Weekly Blog - December 14th
Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:52 pm
Another busy week with snow shoveling, shopping, hockey, and snow shoveling. We won't have to worry about not having a white Christmas unless one of them chinooks from the west blows clear accross the country.
On the woodworking side, I decided to finish a tea light holder I had started last year and put aside as I knew I couldn't get it done in time for a show. It's a Woodsmith design that has been altered slightly to fit the wood that I had. I thought it could be done fairly quickly and allow me to move on to other things. I was wrong, again.
Of course I ran into my usual minor hitches along thwe way. The first was when trying to cut dados in the base. I heard this funny grinding noise and noticed my table insert was getting chewed up. I had forgotten to tighten the headstock and it moved. Not the first time that has happened with the dado stack. The second, I still haven't solved. The plans call for a dado to be cut on the edge of the base and continue along the bottom. When making the first edge cut, the saw would not cut more than about 1/4" in. I stopped, checked everything, and tried again. No dice. Since the piece was about five inches high on edge, I did not want to force it. I had four cuts to make, all of which required two passes to get the width, so I went on to the next one. No such problem on the three remaining edges or the two bottom cuts. Made the second cut on all four edges and the bottom and tried the first cut again. Still not successful. At that point I used a saw and chisel to complete the dado.
The legs also have a problem in that the dados cut in them are a bit too wide so I am not getting a snug fit. Right now the second coat of wipe-on is drying and after a third coat I will try to fit something on the bottom to get a proper fit.
This afternoon I started two bird feeders and hope to finish them tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow was to cut and sand some cedar fence boards to make grilling planks. All have to be ready for Wednesday when we have the show at the seniors' residence.
My dear wife is selling shortbread at the show. She has already sold several batches in advance and is making more money than I could ever hope to make.
I guess I'm in the wrong business.
Time to catch the hockey game on tv and do some ww'g between periods.
Have a Safe and Fun week!
John
On the woodworking side, I decided to finish a tea light holder I had started last year and put aside as I knew I couldn't get it done in time for a show. It's a Woodsmith design that has been altered slightly to fit the wood that I had. I thought it could be done fairly quickly and allow me to move on to other things. I was wrong, again.
Of course I ran into my usual minor hitches along thwe way. The first was when trying to cut dados in the base. I heard this funny grinding noise and noticed my table insert was getting chewed up. I had forgotten to tighten the headstock and it moved. Not the first time that has happened with the dado stack. The second, I still haven't solved. The plans call for a dado to be cut on the edge of the base and continue along the bottom. When making the first edge cut, the saw would not cut more than about 1/4" in. I stopped, checked everything, and tried again. No dice. Since the piece was about five inches high on edge, I did not want to force it. I had four cuts to make, all of which required two passes to get the width, so I went on to the next one. No such problem on the three remaining edges or the two bottom cuts. Made the second cut on all four edges and the bottom and tried the first cut again. Still not successful. At that point I used a saw and chisel to complete the dado.
The legs also have a problem in that the dados cut in them are a bit too wide so I am not getting a snug fit. Right now the second coat of wipe-on is drying and after a third coat I will try to fit something on the bottom to get a proper fit.
This afternoon I started two bird feeders and hope to finish them tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow was to cut and sand some cedar fence boards to make grilling planks. All have to be ready for Wednesday when we have the show at the seniors' residence.
My dear wife is selling shortbread at the show. She has already sold several batches in advance and is making more money than I could ever hope to make.
I guess I'm in the wrong business.
Time to catch the hockey game on tv and do some ww'g between periods.
Have a Safe and Fun week!
John