Merry Xmas

Just a quick post to say "Merry Xmas" to you all!
Looking forward to a relaxing week ahead-and I wish the same to yourselves.
Cheers
Philly

Ahh...

Ahh. It certainly is nice when you finish a project. No nagging urge to get in the workshop, not even to clean the place up. Is it just me or have you noticed what a mess the workshop becomes the closer a project comes to completion? I had the Woodkateers round the other weekend and was thoroughly embaressed by the state of the place. (although the Chaps were even more impressed that I could complete ANYTHING in such a messy shop)
So what next?
Well Xmas is WAY too close. Some serious shopping to do. Darn....
And I have some picture frames to knock for a Chum. And a display cabinet for another to finish. So I guess I should get those done. Like now......

Finally Got A Handle On It

Well, here it is. Finally finished (kinda) the cherry cabinet today. Tried out some handle designs and came up with this. Many thanks for all the help on this front (you know who you are-NOT!) Just joking ;)
Guess you wanna hear about my last second cock-up?? Yes?
I'm fitting the top with buttons, all pre-drilled and tested so they don't go through the top. Take a look at the back edge and think "be nice to take 10mm off here". Well, took it off on the tablesaur and then a quick swipe with a block plane. Tearout, both directions. So, as its too big to hold and plane with a bench plane I put it in the vice and prop a bit of timber under the other end. Mid stroke and BANG the support falls out and the top smacks into the floor on the one end! Also leaves a nice deep scratch from the vice face.
I'm currently re-finishing the top.......

Durable Knowledge

Hi Folks,
Was reading some Krenov in the bath last night (as you do) and read this little section. As it made me feel all warm inside I thought I'd share it with you.

"So the things we picked up stayed with some of us. They went far back, to Gimson, the Barnsleys, and other quiet craftsmen. And they are timeless. With this start, and during years of working alone, I learned more about the flexibility of such durable knowledge. And I became certain of this: Knowledge like this is no-ones property; it abhors ego. We learn, we share, someone else carries these things on, and on. Their meaning only seems to change and be warped by fashions and whims.
For a surprising number of craftsmen, even today, the inherent simplicity and integrity of our craft remains-to be rediscovered and enjoyed."

For me, this sums up our craft. The discovery of truths, the realisation that all problems have been encountered and solved hundreds of years before, it makes me proud (and not so alone in the workshop) to be part of it.
I hope you feel the same.
Philly

Sticky Situation

It's glue up time......
Now this should be straight forward. I've dry fitted and assembled all joints. Pre-finished all components so I can easily remove any glue squeeze-out without staining the timbers. Glue, brush, clamps, water, cloths at the ready. Quickly apply the glue and assemble the parts. THEY NEVER GO TOGETHER AGAIN WITHOUT A FIGHT!!!!
Try and stay calm, loosen the clamps, tap with the rubber mallet (gently, don't want to dent anything), start sweating, tap a little more, feel panic rising, tap, remove clamps, disassemble, try again, etc, etc, etc.
Why is it so difficult? Or is it just me??
Maybe it's just psychological ;)
Anyway-completion is getting closer by the second.......

Well BLO Me.....

I'm up to my elbows in boiled linseed oil at the moment. I'm determined to use this as the finish for my cherry cabinet. On the test samples the BLO looked the nicest, giving a lovely satin look to the cherry. Also darkened the colour a lot, a good thing on freshly planed cherry.
The first coat was thined 50/50 with pure turpentine and I've rubbed two more full strength coats on since. The colour change is quite amazing!
Hopefully I'll start gluing up tomorrow night (I'm working away at the moment so play time is limited) and have the thing done on the weekend. Ah! The sweet smell of a completed project!
Also been knocking up some "sample joints" in beech/walnut to go with a magazine article (hopefully) in the offing. There's just not enough time in the day...... ;)

The Woodkateers

First-the cabinet. I'm rubbing BLO into the unassembled parts at the moment. Coming along nice and it sure is exciting seeing the grain pop. Hopefully I will have finished the glue up by the weekend. Once I've done the handles.......
Secondly-had a Woodkateer-get-together at my place on the weekend! It is so nice to actually meet up in person and have a natter (and play with the latest aquisitions!!). Hopefully everyone learned a little something too. Just need to get Mike a cheap return ticket for the next one.... ;)
Cheers
Philly

Sight for Saw Eyes

This ones for you, Mike!
The Adria crosscut small tenon saw turned up today-and it is a beaut! It is just the right size-not too big, not too small. Comfortable and nicely weighted. That pretty Bubinga handle fits my hand spot on. I am amazed how well it cuts-and how cleanly. Knock out........
Guess I have no excuse for that "hand tool only" project, now ;)
I have arranged my back saws in a pretty pile for your delectation- Spehar rip tenon, Adria x-cut tenon, L-N rip dovetail and L-N x-cut dovetail.
Now that's almost gloatable...........;)

Hand Tools

Hmm......Hand tools. I love 'em, buy 'em, hoard 'em. Even use 'em. And the more I work wood the more I use, enjoy and (amazingly) get better with them. Indeed, they are the reason that my woodwork has reached such heady (hah!) heights. If I had to rely on power tools alone my projects would be nowhere near as well made and finished.
Am I giving up power tools? You are joking! Deep sawing, ripping, thicknessing-these are hard, physical tasks that machines make easy. The age of apprentices is over-power tools are the new apprentices! But, (taking this analogy further) the Master craftsman would then take the boards that had been produced via a lot of sweat and would carry out the fine joinery work himself. And this, my friends, is where hand tools come in. They bring precision and finese to the bench. A swipe from a smoothing plane and the wood shines-no belt sander needed here! Joinery planes, chisels and fine saws to cut joints. And as well as performing so exquisitely they feel wonderful in the hand. You can FEEL what is happening, building an intimate relationship with your tools and also your chosen material, wood.
So I reside somewhere between Galootsville and Normtown. The best of both worlds? Maybe...

Tool rant over-the cabinet is so nearly, nearly finished. The cutouts for the wine bottles need to be made and I've started pre-finishing some of the components before glue-up. Don't start me off on glue-ups.......;)

Good Wood

Managed to fit the base to the cabinet today. It now looks complete-will fit the rails on the weekend and then I can glue it up.
Also receieved my copy of Good Woodworking today-the Maloof chair got 10 pages! I'm pleased, although a little disapointed with the pics. Dark green background, dark brown chair..,:( My pics came out o.k., but you can't mess up with workshop pics too much. Guess it is difficult to really show a piece of furniture off in a picture-it is something that needs to be seen in person. Nevermind, can't moan. Much ;)
Also placed a little hand saw order today-sorry Mike, I've gone for the Canuck!

Chillin'

The website problem has been resolved, a little progress made on the cabinet and it's COLD!
Funny how a bit of frost puts you off venturing into the workshop. It's not THAT cold in there, but it's not exactly sweltering either....
Just heard that the "Maloof" chair is in the new Good Woodworking magazine. 10 pages!! Nice!
I've spent some time thinking about stackable tool cases to store the hand tools in. My current wall-mounted set-up is fine but if I need to move the tools, say to a new workshop, it will be a hassle packing them away. So some quality time has been spent in Sketchup coming up with suitable (read "capable of being picked up by one person when full") design. Watch this space ;)

Doh! DOH!

Doh!
Yes, the sound of Homer style progress......
Haven't been able to update my website all week. Problems at "their" end thought I. Seems I've been entering the FTP address slightly wrong. DOH! :{
Finished the back of the cabinet off today. Well nearly. Yes, another "Doh" moment. Was cutting the final shoulder on the final panel. Job done. Well it would of been if I had registered the piece FULLY against the fence instead of 10mm off it..........Needless to say, the glue is now setting on the replacement edge of the panel. Amazing how its always the last cut.
Regular service should be returning soon;)

Back To It

So it's Wednesday. That means three days of work to sap the mind and body.
Well that's my excuse for not doing too much on the drinks cabinet;)
Seriously, I've pretty much completed the back. Fitted two rails top and bottom to hold the panels (its another panel back), raised three panels of London Plane on the RT and fitted them. A couple of cherry stiles to finish and that's the back. I think a panel back gives a real "quality" feel to a cabinet and doesn't take that much work. Although a piece of ply nailed on works just as well......;)
Just got to work out what to do with the "floor". Grain "front to back" or "left to right". Not got a lot of cherry left, that's all.
And I'm still thinking about the handles. So you lot weren't joking when you said I had to work it out myself?

Sliding Doors

Here's a woodworking hint-if you have a delicate operation to perform don't go out for a heavy drinking session the night before! ;)
Yeah, the band played a Motorbike Rally Saturday night and the bar was free. I had one or two......
Made some great progress withthe doors though, today.(as promised, Mike) Mortise and tenons cut, grooves routed, panels sized, rasied and fitted. AND I cut the grooves to guide the sliding door and cut the matching tongues in the doors. And fitted them too! So have a look and see what you think......
Did I mention I shaped the legs?? A kind of cabriole shape, I think it's gonna work out nice.
I am really enjoying this project, the cherry is so nice to work. And I even got to use a plane on the curved legs, too! (compass plane, doesn't get out of the case often!)
So I need ideas for handles for the doors. Always get stuck on the handles........

Now That Was Fun!

The Axminster show was a blast! It was great to meet up with friends new and old (and to put faces to names). Spent most of the day chatting instead of shopping........ Bought a few nik-naks for the workshop-saw, chisel, beading tool, etc. Nothing crazy (or too expensive)
Spent some quality time in the shop this weekend. Legs are carved, doors almost finished, stock for the back ready. Just the "floor" to work out and this piece is going to be finished. Maybe.......

Here's a link to my Tool Show Report. Enjoy!

http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7250

Christmas comes early......

Tomorrow is the big day!!!!!!
Yes-the Axminster Tools 2005 show at Exeter. I am REALLY looking forward to this. Ticket is bought and in my wallet, some cash has been withdrawn and is safely stowed and credit cards primed and ready.
It will be great to meet up with my internet Chums-certainly is easier in person ;) Looking forward to seeing the "Overseas Contingent", too (Rob Lee and TLN especially).
On the drinks cabinet front progress is slow but steady. Had to re-do some panels for the doors as I didn't like the grain pattern. It's easier to do this know than tear my hair out every time I see the completed project..........
Anyway, fitted the side panels today. Need to fit the back and floor then I can make the doors. I'm enjoying this one!
I'll report back on the show tomorrow night.

Sleep On It

How come when you WANT to get in the workshop the world comspires to keep you out?
Yes, its been one of those weeks......
Zero progress has been made since the weekend, my daughter has been ill (can you say "sleepless nights") and work has been busy, sending me around the country......
So not a lot has to update. Mind you, I thought this project was coming along a little too quickly....
On a different topic, don't you love Windows?? The most recent MS updates have now made certain websites impossible to access. Wasted plenty of time trying every possible tweak but my web-mail and certain secure sites (can you say Paypal and my bank) are now totally out of reach. Any ideas?? (bar buying a Mac.....)

A Week Excuse

Ouch! A whole week has gone by without a blog update. Sorry.......
Been having a lot of fun in the workshop though. Have finished the mortises, tenons cut and fitted on the side rails, top glued up and planed flat and the tenons cut on the front and back rails. The Lacewood for the panels has been ripped down on the band saw, thicknessed and is awaiting jointing and gluing up into panels. Yup, been a busy boy-and enjoying every minute. Sure is nice to be doing something you're familiar with.
Thought I would just have enough cherry to complete this project. In reality this was not quite so.....A visit to yandles yesterday has righted that though with two beautiful, clear boards of American cherry. Had to sort through 30 boards to find sap and mineral stain free boards, though.
I am amazed how much progress you can make when you are familiar with the techniques and have the correct (sharp) tools. Also, "friendly" timbers that don't tearout when you try to work them make the process even more pleasurable!
I'll post some w-i-p pics tomorrow.

It's Like This....

Well it's been a good weekend!
Spent some quality time with the family, painted the garage doors (yawn!) and spent a lot of time musing over construction details for the new cabinet. An hour on Sketchup has got the design 95% of the way there. Have a look....
There are still some details to finalise but at least I can start breaking down the timber into smaller pieces and making some shavings! Obviously I will keep you informed.....
I'm loving the cherry-such a nice timber to work. The pile of shavings on the floor is quite impressive. Also enjoy the "rose" smell when cutting it down on the table saw. Yum!
I even spent an hour this evening sharpening-man and tools in perfect harmony. I do enjoy using 'dem planes ;)

Off We Go Again

Hoorah! I started a new project-and it doesn't involve sanding........;)
Seriously though, it's nice to be making something planable again. I missed using the ol' handplanes.
New project is a drinks cabinet in cherry and lacewood. I'll post some pictures soon.
Started breaking down the cherry today, been hoarding it for a couple of years. A nice timber to work, it really shines when you swipe the plane over it. Yum!
Missus is really happy. I quote....
"Where we gonna put another cabinet!!"
Heh-where indeed!