Best Source: part

Showing posts with label part. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Working wood is the easy part

Since Ive started posting videos on You Tube, and since Ive started this blog, viewers and readers have come to expect content. Fair enough. And I try to come with a new project every week. But the fact of the matter is — and I hope other non-commissioned woodworkers will attest to this — it aint easy to come up with ideas. Well, put more specifically, the ideas are easy...figuring out how to do them is hard. Or, if you will, cutting and assembling wood is easy: inspiration is hard.

So with all intentions, I headed out to my garage this morning to build something out of wood. I have the notion to make a cool wood version of the classic "Connect 4" game.

Well, I spent a lot of time staring at my sons actual version and fussing with ways to improve it. You, know, make it out of wood. Yeeeah...

I decided my shop was a mess, hauled out the ShopVac and began tidying up. No shop that has actual work taking place should look this clean:

I organized my "very special" cut-offs that I will never use into their own dedicated box:

I even put all of my enormous collection of a/v wires and connectors into their own box:

Then I vacuumed all the cobwebs out of every corner. Even up high:

I found a 1 1/8 inch dowel that might work for the game pieces. I examined it for a long time:

Eventually I cut a 1/4 inch thick disc out of the dowel to use for my Connect 4 game:

Yep. Looks good. Then I calculated that I need 42 of them. Hmmm. The game will need — maybe — holes. I bored a hole! Now progress is happening:

And well, between that and working out in the yard, thats what I accomplished on this holiday day off. One hole and a disc.

Woodworking is easy.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Dovetail Layout Part 3 The Frank Klausz Technique

Ive finished setting up the dovetail layout discussion by talking about the tools, basic set up, and design ideas. Now were starting on the meat n taters of how I go about laying out varying dovetail joints. If you are just joining in and want to catch up, you can find all the posts collected HERE.

As Ive mentioned before, at one point I gave up learning to cut dovetails. I swore them off like Id just graduated from a joinery rehab program. As I understand it the real challenge isnt rehab itself, but staying away from lifes temptations after rehab. I guess when it comes to being a card carrying member of JA (joiners anonymous) My temptation, provided by Master Frank Klausz, proved to be too strong for my resolve. The article he published on dovetail layout and cutting in the October 2005 issue of Popular Woodworking saved me from a life devoid of my favorite and most satisfying woodworking technique.

Thank you Mr. Klausz.

Here is the basics of the technique I pulled from that article. It produces wonderfully even, strong dovetails. Frank is known for his stocky, broad pins and tails, and I really it tends to lean that way Im making my own design decisions

You start the process by measuring in from each side of your stock, half of the thickness of the stock itself. This is standard 1X pine, therefore 3/4" thick, so the dividers are set to 3/8".

I make the measurement on both sides. Youll see that I make a regular mistake and inevitably end up marking my measurements in the center of the board. When I do this, I then have to transfer the marks to the stocks outer face. This does illustrate that its important to keep track of the visible face of your stock. Try to habitually work with the "outside" of the stock facing you, because when youre sawing that leaves any tear out to the inside.

Then using a bevel gauge set to your chosen dovetail angle, (or, if you prefer, an actual dovetail marker) I make my first marks, making sure the wide dimension of the tails face the outside. By now you are on your way.

Then adjust another set of dividers to the full width of the board.

Then set the narrow width of the first pin.

And use the bevel gauge to mark the opposing line.

Now get out your ruler and divide the remaining expanse in half. Be as accurate as possible because these pins and tails are supposed to match in size Mis-measurement can result in a loss of symmetry and an unfavorable result. Especially over a wider expanse of stock where small incremental inaccuracies can add up to something quite noticeable by the time youre done.

When the stock is wider than what Im working here, you repeat this step, measuring to the center as many times as it takes to get the divisions correct. Theres no magic number for correct, pay attention and your eyes will guide you.

Make another mark with the gauge at this measurement. Make sure it is angled in the same orientation as the two lines measured from.

Now take the dividers set to the FULL THICKNESS of the stock and measure the narrow width of the pin, just like you did on the first.

Then mark the complementary angles.

With the layout complete take a minute to inspect your work. Mark your waste and try to imagine how it will turn out. Ask yourself, "Is this acceptable?" If the answer is Yes, move forward to the sawing.

It is very, very important to make sure you mark the waste on your "to be" dovetails. I know ego can sometimes sneak in after deciding youre proficient. Do not fall for that trap, it only ends in tears and frustration. The few seconds of time you take to mark your waste can make a world of difference later, especially if you have to re-prep a section of stock from scratch because of this little failing of arrogance.

I do speak from experience and tears when I say things like this.

Always use the pins that have been cut out to mark the tails on the joining piece. There are two reasons for this. For one, you make up for small moments of humanity by creating a mirror image that will match up into a tight joint. Also, doing this is so much quicker than trying to re-layout the joint in opposite. When I first tried dovetails, I read so many confusing things that I laid out BOTH the pins and tails on the two pieces of stock before I tried to cut them. The results were somewhat less than ideal, as you probably can imagine.

A little clean up with a plane and the joint looks smooth, tight, and wonderful.

The design of Franks layout looks very strong and even, It is a great take on the joint that does not have to take center stage, in fact in a figured wood or fine design, this layout will easily slip into the back ground and not overpower. Strong, regular, and traditional, this is a good place to start our exploration. Stay tuned for more layouts soon.

Cheers.
Oldwolf

Finnish Kantele Build Part 2 Framework

Ok, Im back.

I went back down to the wood shop and cut out the parts for the framework underneath the kantele and also for the tailpiece that holds the strings. Here is a photo of the underside:

These parts are all made out of poplar.

Here is a photo of the tailpiece. This is made out of an old redwood scrap Ive been dragging about for the past 100 years or so:

Im going to clean up these pieces and then glue and clamp the whole thing together. Ill show you what it looks like tomorrow.

Have a good rest of the day,
VW

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

New Deck Part 4

The guys got the stair rails installed today. They look great.

Apparently the company is aware that they need better instructions for the stair rails. Today I studied the situation and think I can write up something that will work. The company admitted to the contractor that they knew they need new instructions and are "working" on them. Guess Ill send them what I come up with.

Tomorrow they will put up the lattice and once again we are waiting for the rest of the materials.

Part 4.5
Part 5

Monday, February 10, 2014

Its Wanderful Part 5

Finally, the sanding was done and it was time for finish. Given the shape of the wands, I made a drying rack for them before beginning the finish. The rack is made of two pieces of .040 aluminum which were bent into an L shape in order to hold the wand on the 40 mil thick end of the aluminum sheets.

My impromptu finishing station set up on my Dust Deputy.

On advice from The Wood Whisperer I used Charles Neil’s Blotch Control (luckily I was able to order it before his store went on summer hiatus). It seems to have worked well (no blotches in the final finish) but did raise the grain considerable. I sanded after the first coat of Blotch Control with 320 grit and after the second with 600 grit.

Between the coats of Blotch Control application.

Next came the dye. I used two (2) coats of General Finishes Water Based Dye Stain in Merlot for the business end of the wands. I applied the dye using a foam brush and rubbed it in and off with a cotton rag. For the handles I started with two (2) coats of General Finishes Water Based Dye Stain in Ebony. As the tone lacked the depth I was looking for, I added India Ink to the dye for the third coat. This added depth, though if I was to do it again I would be much more liberal in my adding of India Ink to the dye. I was given the India Ink advice on Twitter, and I’m embarrassed to say I don’t remember who recommended it, so whoever you are, thank you.

Merlot on the business ends.

Ebony on the Handles.

Once the dying was done, I finally moved on to finish. In order to finish the wands I applied 12 coats of 1 lb shellac. The shellac was applied with a foam brush in a manner similar to the dye. The first 5 coats were done using amber shellac, hoping that the amber color would add a richness of tone. When it didn’t, I switched to a 1 lb cut of clear shellac I already had mixed up rather than mix a new cut of amber shellac for the final 7 coats.

Eyeing down the wands, mid-shellacing.

The rapid dry time of shellac allowed me to apply all 12 coats in less than 5 days. Once the final coat had dried for 12 hours, I buffed it out with synthetic steel wool and wands were complete. They were apparently the hit of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II screening that my family went to on the opening Friday night.

The finished wands, ready for the movies.

Over the following weekend my Sister-in-Law even told me how much she liked the wand, and all she needed now was a wand stand.

Work on the stands began the following week.

Its Wanderful: Part 1

Its Wanderful: Part 2

Its Wanderful: Part 3

Its Wanderful: Part 4

The basics of cabinet making Part 2

The 4 taller cabinets are to have 3 adjustable shelves each. I want to make the holes for the pegs now, before the cabinets get assembled. Im using my simple pegboard jig to guide for the holes, and am using 1/4" drill bit to make them. Note: there are two different sizes of shelf pins - I like the bigger ones for more stability.

I also will do all the sanding at this point. These things are much easier to do before everything is put together.

Ive now started assembly. With all the pieces cut, its just a matter of putting it all together. I install the supports (1x3 plywood slats), and the sub-toe kick (also plywood) as shown in this picture. The front toe kick will be 1/4" oak, stained to match the cabinets, and will be applied over top of the sub-toe kick.

Next, I install the back panel. This is just 1/4" luan material, since it will be pretty much unseen. This panel will help keep the unit square, until it is installed. Note: Square up your cabinet as soon as you can, before this panel goes on!

Ive gotten two of the taller cabinets assembled. Two more to go, and then I will make two smaller cabinets to go with this set. Once this casework is done, I will move on to face frames and doors.

Bear approves of the new cabinets...

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Shaker Table Part 2

Wow! It has been a LONG time since my last update. I guess Christmas and New Years got in the way there somewhere. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year break as I did.

Ok, so back to this table. Last time I left off I had milled the four leg blanks to size and was getting ready to mill the leg rails. Once I milled up the leg rails, I needed to lay out for the mortise and tenon joins. I probably do things a little different, but thats just the way I am; I cut my mortises before I do my tenons. I guess the reason I do it this way is because I have a mortising machine and the chisels are a defined dimension and I can cut the tenons to match this. Also, because the side and back rails are 5" wide, I will be using a haunched tenon in order to add strength to the joint. If I used just one big mortise and tenon, the legs would be very weak because of all the material that would be removed. So, after I laid out how I wanted the mortises to be, I drilled them out with the mortiser and cut the tenons to match.

From Shaker Table

After that, I was able to do a dry fit on the table.

From Shaker Table

If you notice, I have not cut the tapers on the legs yet; this is done after the mortises are cut so the legs are always flat will doing the mortises. It also serves as a bit of a reference when you do go to cut the tapers because you know to always taper the mortised side. Here, the legs were tapered on the bandsaw and cleaned up with hand planes.

From Shaker Table

Now the table frame is ready to be glued up. While that is being done, I can get the drawer runners cut and glued in; nothing special about these, just some pieces that will be glued to the sides and allow the drawer to set on and provide support from the bottom.

Next, its time to turn my attention to the drawer itself, but that is for later.

Be Safe!