steven newman

4 hours of shop time...and now Uncle Charlie is in the house....Working on Gatorade #2....hand is sore, from getting bit by the Stanley 45...more on that, later.. Biggie planes to knock the high spots down, the a tiny one to clean up ... Just a Stanley #3c.....got one end of the top milled.. Need to move this thing out a bit, so I can work on the other end...IF I don't get lost on the way.. Ok..Got 4 stiles to match each other, and not have a taper to them.. Each of these needs a groove along one edge....had to jig a way to hold each part.. So...I gave this old plane a work out.. . made in Cincinnati, OH about 1864....a bit of candle wax goes a long way....once I got two stiles all groovy, I clamped them in place.. Needed these set up, so I could cut the rails to size....plus enough for tenons...Square ends? Square right off the saw.. Then made sure they all were the same width... Tried that big, old plough plane on one of these....didn't go well. Reset the Stanley 45 and redo the jig a bit.. Then mark each rail for the cuts for a tenon....then do the shoulder cuts.. Had to set the depth stops on the saw....needed a jig of sorts, to hold a part vertical while I do the cheek cuts on the bandsaw.. Works for me..as each rail gets done, they get stashed away.. I can check the fit, too. no mortises, yet...maybe tomorrow? There are two skinny rails that go in-between these three....that is where the "Fun" begins They are 1-1/4" wide. fence on the 45 is 1"....something is going to give. Tried a clamp, this was the result. Skates on the 45 hopped out of the half-cut groove, and slammed into the other hand....going to leave a mark...one of the two skinny rails kept hopping off the bench..third time..it went into hiding..somewhere...until I said something about a firepit...then it showed up....finished the groove on it..this time with a pair of screws to keep it in place...wedged into the jig. Stashed it, and work on the other one... Floor looking clean? That is because while hunting for that part, got tired of walking around on all of this.. Took three snowshovel loads to clear things away....last rail has both of it's grooves done..no longer need to stash things away..but, I wanted to cut 4 blanks for the raised panels for this door.. Planed to all the same size. A No. 4 plane will bevel the edges into a raised panel. may need a rabbet around the back of the panels. Will have to keep an eye on the grain.. Want them to be close to the same direction....hmmm, cramps are starting in....time to stop for the day. Remember a time when I could work 8-12 hours in the shop....not anymore....4 is about the limit. Stay tuned...

Oh kay.....Smart phone that talks to the heart monitor....went brain dead this morning ( they are sending a replacement, restart Monday) Cardio Check up....BP was a tad high..new pill for that...everything else was good to go. Got home, more weirdness going on...the insert for this project arrived.....so did a second one.. We ordered just one, and PAID for just one....hmmm. Decided to do a little "screwing around" in the shop...Face Frame needed installed. Clamps and sticks, to push or pull things into alignment.. Or pull thing until they are tight...had 3 drills set up..these first two.. One drills a 3/8" counter-bore, the other drills the pilot holes....the third? Is an impact driver, to make sure the screws are tight..with the top panel in my way, needed a way to power the drills.. Spent as much time switching plugs, as I did drill holes...working my way from the right side to the center... Had to pull this thing out a bit, to get the rest..all except the bottom rail....this old back isn't up to all that bending over, and the knees do not do "kneel" any more..so IF I can go to the mountain, I'll let the mountain come up to me...all these screws..only had one go off the wrong way...oh well. Will do the plug cutting later, along with their installs. While I had the drill handy..I made slotted holes in the top frame...to attach a slab with... Notice anything missing? Hmmm. We now have a flight deck. I was also testing the drawer front for fit... took 3 tries, to get this thing sitting where I wanted it.....the UGLY edge knot is around on the "Port side". Did some layout work on one end.. The Aircraft carrier has found it's compass? hate hitting those sharp corners with an elbow on the way by....Ends need sawn square, and this curve cut. This fellow does not like Ash....wants to do tear-outs....may land the No. 7c and this deck, and smooth out the glue joints. I did not do anything to the bottom of the panel.....out of sight/out of mind. Was even able to clean this mess up..finally.. Took a couple loads to the "can"....firepit may get used this weekend. Also..IF you are going to use this thing, wear ear plugs! It screeches as it works...almost as loud as a beltsander.. That has been it for today....maybe tomorrow I can work a bit longer? Stay tuned..

Dealing with "Weirdness Day"...started in last night..computer started to lock up, was having more brain farts that a baked bean commercial....This morning, the Samsung "Smart Phone that talks to the heart monitor and their site...went brain dead. Good news for today..had a great Cardio Check up! BP was a bit high...new pill for that. The electric fireplace insert we ordered and paid for arrived today....except..there were TWO of them delivered? We paid for ONE, not two.... Got some assembly done on a project...been a LONG day.....maybe tomorrow will be better?

IF I can fit up the stairs, this can too. Unit stand 41" tall, by five foot long. will wait until it is upstairs, before the drawer and doors get installed for good...along with the insert....

Heart surgeon wanted a follow up...to see IF he fixed things up.. Have at least two strong backs ( neither are mine) to carry this up and out of the shop.

Heart Monitor installed. 30 days to go. Got my "Cardio" done for today,too... That be the Stanley No. 8..taking on 5' of Ash. Trying to joint enough edges for a glue up.. 2 down..1 to go...had a few spots where a slightly smaller plane was used.. Like where the ends curved up...or down. Finally got all three boards into the clamps.. Glue and cauls, too. Doubled up the cauls on the other end.. Always have a use for scraps....right now, I can't even sweep the floor.. This top is HUGE...compared to my shop.. Puts a crimp in getting anything else ,even putting away some tools.. And I am soaked. Fighting this monitor right now....

Has 6 hours of sleep last night...still wasn't enough...waiting on the heart monitor batteries to charge up.... has two work sessions today, with the Boss's errands inbetween ...got the frame out of the clamps...and set in place.. At this end, anyway, I clamped it into place...Found the 3/8" forstner bit I bought a while back.. Then come back with a pilot hole bit, and add a bunch of screws. Had one board I could rip a few stiles from, along with one I already had....just under 1-1/2" wide. Stacked all four stiles together,,and trimmed to rough length... Length was a hair long, can fine tune that later. Problem here? was these were tapered...one end was wider than the other....and the edges were wavy... wavy we can work on.. Jack plane to knock the worst spots down, No. 7c tried to flatten the edges...tried the 62 for a pass or two,, lots of tear out I didn't need... Time for Heft & Hubris.. A 10 pound plane, that can do all four edges at once. Started near the "high end" and worked back towards the low end. Straightedge to check for any taper.. Stiles still need a groove ploughed, to house the rest of the door parts.. Might do the trick? Rest of the parts? First batch of rails...had to rip these out of wider "scraps". These are the wide rails, 3 per door.. Two top rails, two lock rails, two bottom rails. Since i don't want to glue up any panels for the doors, I needed a few other rails. Have since made the other two, as I need four skinny rails. I think I have enough "scraps" to make the 8 raised panels.. May get two panels out of this one? Mortise and Haunched Tenons to join things together...shoulder cuts will be with this little saw.. Cheek cuts with the bandsaw. And a LOT of chopping with the chisels.. Maybe tomorrow, I can get a little bit done...maybe? Stay tuned

Can't get to the SKIL 6" saw.. Frame kind of cuts off access to that area..for now. ( all this work today was done on just 3 hours of sleep) Well, this Vintage saw was upstairs,,,and has a 10' cord! Craftsman 7-1/4", with a Irwin rip blade...might come in handy? Set up a "saw bench affair", even did one rip cut, just had to move the clamps a bit. Crosscuts were also done.. And the scraps. Which will be heading for that big black tub thing back there..even clamped the blank for the drawer front, and crosscut it.. The second rip was canceled, would have taken too much out of the width of the top... have that 3/4" thick frame to add to the case's width....not enough top would be left, after the 1-1/2" rip....knot can go to the back of the top. was going to lose a bit, when I joint the edges.. This is as close as I can close these up....#7c will be in use.... Stay tuned..

Cussing level in the shop, and at this computer are about at the same level...about the same as Gene heard on the first day of Basic.... Clamps were piled up.. Cauls were made.. First item...had to remember that I am working from the inside... Had to turn this one around. Wanted to see what I was doing...got a few parts installed.. Getting low on clamps, already Squares and a hammer were needed....Had a bit of trouble fitting the top rail...extra clamps to pull things to where they needed to go.. Pipe clamp, and about half of my "F" style clamps, because.. All of these are gone. Cleared a spot on top of the case, and hauled the planks for the top, and plunked them there.. A bit too long? Both had issues with knots.. Hmm, yeah...You can see the other one from here....I do have a third plank..it has other issues.. Besides being too long.. On the "good" end..there was a knot...Another plank had a bit of snipe...both will be heading to the burn pile.. Need to haul an e-cord to the shop,and run the circular saw around. NO, I am NOT going to hand rip 5' of Ash! may not even do the crosscuts. Will let the shop and me cool down a bit....and let the glue cure.. Stay tuned..

Update #2....spread over two days Worked on the left side...and fine tuned all the half laps.. Top rails has a slight curve up in the middle I WAS going to use a half lap for that curvy thing..so.. 3 nails, and a strip of thin plywood to mark out the curve..bandsaw to make the cut. Laid out where the laps would end.. Remembered that the more cuts I make..the easier it is to remove the waste..cuts were with another "vintage saw" Depth of cut was set as needed. All those cuts, made a hammer's job easier.. Smack them until they crack. Then those items got put to work.. Have found out that the woodie is an Auburn Tool Co. No. 181, 1-1/2" Skewed Rabbet plane...seemed to do a decent enough job.. Yeah...do this for all of the half lap joints.... Well, before a walk-about today....decided I would use a dovetail joint, instead of the lap joint...so.. Simple matter to mark the angle, and cut the waste off...do this for both ends. Take this part to the frame, clamp it in place long enough to make a few marks.. Hmm, can't use the Skil saw..so.. Back to Olde School. Lots of cuts, wax on the saw teeth...then remove the waste as before.. Test fit a few times, until the fit was flush. repeat for the other end....then test fit the whole mess, again.. Hope I have enough clamps....will glue and clamp the face frame as a unit...later will use counterbored screws and a dab of glue, to attach the frame in place. need to get a drawer started, too... Since the Boss picked out the Knobs (3) and the hinges (6)... One for each door and drawer...three surface mount hinges per door. Should be a high level of cussing, tomorrow.....will try the glue up. Stay tuned...

Monday? Grrrrr got a little work done, not much. Walk-about this afternoon...made an offer on a certain item..waiting to hear back... Getting closer.. Just a tease..for now..

Strange...I was in Lowes earlier today.....full range of flavours and sizes in the Minwax lineup.....1/2 Pints, Quarts and gallon sizes...Lots of stain choices too... May be worth a trip over there? Maybe?

Computer issues going on....decided to work in the shop, while it sorted itself out..still not quite there.. Right side, corners tuned up, and that rail added...had to cut the bottom of the rail/stile to match that curved area. Left side? Got the outside corners tuned up...still have to work on the vertical one...board with that curve sawn in it? Will go along the bottom edge of the drawer opening...made a mess tonight.. Long handle is a coarse rasp, used to flatten the joints. Fancy plane is NOT sitting on metal ring...iron is sitting on the wood part of the handle. Floor was a mess, too. These open areas will get a thin plywood "skin" to close them up...glued in place. I'm going to need a LOT of clamps, before too much longer... Stay tuned

Not much woodworking today...went to an actual Home Depot....and ordered a Fireplace Insert...will be a tight fit, without the flanges....may see about doing without them.....I also picked a 1 x 6 x 6' Pine board...that was actually straight and almost clear....just a few pin knots. Will make the back and sides of the drawer. Can't install a fixed shelf above the insert...until it arrives in 10 days ( free delivery to my door!) I can do a few other items while waiting by the mailbox. The two middle rails..go ahead and install them....with just the rail under the drawer opening. One for the fixed shelf will get installed once the insert is installed.. Will build the drawer. Need the two rails beside it installed, with the cross rail below the drawer. Then I can start on the two doors....may go ahead and glue up the top of the case...what ever kills 10 days of waiting. Boss needed to go shopping, I needed a new glue bottle, old one is about empty. Finally get home, decided a nap was in order....well, at least I got THAT done. May take it easy today...will see how tomorrow goes..

What little sleep I got last night, was sitting IN my computer chair.... Today? Tried a nap..didn't work out....went to the shop to "putter around" Remember back in the Industrial Arts Classes in high school, where you had to make a series of joints with hand tools? Talking mid to late 60s...... A Half lap Joint was as "easy" as 1, 2 , 3? One...( after you mark the layout lines) two.. Three.. Use this to layout the matching part...sometimes, you had to cut things at an angle.. Thought about using the bandsaw,,,,couldn't do a straight cut, like the Disston No. 4. Got the four corners milled, and ready to be fine tuned... Had hauled the 80" long 1 x 6 to the shop...needed two pieces...3/4" x 2" x 39" long...rough cut for the 39...looked the board over...I could saw the two 2" parts out, and leave the strip with all the knots. Even drilled two holes, through the knots..and fixed the board to the bench top with a couple screws...Rip one part, shift things over, rip the other part..toss the bad part..usual wavy cuts...clamped both into the leg vise.. Yes, there IS indeed a use for a tool well....used a few planes, to level the edges straight.. The two smaller planes knocked down the high spots...the No.7c worked the entire length. Had to stop, as errands needed to be run, bills needed paid...usual Friday stuff...too tired to try again. These two will go on either side of the drawer opening, and also define the doors size. Need a couple short, wide rails, to go along the bottom of the drawer, and a second one as the front of a fixed shelf.....above the fireplace insert. Maybe tomorrow, I can get something done..? Stay tuned