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

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

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