# Woodworking projects under way.



## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *

I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…

I should have opted to do a different sort of project, and I have plenty more of this type of stock so I can start over on a new project, but dang… This is NASTY…

For what it's worth, I got to be a genuine idiot too. I set the tension on the saw, I set the distance on the guide blocks, set the height for the upper guide so that it was just off the work piece, got to sawing, what I didn't notice, and I am NOT sure how, is that I still had my 3/16" blade in the saw! To quote Homer Simpson, D'oh!

Oh well, this particular work piece is now most likely going to end up laminated up to other bits and pieces, into a segmented turning eventually…


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## secureplay (Jun 3, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


Wood is a complicated 3D structure and cutting it breaks a lot of those bonds, so even if it is dry, it can certainly warp. I think (member shipwright) and some others have fiddled with adding moisture to recently cut pieces to allow them to be flattened.

Best of luck!


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## GregD (Oct 24, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


I have several 2×4's I aquired 10 or 20 years ago, and they seem to be far better stuff than what I get these days. I seem to have better luck with fir from Stahlman than yellow pine from the box stores. I cut up a bunch of red cedar from Lowes and had little problem, if that will work for you.

I also picked up a 2×12 yellow pine stick from Lowes with the intention of cutting it down into quarter-sawn 2×4s to see if those are more stable.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


me being a "glass-half full" guy, I'll say that you are lucky that board didn't explode on the cut. I have had a few perfectly looking boards (2×4 and 1×6 pine) do that on the TS (a little more "at risk" there with the instinct to try to control it when it starts to go)...and on a few, I mean EXPLODE.

Certainly reinforces: wear those safety glasses, stay clear of the "path" and if it starts to go, just hit the off switch, get out of the way and let it go! Sometimes one gets lucky and gets a sign that something isn't right at the start of the cut. Sometimes not if the problem is at the end of the cut where your hands are.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


skarp you are probably right

but then again after 30 years of doing this stuff I had never seen a board "explode" on a table saw either until it happened just recently on a perfectly tuned saw and a good blade. I really should have taken pictures but I was busy (speechless) looking for the shrapnel.

I'm not an engineer but seems to me that boards with severe internal stress being held together by a few critical strands can get goofy when the "umbilical cord" gets severed. and in a way it explained why what starts as a perfect sheetrocked wall might cease to be perfect with time.

hence my advice to plan the path in advance and stay clear of it. and of course those safety glasses.


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


I've certainly heard people advise that:

- you thoroughly acclimate it (which you did),
- you clamp it up-say, between two pieces of MDF-immediately upon cutting-and leave it for a few days.

In truth, I don't know if that will stop a taco shell from becoming a taco shell.

Some boards are just born bad ;-)

OhByTheWay: how DID the 3/16"-er work for re-saw ??? Inquiring minds want to know !


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


Sound like case hardening to me. The link below describes it:
http://fennerschool-associated.anu.edu.au/fpt/drying/kiln.case.html

Scott


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


*Hmmmmmmmmm, another dangerous and totally unanticipatable experience I have to look forward to.*

A piece of wood does not come with a guarantee…....other than a rare replacement promise, if you purchased it at a BORG or some such.

It's a little like surgery. The old saying is, 'if you don't have complications, then you aren't operating'. The rationale behind that statement, is that between the complexity of the human body, the inifinite types and amount of abuse we place on our bodies, the ever changing spectrum of disease, the complexity and of our ever changing, improving procedures and equipment, and the infinite minor variations of technique and ability in the surgeon, which changes with aging and experience…............there is an unpredictable and random element in every case…...which can lead to results and situations that are not intended, and can never be completely avoided. Unintended consequences.

Much of that statement applies to wood and woodworking.

It's understandable that you never see a guarantee in medicine. I guess there can't be a guarantee in woodworking either, other than if you fail the first time, you can start chuck the project and start over again. Most often that is not possible in medicine.

*Wood is the corpse of a living thing, and will probably never be a totally predictable product.*

However, the wood we work on is dead. We surgeons don't get to turn off the engine while we overhaul the motor, and we can't go out and buy a replacement if we fail.

So count your blessings, David, at least you can throw away that piece of wood and find another. And you don't have to keep the tree alive while you make something out of it….............(-:


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


Mmmm Taco Shell…. Man I'm HUNGRY!


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


And … if memory serves … *Jim* has to go in through the exhaust pipe (technically, NOT tailpipe, but …) !

The other succinct way to describe the situation is: the best laid plans of battle never survive the first bullet from the enemy.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


Jim, while this is all to a point true, the corpse of the long dead tree I was working on was, well LONG dead, and I sort of figured the internal structures having well dried out had stabilized. I was a bit stunned to see the amount of twisting / cupping. In a 24" long board resawn to 3/4" there is cupping of greater than 3/4" in this thing… I might POSSIBLY be able to cut it up smaller, and utilize it for something like pen blanks, but why, it's construction grade pine after all…


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Resawing a dry 2x and watching it twist.... *
> 
> I am working on a project for another forum, and I have to resaw some 2x construction grade stock for that project. Mind you, I have no moisture meter, but the stuff has been in my garage/ shop now for 3 years, if it is ever going to be dry, now is the time… Anyway, so I get the stuff all set up, get the band saw set up, and the board i started working with was straight as a… well board when I started. Unfortunately when I finished, you could almost watch the thing curl up like a potato chip…
> 
> ...


Is(n't) Pine the true culprit, here ?

Somebody else warned me-when I built a jewelry box from red oak walls with a pine roof-to get some finish on the pine, PRONTO, lest it twist up before my very eyes.

So … maybe that's just the essential nature of the thing.

Not sure if-in SPF-"S" and "F" do it, too. I was warned, during construction of my workbench that-had I used SYP (I used Doug Fir, instead) the same thing was likely to happen.

Playing it safe … after ripping and planing my benchtop planks … I clamped them up for the day or two, until I could get back to them to do the glue-up.

But maybe "S" and "F" are much less tantrum prone than their dysfunctional sibling, "P."

As Fred Flinstone might have said: Russ'n-fuss'n-brick-n-brack'n construction-grade lumber !


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Washer toss game board started.*

A friend of mine swung by the house yesterday to borrow a couple of my large coolers that I use for hunting, to pick up mud bugs for a party this weekend. He hasn't been over to the house / shop in next to forever, and seems to have forgotten the projects I have been putting out. So upon being rather surprised by my shop, he asked…

"Could I trouble you to make a washer toss game for this weekend?"

I said sure, you get the material to me ASAP, give me a couple of evenings to get it done, and you'll have your game…

We came up with a materials listing, and found it called for 1×2, well I have a mess of 1×6 left over from my fence project. So I volunteered that material (I want to get rid of it…)

So upon coming home tonight, I ripped the 1×6 into 1×2s, cut them to length, and started putting together the washer boxes (3 of the 6 complete, the remaining 3 are 75% complete, just got too hot and didn't want to turn the AC on. Being cheap right now…)

So what's left? Finish the 3 boxes up, get friend to deliver the plywood (I don't have enough scrap) and a small box of deck screws. Cut the ply to size, measure and mark the hole locations, cut the washer holes, build the frame, attach the washer boxes, attach the top, apply carpet, install lead out rope, and catch hasps and I am done. This should be a couple of hours more work….

I will be posting this as a completed project with pics once it's done, maybe with some pics of the crawfish boil!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Washer toss game board started.*
> 
> A friend of mine swung by the house yesterday to borrow a couple of my large coolers that I use for hunting, to pick up mud bugs for a party this weekend. He hasn't been over to the house / shop in next to forever, and seems to have forgotten the projects I have been putting out. So upon being rather surprised by my shop, he asked…
> 
> ...


Hmmm…......if you have the capabilities….....you will be called. And isn't it great….....

.....to have the capabilities…...

Hmmmmm


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Washer toss game board started.*
> 
> A friend of mine swung by the house yesterday to borrow a couple of my large coolers that I use for hunting, to pick up mud bugs for a party this weekend. He hasn't been over to the house / shop in next to forever, and seems to have forgotten the projects I have been putting out. So upon being rather surprised by my shop, he asked…
> 
> ...


Well, I went ahead and finished the frames

I suspect I will be asked to make a couple of clocks soon too… Maybe I can work a swap for some walnut stock…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet under way!*

In my seemingly never ending quest for shop organization, not to mention skill building, I am well underway with the construction of my clamshell cabinet. The design is the one in the Wood Magazine Best Home Workshop Ideas special interest publication (2009 issue, same thing as 2011 issue).

At this time, all of the plywood pieces are cut to size, and I must say that I am a HUGE fan of stop blocks now. My recent move of my miter saw to the strong tie workbench, has permitted me to clamp stop blocks to the front rail of the bench, making the repeat crosscuts for all the mid to longish size pieces a snap.

Because I fully intend on using this cabinet to house my small parts bins, and not cans of paint or whatnot, I am leaving out the drilling for the shelf pins, and the 2 adjustable shelves. Instead I will be using 2 Stack On 39 drawer parts cabinets mounted to this thing. So the back piece of peg board will instead be 1/2" ply, and might just end up being jointed using a locking rabbet. That is about as strong of a joint that I can think of shy of dovetailing it, and I am NOT going to try to dovetail Home Depot plywood!

I am very pleased with the progress I have made on this as I started with a plan, a full sheet of 3/4" plywood, and a circular saw in hand this afternoon. (My neighbors must love my break down method, circ saw, with edge guide and clamps in the front lawn…)

I am honestly excited about this build. I am wanting to build 2 of these, with a plane tote and pnuematic nailer slots / shelf between them…. We will see how that goes! The idea is to get the big full sheet or peg board off the front wall. There are other plans for that wall…

With any luck, tomorrow night should get a report of processed peg board, and then on rabbets and dadoes!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet under way!*
> 
> In my seemingly never ending quest for shop organization, not to mention skill building, I am well underway with the construction of my clamshell cabinet. The design is the one in the Wood Magazine Best Home Workshop Ideas special interest publication (2009 issue, same thing as 2011 issue).
> 
> ...


Sounds like fun. I think I saw that design or a similar one…...in one my mags, but I don't know where. 3/4" ply makes for pretty sturdy stuff….........

I am pretty tired of dealing with crappy ply and wood, but I am doing OK at it.

Way to busy at work lately, hope things slow down a bit.

Later….........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress...*

Okay so I am not sure where I left you dangling last night. So here is the status as of now…

The 3/4" dadoes on the doors are done. I managed to find a void in one of the door pieces that the dado tore out. I am thinking about patching it, but it is small enough I might just be able to conceal it behind the hinge… IF I have to, I will make a new door panel, but I don't think I will have to…

I am now ready to move on to cutting the dadoes in the case sides, I simply rant out of time last night.

That is part of the problem of having to squeeze my woodworking in around LOML's schedule, and living within a few feet of my neighbor's house. I try to shut everything down before 9:00 P.M., and that really limits what I can get done…

After some deep consideration, I have opted to stick 100% to the plan here, so peg board and all 4 doors it is…

Okay not 100%. I have other intentions for the lower space than to keep small parts bins in there, since I have plenty of storage for those items. I will just keep that area as an open shelf. I want to put things like my stud finder, caliper, moisture meter etc… in there…

To keep Jim in Alaska Happy, before any glue up / screw together happens, the wood surfaces will get a quick sanding, and then a couple of coats of Watco Danish Oil.

The second sheet of plywood is standing at the ready to be broken down and it will feature 1/2" plywood where the one I am building now features peg board. This one I want to put my parts bins, and router bits in. The MLCS 66 piece set will simply get mounted to one of the doors, but bit holders will need to be made, as well as a mess of nylon bushings for those bit holders to keep track of my Skil 30pc set, and another 30+ miscellaneous bits. I also want to make a storage block instead of the bins, to organize my router bushings, and bottle of bearing lube.

The idea is to mount these 12-16" apart, at the same height, and build / mount up a plane till between them to hold my hand planes, including the ones I don't own yet… (but I have dimensions for).

Since I am following the plan, joinery is very simple, just rabbets, glue and screws, but it looks like it can be a very strong cabinet. I am a little leery of the back wall of the thing being peg board, but I see enough of them out there, pretty heavily loaded that I am not going to worry about it…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress...*
> 
> Okay so I am not sure where I left you dangling last night. So here is the status as of now…
> 
> ...


Consider French cleats for mounting….....

I am putting some Medium Walnut Watco on my mini-bench, just the bottom for now so that I can install the wheels. I found the Medium Walnut did a pretty good job of staining the Elmers Wood Filler I put in the nail holes and miscellaneous irregularities. The Dark Walnut just hilighted the patch and so did the Natural. I checked it just now after it dried overnight, and if anything, the wood filler stained slightly darker than the wood, so nice effect. The filler had been there for weeks, and supposedly you should stain it shortly after it dries. But the Watco seemed to work anyway.

Staining before gluing is the way to go, but it wouldn't work on this bench…..too complex, too much design change as I go along, etc. So I am glad everything is staining OK for now.

Later…....


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress...*
> 
> Okay so I am not sure where I left you dangling last night. So here is the status as of now…
> 
> ...


The plan calls for cleats. Actually I am planning on moving to a cleat system due to my frequent rearranging of the shop… I might start looking at a way to hold my duct work with cleats!

I am just planning on using the regular Danish Oil on it, not stain. For stains I tend to use Minwax, they are what is commonly available here… I tend to like the Golden Pecan stain….

Not going to bother filling in the hardware holes, but instead, use the hardware (screws) as a visual feature by careful measurement, and counter sinking. Getting them to line up nicely etc… Probably a lost cause, but I am going to try…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress...*
> 
> Okay so I am not sure where I left you dangling last night. So here is the status as of now…
> 
> ...


For shop stuff, I think exposed hardware is fine. That doesn't apply to nail holes, I would think. Therefore I fill the nail holes. Using the nail guns a lot on this bench. The 16 finish nails work great for the 2×4's. I think I used some brads to attach the plywood, and then the trim is pinned. So good use of all my guns, minimizing clamping since everything is glued for rigidity. I have added excess wood to this piece to increase weight as well, using 2×4's in places that plywood would have worked, or nothing at all. The piece is going to be quite heavy, but will have wheels that engage in two different directions by tipping the bench. In my small shop mobility is going to become increasingly important.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress...*
> 
> Okay so I am not sure where I left you dangling last night. So here is the status as of now…
> 
> ...


I am half tempted to go to Rockler and grab some brass wood screws for this project actually. No joke. I want to feature them and not hide them… (And brass hinges, catch etc…)


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress...*
> 
> Okay so I am not sure where I left you dangling last night. So here is the status as of now…
> 
> ...


I have some utilitarian items that I have put together with screws and screw guards to enable removal. Real brass tends to tarnish, but shiny screws and screw guards have a nice finished appearance. You may be able to come up with some screws that aren't brass but look similar, but I haven't seen brass colored guards. I used wood screws and guards on my pegboard in La Conner, which I bought with the prepainted white surface.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*

Okay I couldn't resist.

I finished the rabbets tonight and ran my dadoes. There was one mistake in my reading of the plan, and it was a doozy that made the choice of this being the cabinet for my small parts bins for me… I cut the dado for the back in the wrong spot…

After much consideration, I opted for functionality over pretty in the joinery. Brass screws were given consideration, but opted against due to cost and durability issues… This had to after all, be durable…

I finished up the main case, which went far easier than I thought it would have. and it is nice and square….

Anyway, as the common LJs saying is, no picture, didn't happen, well here are the pics…




























I still have some peg board to cut to size, and the hardboard sides and bottoms for the bins, but the progress is really making me happy… This project is making me start using cleats, which is a good thing… Might just have to utilize them for a mess of other projects….


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*
> 
> Okay I couldn't resist.
> 
> ...


Looks good, thanks for the pics. In general, your shop area is looking lighter and brighter, as well. I hope to make some similar cabinets some day, so I will be interested in the details.

I have some blog items for this weekend, if I get there. I am a little stressed out, so hopefully today will be quiet, and I can start the weekend early. So off to the races….cross my fingers…..I need some down time, I am on call for the Memorial Day weekend which is 4 days in a row.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*
> 
> Okay I couldn't resist.
> 
> ...


The design of these cabs is going to change slightly as I must admit, I screwed up… I was going to follow the plan to the T, but ended up cutting a dado in the wrong place (mis read the plan, knew it looked funny as soon as I pulled the piece off…). So this one will get my small parts bins after all, the middle doors are about to get a radical re-design and will end up as much thinner frames to hold only one side of peg board so that I have the thickness to allow that storage… The next one, that I have already started measuring / marking the ply for the initial cuts, will be 100% to plan.

The plane till / bridge is still in the design phase, but I figure on building it so I have slots for each of my planes, including the ones I want to add. AND slots to store my pnuematic nailers…

I am figuring on either installing immediately above, or even directly to the top, an 18" deep 3/4" ply shelf to provide storage for my hand held power tools that are in cases…

When all is said and done, I should be able to consolidate approximately 24' x 4' of used wall storage into around 8' x 3' of wall storage. (The magic of layering!)


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*
> 
> Okay I couldn't resist.
> 
> ...


Layering is exactly what I want to do. I plan to build cabinets that have external and internal storage on the doors, so there will be effectively three layers. That will take strong hinges. I will probably use piano hinges partly secured with nuts and bolts. I have done that before and it is extremely strong.

Off to work, was home for a few minutes after hospital rounds, but now to the office.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*
> 
> Okay I couldn't resist.
> 
> ...


The Wood Magazine Special Interest Publication is…

"Best Ever Home Shop Ideas 2011" and it can be found HERE.

The magazine aside from some ads is exactly the same as the 2009 version that I have…

For a direct download of the plan, it is on the Wood Store website…

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-plans/woodshop-projects/tool-storage/shop-in-a-box-cabinet/

Double and triple check where those dadoes go! (smacking self in forehead still…)


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*
> 
> Okay I couldn't resist.
> 
> ...


Gazooks, that's 5 layers of tools. Looks like a good general plan.

Incidentally, I have all kinds of small parts boxes hanging from walls in one fashion or another, some of them going back over 30 years….....including some of the parts. I have learned to save all screws, nuts and bolts, and at least sort them for general size and type. It is remarkable how often I use old leftover and used screws and stuff. I am guessing I have about 200 labeled boxes of one sort or the other hanging from the walls in the shop.

Today is looking quiet, so with any luck I will be in the shop some this afternoon.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*
> 
> Okay I couldn't resist.
> 
> ...


My problem exactly. Too many pieces of hardware, and tools hanging out on the walls sucking up space I don't really have…

Another project I want to get to is a Table Saw rolling cabinet / workstation to fully integrate my saw, router workstation, and shop vac / separator with accessory storage That will clear up the remainder of the wall mounted crud and provide storage for blades, dadoes throat plates, etc…

THAT will be a monster of a project, and is quite a ways off. The idea will be to continue to build my cabinet construction skills…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Wascally Wabbets...*
> 
> Okay I couldn't resist.
> 
> ...


My minibench will serve a certain consolidating purpose. The TS complete with outfeed and extension table will be a bit longer. I figured out that a router table/TS combo wouldn't work good in my shop due to space constraints. So the router will have its own wheels, I guess.

I wish I could work faster, but I run out of time, and I run out of energy. But I am having fun.

Later…......


----------



## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet stand still*

I have been running myself too hard and too fast all week. Last night it caught up with me…

I got home with a splitting headache, and no desire to do anything but lay down and rest my tormented eyes for a couple of minutes. After LOML figures out I am feeling lousy, she lets me just lay down, gives me a cool damp cloth to cover my eyes, and just lays down with me to talk…

That was at 5:30 P.M.

Next thing I know, it's 10:00…

And I'm hungry… Of course it is too late to fire up the table saw, so I am at a stand still for the night. At least I got the depth, fence distance, and angle set for the bevel cuts for the french cleats on the cabinet last night.

I also realized I went ahead and made a pointless modification . I screwed the back directly to the shelf. I didn't notice the shelf support that was in the plan… So I need to pull those screws out, and install the shelf support… No biggie…

I still need to go to Home Depot and get my hinges. No biggie, I will get that this afternoon so I can finish this up this weekend…

I skipped the pre-finishing step. Oops… I wonder how Danish Oil looks on hardboard peg-board…

I am actually getting somewhat stoked about getting this done. The closer it gets, the closer to reality that improvement in organization gets.

I really did want to do locking rabbets with this, but that isn't what the plan called for. Chances are more than good that I will deviate just that much from the plan on the next one, and go with the locking rabbets. I honestly want the practice. Will most likely avoid using screws on the next one, and opting for those locking rabbets, glue, and finish nails instead…

I could get frustrated by the mistakes I have made in this cabinet, OR I could have just as easily cut a thin strip of pine to fill the gap from the bad dado, glued it up, trimmed and planed it smooth, but for the function this cabinet will serve, no need, AND it allows me a chance to learn from my mistakes…

As I move forward closer to finishing this one, I am already eager to get the next one done. With that, and the till completed my big peg board can come down. With that out of the way, the wall can get patched, and painted… The Strong Tie workbench bobbed down a hair, and space for the freezer to make LOML happy, and to further justify the sub panel. "But honey, we need a dedicated circuit in there for the freezer and water purifier system…"

I should get busy with all of this. I also realized I have another nephew that is graduating high school this month… Ugh… WHERE did the time go?!

Then there is the niece getting married, and another one graduating college next summer… I need a LOT more lumber to get this all done!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet stand still*
> 
> I have been running myself too hard and too fast all week. Last night it caught up with me…
> 
> ...


Hear you about overdoing things. That happens mostly at work for me where I don't have total control. At home, I have pretty good control. I learned the hard way to not push myself. My cardiovascular system rebels.

Yesterday afternoon, came home…...and mostly vegged out, did a little work on the minibench, mostly marking for hardware. This morning I was out in the shop before seven and got 3.5 hours in. Now I am going to go do some more work on it. Got interrupted by some errands and a trip to the hospital to discharge some folks.

Re the pegboard, my gut reaction would be to use wipe-on poly on it. Easy, look good, and stiffen it if anything. I am interested in what you do, since I will be looking at the same thing down the line a bit.

Later…......


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet stand still*
> 
> I have been running myself too hard and too fast all week. Last night it caught up with me…
> 
> ...


Well, gonna write a quick little blog about a fun brief episode in the shop…..........with chisels and a plane.

Later…......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Adjusting the piano hinges....*

Well, the doors are assembled, and the piano hinges were installed. I did NOT follow Wood's recommendations and wound up paying a stupid price. It appears that alignment is crucial on these hinges. I tried concealing the barrels in the cabinet, thinking there would not be an issue with alignment, but indeed there WAS an issue with alignment. Upon final assembly I was unable to close the doors. OOPS. Next up was to reset the position of the hinges.

Upon repositioning, I am able to close the doors, but they strike against each other as they pass… So tomorrow comes readjusting the other hinge, testing, the door closure, installing the magnetic catch assembly (actually assemblies) and then finishing up the bracing on the back of the cabinet, then installation.

Hopefully I can be done with this one, and on to the cleanup before the middle of the week….


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Adjusting the piano hinges....*
> 
> Well, the doors are assembled, and the piano hinges were installed. I did NOT follow Wood's recommendations and wound up paying a stupid price. It appears that alignment is crucial on these hinges. I tried concealing the barrels in the cabinet, thinking there would not be an issue with alignment, but indeed there WAS an issue with alignment. Upon final assembly I was unable to close the doors. OOPS. Next up was to reset the position of the hinges.
> 
> ...


Actually picked up the magazine with this plan in it today, thanks for the lead, cheaper than buying the plan. Was down at HD for a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. Hope to get a lot done tomorrow on the minibench, did pretty good today…...

.......well, off to bed, was out to dinner tonight with friends…....


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Dry fit done, on to glue and finish...*

Now that I have my dry fit and adjustments done on the cabinet, I have moved on to the glue sand and finish stage…

I am not sure if it is my square that is off, or if there is something funky with the lumber, but measuring corner to corner, everything is dead on. using plastic architects triangles everything checks out fine, but my Johnson try square doesn't show a square corner anywhere…

I feat this may be a problem I am just going to have to live with… I hate it though…

The other possibility is that the lumber itself, which I mentioned previously is Home Depot Lauan ply might be trying to turn into a potato chip in my shop. I haven't taken a straight edge to any of the pieces yet…

At least I was able to get the doors to pass each other, but BOY are those tolerances CLOSE, And when the doors are closed, there is an annoying gap between them…

Pictures pending, but I want to get at least the doors glued and oiled first…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet. Dry fit done, on to glue and finish...*
> 
> Now that I have my dry fit and adjustments done on the cabinet, I have moved on to the glue sand and finish stage…
> 
> ...


For what it's worth, the rails are warping… The doors measure 15" across the stiles / tops of the rails. and 15.25" across the mid point of the rails… But corner to corner they are square…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Trying to stifle obscenities...*

I knew better, I knew better but my cheap instincts told me to try it anyway…

I am talking about using lumber from Home Depot…

I KNOW all they sell is junk. But a $25.00 sheet of 3/4" "cabinet grade" plywood is just too hard to resist…

They know my weak spots…

There is nothing more infuriating than getting everything lined up just right, and dead square… Getting it all glued together, and then having the lumber MOVE on you…

Isn't part of the point of plywood that it's supposed to be STABLE?

I now have a couple of choices…

#1. Scrap the whole stinking project, and start over with decent plywood. An expensive option that I just don't have the dinero for in the first place, which is why I opted for the $25.00/ sheet ply instead of the $50.00 / sheet oak ply at the hardwood dealers… (not to mention the cost of the gas getting there and back…)

#2. Since it's mostly done, I just need to go over it with the danish oil a second time, I could just continue with the project, and hope and pray that it will stop moving.

#3. Cut and install some sort of bridge to go across the middle, of the door span, that I can use to pull the sides of the rails back IN to where they should be.

I think I am going to do #2 and keep #3. open as a possibility. I am not sure I want to post this one as a completed project though. I am more than a little unhappy with this plywood… and the results I am getting from it… It really burns me that I can be square, and out of square at the same time…

I guess you learn something new every day…


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## HorstPeter (Aug 27, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Trying to stifle obscenities...*
> 
> I knew better, I knew better but my cheap instincts told me to try it anyway…
> 
> ...


I too thought plywood would be flat and stable, but apparently that really isn't the case all the time.


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## MikeGager (Jun 15, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Trying to stifle obscenities...*
> 
> I knew better, I knew better but my cheap instincts told me to try it anyway…
> 
> ...


pics would probably help. might not be as bad as it sounds


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Trying to stifle obscenities...*
> 
> I knew better, I knew better but my cheap instincts told me to try it anyway…
> 
> ...


My minibench was built with the antipation that the plywood would be warped. Meaning, I made the ends so strong, that I could use them to pull warped plywood straight. Besides, I wanted weight and rigidity.

But it is the last project of any complexity I build out of this stuff. It is too costly in terms of time….....

For me, it is a transition piece. From here on in, the materials will be better.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Trying to stifle obscenities...*
> 
> I knew better, I knew better but my cheap instincts told me to try it anyway…
> 
> ...


Well, I went ahead and mounted the thing up on the cleat last night, and the case shifted, even though on the bench everything is "square" and on the wall everything is "square" and there is a distinct bow to the rails on the doors, the doors now open and close freely. I did not glue the case as it was not called for in the plan (screws only), but I am going to loosen the rabbet joints up and get some glue in there, snug it all back up square, and then re-hang it, see if letting the glue dry tensioned on the wall helps…

I have not gotten nearly as far with the finish as I would have liked, it seems this stuff DRINKS Danish Oil, and I am running low on it at this point… I will have to run by Home Depot and grab another can SOON..

On the plus side, I have the cleat dead level, and screwed into 3 studs with 3" screws. This thing isn't going anywhere!


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Trying to stifle obscenities...*
> 
> I knew better, I knew better but my cheap instincts told me to try it anyway…
> 
> ...


I use cleats to hang cabinets as well. For cabinets, I glue and screw them together. Always expect movement and plan for it, especially for kitchens. Other than bathrooms/washrooms where there are hot showers, kitchens are the worst for humidity. I learrned that if you are going to hang off of a cleat, put one in the shop to test the cabinet before you get it on site. The stresses are different and they move.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Trying to stifle obscenities...*
> 
> I knew better, I knew better but my cheap instincts told me to try it anyway…
> 
> ...


FWIW, the cabinet I am building is not exactly, but pretty close to a 100% follow the plan build of a Wood Magazine plan. I left out the adjustable shelves and inner doors in lieu of having a space to store my multi drawer small parts bins.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Loaded it up last night.*

After getting the doors / cabinet lined up better by hanging it, I decided to load it up to see what that did. And as I suspected, the doors now open and close no problem now.

I have also come up with a startling discovery. This thing is ROOMY. It doesn't have quite enough peg board in the configuration I left it in for all of my peg-boarded stuff, but it is quite spacious.

part of the impetus behind all of this mind you, is that when I moved my miter saw to the now extended strong tie workbench, I had to move stuff off the peg board to provide clearance for the saw, and the as yet to be built dust hood.

I have also decided that the Harbor Freight corner clamps that I knew were horrible, are beyond horrible, they are useless. However the Pony (Jorgenson) clamp of a similar design held fast and square. I am going to grab 3 more of those, and maybe a set of the Clamp It corner clamp deals from Rockler before I start on cabinet #2.

I had a happy surprise though, my planes fit in the cabinet with no need for a separate shelf / tote. I do need to build a rest for each of them to keep the blades out of touch with the cabinet, but for now it will do… And it is FAR better than dangling them off of peg hooks.

I believe that with the completion of cabinet #2. My peg board and small tools storage, not to mention my pneumatic fastener storage will be completely handled.

I still haven't finished the oiling, and at this rate I might not. This lumber is really way too thirsty for my own good… I am actually wondering if it is dryver than the surrounding climate. I don't want to dig my moisture meter out to check it, I am not THAT curious, but I do vaguely wonder…

I think this is as close to done as it is going to get, photos will be posted tonight.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Loaded it up last night.*
> 
> After getting the doors / cabinet lined up better by hanging it, I decided to load it up to see what that did. And as I suspected, the doors now open and close no problem now.
> 
> ...


Can't wait to see it! Sounds like some of the very same tool migrations that I'm moving towards in the shop…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet progress... Loaded it up last night.*
> 
> After getting the doors / cabinet lined up better by hanging it, I decided to load it up to see what that did. And as I suspected, the doors now open and close no problem now.
> 
> ...


Will look forward to the pics with interest. This is definitely the type of thing I wanted to build eventually.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*

*In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *

So the man saw the cabinets that he had made, and said to himself. I need another one just over there, and it was, and it was good.

When the man had seen the cabinets he built, and the storage problems he had solved, he rested…

Oh if only it were so easy!

In my rendition, it would be more akin to…

Man makes first cabinet, learns from his screw ups, makes second cabinet, with entirely new set of screw ups…

But alas, that is why I am me right?

Okay tongue removed from cheek now…

Yes I am moving on to the second cabinet. The first one, while fairly substantially deviated from the plan, is solid as a rock, and as done as it is going to get. It is loaded, and has taken the overwhelming bulk of the stuff off of the wall mounted peg board. The little bit o' peg board remaining with stuff on it will soon be emptied as the board will be recycled into this cabinet project…

I have unused parts from the cutting from the first cabinet, so I need to modify my cutlist somewhat. I did not use any of the internal parts, inner doors, shelves, or bins, and have all the material cut and ready to go for those (except the peg board and hard board). I will complete these over the next couple of days, so that the case and outer doors are all that is left to do…

I am eager to get this setup done. And am looking forward to having my storage set up the way I have been planning for the last 2 years…

What really scares me, is that I have enough "stuff" to fill a third one of these, and enough wall to justify it… Especially since it would end up over the lathe, and some wisely mounted broom clips would put my turning tools are the perfect height for me… But the drawback there is, I want to build a multi drawer storage cabinet for under the lathe to provide storage, and ballast…

I have the process of building the boxes and doors down pat now. I will move on soon to face frames… With this under my belt, I am gaining an enormous amount of confidence in my ability to build EXACTLY the cabinets I want for the kitchen and bath remodel LOML and I have been dreaming of…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


Hmmmmm….....I don't think much translates in my shop life to the home.

I successfully put a top on two store bought trellis's, set the in the ground with Sherie, made sure they were parallel and at the same level with my laser level (gift from eons ago).

OK….....I can do garden projects.

But unfortunately, no, fortunately…......my kitchen….....and my wife…......are in a different universe of quality and expectations. So it is not an issue, because the kitchen is….......done. Whew.

In La Conner, it may be a different matter, but there I don't have the tools.

Saved.

So, this weekend, hope to play a bit…......nothing serious, just finish up the minibench with any luck. Of course, it will never happen.

So after the minibench, the TS dust collection, some fun trinkets built in the shop….......

.........then back to the storage issue…........

Be sure to finish those cabinets, or they will look at you with distain and disappointment for the eons. Those capable cabinet arms, cradling your tools, knowing their importance and significance…...
.....what will they think of you. After all they are doing for you…...they got no respect.

Watco works.

Jim


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


Well the inner doors are done and waiting for the case to be finished. I have pics but I am not sure how to copy and paste from my Droid….

Being a Linux guy I am in geek heaven with this phone…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


I am sure copy and paste will happen…........or file transfer…......or whatever.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


Going to wait until I can sit down with the P.C. and have full keyboard and mouse control…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


Okay, I promised to post the pics… Not really much to look at yet, but at least here's the inner doors…



















They came out nice and square!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


Look nice. I will have to revisit this with you when I get to that point, probably a few months, at least, from now.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


I think I said this before, but I will say it again. This cabinet is almost exactly what I was planning to do, except it has even more space for storage than I had thought of, meaning the inner doors. This looks like the answer to my needs, and I won't have to design it.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


I am really liking the first one, and I left off a LOT of the internal space because of my small parts bins… Overall, this pair of cabinets in 30" tall x 34" wide x 2 will replace 16' x 4' of peg board, basic shelf, and just wall storage. I do have to move the drill press to get into it, but that is why I put it on a mobile base in the first place…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 started.*
> 
> *In the beginning, there was plywood, and the man saw plywood, and said, let there be a cabinet… And it was, and it was good. *
> 
> ...


I put my drill press on a mobile base a few months back as well. Just to free up space for my new sanders (spindle/belt, and 12 inch disk). But those sanders are going to go mobile as well, just haven't got there yet. With limited shop space, mobile is the answer. Both my saws have been mobile since the get go.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine Clamshell Cabinet #2 progress continues, already thinking about my next projects.*

So last night I got the inner doors assembled (see my previous blog entry in this series for photos). They are nice and square, glued and screwed together very solidly. I have a LOT of cutting and dado-ing left to do, but I ran into a bit of a quandry after assembling the doors last night…

I ran out of screws…

Actually I need more than just screws to complete this project. In order to fully pull this off I will need…

#1. Another sheet of peg board. I COULD re-use the one on the wall, but I still have stuff hanging on it. I would need to figure out what to temporarily move that stuff to, and even if I do, I have other projects needing peg board coming up. Might as well use the stuff that is there to organize until I no longer need it…
#2. Piano hinges. I have the short hinges for the inner doors, but I need 2 30" hinges for the outers. I am planning on simply grabbing a single 72" piano hinge and cutting it to length . I will need to trim shorter ones anyway… Save a few bucks that way and end up with what I want…
#3. Magnetic catches. I need 4 of them… 
#4. Box of screws. I am using 2.5" coated deck screws for this due to the humid environment. When I forget to run the AC it gets awfully muggy in there… I want to avoid rust.
#5. 3" swivel locking casters with urethane wheels. 200 lb capacity minimum. 
#6. 5/16"-18×2" eye bolts.
#7. 5/16" fender washers
#8 5/16"-18×2.5" machine bolts.
#9. Fresh 2 part epoxy.
#10. 2 more sheets of 3/4 cabinet grade Home Depot plywood (cheap).

Huh, casters? Eye bolts? Fender washers and machine bolts? More plywood? How do those relate?

Oh yeah, that is the upcoming projects… I need to build a pair of rolling flip top tool stands. One of them will be dedicated to the bench top jointer, and my lunch box planer. The other will house my Ridgid sander, and my not yet in my possession Grizzly 12" disc sander (wishlist item… Maybe Santa will be nice this year…). This will allow me to maximize my floor space without further aggravating my back problems… I do NOT want to lift these heavy machines any more than I absolutely have to…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*

The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…

I will have to wait until the weekend to get the peg board and hinges to finish up, too stinking busy to run to Home Depot in the evenings until then…

I look forward to getting this one done, and loaded, then I can stuff it with the rest of my peg boarded goodies, and free up the back wall of the shop!

I am happy about this as things are really coming together…

Oh yeah, no pics didn't happen, so here's the pics…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


Pave the way for me buddy, I am going to be leaning on you. I just can't see any reason not to make these myself, they are just what I need. Hopefully will get the woodwork done on the minibench before the weekend, then I should be in shape to finish and electrify it.

My BIL from Dallas left this morning, so it is quieting down. Goto do some chores, then down to the shop for some sanding, and making some adjustable shelves. The holes for the gizmos are in, fortunately drilled before I put the pieces into position. So all I have to do it cut the shelves. TS work. And I will edge them with pine strips, already cut out.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


I'll be happy to give answers where I can…

These projects are going a long way to build up the confidence I need to tackle my own kitchen / bathroom cabinets. The fear I have is the total cost there, I don't want to cheap out with the lousy particle board cabinets I see so many of my neighbors using, but I am also afraid that I will never recoup the cost of building first class cabinets for this house. It's not like I am in a $400K + neighborhood here. The last stick of new construction barring the few rebuilds (there have been a couple of houses that burned in my neighborhood due to residents that smoke…) was put in by 1988. And while there is a LOT of remodeling that has been going on in the neighborhood, it is obvious that this is getting to be a mature neighborhood.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


You would think that birch or oak ply could be used in kitchen cabinets, without busting the budget. I would think the trick is to find cabinet grade material that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. If painted cabinets would be appropriate, then you could do with lesser grades of material, and patch and fill. Then paint. Or could you just reface your present cabinets?

How about a combination of ply and hardwood, such as oak? Red oak or maple should be reasonably priced and you could dry it good, then mill out any warp. If you could keep the runs of plywood small, interrupted by hardwood pieces, then you could probably build from cheap plywood, and just cull the worst of the warped stuff, and/or cut it into small enough pieces that the warp isn't significant. I have some warped plywood in my minibench, but I cut it into small enough pieces, and culled the worst of it to make it do.

Guess what I am saying, design the cabinets to make use of slight inferior materials in appearance without sacrificing the structural integrity.

Actually, I am not in an expensive neighborhood either, but there are remodelled and rebuilt homes that are more expensive than the average. Our house is definitely overbuilt for the area, especially the interior, but we are living in it and using it and have no intent to sell it. At least not for many years.

I collected a bunch of HD gift cards for my birthday, so I am edging up on my number to buy a TS for La Conner which will probably be a Rigid. That should be a good compromise on quality and price for a secondary shop. Everybody got me a HD gift card…...no other gifts…....(-:

Sherie did a good job a marketing. Now if only a could get a few more gift cards for Father's day…...........(-:
Sherie has more invested in her quilting room in La Conner already, than I will end up with in the shop, so I am in a good negotiating position.

Got the bird palace twice a month cleanup done this morning, and now after a little more coffee, down to the shop with the sander and router.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


Painted cabinets would be a lot easier on the materials budget for sure. I have something specific in mind for my cabinets / counter tops… And while refacing is an option, I see no point in refacing builder grade junk cabinets. I actually have something in mind for the kitchen / bath remodel. 3/4" cabinet grade casework, with pecan face frames, and mitered raised panel doors, the frames of Mesquite, and the panels of Pecan. I haven't decided on the specific color / pattern yet, but I know we want granite counter tops all the way around to replace the laminate junk that is there now…

The good thing is I have access to Pecan trees, and I can every now and again come across millable sized logs gratis on Craigslist. I am sure hiring a sawyer will involve paying some sort of deposit on blades in case of any metals etc… And then there is the kiln drying time. (a friend of mine has space, and a desire to build a kiln, some help with drying / stickering should yield me plenty of lumber, but time is always a problem…)

It's scary, by the time we get done with all the upgrades we want to do to the house, if it were in a different neighborhood, the house would be worth double what it is now… But due to location… Not so much. But that's okay. IF we can get lucky enough to find work in the northwest and be able to relocate, I will keep this house as a rental / income property. I don't really expect job situations out west to get positive until the housing market gets better, and I expect it to get strong here first… (Oregon's economy has been having fits and starts for the last 40 years that I know of… I don't figure they are going to even bother leading the country in anything…)


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


With the wood you are talking about, you may be able to keep it a pretty low budget item, relative to the final product. Even doing the work yourself can incure substantial expenses in kitchen upgrades. I haven't done any work in the house on purpose, it is just too difficult for me to do it on a schedule. I did a fair amount of work on the first remodel of this house before we moved in. My son could help some, I had a little more time since I was just starting the practice here in Anchorage, and I had a lot more energy. Sherie painted all the ceilings. But the current woodwork is at such a quality level, that it is not realistic for me to help, and I am too busy at work. I may do some stuff in La Conner, however, that is not going to be as fancy.

Oh well, time to get away from the computer….......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


I have all of the pieces cut except for the peg board. I have a couple of busy days ahead. Hopefully I can get to finish the cabinet this weekend.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


Just wait till you are older…......everything will take three times longer…...(-:

When I say this weekend, that means three weeks from now…......

.........anyway, you are doing a good job and steadily improving that shop, it's really looking good.

Little tired this week, had a lot of call, some unusual work stress…....and I need another weekend off…...

Tomorrow should be easy…....the spirits willing….........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


I am halfway to older now I guess… So does that mean it takes 1.5 times as long for me to get stuff done?

Okay seriously though. Yeah, I kind of noticed it isn't as easy to do things, get projects done as it was when I was in my 20s, but I also have over time learned to work smarter. Setting up and doing repeated cuts, like my dadoes, and THEN setting up and cutting for the next sizes. Using stop blocks and making my own jigs to do certain tasks. It just makes getting the job done that much quicker.

There is an overall design to my shop, I must admit I have wandered off of it in a couple of places, but for the most part, I am dead on… To get right with my design, lathe, band saw, and drill press need to move… And I need to build a storage cabinet for my drilling accessories… And of course there is the electrical and insulation…

The shop has been a fun project / series of projects itself. I have a long way to go, but boy have I come a very long way… I started out with a Circ saw, a beat up jig saw, a router and cheap table, and a few misc bits and pieces in the beginning of 2008… The fact I got this far is honestly something I am proud of. The fact I got this far while having our household income slashed in half, and the added financial hit of having to take care of a disabled family member is downright astonishing to me… I am still not sure how I am accomplishing this…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. dadoes cut, now on to the rabbets...*
> 
> The parts are cut do width, and the dadoes are cut. I have the door sides and case tops / bottoms cut to width, I now need to cut the rabbets, and cut the door tops / bottoms to size. Progress is going much quicker on cabinet #2 when I am actually working on it, I have learned from my mistakes I believe. The overall height has been reduced 1/8" by my error, but at least I will be able to make up for that error…
> 
> ...


I know how you are accomplishing this, and you have had a few migraine headaches as evidence….......(-:

You have been pushing yourself. I had to quit doing that a couple of decades ago. If I am tired, I take a nap, drink some coffee, and then go to the shop. So I lose half an afternoon that way. I finally got to the point that I realized that I could no longer handle the stress of work without pacing and rest. That was not my pattern earlier in life. I was pretty much like you….....

So now is the time for you to get things done, because I think the average person loses that ability later in life…better put, we become less productive. I am definitely more efficient than I used to be, but it doesn't make up for the limits on energy.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Case done. On to the doors.*

Okay, no pics didn't happen. Observe cabinet #1 mounted on the wall in the picture behind it (the reason I framed the photo this way…)










This case went together dead square, with no argument whatsoever. Go figure…

After fussing with swapping between countersink and driver bits on the last case, I got my hands on a Ryobi "Speed Load" chuck, and countersink set (I busted countersink bits, and needed new ones). The new set allows quick release and insert of new bits, I couldn't be happier with them…

This week will likely see me finishing up my outer doors, cutting hinges, and getting things sanded down and a coat of oil on them. Most likely will be brushed on instead of wiped.

In the long run, this whole project will be time well spent as I really need to free up the front wall of my shop. And layered storage is certainly the way to go!

The shelves and shelf pins are a bit odd for this thing though, very narrow… I am sure they will be useful for some things, but most likely, I will hang mesh baskets on the peg board inside instead of using the shelves…

Until next time… Have fun, be safe, and keep making sawdust!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Doors done. Almost complete...*










The doors are completed, the inners are mounted. I am running out of time for tonight, so I am hanging it up as it were. I need to mount the doors, and cleats, mount the catches, sand and finish this thing… I am so close I can taste it…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Doors done. Almost complete...*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


.........and that is where my minibench is as well.

Looks good David, it will be nice to have both of those cabinets in use. I am within hours of just having the finishing left on the minibench….....it will get my compressor and hoses out of the way. I have to electrify it after finishing, and that will take a day, I suspect, at least…...just because of what I want in it. It should end up the center of shop activity.

So I would say we are on a race, but my project has a little more indefinite plans, just because it is an original.

Have a good one…........I can hardly wait to see both of those cabinets on your wall, full of stuff.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*










Well, there it is, mounted up on the wall, and ready to be loaded, almost. I still need a set of magnetic catches for it… At the pace I am going, I won't apply a finish to it, which won't really matter much. My strong tie workbench has no finish, for the last 10 years and it is holding up fine…


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## thenickedfinger (Feb 17, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can't help but notice the Harbor Freight Lathe. I just got one myself. Are you happy with yours?


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've had it for a couple of years. I like it so far. I do have trouble with the nuts on the stand working loose, but nothing loctite won't fix…


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## GregD (Oct 24, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


a/c keeping you cool enough in this heat? I've got a project I'd like to complete before calling it quits for the summer. Hopefully I'll get out to the garage around dawn on the weekends and can get something done before the heat drives me back inside. Even that won't work much longer.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Honestly, I haven't been running it much. I have been spending less than an hour out there when I go so I don't bother with AC. I just turn on the air filter full blast and let it move the air around. It has been fine until yesterday. I sweated all over my lathe bed and now have rust I need to remove…


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## GregD (Oct 24, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yup. When I'm sweating so fast I can't keep the sweat off the tools or the work I give up for the summer…

...which doesn't end until Halloween


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ENVY, ENVY!

Nice work….......these really look like winners. Please keep track of what you learned in blogs or whatever, because I will be grilling you. But not for a few months.

I am so tired of shop work, though, that I have determined that when the minibench is done…......really close…....... and the TS Dust Collection is done….......I just have to do something totally not for the shop.

I have a pile of blog and project items to do as a result of all my shop activity. I decided to just keep rolling and do them at the end.

Well, down to the shop. I have a pretty free weekend ahead, including this afternoon…............


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Even though these are technically "shop projects" they honestly are more for my wife than me. She REALLY wants the freezer in the garage, so I needed to make space for it. I have a few more of these projects coming up, including a rework to the miter saw bench / strong tie bench… I have to abbreviate it to allow the freezer to sit on the shelf right by the door… Boy do I need power out here or what?!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I hear you about making space. I just need to tear down my old stuff, make cabinets, and mobilize most of the tools.

Gotta have the power. I just got into running wire and putting in receptacles from very early on. Took electrical and radio shops in high school. Then got into ham radio, lived in Fairbanks where you have to be able to do everything, at least we did back in 1975. So I just kept on progressing and polishing my skills.

Well, down to attaching the blast gate to my slide on DC manifold, that fits on one end of the minibench. It is removable in case it gets in the way in certain positions in the shop. The bench is mobile, but I suspect will move around a fairly small space.

Then a little sanding of two shelves. Then couple coats of Watco, have about 2/3 of that left to do, then electrify the thing. This bench will be a real workhorse, I use that project top all the time when making stuff. It will be the default top for the minibench.

I don't know if I told you I bought a Bosch multitool awhile back. It works as my detail sander, although it isn't random orbital, I can't see anything to complain about. It makes a great detail sander. (Bosch makes a look alike that is just for sanding with a random orbital action). Cut the piano hinge for the two doors with it, and just cut off four 1/4" bolts to size with it. It is quite easy to control, and it has become a goto tool. I also cut out a rectangular piece of wood , out of the bench, for one of the hinges. And I cut the rectangular DC port in one end of the 3/4" plywood. This will all be pretty obvious with pictures, and pctures should happen this weekend.

Finally have kicked back, mostly done in the shop. I may try to get a coat of Watco on that manifold. Want to use the minibench for sanding its own shelves.

Well off to do a few more things….home alone, but think I will have left over spaghetti….........


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OK, got a second wind, put the blast gate in the manifold after sanding it, and preceeded to sand the last two shelves….......using the minibench downdraft system…...slick. So tomorrow morning it is the Watco, then electrify it in the afternoon. Zounds….....on a roll…......

Later….....


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


.........even had my shop surround sound (this is the last station for old speakers and electronics before trashing, but it sounds pretty good) system going…..listening to George Winston, Montana…..a Love Story. Really neat, until the DC and the sanders started going…...........


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


.......probably need some old rock and roll to overcome the machine sounds….....ZZ Top is your stuff…...as I recall…........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mostly 80s stuff. A lot of progressive rock (Rush, Pink Floyd etc…) and a lot of stadium rock (ZZ Top, Bon Jovi etc…) and of course, a tip of the 10 gallon hat to Country…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Mounted up. Just need finish and catches.*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


.......on the first cup of coffee, ready to get into the fumes. Fortunately, it is sunny out, if cool, at 44 deg. Should warm up and I will be able to keep the front and back entry doors open. On this concrete pad is the garage, then my shop behind it, then a large triangular storage area. The front entry door is in the garage, the back is in the storage area. But they allow a pretty good movement of air with the doors open, and the Magic Screen doors in place.

Later…........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Not done, but loading it up.*

I have, for expediency sake opted to not finish the cabinets. They plywood just sucks the Watco oil up like a wino sucks up Night Train, so instead of using good oil for bad plywood, I am just going to leave it bare. The only thing left to do is the magnetic catches. So for now I have started loading it up. The doors stay closed on their own, and the catches are really not 100% necessary. I now have my wall peg board empty, which is a great sigh of relief for me. I now get to move on to removing the peg board and framing from the wall, plugging those holes, and painting the wall, and ceiling in that area…

Soon I will be moving on to rebuilding the strong tie bench, deeper to accomodate the miter saw, and narrower to allow the freezer to fit on the concrete floor shelf thing a ma jig… I have also started marking where the outlets are to go on the walls, and am getting that much closer to ready to contact the electrician and get work started in that area…

Photographs, and a completed project entry will be added when I add the catches, and the plane tote between the cabinets as I consider this all a single project in 3 pieces…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Wood Magazine clamshell cabinet part deaux. Not done, but loading it up.*
> 
> I have, for expediency sake opted to not finish the cabinets. They plywood just sucks the Watco oil up like a wino sucks up Night Train, so instead of using good oil for bad plywood, I am just going to leave it bare. The only thing left to do is the magnetic catches. So for now I have started loading it up. The doors stay closed on their own, and the catches are really not 100% necessary. I now have my wall peg board empty, which is a great sigh of relief for me. I now get to move on to removing the peg board and framing from the wall, plugging those holes, and painting the wall, and ceiling in that area…
> 
> ...


I understand about not treating them, however…............(-:..........you might take a half dozen little pieces of that plywood and try different finishes on each one. You might try a little poly mixed in with a second coat, or some such. MDF really soaks up stuff, of course. The secret with MDF is to not use MDF…...........(-;

OK, had a least to make you think about it. I have two fixtures in the shop that have not been finished yet, but I am going to. One is some small platforms and 2×4's that I erect to work on larger objects to bring them up higher. My minibench is currently on it, while I electrify it. I am about one 1/3 through with the electrifying. Cross my fingers, I may get done this morning. The other is a support for long pieces for my RAS that I threw together with junk wood. It works so well, and is used so much that I decided I had to fill in the random saw cuts, etc. Now it has be sanded and finished. But both these objects are in use as I speak, so they will wait till I am between projects.

Electrifying your garage will make your shop work a lot more efficient…............so something to relly look forward to…..........

Later….......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Anxiously awaiting delivery from MLCS to finish this one off... *

As I have mentioned before, I have wanted, for a LONG time to build a proper urn for my beloved Labrador Retriever Deacon who passed on last year. I am in progress on the project, and one part of the project that I do not have the equipment (nor experience) to do is the contrasting dog bone inlay in the top. So off to www.mlcswoodworking.com I went… I am now anxiously awaiting delivery of the #9177 inlay bushing and bit set. I did not order the bowtie or other templates, as I am going to be working from a cut and sanded to shape shop made template out of tempered hardboard.

This weekend will see me making a template or two, and experimenting with scrap. Most likely pine and oak scraps as I have that stuff. And I will make the inserts and pockets, and see how well it goes. And y'all might just get a chance to see the results of that before I go to the final project piece…

For the most part, I am happy with the dovetails, and now it is down to decision time to determine how I am going to attach the top and bottom to the box. I am thinking non through dowels, but that has yet to be seen… I also want to route a 3/16" recess in the front, so that I can epoxy in his last set of tags to the face of it. I will experiment with that before committing though. I do NOT want to discolor the tags any more than they already are… And epoxy can be pretty yellowing… Can anyone recommend something like epoxy that is crystal clear?


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## venicewoodworker (Mar 15, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Anxiously awaiting delivery from MLCS to finish this one off... *
> 
> As I have mentioned before, I have wanted, for a LONG time to build a proper urn for my beloved Labrador Retriever Deacon who passed on last year. I am in progress on the project, and one part of the project that I do not have the equipment (nor experience) to do is the contrasting dog bone inlay in the top. So off to www.mlcswoodworking.com I went… I am now anxiously awaiting delivery of the #9177 inlay bushing and bit set. I did not order the bowtie or other templates, as I am going to be working from a cut and sanded to shape shop made template out of tempered hardboard.
> 
> ...


Hey I have a buddy that owns a company that builds cabinets and doors for the yachting industry. He has forgotten more about specialized finishes than most people know. I will ask him tomorrow and get back to you.


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Anxiously awaiting delivery from MLCS to finish this one off... *
> 
> As I have mentioned before, I have wanted, for a LONG time to build a proper urn for my beloved Labrador Retriever Deacon who passed on last year. I am in progress on the project, and one part of the project that I do not have the equipment (nor experience) to do is the contrasting dog bone inlay in the top. So off to www.mlcswoodworking.com I went… I am now anxiously awaiting delivery of the #9177 inlay bushing and bit set. I did not order the bowtie or other templates, as I am going to be working from a cut and sanded to shape shop made template out of tempered hardboard.
> 
> ...


Mirror Coat

http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2004140/Mirror-Coat.aspx


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*The inlay set has arrived. Pattern laid out and cut for the template. *

In what little time I had to work with it over the last few evenings, I have drawn up the pattern for the inlay in 3/16" tempered hardboard. cut it out, and started sanding it smooth. I am close, but not exactly where I want to be with this template, a little bit more work and I should be right where I want to be…

Now comes the fun part… Setting the depth for the plunge router base… This has never been a process I am particularly fond of. The idea is to start the router with the bit not touching the stock, and then simply plunging into the cut in 3 stages. In the lid I need to go 5/16, in the inlay, I want to go 3/8". I will sand the ~1/16" down flush and want the insert proud so that I don't end up having to sand down the main part of the work piece.

I need to make the template for routing the bore for the tags as well. I found the epoxy I was looking for. It's the stuff you see on bar tops, but I found a smaller quantity than the bar top size… (Can you believe they sell clear epoxy in gallon jugs?!)

I was also informed that we have visitors coming over on Saturday. So much for shop time.. Oh well. Maybe Sunday, who knows?


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *The inlay set has arrived. Pattern laid out and cut for the template. *
> 
> In what little time I had to work with it over the last few evenings, I have drawn up the pattern for the inlay in 3/16" tempered hardboard. cut it out, and started sanding it smooth. I am close, but not exactly where I want to be with this template, a little bit more work and I should be right where I want to be…
> 
> ...


Waiting waiting waiting for pictures. By the way, where did you get the epoxy?


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## Ironag (Jul 18, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *The inlay set has arrived. Pattern laid out and cut for the template. *
> 
> In what little time I had to work with it over the last few evenings, I have drawn up the pattern for the inlay in 3/16" tempered hardboard. cut it out, and started sanding it smooth. I am close, but not exactly where I want to be with this template, a little bit more work and I should be right where I want to be…
> 
> ...


The Marine Epoxy I use all the time for projects including my cedar canoe are from www.raka.com. Comes in easy dispensing pump bottles. They also have great fillers too.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *The inlay set has arrived. Pattern laid out and cut for the template. *
> 
> In what little time I had to work with it over the last few evenings, I have drawn up the pattern for the inlay in 3/16" tempered hardboard. cut it out, and started sanding it smooth. I am close, but not exactly where I want to be with this template, a little bit more work and I should be right where I want to be…
> 
> ...


I don't have the epoxy yet, but the stuff I found was on Amazon. (I found it, just don't have it in my hands yet) I believe my local Ace Hardware store has the same stuff…

I've been under the weather with some sort of summer flu that has been running around my office. Been @ home since getting sick at work on Wednesday… Nothing shop wise getting done right now. It stinks. All this time at home, and I feel too lousy to go out into the shop…

My supervisor was out sick last week, and the guy that sits across the aisle from me since Tuesday, I am blaming them for making me sick… Dr. said to stay home for at least 24hrs after the fever breaks. I am not sure if it broke yet as I am taking Day Quil, but my temp is finally down as of an hour ago… Been hovering right around 99.8 - 100.4 for 2 days… ICK….

I have this stack of projects to do too… Vacation time coming up in just over a week, so I better hurry up and get better. I want to spend some more time on the beach. Even if I am just sitting under an EZ Up studying my admins guide, I need to get out of town for a day or so! I'd like to go put the Canoe in and go fishing, but around here, I need bow / stern covers to keep from having the surf swamp me. And the Brazos river is awfully low this year so I can't go there…

I will probably finish my new mortiser table before I finish this urn… But chances are, they will both get worked at the same time…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *The inlay set has arrived. Pattern laid out and cut for the template. *
> 
> In what little time I had to work with it over the last few evenings, I have drawn up the pattern for the inlay in 3/16" tempered hardboard. cut it out, and started sanding it smooth. I am close, but not exactly where I want to be with this template, a little bit more work and I should be right where I want to be…
> 
> ...


I think I have a rather strong immune system…and my bag of tricks to control the symptoms and the course of viral infections is extensive. Hence, I don't lose work due to viruses. I hesitate to say much about methods, for many reasons.

Regarding vacation, I would say that vacation and weekends off are essential to surviving in my job. Don't think I have run into anyone in recent years who doesn't take 6 to 8 weeks off a year, once they are out of training. In the old days, physicians frequently didn't take much vacation. But the stress levels are so high now, that it has become a necessity. Medicine is nothing like it used to be.

When I was young or in training…(anything below 35 is young for a physician, and most don't finish their training until after age 30) I did a lot of inexpensive vacationing. Camping, canoeing, skiing, hiking, fishing, etc. The more expensive vacations came as I got out of training and started going off to conferences, and courses to teach new methods. I nearly always combined vacations with that kind of travel.

Sometime in my forties, I learned to stop pushing myself when I wasn't working. That was a major transition in the way I did things. It was forced on me by aging and the consequences of overwork. Meaning overwork either on or off the job. Finding the setpoint for both work and recreation is not easy, sometimes we don't have good control of the conditions, and it is a moving target with advancing age and rising expectations in the workplace, and even in our hobbies.

So I guess I am saying, be sure to get some down time. Don't make the shop a workplace. If you make most of your gifts, and you are doing a lot of home improvement using the shop, it can become workplace and a stressor. However, it sounds to me that you like using the shop for those functions, and I have done the same over the years, except I never did fine woodworking. But I made some pretty neat gifts and household objects there. Now, with age, I am careful to keep my hobbies kinda unstructured. That was a major shift for me, hard to learn, but necessary.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *The inlay set has arrived. Pattern laid out and cut for the template. *
> 
> In what little time I had to work with it over the last few evenings, I have drawn up the pattern for the inlay in 3/16" tempered hardboard. cut it out, and started sanding it smooth. I am close, but not exactly where I want to be with this template, a little bit more work and I should be right where I want to be…
> 
> ...


Oh, I am on call this weekend, no shop work yesterday. But today I am hoping to work some on installing a vise in my multifunction bench….tricky. Got a couple of things to blog about as well. This Thursday leaving for La Conner after work for 10 days vacation….........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Attempted router inlay fail. Retry, fail again, get a cup of tea...*

My weekend was nothing more than a source of woodworking frustration. I knew better, but I did it anyway, tried a new to me technique on some nice curly maple instead of dirt cheap scrap oak…

Router inlay is completely new to me, and something I wanted to do. I am working on an urn for my beloved Labrador Retriever Deacon, and I wanted to inlay some dog inspired patterns, as well as cut in a recess where I can clear epoxy in his last ID tag and shots tags. He was one of those dogs that did NOT want you to take his collar off. I guess he felt naked without it… So I want it with him…

Anyway, thankfully I didn't ruin the walnut yet…

Attempt #1. Tape template down with carpet tape. My template mind you is made from tempered hardboard, and I tried taping to the textured side. This was an epic fail as the tape allowed the template to move.

Attempt #2. Move template, hold down with clamps, and try again. I knew better, but I went counter clockwise anyway, should I have been shocked when the bit started walking inside the template?

Solution to this problem, practice practice practice on cheap oak and / or pine until I get the technique down, THEN move on to the nice maple…

Oh well, I know better, but sometimes I just don't do better. When will I ever learn?!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Attempted router inlay fail. Retry, fail again, get a cup of tea...*
> 
> My weekend was nothing more than a source of woodworking frustration. I knew better, but I did it anyway, tried a new to me technique on some nice curly maple instead of dirt cheap scrap oak…
> 
> ...


Free hand routing, with or without a template, has got to be an art. Isn't there a tutorial here on inlays? Seems to me, someone did one a year or so ago, a gal….......maybe it would give you some ideas.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Attempted router inlay fail. Retry, fail again, get a cup of tea...*
> 
> My weekend was nothing more than a source of woodworking frustration. I knew better, but I did it anyway, tried a new to me technique on some nice curly maple instead of dirt cheap scrap oak…
> 
> ...


That's the thing. I was following a Fine Woodworking tutorial on inlays (hence the carpet tape). The results were less than stellar…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Attempted router inlay fail. Retry, fail again, get a cup of tea...*
> 
> My weekend was nothing more than a source of woodworking frustration. I knew better, but I did it anyway, tried a new to me technique on some nice curly maple instead of dirt cheap scrap oak…
> 
> ...


Hmmm. Here is a mother of pearl inlay tutorial by Autumn, what I remembered:

http://lumberjocks.com/Autumn/blog/series/2081

Just thought you might get some ideas or hints. She uses a Dremel in a stand, I believe, which is not what you are doing. Wonder if you have too much router for the fineness of the work?


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## Tootles (Jul 21, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Attempted router inlay fail. Retry, fail again, get a cup of tea...*
> 
> My weekend was nothing more than a source of woodworking frustration. I knew better, but I did it anyway, tried a new to me technique on some nice curly maple instead of dirt cheap scrap oak…
> 
> ...


There is also this tutorial by TheWoodWhisperer on doing inlays freehand with a router. It's long, but quite useful.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Not exactly fine woodworking. The water heater stand.*

I while back I had replaced my TALL 50 gallon water heater, with a Whirlpool 50 gallon heater from Lowes, upon installation I found it was substantially shorter, and thus, much larger in diameter. No problem on the height, but the diameter has posed a quandry as the new heater overlaps the original stand base. In the time since installing the heater, I have ripped out and replaced the sheetrock that got soaked, and in turn molded. and killed all the mold in the studs, re-rocked almost everything (that was my priority). In the mean time there was a quick and dirty stand extension built, and while functional, is far from permanent, and even further from attractive… But what to do? Oh well it's holding up and no one sees it except us so no biggie…

Fast forward to LOML fussing the other day about the heater still sitting there the way it has been for 3 years… I guess I need to do something about it finally…

Now mind you, this thing is completely 2×4 construction, just some of it is ripped to 1.5×1.5". The extension is 8.5" deep x 23.75" tall and 24" wide. A right triangle addition to that with a rise / run of 8.5" completes it and smoothly transitions to the original wall work.

The construction is a basic 2×4 frame, with some ripped to 2×2 bracing, and a solid 2x top to support the weight of the water heater exactly like the original. Attachment to the original framing will be done with pocket screws, and mending plates giving good, SOLID connections that decades shouldn't be able to shake off.

As of this writing, the gaps between the 2×4 stock that make up the top / deck surface are caulked up and waiting to dry.

This weekend, I am planning on priming, then painting the top as it has to be installed literally UNDER the existing, in use water heater, I don't want to have to un-install that to paint… Then comes the easy part, sheet rock, and trim…

I have recently gotten several inquiries from folks about my Chicago Electric 12" SCMS and its accuracy. Just for fun, I chopped up some scrap left over with the 45 deg cut I used for my triangle extension and checked with multiple squares… Dead on… I did discover one problem though. If you are using the factory hold down to secure stock on the right side of the table, and cutting a 45 deg angle to the right, the motor WILL hit the hold down… Spring clamps solved that problem for me though…

Photos will be pending once the caulk is dry and paint is on… Right now it's FUGLY, but the basics of what I am trying to do are there, and it WILL need trim…


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Not exactly fine woodworking. The water heater stand.*
> 
> I while back I had replaced my TALL 50 gallon water heater, with a Whirlpool 50 gallon heater from Lowes, upon installation I found it was substantially shorter, and thus, much larger in diameter. No problem on the height, but the diameter has posed a quandry as the new heater overlaps the original stand base. In the time since installing the heater, I have ripped out and replaced the sheetrock that got soaked, and in turn molded. and killed all the mold in the studs, re-rocked almost everything (that was my priority). In the mean time there was a quick and dirty stand extension built, and while functional, is far from permanent, and even further from attractive… But what to do? Oh well it's holding up and no one sees it except us so no biggie…
> 
> ...


I was eagerly waiting after reading this in hopes to find something at the end leading towards building a stand alone shop. LOL


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Not exactly fine woodworking. The water heater stand.*
> 
> I while back I had replaced my TALL 50 gallon water heater, with a Whirlpool 50 gallon heater from Lowes, upon installation I found it was substantially shorter, and thus, much larger in diameter. No problem on the height, but the diameter has posed a quandry as the new heater overlaps the original stand base. In the time since installing the heater, I have ripped out and replaced the sheetrock that got soaked, and in turn molded. and killed all the mold in the studs, re-rocked almost everything (that was my priority). In the mean time there was a quick and dirty stand extension built, and while functional, is far from permanent, and even further from attractive… But what to do? Oh well it's holding up and no one sees it except us so no biggie…
> 
> ...


Hey, I'll always accept donations toward that project!


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## davidmicraig (Nov 21, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Not exactly fine woodworking. The water heater stand.*
> 
> I while back I had replaced my TALL 50 gallon water heater, with a Whirlpool 50 gallon heater from Lowes, upon installation I found it was substantially shorter, and thus, much larger in diameter. No problem on the height, but the diameter has posed a quandry as the new heater overlaps the original stand base. In the time since installing the heater, I have ripped out and replaced the sheetrock that got soaked, and in turn molded. and killed all the mold in the studs, re-rocked almost everything (that was my priority). In the mean time there was a quick and dirty stand extension built, and while functional, is far from permanent, and even further from attractive… But what to do? Oh well it's holding up and no one sees it except us so no biggie…
> 
> ...


I feel your pain in regards to the water heater. I replaced mine about 4 years ago. It was an old one and original to the house when I bought it. Rust did it in and the mineral deposit was so bad it felt like only half the tank drained. Moving it up the stairs was a real PIA. Sounds like you put your ingenuity to work. Fine woodworking or not, these projects help remind us why we have all these big toys.

David


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Not exactly fine woodworking. The water heater stand.*
> 
> I while back I had replaced my TALL 50 gallon water heater, with a Whirlpool 50 gallon heater from Lowes, upon installation I found it was substantially shorter, and thus, much larger in diameter. No problem on the height, but the diameter has posed a quandry as the new heater overlaps the original stand base. In the time since installing the heater, I have ripped out and replaced the sheetrock that got soaked, and in turn molded. and killed all the mold in the studs, re-rocked almost everything (that was my priority). In the mean time there was a quick and dirty stand extension built, and while functional, is far from permanent, and even further from attractive… But what to do? Oh well it's holding up and no one sees it except us so no biggie…
> 
> ...


We replaced the hot water tank in La Conner a couple months ago. I didn't even touch the thing. They put in a new iron stand, redid the strangely amateurish plumbing over it, and carted off the old one, in a few hours. I am not into that type of stuff anymore, although I could have done it all.

I made a deliberate decision that La Conner would not be a work farm for me. Only relaxation. I am not sure how much those stands cost, but I suspect they are fairly inexpensive.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Not exactly fine woodworking. The water heater stand.*
> 
> I while back I had replaced my TALL 50 gallon water heater, with a Whirlpool 50 gallon heater from Lowes, upon installation I found it was substantially shorter, and thus, much larger in diameter. No problem on the height, but the diameter has posed a quandry as the new heater overlaps the original stand base. In the time since installing the heater, I have ripped out and replaced the sheetrock that got soaked, and in turn molded. and killed all the mold in the studs, re-rocked almost everything (that was my priority). In the mean time there was a quick and dirty stand extension built, and while functional, is far from permanent, and even further from attractive… But what to do? Oh well it's holding up and no one sees it except us so no biggie…
> 
> ...


Nope. Mine is sheet rock and wood… Honestly, if I could find one that actually worked the way it is supposed to, I would love to replace this dumb thing with a tankless, but again, I am in an all electric home…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*More work on the water heater stand...*

Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…

So instead of the work that I need to get done, I ended up putting strings of pumpkin lights up, as well as a plastic pumpkin patch with Linus and the gang waiting for the Great Pumpkin…. We don't do scary, we like to do fun Halloween for the kids, neices and nephews sort of stuff…

Well, that's it, long hours next few days coming, not much will happen until this weekend I am sure. But once I start moving on it again, it will go quick!


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## twoblacklabs (Jan 12, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Pics. We need PICS!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


We don't put any halloween stuff outside, although usually Sherie has a little display on the island in the kitchen/dining room. Halloween hasn't been very significant at our house for many years. The office employess at the clinic usually wear costumes, however.

Once violence entered the Halloween event many years ago, it has been downplayed pretty much around here. Wish it were different.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


No Halloween violence here…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Perhaps violence is the wrong word. But in the old days kids ran around everywhere by themselves, and there are risks now, especially for the very young. Also there were risks in tainted "treats", etc. Much of this has disappeared as they are usually accompanied by parents, and they tend to go only to neighbors homes, or homes of friends.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Ah… I gotcha… Yeah, no problems here. Our neighborhood is pretty tight… Believe it or not, I actually know most of my neighbors. I can't say that I like all of them, but at least I know them…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Pics will be forthcoming as soon as the paint finishes drying. I have the old sheet rock cut out, and sadly I found a bit of mold, which is not a shock. I have cleaned the mold off with a mold killer, and before I button it up, I will insure that the mold is dead, and that a dessicant bag gets enclosed the cavity. I do not want any chance of regrowth…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Well, we got the dollies out and scattered round the house. The little village is not out yet. I have to build a stand for the stuff. Will work it out tomorrow, needs to just be an elevated piece of peg board, so the transformers can go underneath, and the wires poke up.

I buy Halloween and Christmas dolls from one of my long term patients. She just brings a couple of the newest ones in each year for each season, knowing I will buy a them as gifts for Sherie.

The maker is outstanding, using cloth and stuffing, with painted decoration, as well as sparkly things. She has a great artistic touch and sense of humor. The detail is phenomenal. And Sherie adores them. Easiest shopping for gifts I do…although not cheap. But not too high a price to pay for a happy spouse…..(-:


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Love local arts of all sorts… We have a few dolls made out of corn husks and cloth / ribbon that we picked up in Cancun, they are done up like the traditional dancers, a couple are very red and green and fit in with the Christmas theme around our house… Even though I live in the burbs by professional necessity, I am still country at heart, and our Christmas decor reflects that with a LOT of hand made wooden ornaments, and things like Aged Tin stars, among other decor…. We haven't gone that way with Halloween though…

A bit of a status update. The new stand is in place and tied in to the original framing. It is still open, and I have a lot of sheetrock and trim work to go… But at least the temporary stand is gone, and the nasty sports are nice and clean now…. Time for a shower…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Wash off all those nasty fungus spores before you mildew.

Have a good…......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


The mold killer is doing a pretty good job so far. I have one of those test kits, and will make sure that we are clean before buttoning it up. I am close, there are a few spots I can't quite reach to, but I am pretty sure the spray has gotten to… Hence the dessicant. It takes spores, AND moisture to grow mold…

I am not 100% sure about this, but it seems to me that the mold killer is simply a bleach water mixture…. I am probably paying too much for something I can make out of dollar store bleach and tap water… But it's effective so far…

Personally I would LOVE to rip this stupid heater all the way out, and replaced with a tankless, but I haven't heard of any tankless electrics that actually work the way you expect…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


I have never used a tankless, so I don't have any advice. The only variant I am aware of is our no burner system that heats the water with the furnace. It seems to work well, but depends on a hot water baseboard heating system. Probably not so common down there. In La Conner, we have a system probably like yours. Forced air and separate gas fueled hot water heater.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Nope. I am all electric. Forced air heat and AC sharing a common plenum, and a stand alone electric water heater…

Honestly I miss my last house in Oregon… Forced air gas heat, central AC, and the heat had wood stoves (plural) for backup…. Stand alone gas fired water heater…

I don't even recall if we ever tried to fire up the furnace… We heated mostly with wood…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Up here in Alaska gas is king, fuel oil is the second best heating fuel. Electric is not really a viable consideration. Natural Gas is the cheapest and requires the least amount of maintanence.

La Conner may be a small town, but it has good utilities. So it is gas there as well.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Being at the core of the petrochemical corridor on the Gulf Coast, the fact that my block has no gas is odd to say the least… I would love to convert to gas, but a bit more $$ than I am willing to spend….


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


I hear you. Do you suppose solar power will ever make it down there, or is the cloud cover and the up front cost too great? Wind power is doing well nation wide, and apparently we will get some wind power here. There have to be some really good wind power sites in this state, but we have so little population and the sites are so far away, most likely, that it will be a rare item. Infrastructure and transmission costs will rule. The current possibility is an island in Cook Inlet quite close to Anchorage, and I assume they would run underwater cables. It looks like it actually will happen. Of course, that will get the petrochemical industry aroused, and then they will do the necessary drilling for gas in the inlet, which apparently is there just to be tapped. Alaska with its large land mass and small population is kinda wierd.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


Cloud cover isn't a problem here so much as the up front cost of solar. We have a lot of wind power inland as well… Not to stir up a debate here, but due to the nature of the beast as it were, I do not see Solar as being all that well suited to a large swath of the population UNLESS the price for panels comes down 90% or more. And even then, they are better suited to individual residential installations, instead of being a major part of the grid. Basically, if you can get them at a reasonable cost, and you get fairly constant sun such as is the case in the south, and some sort of large scale storage banking (think BIG UPS system) for use after dark, and to carry a buffer for overcast days, solar might be feasable for getting individual homes off the grid.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *More work on the water heater stand...*
> 
> Again, not really fine woodworking, but instead more household carpentry…. The gaps between the 2×4s are now all caulked up, as are the recesses where the framing nails were driven. I am ready to hit this with some quick sanding, and then prime it… Of course my agenda for the night got changed as the Halloween decorations came out of the attic last night…
> 
> ...


I would suspect that the power companies are still the only ones that can come close to making money with solar. Since peak demands are in the daylight hours, the panels can be part of a power mix, whereas for the individual, the infrastructure to just be part of the peak demand supplier is too pricey.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Christmas Tree Stand. Starting the glue ups...*

Upon taking down our 10+ year old artificial tree last year, I heard a terrible snap of plastic… The base died a terrible wrenching death..

Well, the rest of the tree is in simply too good shape to just let it die like that… And now that the holidays are rushing up on us like a Linebacker, I decided it was time to get busy…

The design is a simple block with a hole bored in it for the tube (trunk) of the tree. So problem #1. What to do for a block?

Well, I had some extra 2×4 cutoffs from my water heater stand project. So face jointing and planing the 2×4 stock and then cross cutting them I ended up with 3.5×3.5×1-3/8" sections. 4 of them glued up now create the block. I have some cleanup work to do on the block as I failed to use cauls, so the thing slipped a hair, but nothing too serious… Time to whip out the jointer and flatten the faces… Then it's off to the drill press…

After the drill press, I process more of the 2×4 stock into 1×4, and then off to crosscut, and transfer the leg template to the soon to be legs, the off to the band saw, and oscillating sander to get the shapes right. Probably just need to carpet tape them together and run them through as a stack…

Lastly, attach the legs to the block, I am simply going to glue side by side so we have long grain to long grain, where I can, and dowelled on each joint for maximum strength.

The entire block / leg assembly will not be of a knock down design as I wanted to insure it was as solid as physically possible…

Once the glue is set, and it's all verified level, it gets a coat of Kilz2 primer, followed by at least 1 coat, probably more likely 2 to 3 of Ace Royal Touch Hunter Green high gloss enamel.

I've got a lot left to do, but the start so far is good, and I have this project mapped out pretty well. I am thinking if I can pull this off right, this cheesy fake Christmas tree will at least have a bit more of a personal touch, and can maybe be something my kids will enjoy…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*The artificial Christmas Tree Stand is underway... *

I should sub title this entry "fun with 2×4 scraps"...

I have an artificial Christmas Tree, or as my Hebrew and Messianic friends would call it, a Hanukkah bush…

I may have mentioned this, but upon my Christmas decor tear down, which much to the consternation of my HOA, happens the second weekend of January in my home, a family tradition I will not break to make my HOA happy… anyway when we were tearing down the tree, the original plastic base snapped, and let me know I needed either a new base, or a new tree. Now I have been putting this off for FAR too long, and I need to get with it, so…

With plenty of 2×4 cutoffs from the water heater stand project, I ran the stuff through the jointer and planer and came up with some nice, square, clean stock, which I then laminated to come up with a block 3.5×3.5×4.125".

This block was then sanded smooth, and the ID of the original stand post hole was measured. A 1.25" forstner bit was chosen, and it was time to mark my center, and move on to the drill press… The 1.25" hole was bored 3" deep, not the max stroke of my DP, but the max depth of this particular forstner bit… That's fine, it's .25" deeper than the original, which means the post should actually wedge into the base nicely…

Next up on the agenda is to joint / plane some more of the 2×4 stock down to 4/4 to create the legs. The legs will be 18" tip to tip, but remember, they will be set to the back of each side of the 3.5" thick block, so the overall base width will be 32.5", which is a hair longer than original, but still well within the canopy of the tree, and easily covered by the tree skirt.

The leg joinery will be glue and dowels for added strength. I have 2 faces that are end grain, and I need the dowels to hold it all together…

Once assembly is complete, and the base is verified level, and sanded of course, I am planning on at least a coat of Kilz2 primer, and at LEAST 2 coats, but probably 3 of Ace Royal Touch Hunter Green high gloss Latex Enamel paint. I like Ace paint, probably comes from the fact I worked several Ace Hardware stores while I was in college, and spent plenty of time in the paint dept…

Once this project is done, I need to get busy with some shop cleanup… I am putting things away as I go, but the dust collection on the miter saw stinks so bad that I have a terribly thick layer of dust on the CMS bench… My next project has got to be a roll away folding miter saw bench with a proper hood!


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *The artificial Christmas Tree Stand is underway... *
> 
> I should sub title this entry "fun with 2×4 scraps"...
> 
> ...


I always find use for my 2×4 scraps, here's a tip when purchasing 2×4s it's always best to cut them into needed measurements and start the build as soon as possible as if left uncut for a short length of time you have the great possibility of them warping.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *The artificial Christmas Tree Stand is underway... *
> 
> I should sub title this entry "fun with 2×4 scraps"...
> 
> ...


I tend to pay extrra for the kiln dried instead of stud grade. According to my moisture meter, they are at 8%, which is fine around here… But I do agree, stud grade, non kiln dried stuff (the $1.69 2×4s) can be entertaining, it seems like you can watch them warp… My first workbench base was built in 1 day using stud grade 2×4s, the day I brought them home. 3 days later, the stock had twisted so bad that it would only stand on 2 legs… I rebuilt it… and started using kiln dried.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *The artificial Christmas Tree Stand is underway... *
> 
> I should sub title this entry "fun with 2×4 scraps"...
> 
> ...


Fortunately, it takes me so long to build things, that any lumber I buy sits in the shop for some time before I use it. Not planning, just circumstance.


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## bluekingfisher (Mar 30, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *The artificial Christmas Tree Stand is underway... *
> 
> I should sub title this entry "fun with 2×4 scraps"...
> 
> ...


Good use of scraps Pat, I was actually working with 2×4 over the weekend too. I was building some roll around trays to slip under my work bench to store my C clamps. I used some of the scraps for a new wall mounted mitre gauge holder.

I can't believe it's that time of year again. I'm thinking of polling a vote for it every 5 years years!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*From lumber rack, to wedding gift...*

Just spent the last hour in the shop cleaning, trying to find the top of the workbench. Too many drywall cutoffs, cans of paint, and trim cutoffs in there. I REALLY need to clean this mess up! But alas, the wedding deadline marches on!

Working space on workbench cleared. CHeck.
Working space on table saw cleared. Check.
Working space on drill press cleared. Check.
Locate just the right piece of walnut for the project? Check…

Sadly almost all of my stock is 8-10" wide, my jointer is 6", so I can face joint the whole shebang in a planer sled, or…

Set jointer up, and edge joint it first. The stuff is really close to flat anyway, so get it close to size, THEN face joint it, edge it totally clean, plane it, and rip to final size…

I am more than half tempted to just whip out the #7 and hand plane it instead of machining it…

Sadly I need to get moving, so time to put this project on temporary hold. Will pick more up later…

I am about gain 2 nieces, okay we have a lot of those, but one of them just went to her first high school dance… More gifts to come from Uncle Dave's workshop!

I think it's gonna have to be a punk beater for my brother…


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## bluekingfisher (Mar 30, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *From lumber rack, to wedding gift...*
> 
> Just spent the last hour in the shop cleaning, trying to find the top of the workbench. Too many drywall cutoffs, cans of paint, and trim cutoffs in there. I REALLY need to clean this mess up! But alas, the wedding deadline marches on!
> 
> ...


Reads like you life is about as hectic as mine.

Hope it all works out OK!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Got the shop clean enough. Time to start on the wedding gift, and I have a week to go!*

This is dreadful. I have a TON of work to do to get this done. Walnut coaster set it is. I have the lumber selected, and edge jointed. No I did not face joint it first. I wanted a straight enough edge that I could run along my TS rip fence, and THEN face joint it…

I need to head to the craft store as well. I need to grab a compass of sorts that I can lock an Xacto knife into so that I can cut 2-3/8" cork disks with it. I figure at this size it should handle soda cans, beer cans, and other misc beverage holders shy of 7-11 bladder buster sizes…

I am planning on a VERY simple build. stock prep, cut to dimension, find center, drill countersink for cork 1/4" deep, rout the edge with a 1/4" bevel, sand, finish with 2 or 3 treatments of BLO and then wipe on poly. Finally glue in cork and felt feet, package, write card, stick bow on package and haul my behind to the wedding…

I've been practicing my hand at woodburning my signature… I will have to mark these with a printed label that gets coated with the urethane as well…

As my wife will be helping me, I think the label should read…

Created in 2012 by Dave & Debi 
For Paul and Nicci.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Got the shop clean enough. Time to start on the wedding gift, and I have a week to go!*
> 
> This is dreadful. I have a TON of work to do to get this done. Walnut coaster set it is. I have the lumber selected, and edge jointed. No I did not face joint it first. I wanted a straight enough edge that I could run along my TS rip fence, and THEN face joint it…
> 
> ...


Are you sure you want to give coasters as a wedding gift. It will surely place the new marriage into jeopardy. The first time Paul forgets to use one, there will be trouble in paradise!!! Just be sure to make the set with an even number of coasters, easier to divide up during the divorce settlement!!! Lol.

A gift from the heart and "created" by hand is sure to be treasured for years to come. Paul & Nicci will be moved by the effort put into making the coasters.

Don't forget to "blog" & post as a project.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Got the shop clean enough. Time to start on the wedding gift, and I have a week to go!*
> 
> This is dreadful. I have a TON of work to do to get this done. Walnut coaster set it is. I have the lumber selected, and edge jointed. No I did not face joint it first. I wanted a straight enough edge that I could run along my TS rip fence, and THEN face joint it…
> 
> ...


Whenever I do a project with a time target, I am late in finishing it. Good luck here…....at least it is a relatively simple project….........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Got the shop clean enough. Time to start on the wedding gift, and I have a week to go!*
> 
> This is dreadful. I have a TON of work to do to get this done. Walnut coaster set it is. I have the lumber selected, and edge jointed. No I did not face joint it first. I wanted a straight enough edge that I could run along my TS rip fence, and THEN face joint it…
> 
> ...


Which is why I picked it…

I got the milling / dimensioning done last night. Found my miter saw fence got askew and wasn't cutting square. Fixed that and made my run of cuts. Marked centers, and had to hang it up for the night. Re-measured some common cups, and my 2-3/8" is just a hair shy of some common cup bottom sizes which is a concern. (I measured a 32oz drink cup from MooYa Burger in Houston). No big deal. But it looks like I need to grab a 2.5" forstner bit which may be a bit of a problem. I don't have time to order one online, and I don't think my local Home Depot carries anything that big… Maybe Rockler would have one?


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Got the shop clean enough. Time to start on the wedding gift, and I have a week to go!*
> 
> This is dreadful. I have a TON of work to do to get this done. Walnut coaster set it is. I have the lumber selected, and edge jointed. No I did not face joint it first. I wanted a straight enough edge that I could run along my TS rip fence, and THEN face joint it…
> 
> ...


Doing some digging around, Rockler 2.5" forstner bit back ordered until June, Woodcraft Back ordered until late May, Home Depot doesn't carry them that big near me, Amazon Back Ordered / unavailable, Grizzly Back ordered unless I buy the $199.00 large sawtooth forstner bit set (more $$ than I wanted to spend, and too slow getting here)...

Looks like I may have to go with 2-3/8" anyway and hope they don't try using a larger cup…


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Got the shop clean enough. Time to start on the wedding gift, and I have a week to go!*
> 
> This is dreadful. I have a TON of work to do to get this done. Walnut coaster set it is. I have the lumber selected, and edge jointed. No I did not face joint it first. I wanted a straight enough edge that I could run along my TS rip fence, and THEN face joint it…
> 
> ...


Perhaps a circle jig/template thing-a-ma-jig for the router with a flat bottom bit would work. Although, it may be more trouble than it's worth. Just an idea.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Got the shop clean enough. Time to start on the wedding gift, and I have a week to go!*
> 
> This is dreadful. I have a TON of work to do to get this done. Walnut coaster set it is. I have the lumber selected, and edge jointed. No I did not face joint it first. I wanted a straight enough edge that I could run along my TS rip fence, and THEN face joint it…
> 
> ...


Ran it up to the last minute before noise regulations kick in… But I got the counterboring and routing the edge profile done. I've got sandpaper ready to load in the block, but that's for tomorrow. My tasks tomorrow are sanding, sanding, sanding sanding then oiling, and if time permits, the first coat of Urethane. I also need to run and get some sheet cork, and the compass…

The grain on this walnut I picked is looking really nice. I picked the most varied, complex grain and color patterns I could find in my stack of walnut for this project…

To be blunt. If they don't like these coasters, I can always bring them back to Texas with me!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Wedding coaster project scuttled per Groom's request...*

I haven't updated this so far, but my brother specifically requested after I was well on my way with the project. They newly wed couple had only one specific request…

Donations to the building fund for their Church…

I can do that…

But now I have all these little coasters cut up and ready to be finished…

Oh well.. It was a fun trip anyway!


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## BigTiny (Jun 29, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Wedding coaster project scuttled per Groom's request...*
> 
> I haven't updated this so far, but my brother specifically requested after I was well on my way with the project. They newly wed couple had only one specific request…
> 
> ...


Finish them, put them somewhere safe and give them as an anniversary gift.

Paul
the sentimental little guy


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*

Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.

I have been aging plenty of 2×4s and 2×8s in my shop that I should be able to knock together one of these if only I had the plans….

Well lo and behold Ebay to the rescue! The old plans were listed on Ebay for a song of a price, I was able to get it at the buy it now price of basically a current woodworking magazine. I can't complain there!

I know I need to make a couple of copies, not of the plans, but of the bench. I have 2 older brothers that would LOVE to have one of these in their homes…

The problem is shipping. One brother lives in Oklahoma. I can carry the bench to him in my truck, but the other, lives in Oregon… A bit of a drive, and I just don't get a month off at a time to deliver furniture to family…

Not sure how to get it to him…

Anyway, super excited about this fine, and chomping at the bit to start the build… I can't wait to show my Dad the finished product!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Hey sounds like you have something positive for your shop.


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## DonBroussard (Mar 27, 2012)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Congrats on finding just the right plan. Would it be practical to ship the milled and cut pieces as a flat kit, for assembly at the destination?


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Did a quick search of LJ's. HorizontalMike made a modified version:

Cobbler Bench

You should check out the shipping costs, it might not be as bad as you think. It would be cheaper than the gas to drive back and forth.

In any case, they look like neat pieces of furniture for a home with compatible décor.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...





> Did a quick search of LJ s. HorizontalMike made a modified version:
> 
> Cobbler Bench
> 
> ...


True, but then i don't get the excuse to go see family in the Pacific Northwest…

Mikes is somewhat similar but quite different too. The seat end on his is only cut out on one side, the compartment box on his is different. The one I want to make has a series of small drawers, and a recess that my Dad lined his with a copper box that mom planted flowers in….

FWIW, my whole point is to make it as close to the one my Dad made as possible. Sort of a tribute project…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Sounds enjoyable, even if you only make one. By making a replica, and having the plans, you eliminate a lot of decision making and guesswork. There is a certain inherent honesty and intangible value to a project such as that.

The only piece of furniture my Dad ever made was an oak bookcase, as far as I am aware. It went up in flames when my brother's house burnt down. It was basically arts and crafts, quarter sawn oak. As I recall, he made it in high school shops class, and that would be before 1920. I remember dragging it to college with me. No pictures of it exist, as far as I know, and my memory is a little fuzzy about it.

My brother's house/cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota burned from an electrical fire. Probably old bad wiring. Cabins can be built to lower standards, and tend to be DIY projects. He ran an electric heater a lot. Fortunately, no one was home and no one was hurt.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Yeah, it's odd. LOTS of my Dads projects are anything but my style. He tended toward a lot of colonial type pieces, very Norm Abram, and I lean much more mission / southwestern / rustic… But there always was, and still is something special about that cobblers bench that to this day intrigues me…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Well, here's hoping you get the shop, and you, up in working order and can crank out a cobbler's bench. I have been plagued with DIY projects here in La Conner, with yesterday spent cleaning up a shower stall of its old caulk. I did make a stool to sit on part way through the day, and that saved the project. Without that stool there was no way for me to work next to the floor for an extended period of time.

Well, off to finish the job….........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Well, I have some headway to report on both regards. My wife talked me into getting a Fitbit a little over a month ago, and I have been using it and the MyFitness pal application regularly since. In that time, I have been able to much more closely keep track and motivated on my workouts, and watching my diet closer. If anything I am eating substantially under my calorie goal each day, but I digress…

In the time I have been using this I am down 8lbs, and am sleeping better as it gives me visible data to help win the "stop cleaning the house and go to bed" conversations with my wife… Sleep has been an issue for us since we were dating.

The shop is coming along nicely. I have a couple of "State Park" signs to make for some RV crazy friends of mine and I can put that stuff up, and the Hardie panel stuff is getting out of the shop this weekend… LOTS of work to do, but I am getting there…

For the bench, I have decided I want to use kiln dried 2×10 stock, which I can source up in Houston no problem. I found modern equivalents to the 1960s furniture trim my Dad used, and have decided I am going to use Minwax Golden Pecan stain over the pine because…. Well because I like the look… I need to fine tune the resawing sled as I know there is a call for a LOT of 1/2" thick stock…

I am going to set up some SJCam's and put on a lavalier mic as I work the bench project for my Youtube channel, post the videos up as a series showing progress…. Hey if Steve In Marin and Stump Nubs can do it why not me right?


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


I got the shower stall recaulked…........and it looks a lot better.

Sounds like tech is helping get your weight under control. I wear a Withings band that I got for a gift a while back. I haven't been very serious about exercise yet in retirement, but at least I will have a baseline.

We had some kitchen cabinets with a color similar to the golden pecan, but not exact. Many of them are now in my shop here in La Conner. They were fairly attractive, but were casualties of the remodel, and I rescued some for the shop. We now have natural cherry cabinets. They seem to be darkening by the minute. It's an interesting process.

I have a bandsaw here in La Conner, but the riser kit hasn't been installed yet. I do have the resaw fence installed, however. I want to order the right blade for it before installation of the kit. I have a Woodslicer in Anchorage that works well, so I will get the same for here.

I'd like to see your project in process, so you have at least one guaranteed viewer….........(-:

Like I said before, this sounds like a fun project, with a special meaning to you, besides.

We go back to Anchorage on Monday…......and I would rather stay here, to be honest. We are just getting the place up and running well. But were are not prepared to be here for over a few weeks, so off we go again.

I sometimes get behind on email and LJ's as we approach travel time, so my replies may get delayed.

Later…......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Been swamped at work, and working on my vlogging. I am prepping about a dozen episodes getting ready to release them so I can have a steady stream of video to put out…

Been clearing out the middle bedroom getting it ready for paint and flooring, and I can move the network infrastructure and office / studio in there. But until then, all A.V. work has to take place out of my office / studio. Ugh…

I got clobbered by a power spike about a week and a half ago that took out the Energy Smart control for my water heater. NOBODY in Houston had it, I had to order from Sears Parts and they took their sweet time getting it to me. I got it installed last night. I found out that the breaker labelled water heater has nothing to do with the water heater, so I simplified the task and simply threw the main and worked by flashlight.

I need to trace back my circuits and correct the labelling in my main box… My electrician simply labelled breakers the way they were in the original panel, which isn't right…

Shop is getting cleaner, but my portable AC is acting like the bearing in the motor is going bad… Need to rip it apart and check / repair as necessary… The crazy 20" rims that the Malibu had when we bought it are loaded in the trunk and heading to my brother in laws shop this weekend. The Hardi Panel is getting pulled out and installed in the back of the house. As soon as my back can handle it. Long story, not getting a lot better, but it IS better, just not right… Chiropractor helps, but massage therapy helps more.

I am going to set up one of the GoPros in the shop and put on the mic and start doing some shooting in there once the shop isn't quite so dangerous… I have to reogranize my lumber racks though… I also need to find kiln dried dimensional lumber. I mean truly dried not the lip service that Lowes or Home Depot give us. I want non treated 2×10s to do the cobblers bench. Really need 1 16' kiln dried 2×10 in SYP.

I found the hardware for the project. Amerock makes a similar style to the original, the hing area on the newer version is beefier, should actually be an improvement. I remember the ones my dad used cracked at the hinge. He brazed them back together but that is something I would like to avoid…


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


I have an original saddlers bench that I bought when I was a teenager. It was an antique way back then, the 1960's. I cherish it. I'm sure that the loss of any sort of antique of this nature would not be a good day. However, it sounds like it will be a rewarding project and I hope that you will post the details in a blog.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *I just ordered a plan I have wanted to work my whole life....*
> 
> Growing up, in our house, we had a Cobbler's bench that my dad built from plans he got somewhere in the late 50s or early 60s. I was rather upset when the bench was damaged when my dad moved, and he discarded it. The construction was done using construction grade dimensional pine that he had aged in his basement shop.
> 
> ...


Sorry it is taking so long. Things (life) isn't presently cooperating with my plans… Will post up in a different thread about that…


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