# Ronin Woodworking



## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*TSDC The Sawdust Chronicles Desktop Organizer*

I have almost finished my TSDC beginner woodworker contest entry. This has been a lot of fun and a lot of work at the same time. The 30 day dead line sounds easy enough to meet yet I'm struggling to make it. I have pushed myself a bit with this project. I came up with an original design and then, with the help of a friend and my wife, I realized that I should burn that and come up with a second original design.

My second design is more well received by my panel of personal critics. 









I used some dowel pins to reinforce the joinery, which is new for me (to make sure there are no metal fasteners in the construction). Glue might have been enough since there is no real work being placed on the joints but they are end grain glue joints and I don't want to risk it. I also used my router to cut through and stop dado's (both never before attempted in my shop).

So,

Weekend one flies by and no wood gets cut.
Weekend two: um I'm out of town or something… I already forgot what happened. Again no wood cutting.
Weekend three… I get started. YEAH!


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## kosta (Mar 20, 2009)

spaids said:


> *TSDC The Sawdust Chronicles Desktop Organizer*
> 
> I have almost finished my TSDC beginner woodworker contest entry. This has been a lot of fun and a lot of work at the same time. The 30 day dead line sounds easy enough to meet yet I'm struggling to make it. I have pushed myself a bit with this project. I came up with an original design and then, with the help of a friend and my wife, I realized that I should burn that and come up with a second original design.
> 
> ...


I just finished my desk organizer hey you know shannon rodgers entered the contest as a beginner I was like damn dude. He has been woodworking for like 7 years I was like wow


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

spaids said:


> *TSDC The Sawdust Chronicles Desktop Organizer*
> 
> I have almost finished my TSDC beginner woodworker contest entry. This has been a lot of fun and a lot of work at the same time. The 30 day dead line sounds easy enough to meet yet I'm struggling to make it. I have pushed myself a bit with this project. I came up with an original design and then, with the help of a friend and my wife, I realized that I should burn that and come up with a second original design.
> 
> ...


Wow that does seem a little um… not beginner. I started right at 16 months ago. I know there has been a very steep learning curve so far. This stuff is much harder than Norm makes it look.


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## SplinteredBoard (Jul 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *TSDC The Sawdust Chronicles Desktop Organizer*
> 
> I have almost finished my TSDC beginner woodworker contest entry. This has been a lot of fun and a lot of work at the same time. The 30 day dead line sounds easy enough to meet yet I'm struggling to make it. I have pushed myself a bit with this project. I came up with an original design and then, with the help of a friend and my wife, I realized that I should burn that and come up with a second original design.
> 
> ...


Hey guys, You can listen to Waid talk about his experience (part of it anyway) on The Sawdust Chronicles


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

spaids said:


> *TSDC The Sawdust Chronicles Desktop Organizer*
> 
> I have almost finished my TSDC beginner woodworker contest entry. This has been a lot of fun and a lot of work at the same time. The 30 day dead line sounds easy enough to meet yet I'm struggling to make it. I have pushed myself a bit with this project. I came up with an original design and then, with the help of a friend and my wife, I realized that I should burn that and come up with a second original design.
> 
> ...


Looks like a good plan


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Start cutting wood*

Weekend three: (pause for dramatic effect….) Wood gets cut!

There up on the top shelf is an old walnut board a friend gave me. Its just been waiting around to be useful someday.








There is also some oak on there that had a project assigned to it when I bought it. I might use some of it for this. The drawer sides and back are going to be oak. You can see some hardwood floor scraps on the bottom right shelf. I might just make the drawer parts from that. Its a very shallow drawer (shallow in dimension that is, as far as its character I can't say as I haven't got to know it very well yet) so those scraps would work well. The only reason for not using them is that I really like how easy the hard wood floor scraps attach to my miter gauge as a sacrificial fence.

Here I am with my desktop organizer/ walnut board.








You're thinking, gees Waid thats a huge board. You can easily make your small project outta that. Well its only about 3/4" and not at all straight. Its cupped bowed twisted checked and has knots. But it looks awesome in this picture doesn't it.

Now I'm off to the table saw. I put this on my cross cut sled to get some more manageable pieces. Then I rip it down to get rid of a pretty rough edge. Like I said there are checks throughout and I am just pulling out the usable pieces. After ripping a piece about 5 inches wide I have something that fits on my jointer no problem. After jointing and planing (power tools) I put three biscuits in a couple pieces for the first of three "panels".








While that sets up I get to work on the four corners of the project.








Thats it for weekend three. I think I'm about 6 hours into this now not including any design time. Doesn't seem like much for 6 hours.








I didn't get any shots of the panel after glue up. D'oh It did have a glue line that needed a little smoothing. I went at that with a card scraper that made QUICK work of it. I used this opportunity to try Todd A. Clippinger's card sharpening method. It was fast and easy although the finish was not nearly as fine as when I use stones and roll an edge. BUT if you are a guy who is gonna finish up with 220 on an ROS anyway then Todd's method is THE way to go.

Weekend four: it will start to look like something.

Later 
Spaids


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## SplinteredBoard (Jul 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Start cutting wood*
> 
> Weekend three: (pause for dramatic effect….) Wood gets cut!
> 
> ...


Great work Waid!
Can't wait to see the final pics. Good luck this weekend!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Start cutting wood*
> 
> Weekend three: (pause for dramatic effect….) Wood gets cut!
> 
> ...


More at eleven? good start


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## mcoyfrog (Jul 23, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Start cutting wood*
> 
> Weekend three: (pause for dramatic effect….) Wood gets cut!
> 
> ...


Yup i agree good start


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Start cutting wood*
> 
> Weekend three: (pause for dramatic effect….) Wood gets cut!
> 
> ...


I'm enjoying this. Seeing someone who knows what they are doing, is fun, prticularly with walnut, which I brutalize often. Also, you are right. If that isn't top quality lumber in the photo, you had me fooled, but at the same time I think walnut is notorious for knots and warp until it reaches euilibrium. Either that or I bought low grade lumber. Maybe both.

Off topic, but how well has the lumber rack worked? It looks good but I'm curious about the weight it can hold. I'm thinking I might have wasted $ on my triton rack.

I'm looking forward to more in the future!


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Start cutting wood*
> 
> Weekend three: (pause for dramatic effect….) Wood gets cut!
> 
> ...


Hey guys thanks for the kind words. Hockie being referred to as "Seeing someone who knows what they are doing" is a terrific honor for me. I have NO idea what I'm doing and having you indicate that I seemed to have been able to trick you into thinking that I'm not Forest Gumping my way though this makes me feel pretty good.

Now as far as the lumber rack goes I really don't know its limit. SCARY but it feels so solid that I haven't worried about it. It made from a single sheet of 3/4 ply. I posted it in my project page and there is a link to the plans there and now here. Its actually 10 plans of some pretty cool projects for your shop. All made from ply. I couldn't find any kind of weight limit indications in the plans. I'm betting it would run out of room before it ran out of holding power. Actually since my wife's care is parked under it, I'm betting life that this rack will hold.

Edit:
A quick note. The plans call for 15 dowels. That is an error. You only need 6.


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Weekend four.... its lives.*

Ok I got some parts made. Time to start building this thing. I am going to attach the sides by putting the three panels in dadoes and gluing em. Well two rabbets and a dado but whos counting? My problem is on the two front sides I need to make stop dadoes. I've never done that before. What do you mean I can't cut this on my table saw? I cut everything on my table saw. Well not stop dados tough guy your gonna have to learn this on the router. OK fine but that means I need a router fence. BAH! Well I'm cheesy and so is my router fence.








Router fence Check! I grabbed a big forstner bit and cut some holes at an, almost, random location and stuck a couple C clamps in there. My router "table" is really just a hole cut out of my assemble/work/outfeed table. That whole thing is just two sheets of ply slapped together so who cares about a couples holes?! I need to get this done! Thats my Triton 2 1/4 horse router in the table. Its a freakin awesome table router. It comes with that handle that you see laying on the bottom right corner of the pic there and does above the table height and bit changes.

So how do I make a stopped dado? I decided to make some pencil marks on the "fence" that would indicate where to stop. The position is based on the thickness of the drawer face because I want it to sit flush inside the case. If I measure it will be wrong so I just use the drawer face itself. 








If I feed the piece from right to left and stop when the back edge hits that line then it SHOULD be perfect. Right?

Well here they are. Two pieces have the rabbets and the through dados and the other two have the rabbets and the stop dadoes. I squared them up with my chisels and they look ok. OK anybody see a problem with this picture?








Those stop dadoes are both right sides! I need a right and a left. I had to make two passes on the router table to get the dadoes wide enough for the board. So no matter how careful I tried to be the dados are not in the center of the pieces. That means we have left and right pieces. D'oh! Luckily there was enough scrap to make another one.

So here it is unglued just being set up for a once over to see where I'm at.








OK this is a simple beginner project but at this point I'm pretty stoked. I designed something and it actually appears to be turning out ok. Now if you think the design sucks thats fine but you have to admit that it looks like the picture doesn't it?

I think thats as far as I got on weekend 4. Weekend 5 is coming up and that is not going to be enough time so I'm going to have to work on this during the week. My wife and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on the 27th of this month and my gift was… you guessed it. Shop time. Next blog

Mid week: holes. lots of holes.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Weekend four.... its lives.*
> 
> Ok I got some parts made. Time to start building this thing. I am going to attach the sides by putting the three panels in dadoes and gluing em. Well two rabbets and a dado but whos counting? My problem is on the two front sides I need to make stop dadoes. I've never done that before. What do you mean I can't cut this on my table saw? I cut everything on my table saw. Well not stop dados tough guy your gonna have to learn this on the router. OK fine but that means I need a router fence. BAH! Well I'm cheesy and so is my router fence.
> 
> ...


Good progress keep up the good work


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## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Weekend four.... its lives.*
> 
> Ok I got some parts made. Time to start building this thing. I am going to attach the sides by putting the three panels in dadoes and gluing em. Well two rabbets and a dado but whos counting? My problem is on the two front sides I need to make stop dadoes. I've never done that before. What do you mean I can't cut this on my table saw? I cut everything on my table saw. Well not stop dados tough guy your gonna have to learn this on the router. OK fine but that means I need a router fence. BAH! Well I'm cheesy and so is my router fence.
> 
> ...


Hey..happy anniversary. You're right, it looks just like the picture. No one can complain about that


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Holey blog post!*

I know that I do not yet have the skill to place these holes with the necessary precision to have the 14 or so dowels line up between two pieces. I can however do this well enough once so that any small discrepancies in the layout will be virtually undetectable to the average human. With that in mind I made a template.










But like I said, I'm not that good yet so first I made a template to help me make a template. The narrow piece is a hole guide. Those two holes are 1/4" from the edge and the designed distance apart. (I honestly don't remember right now how far apart they are) I would slip a tight fitting dowel in the first hole and through into a hole in the piece below it. Then with the drill press off I would lower the forstner bit and line everything up. I hold everything in place with my left hand, raise the bit/turn on the drill/cut the hole with my right hand. This took a long time. Once I had a full row drilled, I used the template (the big one) to cut a full row in my guide (the little one). Then all I had to do was line it up once and double stick tape it in place fro drilling out a full row of holes. That was much faster.

The final template could be carpet taped to let me drill the whole field with a single alignment.










The top isn't glued in at this point so I can take just the thin piece to the drill press.
Here is the top right after drilling.


















To do the mating holes i just flipped the template over when I drilling the holes out. Now I can glue this bottom half together and worry about the 1/4" reinforcement dowels. I needed to drill 1/4" holes and plan on doing this with me drill press and a forstner. To my horror I discover the limits of my drill press! I couldn't fit the cabinet on its side in the drill press and would have to drill the 16 1/4" dowel holes by hand.








I made another small template for lining the holes up and clamped it to the leg while I drilled it. I also held a square in place to give me a little reference to help me drill straight. You can see that there is not much room for error here.








The holes are a half inch deep. That puts them a quarter inch into the thin panel. I was very nervous about blowing out the top or bottom of the panel. After every hole I would pace around a little while.

With the cabinet finished I tried to fit the first dowel and it was too tight for the hole. I turned to the lumberjocks forum and received a lot of good advice. It turned out that my dowels were not round and I ended up with my own solution for fitting them.








My Hitachi belt sander almost seems to be made for this use. The back of the belt sander works as a fence and the speed control is right there at the top of the sander. (the top of the sander in this pic but its mounted upside down). I also had trouble getting the back piece to slide down over the dowels so I fixed this with a tip I heard in one of the sawdust chronicles podcasts.








I tore off a strip of sandpaper and sprayed 3M spray glue on the back of it. Then I sprayed it on some scrap 1/4" dowel and chucked it in my drill press.

Finally I get to put the top on.








After a few minutes of feeling stupid I discovered that its much better to squeeze the dowels in rather than trying to tap them in. Hammering one would want to help an adjacent dowel get lose. And then after getting them in the bottom they couldn't be lined up with the top and tapped in. Putting some light pressure with the clamps and squeezing the dowels in was pretty easy. (once I figured it out) 
Midweek END

Weekend 5: The clock is ticking and I have to make a drawer. Just 10 minutes or work to go right? CHA HAA! NOT!


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Holey blog post!*
> 
> I know that I do not yet have the skill to place these holes with the necessary precision to have the 14 or so dowels line up between two pieces. I can however do this well enough once so that any small discrepancies in the layout will be virtually undetectable to the average human. With that in mind I made a template.
> 
> ...


Looks like you had a much more successful weekend of work that I did. Pretty cool.

the drawers should be fun. I've never built one, but have a project lined up and am looking forward to trying it.


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Finishing my TSDC contest project (the drawer)*

All thats left now is making a drawer. I have some oak on my rack but I also have some oak flooring that is plenty big enough for the small drawer.










That finish is very hard. Its "special" and you should resaw this stuff off before using it. Don't run it through your jointer or planer. After I slice the finish off with my bandsaw, milling this stuff was very easy. I cut them a hair long and to the correct width.










These pieces are 1/4" thick. I'm going to join the drawer corners with a 1/4" box joint. I prefer using stock that is thin where appropriate. Thicker stock is easier to generate and work with but I always feel it looks too bulky when the material is thicker than necessary. Plus I don't want the drawer to feel any heavier than it has to. I decided to use a box joint in the last day before I began work on the drawer. I've tried a box joint once before so I had the jig I made for those already. I'm new to woodworking so any joinery method is going to be a challenge and a learning experience. In the end I went with the box joint because it would be visible when the drawer is open. I have posted EVERYTHING I have ever done on lumberlocks, jigs included. This is my box joint jig.










I put some blue tape on the pieces to help with chip out. After every cut I stopped and used a scary sharp chisel to slice off the small fibers that were left by the cut. The tape would have a small flap with long connected wood fibers stuck to it. With out the tape these fibers could have been chipped/torn out during the cut. The dead blow on my table saw is there to adjust how tight the box joint is. You need to test the joint and then tap the jig left or right to get a perfect fit. I tried box joints in mulberry before. This time its oak. I don't know if its the wood or that I have learned a couple things since my last attempt but these are my best joints to date.










By raising the dado stack I cut the fingers of the box joint a touch long. I did this so I could sand down the end grain after glue up for a glass smooth joint. And here is a test fit of the drawer before working on the drawer face.










By this time it is getting late and its the last day to finish this on time. That means no more screwing around with the camera! There was a small snag on the back corner of the drawer as I closed it. I didn't want there to be any drawer guides on the side because you would see it. I realized that it needed something to let is shut smoothly so I ripped a narrow strip of oak and glued it in the center of the drawer box. Before attaching the drawer face I nibbled a small notch in the front and back of the drawer to ride on the oak strip. Now the drawer runs smooth and straight. I used business cards as spacers for the drawer face to get an even reveal all around the opening and carpet taped it temporarily. While it was taped on I drilled the hole for the knob. I removed the tape and glued the drawer face on now having the knob screw as an alignment pin. I tightened the knob on and put a clamp on either side of the face and let it dry.

All that was left was lots of sanding. More sanding than necessary but it doesn't hurt. I used tongue oil to finish it. I cut the first coat with some mineral spirits and the wood really drinks it up. Tongue oil is a fool proof finish. You can't put too much on and all you have to do is soak it. Wipe up all the excess and your done.










A detailed sketchup of this project is posted in the 3D warehouse as well as a couple other sketchups I've done.
Thanks for following my build blog. 
Spaids


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## SplinteredBoard (Jul 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Finishing my TSDC contest project (the drawer)*
> 
> All thats left now is making a drawer. I have some oak on my rack but I also have some oak flooring that is plenty big enough for the small drawer.
> 
> ...


In true Fan fashion, you're showing your Cardinals colors along with your box joint success. Good form!


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## fito (Jan 13, 2009)

spaids said:


> *Finishing my TSDC contest project (the drawer)*
> 
> All thats left now is making a drawer. I have some oak on my rack but I also have some oak flooring that is plenty big enough for the small drawer.
> 
> ...


great work, i liked. very very nice.


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*

Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.

Thanks again Sawdust Chronicles!

Spaids

PS
Congratulations to all the contestants who were able to complete their contest piece! I probably had some of the least distractions and personal time challenges of any of the contestants and I still had a tough time finishing this in 30 days. Way to go guys. If you didn't finish on time but you did get started, please keep us posted on your progress and share it with us here on lumberjocks. Oh an if you don't mind, send me a message that you were entered in the contest and I will add you to my lumberjocks buddy list so I can keep up with you and your projects.


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## Cory (Jan 14, 2009)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


Congrats, Spaids.

You had a cool design and are a deserving winner.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!


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## alaskan79 (Mar 21, 2009)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


Way to go Congrats.

Henry


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## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


Super!


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


I went to the site, typed in the password and took a look at all of them. Many were very unique. I can see why you took the prize even among all the great competition. Way to go!!


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


nice work. i really enjoyed following your blog and was happy to see that your efforts paid off with a nice piece and a win as well!


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


Hey thanks fellas. Lumberjocks are always very gracious and generous people and it never gets old. Thanks for the kind words.


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## SplinteredBoard (Jul 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


Waid,
It really was a difficult judging process. You did great, as did many of the other contestants. Congratulations, and I hope to see you come back for the second contest (the Fall 60-Day Challenge) in September.

-Rick


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles 30 Day Build Contest Winners!*
> 
> Hey guys I won! I won the grand prize which was 1st dibs on the four available prizes. I chose the block plane. Technically the block plane was the least expensive of the prizes BUT it will be sharpened and tuned by
> Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk. As a rookie, having a plane that I KNOW is finely tuned to perform to its highest ability will be invaluable. I will now have a bench mark to gauge all my future hand tool sharpening and tuning. Thanks to Rick Waters, Eric Pearson, Neil Lamens and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk for putting on a great contest. The results are up at The Sawdust Chronicles. as well as pics of all the entries. After viewing the other entries I am very surprised and honored to have won. There were several projects entered that I personally feel are much better than mine. It will be interesting to hear how the judges critiqued these when the final contest video podcast is posted.
> ...


congrats


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*The Sawdust Chronicles Build Challenge 2010*

I entered a project in Ricks contest which was fun and personally challenging. I am going to take a shot at Ricks third contest ending this October. The entry deadline has not yet passed so anyone interested should check it out.

I have a project idea that has been on my mind for a long time and with so little shop time I decided that this will be my 2010 build challenge entry. This is not the final sketchup that I'm going to build but it is very close. You can't see very well in this drawing that I plan to do a "cloud lift" top. If the weather has cooled off in St. Louis I hope to start next weekend.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

spaids said:


> *The Sawdust Chronicles Build Challenge 2010*
> 
> I entered a project in Ricks contest which was fun and personally challenging. I am going to take a shot at Ricks third contest ending this October. The entry deadline has not yet passed so anyone interested should check it out.
> 
> I have a project idea that has been on my mind for a long time and with so little shop time I decided that this will be my 2010 build challenge entry. This is not the final sketchup that I'm going to build but it is very close. You can't see very well in this drawing that I plan to do a "cloud lift" top. If the weather has cooled off in St. Louis I hope to start next weekend.


looks pretty sweet!


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*TSDC 2010 Build Challenge Cont..*

Here you can see what I'm thinking as I experiment with design and dimensions. I think the thin versions are too thin but also the thick versions are MUCH to thick. I didn't see just how too thick they were until they were next to versions that were to thin. I am also on the fence about how I'm gong to mount the top. I have decided that I will use figure eight clips and screw the top to the base. I'm leaning toward the version where the top supports are crossing in the center. It seems to accentuate the "cloud lift" a little bit.










Love it? Hate it? Let me here it. I can take it.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

spaids said:


> *TSDC 2010 Build Challenge Cont..*
> 
> Here you can see what I'm thinking as I experiment with design and dimensions. I think the thin versions are too thin but also the thick versions are MUCH to thick. I didn't see just how too thick they were until they were next to versions that were to thin. I am also on the fence about how I'm gong to mount the top. I have decided that I will use figure eight clips and screw the top to the base. I'm leaning toward the version where the top supports are crossing in the center. It seems to accentuate the "cloud lift" a little bit.
> 
> ...


I think it's about the proportion between the inner rails and the legs - the thinner rails look more fitting to this design type, but the legs seem too wide for that - I would try the thinner design, with slightly thinner legs to match.


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

spaids said:


> *TSDC 2010 Build Challenge Cont..*
> 
> Here you can see what I'm thinking as I experiment with design and dimensions. I think the thin versions are too thin but also the thick versions are MUCH to thick. I didn't see just how too thick they were until they were next to versions that were to thin. I am also on the fence about how I'm gong to mount the top. I have decided that I will use figure eight clips and screw the top to the base. I'm leaning toward the version where the top supports are crossing in the center. It seems to accentuate the "cloud lift" a little bit.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much. I'll work on that.


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## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

spaids said:


> *TSDC 2010 Build Challenge Cont..*
> 
> Here you can see what I'm thinking as I experiment with design and dimensions. I think the thin versions are too thin but also the thick versions are MUCH to thick. I didn't see just how too thick they were until they were next to versions that were to thin. I am also on the fence about how I'm gong to mount the top. I have decided that I will use figure eight clips and screw the top to the base. I'm leaning toward the version where the top supports are crossing in the center. It seems to accentuate the "cloud lift" a little bit.
> 
> ...


I prefer the thin type, so top row. The thin top rail also looks better, so 2 or 4. The cross rail version does give more lift. Only thing to look out for is this will also allow flex (rotationally) in the top. Had this problem on a chair I designed a few years ago. Disastrous for the chair may not be so pronounced for your table as the lower rails should be reasonably stable.

Overall I like the design and I'd like to see 4. in reality.


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## dfdye (Jan 31, 2010)

spaids said:


> *TSDC 2010 Build Challenge Cont..*
> 
> Here you can see what I'm thinking as I experiment with design and dimensions. I think the thin versions are too thin but also the thick versions are MUCH to thick. I didn't see just how too thick they were until they were next to versions that were to thin. I am also on the fence about how I'm gong to mount the top. I have decided that I will use figure eight clips and screw the top to the base. I'm leaning toward the version where the top supports are crossing in the center. It seems to accentuate the "cloud lift" a little bit.
> 
> ...


Personally this isn't really my style, so take all of my suggestions with a grain of salt, but I did notice two things that made me like certain ones more than others:

1) The proportions of the apron and "frame" should match, so the top right and bottom left seemed more proportional to me. I personally liked the top right proportions better than any of the others. though I would try the frame a little higher up to see what that looked like as well.

2) One thing I would consider would be changing from the 90 degree legs and splay them slightly. To me, this feels like it would be more appropriate-can't say why. Another option could be a slight bowing out the legs below the frame. If you raise the frame slightly, this would make the bottom "feel" slightly wider, giving the piece a little more balance to my eyes. If you do either of these, though, I would probably set the legs a little closer together to keep the same top:base proportions.

Also, from personal experience, I would recommend having end grain on the sides rather than front to back. It looks much better that way, IMHO.

It certainly looks like you have a solid design coming along. Hope it comes together!


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Still working out the design*

I am having my doubts about building this in the 30 days that I will have available. 30 days works out to be more like 16 to 20 hours. I am still working on the design (I am not counting design time) and I am adding curves and little details that are gong to mean templates and more time. The Greene and Greene updates should be obvious.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

spaids said:


> *Still working out the design*
> 
> I am having my doubts about building this in the 30 days that I will have available. 30 days works out to be more like 16 to 20 hours. I am still working on the design (I am not counting design time) and I am adding curves and little details that are gong to mean templates and more time. The Greene and Greene updates should be obvious.


Looking good! But you may have to work like the devil is on your tail alright!


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## pmf2000 (Nov 2, 2007)

spaids said:


> *Still working out the design*
> 
> I am having my doubts about building this in the 30 days that I will have available. 30 days works out to be more like 16 to 20 hours. I am still working on the design (I am not counting design time) and I am adding curves and little details that are gong to mean templates and more time. The Greene and Greene updates should be obvious.


Looks to a great design. Can' t wait to the finished piece.


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Hey I got started *

I didn't think I'd be able to get started until October but I was able to put in about 3 hours today.

I printed some full size patterns of the parts that have curves from my sketchup design.









Then I spray glued the patterns on some half inch mdf and cut those out so I would have templates and be able to make exact duplicates.










You can see that I also got 5 leg blanks milled. Your thinking, dude 5 legs for a 4 legged table? Well I thought that it would be easier to mill up the extra leg now rather than later. So when I screw up a leg so bad that it ends up in the burn pile, I have another blank waiting and ready and the dimensions will be a perfect match.


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

spaids said:


> *Hey I got started *
> 
> I didn't think I'd be able to get started until October but I was able to put in about 3 hours today.
> 
> ...


I always make 5 legs. It's too much work to have to resetup tools to make a single leg if I screw one up. And if it's a complicated enough piece I'll often make another one out of something cheap like poplar and use that for test cuts.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

spaids said:


> *Hey I got started *
> 
> I didn't think I'd be able to get started until October but I was able to put in about 3 hours today.
> 
> ...


Hmmm! great idea, never thought of it.
I need to go back to the shop and make one more leg glue up.

Thanks for posting.


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Hey I got started *
> 
> I didn't think I'd be able to get started until October but I was able to put in about 3 hours today.
> 
> ...


Nice start.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Hey I got started *
> 
> I didn't think I'd be able to get started until October but I was able to put in about 3 hours today.
> 
> ...


looking good spaids! great idea for a fifth wheel (um leg that is).

also liked Don's idea of a fifth leg made of scrap lumber for test cuts… I'll have to remember those when the time comes


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*WHY? Why must I SUCK at this?*

ARRRGGG! Well I have come to the conclusion with the help of advice from the proprietors of the contest (The Sawdust Chronicles Build Challenge 2010) that my design requires a laminated top. I knew that movement would be a problem but I hoped there was a trick I was unfamiliar with. There is no trick. If I want a "framed" top on my little table I either leave room for movement and accept that or I laminate. And let the sucking begin. Uh… that sounded odd. Anyway. First I need to resaw my stock for laminating. If I'm gonna laminate then I am at least going to make my own from the same stock that the rest of the build is coming from. Wow resawing is not so easy. to get the right size pieces I need to make an 8 inch deep slice. I screwed this up. A LOT. I finally get the pieces I need and run them through my drum sander until they no longer look like ruffles potato chips. My finish pieces are thin. Real thin. I think hey they almost looks like the real thing. Well I found out that I can not glue pieces that thin because I don't have a vacuum press. I tried to glue it but it was a total waste. The top had waves like the ocean. Its an unrepairable disaster bound for the burn pile. I attempted to clamp a piece of MDF to act as a big caul and there was just not enough pressure.

I have milled more material for laminating. All the extra lumber I had is quickly getting used up. These are a little thicker. I hope that does the trick. I really have no ideas how to do a better glue up of this without a vacuum press.

Wish me luck


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## JimF (May 20, 2009)

spaids said:


> *WHY? Why must I SUCK at this?*
> 
> ARRRGGG! Well I have come to the conclusion with the help of advice from the proprietors of the contest (The Sawdust Chronicles Build Challenge 2010) that my design requires a laminated top. I knew that movement would be a problem but I hoped there was a trick I was unfamiliar with. There is no trick. If I want a "framed" top on my little table I either leave room for movement and accept that or I laminate. And let the sucking begin. Uh… that sounded odd. Anyway. First I need to resaw my stock for laminating. If I'm gonna laminate then I am at least going to make my own from the same stock that the rest of the build is coming from. Wow resawing is not so easy. to get the right size pieces I need to make an 8 inch deep slice. I screwed this up. A LOT. I finally get the pieces I need and run them through my drum sander until they no longer look like ruffles potato chips. My finish pieces are thin. Real thin. I think hey they almost looks like the real thing. Well I found out that I can not glue pieces that thin because I don't have a vacuum press. I tried to glue it but it was a total waste. The top had waves like the ocean. Its an unrepairable disaster bound for the burn pile. I attempted to clamp a piece of MDF to act as a big caul and there was just not enough pressure.
> 
> ...


Good luck!


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

spaids said:


> *WHY? Why must I SUCK at this?*
> 
> ARRRGGG! Well I have come to the conclusion with the help of advice from the proprietors of the contest (The Sawdust Chronicles Build Challenge 2010) that my design requires a laminated top. I knew that movement would be a problem but I hoped there was a trick I was unfamiliar with. There is no trick. If I want a "framed" top on my little table I either leave room for movement and accept that or I laminate. And let the sucking begin. Uh… that sounded odd. Anyway. First I need to resaw my stock for laminating. If I'm gonna laminate then I am at least going to make my own from the same stock that the rest of the build is coming from. Wow resawing is not so easy. to get the right size pieces I need to make an 8 inch deep slice. I screwed this up. A LOT. I finally get the pieces I need and run them through my drum sander until they no longer look like ruffles potato chips. My finish pieces are thin. Real thin. I think hey they almost looks like the real thing. Well I found out that I can not glue pieces that thin because I don't have a vacuum press. I tried to glue it but it was a total waste. The top had waves like the ocean. Its an unrepairable disaster bound for the burn pile. I attempted to clamp a piece of MDF to act as a big caul and there was just not enough pressure.
> 
> ...


Yeah good luck with it all. You will have to strick this up as a learning experience. Way to stick it out though.


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## BigTiny (Jun 29, 2010)

spaids said:


> *WHY? Why must I SUCK at this?*
> 
> ARRRGGG! Well I have come to the conclusion with the help of advice from the proprietors of the contest (The Sawdust Chronicles Build Challenge 2010) that my design requires a laminated top. I knew that movement would be a problem but I hoped there was a trick I was unfamiliar with. There is no trick. If I want a "framed" top on my little table I either leave room for movement and accept that or I laminate. And let the sucking begin. Uh… that sounded odd. Anyway. First I need to resaw my stock for laminating. If I'm gonna laminate then I am at least going to make my own from the same stock that the rest of the build is coming from. Wow resawing is not so easy. to get the right size pieces I need to make an 8 inch deep slice. I screwed this up. A LOT. I finally get the pieces I need and run them through my drum sander until they no longer look like ruffles potato chips. My finish pieces are thin. Real thin. I think hey they almost looks like the real thing. Well I found out that I can not glue pieces that thin because I don't have a vacuum press. I tried to glue it but it was a total waste. The top had waves like the ocean. Its an unrepairable disaster bound for the burn pile. I attempted to clamp a piece of MDF to act as a big caul and there was just not enough pressure.
> 
> ...


Hi guy.

Okay, first double up the MDF, then use some pressure beams, about 2×4 hardwood, with a* slight* curve cut on the side that will contact the MDF. A very slight curve mind you, about 1/8 inch to the foot, so that the middle contacts the MDF first, then clamp the ends down tight. That should give you a fairly strong, even pressure across the piece. Use a *lot* of these pressure beams, about 4 inches between them maximum.

Good luck with the build. You're further ahead than me so far, but gimme time…


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Laminate the top. take 2*

What you can't see in this pic of the first one is that it waves like the ocean.










The only stock I have left is too narrow to make the pieces I need so I had to buy more wood or come up with something. I decided I could go with 8 triangle pieces instead of 4 square pieces and still use the stock I had. Although I cut the triangle as close as I could before I resawed it, I still needed to make a 45 degree shooting board to get the edges nice and tight. I just cut the end off of the failed attempt and flipped it over.










Here is the second attempt with my fancy blues clamps all over it. I'll run this through my killer drum sander after its glued down.










And finally my home made veneer press.










You're looking at MDF, glue, wood, some wax paper, 3 sand bags, and two cases of water.

Lets see if this works.


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Laminate the top. take 2*
> 
> What you can't see in this pic of the first one is that it waves like the ocean.
> 
> ...


thats one way to clamp up a veneer without a press. lol.


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## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

spaids said:


> *Laminate the top. take 2*
> 
> What you can't see in this pic of the first one is that it waves like the ocean.
> 
> ...


Liking the bag/bottle press. Vacuum press my a**. They're good for complex shapes, like curves, but as I'm sure you have proven not necessary for flat jobs.

A friend of mine once had a dining table top to veneer so he set it up on the drive with a couple of 1" ply sheets on it and parked his car over the top. Necessity is the mother of invention.


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

*Progress and continued frustration TSDC Build Challenge is challenging*

I got some progress on my little table for The Sawdust Chronicles 2010 Build Challenge. It seems with every step I take I feel the frustration of compromise. This is not going to be perfect. Thats always the goal and I have yet to make anything were every cut was perfect. I wonder if I should be focusing on improving my skills or figuring out ways to circumvent my lack of skill with ingenuity? But if I found a way around my lack of skill problem would that just mean that my "skill" was inventing ways around being skill less? Well either way I have some, far from prefect, pieces of my table started on their way.
Here is a quick reminder of where I'm headed.



















I have the top lamination glued to some mdf and the frame glues together.










I also made a tenon jig and made the uh um… I don't know its a cross piece. This table doesn't have an apron so its in lieu of that.



















Yes thats a band-aid on my thumb. I got this whacky idea to hone my card scrapper on my Worksharp 3000 and then roll the edge on it. Turns out you can get a razor sharp burr on a card scrapper. Don't ask how I cut my thumb open with a card scrapper.


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## REK (Aug 30, 2009)

spaids said:


> *Progress and continued frustration TSDC Build Challenge is challenging*
> 
> I got some progress on my little table for The Sawdust Chronicles 2010 Build Challenge. It seems with every step I take I feel the frustration of compromise. This is not going to be perfect. Thats always the goal and I have yet to make anything were every cut was perfect. I wonder if I should be focusing on improving my skills or figuring out ways to circumvent my lack of skill with ingenuity? But if I found a way around my lack of skill problem would that just mean that my "skill" was inventing ways around being skill less? Well either way I have some, far from prefect, pieces of my table started on their way.
> Here is a quick reminder of where I'm headed.
> ...


looks like a good start to your project.

As for skills, all of us I think improvise and adapt

to overcome obstacles to make our projects work out.

As long as your growing your work is improving.


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Progress and continued frustration TSDC Build Challenge is challenging*
> 
> I got some progress on my little table for The Sawdust Chronicles 2010 Build Challenge. It seems with every step I take I feel the frustration of compromise. This is not going to be perfect. Thats always the goal and I have yet to make anything were every cut was perfect. I wonder if I should be focusing on improving my skills or figuring out ways to circumvent my lack of skill with ingenuity? But if I found a way around my lack of skill problem would that just mean that my "skill" was inventing ways around being skill less? Well either way I have some, far from prefect, pieces of my table started on their way.
> Here is a quick reminder of where I'm headed.
> ...


JorgeG, Thanks for the critique but I'm afraid I don't understand your suggestion. Can you point me to an example?


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

spaids said:


> *Progress and continued frustration TSDC Build Challenge is challenging*
> 
> I got some progress on my little table for The Sawdust Chronicles 2010 Build Challenge. It seems with every step I take I feel the frustration of compromise. This is not going to be perfect. Thats always the goal and I have yet to make anything were every cut was perfect. I wonder if I should be focusing on improving my skills or figuring out ways to circumvent my lack of skill with ingenuity? But if I found a way around my lack of skill problem would that just mean that my "skill" was inventing ways around being skill less? Well either way I have some, far from prefect, pieces of my table started on their way.
> Here is a quick reminder of where I'm headed.
> ...


oh I see. Thanks. If I ever make another one I will experiment with that in sketchup.


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