June 2, 20215 yr Popular Post Table project is done...still had some bits & pieces left sitting around. Not enough for a large project, too thick for a small box project.....figured I could thin them down a bit....from ~ 3/4" thick to ~ 3/8" or so thick....Bandsaw seems to refuse to do such work, though....I could set up the tablesaw's rip fence, with the blade all the way up, maybe? Yep, that's as far as it goes up...saw uses an 8-1/4" blade, after all. Not quite high enough...even on the narrowest board (1) that I had.. "Missed it by that much, Chief"....Well..I could run all the scraps through, on all 4 edges...to give a saw a kerf to follow..but, what saw? Well, I do happen to have a D8 Rip saw handy....give it a try.. Had to watch, that I did NOT saw the vise, too....because these tend to "pop" open.. Was able to get the 3 shorter planks sawn this way.. The 3 longer ones? Meh....clamped them up a little differently....needed a bit MORE elbow room... 28" of saw...I want to use the entire 28" in each stroke....less work, goes faster..I went until the last 2" or so...turn the board end for end, and saw from the other end.. My Cardio Workout for today...tomorrow, I figure a way to plane these flat....with a hand plane... Will give me about 12 parts....all at 3/8" thick. Beats going down to Lowes, and BUYING their "Project Lumber".Not sure IF I'll need to do the same with these... Wild grain filler strips. We'll see what is needed. Wipe the 100 year old saw down, and hang it back up. Until the next time. Debating on a box for either the 4 spokeshaves, or...the Stanley No. 80 Scraper.....one or the other? Stay tuned..
June 3, 20215 yr Popular Post 52 minutes ago, lew said: I was already tired before I read this! Now I'm exhausted!!! John needs to come up with a long vacation get away, having watched @steven newman through last few projects I need at least a month.
June 4, 20215 yr Author Popular Post Well..I at least tried today....at least until the toes began to go into CRAMP MODE.... One plane to flatten a resawn board.. So, what did this look like before...? This is the other half of the resawn board...gave it a try as well.. And got a book match for my trouble. Plane is a Millers Falls No. 15 Jumbo Jack ( 2-1/4" wide iron)...might be a tad too big for this work? Compared to a "normal" No. 14 Jack plane....(2" wide iron)....may dig out the No. 11 next.....its only 11" long...but the iron is only 1-3/4" wide.. Was a bit rough, trying to push a plane, when the toes go into CRAMP mode....try again this weekend? That book matched panel? Might get to be a fancy-schmansy lid.....maybe a case for the Stanley No. 80 to call home? Or...maybe those 4 spokeshaves I have? Stay tuned..
June 4, 20215 yr Popular Post 10 hours ago, steven newman said: Stay tuned.. ... I ran out of popcorn.
June 7, 20215 yr Author Popular Post 2nd set is all flat and matched up....needed a fancy jointer, today... To get the edges to match a bit better.. Went through and 4-squared all 3 sets...as #3 needed it...badly.. Ya think? rip fence to straighten the worst of the edges...ran set #2 through to match up...then squared up all the ends..all 3 sets.. #3 looks a bit better? Then used that fancy jointer to flatten the face of both of the #3s.. Not too hateful? All 3 sets are sitting over here on the saw....had an "issue" with the bench's top Seems to be a high spot....got that flattened out...was a bit bigger than I thought, though.. Non-moving jaw on the bench vise was also high, it had a different issue... See the circled area? there be a broken off screw right there....had to dig it out first.... Then, hauled the Laundry upstairs. Done for a Monday....nose is running so bad, it is dripping onto the work... Stay tuned...
June 7, 20215 yr Popular Post 51 minutes ago, steven newman said: nose is running so bad, it is dripping onto the work... Hahaha! A friend was a 3rd grade teacher and when his kids would have this happen he would tell them their nose was running so fast they couldn't eat it all. Sick, I know, but with 3rd graders you need to have something to keep your sanity.
June 9, 20215 yr Author Popular Post 2 hours on a Tuesday afternoon....got a little bit done....ran the tablesaw a bit....ripped a couple boards down a bit, to match 2 others.. And squared the ends a bit. Then jointed the edges, as one had a taper to it...Then round up the Usual Suspects... Couple escaped the dragnet....First up, the marking gauge, set to the thickness of the boards.. And mark all the ends. Went back with a pencil so they will stand out better..next.. Once I got these 2 to match up flat...then I could set out the spacing of the fingers....using this chisel to chop, might as well set it to that.. Work from both edges to the center...marking every other spot as waste...wound up with a FAT center finger... Set one board aside, for now, dropped the other down low in the vise to reduce vibrations from the saw....takes about 8 full strokes per cut.. Had to turn the board around, for a better grip. Next, FOUND IT! Time to make a knife wall, with the knife that finally showed up.. Set up a chopping block, clamp things down.. Chop 1/2 way down on the show face...reminds me...needed to mark out which face that is.. Starting from the show side prevents any blow-out when I finish the chops from the "inside".. Clean this up as needed.....then decide where this should go on the "Side" of the box....and mark that info out....then, repeat the steps above.. Except, I needed 2 extra saw cuts...before... The rest of the chopping could proceed....then try a dry fit... Fingers a tad long? Better than too short, eh. As usual, first set of these is always a tad loose. I tried to match up the grain, going around the corner..Inside? Maybe later today, I can try to get Corner #2 done? Stay tuned.
June 10, 20215 yr Author Popular Post Corner #2 had some issues, today..the saw work went as planned.. The knife wall caused a problem... Knife nicked me on the way by....( this is the next corner, BTW) Came time to chop the fingers....fat finger decided to break apart...Grain had issues. Meant I had to adjust the matching set of fingers... There was an issue as to which corner was next,,,,and where....went with corner #4,,,will do #3 tomorrow.. Slight change in the middle fingers....still seemed to work out.. One more corner to do,,,,box's bottom will be sitting on slips...glued around the bottom edges, and mitered at the corners....not sure about the lid, just yet.. Stay tuned..
June 13, 20215 yr Author Just like the last 3 corners... Lay them out, and use a saw... Use a chisel to do a bit of chopping....use these fingers to lay out the matching ones...be sure to mark out which will now be the waste sides of the lines..then saw and chop...about time for a full dry fit? Then a dry run with a few clamps...to get them all ready to use.. Figure out the blocking for the insides, to control (almost) any bowing in by the sides... Then last night...opened a bag of brushes...HFT = Harbor Freight Tools And got out 2 brushes One to help spread the glue around in the fingers ( the box's, NOT mine) and wait on a flash mob of clamps to appear Used the vise on the end of the bench to stand things up...much easier to add clamps....2 pine spacers...weren't quite enough Added 2 more, as the long sides wanted to bow in, too....added a 3rd clamp on the ends, to tighten those areas up in the middle of the joint. Used the second brush to clean up any glue trying to escape the pressures...C clamps help pull the side spacers into place 12 clamps in all...good thing I didn't need any more for the spacers... Letting this mess sit a full day..maybe more. Have to go and rip a couple 3/8" x 1/4" thick strips....those will then get mitered and glued around the bottom edges, for the plywood floor to be glued down to. May even start on a glue up for a panel for the lid...and see about what to put inside this LARGE box.... Stay tuned..
June 14, 20215 yr Author Ok, last night, SLOWLY removed all them clamps... 8 down..leaves.. These four to remove....without dropping the box onto the floor....then a clean up can begin.. Beltsander to level the fingers, plane to level the rest...have a few gaps to fill...goal was for the grain to flow around all 4 sides... Corner #1 Corner #2 has that extra wide finger.. I THINK this is #3 corner.. Which leaves this as #4. One side insisted on bowing in, once the stay were removed....back in they went...until the slips get glued in. A Lid? A little too wide, we can fix that.. Wrong size for the slips...may add these two to the ends of the lid? Or...a place for a tray to rest on? Edges needed jointed... To get rid of the gap in the center...then see about a glue up.. There are cauls on both faces, c clamps press on the cauls to flatten the joint....let this sit a day..or 3.. Now...slips? Had a chunk of 1x2 ( or so, more like 3/4 x 1-1/8) Reset the rip fence to split it once...right down the center.. Saw blade was not set to go all the way through...hard on my push sticks, that way. Reset the fence again.. Change to the narrow pushstick and split into the 4 slips. Bottom panel of the box will get attached to these....box is too thin to mill a groove. These will get mitered on the ends....need to get the Mitersaw ready to go.. There is a setting on that scale....besides the degrees...that list how many sides of a box can be made with that setting... In this case...I need 4. There IS a detent there, too......the 4 = 45 degrees. Since the "motor" to run this saw is my right arm....I'd better go rest it up...
June 15, 20215 yr Author Popular Post Slips are cut.. Off-cuts...check for square? Glued in.. Pine spacers are still in place, as one side wanted to bow in....right about where the red clamp is. Mitered corners? Not too hateful...let this mess sit til this morning... Lid was flattened on both faces... Corners shaped...flattened? You might say this plane did that work....the spokeshave? Had other tasks to do.. Cleaning up burn marks on the curves...and doing a bit of round-over.. The block plane worked on the end grain stuff... Almost there...A plywood panel was trimmed to fit into the bottom, once the clamps came off, this morning... A bead of glue, brushed around on the slips, then these cauls to press the plywood panel down into the glue... 2 dryer loads this morning, meant a bit of shoptime for me. Now, just waiting on glue to dry, again.. While I go look for some hinges, and a latch...May add some Brass feet at the corners? Stay tuned...
June 17, 20215 yr Author Hardware has arrived! Brass corners for feet.....a latch to keep the lid shut.. And a choice of hinges to choose from....May try a few things out, tomorrow.....today was bill paying, grocery shopping day...not a lot else got done. better luck, tomorrow, eh? Stay tuned
June 17, 20215 yr Author Popular Post Level the playing field. Box is out of the clamps....needs a bit of work to level the top edges... As the ends were a tad higher than the sides....at least at the corners...that way, the lid will sit down flat... Had slips trying to show....we have ways... Same plane. Slips need to be flush with the edges....and all edges need to be level to each other.... Will fill in the cracks, later. See how it sits now... Maybe tomorrow, I can get a wee bit done? Stay tuned...
June 19, 20215 yr Author Lid got a re-design....ends were trimmed a bit...about 3/8" off each end.....then the front veranda got changed to just a finger-lift...after I had to level a glue joint.. Still working at it... Then had to go back and redo the round-overs, and remove the burn marks, again....everything, box and the lid was then sanded to 220 grit....and dusted off. Clamped the box and lid together... Might as well add the hinges.... To install those TINY screws, I need a pilot hole drill bit....cut the head off of a small nail...instant drill bit..rest of the tools? Pencil to mark where the holes go, clamps to keep thing in place..square to make sure both hinges are the same distance "inland" from the edge of the box. Fancy screwdriver has the perfect sized Phillips tip for these screws. A candle to wax the threads of the screws (yes, you NEED to wax with this Ash) Needed 10 screws...to get 8 that worked right...I also clocked the slots of the screws....all look like..X, instead of some looking like ..+ And, since everything was already sanded to 220 grit, and wiped down...got out the stain, a brush, and a big old rag... Underside was done, first..then the insides....then the ends.. Before winding up here...the ends? Left end....left front corner....swing around, do the back... And head around the right end...and that will do, for a PIP....letting this dry a day...while I decide what else to do... Stay tuned...
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