A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

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tfrayne
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A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by tfrayne »

Not entirely new to woodworking, but this project involves two things I've never attempted. The first is hand cut dovetails. Perhaps I should have practiced on scrap wood first but I did not. Two shelves with four corners each consisting of two boards to be joined and that is 16 dovetail sides to cut.

The second part is attaching the shelves to the wall via French Cleats. Now this seems simple enough but I wanted strength so I am doweling the cleat to the workpiece. I do not have a doweling jig (other than a garage sale plastic cheapie that I've never used.)

Two dowels on each side and two along the top runner. For the dowels on each side I need to bore into the endgrain. I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to try the Mk V horizontal boring function.

I am still VERY new to ShopSmith, and this will actually be my first use of the machine on a workpiece. I think I am doing this right, but welcome constructive criticism. I have enclosed some photos of the setup. The dowels are 3/8" but I used a 1/16" bit to check alignment and table height. Everything is set except depth of the hole.

To support the work I have it backed up against the 520 fence, which is locked in place. That sits on one of the support tables, held in position by the telescoping legs.

So, I welcome comments on the setup.
Attachments
test fit of dovetails
test fit of dovetails
IMG_6247.jpg (83.2 KiB) Viewed 1751 times
closeup of dovetails
closeup of dovetails
IMG_6246 (1).jpg (50.56 KiB) Viewed 1751 times
setup
setup
IMG_6248.jpg (77.71 KiB) Viewed 1751 times
setup
setup
IMG_6249.jpg (81.01 KiB) Viewed 1751 times
setup
setup
IMG_6250.jpg (63.87 KiB) Viewed 1751 times
setup
setup
IMG_6251.jpg (42.9 KiB) Viewed 1751 times
IT IS I, ENSIGN PULVER!!

AND I JUST THREW YOUR STINKIN PALM TREE OVERBOARD!!
Hobbyman2
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by Hobbyman2 »

No criticism from this party, it looks good, the dovetails can be finished up with glue and dust from the disc sander , jmo the more details you add the the more skills you acquire .I would add when drilling try getting the woods edge closer to the table .
Hobbyman2 Favorite Quote: "If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton (1885-1945)
tfrayne
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by tfrayne »

You’re right about getting the edge closer to the table. And fine sawdust / glue is a project saver.
IT IS I, ENSIGN PULVER!!

AND I JUST THREW YOUR STINKIN PALM TREE OVERBOARD!!
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edflorence
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by edflorence »

Ambitious project! And looking good so far.

Only comment/suggestion I have is that when I use my 500 in horizontal drilling mode I clamp a board to the table behind the fence to act as a stiffener for the fence.
Ed
Idaho Panhandle
Mark 5 of various vintages, Mini with reversing motor, bs, dc3300, jointer, increaser, decreaser
tfrayne
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by tfrayne »

Interesting. I think I will try that. The only other fence I’ve used is on the Dewalt job site table saw. The 520 fence seems heads & tails better so far. But I had not thought to reinforce it.

I did clamp the workpiece but with some difficulty. I need to find the right size piece of 3/4” ply scrap to put underneath the table to allow a level clamping area. I think the pieces I had were too small.
IT IS I, ENSIGN PULVER!!

AND I JUST THREW YOUR STINKIN PALM TREE OVERBOARD!!
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edflorence
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by edflorence »

tfrayne wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 5:41 pm
I did clamp the workpiece but with some difficulty. I need to find the right size piece of 3/4” ply scrap to put underneath the table to allow a level clamping area. I think the pieces I had were too small.
I have found that it is sometimes easier to find a length of 1x2 that spans the full width of the table. That way you can clamp anywhere along the length.
Ed
Idaho Panhandle
Mark 5 of various vintages, Mini with reversing motor, bs, dc3300, jointer, increaser, decreaser
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nuhobby
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by nuhobby »

This is looking great! And a very nice design as well as the build.
tfrayne
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by tfrayne »

Here is the progress thus far. The finish is fairly close to, but not exactly, like the the door and wall trim in the room. (Rustic TX style house.)

I'll go back tomorrow and touch up any light spots in the stain. Then this weekend a few coats of Watco clear finish.
Attachments
general overview
general overview
IMG_6283.jpg (81.4 KiB) Viewed 1200 times
dovetails
dovetails
IMG_6282.jpg (59.38 KiB) Viewed 1200 times
IT IS I, ENSIGN PULVER!!

AND I JUST THREW YOUR STINKIN PALM TREE OVERBOARD!!
tfrayne
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Re: A pair of Knick-Knack shelves

Post by tfrayne »

I was able to hang the shelves today. All through this project I struggled to find a way to hang them where the hardware would be invisible, but in the end I used zinc wallboard anchors and phillips head screws. I can come back later and paint the screw heads to reduce their visibility.

These went up in "The Quiet Room" which is a sitting room off the master bedroom. As such, I am rarely allowed in there!

The room itself is a bit of a disaster now, as I had to pull down two existing, smaller, non-matching shelves, and the contents of those shelves are sort of scattered around. It will all have to be put back together later. Also, I had to patch some holes from the previous shelves' mounting hardware; and that will have to be touched up with paint.

But now they are up, and now I can get the shop cleaned up and ready for my next project - turning a pen!
Attachments
IMG_6355.jpg
IMG_6355.jpg (45.5 KiB) Viewed 1073 times
IMG_6356.jpg
IMG_6356.jpg (41.04 KiB) Viewed 1073 times
IT IS I, ENSIGN PULVER!!

AND I JUST THREW YOUR STINKIN PALM TREE OVERBOARD!!
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