Back in the Machine(ist Chest) Shop

[nuhobby]

A few more satisfying little steps done today....

I rough-cut the newly veneered plywood and started duplicating factory rabbets on the edge, using the Overarm Router:

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Following this I fine-tuned the extents of exposed finish ply-veneer, using the leftover factory veneer as a "story board":

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My method has produced a new Back that is 1 ply thicker than what Gerstner used. So I freehanded some relief cuts to facilitate proper mating of internal parts:

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[nuhobby]

Hurray! Satisfying to see that new back locking into place (old back is lying below).

Not much else done this weekend.... too nice to stay inside!

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[nuhobby]

Well, I did a little soul-searching. My shop time is only a few hours a week, so last Saturday I handed the Craftsman metal lathe over to a new owner. Those proceeds have been involved in other quests by now....

I have to throw in some "plugs" for the ultra-versatile Shopsmith here. For cutting hole-plugs, it's a very easy setup via horizontal boring. What is a little tricky is experimenting to get the best rpm and feed rate to cut those plugs cleanly...

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I also find the "Horizontal Milling" feature to be super-neat for fixing odd jobs. Here is a case of a saw-tote with a chipped-out "horn." Gluing on a new horn via a butt-joint isn't super strong, but gluing in a patch with 2 right-angle facets is a big step better. So, with a setup like this (clamps and backerboards not shown), I can crank the table and mill out just such a "corner" to accept a right-angle patch piece:

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A candidate for fixing Saw Tote Horns was the lower of these two Atkins handsaws, a dirty old No. 401 "super premium saw" I scavenged for $8 from eBay:

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Below is a picture of one of my worktables now relieved of the metal-lathe, and exhibiting woodworking stuff. The Gerstner chest carcass has 61 hole-plugs just installed. A recently-acquired Lie Nielsen No. 2 plane is at the left. Middle position is a Craftsman No. 3 plane that I made a new curvaceous tote for. At right is the Atkins 401 saw with 2 new "beef tips", patches added to the original rosewood horns.

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[swampgator]

Incredibly FFFIIIIINNNEEEE work. Thanks for sharing this story.

[nuhobby]

A "blended" couple of sessions starting work on a new Front Panel (frame and panel style)....

Yesterday evening with no one home I made a bunch of noise on the table-saw, cutting grooves (had my new non-thru-cut Riving Knife there too):

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Tonight was a "quiet rule" night with SWMBO grading Finals upstairs. So.... killed some time the old-fashioned ways....

Scribed and rough-cut a tenon with a chisel:

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Used my olde German rabbet plane as a shoulder plane:

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Tried out the fit:

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(Drawing of the frame dimensions in the background.) A long way to go at this rate, but enjoyable.

[nuhobby]

Continuing the frame+panel project.... I thought I had a piece of light colored wood just right for the panel. Turns out I was wrong so I gambled on a piece of very special walnut from my pile. I really don't know how this old thing will end up color-wise; after the years of wear the bottom of the oak chest had darkened more than the lid did.

Here's a piece of walnut marked out for bandsaw cutting:

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Here I've glued up the frame, 2 corners at a time. I also figured I'd turn it upside down from my original plan... the new orientation is better at hiding some joints that came out a little sloppy:

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After the glue dried, I cut the whole assembly down to size and started trimming and installing the metal hardware pieces. Having confirmed the retaining plungers fit the holes I made, it's time for a break:

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[JPG]

I like the walnut panel!

[nuhobby]

Not much time today, but one little lower-corner repair I'd been putting off was well-suited to my latest toy, the like-new used Lie Nielsen block plane I got.

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[nuhobby]

The differently-aged pieces of the original oak haven't got as much closer together in staining as I'd hoped. I was a little dismayed at this. However, as I start to add pieces of brightwork, it is helping divert the eye from the contrasts.

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[JPG]

The differently-aged pieces of the original oak haven't got as much closer together in staining as I'd hoped. I was a little dismayed at this. However, as I start to add pieces of brightwork, it is helping divert the eye from the contrasts.

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So call it a 'Reese' !