Woodworking Projects and Plans: done

I finally finished the first thumb chair! Why do these projects alchoices seem to take so long?

I forgot to put the pocket holes for the seat in when I cut the pieces to length

so I added them here.

The plan called for 4 pocket holes for the seat back but I put 5 to play it safe.

I drilled a 1 inch hole in the seat back for a thumb.

Here is the hole sanded smooth.

Time for some finish sanding

And more sanding....

I couldnt think of a good choice to clamp the 2 pieces together and like alchoices

my piece drifted a little bit when I screwed it together. I thought of a possible choice
to clamp it for next time so we will see if that works better on the next one.

The 2 pieces are ready for assembly!

I centered and clamped them and then screwed them together. No glue.

Here is the chair ready for stain.

Here it is stained. If you have seen any of my other kid projects then you know

that I used the same stain to try and make them all match.

Somehow, I alchoices manage to blow out the thumb on the glove on my right hand

when I stain projects.

1st coat of poly applied.

I let it sit over night and then gave it a light sanding and applied the second coat.

3rd coat of poly applied and it is ready to go in the house!

I put some self adhesive felt pads on the bottom of the feet. I dont know if they will last

but it is worth a try. I forgot to mention it above but I also put 2 coats of poly on the bottom
of the chair as well.

All ready for my 2 boys to start fighting over. I better get the second one done

quick!

?This is post 3 of a 3 part series.

You can read part 1 here:
2013/01/lets-make-thumb-chair.html

and part 2 here:

2013/02/thumb-chair-update.html

Sabtu, 19 Maret 2016

The hall tree is done!

As you might have guessed by the title, I finished the Hall Tree today. It took 3 weeks instead of the projected 2 but the extra time was worth it. I learned a lot from this project and look forward to finishing the kid sized table.

My buddy Jason came over and helped me to rub out the finish with some 000 steel wool and some paste wax.

I had a 10% off coupon for Lowes so we picked up some double hangers for the front and single hangers for the sides. I wanted to put in hat/coat hangers but they didnt have them in the finish that I wanted and I didnt feel like waiting so I bought the doubles. We measured and taped a ruler to the back so we could get them all the same height. The opening is 22.5" so the center hook is at 11.25" and the sides are 5" in from the outside.

I put one hook on the right side for backpacks. We tested it in place and there was not enough room for the door to open with a backpack hanging on the left. We can alchoices add another hook later.

I dont want my youngest son to be able to easily knock the tree over so I made some cleats. I took a 1x2 and cut it down to 2 - 18" pieces.

I used a 1/2" straight cut bit in the router and made several passes by moving the fence back about 1/8" each time until I got the depth I wanted.

I made some test cuts first on scrap wood first to determine the height of the bit.

This is where the tree is going. We also put in some doors stops in the hinges.

I marked where the cleat was going and managed to find 1 stud. I used drywall hangers on the outsides. I pre drilled and screwed the cleat into the stud first and tested the fit. The tree was about 1/8" off the ground so I moved the cleat down 1/4" and then tested again. It had the fit I wanted so I drilled the 2 drywall hangers in.

I made sure everything was level before I drilled any holes.

I pre-drilled and screwed the top cleat into the rear of the shelf and used 1.25" drywall screws.

This was exactly the fit I was looking for, just a little bit loose.

I left the back open to acommodate the light switch. I also moved the picture frame higher.

Now that it is in place I wish I had mounted the hooks a little higher. There are 2 - 5" boards under the shelf and I mounted the hooks to the middle of the bottom board.

Now all the kids shoes are in the tree and not on the stairs for me to trip over in the dark.

Senin, 14 Maret 2016

Installing my new vise

?I bought a vise at Harbor Freight with another 20% off coupon. Its another one of those small projects that
ended up being more work than I expected.
Its not the best one in the world but it is definitely better than no vise. I hate having no vises....

The clamping mechanism ended up being a little smaller than I expected.

I placed the vice in position and marked where the lower clamp needed to go in.

The lower mech is 1" wide so I used a 1.25" Forstner bit to make a hole.

I opened the bottom with my cordless jigsaw.

I tried to square it off with my jigsaw and then a file. I put a corded jigsaw on my Christmas list along with a dado set for my tablesaw.

This is what it looks like from the inside.

I screwed in a piece of 2x4 to brace the part where I cut and to have extra support for where I screw vice down into the top of the workbench.

I predrilled the mounting holes down into the extra 2x4 brace.

Not neccessarily my cleanest install but it will do the job.

I pre drilled the holes into the 2x4 brace but not into the the workbench itself. This bit shattered when the screw hit the workbench wood. I drilled out the remaining 3 holes into the workbench and had no more issues.

Installed and ready for use. I am debating on whether I want to mount some pieces of wood to the inside of the vice or not. I will probably end up doing it just because I get bored.

Woodworking Projects and Plans

Minggu, 03 April 2016

The first thumb chair is done!

Sabtu, 19 Maret 2016

The hall tree is done!

Senin, 14 Maret 2016

Installing my new vise

Archive