Wednesday, December 30, 2015

A change of pace

Instead of editing more video on the essential oil cabinet, I decided to put a bit up on some shop progress.  I got the part from Bosch to fix the damage done by UPS during shipping.  An easy fix that did not take much time to do.  I am really thankful to Jim at Bosch for shipping the part to me directly instead of having to deal with the run around you get from UPS when you make a claim.  When I called them UPS took some information and told me they would send it off to their "investigation" department.  I felt more like I was the one under investigation and not that the customer service person I was talking to was there to help me.

This is the first job to be done in finding the saw a somewhat permanent home in the shop.  It can't stay on the wing of the table saw.  As usual in my world, having a job to do usually involves doing several jobs in order to get to the one you want to do.  That is not a bad thing, it gets me out to the shop tinkering around, which I love.  Sometimes you just need an excuse!

So, a short video on fixing the saw.


Sunday, December 27, 2015

Recovery time

  Whew, what a wonderful holiday.  I hope yours was as nice.  Family and friends, food and fun.  It has been a long time since my son, daughter, and I were all together at once.  Logistics worked in our favour this year and we got to spend Christmas eve together.  We had our big turkey dinner and opened presents, talked a lot and enjoyed each others company.  Being together made it extra special.

It is all done now.  The tree is down and things have been cleaned up and re arranged.  Quiet has once again descended into out lives and things are getting back to normal.  I was going to go to the shop today and start work on getting the table for the mitre saw project started, but I edited video instead.

I have the second instalment of the essential oil cabinet done and it takes us through some of the joinery for the shelves.  I am not totally happy with it, but it is another step along the way in learning to make videos.

Perhaps tomorrow I will get out to the shop and get the casters changed on the table saw.  It is the first step in the mitre saw project.  I picked them up at KW Surplus for just under $12 each.  I bought 4 even though there is already 2 locking swivel casters on the saw.  I figured what good is 2 casters left over, and it's always better to have a complete set the same on the equipment.  Besides that, I will have the casters from the table saw to make a mobile base for the jointer.  One thing leads to another.  This whole project started out by me filling out a survey for Bosch and winning the saw.  Oh, I must tell you that Jim over at Bosch got the new part that UPS damaged in shipping to me.  I am really impressed by how they treat people, and they are making me a fan.

So, on to the video.  My first attempts at housing dados (stopped dados).  I saw Paul Sellers doing it, so that is where the influence came from.  It took a long time to get them done and you can tell the different days by what I am wearing.  Some days a jacket, some a coat, some a pull over.  The heater makes a bit of hiss in the background, I hope the music detracts from that.  Not my favourite piece of music, but it was just the right length.



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Monday, December 21, 2015

As ready as I'm going to be

All the Christmas shopping is done now.  I am really excited.  My son and daughter are both going to be here on Christmas eve.  It is not often that we are all together, what with busy life styles and distances, so this is very special.  The gifts are wrapped and under the tree.  We went out and got a real tree this year.

I managed to get the first video of the Essential Oil cabinet edited and I put it on You Tube a few days ago.  I thought I would make a short post and insert it in the blog here.  I have called the series "A board of Cherry".  Part 2 should come out shortly after Christmas.





I managed to sell my small scaffolding unit and I am going to put the money into some casters for the table saw.  The ones on it function OK but there are only 2 swivel casters on one end and I want to change it to having all 4 corners with swivel casters.  This will allow me to build the shelf for the Bosch Glide Mitre saw so that the table saw can be parked under it, freeing up a lot of space in the shop.  So a shop project is in the future, and along with that, a whole bunch of re-arranging.  The scaffold being gone makes a huge blank spot on the wall too, so stick around and see how this goes.  It won't be the last time, that's for sure.  I have to insulate and sheath the walls and put the electric in so things have to be able to be taken off the walls for that.  I hope to pull the permit for the electric in the new year and get that roughed in and inspected so I can continue to close the interior in.  All this, of course, depends on budget allowances.  I may have a bit of commission work on the line, so that may bring in a couple of needed dollars.  

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Thursday, December 17, 2015

Cabinet photos....done!

I put the BLO and bees wax finish on this one too.  This time I applied it at room temperature instead of heating it.  I rubbed off the excess a couple of hours later and then let it sit over night.  Today I gave it a bit of a rub out and then applied a coat of furniture wax.  Of course the finishing process required the unit to be disassembled to do.

After the last coat of wax was buffed out I took it out to the shop.  I used glaziers points to install the screen into the door, added the back and tacked it into place.  I only used one tack in the centre on near the top and the bottom.  This, along with the ship lapped joints will give it the freedom to expand and contract with the seasons.  I put a couple of wall hangers on it, the hinges and all the pulls.  One shelf, right behind the door pull has a small rare earth magnet that lines up with the pull screw to keep it closed.  Once that was done, it was ready for some photos.  I took it out doors to take advantage of the natural light.  Yes, this is Canada in December and there is a definite lack of snow.








I am pretty pleased with the end product.  Oh, there are a few mistakes in it, and I will probably only notice them.  I am really pleased with how the mesh on the door came out.  The low tech finish shows off the wood and gives just the right amount of sheen.  It will need a bit of maintenance and with that it should be an heirloom that lasts a good long time.  

Oh, I signed and dated the bottom too, as I do with all my projects.

That should wrap things up for a while now.  I am taking time for family and holidays.  I hope you have the same opportunity to spend time with loved one too.

Merry Christmas everyone and....

Thanks for dropping by.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Merry Christmas 2015

I have been busy working away in the shop.  A couple of hours most days.  I did take the last weekend off.  I got back out there today and got the cabinet almost ready for finishing.  The hinges have been mortised in and that is always a big chore for me.  Even though they are small hinges I am always fretting about how they will go in and function.  They came out acceptable and they work just fine.

I did a bunch of routing with the Dremel, chamfering all the edges on the door and drawer.  Then set up the router on the table and made a shallow rabbit (rebate) on the inside to hold the mesh in place.  I have to pick up some glaziers points to hold it in, and a magnet to inset to hold the door closed.  I also got the pulls installed.  Expensive buggers they were.  I think it is worth it though.  Cheap hardware looks....well....cheap. The back is all finished and just needs final fitting and nailed into place.

I took it into the house for a quick picture.  It was raining pretty hard.  Yes, raining in the middle of December in Canada.  Weird.  I didn't put the back in place for the picture, and the mesh is just held in place with masking tape.  I used 1/4" hardware cloth for the mesh, cut on a diagonal.  It will keep the insides aired out so the scent doesn't knock you over when you open the door.

I hope I am not ruining the surprise by posting the photo, but there already has been some.



Once the finish goes on the cherry ought to darken a bit, and will continue to do so with exposure to the sun.  

I have tons of video to edit and put together of this build but I am waiting until after the holidays.  There is more of a chance for the recipient to see it there than here.  I will get more photos up after it is all finished.  There is still plenty of work to do on it.

Christmas is coming up fast.  I am going to take this time to wish you all Merry Christmas.  It is the season I grew up with and hope you all embrace the spirit of the season and what it means.  Peace on earth, good will toward man.  I am aware that there are other traditions that take place at this time of year and gladly accept the tidings of your season as readily as I am willing to bestow those of mine on you.

I am taking some time to enjoy the season, so I may or may not post for a bit.  It depends on how things go.  I will get the last photos of this project up before long though.

May the new year bring you health and happiness for you and your families.  

Thanks for dropping by

Monday, December 07, 2015

More goings on today

I found a piece of Maple today.  Well, actually, Sally found it yesterday and put it in a bunch of them, then I went through the pile today.  It was just the size I thought I could use for the secondary wood for the drawer.  It was just over 14 1/2" long and 6 1/2" wide.  I needed just under 3" for the drawer, so ripped it using the new Bosch.  Wonderful!  I gave it a few passes over the jointer to get one face flat and one edge square to it.  A few trips through the table saw to re saw it and then through the planer and I had 4 pieces at about 5/16" thick.



I cut them to close to the right width, again using the Bosch, and then slowly got to the finish size using hand planes and my bench hook as a shooting board.  I really need a proper shooting board.  That will be a build someday.  Anyway, I got the panels fitted pretty well and marked them.  They will not end up this tight.  I will be taking a few shavings with a hand plane after the joinery is cut to fine tune the fit.


Not too bad a piece of wood for out of the fire wood pile.  It will be getting a cherry face put on the front of it.  I did the lay out for one corner of the joinery.  I am going to try dove tails all around.  

This build has been a lot of hand work and I have many hours of enjoyment into it.  I use the power tools for things that need it and do hand work where I feel comfortable experimenting.  Slowly, I am improving.  

I also edited some video and got the last instalment of the Photo Box Trio done.  I experimented for the first time with some music.  It was free to use and available right on You Tube, so I tried.  I like it.  It has a dark overtone with a bright undertone.  I may start using more music and less talking.




Enjoy!, and, 

Thanks for dropping by



Saturday, December 05, 2015

Productive day, New Bosch Glide Mitre video

Well, I got up this morning and had my coffee and fidgeted around for a while and finally I got the camera together and went out to the shop to check out my new saw.   I messed around for a bit and tried it out and had fun with it.  I am stunned by how nice this saw is.  The video will tell it all.  I am pretty tired as I did all the editing and got it posted along with two glue up sequences on the rack.  This means I went over everything with a card scrapper first and cleaned everything up.

Now I know why my thumb is sore.  The card scrapper.

I have had a full day, along with cooking on the barbique.  Yes, I grilled, in Canada, in December.  We have no snow and it has been about 8 degrees C.

I also got a coat of BLO and wax on the back panel pieces, so they are drying along with the second glue up right now.  It has been a busy and productive day and I am worn out.  So I will drop the video in here and be on my way.




Thanks for dropping by

Friday, December 04, 2015

My New Saw!

I won the saw by doing a survey at Bosch Tools.  I could not believe it when they told me I won it.  We went to the grocery store and when we came home it was sitting on the deck.




Sadly, the carton looked like everyone at UPS had a shot at it.  There were plenty of splits and the bottom was almost falling off.  Maybe they rolled it here.




I put it in the house and let it set.  The camera I use for video had it's battery on the charger.  Finally, when it was ready, I dragged it into the kitchen and opened it up.  Wow, it is a heavy saw!  I think the specification is 65 pounds. 

I went through the steps of getting it ready and had the camera rolling, so there is a video coming up.  The saw itself seemed to survive OK but the plastic tube for the dust collection was snapped off the machine.  All 3 of the mounting locations were snapped off.

I read the instructions and went through the machine, moving things and getting familiar.  This saw is more saw than I will ever need.  Ever since it came out I have been thinking that the 10" version would be the ultimate saw to own for me.  Now I have it's big brother.  

After I was finished moving things around and getting familiar with it, I carried it out to the shop.  I will have to build something for it to sit on.  I am thinking of a shelf, open on the bottom, that the table saw can park under.




It is a beauty!

Also, I have been working on the "spice rack", actually it is to hold essential oils, but it is about the same build typed.  I got all the joinery for the rack part cut.  They fit pretty nice.  I can lift it and it all stays in one piece with just the friction of the joints holding it together.






The panel in the background is a left over piece of spruce sheathing left over from the shop siding.  I sanded and planed it smooth and put a couple of coats of blo and wax on it.  I hated it.  It made the whole thing look cheap.

I searched around the shop and found a piece of maple and I got 4 nice boards from it.  I got them to the same thickness with the planer and then used the Record 078 to make ship lap joints in them.


Then I fitted them to the back.  What a difference that made!


Another aspect I have been working on is the "crown" for the top.  I took a nice piece of the cherry (it is all coming out of the same board) and milled it to thickness and then, using the 078 again, routed a dado down the edge.  I am not sure, but when it goes with the grain, it may be called a fillit.



After I got the crown fitted to the top the little gears in my head went to work.  I thought about it all night and the next day I went to action with the brace and a centring bit, then a bit of saw work and work with the hand plane.  A bit more work with a file and a card scrapper and I was pretty happy with what I had.  The whole thing now looks like this....


I think the next job is to do a bit of work cleaning up my building marks.  A touch here and there with a card scrapper or plane, and then glue it up.  I already have a panel for the drawer front that will be in the bottom.  I am still debating on a door for it.

So, exciting times.  The work is going slow.  I only manage a few hours a day in there, but I am getting closer.  I have more things I would like to make in time for Christmas, but I didn't plan on this build becoming so enjoyable to do with some hand tools.  I could have used more power equipment, but I really am enjoying doing the joinery by hand.  So, until next time....

Thanks for dropping by!






Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Box trio completed

I got the blo and wax on the trio of photo boxes today.  So they are pretty much done.  I will give them a bit more of a buff later in the week and add some cork feet to them.  The hinges were a bit of a disappointment in that I installed them before finishing to get them lined up, removed them for finishing, and then found out they are inconsistent in where the holes are and their size.  This prompted me to swap hinges from box to box until I got them close enough.  6 screws per hinge is a lot.  They are not perfect, but it is the best I could manage.  I did decide to put a small piece of walnut on the front for a lid lift.  There is another video on the hinge installation coming up.  I have to edit it yet.  But here are some photos of the finished boxes.






I really like the way I maintained the grain going around the corners and how the finish brought out the grain.  Once they get their final buff they will look even better.  I like them as a set, but they are gifts, going to different people.

Thanks for dropping by

Atonement

A very short video describing the dangerous cut I made, and how I should have done it.