Weekly Blog - February 25th

[john]

Still plugging away on the Harvest Bin.

I released the sides from the press and the warps had diminished somewhat but not completely. However, only one drawer was badly affected in that it rubbed when inserted into the space for it. In spite of sanding almost through the veneer on both sides it still rubs about 2/3rds of the way towards the back. It will slide in and out but not freely as the others do.

Boy there sure is a lot of gluing on this project. The drawers faces each have three pieces glued to them to support the sides and bottom, and the two sides, back and bottom, have to be glued to these pieces. Then each top and bottom edges have trim pieces of 1/4" hardwood applied. The bottom ones to act as slides, and the top ones as decoration. I used oak for these. Because of a lack of clamps, each pieces had to be glued seperately so there was a lot of waiting time involved. I have attached a couple of photos to show the progress and drawer constuction.

Each drawer really needs to be tuned-up to fit properly. Partly because of the warped woods that I used and partly because some of my measurements were slightly off. The plans seem to anticipate the latter as it is mentioned as a step. When attaching the top trim, I tested to make sure it would fit before gluing it on, for the top and middle drawer. I didn't for the bottom drawer which is why it is still sitting on top of the bin. It needs about 1/16" to be trimmed from the top so it can slide in.

The top in the pictures is not attached. Both this piece and the back panel will not be put in place until I have all the drawers fitted. There is also some trim to fit under the edge of the top, and along the bottom front and sides of the unit.

My van was low on gas so we decided to make another run south of the border and I hoped to find a different choice of handles at Lowes. No such luck so I bought some on the way back at Ace Hardware in Champlain, N.Y. similar to what was available at home. Saved a little on the tax as there is only one level of sales tax in N.Y. but two at home. Also saved big on gas which I noted was going for $1.224/litre ($4.63/gal) on the way out. Paid $3.259/gal in Alburg, Vt. on the way back. The savings on the 15.6 gals that I bought more than paid for the trip.

Hopefully I will wrap this project up this week as my daughter is coming in for the March break around the 10th, and I hope she will want it.

Have a Fun and Safe week!

[dusty]

Really nice, John. Despite the warping problem, they look good. I hope you can work out the problems.

I had a similar problem with a Christams gift and was never able to get it squared away. I didn't have drawers to work with but the warped pieces are right out there to see.

[a1gutterman]

That looks really functional, John. Good work.

[charlese]

Hi John! That's going to be one smart veggie bin! Heck! it already is!
I was surprised to here it is going to your daughter. I thought your wife ordered it a couple of years ago. Are you going to make a second one? With all that savings on gas you can probably be able to afford the new plywood. (He! He!)

Down here Spring is beginning to spring! The Ducks are improving with the return of Sellane. Looks like they are going to shoot for another big year. The fruit trees are blossoming and the shop is slowly able to maintain a little more heat in the mornings. We even got some more rain!

This week in the shop saw the make up and sizing of 8 legs for our daughter's mission style end tables. To make them look like that style, I am following a plan from Popular Woodworking. Our daughter saw a photo and picked out this table. I had ordered oak at the same time as the maple used for the blocks, but only ordered enough 8/4 stock to make 4 legs. Had to glue up pieces to make the other 4. (was lucky and could use scrap stock) Gluing took 2 days because had to warm up the wood and glue to above 55 before making the set up. Then let it stay clamped overnight. Finished sizing to 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" legs

After squaring and sizing then came the fun part. Had to lay out 44 mortises. As most of these are located 5/16" from the outside edges this left me confused over up/down, right/left, front/back. Finally got the legs properly labeled, and the marking process took two days. After re-checking the locations, used the Overhead router and cut out all 44 in the next day. This really worked slick using the same 3/8" router bit used for the blocks previously. This process would have taken a lot longer using a drill bit.

Today I started squaring the ends of the thru mortises. There are 16 of these that pass through the full inch and 1/2. The other mortises are 1/2" deep, and I will leave them with rounded ends. After finishing the legs tomorrow, it will be time to get some more 3/4" oak for the project. It will be at least a month before these tables are finished.


In the attached snaps the rear legs are furthest from the camera. In the first picture, I showed the front side of one of the front legs rather than the rear.

[greitz]

44 mortises! You're gonna give me nightmares, Chuck!

Seriously, they look really nice! That's a pretty impressive advertisement for the OPR!

Gary

[nuhobby]

John, Chuck,

Thanks for inspiring us with your posts. Looking forward to future updates!

[john]

First thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Dusty:

I can already see where some of the warps cannot be overcome but since I expect it to stay in the family, I am hoping for a little leeway on quality.

Chuck:

You must know by now that our wives are always thinking of their children. The plan all along was for it to go to that particular daughter. This one was built almost entirely of old wood and scraps. If I were to make another, I would have to invest in new wood and then I would have to do a better job of measuring, etc.

As I mentioned earlier, I had 32 joints so decided not to go the mortise and tenon route. I have to admire your discipline in handling 44.

By the way "nice legs"!

John

[a1gutterman]

By the way "nice legs"!

John

Ya beat me to it John! I was just going to tell Chuck what sexy legs he had!:D

[charlese]

Finished squaring the thru mortises today. All together the chiseling took me about 5 hours to do the 16 thru mortises. At 15 minutes each it would have taken only 4 hours. Guess the other hour was wasted watching T.V. and touching up the chisels. They look pretty good for now, but will have to wait until tenons are sized an we will see how they fit. There is not a lot of patience or discipline involved in the process. I just look at each step as a project in itself, and double check before proceeding. I've already completed 4 projects! Sizing the legs - marking the mortises - routing the mortises - squaring the mortises.

BTW, my shop days average about 6 hours each. The work discipline would be different if I was on a time restraint, but in my shop, I am King! The time is ALL mine!:) In the house, it's a different story.

After this part of the overall table operation, I can't say enough about the ability of the OPR to make mortises. The whole job, except the 8 little cross mortises, required only one set-up. The side walls are very clean and smooth, they are very well aligned with each being exactly 5/16" from the outside edge of each leg and the routing went pretty fast. Using a drill press and a forstner bit, there would have been quite a bit more chiseling and the chance that mortise walls would have been compromised a bit.

John - Yes, I understand how duties get assigned around this place - and who looks out for whom! Nice legs? You must be talking to my better half. Mine are very ugly and bony. (my attempt at humor)

[a1gutterman]

.............After this part of the overall table operation, I can't say enough about the ability of the OPR to make mortises. The whole job, except the 8 little cross mortises, required only one set-up. The side walls are very clean and smooth, they are very well aligned with each being exactly 5/16" from the outside edge of each leg and the routing went pretty fast. Using a drill press and a forstner bit, there would have been quite a bit more chiseling and the chance that mortise walls would have been compromised a bit...............

So chuck,
Are you saying that if you have, or plan on getting, the OPR, there is no point is getting the SS Mortising Package? How does it get the "square" cut out? Or do you do that manually with your chisel?