Woodworking Projects and Plans: 3

It was three years ago today that I published my first post here, at the Penultimate Woodshop. It was a fairly routine first post. I introduced myself and thanked the online woodworking community.
As I reflect on it, Im now more thankful to the online community than ever. Im thankful for the help, instruction and friendship that Ive received from the community. While woodworking is often a solo activity, I know that sharing it with a community of fellow woodworkers enriches the experience beyond measure.
So please keep woodworking, keep participating and keep sharing. Thank you for reading (you can keep doing that too).
Dyami
com

The fourth and final coat of poly is done! I am going to let it cure out in the garage for a couple of days and then rub out the finish and install it on Sunday. I smoothed out one of my tester boards with steel wool last night and then applied some paste wax and it turned out great. My original plan was to screw the hall tree to the wall next to the front door but my wife wants to be able to move it for cleaning so I am going to do some testing with cleats. I dont want to actually hang the thing from the wall, just secure it enough to make sure its not going to fall on the 2 year old. I am going to try making a french cleat and also make some rabbits in a couple of boards and see if I can get them to interlock the choice I want to.

I only applied the 4th coat to the outside parts. I left the insides of the bottom shelves with just the 3 coats.

I just remembered that I havent bought the hooks yet. I may have to stop by Home Depot on the choice home from work tonight. My plan is to have 3 hooks under the top shelf, one on each side near the top and then one on each side near the bottom at backpack height.

Jumat, 19 Februari 2016

Its Wanderful Part 3

After I spokeshaved the first blank into a dowel, I regrouped and took a full size sketch I had made based on Kenneth’s photos and made copies. Then I took the copies and the remaining four (4) blanks down to my Dad’s shop. I glued on the sketch copies and fired up the band saw (mine doesn’t quite run right now). When I was done, I was left with four (4) square pieces of wood that had the rough in and out nature of the wands.

Two (2) wands fresh off the bandsaw, and one post rasping.

I took the post-bandsaw blanks home and started to make them round. I began with my spokeshave on the thin, long business end of the wands. This quickly knocked down the corners and the round shape began to emerge.

The wonderful Shinto Rasp.

Next I began rasping. The rough shaping was continued with my Shinto rasp set up in course mode. By holding the rasp at about a 75° relative to the length of the wand and working my choice up and down the length while tipping the rasp back and forth over the wand I was able to get all three (3) sections of each wand relatively round. They weren’t perfect, but as they are hand made by eye, they were just the right combination of uniformity and uniqueness.

A wand, post rasping, and the wonderful Auriou rasp I used to fine
tune the work of the Shinto.

I cleaned up the initial rasping with the Shinto set up in fine mode and for the final shaping I moved to my Auriou rasp. I used it to clean up the inside corners and edges as well as create the recessed area in the middle of the handle portion of each wand.

The four (4) wands, ready to be freed
from their bases.

At this point the wands were shaped, but still attached to square stock at the butt of their handles. The square stock had been left to allow them to be clamped in my bench vises.

Time to cut.

I cut the square stock off using my Veritas Carcass Saw. I then went back to the Auriou rasp and made the final shaping to the butt end of the handles.

The four wands, ready for finish (not for cutting).

Once you finally get there, do you often find the scary part of a project actually wasnt so bad?

Its Wanderful: Part 1

Its Wanderful: Part 2

Rabu, 03 Februari 2016

Let There Be Light Part I

A few months ago, my good friend Aristotle Dreher starter Arisitotle Photo. In order to assist with his fancy studio shots, he asked me to make him a light ring. He’s a good friend, who’s done all my shirt and blog design work, so how could I say no (it also seemed like an interesting project)?

The raw materials.

The light ring consists of 12 light sockets arranged in a circle. The middle of the circle is open and the camera is placed there and the photo taken through the ring. This provides balanced light on all sides of the image (or at least this woodworker thinks it does).

Determining the ring layout.

I began the light ring project by buying 12 cheap plastic light sockets. I asembled them in a circle, and used that to determine the size of the ring. I also used the width of their bases to determing the width of the ring. I left about ½” of space between the sockets and on the inside and outside edges.

The ring itself is constructed from two (2) pieces of Baltic Birch plywood. The front piece is ¾” thick. This was the first piece I made. Because all of the circles are referenced off the center, I worked from the outside to the inside so that I didn’t cut out the middle and then realize I still had to reference it.

After determining the outside diameter of the ring, I marked it out and cut close to the line with my jig saw. Then I built a trammel out of scrap Baltic Birch and routed exactly to the line with a fixed base router and ¾” diameter straight bit.

The outside is milled.

Once the outside circle shape was finished, it was time to route the wire trough. This trough is centered on the width of the light ring. I made it using the same ¾” straight bit. I used a small piece of wire to determine the proper depth using relative dimensioning.

When routing with a trammel, plunge routers are more versatile.

That’s when I realized my mistake. You can’t use a fixed base router to plunge a trough into the center of a ring. I switched the trammel setup to a plunge router (this required running out for longer mounting screws), reset the circle diameter and depth and went to town.

The center trough is milled.

I routed the center trough in three (3), roughly equal depth passes. The feed rate was nice and slow and I thoroughly vacuumed between passes. It still resulted in a bit of burn on the wood and on the router bit. Since it’s a functional (rather than aesthetic) piece, I’m not sweating any burn.

Just about done with the front ring.

Once the Center trough was done, I re-set the trammel again and hit the inside of the ring. I paused briefly and considered switching to a narrower bit for the inside (as I only needed to cut through, not create a trough wide enough to house wire), but since the trammel was already set up for the ¾” bit in the router I just went ahead and routed. I again made it though in 3 passes and had about the same level of burning as I did for the trough.

The connecting trough.

I finished the center piece by routing one (1) more trough connecting the center trough to the outside edge at the bottom. This trough will allow access for the power cable. I first made this trough with a pattern bit to keep it straight, but when it proved too shallow, I deepened it with router freehand.

Next, on to the back . . .

Woodworking Projects and Plans

Kamis, 10 Maret 2016

3 Years On Ive Still Not Found The Ultimate Woodshop

Kamis, 03 Maret 2016

Awesome Chair 2

Selasa, 01 Maret 2016

New WoodWorking for Mere Mortals video Make a 3 shelf corner stand

Rabu, 24 Februari 2016

The final coat of poly

Jumat, 19 Februari 2016

Its Wanderful Part 3

Rabu, 03 Februari 2016

Let There Be Light Part I

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