Long, long chair rail

 Some time ago I had  a brain wave and decided to protect the walls of our living room, dining room with a hand carved chair rail.  The first section, amazingly was finished and installed in May 2018.  The second section had proven to be slower in coming.  

 There are several reasons it has taken so long, none of which are good reasons.  Some of the reasons were busy summers, motorcycle riding, yard work and lack of inspiration.  After having made a 48 inch chair rail, carved, sanded, painted and installed the second section proved to hold no special attractions.  Especially as the effect, being nearly invisible, was quite successful.  Part two was carved a while ago and I just finished the sanding today. The major reason it took so long, is that it is so long

  This rail is 90 inches long, it hangs over my work table regardless of what I do and requires that I have my work space in good order before I even begin working on it.  (you know, my work space is seldom in good order)

  However, there turned out to be a hidden bonus in my sloth.  When carving basswood it is a good idea to not have it too dry.  When I work on a serious relief carving I usually cover the board for a day or two with a damp cloth and try to keep the wood from getting totally dried out between sessions.  Chisels just seem to track better in slightly dampened wood.  When it comes to the finally sanding stage, as today, dry is very best.  My 400 grit paper raised baby powder like dust and the end result it glass smooth.  

  I will try and plan ahead for my coming carving projects so that there is time for the wood to really dry out before final sanding.  I like to imagine that I will evolve as a wood worker and begin planning my efforts weeks in advance. (I also like to imaging world peace, just as likely).

  It does feel good to get a 90 inch monkey out of the shop. I think it is time to turn my attention to a couple of tables.

cheers, ianw

Chair Rail Carving

The chair rail for our living room/ dining room first section was done and installed a while ago.  Today I spent a couple of hours working on the big section.

  This section of the rail is 7 ft. 4 inches long. Initially I was sanding and putting finishing touches to the relief carving.  After a while I needed to stretch my back and so turned the rail on edge.  I have put a chamfered profile on the top of the rail to make dusting easier.  You can see that I improvised the clamping with hand screw clamps  there are then clamped to the work table and table saw table.  I have four pairs of hand screws in four sizes.  This clamp is a must in a shop in my opinion.

  You can see some of the detail of the relief carving

  and the clamps up close.  I spent about two hours on this today so expect that this will take another 5 or 6 hours to get ready for painting.  It is a bit of a back breaker unfortunately.  I have a detail sander that helps me sand the larger areas but in the end it is job for needle tiles and small sanding blocks. 

 It will look good when it is done.

cheers, ianw

Carved Rail

  Yesterday I had help to get the refinished table out of the shop and into the dining room

  The table doesn't look fabulous but it is fine as the second table. Interestingly the table sits between my version of the Tripp-Trapp chair and the grand daughter clock upon which I have yet to repair. 

  

  The first section of the chair rail is complete and installed.  The rail is almost invisible, unless you focus on it purposely which is the plan.

  The next part of this project is.... seven feet long.

    The real challenge with this job is maintaining interest.  I have a timer that I set when I begin carving since it is a sitting down task. I try to only carve for an hour at a time to keep my back pain at a minimum.  This morning I carved for an hour...I think there is 10 or 12 hours of carving ahead of me plus the time for sanding and painting.  I am thinking this is a three week project at my work pace. 

  

   There are very few tools needed to do this large relief carving. I begin by laying down relief cuts with my straight knife. Second I use a narrow gouge to cut away material near the relief lines and then I move to wider and more shallow gouges to get a smoother and finer finish.  The more careful my carving, the less time will be spent sanding.

  cheers, ianw

In The Shop, taking all the space.

  Currently I have a couple of larger projects on the floor/bench in my shop. I have four feet of the chair rail carved.  There is a bit of sanding to be done and then there is only sixteen feet of carving left. 

  The carving work station is a particular setup. I have have my bench raised to where I can work standing without  being too hunched over and having my back hurt.  This arrangement lets me carve for an hour or so twice a day. I am using two Kreg clamps, and two bench pucks from a previous generation to hold the work piece down.  

   The other project that is taking space and needs drying time is a  table that I am going to refinish. 

   This table was picked up off the street a few years ago in is used to extend our dining room table when the entire family is here.  The table is solid but a bit tired and shabby looking and was always going to be replaced with something new...if we found something. Well.....after five or six years hidden under a big table cloth we've decided to keep the table and I have to fix it and stain it and make it look 'good'. 

 First task is to glue the oak skin down where it has lifted over time.  The oak is not veneer, it is 3/16" think.  I am pleased with that because after it is glued back into place I have a couple places to repair before serious sanding and staining. I think it will be easier to make repairs to thinker wood. At the end I am going to hide its age and experiences by staining the whole thing dark walnut.

  I also picked up a bag of repairs from 10,000 Villages that I will work on while glue/stain/ paint is drying too.  

Wheat Bran and Rolled Oats Bread.

    I like to make stuff all kinds of stuff.  I like to bake bread. My latest is a Swedish loaf featuring wheat bran and rolled oats. It turned out to be a really good bread for toasting. Bread baking is a D.I.Y thing too.

cheers, ianw

A Box Of Course

  Isn't just about all woodworking box making? or lathe work.  We arrived home from holiday and resolved to do our spring cleaning.  One thing that we discovered in guest bedrooms and our cars were facial tissue boxes 3/4 filled with tissues that had been attacked and savaged by one or more grand children. Why, I don't know?  

  Since I am cheap and love to make things that have a purpose:

  What makes this box interesting as well as useful is 

a: it is made from the wood that was a drawer in the dresser I took apart just before leaving for holiday.  

The thin lumber that was used to make the drawer once sanded and stained had real character.  The lesson learned is to check out old furniture sitting on the side of the road on garbage day.  &

b: 

   I wanted the box of tissues to stay inside the box when it was moved from place to place so I glued a strap made from bicycle inner tube. I used contact cement to glue the inner tube to the box wall.  I have found, over time, that few adhesives are as versatile as contact cement.  Yes it smells and it does take time to set but I just clamp the pieces and leave them over night. 

  This was an easy project that made use of reclaimed materials.  I think I may make a couple more of these and give them to our church to sell at the Christmas bazaar.  

  I have been spending time painting our new windows, and then touching up the paint on the wall around the windows. We then decided to rehang the old roller blinds and each window now needed a valence type of cover, hiding the roller blind.  We bought new windows, from a serious window company. There are three windows, all the same, except the frames are different sizes, but 1/4 inch.  It is also worth noting they are only sort of square. Jeez louise.

  The current project is a bit of a back breaker. (hunched over carving) I am making a chair rail that has shallow relief carving the full length that about about 25 feet of carving.  I will post some pictures in the next blog.  If you look up chair rail photos there is often wainscoting too, I like the look without wainscoting although a design decision will be made one the rail is up.

cheers ianw