I spent the summer organizing and assembling my shop after my wife allowed me to fully take over the garage, it was finally time to actually build something. So of course, project #1 needs to be something for her. I got to use my new jointer, tablesaw, planer and router table on this project and all performed well. This is the first time I have milled rough lumber and it went pretty well.

I found an absolutely gorgeous little slab of Pau Ferro at the local lumber shop and set about planning something that would really show off the little ‘flame’ figure of the grain. She recently bought an iPad 2 and wanted a stand for it, so this project was born.

By far, the hardest part of this project was assembling it. It’s a simple project, but I realized (after cutting everything) that I had no idea how to clamp a piece of wood at such an angle. I had planned to just glue it, but I quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. As such, I pre-drilled the pieces and had to screw them. The screws are countersunk from the bottom but I can’t say I am totally happy with the solution. It also meant I had glue squeeze out that was nearly impossible to remove. I ended up using an 1/8” chisel and did the best I could. Live and learn.

The finish is actually Watco Butcher Block oil. I happened to have it on hand after I realized my Tung Oil had gelled, and in hindsight I think it was actually a good choice. This will also be used on the kitchen table and I have two kids under the age of 5, so spills and mishaps are entirely possible. The finish should stand up well to just about anything.

The angle of the back support is about 40 degrees, and is just the right height for her to use with a keyboard at her desk. Her hobby is writing, so this is the primary use for the stand. The rest of the time, it just looks pretty :)

The clock is made of Tigerwood (aka Goncalo Alves) with inlaid Honduran Rosewood and Cherry. The inlay pattern is repeated on the back of the clock as well. The clock inserts are from Lee Valley and the clocks are finished with two coats of Tung Oil Sealer and then five more coats of a 2:1 Polymerized Tung Oil/Tung Oil Sealer blend, very lightly sanded with 400 grit paper between all coats.

There was a LOT of learning in the three months or so that I spent working on-and-off on these clocks, and I now want a band saw, jointer and planer before I ever attempt to work with an expensive hardwood again!

Difficult parts in this project were resawing on a table saw (worked well enough but with no planer, it gets very much out of square), and aligning the 45 degree locking mitre bit on my cheap Canadian Tire router and router table.

The hardest, by far, was the inlay. The inlay is about 3/16” deep and I left a full 1/8” or so sticking out of the surface. I thought I could sand it flush, or cut it with a flush cut saw, but neither worked well at all. I ended up taking off the excess on the router table with a guide bit and the face held vertical to the fence. Tear-out ruined 3 of the 12 faces I had made, so I ended up with four clocks instead of six!