tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64929877432654360032024-02-07T01:36:11.592-08:00JL Young WoodworkChronicles of an amateur woodworkerJL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-26743134030530634882011-11-14T18:07:00.000-08:002011-11-14T18:07:57.944-08:00Web frames and DividersWhat a great weekend of woodworking I just had! We had Friday off for Remeberance day and my wife went off to Halifax to visit some friends. So I had three fun filled days of wood working. awesome! So what did I get done? Well I was able to build and install all of the web frames and dividers for one of the two dressers.<br />
I made each of the web frames out of ash and oak. The front drawer blade is primary wood - red oak and the drawer runners and back blade are secondary wood, in this case ash. The drawer blades are installed into the case sides in 1/4 deep sliding dovetails. The runners set into 1/8" deep rabbets in the case sides. When I built the nightstands to match this piece, I decided to make the drawer blades stand 1/4" proud of the drawer faces. This is an idea I picked up from some of Sam Maloof's dresser projects and I thought it would help to enhance the horizontality of the nightstands since these are next to our very wide king sized bed which has all the vertical pickets. This made the build a bit more complex however. For the front drawer blades all I did was to glue on a 1/4" wide strip of oak on the front. This allowed me to cut the male part of the dovetail on the router table. It also had the added benefit of hiding any tear out my router made when cutting the slots in the case sides. Darn oak is tough to work with, It's very stringy and fibrous. The tough part came when I was trying to decide how to install the two vertical drawer dividers in the top drawer spaces. In my furniture making I try very hard to include traditional joinery methods and shy away from using screws or nails etc. in my work as much as I can. For me, cutting the joinery is one of the most fun parts of the project. So I had a bit of a tough time getting the top divider in. The lower vertical deivider was pretty straight forward. All I did was to use sliding dovetails and these were covered up with the 1/4" thick banding. The low end of the upper divider was done the same way. The top end of the top divider was the more complicated part. The problem is that I couldn't cut a dovetail slot in the top of the cascase since it stands proud of the face of the case. Plus I needed to install the divider after the upper web frame was installed because of the presence of the center drawer runner. So my solution was to (begrudgingly) install a biscuit in the case top and then cut a open ended slot in the top and back face of the divider using the biscuit jointer. That sounded like a great plan until I realized late saturday night that I loaned by biscuit jointer to a friend. Drats! So what I finally ended up doing (and happy I did) was to make a slip tenon in lieu of a biscuit. I chopped a mortise into the case top with a mortise chisel and then I handsawed a slot into the top of the divider kind of like sawing a half-blind dovetail socket. I made a slip tenon on the table saw and slid the divider right in. Worked great and I'm satisfied I still have all wood joinery. The only trouble now is that I have to do it all over again for the second chest. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72PrVV6BrlOIHHaSzQH1KP_dYGYHiUD7zvg4UxLFjeZ67jZ3KhYxTbtcdfRoqzVHQ2WDj50_f3mT3XmWQSLuqJfdEYP4SF-8kBDUC63N2z0X_YXIhM9h2evl290fg0csb4VWPZiEP-Mk/s1600/Fredericton-20111113-00098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72PrVV6BrlOIHHaSzQH1KP_dYGYHiUD7zvg4UxLFjeZ67jZ3KhYxTbtcdfRoqzVHQ2WDj50_f3mT3XmWQSLuqJfdEYP4SF-8kBDUC63N2z0X_YXIhM9h2evl290fg0csb4VWPZiEP-Mk/s320/Fredericton-20111113-00098.JPG" width="240" /></a>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-53532255300694818932011-11-10T12:37:00.000-08:002011-11-10T12:37:16.042-08:00Dresser Carcases completeHere an update to where I am with the double dresser I'm building for our master bedroom. This project has taken me a lot longer than I had planned. (Typical) I don't remember when I started this thing but it was probably back in January or February of this year. I started by milling up the wood and glueing up the panels. I typically use biscuits for alignment and these proved to work very well as there was minimal handplaning to flatten the panels .... initially. A big reason for the long time delay on this project was that over the course of the summer I fenced in my back yard with a custom build cedar fence.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArZIe0MXHITTshrn3qgw5oSHt_NcW-Np2aYg4eYvgqtkM2aTop2Bzksvx4ImdpeH89AsNn1MzGX0ImT161RsjYeP3ep5f9eybGDXqDr7xvzZJZMJ8mUEMvNntbPUWQVV0M5KLTi0Ff_Y/s1600/Fredericton-20110826-00024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArZIe0MXHITTshrn3qgw5oSHt_NcW-Np2aYg4eYvgqtkM2aTop2Bzksvx4ImdpeH89AsNn1MzGX0ImT161RsjYeP3ep5f9eybGDXqDr7xvzZJZMJ8mUEMvNntbPUWQVV0M5KLTi0Ff_Y/s320/Fredericton-20110826-00024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The purpose for putting in the fence was so we could put in an above ground pool in the yard and comply with our municipal by-laws. I had only planned on putting in the pool next summer but come fall there were some great deals on used pools online so I couldn't resist. We ended up purchasing a 27 foot above ground pool and I installed it all myself with a lot of help from my friend Trevor.<br />
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Well now that we're well into the fall and what I consider as prime woodworking season, I'm back in the shop and I've finally finished hand cutting all of the dovetails at the corners of each carcase. This took a lot of time to do in red oak but I'm really happy with the results.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyZ91Dp_OHsQsyurkUvxCHzfrSzJbPLh1e_WS65bjCDZANaviVz4mttIcdz-vcKKm54Ge1eWNrAo3aAUDpfdA-Dqv1N4DtQfgiaj0Am_IhEgVxogN3xYjXPv92DVVcKQGyG8Qse1BrvU/s1600/IMG_0640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyZ91Dp_OHsQsyurkUvxCHzfrSzJbPLh1e_WS65bjCDZANaviVz4mttIcdz-vcKKm54Ge1eWNrAo3aAUDpfdA-Dqv1N4DtQfgiaj0Am_IhEgVxogN3xYjXPv92DVVcKQGyG8Qse1BrvU/s320/IMG_0640.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKiaLTGX2jIHSKkOirR8UlxC0aNoHT9lMrLe5ge6YDo0FOAEc8Jh4pSJ-Lrt41osnCeznvGhOHDaZfPdelvjW92bEuVcsKq-ZwJRbQt1zAeqMcDowK7Cr9b1qsoEexjC4uKgB4cZ3ggo/s1600/IMG_0643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKiaLTGX2jIHSKkOirR8UlxC0aNoHT9lMrLe5ge6YDo0FOAEc8Jh4pSJ-Lrt41osnCeznvGhOHDaZfPdelvjW92bEuVcsKq-ZwJRbQt1zAeqMcDowK7Cr9b1qsoEexjC4uKgB4cZ3ggo/s320/IMG_0643.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I started doevetailing these cacases back in May before I started building the fence. When I brought all of the cedar in my shop I put these red oak panels away and stood them on end on the concrete floor. I remember telling myself that they'd only be there on the floor for a day until I stickered them flat with a weight on them. Well that day turned into months and when I finally got back to the panels they were seriously cupped. Red oak is a notorious wood for moving around and I learned my lesson the hard way on this project. Since I had already begun cutting the dovetails in the boards I didn't really have the option of ripping them down and jointing them flat again so instead I stickered them and sprayed water on the concave side. This worked pretty well and I was able to put a strong back across them to transfer my tails to my pin board. Once the dovetails were mated, the joinery held everything flat.<br />
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Once mistake I made was to mis-set my marking gauge too shallow when marking the depth of the pins. I'm not sure how this happened but once the joint went together I had to hand plane about 1/16" off each of the case sides to get everything flat. Now on an easy to work wood like cherry, hand planing a 1/16" off is easy peasy, but on dry red oak it's a real pain. I put alot of effort into making sure the grain direction was the same in each board before I glued up each panel but inevitable you're going to get some grain change in the middle of the board which leads to huge tear out. I've gotten a lot better at dealing with this and managed to minimize the tear out by being vigilant at reading the grain and planeing from different directions as well as by by using a high plane angle. I'll finish cleaning the sides up with a card scraper and sand paper before I move on to making the web frames. That's my project for this weekend.JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-5201935874510925742011-03-09T13:08:00.000-08:002011-03-09T13:08:04.842-08:00Antique Joiner's Tool Chest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0a5wEpE-Abd0bSDatfUwL_A-p4N36e-on8OqhOOMYJWeRKPSyv7bWkNxVhQl9yD65G8Erih7u17zw8Mqq5CR7WAVCSD6e81SDQXEQAS8emVSBRW6Dg4FAm0ela3p9zoCcUkdjBIsKzvY/s1600/DSCF0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0a5wEpE-Abd0bSDatfUwL_A-p4N36e-on8OqhOOMYJWeRKPSyv7bWkNxVhQl9yD65G8Erih7u17zw8Mqq5CR7WAVCSD6e81SDQXEQAS8emVSBRW6Dg4FAm0ela3p9zoCcUkdjBIsKzvY/s320/DSCF0076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Last summer while on one of my many work road trips to Prince Edward Island I stopped at a small antique shop in Cornwall to see if they had any old wooden molding planes. I was in luck as they had a whole bathtub full and I spent a good hour looking through them to see which one might suit my fledgling molding plane collection. What really caught my eye though was this old joiner's chest.<br />
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After chatting with the store owner a bit she informed me that all of the molding planes, there must have been fifty of them or so, had been stored inside this chest. She purchased the chest at auction for an undisclosed amount. Man, what a find that would be! The store owner graciously allowed me to take all of the chest drawers out and photograph it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFYuf2r4c5QZ8uA1zWaa_FBMdqqGYCSSHadfxWzFEU1i0A9YzQBmr6soesgnrlxG0TPiOq0MzWFDmmi0_Y2qvEIsu6RkPwfNvZoLQU2ejuNa7yxIKvYSKj_qWYvvr4kuMvtq9enFNA60/s1600/DSCF0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFYuf2r4c5QZ8uA1zWaa_FBMdqqGYCSSHadfxWzFEU1i0A9YzQBmr6soesgnrlxG0TPiOq0MzWFDmmi0_Y2qvEIsu6RkPwfNvZoLQU2ejuNa7yxIKvYSKj_qWYvvr4kuMvtq9enFNA60/s320/DSCF0059.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I am by no means an expert on antiques but what I did notice is that the carcase of the chest was all made with a single width of board. I'm guessing it was pine and about 18" tall. I'd say the chest was likely about 36 " wide and maybe 20-24" inches deep. When I first looked at the outside of the chest the coarse grain made me think it was oak or ash but upon closer inspection, you'll notice that there is face grain on the ends of the dovetail pins. So the lighter colored part of the chest has been grain painted which is not something you see every day. I seem to recall reading somewhere that this was a trend some time ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtaupPfH-ahs5hB36e2NVaz3OpjW3mYou1k5bItkIIxFS-0giKGQ3yZ-nwE3I7oVfdftwhtteqD19NVcVS8GxHR4t8JD1V9lSPUic-7RbQw3T-F3I09ZE0vMabs0wtFPMnx20v-8NQw8/s1600/DSCF0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtaupPfH-ahs5hB36e2NVaz3OpjW3mYou1k5bItkIIxFS-0giKGQ3yZ-nwE3I7oVfdftwhtteqD19NVcVS8GxHR4t8JD1V9lSPUic-7RbQw3T-F3I09ZE0vMabs0wtFPMnx20v-8NQw8/s320/DSCF0066.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The craftsmanship that went into this chest is remarkable. I love how the lid is all pegged mortise and tenon joints and the wrapped in a edge frame that is dovetailed with a nice broad single dovetail. The skirt boards around the top and lower part of the chest are all dovetailed and they have these heavy screws in a raised metal ferrule all around them that would aid in the durability of the chest. It looks as though they've served this function well as the chest was in excellent condition.<br />
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Inside the chest there is a till along the front and three sliding drawers of slightly different widths that run on a stepped board at each side of the chest. I didn't get a photo of this, but I beleive there was also a board under the till with holes in it that appeared to be for storage of chisels etc.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQskIa-Zfty_ZFvMYr_ms5DF0KVZGaJsK1r2G30JKeciPtY5foY3jKzF3OZ6IGgQjWQ3SoQavOfVenmd1S6UKzTQ4ZlXT0iaumMgNM7LhmNnLPpwdRhSO2VHJwCHZRHwVBI5wCPSqXtQ/s1600/DSCF0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQskIa-Zfty_ZFvMYr_ms5DF0KVZGaJsK1r2G30JKeciPtY5foY3jKzF3OZ6IGgQjWQ3SoQavOfVenmd1S6UKzTQ4ZlXT0iaumMgNM7LhmNnLPpwdRhSO2VHJwCHZRHwVBI5wCPSqXtQ/s320/DSCF0073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I probaly drooled over this chest for about 45 minutes when I realized I had to head back home. I inquired as to what the price was and at $1300 was way too much for me. Besides, if I bought one, it would mean I'd have no reason to build one and where's the fun in that? <br />
I drove by the same antique store a couple of weeks ago and intended to stop and see if the chest was sold and to add once again to my molding plane collection but lo and behold the store had either gone out of business or relocated. I'm heading back to the island next week, perhaps I'll find another treasure!JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-17272461925952614232011-02-08T10:50:00.000-08:002011-02-08T10:50:52.912-08:00New dresser for our master bedroom<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8n9p0d7U14-bjCO9CuF6lrd3TGT-xxi7rTZnR73dIAnSi-tgFEqbFmYnMLUIxwPZvb52X1QT7Pt-VKSYH3U6Ie7kbTmNshwQF9NbKeCEg3IVUqyr22MHqjkrEkyPfh_EphgiE-id7IqE/s1600/Master+bedroom+couples+dresser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8n9p0d7U14-bjCO9CuF6lrd3TGT-xxi7rTZnR73dIAnSi-tgFEqbFmYnMLUIxwPZvb52X1QT7Pt-VKSYH3U6Ie7kbTmNshwQF9NbKeCEg3IVUqyr22MHqjkrEkyPfh_EphgiE-id7IqE/s320/Master+bedroom+couples+dresser.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front View of Dresser</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsoumpT67fP0dSZhWTYagKeV5-2Rm6JwGXa6_a-XronClYSuSQf6Ei29z8kGoSfLJbRAJABDuk1ql5JzmMfb_Qs6j5GzxbBgU5w7Hi5KjC4A3zpFW0BHGZ6rKrUofvSRrViKpzUa_w04/s1600/Master+bedroom+couples+dresser+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsoumpT67fP0dSZhWTYagKeV5-2Rm6JwGXa6_a-XronClYSuSQf6Ei29z8kGoSfLJbRAJABDuk1ql5JzmMfb_Qs6j5GzxbBgU5w7Hi5KjC4A3zpFW0BHGZ6rKrUofvSRrViKpzUa_w04/s320/Master+bedroom+couples+dresser+back.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rear View</td></tr>
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I was having a hard time coming up with a new design for a dresser for our master bedroom. I wanted it to match well with the arts and crafts bed and matching nightstands that I made a couple of years ago but I didn't want to do a straight copy of a plan. Finally inspiration struck while visiting the Thos. Moser showroom in Freeport, Maine. I stumbled across their American Bungalow tall dresser and immediately fell in love with it. That one has a very traditional shaker style rectangular cherry cabinet suspended inside a very arts and crafts looking structure. Very Niiiice (in Borat speak). As much as I admire Mr. Moser's designs I have no intention of copying it outright and unfortunately I cannot afford any of his furniture. So as with most furniture, I borrowed a little inspiration from Mr. Moser as well as from an exhaustive search on google images and came up with the basic parameters for my own design.<br />
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I was looking for a large dresser that would stand on the wall opposite the foot of our bed than I can put our TV on top of. I also wanted lots of drawers and for it to be a double dresser so my wife and I would each have a side. (in theory at least, in practice she might let me have a drawer or two!) and of course it had to draw from some of the stylistic elements of our bed and nightstands.<br />
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In the photos above, you can see where I'm at with the design. There will be two identical flatsawn red oak cases dovetailed together at the corners. The drawer web frames will be dovetailed in at the sides and back with the drawer runners mortised and tenoned into the front and back "blades" Only the front will be glued and the back will be loose to allow for expansion of the case sides. I'll likely make the runners and rear blade out of ash since it's relatively inexpensive in these parts. The two cases will bear on front and back stretchers that will be tenoned into an outer frame that has the same vertical spindles as our bed. I've extended the rear posts up through the top and added a crest rail across the top. The holes through the crest rail are decorative but they also allow you to pass plugs through for the electronics that will inevitably be placed on top of this dressser.<br />
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The back of the cases will likely be tongue and groove pine boards. The drawers will have half blind dovetails in the front and through dovetails in the back and have a solid ash bottom. I may consider putting in a center runner in the larger bottom drawers to cut down the span of the drawer bottoms. <br />
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I love using skecthup for this stuff but I'm still a bit worried about the proportions. In particular I'm wondering if the 2" square legs are big enough. I should really do a full scale mock up of this thing but I'm not sure what material to use for the mock up. Perhaps rigid insulation? Another issue with the legs is that I know I can buy riftsawn 8/4 stock from my local supplier which will likely only yield a 1 3/4" square leg. To get the 2" square I'll likely glue up the leg pieces face to face and be diligent in ensuring that the exposed edges are riftsawn so the seams don't show as much. I could try the Gustav Stickley Quadrilinear post method but those lock miter bits scare me in the sense that I've heard they are tough to set up properly to get good results.JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-74295867947377345082011-02-07T15:49:00.000-08:002011-02-07T16:45:18.918-08:00Sofa table finally completed! Woohoo!<div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571105288391512018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtfsfP5yOCZe9OcLI33n7tTR4TSKxf0M5Jpwy2Ma9s62O4tmRGMqEOhBOmZjwcx9V3cjl2HtWlD09s1_sirSTf0WrefFpDUMdKTS1CSAhDwyoBM_G0zH88NKdJBTwPhvxS5t8Fiz5y0M/s320/IMG_2101.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571105276332187730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLAvwBex36OKAQUxEkCgb4g6MBPgNJz7ldMOG8cIkMn0-WB2aeg_fbWlvSPrFsqGJZmhK0ItVTYcff8aAaQe9-dM9yOVWTDPwWCMkL5FVAvmQfZ2ImwtdcOOm2Gsnnk2pFO5KUruTgi8/s320/IMG_2102.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571105263837116146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kr2RUAFN52XWaZlV8n6VJ03lWWNFNWE_dmskiE2NEQfS4-XszKXmZ-u9GLk7NQxt9P7W1Df0eyO8TGrcYrLbLBvHDEnG7uqiWtPaJMfJ2P081mmYUlrr5hWvIzz5sqHlOgjIT5QVZ-w/s320/IMG_2098.JPG" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglX10p7KX3MwuTV3oH-pJfimXAP3lJel2nZrqNyYzhpW8XzDMVKnxjG5vT_Dmp5KPedFSLsEQ54lQlq-fmS90qwnbvUpRyGyXxNmG1i5L7B1u_frqWne_03hmKW5eYmI0zknXzHwt2WsE/s1600/IMG_2104.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571105283394943378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglX10p7KX3MwuTV3oH-pJfimXAP3lJel2nZrqNyYzhpW8XzDMVKnxjG5vT_Dmp5KPedFSLsEQ54lQlq-fmS90qwnbvUpRyGyXxNmG1i5L7B1u_frqWne_03hmKW5eYmI0zknXzHwt2WsE/s320/IMG_2104.JPG" /></a> <div><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571105267998388178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cP8b0VSp9WSDFfoFdrOUxJ4DZJ47gjHtG2RNlfdGnU9LGrkO6vZ7jB-3OmOvunhyphenhypheniwQAUkasE0p3dvTdeNj3BG_qZUQmvwOVEJc4Kyg_vxLGvp4EDkOZbw_IMh8FS_9-6kPBwDs8-L0/s320/IMG_2097.JPG" /> <div><div><div><div><div><br /><div>The last post I wrote regarding my sofa table project was about my original sketchup model and was, sadly,posted on Sept. 28, 2009. That's about a year and a half of working on this project from conception to completion. To be honest I almost had it beat about 4 months ago when I placed it in my living room to finally see what it would look like in the space. That was a big mistake! At the time all I had left to do was to turn the door and drawer pulls and brush some varnish over the two coats of danish I had put onto the tabletop. Well sure enough, one of the kids spilled something on the top and ruined the finish completely. I mean within a week of having it in my living room there were 2 or 3 major water spots. Lessons learned: 1. Don't put the furniture in place until it's well and truly done and 2. I finally learned how to finish a tabletop with a really nice durable finish. More on that later.. </div><div></div><br /><div>A quick description of the piece is in order: The primary wood is cherry with the drawer fronts made out of one piece of curly birch for grain continuity. The drawer sides and bottoms are eastern white pine and some of the secondary wood in the case (drawer runnners etc.) are made out of yellow birch. There are several different finishes on this piece depending on the level of durability required etc. The tabletop is easily the most laborious finish I've ever done. One coat of sealcoat using a 1lb cut to control blotching in the cherry. Two coats of Danish Oil to enhance the chatoyance of the wood. Three coats of brushed on varnish followed by two coats of gel varnish and finally a coat of paste wax for a total of 9 coats of finish with all of the sanding and rubbing out between successive coats. The remainder of the exterior of the case is simply a coat of sealcoat followed with 3 coats of wet sanded danish oil using 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. The inside of the drawers etc were finished with a 2lb cut of sealcoat. I had a tough time deciding on how to finish the curly birch thinking that a water based poly might be the way to go to get better contrast between the two different species but the water based didn't bring out the figure of the wood so I ended up deciding on the smae Danish Oil finsih as the rest of the case. <br /></div><div> </div><div>I am very proud of this case piece and found it to be a great skill builder. In particular I'm very happy with the joinery for the drawer blades and dividers into the case sides since these are all dovetailed. This is a detail I picked up watching Tommy MacDonald's Bombe series and I did it using a paring block the samy way Tommy did it and it worked out great.</div><div> </div><div>I deliberated quite a bit on how to build the back of the case. From what I've seen, it appears that many period furniture pieces were done using shiplapped pine boards which is fine if the back is hidden from view against a wall. In this case however, since the center "cubby" is open I wanted to keep the back in cherry. So I ended making a frame and panel back with bookmatched cherry panels.</div><div> </div><div>As you can see in the opening photo, all of the drawer fronts were dovetailed by hand using an uneven tail size and spacing. The drawer backs are done using through dovetails and the drawer bottoms are 1/2" thick solid pine tapered to 1/4" thick around three sides to fit into the grooves in the drawer front and sides.</div><div> </div><div>This was my first attempt at installing knife hinges as well. I purchased some nice Brusso hinges from Lee Valley and followed the process that Timothy Rousseau shows in his small cabinet project in the Fine Woodworking Project Video series. Mr. Rousseau's instructions were invaluable to this process. As for the drawer pulls I looked at an awful lot of pulls on the Lee Valley website but it was when I visited the Thomas Moser showroom in Freeport Maine when I decided to try my hand at turning my own pulls. One of Mr. Moser's display cabinets had the most beautiful tear drop shaped pulls. I tried to commit the shape to memory but ended up making something similar on the lathe in cocobolo. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-52087474482337113822010-12-16T08:18:00.000-08:002010-12-16T08:29:36.865-08:00Hailey's Christmas bookcase<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Qe5eoFK5LLL979FjVYWOU0efV-JMSeorRdiPdDOcpJmGlLYzYRnFEYsBM7z0zAuvoxQ7jwk63r4tHDV8AVSjfdqFOHQPASo4ElYMijpdiW2xtznld5USjkev2uVcZZ3DJWifIi2wLLk/s1600/Copy+of+IMG_1976.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551317894540980178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Qe5eoFK5LLL979FjVYWOU0efV-JMSeorRdiPdDOcpJmGlLYzYRnFEYsBM7z0zAuvoxQ7jwk63r4tHDV8AVSjfdqFOHQPASo4ElYMijpdiW2xtznld5USjkev2uVcZZ3DJWifIi2wLLk/s320/Copy+of+IMG_1976.JPG" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div>We'll I'm frantically trying to finish a bookcase for my God-daughter, Hailey's Christmas present. her brother, Reid, has a nice big built-in bookshelf in his room and I think Hailey's a bit jealous. These kids are wonderful readers and just love books so they have quite a collection and not a whole lot of place to put them. That's the inspiration for this piece. I did some online searching on google images for a bookcase suitable for a little girl's room and came across a photo I liked. The case had to be both challenging to increase my skill level and be simple enough that I'd be able to finish it by Christmas. I started it with lots of time to spare and had most of the case put together over a weekend. but, of course, life steps in. My wife wanted me to finish a basement bedroom and that took precendence for a few weeks and worked got hectic. Same old story. So here I am, 8 days from Christmas eve and I've yet to start putting any paint on the thing. I turned the feet last night and tonight I plan on attaching the feet to the case bottom plinth, attach the plinth and the top to the case and then start the drawers. of course, the drawer fronts are curved and I'd like to dovetail the drawers at least at the front, which will add some complication but I think that by the end of this weekend I'll be able to put my first coat of primer on the case and then spend the evenings next week applying 2-3 coats of white paint. Wish me luck and Merry Christmas </div></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-59420158310896705472009-09-28T11:54:00.000-07:002009-09-28T12:17:25.290-07:00Cherry Sofa Table<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj10fSazdLa4sBntEb_zoU5gN_BybbiUYmNMjQcNp5EzgDmCFv7umrME1w8zA0Y8uoKEhzV6YBrwuKhb0o_qfVIZ-gwCI2nuFteLpmCKdaF2EFDOWhgR9W_iGafu4T1e4T-RInmi6Jdkc/s1600-h/Ellis+sofa+Table+through+dovetails.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj10fSazdLa4sBntEb_zoU5gN_BybbiUYmNMjQcNp5EzgDmCFv7umrME1w8zA0Y8uoKEhzV6YBrwuKhb0o_qfVIZ-gwCI2nuFteLpmCKdaF2EFDOWhgR9W_iGafu4T1e4T-RInmi6Jdkc/s400/Ellis+sofa+Table+through+dovetails.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386596432619475410" /></a><br />Well anyone who has been following my blog (including me, that's likely a whole 1 person) has seen that I had previously posted a screen capture of a walnut sofa table. For some reason, that version of the table just wasn't doing it for me. I had cross-grain issues, build issues, etc. I just plain couldn't get inspired by it. Then one day, while at work, I catch out of the corner of my eye one of the many furniture pictures I have for inspiration scrolling by on my screen saver. I don't even remember downloading, or having ever seen that photo before, but I fell in love with it immediately. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with the model in the image. <div><br /></div><div>The table is made of solid american black cherry with the only exception being the the bird's eye maple drawer fronts. It is essentially all frame and panel construction and is comprised of about 110 individual parts with over 50 mortise and tenon joints. From a design point of view, I think one of the reasons I didn't like the old model was that I tried to include too many strong visual elements. Too much exposed joinery etc. One this table there are only three featured design elements: the first is the contrasting wood drawer fronts. the second is the through dovetails on the drawers and the third more subtle is just the cherry wood grain. If I had to categorize this piece in a certain style I guess it would have to be shaker with some craftsman influence. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the original photo of the piece, there was also a Harvey Ellis style craftsman inlay in each of the two doors. Though I'm keen on learning how to create these inlays, I think it would be too much for this piece. I'd much rather incorporate the contrasting wood tones.</div><div><br /></div><div>To date I've purchased about 50 bd ft of cherry and have milled the parts for the two side frames and I've just started laying out the joinery in the legs. Stay tuned for some photos of the work in progress.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-18713808600966802042009-03-18T04:08:00.001-07:002009-03-18T04:52:50.514-07:00Craftsman Curtain Rods<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wYO8_h0Y0P23CaY0QLEKe0eM47ER1-Q88QJxUsliZDCJvTfFIV5yWAF7KfFSrGCo2g8VdUslKH9-R86A-UhHyWs9aTzKpBJ9TZyss8td0xMxc2L-lePXmoQAt3sXMHSSCgKkg71kcPc/s1600-h/DSCF4431.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314485585938141394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wYO8_h0Y0P23CaY0QLEKe0eM47ER1-Q88QJxUsliZDCJvTfFIV5yWAF7KfFSrGCo2g8VdUslKH9-R86A-UhHyWs9aTzKpBJ9TZyss8td0xMxc2L-lePXmoQAt3sXMHSSCgKkg71kcPc/s400/DSCF4431.JPG" border="0" /></a> My very talented wife has taken up sewing and I have to say that she has a real knack for it. She's in the process of making these curtains for our living room windows and I couldn't resist taking a picture to post. She still has a couple of things to complete such as trimming the thread ends and making the tie backs but I think they look pretty awesome. This blog however, is not about sewing, it's about woodworking. So not to be outdone, I decided to make the curtain rods for the windows and of course turned to the interwebs for inspiration. We did a search for craftsman style curtain rods and we found something very similar to what's show here. </div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314485587757158914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQG0qTg8VJ79R2g-EhOPyDUUPFI-n9AlrKr172RRwC-7pxQILjimreQE36ShYCuTD7JGVU7roG92wHwb2BJSYMql0lHwiDGIk0crMXjNgeInkGRahwNOQrNF-2ASvxy9exzS7jCvLN0U/s400/DSCF4433.JPG" border="0" /><br />I started by making the rod out of some scrap red oak I had. The only embellishment is that I cut small "pyramid" shapes at the ends of the rod. For the supports I found a 1" thick red oak board ans sketched the design right on it. I bored the mortises for the rod out with a forstner bit and cleaned out the hole with a mortising chisel and file. I then inlaid the walnut accent squares and then rounded over all the exposed edges with a coarse file and sandpaper. once this was done I turned my attention to how I was going to hang the thing. Now being a structural engineer you'd think that I'd had this figured out before I got to this point. But, I'm purposely trying not to over-engineer things and let the design come first. What I decided to do was take a trip to the hardware store for ideas. I found some small steel plates with "keyholes" in them that I could recess into the back of the supports using a router. I finished everything with a coat of Varathane mission oak stain topcoated with shellac. It turned out to be a fun little project that I was able to complete in a weekend for under $10. God I love woodworking!</div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><div> </div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-72896744190316608732009-03-17T04:07:00.000-07:002009-03-17T04:43:49.285-07:00Sofa Table Design 2<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqitah7-eNek6XlxSDK25xW8Zd_M1Ts8R-X3q-_Asbcf5ZQyxdMVujoqA7h_vuCe0c0jnAANpd1u-VsNzV8lgroZ09EsE_rUY-Y4Z6pl2KAEUlWcaSJbaerhmF_QZqsuAmOg-ijQTLu7U/s1600-h/sofa+table+with+pinned+miter+doors.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314112614917878754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqitah7-eNek6XlxSDK25xW8Zd_M1Ts8R-X3q-_Asbcf5ZQyxdMVujoqA7h_vuCe0c0jnAANpd1u-VsNzV8lgroZ09EsE_rUY-Y4Z6pl2KAEUlWcaSJbaerhmF_QZqsuAmOg-ijQTLu7U/s400/sofa+table+with+pinned+miter+doors.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>So I've done some more work on my sofa table design and I'm feeling alot better about the whole thing since I've added some personal touches. As you can see in the photo, I've incorporated breadboard ends and a crest rail on the top, added wedged through tenons on the side stretchers and changed the door joinery from a through mortise and tenon to pinned miters.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>For some reason that big top just didn't feel right without a crest rail on it and after a few different designs I settled on the one in the picture with a very low profile that enhances the horizontality of the piece. I'm considering putting a series of square holes in similar to those I incorporated into the crest rail on my nightstands (previous blog post) I'll put some more thought into that but I'm scared to overdo it with the craftsman details. The breadboard ends I added to help keep the top flat, because I really like the look of them and frankly because I've always wanted to try and build them. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I extended the tenons on the side stretchers and turned them into wedged through tenons. I still plan on using ebony wedges (If I can find some) The tenons are 1/2" thick and I may still play with their proportions to get the top and bottom of the top tenon to line up with the depth of the drawer.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The pinned mitres on the doors I saw in Fine Woodworking issue #200 in an article by Russell Jensen. This is a traditional japanese joinery technique called "kane tsugi" that I find very beautiful. I'm pretty pumped to try and make this joint.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Of course, I had to pass all of the design ideas by my better half to see if she'd veto any of these decisions. She was a bit unsure about the pinned mitres because she felt that it was a bit too much but after a few seconds changed her mind. phheuw! What are your thoughts on them. Below is a picture of the piece with the regular through mortise and tenon joints on the doors for comparison.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314119468727607682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlHYmw-dEQyjbuW-TJIbhLPuYvMaM_oDJcFkFL-3E1E6N_xgt-3JBwx4JnCWeni9-Kdyk4GJ-j9aa0r1Q7cdBqu_WmZQGlOKQuHQSVb__2A3lQM7kAjMrV_hTgSuWTsqDq2NXpSCbHGU/s400/sofa+table.jpg" border="0" /></div></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-38661664461030062009-03-03T06:37:00.001-08:002009-03-03T06:46:22.498-08:00Sofa Table ProjectHere's the sketchup model for my next project. It's a sofa table for my living room. I took inspiration from a picture I found online and scaled. I've been <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qrbxRAwCL6zVJmLchWtkRePpdT8s5-egV5vn5tH7k864B1CNkt-hxL0hFTtwfN0RX9ae6uxp-NI3VBUTtcYCmN1mXzayKBHcreBF-uu5kzbkG1CQDLOh7XRLekGXV_Yp8Td8FwJ4N3Y/s1600-h/sofa+table.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308970861580830146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 393px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qrbxRAwCL6zVJmLchWtkRePpdT8s5-egV5vn5tH7k864B1CNkt-hxL0hFTtwfN0RX9ae6uxp-NI3VBUTtcYCmN1mXzayKBHcreBF-uu5kzbkG1CQDLOh7XRLekGXV_Yp8Td8FwJ4N3Y/s320/sofa+table.jpg" border="0" /></a> busily modelling the inside of the case to try and eliminate any cross grain joinery in solid wood. At this point it's my intent to make this out of walnut for a primary wood and white birch as a secondary wood. There are a couple of black accent strips which at this point are intended to be ebony but due to cost may well end up being ebonized walnut. Once I have the inside of the carcase and back figured out I intend to make a few modifications just to dress it up and make it my own. A few craftsman details such as through tenons, set back drawers etc come to mind, but I don't want to overdo it. if anyone has any suggestions I'd gladly entertain them.<br /><div></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-14669156112010083832009-03-03T06:29:00.000-08:002009-03-03T06:35:42.687-08:00Blog revival<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUFtZIHjLNM70HnuOYuig5GJq0ycoHS9x8nZZZGceFJBctfcktB3NImLXmGS1zmkqRIVV7MdWUQiYqEPNOhJQU66GP9kvBhsW0iErtej1-kPFjJHJVJ8PwZO1cl8huiVga41-bxSXiog/s1600-h/Bed+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308970080219918146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUFtZIHjLNM70HnuOYuig5GJq0ycoHS9x8nZZZGceFJBctfcktB3NImLXmGS1zmkqRIVV7MdWUQiYqEPNOhJQU66GP9kvBhsW0iErtej1-kPFjJHJVJ8PwZO1cl8huiVga41-bxSXiog/s320/Bed+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyGkpvQTULgQL_C4BxXWGVMteoKZSAGKkKw49JT5iAR1hyphenhyphenRVZtlaICVtu4fzNFo7qDKs7uJuGZJ3GfKTbC2lNLFEH6B3IOCfvgj9BrUlg0qVzMD2Gnth8yEXE6KMmvNfjvOg-QLpVcls/s1600-h/DSCF3056.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308970069891591634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyGkpvQTULgQL_C4BxXWGVMteoKZSAGKkKw49JT5iAR1hyphenhyphenRVZtlaICVtu4fzNFo7qDKs7uJuGZJ3GfKTbC2lNLFEH6B3IOCfvgj9BrUlg0qVzMD2Gnth8yEXE6KMmvNfjvOg-QLpVcls/s320/DSCF3056.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHnR2FdO6FnkoAK_gzaV3xazXnmIsN34q72cYwz1wY8OWG0k-fGtTYDAbL-3J24CpHl7guJcNwEe1AFizJx5lNXoHsyouCj0CaJMIcioKEoys71tklgNj-I9iRmAzIcD4_O46DavGBJE/s1600-h/DSCF3044.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308970059796095026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHnR2FdO6FnkoAK_gzaV3xazXnmIsN34q72cYwz1wY8OWG0k-fGtTYDAbL-3J24CpHl7guJcNwEe1AFizJx5lNXoHsyouCj0CaJMIcioKEoys71tklgNj-I9iRmAzIcD4_O46DavGBJE/s320/DSCF3044.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xjAvg8OLLeTecLaFz_b3lOSounpDQ-MJUfeXVX2aBa3qtzFcW_Sd8d8FbfkvMD7XahndnuGYzHLLCTn5gy0btPYYk3ZZ0IAu1qSuYMDOR7vvw9BWDjyOdqalNXDcoFlYqDFLPfDdO0c/s1600-h/Brunway+Structure+Inspections+030.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308970057065298690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xjAvg8OLLeTecLaFz_b3lOSounpDQ-MJUfeXVX2aBa3qtzFcW_Sd8d8FbfkvMD7XahndnuGYzHLLCTn5gy0btPYYk3ZZ0IAu1qSuYMDOR7vvw9BWDjyOdqalNXDcoFlYqDFLPfDdO0c/s320/Brunway+Structure+Inspections+030.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Here are a couple of photos of projects I've completed.</div></div></div></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-29453068660883117062008-03-13T04:06:00.000-07:002008-12-09T11:35:12.676-08:00Completed nightstandHi guys, well I'm sorry it's been awhile since I last posted. Once I get close to the finish line on a project I guess I go all out to try and get it done. I've finally completed my nightstand (or should I say my wife's nightstand). I'm very happy with how it turned out and am quite proud of it. My wife loves it. Here are a couple of pictures:<br /><div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirr-HJ6WzNcRzVBdzzW8vlHCFWQ8zoPVUxnYSwKmAOm3aijjYtVr3Y-rPXPjp3koUoNGovRKNYqb9HHMBpoA6d86lS9idLP61wPjjXfOdymu_JhNCVS_1O5IdYkYsJaihw6I7_l2Iv8c/s1600-h/IMG_5172.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177181655926090722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirr-HJ6WzNcRzVBdzzW8vlHCFWQ8zoPVUxnYSwKmAOm3aijjYtVr3Y-rPXPjp3koUoNGovRKNYqb9HHMBpoA6d86lS9idLP61wPjjXfOdymu_JhNCVS_1O5IdYkYsJaihw6I7_l2Iv8c/s320/IMG_5172.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>I really struggled with the finish on this project. It's funny how the more you learn about woodworking and finishing in particular the more you're willing to get outside your comfort zone and try something new. At the same time trying something new can lead you into trouble.</div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Though I couldn't stray too far from the finish I used on the bed right next to it, I still wanted to try a couple of things I've read recently on finishing and finishing prep work: </div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>The first was to do alot more scraping than sanding. Like most woodworkers I hate sanding. So after having read countless articles on the subject that say you can almost totally do away with sanding by using a card scraper I decided I'd take this path. The key word above however is the "almost". Because the sides and back of this case are frame and panel construction, I had to be very careful to get away from making cross grain scratches with my card scraper. So after having scraped the thing prior to assembly and then spot scraped after assembly to make sure all the joints are flush etc, I spent about another 3 hours hand sanding with 180 grit and suing steam to get rid of any dings etc that tend to show up during assembly. Of course the second I put a stain on the thing, I find all kinds of cross grain scratches, dents etc. It's enough to drive you crazy. So after sanding off the trouble spots and restaining all went well. </div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYaFJzOY0wNYCjGgHUwQa5ciUWlCGdBJ4fQN6rQ1qj7KxeVa18Bxh0Q7ViAKHk5YI08ynIFT0Eyi1Ahh626H_hvFcI80DjCLCwxDhiypSqixN9SuIw-P8Q_nQtp4nMRAKl31RYz9N5lk/s1600-h/IMG_5165.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177181664516025330" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYaFJzOY0wNYCjGgHUwQa5ciUWlCGdBJ4fQN6rQ1qj7KxeVa18Bxh0Q7ViAKHk5YI08ynIFT0Eyi1Ahh626H_hvFcI80DjCLCwxDhiypSqixN9SuIw-P8Q_nQtp4nMRAKl31RYz9N5lk/s320/IMG_5165.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkn7Wfwb3SNC7E1kAfxNWs2-7YMIm3yHroOL2w2ZAX6DUEP_bAZoqwpHV198xY4muExrxpfA3p8IEs5p1ocj7_DR7BCGll_NZhLMbW4g7KyRp_AfpR7friMc2Pf7hD0heLXUWZZ10qI6o/s1600-h/IMG_5173.JPG"></a></div><div>The second thing I read decided to try was to use a glossy sheen for the first two coats of polyurethane and then apply the satin sheen for my last coat. The logic behind this is that this type of finish is naturally glossy. Silica is added to the glossy to turn it into a satin. If you can imagine tiny little grains of sand inside the finish reflecting the light in different directions you can see how this would work. If you apply satin finish for all coats, you are hiding a little bit of the wood on each coat. So by doing it the way I did it you theoretically get the best of both worlds. This seems to work quite well but as you can probably tell in the photo the nightstand is a bit shinier than the bed. In retrospect, I should have placed a second coat of satin on it to dull it down a bit to match the bed. I think I'll do that as soon as my wife isn't looking!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTIpyh6qB7kfzTd1XP8hkha-ZWxjApind59OyUA1RHLba9pyaVjXU9KV659FB0WQjrWmvbQkuY2jj_DOZ-a10gSgZzBxa9ZhXQJJjeewn_NODHTvNsomuVC0foKBzOchT7ytEwWP-hdM/s1600-h/IMG_5173.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177188467744222242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTIpyh6qB7kfzTd1XP8hkha-ZWxjApind59OyUA1RHLba9pyaVjXU9KV659FB0WQjrWmvbQkuY2jj_DOZ-a10gSgZzBxa9ZhXQJJjeewn_NODHTvNsomuVC0foKBzOchT7ytEwWP-hdM/s320/IMG_5173.JPG" border="0" /></a>This project gave me my first experience hand cutting dovetail joinery for the drawers. As you can see from the picture, they turned out pretty good. There are tons of online articles on this subject but I'd like to make a couple of comments regarding my experience in the hopes of helping along other first time dovetailers. </div><div> </div><div>1. Every article I've ever read about drawer construction says "make your drawer front 3/4" thick and use 1/2" thick material for the sides and back. This is a big pill to swallow when you're planing 1" thick material down to 1/2". It's natural to think " hey if 1/2" is strong. then 3/4" is even stronger!" However, when you cut your drawer sides the extra thickness amplifies and error you make with the saw. I cut my tails first and then transfer the outline of the tails onto the pin board using an Xacto knife. When you do this you're marking on the hidden side of the board not on the show side so you have make sure your cuts are square. </div><div> </div><div>2. Because I wanted to match the colour of the bed, I had to stain this project. I put alot of thought into how to treat the pins on the drawer front so that I had a nice contrast with the drawer sides. Finally I read an article by Jeff Jewitt in Fine Woodworking that explained what to do. First stain the drawer front and use a #2 or #4 artists brush to stain the pins. I used an oil based stain and had to be very careful not to put too much stain on the brush so that the oil didn't wick into the tail board. It's painstaking but it can be done. Then I applied one 2lb cut coat of dewaxed shellac to the whole drawer. This is the final finish for the inside of the drawer and I chose it because dewaxed shellac has the nice property of having no smell after about 1 hr of curing and is compatible with the polyurthane topcoat. The final step is to apply the wiping poly to the drawer front.<br /></div><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLwNMRXiMXGqc_99I6lQDaAfS56kTfT4Zs7oNUFCXHsnENeCGvQsBXlOJA5BAAcfol2fLqwX4UKfWbgleZaNWLQ_DcxEmKndQf3t7jbPXmoGz75TIlLttYIytEgoOK5NtLwtJHccE1O0/s1600-h/IMG_5173.JPG"></a><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkn7Wfwb3SNC7E1kAfxNWs2-7YMIm3yHroOL2w2ZAX6DUEP_bAZoqwpHV198xY4muExrxpfA3p8IEs5p1ocj7_DR7BCGll_NZhLMbW4g7KyRp_AfpR7friMc2Pf7hD0heLXUWZZ10qI6o/s1600-h/IMG_5173.JPG"></a></div></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-27396191453417996662008-01-28T04:23:00.000-08:002008-12-09T11:35:13.421-08:00Nightstand drawers 2 and closet organizerWell, I've been pretty productive in my woodworking since my last blog. Let's get started by discussing the nightstand project.<br /><br /><div><div><div>So since my last post, I've finished the half blind dovetails and through dovetails for my first drawer. I've subscribed to the Fine Woodworking website and I've read a few articles on cutting dovetails. So I feel I'm buch better prepared to cut the joinery for the next two drawers. So here a couple of pictures of the finished drawer joints all glued up and clened up with a low angle block plane:<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9DY3zBqoGypqSmuCo_VHmfK2DP3wuGpvE4zylrCsm_zjlE_MPVj9mIr4Dpmh8XAuJAUcNXdHRceJzgoQc9J1nVARU1EmCI4GnS3-EuCfdbZZxFaG03RmRMpRY2Auq5NaEHEVmWRXGdw/s1600-h/Closet+Organizer+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160503535477153522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9DY3zBqoGypqSmuCo_VHmfK2DP3wuGpvE4zylrCsm_zjlE_MPVj9mIr4Dpmh8XAuJAUcNXdHRceJzgoQc9J1nVARU1EmCI4GnS3-EuCfdbZZxFaG03RmRMpRY2Auq5NaEHEVmWRXGdw/s320/Closet+Organizer+006.jpg" border="0" /></a>In the photo at left I decided to try to do unevenly spaced dovetails. This may have been foolhardy to attempt for my first try but what the heck. I like this because it distinguishes the joinery from most machine cut dovetails which are normally evenly spaced. In reality, these are no more difficult to cut than even spacing and I prefer them aesthetically. I must say that I was surprised at how the glue helped to hide some of the minor gaps in the joinery. I'm using Pro-Bond stainable PVA glue which is not normally a gap filling glue but for thin gaps I guess it works quite well. I screwed up the other side of this drawer quite royally and have some huge gaps. That's why there's no picture! Suffice to say that don't be stupid and always chisel to your base line, never beyond! </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y_eCavWaTImAZRnXQyUNCOTnW-Bde20IbbiqUev6jP4OWIUcuyVZHifFpVz6P7M6v24oTGUt5fA17OwIyGO6qW_azOkrlQWZLsBds5hEHyyrYD85756NHAfRO8wpe5SGZSMHIvnQXYw/s1600-h/Closet+Organizer+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160505283528843026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y_eCavWaTImAZRnXQyUNCOTnW-Bde20IbbiqUev6jP4OWIUcuyVZHifFpVz6P7M6v24oTGUt5fA17OwIyGO6qW_azOkrlQWZLsBds5hEHyyrYD85756NHAfRO8wpe5SGZSMHIvnQXYw/s320/Closet+Organizer+011.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>I added this picture as a straight comparison to the picture from my previous blog to show how the glue helps to close up the joints. I'm very pleased at how this joint in particular turned out.</div><div></div><br /><div>So after having had this experience and having read through a couple of FW articles I picked up the following tip:<br /></div><div>Cut the tails on both sides first. By laying out and cutting both sides first you extend the endgrain layout lines across two boards which makes them longer and and is a better guide for your saw. This helps to make the tails the size across their depth which I feel is one of the biggest problems to overcome in this type of joinery.</div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Now over the weekend, my wife got frustrated that it was taking me so long to finish the nightstand that some of her wish list items weren't getting done. Specifically some shelves for my 15 year old son's bedroom and a closet organizer for our master bedroom. After much deliberation (actually she just decided and told me) we bought some cheap pine shelves and painted them to match our son's room. My wife even volunteered to paint them which was great and had them all painted wehn I got home on Saturday from helping a friend split some firewood. Unfortunately she painted the shelves on my workbench without covering the bench which was not so great. Anyway my bench is nothing too special so I can scrape the paint off without too much consternation.</div><div></div><br /><div>For the closet organizer we bought 2 sheets of 5/8" MDF. I spent probably 8-10 hours woodworking, painting and installing and I'm pretty happy with the results.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160508594948628258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iYDsloN_D1LMbIU3xY_-y6NN4ypO00nY6bW0C_rnEMLO9EojVVZAwuN6F3VI0kFZn_dRA97L6SA3mKKbFb0EA8yGMnTR7WE95vZ6qcSaB8CBLF6ISBnRfoaNGX7PuY701S7QBHyTrDs/s320/Closet+Organizer+002.jpg" border="0" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxyHjHgp2hN1PXB8pPh8iawxUsrqPCugMIVSdTXixBe1iIIVYawnTLgn3mi2a5hj_14Ap3E906Xionxb2iQ9fgG7aVj13YrCgk3iF0jrtrZ6rXOSTuIOE3C9ooGjjvmM4VaCwAU1kLAU/s1600-h/Closet+Organizer+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160508599243595570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxyHjHgp2hN1PXB8pPh8iawxUsrqPCugMIVSdTXixBe1iIIVYawnTLgn3mi2a5hj_14Ap3E906Xionxb2iQ9fgG7aVj13YrCgk3iF0jrtrZ6rXOSTuIOE3C9ooGjjvmM4VaCwAU1kLAU/s320/Closet+Organizer+003.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Here are the before and after pics. I intend to install 4 drawers in the space where the hamper is. I'll use full extension drawer slides and baltic birch plywood for the boxes. For the front of the drawers I think I'll do a small frame out of alder with a beadboard panel.</div><div> </div><div>Well that's it for this post. I was going to keep going on the drawers this week but It turns out than my hardwood supplier is out of 5/4 ash so I bought a nice big piece of red oak for the nightstand top. I'll try and get some pictures of laying out the panle glue up for you guys (and gals).</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxyHjHgp2hN1PXB8pPh8iawxUsrqPCugMIVSdTXixBe1iIIVYawnTLgn3mi2a5hj_14Ap3E906Xionxb2iQ9fgG7aVj13YrCgk3iF0jrtrZ6rXOSTuIOE3C9ooGjjvmM4VaCwAU1kLAU/s1600-h/Closet+Organizer+003.jpg"></a> </div></div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-26143915500947768182008-01-21T06:18:00.000-08:002008-12-09T11:35:13.744-08:00Nightstand drawersSo this weekend I made my first attempt and handcut dovetails. I milled out the front of the drawer from red oak and the sides and back out of ash. I started by laying out the through dovetails that attached the back of the drawer to the sides. I handcut the tails first using my LV folding dozuki saw (which I love) and all went pretty well. Then I traced the tails onto the pin board using an exacto knife and cut my first half pin on the drawer back. It was at this point that I realized that I had forgotten to cut the drawer back shorter to allow the solid wood bottom to slide in from the back. So after much deliberation on whether or not I should just forget about the solid wood bottom and use plywood, I decided to stay on course and challenge myself. So I cut 3/4" off of the drawer back. This left a half pin missing on the drawer side but so be it. Live and learn. Here's what my very first handcut dovetail joint looks like:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTL85MZ2-2wcGQjc99e3nG5LsD5wmTNOLyufep1Z90euN3A7ErCjJojP_OfP-T60-HIVbdyXccEiVIh5GUHR_3uUZoBeUWx1xhyphenhyphenrJjZlEo-Yi4DIP4OCI3EoyybRuWp1EdavAm3nCpF8/s1600-h/dovetails+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157936361206310434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTL85MZ2-2wcGQjc99e3nG5LsD5wmTNOLyufep1Z90euN3A7ErCjJojP_OfP-T60-HIVbdyXccEiVIh5GUHR_3uUZoBeUWx1xhyphenhyphenrJjZlEo-Yi4DIP4OCI3EoyybRuWp1EdavAm3nCpF8/s320/dovetails+002.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div> </div><div>It's no too bad and frankly I'm amazed at how strong this joint is. Even without any glue it's very difficult to pull apart.</div><div> </div><div>Now for the opposite side I need to decide how to layout the tails while taking into consideration the shorter drawer back. I decided to essentially mimic the other side with the only difference being that I'm not going to cut out the bottom half pin. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>After doing a bit of research online, I think the next time I'll layout the pins first on the drawer back and then cut the tails to match. I'll end up with a half pin partway up the drawer side but I think that'll look okay.</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiJ2BoXAIMNUXaq-Bris6NlGqcGujz-MSFaPQEaX963K8QaGdd2geHiqW2gUwx6TeGXWfWWCKvKEPmfI7qFFs3gv63k1t72qi20TqweE-pGtDz7mqNfIhhomABYzdEzdODNZvFliSwcU/s1600-h/dovetails+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157936374091212338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiJ2BoXAIMNUXaq-Bris6NlGqcGujz-MSFaPQEaX963K8QaGdd2geHiqW2gUwx6TeGXWfWWCKvKEPmfI7qFFs3gv63k1t72qi20TqweE-pGtDz7mqNfIhhomABYzdEzdODNZvFliSwcU/s320/dovetails+001.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>So here's the opposite side. Already a bit of improvement in the accuracy of the joint. I tightened up the joint by:</div><div> </div><div> 1. hogging out most of the material between the pins on the bandsaw.</div><div> </div><div>2. Instead of putting my chisel right in the marking gauge line and starting there I started 1/16" away from the line, cleaned up the sides etc. and the pared to the line.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>For my next drawer I'm going to make the following changes:</div><div> </div><div>1. I've used 3/4" material for all of my drawer parts. I think that for the next drawers, I'll buy some 5/4 ash and resaw it down to 1/2" thick material. I figure that if there's less depth, there's less magnification of error within the joint.</div><div> </div><div>2. The marking gauge I'm using is a cheap footprint one I bought at Home Depot and it makes a pretty wide line. I've read that a wheel cutting gauge is much more accurate. So I've added a graduated wheel marking gauge to my Lee Valley wish list and hopefully I'll get down to Halifax soon to pick one up. I figured I was getting one for Christmas from my wife but instead she got me a transfer punch set and a japanese chamfer plane. Let this be a lesson to you guys: when sending your wife an email wish list, narrow the list down to the stuff you really need!</div><div> </div><div>On Sunday afternoon I started the half blind dovetails for the drawer front. This time I started by laying out the pins first and scribing the tails to see if this is any easier. I only got as far as chopping out one end of the pin board and then my wife called. Darn, I'll have to continue later.</div>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-65672165200562188022008-01-18T03:54:00.000-08:002008-12-09T11:35:14.686-08:00NightstandWell I'm going to shoot right off the cuff here and try and get some content on this blog. I've been working on a nightstand for a couple of months now. It's a match to the bed I made for my wife and I. Here's a photo of the completed bed and the Sketchup model for the nightstand.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156787229821363602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJGV4y5xstiJjt9Y8_NZ6tlrf2jXrEE7jR_jHSj7aGEMja1S2vDgXZnwfY6uAo2IS66zjol1vdgTn02GNFzY90Wf5Mp9l-udRY2A7mZmfMI6GnZ73BxmPi-niIl-pOcS-X-tdaDgsH4us/s320/Bed+005.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="right"></p><br /><p align="right"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156787234116330914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoq6V_GDnrJZbo859PdzHzlNaMldAmY56VPRhDS42UCKaoDODRa7e6nGoWGpEE85diXyQ_pbJoDYY5VxqxHTjgftHP_jUthvRNtXmKjGQNZvjiGPGEcFTxYe5t2IpqWIbwtCRsC-g8iUo/s320/nightstand+3.jpg" border="0" /></p><br />I purchased the plans for the bed from Wood magazine and modified the stock plan somewhat to make the bed into a King sized. It turned out great and I great a great sense of pride every time I see it. The only thing that bugs me a bit is that though it's a Craftsman style bed, I used plainsawn red oak as a material. The reason for this is economics. I'd love to have used the traditional quarter sawn white oak but in this part of the world, (Atlantic Canada) White Oak is pretty hard to come by. I spoke to one sawmill who specializes in custom hardwood orders who told me that in the 7 years he's been in business, he's only ever seen 6 white oak logs. The other option I guess would have been to order some online but I haven't had the courage yet to spend my hard earned cash on wood sight unseen. That being said, shipping the necessary boards from the southern US would have been prohibitively expensive.<br /><br /><br /><p>Now If you look at the picture of the bed you can see that we're using some pretty dinky little nightstands my wife bought at the grocery store for $10 a piece. So among the seemingly unending list of furniture projects I have, the nightstands jumped out as a priority. The matching nightstand plan from wood magazine was nice but I wasn't keen on the single drawer and open bottom. So I decided to use Google sketchup to modify the stock plan to include three drawers, modify the "backsplash", use all solid wood and add some exposed joinery for the project. I'm trying to make sure that every one of my projects increases in difficulty level and though the bed is physically bigger it was much simpler to make than the nightstand.</p><br /><br /><p>So to match the bed, I'm using plainsawn red oak and intend to finish the project using Varathane's mission oak stain and topped with Minwax Wipe-on satin Polyurethane. The drawer insides will be finished using shellac to make sure that my clothes don't smell of poly. So I'm going to jump ahead here and show you the pics of where I'm at with the nightstand project right now.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156792873408390578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURtlA8iup9eT0BedTQ-n8x7eOSsPw8yQDDbEaLaSKMJ6azlsmOr4IcLqcHfgCMJdYhKNUZNdPTJkZwRE5nH4p017JKrP8TOoZiCYahQVFQ5SXUUhoEoW7d9uoSBfIPwgjHcBydLOE8JU/s320/IMG_4752.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156792877703357890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcN1io3yl1KBZRyCf1Q_vy550_pcIXoA38YMxdiMNxIRhCfy_poHvQEDKYjJz22z4fkMPOlAPJaIMFM0rQDWjxjGamXuyoAjm1Or7yc3W4L7vxv6N1p8y-AtI9PZBJ667EnqhrK50AnQ/s320/IMG_4748.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>So as you can see I've got the side and back frames made with the panels pre-stained. The front stretcher is installed and three of the four drawer support frames have been fit and glued in. The corbels are just clamped on temporarily for the photo. I'm waiting for the top to be installed beforwe adding the corbels. that way I can ensure a nice tight fit. The drawer support frames are made using half lap joints and are dadoed into the side frames. The front part of the drawer support frames overlap the sides by 1/2" inch just to give some visul depth. As you can see from the next photo, I used a wedged through tenon for the front stretcher. I had some spare jatoba lying around and used that for the wedges. It's the first time I ever tried this joint and am pretty pleased by how it turned out.<br /></p>JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492987743265436003.post-77594419389715886932008-01-15T08:42:00.000-08:002008-01-15T08:58:03.318-08:00Introductory BlogWell since this is my first attempt at creating a blog, please bear with me. I'm inspired to start this blog by podcasts such as The Wood Whisperer, Matt's basement Workshop and The Rough Cut show which have taught me a great deal about woodworking and are a never ending source of design inspiration.<br /><br /><br /><br />A little info about me: I am a structural engineer by day and an amateur self-taught woodworker by night. I take most of my inspiration from Craftsman furniture of Gustav Stickley. I started woodworking about three years ago after having renovated my first house. Since then, I've amassed a fairly extensive tool collection and I'm pretty much obsessed with working wood.JL Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204270489843576295noreply@blogger.com0