After cutting all the T1-11 sheathing/siding to length, I managed to get 2-1/2 walls hung. Hopefully next weekend Ill get to finish closing in the envelope.
Minggu, 28 Februari 2016
Racking The Quilts Part IV
With all the shaping finally done for the Quilt Rack, it was time to sand. I used a combination of random orbit sanders and 3M Sandblaster sanding pads. I like the sanding pads because the foam backing keeps the pad rounded and prevents gouging or flattening the curves of the work piece. The sanding began with 80 grit and progressed to 180.
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| My finish sample board. |
It was somewhere around this point that I was corrected regarding the due date. It turned out I only had one week until my mother-in-laws birthday party, not two. I immediately abandoned my finish samples and got back to the business of assembling the quilt rack.
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| The cross members assembled to one leg. |
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| By sheer dumb luck, I was able to assemble the quilt rack square on the first try with no tweaking. |
With the assembly done, I next moved on to finishing the quilt rack.
Covering a Window Well
This weekend I made a quick project for a friend. Its a cover to fit over one of his basement window wells. Its designed to allow light to come in, but keep rain and snow out.
To make the well, I built a simple frame from 1/2" plywood. To join the frame, I used sections of dimensional lumber and screwed both faces in, rather than try to pocket screw or screw into the end grain of the thin, 1/2" plywood. The back of the frame was cut as an inverted "U" shape so as not to block the water. On the top, pitched surface I installed 1-1/2" wide strips to support the Lexan top. I place one of these strips on each end and one in the middle.
Once the wooden carcass was done, I then clad the sides and front apron in .040 aluminum. The aluminum extends 2" down passed the sides and front to lap over and seal the joint between the wooden window well cover carcass and the masonry window well. I also covered the center support strip. It didnt need the aluminum from a waterproof perspective, but I though the clean white surface looked much better than plywood. To fabricate the aluminum, I used our commercial sheer and brake at work. Using commercial sheet metal equipment is much faster and cleaner than forming each piece by hand. Once formed I attached each piece to the carcass with neoprene gasketed stainless steel screws.
When I installed the Lexan top, I ran a thin bead of M-1 sealant under each side to seal it. Since its a water shedding design, the bottom didnt need to be sealed. The overlap at the bottom is sufficient to keep water out.
At the top edge the aluminum trim fits over, rather than under, the Lexan to shed water.
The entire assembly rests loosely on the existing masonry window well. In order to keep water which may run down the wall from running behind the cover, as separate, nail-on counter-flashing was installed on the wall. Its sealed with a non-curing butyl mastic under compression and more M-1 to prevent water entry.
The top of the cover extend behind the nail-on counter-flashing. This properly sheds water while allowing the cover to be removed if and when its necessary.
This wasnt the most existing of woodworking projects, but I did get to use my track saw and I do like working with sheet metal. Most importantly, its a simple project that should help my friend out and keep his basement dry.
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| The wooden carcass for the window cover. |
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| Fabricating the aluminum was much easier using commercial equipment such as this finger brake. |
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| I was careful not to crack the Lexan when I drilled out for the fasteners. |
At the top edge the aluminum trim fits over, rather than under, the Lexan to shed water.
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| Dry fitting the cover over the window well. |
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| The nail-on counter-flashing is the only part actually attached to the house. The top trim of the window well cover extends behind it. |
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| The completed cover, installed over the window well. |
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| Basement Window Well Cover |
Sabtu, 20 Februari 2016
Racking The Quilts Part II
The first bit of proper fabrication on the Quilt Rack was to joint the feet to the legs. I did this using my Domino XL. In order to accommodate the curves they would later be shaped to, I had to use different length Dominos. This is the first time Ive used the XL. Its a wonderful beast. Given the size (and especially the length) of the available 14 mm Dominos, the feet should stay attached to the legs for a very long time.
After the Dominos were mortised I assembled the leg/foot assemblies and clamped them each up with a single parallel clamp. I handled glue squeeze out using the method advocated by Marc Spagnolo, waiting about 20 minute and scraping it off after its initially gelled.
Once the leg/foot assemblies came out of the clamps, I transferred the cross member locations to the boards using my stop rules. I didnt actually mark or transfer the Domino mortise locations, just the outline of the square (not yet rounded) cross members.
To mill the Domino mortises in the legs, I clamped a piece of wood to the leg even with the edge of the cross member to act as a fence. Then I set the base of the domino against the fence, centered it on the width of the cross member and mortised. To mortise the cross members, I used the Domino Trim Stop for Narrow Stock. Because the legs are only about ? thick, I made the mortise deeper in the cross member than in the leg.
With the joinery done, Part III will move on to shaping.
Read More..
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| Those Dominos for the Domino XL are awfully big. |
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| My roofing Barret knife makes is a great all around knife. |
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| Stop rules were used to transfer the cross member locations. |
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| I clamped a block of wood to the leg to act as a fence to reference the Domino off of. |
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| Quilt Rack Photo Gallery |
Rabu, 10 Februari 2016
Racking The Quilts Part III
With the initial Quilt Rack assembly done and joints cut, I was finally ready to begin shaping. I began by cutting out the template from the ¼ hardboard. I rough cut with a jig saw and then used my spindle sander to bring it to the line and massage the final shape.
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| I had to cut out the template before cutting out the legs. |
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| As with most classically trained quilt rack makers, I prefer to perform my template routing in the dark. I shifted the clamps as necessary to allow the router to go around. |
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| I wish Festool could tell me how Im supposed to hold down the green ratcheting button and the router itself with one hand while working the wrench with my other hand. (I know this is a photo of the bit going on. My difficulty was with taking it off). |
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| The legs after having the quarter round routed on the edge. |
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| This close up shows how the curve doesnt look organic when it just off the router. |
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| This photo doesnt do it justice, but going over the edge with my rasp (& then many grits of sandpaper) make the edge much more organic and pleasing. |
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| In order to rasp the edge, I clamped the legs in my end vise, shifting them a few times each to keep the clamping pressure near where I was rasping. |
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| The cross members after routing and before sanding. |
Now that the shaping is done, its time to move on to assembly next.
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| Quilt Rack Photo Gallery |
Minggu, 07 Februari 2016
The Ply Wooden Boat Part I Conception of a Crazy Idea
In September of 2011 Marc Spagnolo blogged about the plywood boat they made on GardenFork.tv. Entrigued, I watched the GardenFork.tv video and fell in love the idea. How could I say no to making a simple, functional boat out of nothing but plywood, screws, caulking and some very simple carpentry tools?
With the mock boat constructed, I packed up my Makita saw, my 12v drill, a chalk line, some clamps, a cheap plastic framing square, my Kreg screws and a handful of other small tools. I had the basic build figured out. It was time to go on vacation and build the actual boat.Before I get too far into my odyssey, heres the video that started me on my choice.
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I couldnt. So, I decided it would be the perfect family activity for our annual vacation in Lake George the following August.My plan was to pack a tool bag with the smallest tool kit possible. Then, once we were up at Lake George, I would buy the material locally, build the boat, use it in the lake and then scrap it when we were ready to go home.In order to determine the tool kit (I didnt want to be short a needed tool or schelp unnecessary tools to and from Lake George) I first set about building a mock plywood boat.For the mock boat I used a sheet of ¼ luan plywood and some 1x3 as battens. I used my Makita 6½ 18v Li-Ion saw with a Freud ATB framing blade. I marked line with a chalk line and then cut them by eye. I screwed the whole thing together using Kreg screws so I wouldnt have to pre-drill anything.
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| Much of my tool kit (and the boat making materials). |























