  These need no introduction and are highly regarded world wide.

Not bad for a couple of local boys!

One little snippet that I got from Colin was this piece of tool making history trivia that made me laugh.  One of the well known brands of quality marking gauges had a brilliant reputation for tolerances and quality control, but left the labelling of their product until the end of the assembly process.

Having produced a splendid product, they then stamped their logo on the blade - this distorted all of the built in tight tolerances by around eight thousands of an inch - negating much of the work already done.  Doh!

Howard Archbold is a traditional bodger, making magnificent chairs from black locust - a timber that he works green.  The pieces here were only cut from the living tree the day before.  They have straight, even grain and are impervious to termite.
His bentback and windsor chairs are a work of art.

All of his work is done with hand tools - drawknives, a pole lathe, scorps and compass plane, as well as a bow saw - and the worlds largest mallet - are part of his tool kit.
Fantastic to watch him in action.

Doug Moseley, used to be the blacksmith at Timbertown in Wauchope many moons ago.

He is an artist with iron and steel, and is now one of the few itinerant blacksmiths in the whole of Australia.

You will note the portable forge on the right background of this picture.

He makes the working of this most utilitarian of metals look so easy.

Furthermore, all of his work is bespoke - no mass production here - every piece a work of the blacksmiths art.

Doug not only crafts iron, but he also offers classes to any aspiring blacksmiths who want to get started in the dark arts of  metal magic.


Here, the love of my life has found a couple of items that really interested her.

Whatever has she got in mind!

Madame Lash indeed!

Peter Minson is a third generation glass blower who combines science with art in his creativity and his designs.

We were drawn to his demos like moths to a flame.  He will offer a full day workshop on Monday. Stunning work.

Finally, for me anyway, there was Warren Targett - Luthier.

As woodworkers we are constantly surprised and delighted by the quality of the work produced by our colleagues, and others who work in wood.

Warrens guitars are a sight for any woodies eyes.

Here is one is for frequent fliers, and it folds up to store in an airline overhead locker.  When the headstock is right next to the bridge, you know that the guitar is going to be different.  This one is finished and is not a work in progress - what the ...............?

The Artisans Expo was an absolute joy for me today, not just in meeting such wonderful craftsmen, but also in catching up with woodies that I correspond with but seldom meet.
Here is a full listing of the caftsmen and craftswomen presenting:
Alan Williams
Anne Mitchell, Peter Minson
Doug Moseley, Howard Archbold, Warren Targett, Colen Clenton, Adrian Clark
Michael Mogy, Grant Calvin, Donna Carrier, Christine Calabria
Peter Calabria
Daryl Lattimore, Warwick Mitchell, Erna Dykshoorn, Vivienne Scott

It was wonderful to see so many people seizing the day!

Special congratulations to Peter Calabria and Artisans Retreat for creating and sharing this fantastic event.

Happy woodworking to all ..............
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Best selling wood projects - An Elegant Jelly Cabinet Construction Part 5 Dovetailing the Carcass

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I have an aversion to noise and dust in the workshop, so originally I was going to hand cut these dovetails.  Life - with all its unexpecteds - has a funny way of happening while we are making other plans.
And so it did ....
And so it has been a while since there were any Jelly Cupboardings ...............

Change of plan - use a jig and a router to cut the dovetails - handle the noise and dust and get on with it. Much quicker - even if noisy.

OK, these dovetails will be covered by the mouldings that I made earlier, so - nothing fancy - through dovetails will be fine.  And who makes the best through-dovetail jig in the world - Roger Gifkins of course - so lets use that.

Rogers through dovetail jig can be used on any router table.  My old Triton is perfect for this.
To cope with the dust and shavings, I have a shop made mdf dust hood that works reasonably well - held on here with an F-clamp.
The dovetails in the background are a set that I made from scrap, to test that the jig was registering correctly.

For a video demonstration of How to Use the Gifkins Dovetail Jig - see HERE

I found that my dust hose needed lengthening - what to do?

A supermarket fruit tin, with the top and bottom knocked out, fits like a glove.

Once the pins are cut on the ends of the top and bottom panels, it is time to address the tails on the side panels.  The Gifkins Jig makes light work of these as well, and a match with the top and bottom takes shape pretty easily.

It is important that the tails are cut on the side panels, and the pins on top and base. This is stronger in my opinion than the other way around.

A trial fit shows that the joint is pretty snug and will clamp up quite tight.

Here is the assembled carcass.  Not glued up yet, as the dados have to be cut for the shelves.  Easier to do before assembly.
The dovetails are cut a little proud - and will be planed back flush after glue up.

OK, not a bad afternoons work - following the mowing this morning.
Great to see things starting to take shape.
Time for a shower and an ale .................

..... and happy woodworking to all ...........
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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 - An Elegant Jelly Cabinet Construction Part 2 Making Mouldings

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Artisans Expo on Friday, Camden Haven Show yesterday, Sunday chores and family time .......
So where am I up to?
Components need to be cut and sized - and if not square, made so.

Several parts - the sides, top, bottom and back panel are all wider than the stock that I have available, so some edge jointing and gluing are called for.  Ill use biscuits again, as they are convenient, strong and quick.

While the glued up panels are drying, Ill get the remainder cut out, and make a start on the mouldings for the crown and the base.  I am going to make my own mouldings from the offcuts of the New Guinea Rosewood.  Should be fun.

Here is the moulding plane that I have chosen for cutting this particular moulding.

It was made of beech by J Creagh in Cincinati, Ohio - probably in the late 1800s or perhaps the early 1900s.

It is boxed and sprung.
It has an inlaid boxwood wear strip down the left - as seen here - hence boxed.

As a sprung plane, it has two spring lines scribed on the front. These indicate that the plane has to be tilted to its left as it is used, to give the correct orientation to the cutter as it is presented to the timber.

The squared section on the right side of the sole as seen in this picture, is the fence that abuts the edge of the timber.  Keep all these things in mind when using moulding planes like this.

Look closely at this front shot of the plane and you will see the faint spring lines - parallel to the red arrows that I have drawn to show the orientation of the springing.
The fence abutting the edge of the timber can also be clearly seen on the right.  I have just started this, and already a groove is beginning to appear.

The plane will stop cutting when the built in depth stop reaches the level of the surface.  As can be seen here, there is a long way to go yet.

 As I cut deeper, the boxwood strip starts to contact the surface and the second groove begins to take shape.

It usually starts at the far end of the workpiece, and slowly extends along the full length.

Special care must be taken to even out the cutting depth as soon as the groove is the full length.  If left too long, there will be too much to remove at the start end of the board, and it will be awkward to adjust afterwards.

Best results in cutting mouldings like this are in straight grained timber.  There are a couple of curly bits in the timber I am using, and these will require remediation later.

Mouldings like this can be cut with a router, but will require a router table and multiple passes of the machine.

This creates mountains of dust and chips, and if not done carefully, runs the risk of burning the timber from the speed of the router bit.

With a moulding plane, there are mounds of shavings, but no dust.

They save on power and give a workout at the same time - win, win!

The finished mouldings fit the profile of the plane perfectly.  Ill trim them to width later when I decide what looks best on the finished cupboard.

I have been trying to discover the correct term for this profile.

Two possibilities are a quirked cyma reversa  and a grecian ogee with fillet.
Perhaps even a quirked grecian ogee.

If you know, please leave a comment.













Did someone mention shavings!

OK, the pieces are coming together.

Wont be long before there will be some serious joinery.

I have noticed that my reference lines are becoming faint, so I will re-mark those before going any further.

I am going to start with the sides, top and bottom, and then build the back panel to suit the size of the carcass.

The front will have a face frame to house the door, which will be of frame and panel construction.

Ill make the door last so that it will be a snug fit.
Not sure how far Ill get this week, as there are a few other items needing attention around the place.
Well see ...........


Happy woodworking to all ...........
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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 - An Elegant Jelly Cabinet

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What the .........?????

Who stores jellies in specially made cabinets these days?  Maybe the Amish, the Mennonites or any would-be-Shakers, but - apart from them ...... well?

Fortunately this cabinet wont be storing jellies, (we call them jams in Australia), but will be utilitarian enough to be turned to many purposes.

I have been looking at numerous styles of antiques for the kind of cabinet that I want to build.  Unfortunately, none of them hits the mark, but between them - all the pieces of the cabinet puzzle are present.

Let me explain.

The cabinet will be narrow in proportion to its height - like this one.  However, it wont be so tall - only around four feet high.

It will have one door - not two.

These doors are solid, and even though they are not made out of plywood, they look as though they could be. Not a pretty look.

This cupboard is useful, but it lacks elegance, and scores poorly aesthetically.

Here is a wall mounted cupboard with only one door.

The proportions are again wrong, but the door is similar to what I want mine to look like.  I wont paint mine.

Frame and panel construction for the door, looks so much nicer than the slabby appearance of the former cupboard shown above.

I dont like the way that this door has been framed by the front of the cupboard.

The top and sides are OK, but the bottom looks unfinished, and the door seems to hang in the air (which, of course this one does - but you know what I mean).

The framing of the door needs a bottom rail.  This will serve two purposes - beauty and practicality - ie it will look good, and add strength to the construction.

Now this is better.


The door is wrong, but it is at least framed, and looks better from that perspective.


The bottom stile is too narrow, and doesnt match the top stile in any way.

 Sitting flat on the floor like this, also makes this cupboard look squat.

The addition of some short legs will make a huge difference to the appearance.  They will also be practical - allowing airflow underneath.

After all the wet weather we have been having, improved airflow will be a big plus.

Heres a good example of the leg height I am after.  Pity about the cabinet.

Some antiques have well and truly lost their beauty along the way.  The years have not been kind to this one.

Now, none of these cabinets have the grace that I am after, and they are all too wide for their height.  I shall have to remedy that in my design.

What each of them does have, is one ingredient that will be utilised in my final cupboard.  I just have to put them all together, and hope that the finished result matches the idea in my mind.
Sounds like fun doesnt it.

Next step will be to find some timber, then .......
..............let the games begin!

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