For those who haven’t followed this table in process, here is the link to the blog series.

This was a good project for me and my current skill level. With each project, I stick to certain things that are familiar and comfortable (dovetail joints, wedged tenons, chiseled curves), and I add one or two things that are a bit beyond me – even if I didn’t realize it at the time!

With this project, the biggest (and pretty much only) complication was getting the legs attached to the aprons. If I had simply attached them from the outside and plugged the screw holes, it would have been MUCH easier. Instead, I wanted the screws entirely hidden, but that made assembly very difficult because I couldn’t attach the legs while the frame was assembled.

Of course, it was also tough building this thing without a workbench! The best I had at times were a couple 2×6’s layed across a couple plastic stools. And as far as doing this thing entirely with hand tools, that was pretty enjoyable, though time-consuming.

The wood used is kapur, and you may notice the yellow sapwood one side of each short apron leg part. I kinda like the look.

I saw this in a projects book recently and took a couple hours to knock it out. It was a very doable project for me, despite my lack of toolery. The head of the arrow is about 3/16” or so larger than the hole. The entire project was done by hand – I think I used my ryoba saw, a chisel or two, a pocket knife and a rasp (oh yeah, and my bit brace!). I was pleased with how cylindrical the shaft of the arrow is, considering it was purely done with a bench chisel!

EDIT: The heart is made of kempas and the arrow is pine (I think!).

My buddy found a mattress “pallet” (pine?) from an Ikea bed (see the pic here) discarded on the side of the road, and passed it on to me. I was happy to take the opportunity to make something out of a wood that wasn’t a tropical hardwood (about all I can find here that’s reasonably priced). The wedges for the tenons are from scrap hardwood that came off an old cabinet.

So here it is. This one was a “speedy” project, only taking me about 40 days as opposed to six months for my last one. The stool was made entirely with hand tools. I finished the box with a couple coats of BLO/varnish/spirits, followed by a couple more coats of varnish/spirits. You can read about the building of this stool in my blog series here on LumberJocks.

I in no way expect to come close to winning the “One Man’s Junk” contest, but I am very proud to have come so far as to actually have an entry! As all the Miss America losing contestants say, “It’s just an honor to be here.”

Tools used: ryoba saw, coping saw, Stanley #4 plane, spokeshave, cabinet scraper, chisels, combination square, and a carving chisel (to accentuate the lines in between boards).

Ahhh… After posting a bazillion entries in my blog series as I agonized over every single step of the process over a period of about six months, I’m happy to finally be able to post this in the Projects section. This was my very first foray into the art of fine woodworking, and what an education it was.

I plan on writing one last blog entry for the series, just reflecting on the journey.

If you want the details on the construction, you can read about it all in the series, but I just want to say up front that, flaws and all, I’m proud to have made this box entirely by hand. The only tool I plugged into the wall was the woodburner that I used to write my initials (and a heart) in the bottom for my wife.

I also want to say a big huge THANK YOU to all my fellow Jocks out there who gave me encouragement and tips along the way. I received 133 comments in reponse to my blog entries on the box. This box would have looked entirely different (for the worse) if not for you all. So thanks.

P.S. My apologies for the first picture. My wife called it “garish” – but I really struggled with how to photograph this! Any tips?

With the box I recently made for my wife (my first real project), I felt like I had to agonize over every single little step. I needed something I could just “throw together” without worrying too much about how it looked. I just wanted to build something, and for it not to take months. Enter the chisel box.

A chisel box doesn’t have to look nice. It’ll rarely leave the shop. Nevertheless, I found myself caring a little too much about it, and had to keep reminding myself, “It’s only a chisel box” as the project went on and things kept going wrong. Here are the lessons I learned along the way:

1. Use the pencil! If you notice in the pics, the halfway decent chisel (if I do say so myself) which I woodburned onto the front of my chisel box is actually on the back. Way to go, Eric, for botching which side you thought the front was when you woodburned it on! (The box was glued together and I hadn’t cut the lid off yet.) It’s only a chisel box.
2. Use a flush-cut saw to do flush-cut work. I thought I’d glue the two end pieces on a bit too long and then cut them flush with my saw. Well you can see the graze marks on the back of the box where the set of my saw caught the box. It’s only a chisel box.
3. Support plywood when screwing into it. I didn’t have a drill bit small enough, so I couldn’t pre-bore my holes for the screws (hinges and clasp). When I drove the screws in, it started ripping apart my cheap plywood. I had to glue and clamp it back together, further complicating a simple project. It’s only a chisel box.
4. Don’t go all overkill with the nails. I didn’t know what length nails I’d need. I was afraid that butt-jointing plywood with tiny nails wouldn’t be strong enough, so I went with bigger nails. In a couple spots, I got too close to the edge of the plywood and it’s bulged out a little. Don’t ask me why I didn’t use screws. I don’t know. It’s only a chisel box.

All in all, I’m happy with it. It holds my chisels securely with a minimal amount of wood (important considering I have to lug them overseas and back). It looks okay. And I learned a lot even though it was a simple project.

Yesterday I decided that each year I’d make a cross on Good Friday. Not only would this result in something meaningful each year, but it would also give me a gauge as to my progress as a woodworker.

So this my first year, I thought I’d go as simple as you could get: a cross cut from a single block of wood. Sounds easy, but I still managed to take a few hours doing it. But still, I’ve never had a “weekend project” that didn’t take weeks (or months) to complete, so I felt quite a sense of accomplishment at having gone from rough lumber to finished product (except for 2 more coats of finish) in a day.

I got to try out some new skills doing this, like chamfering (which I’ve never done before). I did an initial chamfering with the chisel, but later found that sandpaper does a pretty good job too. I did have to tinker with my chamfers on several occasions when I accidentally went a bit far with chisel or sandpaper. I really like the way inside chamfers meet, but I’m not sure what the outside chamfers should look like when they intersect – mine are all over the place.

This is also my first time trying the BLO-varnish-mineral spirits mixture for finishing. It’s what I plan to use on my wife’s box, so this is a good test run. I’ve already applied one coat (which was dry enough for me to handle for these pics) and will add two more tomorrow (AM and PM). Being unsure how to handle the piece while it dries, I had it resting on four nails which were pushed through a piece of cardboard. Oh, and I’m not sure what kind of wood this is. I got it from what used to be part of a drawer. I’m guessing it’s meranti, since that wood is so plentiful here.

Not the greatest piece of workmanship, but a good place to start, I think. Happy Easter!

I’m such a novice woodworker that I take pride even in jigs. So here for your viewing pleasure is a little dovetail template that I made. The design came straight from the fine folks at Homestead Heritage, although I modified it a bit. On one side is a square and a 1:7 angle, and on the other are the angles for 1:6 (for softwoods) and 1:8 (for hardwoods). The template is made from Malaysian kempas wood, and was finished with three coats of boiled linseed oil. First time using that, smells nice.

I’ll be using this template to make my wife a dovetailed box (see my blog), so hopefully before too long I’ll have a “real” project to post here!

EDIT 2/10: Now that I’ve actually used the template, I have this to say about it: it will only work if you’re a “pins first” dovetail chopper. If you do tails first, the template (as you might guess if you think it through) will only allow you to layout the one side of the tail. To do the other side, you’d need to whip out your bevel gauge. At least you already have the angles to align the gauge up against, but still, it’s an extra step. I might make another that has both directions of one ratio only.

If you do pins first, should be no trouble – just mark one edge from one side of the board, and the other edge from the other side. Make sense?

EDIT 2/13: No it doesn’t make sense! No matter which side of the end you place the template, the angle is the same. So this template really is kind of useless except for the square. But it’s given me good experience which will help when I build my next one!