Finished Box, sow's ear to silk purse.

 Given the time spent at home I have been able to make serious headway on sorting out my accumulated 'stuff'.  The other thing that I have been doing is finishing up things that have been on the shelf for a while.

  

  The wine box top will be mated with a tool bin/box.  The box is made from re-claimed lumber complete with nail holes from its previous life.

  I used two small hinges to hold on the top and then reinforced them with leather. I buy the leather as scraps for a few dollars a pound and really like how it mates with wood.

  And the clasp is also made from leather and brass.

    I used a water based strain that I bought on clearance at IKEA a couple of years ago.  I really like the colour and the stain was easy to use.  I may buy some more when the stores open again.  The stain is some oil based varnish that was on the back of a shelf and the results are pretty good.

  This was a project that began as a throw away parts bin four or five years ago made from cheap materials.  A little TLC and it  has turned out pretty nice, now, what to do with it?

  cheers, ianw

Organizing, still, it may take a long time.

  One of the many advantages of having a serious shop space easily at hand is the making of custom solutions to everyday problems.  

  The problem was the tangle of wire by my Wife's computer.  The are three modem related bits of equipment, all requiring their own transformer/adaptor. As well there is the charging station for our phones, and Eva's computer.

  For a while all this related spaghetti has been corralled into a shoe box, more or less. This sort of mess makes it difficult to vacuum with out un-plugging something and messing up the internet or phones.  The other issue is the wasted floor space in our small entry area.  Since we have been making a serious effort on our annul spring cleaning (once a decade) this tangle has become a priority.

  I will show you the solution to this mess.  

isn't that just so much better!!

    I added a narrow shelf to the small bookcase and cut some holes through the back, creating a special shelf for the three modem related gadgets.  The famous lizard now has its own place of honour up off the floor and out of the way.  Best of all, that box on the lower shelf contains the surge protected power bar into which all the other gear is plugged.

all five things plugged in, yet hidden.

  I wanted to use the surge protected power bar, 'cause I am old school.  The other reason I didn't just plug everything into the wall behind the book case is that occasionally we need to re-boot our router by turning off the power.  This way all that needs to happen is to open the lid and turn the power bar off for a few seconds.  Everything re-sets at once, easy-peasy. 

  Since I have a basement work shop with lots of tools and too many bits of wood I was able to make the box to fit exactly on the bottom shelf, exactly, not just close because that was what was available at the store. Also we have a nice little wooden box on our wooden bookcase, not a plastic thing, all the way from China. The shelf is  cut to size and stained from materials at hand.

  Making the box was interesting.  I set out to make a box with mitred corners like the last one but ended up with wood of two different thicknesses so opted for dados on the corners.  Cutting the dados could have been done on the table saw, or the router table. I have dado blades for my saw and lots of different router bits.  However I opted for the quickest and easiest  way to cut four small dados.  I used my sliding mitres saw.  I have done this many times when I needed just a few small dados cut.  I raise the blade and put a spacer against the fence to enable to raised blade to cut fully across the board.  Making the set up time short makes up for the multiple passes needed to clear the dado completely.

   

    This box is the last of the wood from the dresser.  I made the entire box with glue and my lead gravity clamps. This project took a couple of evenings because I wasn't in a hurry.  I cut the box out and glued it together and used the drying time to work on the long chair rail and a couple of other small things. Having several  things on the go at once doesn't bother me, much.  I have found that different projects move me around the shop, which is good for my back.  If I stay in one position too long,  carving, or painting or whatever my back complains loudly.

  Once the glue set on the sides I glued on an over sized top and bottom.  When that  glue dried completely I used hand saws to cut the top and bottom to size which I then planed and sanded before finishing.  I have been listening to audio books and podcasts lately and working with hand tools is quieter and more relaxing while I listen.

  If you are like me, part of the reason you work in wood is for the "Zen" sort of relaxation that  it can bring.  One of my meditation projects is tool handles.

  I buy all my files/rasps un-handled and most of my chisels that way as well.  While glue or vanish was drying I made a handle for this small file.  It began as a piece of 3/4 inch hardwood dowel into which I drilled a small through hole.  I then widen the hole so the shoulders of the file would seat firmly into the wood.  While things dried I listened to music or a books and shaped the handle with my wicked sharp shop knife.  ( I have the carbon steel version that cost $6.50 Cdn in Sweden).  I get as much satisfaction for hand shaping a handle for one of my tools as basic as it seems as I do making many of my projects.  I also love whittling with a really good knife, even if all I am doing is make small sticks, smaller.

  Carrying on woodworking.

cheers, ianw

Friday's Round Up.

  I have been slacking off a bit this summer.  I spent the beginning of this week on a short motorcycle road trip.  The weather was perfect, the roads were smooth and empty and the riding was wonderful. I need to do that more often.

  I arrived home to a patio furniture project with my friend David. Since it was a David project there was an excellent plan from which to work.  Never discount just how much easier it is to build when you have a good plan.

  The table is made from cut down 2 x 3 and will be painted just like the plant stand.  As David said, it is easy to make this sort of thing when you have the proper tools.  My table saw and sliding mitre saw enabled us to knock the project off in 90 minutes working slowly and talking steadily.  The project is all butt joints and screw fasteners, strong and quick.

 

  The table was made to hold up the round glass top from their previous patio table.  This photo was clearly and after thought. 

 

  This is the finished tear drop box.  It has two coats of shellac and two coats of Minwax spray varnish. I really don't have a purpose in mind for the box but I liked working with the maple and oak. 

  

  Here is Maui's hook for my four year old grand daughter.  You know what it is like making things for small children, she may love it immediately, or ignore it totally.  There is no way to know.  Two weeks ago Moana  and company where totally in fashion, this week, Moana and Maui could be old news.  We'll find out tomorrow when the hook is delivered.

 I apologise for the poorer than usual photographs. For some unknown reason the software was not importing photos properly and so I had to use another method that is not as clean or clear.

cheers ianw

Pochade Box Complete

Yesterday I cut the Pochade box in two on my table saw, and then cut it down slightly since I didn't need the total depth of the 2 x 4.

  The box is filled with the things I use for water colour painting. I have both transparent and opaque paint as well as Derwent Inktense Blocks. I used double sided tape to stick some bubble wrap down to keep the bottles from crashing around. The dividers are glued and pin nailed in place and won't be difficult to remove it the design needs changing. The angle of the photo effects perspective, the dividers are in the box square even though it doesn't look like it.

  I used 1/4 in Baltic birch for the top and door skin for the bottom.  The sides and dividers are re-sawn 2 x 4. Once the wood was planed and sanded it was perfectly adequate for this project.  There are a couple of knot holes that I could fill, but I don't see the need.

 To attach the lid I opted for two latches and a couple of alignment dowels.  I figured a lid that came off rather than hinged would serve my use better.  I paint water colours on a flat board so there is no purpose to having lid hinged acting as an easel.

   In this photo you can see the latch and two of the alignment pins. I used my self centring dowel jig to place and drill for the dowel pins.

 

  This jig is another of those tools that I use once in a blue moon, but am really pleased to have available when the time comes.  By pushing it tightly into the corner the dowel pins aligned quickly and easily.  Between the dowel pins and the two clasps the lid is perfectly secure.  

  The latches were in a junk drawer, I'd saved them from somewhere and I honestly have no idea where. Having collected all these things over time means that this project cost almost nothing to make.

  There is space in the lid half for a small drawing board and several pieces of 8 x 10 water colour paper. 

  Once the box was complete I sanded it with 120 grit paper and used a block plane to break some of the shape edges.  On the cheap again I used a Danish Oil finish, walnut colour from a tin that I bought at the Re-Store years and years ago.  The Danish oil takes a long time to dry, I supposed that is why it was on clearance.  Everyone wants their finish to dry instantly, or faster.  My pochade box can sit in the garage and dry for a day or two, no sweat for me.

  I haven't decided what to do for a carrying strap, or handle yet.  I think for a while I will just carry it under my arm or in a bag to see how it works out.  A while ago I made a brief case  sized box to carry oil paints. and canvases and it was/is useful but big. This paint box is light and more portable and I am looking forward to using it for a long time.

 cheers, ianw 

Box Topping Day

   Yesterday's boxes glue is dry and they have been sanded to 180 grit.  Now it is time for tops.

   The box with the mitre corners got an inset lid.

 
    I round over the edges of the lid a little bit so that there is a lip for your fingers to grasp.  Making a lid like this is simple and easy.  First I trace the top of the box onto the board that from which I am going to make the lid. Then I head to my router table and using a straight bit and my fence I gradually cut away material until the lid fits into the box.  Remember this only works if your box is square and the sides are all the same thickness.

  The other box was the butt joint box and I made a hinged lid for it.

the whole lid is a hinge. you can see the 1/8 inch brass  rod that is the pivot point for the hinge.  I drilled through the side and about 3/4 inch into the lid.  When I drill these tops I clamp the lid in place and drill through the side and into the top all at once.
 For me a drill press is necessity to get the holes straight and true.

  For this box I cut a thumb spot into the lid to make opening it easier.  It is easy to make that little round thumb hole, I used my sander and a 2 inch drum.  On this box the lid appears thicker than the other but is is not, it is just that the full thickness of the wood is visible.  I used the thickness so that the hinge wouldn't be liable to break as easily. When you make this sort of lid you must round over the side so that there is clearance for the turn.

Weird Wooden Box

Textures is featuring "Steam Punk" arts and crafts this month.  I have to confess that the "Steam Punk" aesthetic escapes me but I like to try and support and participate in the featured windows as often as possible.  My understanding is "Steam Punk" is sort of Victorian English is style.  So I created the box you see above.  It is elm, (very English) and finished with an old style rubbed in oil finish, that took days to dry in the high humidity of this summer.

The nails and screws are visible, this is my effort to have the mechanical aspects of the project visible.  Complex visible works go with the steam engine theme. Unfortunately wood work doesn't have much in the way of complex machinery, so I made the handle(?) on the top very complex, or silly depending on your point of view.

As with all the things I build in my shop it was fun.  I have learned however that I don't like working with oil based stains very much anymore.  I am so used to the water based stains and dyes that the smell of the oil based products is a bit off putting.  It is tough though to argue with the really good deep brown colour that the Danish Oil produced. Isn't that the reality of living, compromise; good colour, bad smell.