Oh, do I love my band saw now. All of the stuff I had planned on doing with it… well, I can now!

For instance… I wanted to build a little something special for my wife for Valentine’s Day today. The project I wanted to build had to be small so it didn’t stand out like a sore thumb on my bench. It had to use up some of the pretty scraps of wood I had around the shop. And, it had to be something special.

I dug around in my wood stash and found a scrap of 8/4 cherry and some 3/8″ birds eye maple.  Why not a bandsawn box? Not only would it be small, it would be fun.

First things first, I had to resaw off the bottom of the piece of cherry.  Just about 1/2″ thick, thick enough to serve as a solid base for the box. I left it with the bandsawn marks on it… I was going to come back to sand it after I had everything marked and cut out.

I then used some cloth double stick carpet tape to stack the pieces together before I cut them out on the band saw.This way, they would all come out with the same shape. I was careful to match the grain and stick them together tightly.

I found a line art drawing of a valentine on line and printed it off on my inkjet printer.  While messing around with the image, I traced what I believed the inside cutout would look like, and I taped the image down to the wood. Now, after I cut the first one, From here,I took it to the saw and with a 1/4″ blade, followed the line.  Not only had I cut the shape in the wood for the box, I had also cut the pattern free from the board… suddenly, I had a perfect pattern if I ever wanted to make another one.

I separated the layers and traced a line about 1/2″ in from the outside of the  edge of the middle piece. I sawed this out from the middle, making the cavity for the box. I had to cut through the outside wall of the box, but I was going to be able to glue that shut when I glued the bottom to the box.

The next -and probably most important – tool I turned to was my Rigid combo spindle and belt sander. This gem of a tool with the spindle allowed me to sand the bandsaw marks out of the inside of the box before I glued everything together. I also sanded the box bottom so when I glued it together, I would be nice and smooth. I then glued the box middle to the box bottom. I then used the belt sander attachment to perfect the sides and lid of the box to make it nice and smooth. I hand sanded the top of the cleft of the heart, because I couldn’t get the spindle or belt sander into there.   Finally, I used the random orbit sander to hit the top and bottom and chamfered the lid and body.  I applied the finish a few weeks ago – I wanted to make sure that the smell was gone when I put some chocolates in it for my wife…

Overall, this was a great project… it checked all of the boxes on my list… and my wife loved it.

February 2011

Our church’s youth ministry is planning on sending some of the kids on a trip to see the Pope at World Youth Day in Barcelona, Spain. The organizers are looking to host a dinner dance to help raise funds to make that happen. As part of the program they are looking for donations of food, decorations,  DJ services – the whole shebang.

And, donations of items to enter into a silent auction, with the proceeds going to help the fund grow.

I’m sure they’ll end up with the basics – items to put into themed baskets (A night at the movies, a day at the spa…), golf outings at local courses, services from parishioner’s businesses… the works.  You knew I couldn’t let this opportunity pass…

So, I set to work on building a Bible box for the auction – someplace for the family to put the good book, a set of rosary beads, palms from Palm Sunday and other items. I built the sides from a set of sapele boards I had first laid out and mitered for a project that went terribly wrong. Yes, these boards were supposed to be the twin box to the one that went south.

I cut and planed the box top and bottom from wider sapele pieces and fit them into dadoes to form the lid and the bottom, and then glued the mitered box together.  I then cut the lid of the box free at the table saw. This was a delicate operation – you don’t want to cut all the way through on the passes.  The key is to leave a little ‘web’ of wood at the top of the cut, and once all of  the cuts are made, slice the box lid free with a utility knife. This way, the lid won’t get free and ruin the cut.

As I laid out the cuts with my Kehoe Jig to reinforce the corners, doubts started to enter my mind. How would this box look different than all the others I was building as of late?  They all seemed to have three our four splines in them down the side, no feet, lift off lids … No, I had to do a couple of things to make this box stand out.

I started with  some pieces of bird’s eye maple that had been sitting around for a few months. I planed them down to about 3/8″ thick when I built the last project with them months ago, but I can’t remember why…

I then cut some pieces of the maple into quarters and glued them onto the lid to create the shape of a cross. Once it was glued into place, I brought out the random orbit sander and brought it even with the ‘rim’ of the top. The cross shows up as a ‘negative’ relief … I think it looks cool.

Then, I ripped a section of maple to about three inches wide.  I then bevel ripped the board down the middle at 45 degrees and cut the pieces so they would come together as a mitered assembly.  A quick cut at the band saw left me with ‘outside’ edges that curved up and down to form smaller feet, and I left the tops a little longer than the height of the box body to reference the top. A little bit of liquid hide glue allowed me to rub the joint together and have it hold while drying.  I love that trick.

Once the glue dried, I then glued them to the outside of the box and held them in place with a band clamp wrapped around the outside.

Since the lid’s corners weren’t secured, I figured what the heck, and I threw some Kehoe splines into it.  I kept them maple to continue with the contrasting wood theme.

The finish is my typical formula – a 1# cut of dewaxed shellac, followed by a thorough sanding with 320 grit paper and two coats of Watco Danish Oil. Once it was all done, I dropped it off at the church. I went to one of the ladies who was helping with my sons’ religious ed classes and told her it was for the auction. I have this feeling it may not make it to the auction – someone on the staff may buy it!

The most difficult thing about this project happened during construction. A good friend of mine looked at it on the bench and said, “Funny, it looks like the Holy Humidor.”  From that moment on, all I could do was think about lining the box with cedar and putting a few stogies in it!

January, 2011

I had to name this piece before I submitted it to our annual art contest. Heck, I had to name it before it was even done. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would have named it The Cat, because it has used up about seven of its nine lives.

Let me explain. This whole thing started when I found a very wide slab of sapele at my local hardwood supplier’s place a few years ago. I thought, “Gosh, this would make a nice table top one day.” That board sat in my shop for a long time before I had an idea.

That idea was angled tennons. I should have guessed this was a bad idea from the beginning because online searches brought back few results. But, who am I to let a few details get in the way? After all, it was cheap wood!

Back in September, I finally got around to sketching something out. Cutting angled tennons was going to be the easy part, but, how on Earth was I going to make the angled mortises? Drill them? Hand chisel? Phased plasma rifle?

Before I went too sci-fi, I remembered the article I had written about mortising magic. Now, if it worked for mortises perpendicular to the board’s surface, why not at an angle? So, I marked where I wanted the outside of the mortises to land, set the table saw and ripped the sides. Then I measured the width of the mortises I planned to cut, set the rip fence and ripped the ‘fillers’. Once these narrow pieces were cut, I cut sections out of them at 20 degrees, and then carefully glued the entire top slab back together to restore the wood’s grain pattern. BINGO, baby!

I let the top sit for a few weeks, waiting for more inspiration to hit. How to dress up this big top? How about some breadboard edges? Never cut any in my life, but it’s a good time to learn. I cut two sections of Sapele and grooved them to work as ends. How about the main table top? I tried first to hand-cut the tennons that would fit into the edges, but that didn’t work too well. Sapele is very brittle and splinters easily. I totally messed things up. How now?

Eventually, the idea hit me to lean heavily on blue painter’s tape and a backer board as I pushed the top over the dado stack. So, I trimmed the messed up parts off and taped the snot out of the edges. I set up the dado and pushed the board through. WOO HOO! It worked. I drilled for three dowels, elongated the outer two holes in the tongue and assembled them with some glue right in the middle. I tapped the dowels into place, gluing the middle one and just putting a touch of glue at the top of the two outside dowels. This way, the top could expand and contract, and the dowels would stay put. I cut sweeping curves on the outside of the breadboard edges and sanded them very smooth.

I put the piece aside for a while. Worked on the cabinet pull outs. Worked on the Position of Strength base. Discovered I was wasting too much time, and had to move to the next step. The inlay. You remember the one I nearly messed up but saved with the epoxy fill? OK, got that done, and glued the mortises in place through the top. I’m flying now!

Of course, I had totally forgotten about the feet. When I milled the top, I had taken the opportunity to mill some extra ash and sapele and glued those pieces into blanks. They were just sitting on my side bench, taking up space in the shop. How was I going to make those blocky feet look better? While mulling the options over, I cut the mortises to hold the leg tennons with the mortising chisels my wife and kids gave me for my birthday. That was fun.

Inspiration hit while I was looking at the breadboard edges. How about curving the outside of the feet? I traced the curve from the top on to the front edge of the legs and used the bandsaw to cut it out. They looked better, but still too blocky. I added a curve on the back side of the feet that mirrored the front curves… better. Then, just messing around, I clamped one of the feet into my vise and started using the spokeshave to bevel the top edge. Soon, I was beveling back both curves at a 20 degree angle to match the legs. Both bevels are parallel, which gives the feet a little more grace and lightness.  Ohh, that was supposed to be the weakest part of the design… looks better now!

I sanded and finished the piece and brought it to work. Hmmm… it didn’t show well. Something didn’t look quite right. The top was just too ‘light’ in comparison to the rest of the piece. It looked like an ironing board. Add to the impression that the first few people who saw it tried to sit on it. Hmm, we had a problem. How to fix it?

I remembered that I had a long rough piece of ash back at home. I opted to put an ash apron under the top. How large should it be? I played around with the proportions and decided that 5 inches would do the trick. I resawed, planed and cut the pieces to size, matching the angles found on the legs. Better, but still too blocky. How about a curve cut out of the bottom? Now it looked better. I glued and pocket screwed the apron into place (my only real option with the piece already glued up), sanded it and finished it to match. The apron added strength to the piece and gave it a more balanced appearance.

I turned the piece in a week ago, and it’s sitting in the locked glass case in the courthouse lobby. The reactions have been pretty positive. I’ve heard it described as ‘whimsical’ – not really something you would expect to see.

At 3:00 today, I’m going to find out how well this and the Position of Strength pieces placed. Hopefully, the judges will decide that my persistence with this piece was worth it. I’ll have an update on Wednesday…

January 2011

It’s art contest time again at the county courthouse (Brought to us through the National Arts Program), and again, I’m in the contest with a collaborative effort between myself and talented ceramic artist Debra Lansdowne.  Normally, I’ll post multiple views of the project to show how things are made, but the shot below links to a very high resolution image that shows how this simple project was put together.

The base was my responsibility. Debra had showed me her sculpture – an interesting piece made out of a single sheet of clay. It’s sculpted to look like the torso of a well-muscled man (it almost looks like he’s also wearing a cape, floating in the wind off his right side). Unlike last year, she had the sculpture done and was looking for me to create a base.

I had to build something that would show strength and a lot of visual interest. During my lunch hours, I sketched out ideas on a notepad in my office. Maybe something with bent legs like Mars and Venus Rising, the project we entered last year. Nah, we’ve already been there. Maybe something with a Greek influence. Meh… that would be something to easy to expect. Eventually, inspiration struck me, and I sketched up something that looked a whole lot like the final project.

A quick e-mail to Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products led to a search of the kiln – and this piece of live-edge slab flame birch.  This is the board I was having a bear of a time smoothing a few weeks ago. I cut the slab into 24 inch long segments, then ripped them down the middle with my track saw. They were perfect right off the bat, requiring just a little touching up to get smooth inside faces.  I carefully maintained the order and arrangement of the segments so they would stay in matched pairs as I laid them out.

The slabs are joined by a pair of  walnut ‘pins’ that are joined to both sides by sliding dovetail joints. I went with the sliding dovetail because it would be a tight holding joint and add visual interest to the piece.

Once those pins were in place, the next step was to find a walnut stretcher.  Fortunately, I had a chunk of walnut – 8/4 by 8 inches by 24 inches long. I shortened it a little bit, and then cut a tennon on both ends to fit in the void between the two slabs and the pair of pins.  The fact that the stretcher had some knots in it added to the appearance as far as I’m concerned. On the top of the stretcher, I custom carved out a pocket where the base of the sculpture would fit in snugly when on display.

I affixed the stretcher in place with a 1/2 inch dowel drilled through the pins.  It was a basic, available at your local home improvement center kind of dowel, but it fit beautifully and locks everything together.

Once everything was in place, I finish sanded the piece down to 220 grit.  Once I cleaned off the dust, I coated the piece in a 1# cut of dewaxed shellac and sanded it with 320 grit paper when it was dry. I then applied two coats of Watco Danish oil, sanding between each coat. Finally, I buffed on a coat of wax to finish things off.

The artwork is due to be delivered on January 24, so this one is done.  Meanwhile, I have another project on the bench I made some progress on this past weekend.  I’m hoping to have that one done in time for the contest, but it’s gonna be close.

Now that we’re in 2011, my wife and I are looking forward to working with our newly organized cabinets.

Last week, I sorta kinda completed the work in the kitchen cabinets. I just have a few more details to complete and my wife is covering the shelves with contact paper to make them look pretty and be a little more functional.  It’s the non-slip, cushiony kinda contact paper like the stuff you would line the bottom of a set of tool drawers with…

The pull out trays were built very simply. First, I ripped the sides from a 2 x 8 southern yellow pine construction board.  Yes.  This sweet SYP was destined to be a door header or some other structural member.  The stuff we get at the local Home Depot and Lowe’s is great to work with.  Once I ripped the pieces to size, I then milled a 3/4″ groove down the side.  It’s actually a little shy of 3/4″, because it was cut with an undersized plywood bit on my router.

The 3/4″ ply I bought for the shelves fits perfectly into the groove.  Following the instructions that came with the slides, I made the width of the drawers one inch less the distance between the upright frames.  Once I glued the ply into the groove and glued the joint where the sides and front intersected. Then, I reinforced the joints with brads.

Sure, I could have used dovetails or finger joints, but ya know what, the drawers certainly don’t have to look pretty.  The cabinet doors will be closed most of the time, especially when we have visitors. Also, with the glue and the snug fit, I’m confident that the joints will hold for years. And, with the sweet rolling action of the slides, things should be cooking in the kitchen.

I love my home. Built in 1980, it’s your average Florida ranch. Three bedrooms, two baths, a separate living and family room and a two car shop – err – I mean garage.

Sure, there are parts of the house that I’m not crazy about, but I can deal with. Our dining room is kind of in an awkward place – the pass through from the front to the back part of the house – but we’re coping with that.

But, the real deficiency lies in our kitchen.  Don’t get me wrong, I love our kitchen. It’s an open, airy space in the middle of the house. Perfect for entertaining, because you can see everything. During a party, it’s the gathering spot. There’s plenty of counter space for food prep, small appliances and the like. And, since we replaced the counter tops, it’s looked very good.

The problem lies in our kitchen cabinets. As you would expect from a house of this vintage in Florida, they are laminate particleboard. We had them refaced back in 1998 with new thermofoil doors.  They look good and are still in decent shape. But the storage is awful. Abysmal. Let’s face it, it stinks.

They consist of large boxes that appear to have been built in place when the home was built. There is the sink bank of cabinets… not bad with the sink and dishwasher. The oven stack is OK, with a relatively unusable cabinet at top, but three VERY useful drawers below the hot box.

The areas of concern are under the stove and under the peninsula. The stove side has three doors. The door closest to the sink area is a small one, and the two doors under the stove open to an area with plain Jane storage and a short, useless shelf. A similar area exists under the peninsula area – two doors opening to a worthless storage area.

I had attempted years ago to make the area under the peninsula more useful by building a pull out tray. It helped, but I built it wider than a single door, which means that both doors have to be opened to gain access. Plus, there’s no upper rolling shelf, which means we’re back to shoving stuff in there hoping it won’t fall…

Well, there’s the rub. My wife and I are both very busy people, and we don’t have the time to pull everything out and  reorganize after washing the dishes – carefully restacking everything into a stable, compact form.  Plus, we’re asking the kids to do more chores around the house… and they don’t always get the point that they need to be careful in restacking.

Well, today – a week after we broke a Corian bowl – there was another one of those slip-bang-clatter louder-than-it-should-be wife-screams-in-surprise moments when all the baking pans spilled out over the floor.  All metal today… nothing fragile. Exeept my nerves…

“THAT’S IT!” I exclaimed. “I’m going to the home improvement center and building pull out shelves!”

I took some brief measurements and sketched my idea out onto a piece of paper. Then, I was into the van over to the Home Depot to buy a sheet of plywood, a 2 x 8 southern yellow pine board and eight pairs of 20 inch cabinet slides.  This afternoon, I ripped the 2 x 8 into all of the pieces I needed for the frames and supports. I’m building this with pocket screws and glue – no fancy joinery here. My goal is to get these eight pull out trays built and in place before I go back to work on January 3.

It’s not what I planned on doing this break – however – the cost of replacing our kitchen equipment is getting steeper and steeper. I’m hoping to show you a few step by step pictures… but today, I have an appointment to go see something special that involves woodworking.

Look for an interesting article on Wednesday…

Until then, hey, I have a date with my Kreg jig to do a little work…

5:30 p.m. EST update

Yeah, boy!  Take that 1980 Florida home  designer…

Gimme a day off from work, access to the shop and I’m off to the races… Here’s a shot from under the stove – the results of one day’s work. But, now, it’s time to take my patient wife out for dinner…

More work tomorrow…

How many times during the day do we rely on signs? Street signs. Store signs. Directional signs. And, is there anything more welcome than a sign pointing to the restroom when nature is calling.

Like it or not, signs are a big part of our lives. From the mundane to the fancy, the help keep us on track… even at home.

“Everyone has a street sign in front of their place,” said Tim Walter of Eagle America. “As a woodworker, you can help make something basic such as that a whole lot more interesting for your home – or for a gift recipient…” From the basic block letter sign carved into some pressure treated southern yellow pine to something fancier in a weather resistant board like teak, putting your home numbers into wood will help bring a little extra life to the front of your house and even serve as something that helps your home stand out when someone is looking for your address.

If you are only thinking about house numbers outside, you aren’t exploring all of the possibilities. “Of course, kids love personalized signs for their rooms. Think also about people who may be wine collectors, photographers, gardeners, cooks or others who would be surprised to get a sign helping them celebrate their hobby. I also hear that woodworkers sometimes enjoy signs that identify where their shops are…”

When it comes to methods for sign making, you have some choices. “If you are a power tool kinda person, you might want to take a look at the Milescraft Signmaking kit. It comes with everything you need to make beautifully lettered or numbered signs with perfect spacing. Simply rout the pattern and bingo, you are there.”

If you want a little more free form approach, you can change the router bits to give a different look , or you can pick up a copy of the book Making Wood Signs or the DVD Freehand Routed Wood Signs Made Simple to really help your imagination get running. “Vee cutting plunge bits make sharply relieved bottoms in the numbers and letters, while undercutting bits allow you to recess under the face of the characters, making them appear to be floating over the background.”

Another great way to make a sign would be to stack laminate two contrasting boards. “Say you were to cut the numbers from a lighter board with a scroll saw, then glue it to a darker board underneath… You’d have the depth and contrast that would make your sign draw a lot of attention.”

For those who are more hand tool oriented, there is the Flexcut line of carving tools. “When you are looking to carve the numbers and letters on your signs, knives, mallet tools and palm tools can help turn your design into reality.”

A sign featuring just numbers or letters could look kind of blah without something else to catch your eye. Tim told me about a number of corner rounding templates which can help you enliven a rectangular or square signs. “For ellipses or circles, we offer a our Curv Pro Circle and Oval cutting system, which easily allows you to cut those smooth curves accurately.” Designs carved into the face – whether modern and interpretive or classic – can drastically change the overall appearance of the sign.

Of course, sign edges need special treatment, and there is no limit to the options you can make with a single bit or with combination of others. Flutes, coves, beads, chamfers…. they can be combined in nearly limitless ways to personalize your creation.

And, when you proudly display your creation – or the recipient sees it for the first time – it will be easy to identify just how unique and meaningful it will be.