# Building a brace till



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Planning and cutting*

I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.

So the first step was to get out the graph paper and sketch out what I think I'll need. I figure I'll eventually have braces of 6-14 inch sweeps, probably doubling up on 8 and 10 since they're more common. So I sketched a till that could hold those plus a couple eggbeater drills.










This is a first for me. Most of the time I just start building and then realize afterwards that I've underbuilt, so it feels kinda weird making a plan, but I think I'll survive. Also, the Bad Axe magnet is handy for holding my plan to the whiteboard so I don't lose it in a pile of sawdust.

Given that, I decided I'd use pine I have on hand for building my bookcases. I've got a lot of S4S 1×8s, so I started with those. That should give me enough depth that I can put doors on the till and still get a 14 in there. Plus it means my existing boxes of bits can fit in the cubbyholes at the bottom.

I started by cutting boards to length. All of my lumber on hand is cut to 4 foot lengths, so it worked out pretty well. The 38 inch long pieces had an offcut that gave me two pieces that were not quite 5 inches long, so I was efficient in my lumber use.

I've also got a new ECE dovetail plane so I've decided I'll put the shelves into the case with sliding dovetails and put the uprights between shelves with sliding dovetails as well.



















I put the dovetails on the ends if the boards and called it a day. Tomorrow I'll start joinery on the carcass, and hopefully get the dovetails cut in the four exterior joints and maybe get started on the sliding dovetails for the shelves. We'll see how it goes!


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Oooh this should be good. I've got a bunch that could use a home too


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Mos! I forgot to mention, the dovetail plane is pretty slick. Took me a while to get the fence set right for a half-inch deep sliding dovetail, but once I did, I spent more time grabbing a new board and whacking the holdfasts than I did planing. There's a little spelching on the pine, but I lightened up the cut a little, and that took care of the worst of it.

We'll see how cutting the dados goes tomorrow. Or the next day. Still haven't found my 1:4 dovetail marker, so I might end up just eyeballing the dovetails on the outside corners. Or I might try to cut mitered dovetail corners like I want to do on my bookcases.


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## balidoug (Aug 13, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Looking forward to watching this develop. lookin' good, Dave


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Doug. I think I'm going to stick pretty closely to the plan. The big question remaining is whether I'm going to build drawers for the cubbyholes or just stick boxes of bits into them.


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## Dave10 (May 29, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


I should really get a secoind brace. I took mine to work and use it there more than I ever did at home.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


I find them very handy, Dave, so I think you should, too.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Dave, your right about doubling the 8 & 10.

I just bought the Ulmia dovetail plane so I'm glad to hear your comment on using them.

Looking forward to this project, my braces and accessories fill a drawer in my chest!


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Kevin. The plane was usable out of the box, but I really ought to have spent some time sharpening before using it on pine. But at this point, I'm done using it except as a guide while sawing the sockets.

I currently don't have a drawer for the braces, so they're hanging on the wall or (more often) laying on my bench in the way of something else, so I'll be happy once this is built and hanging on a cleat on the wall.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Hey Dave, so far - so good.
Like you here, I too use graph paper for any drafting I might need. I don't know AutoCAD and don't want to take the time to learn it, and I feel a full fledged paper & pencil drafted drawing is not necessary for my accomplishing my task in constructing a project. My graph drawings are not always to scale, ( once in a while I'll do a full scale sketch of a detail section - for more accurate measurements), and these drawings are simply used to show known dimensions and use math to calculate unknowns.

In case you need it, I've found a very handy app called Geometry Pad that is easy to use and can be helpful. I mentioned it in my posting of my headboard project should you want to see it: https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/188122

Well, have a nice day, stay safe ….


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip, Tom. I've downloaded it, though I'm not sure if / when I'll actually need it.

I used AutoCAD back in version 1.0 to do layout of gates within a FPGA back in the day, but it turns out it's changed a wee bit since then. And it's pretty dang expensive.

Got a bunch of errands this morning (we're actually going to the bank!) so it'll probably be afternoon before I get to start making sawdust. I'm hoping I can at least cut the dovetails for the four corners of the carcass today.


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Lovely to make a home for them all.
Congrat on the beutiful plane.
Look forward to see it.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Planning and cutting*
> 
> I looked at my braces as I was unpacking, and discovered I have four, plus a couple eggbeaters, plus another brace I've bid on on eBay… It's time to build a till. Also, I'll have a place to keep my bits if I do that.
> 
> ...


Another busy morning. A hat I bought from Stetson to protect me from the sun is 1/4" smaller than the size marked in it. But I wore it, so no return. I'll buy future hats from another company, I think.

Also it was time to bake another loaf of bread. It's rising now, and will go into the oven to be done for lunchtime, I think.

There's always something!


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*A little detour*

I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.










I think I can start laying out the dovetails now, but since I'm planning on doing mitered dovetails (as practice for the corners on the bookcases I need to build), I might need to study up on those first.

--

And the next day, further detour to make a clamp rack.


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


wow kewl dovetails :<))


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


Yeah. I think they'll look really sharp on the front of the bookcases. And this case is a perfect chance for me to practice, since I'll be the only one to see it (well, except for all the people looking at it on LJs).


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## Dave10 (May 29, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


I've found my bench hook infinitely useful at work since I'm often paring down or creating small bits of wood. I usually make mine a little more formally and I saw a slot in the fence to become a mini miter box. Handy for shortening tuning pegs!.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I generally have one nicer bench hook, and then one quick and dirty one that looks like hell (and gets used more often) but usually gets the job done. And since I haven't found the nicer one yet, and threw away the beat up one when we moved, it was time to knock together another.

I also got about half done with my clamp rack today, so I can start unpacking the box of clamps tomorrow and see how badly I underestimated the number…


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


Less is plenty.
Smiles.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


Indeed. Less is more than enough in this case.

The only problem I face is that I am almost out of wood screws for the moment. Thankfully, many suppliers on eBay are happy to sell me more. They should arrive Monday.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


Detoured again today. Bread and phone calls in the morning, then building a clamp rack in the afternoon. But all but two of my largest handscrews and the picture frame clamp I got from Pooh in my first swap are on that one board.

I think they're even mostly accessible.


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


Always lovely with a detour, the straight road is highly overrated.
;-)


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *A little detour*
> 
> I was asked to finish moving my tools from the garage to the shop the other day, so I did that. Still haven't found and unpacked all of my tools, so I took a little detour to build a dovetail marker so I could lay out the dovetails nicely. In the course of making that, I needed a bench hook, so I slapped one of those together, too.
> 
> ...


I also spent some time working on my ladle. Got the spoon bits from Gramercy Tools so I used them to remove the bulk of the material from the brown of the ladle.










Today the irrigation service will be here to repair our sprinkler system, so I'm not sure if I'll get shop time or not. Also my seeds arrived yesterday, so it may be a day of planting. Many possibilities today!


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Dovetails and sliding dovetails*

Today was dovetail day, and I'm still not done, but I made a lot of progress.

As I'm doing mitered shoulder dovetails on the carcass (to practice them for the bookcases I'm building next), I took my time laying them out and cutting them. Spent all morning just cutting the tails.

After lunch, I headed out to the shop to cut the pins. That went pretty well, so I got started on the sliding dovetails for the shelves as well. They're not sure hard, but I took pictures along the way, so I'd be better able to remember what I did and any improvements I found along the way.

First step is to layout your lines. Make sure the width is the width of the narrow part of the dovetail (cut in part 1 of this blog).










Then saw the two angled lines. As with normal dovetails, start on one end, then angle to the other end. I started on the near side, since it was easier for me to see.










After cutting the two angled lines, cut a straight line between them. This will make is easier to chisel out the waste. Note that the depth of this line you're sawing is your depth-gauge, so try to cut it to the line, but no further.










Then chisel our the waste. I did half from the front, turned the board around and did another half (to 3/4 of the final depth) from the far side, and about an inch to full depth, then turned the board around again, and finished up from the front.



















And that's where I finished the day. I still need to saw out the ten sliding dovetail sockets for the vertical pieces between the two shelves, and also the slots to hang the braces in. And I need to cut rabbets in the rear of the sides and top for the back, so there will be a couple more entries before I'm finished with the carcass.










Thanks for following along!


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## balidoug (Aug 13, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Dovetails and sliding dovetails*
> 
> Today was dovetail day, and I'm still not done, but I made a lot of progress.
> 
> ...


Tried out sliding dovetails on a project several years ago. wish i'd seen your approach back then. much easier! nice work.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Dovetails and sliding dovetails*
> 
> Today was dovetail day, and I'm still not done, but I made a lot of progress.
> 
> ...


Nice technique Dave. Did you use the dovetail plane on the pin sides?


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Dovetails and sliding dovetails*
> 
> Today was dovetail day, and I'm still not done, but I made a lot of progress.
> 
> ...


Ah, woodworking at its finest, crafting something by hand. Nice work, looking good so far. Enjoy the journey.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Dovetails and sliding dovetails*
> 
> Today was dovetail day, and I'm still not done, but I made a lot of progress.
> 
> ...


Doug, glad to help.

Kevin, yeah, the dovetail plane did the sides of the pins.

Tom, I worry it's going to be a little sloppy, but it's shop furniture. The miter-shoulder dovetails needed the practice before I started on the bookcases, too.

Funny thing is, these are my first sliding dovetails, and they don't seem too bad. I've got a few fit problems, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to fix them all pretty quickly with the same chisel I've been using on the waste in the sockets.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Horizontal bits*

I started cutting sliding dovetail sockets in the horizontal bits today. More of the same, but I had a little blowout on the third socket I was cutting, so I glued that back together and decided to work on the part that will hold the braces.

I started by laying out marks 3½ inches apart, and drew marks four inches from the edge of the board (or 3½ from the other edge). Picked out the 12/16 bit, chucked it in my brace, and started drilling holes. I picked the ¾ inch bit because it had relatively sharp spurs (I think I touched them up before we moved), and it's big enough to fit the brace I was using into. The fat part of the handle is closer to an inch, but if I have to enlarge the holes a little bit later on, I'll deal with that then.



















With everything laid out and drilled, I took my square and drew lines more or less to the edge of each hole. If I was off a little, I didn't worry too much.










I put the board in my face vise and started sawing. I was using my Veritas tenon saw, as it had enough reach to make the cuts without bottoming out the back. It's filed hybrid, and I'm cutting pine, so it made pretty short work of the cuts.










Once that was done, I took my knife and chamfered the edges of the slots, and used my spokeshave to chamfer the front edge of the board. Then it was time to sweep up for the day and go start cooking dinner. Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up the remaining two shelves and ponder putting the carcass together.










I also should think about some sort of reinforcement on the board that'll be carrying the braces. Three inches of pine between holes will probably mean that I'll snap something off eventually. Maybe I'll start tomorrow by digging through my scrap bucket and see what I have that I can glue under that board with the grain running front to back to strengthen things up.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Horizontal bits*
> 
> I started cutting sliding dovetail sockets in the horizontal bits today. More of the same, but I had a little blowout on the third socket I was cutting, so I glued that back together and decided to work on the part that will hold the braces.
> 
> ...


Dave, I used thin luan ply to reinforce my brace/drill till in my DUTCH chest. I broke the first iteration since it was pine so glued it back together and veneered both sides with the ply. It's been good for a number of years
Can post a pic if you want.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Horizontal bits*
> 
> I started cutting sliding dovetail sockets in the horizontal bits today. More of the same, but I had a little blowout on the third socket I was cutting, so I glued that back together and decided to work on the part that will hold the braces.
> 
> ...


Hmm! I think I have some heavy veneer somewhere that might be perfect. Maybe I'll start with unpacking a few boxes and see if the veneer presents itself tomorrow morning. Alternately, I could probably resaw some. Thanks, Kevin!


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## Keebler1 (Mar 15, 2019)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Horizontal bits*
> 
> I started cutting sliding dovetail sockets in the horizontal bits today. More of the same, but I had a little blowout on the third socket I was cutting, so I glued that back together and decided to work on the part that will hold the braces.
> 
> ...


How heavy are those braces that you would break the holder being 3/4" x 3"


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Horizontal bits*
> 
> I started cutting sliding dovetail sockets in the horizontal bits today. More of the same, but I had a little blowout on the third socket I was cutting, so I glued that back together and decided to work on the part that will hold the braces.
> 
> ...


I do t think it's the weight so much as the shock of me banging a brace in, or bumping it into the edges of the hole while placing or removing it. 3/4 pine is pretty strong in the other direction, but those little tongues between the slots will snap off pretty easily.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Horizontal bits*
> 
> I started cutting sliding dovetail sockets in the horizontal bits today. More of the same, but I had a little blowout on the third socket I was cutting, so I glued that back together and decided to work on the part that will hold the braces.
> 
> ...


Nice so far, looking pretty good. I agree, some reinforcement in a cross grain application is needed, you are correct that the pine might break along the grain here, been there - done that. 
I was wondering, would it be beneficial if you were to install wooden angle brackets under & centered on each section of shelf, which could then be used to hang something between each brace. Just a thought.
Keep up the good work.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Horizontal bits*
> 
> I started cutting sliding dovetail sockets in the horizontal bits today. More of the same, but I had a little blowout on the third socket I was cutting, so I glued that back together and decided to work on the part that will hold the braces.
> 
> ...


Wooden angle braces or brackets underneath is an option too, but I suspect they'll end up getting in the way if I make them very big (as in big enough to hang something from), since the cabinet is only going to be 7 inches deep, so about 4-5 inches from where the brace hangs… and I've got one with a 14 inch swing, so that'll stick out 7 inches, which seems bigger than 4-5… so I was figuring the handles would end up hanging to the side, at least for the 12 and 14 inch throws.

I'll have to see how much room that leaves me. I was thinking that I'll probably put doors on this once it's mostly done, and I'd hate to not be able to close them.

Oh well. I don't have to figure it out tonight. And I think I'm supposed to be planting more seeds in the yard tomorrow morning, so I'll have some time to ponder solutions before I get more shop time tomorrow afternoon.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Reinforcement, part 1*

Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.










So I thought a bit, and dug through my various piles of shorts. I found a chunk of walnut and decided that running pieces of that from front to back under the tongues would strengthen them in compression, and then I could put some veneer on top (running the same direction) to strengthen the rack in tension. Or looking at it another way, I'm making plywood, with a dang thick core.










My first few test pieces went well yesterday, and I finished cutting them and gluing them up today. I'll give the glue time to dry overnight, and I can plane the ends smooth and chamfer the edges of the holes nicely tomorrow morning. And some 1/16" thick bubinga veneer I ordered should be here in tomorrow evening's mail, so I can glue that onto the top on Thursday.










I also finished cutting all the sliding dovetail sockets today, and will do a test fitting of the carcass tomorrow. I may be able to glue up some sub-assemblies, but we'll have to see how the test fitting goes.


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Looking forward to seeing this Dave. I'd like to build one this year.


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## robscastle (May 13, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


arrrr!

you guys and your walnut! if I could get my hands on more I would be a happy man.

Now with that over back to your Blog I would have suggested ply and on the back out of sight, however it look great as you have done (read as jealous) pip pip!


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Andy. It's going mostly according to plan. The big thing is that I still don't have a good idea for how to do the board I ended up having to reinforce. I think I would follow Rob's suggestion and just use ply in the future, but I think the walnut and bubinga reinforcements will class it up, too.

Rob, I'd send you some walnut if I could, but I'm told sending wood to Oz will bring down the wrath of the wizard, and he's a spooky sort.

It is going to have a plywood back, as well. Haven't decided between 1/2" birch and 1/4" maple yet, but that's what I have on hand in quantities sufficient… the 1/4" maple will also get used to make doors, I think, but I'm going to need to finish construction and load it up with braces before I can decide how the doors will work.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Well, it appears you've solved your problem with a really good viable solution. Nice work, the appearance will be nice with the contrasting woods.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! I feel a little bad hiding the walnut under the shelf, but I'll probably end up hanging the till high enough that normal-height people will be able to see it fine.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Running some dowels down would prevent them from breakage.

Do you use that many braces?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Don, I have that many braces. Or nearly do. I've been thinking about it, and I should maybe have designed more vertical space so I can leave my most commonly used bits chucked up. That was part of the thinking at one point, and then I didn't think about the length of the bit when I was drawing up my plan. Hmm…

I've got a set of six Darafeev dining room / poker table chairs, four of which have come apart in the past year. They're comfy chairs, but the construction quality leaves something to be desired, and one of my thoughts is that I need to start repairing them soon. That's going to require at least three different bits ready to go, for example. And I may end up redesigning the chairs completely, just reusing the height adjuster and tilt mechanism from them, and completely rebuilding them from the seat up. If I go that route, I'm going to wish I had taken one of the Windsor chair classes before things got locked down. Again, that'll likely mean a couple different bits chucked up in braces, plus getting my hollow auger working in the 14" sweep bit for rounding the ends of sticks.

So as is typical, there's need vs. *need*.


----------



## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


You'll have to forgive Don for the question Dave. He's just not familiar with the idea of people having more tools than they need ;-)


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Yeah, Kenny. I guess Don just needs to have more tools so he'll understand. ;-)


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


You guys misunderstood the question. I asked if that many were "used". You always NEED way more than you use!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Ahh, but there's also use and use, Don. I think having a 6" sweep brace hanging in the till with a flat screwdriver bit chucked up and ready to go is a fine use, even if I mostly reach for the cordless electric screwdriver that has the Torx or Robertson bit in it.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


And don't forget the counter sink bit. Nice to have it handy, although mine is in a egg beater


----------



## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


I like a countersink bit in a push drill Don. All the force is axial so it always ends up even all around ;-)


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I'll have the countersink in an egg-beater most likely. And then there's a 1/16" bit in another egg-beater for pilot holes. And the tapered reamer will be in a 12" sweep. And the hollow auger in the 14" sweep. Crap! Ima hafta buy more braces!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Let me know how many you want!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


I checked your site, Don. Didn't see many braces. Got the 6" sweep one on eBay recently and got the 14 with the hollow auger from Jon Zimmer. I need a 12" sweep brace and another eggbeater for pilot holes, but didn't see those on your site. Maybe you've got something squirreled away? Might need an 8 or 10, but at this point it would be the second in that size, so I'd be looking for something unique or special in some way.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


So you've got the hollow tenon auger, what about a fore auger?

Also I have two chain drills mounted up in braces, you didn't mention those. yer slipping Dave!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


I do have a fore auger somewhere, Kevin. No chain drills, though. But with the post drill, I think I'm covered for drilling metal. Got the post for it sitting in the garage, and that's gotta go up one of these days.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...





> I checked your site, Don. Didn't see many braces.
> 
> - Dave Polaschek


If you knew how much crap I need to part with. I'm so lazy when it comes to selling it.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement, part 1*
> 
> Spent the past few days with a mix of yard work and thinking about how to reinforce the rack that'll hold the braces. With the grain running across, the slots cut into it leave some very weak tongues, which will be almost certain to snap off over time. I've seen this happen with my chisel till, and I'm going to have to rebuild that at some point.
> 
> ...


Duplicate post


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Cleanup and test fitting*

I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.



















With those smoothed, I wanted to clean up a few spots of tear-out, plus remove the pencil lines that were still on the pine. I cut a card scraper to make a narrow tip, filed the edge square, and scraped things pretty.




























I also used a knife and my new scraper to clean up the edges of the slots.



















With that done, it was time to test fit things. All of my sliding dovetails were a little fat, so I tested each one, then adjusted it either with the dovetail plane or a chisel. The dovetail plane earned its keep here, since I still had the fence set to the right depth, so in most cases it was just a matter of making a pass or two and then everything fit.

The one down side of the dovetail plane is that it's apparently easy to rock it a little, leading to sliding dovetails that are thick in the middle and thinner on the ends. Nearly all of my dovetails were fat in the middle. Oops!

With the three horizontal pieces in, it was time to test the fit of the carcass. I popped one end of the top on, and it fit well. Then I looked at the other end, and the board was 1/2" too long.



















Crap.

I figured out what I did wrong. I had bad math at some point, and the inner shelves that are dovetailed into the sides are 38" long. The dovetails are a half inch on either end, so the outsides of the sides are 38 1/2" apart (everything is 3/4" thick). I cut the top and bottom to 39" initially, thinking I'd trim them back once I'd tested the sliding dovetails for the shelves, but then I cut the dovetails on the carcass because I was eager to try the mitered dovetail corners.

So now I'm cutting a half-inch off the end of the tail boards and re-cutting the dovetails. At least it's pine, and I've got a lot of scraps, so when I need small pieces to patch up the old dovetails, I can do so.

And that's today. I got one corner re-cut, and I'll finish the other tomorrow, then I can test the five uprights that divide the areas between the drawers. It looked to me like I managed to line everything up, but if I have to move a sliding dovetail socket a quarter inch or so to one side, I think I'll be able to do that without weakening things too much.

Plus my veneer gets here this evening, so I'll be able to finish the top shelf too. First time veneering! Wish me luck!


----------



## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


What technique are you going to use to apply the veneer? I learned to "hammer" with hot hide glue and it is a great way to go IMO. There is something very gratifying about the crackle sound as you hammer it down.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


I've got a veneer hammer and a glue pot, Nathan, so I was thinking hot hide glue and the hammer. But it's also 1/16" veneer I'm going to use, so I could just lay it on, set another board on top, and pile bricks on it or something, too. Figured I'd be reading up on that tonight.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


Only a half inch off, not too bad, and besides, at least the top wasn't a half inch short. That would have been harder to recover from.
As I look at the last photo, it appears that the top is 3/4" too long, which would be good as you could then cut the entire set of tails off. But, maybe it's the camera angle.
Anyway, better luck tomorrow.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


Yeah, Tom. When I first looked at it, I thought I might be 3/4 off, but it's a half. Just the camera angle. But yeah, I have a saw. Don't have a board stretcher.

Nathan, the veneer arrived. It's heavy 1/16, so I'm just going to glue it like I would "real wood." Probably use another board as a caul and either a bunch of clamps or some bricks.


----------



## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


LJ Shipwright has some good blogs about hammer veneering. He prefers veneer of about 1/16". Look for the one that has a link to a YouTube video of him applying some veneer to a cabin door or something (I can't remember the boat term). It really is as easy as that video makes it look, though the odd shape could make it more challenging I suppose.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Nathan. Probably just going to veneer it as if it's a flat board and then trim afterwards. Seems simplest, since I'm not sure which of the three or four remaining boxes has my glue pot, and I don't feel like digging through boxes today.


----------



## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


That's going to look great!


----------



## duckmilk (Oct 10, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


I have no worries that you will finish a great project Dave


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Steve and Duck. Probably going to have to re-make the bottom board of the carcass tomorrow. I'll blog about it once I figure out the solution. But yeah, it's looking good and I've got about 20 extra pine boards (they're supposed to become bookcases, but were bought before things got locked down) should things go wrong.

Tomorrow we start the day clearing away a half dozen chamisa, and hauling them to the dump, and then I'm planting some grass and blue flax in the ditch, and then hopefully I can get back to making sawdust and will have something to blog.


----------



## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


Nearly there now Dave. I think it is going to look great when you're done. Can't wait to see the braces hanging there ready to be put to task.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cleanup and test fitting*
> 
> I started my shop time today cleaning up the walnut I glued to the pine rack for the braces. I used a spokeshave to get the lengths consistent and round over the ends, as well as to surface plane the walnut. If I skew it enough, nearly 45 degrees in some cases, I could plane even against the grain and get it fairly smooth.
> 
> ...


Still got work to do, Andy. I'm going to need to re-cut the bottom board of the carcass tomorrow, then some final fitting, and maybe a glue-up on Monday (I generally stay out of the shop on Sundays, either to work in the yard or nap). But I might finish some of the parts before gluing them together. Trying to decide that now.

Plus once the carcass is together, I'm going to start figuring out the doors. Oh, and I need to cut rabbets for the back yet, and notches for the cleat so I can hang it on the wall… it's getting close, but there's still that second 90% of the work…


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Reinforcement part ii *

Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.

For a more finished look, I'm reinforcing the top with some 1/8" bubinga veneer, with the grain running front to back. Rather than attempt to cut this to size/shape for each four-inch-wide piece, I cut them all to rough length, then glued them on. It's 1/8 inch thick, so no special techniques were needed, just glue it on and clamp it with a long board running the whole length to distribute the force from the clamps.



















And now I'm cutting them to match the pine board with a coping saw.










I also trimmed the ends of the pieces with a spokeshave. The low angle makes this relatively easy. The only trick was remembering to skew the blade and to work from both ends to the middle. The spokeshave will ride along the wider pine board, making it pretty easy to stop when the boards are flush.










Next it was time to clean up the edges of the grooves. Knife and rasp took care of that.



















Next up is re-cutting the bottom board of the carcass because when I trimmed it shorter, I took from the wrong end, leaving the sockets for the sliding dovetails offset about 3/4 inch from the board above it. Easier just to start over on that.


----------



## Dave10 (May 29, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


Sort of like very fancy plywood!

We don't make mistakes. We just create opportunity for practice!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


Yep. Fancy plywood! Thick fancy plywood. ;-)


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


Looking good, this shelf will be plenty strong. Nice work.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


Yeah, it's probably overkill now, but when I was smoothing the ends of the walnut, there was still some scary flex to the tongues. Now they feel pretty darn solid. And the top will look nice, though I'll probably be the only one y'all enough to see it.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


Seems like the plan is working Dave.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I'm getting there, Kevin. A few detours along the way, but that's life.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


I hear you Dave, just finished a couple of detours on my dressing table. I botched a shell carving on the drawers front and had to "reactivate" an earlier test carving. Sigh.

Anyways, your project is going to be great.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Reinforcement part ii *
> 
> Time to reinforce the other side of the rack that'll carry the braces. As you might remember, the grain in the pine board that makes up the core of the rack runs left to right, which means that the grooves cut to hold the braces weaken the board, leaving tongues which can easily snap off. I reinforced the bottom of these tongues with strips of walnut.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Kevin. Sorry about the carving troubles. One of the reasons I'm building this brace till (beyond just needing it to store braces) is that I'm going to be practicing a lot of techniques for future projects. The mitered dovetail corners on the carcass will be used on the bookcases I'm building next.

I'm not sure what I'll veneer, but eventually I have a set of antique Art Deco dressers which need to have their veneer patched, and I have some period thick rosewood veneer that looks to be a reasonable match.

The sliding dovetails will be used on other furniture, and the five cubbies in the bottom of this will get drawers before it's done to give me some practice building and fitting drawers.

And this one is shop furniture, so if something does go wrong, I can decide it's good enough for me, or try out crazy ideas I might have for a fix, and if it doesn't work out great, I'll probably be the only one who notices.

I added the pictures of gluing and clamping the veneer. Forgot those last night. Oops.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Re-cutting the bottom and more test-fitting*

Got some shop time again today, and I cut a new bottom piece for the carcass of my brace till, replacing the one I cut wrong when I shortened it.

Going back to the plan:










The pieces I had as 39 inches are now 38.5 inches long. Otherwise, everything is the same. Oops. Scratch that, the 5" pieces are now 4.5 long. More bad math.

Anyway, with all the pieces cut and test-fit together, except for the two bottom uprights (I'll get to those as my first order of business tomorrow), I put a coat of linseed oil on all the pieces. I've found that one coat of oil before I glue up the carcass keeps me from worrying as much about getting full coverage with the finish I put on after everything is glued together. Less stress is good.

So here's almost all of the wood:










The rack that'll hold the braces has the walnut on the bottom of it, and the bubinga veneer on the top.it looks pretty darned nice. The rest of the pine has pencil marks and scuffs on it, and those probably will remain. It's shop furniture, and I don't want to worry about accidentally putting things together wrong when I start gluing things together tomorrow.

Next up, glue-up. That'll probably be two or three separate glue-ups, and while I'm waiting for glue to dry, I'll start selecting lumber for the drawers and doors. I think I have a nice piece of elm which might be all the drawer fronts, and I've got some poplar for drawer sides, but I'm not sure if I have quite enough. But I also still have a dozen boxes of wood to unpack.

Until next time!


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Re-cutting the bottom and more test-fitting*
> 
> Got some shop time again today, and I cut a new bottom piece for the carcass of my brace till, replacing the one I cut wrong when I shortened it.
> 
> ...


Looking good, coming along nicely. I'll be looking for the next post.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Re-cutting the bottom and more test-fitting*
> 
> Got some shop time again today, and I cut a new bottom piece for the carcass of my brace till, replacing the one I cut wrong when I shortened it.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! I've been struggling a little lately, especially with having to re-make the bottom. Think I got past that today, and I can start cooking ahead again. Plus the pulls for the drawers showed up (finally) today. Ordered them from Lowe's back in mid-April.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Gluing it up*

I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.










I then took everything apart again, and went to glue up the outside of the carcass. I did that, and put clamps on it to hold it together, but with all the sliding dovetail sockets cut in the sides, as soon as I pulled the joints tight, the sides bowed alarmingly. I quickly released the pressure and put the rest of the parts in. The uprights went in last and it took a little mallet work to get everything together a second time, but I did, and then put a couple clamps on to hold everything together. Worked better this time.










With he case completely together, I planed a 45 degree edge on a 1×3 for a cleat for the till, and pulled a couple 2'x4' pieces of 1/4" maple plywood out to be the back of the case. I still haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to do the doors yet, but it looks like I need to widen the slots for the braces a little for the larger sweep braces, and once I do that, I'll figure out how much added room I'll need to fit them inside the case.

The piece of elm that I think will make nice drawer fronts won't work as-is. I either need to resaw it in half and make the upper drawer fronts book-match the lower drawer fronts (which would look nice, but be a lot of work, and leave me with thin fronts), or I need to find a bigger piece of wood, so I'm pondering that, too.


----------



## jeffswildwood (Dec 26, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


Looks good Dave!


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


Dave, what about rabbeting the back and using shiplap or beveled T&G?

Looks real fine at this point.

Edit: forget my question, just noticed everything is flush in back.


----------



## oldrivers (Feb 10, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


Coming right alone and looking good.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


Thanks, gents!

Kevin, I thought about rabbeting the back and using multiple solid boards, rather than plywood, but a piece of 1/4" Baltic birch ply was a lot easier, and it let me be lazy and just make everything flush in back. They were out of the 1/4BB at Lowe's, so I got the slightly more expensive maple, but it'll mostly be hiding behind the tools, and I'm hitting the point where I want to get this hung on the wall, even if I don't have the drawers and doors done.

I suspect I'll get the back on (glued and screwed, or maybe glued with cut nails) tomorrow, get the cleat on with screws, and have it hanging on the wall by the time I call it a day tomorrow. And then the drawers will happen slowly when I need breaks from other projects.


----------



## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


Stellar job on the brace till….It's looking good….Keep up the good work…..!!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Rick. Getting there. And there's been a lot of learning along the way, but it's nice to have it done enough that I can unpack some more tools into it.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


Very nice work Dave, looking great.
Have you given any thought as to how to hang? Going to be somewhat heavy with all the tools, maybe a full width French cleat?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing it up*
> 
> I finished test-fitting all the pieces of the brace till today. Turns out a dovetail plane is super handy for this part of the project. For the uprights that go between the sections in the bottom, I needed to take from one to three passes with the plane on each to make them fit. But that's nice and easy todo with the dovetail plane.
> 
> ...


It got a full-width cleat on the box, Tom. See installment 10 for details.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Back and cleat, hanging it up*

First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.










I set some scrap wood on the ply to push it down onto the horizontals in the carcass while the glue set. They don't provide a lot of structural strength, but by gluing them to the back, they'll be supported by it a little. And then when I put on the cleat and spacers on the bottom, those will be screwed into two of the three horizontals, stiffening and strengthening the case even more. Will I need all that strength? Probably not, but I've never been disappointed overbuilding shop furniture, and when I've built it without thinking about future overloading, I've had problems, so best to overdo it now.

With the back on, it's time to trim the three oversized sides down to flush with the carcass. I use a jack plane for that, and set heavy, it didn't take many passes before the back was trimmed down and smoothed to match the sides.



















You get funny looking shavings trimming the edge of plywood this way, but it gets the job done quickly, and actually leaves a pretty good edge.

With the back trimmed to size, it was time to install the cleat. The cleat is behind the rack that holds the braces, and is glued to the back, and screwed into the vertical sides of the carcass and into the rack. The two spacers that are the same thickness as the cleat (so the case will hang level on the wall) are screwed into the sides and the shelf between the two rows of drawers.










That done, it was time to hang the case on the wall and start filling it up. I still have one or two braces I haven't unpacked yet, plus a couple eggbeater drills to hang up. And I need to build the seven drawers to hold various bits. Spoon bits are in the upper left, with two sets of bits below, a modern Jennings pattern set, and an older Irwin pattern set. Plus there's at least one tool roll of bits somewhere, and miscellany like the hollow auger (in the 14" sweep brace on the right) and the tapered reamer in the 8" sweep to the left of it. I'll start pondering drawer materials tomorrow, I guess.

I also will need to get a coat of oil on the back, and a couple coats of shellac on everything, plus ponder the doors one of these days, but it's done enough for now, I think, and I can take my time building drawers.

Oh, I also widened the rightmost slot in the rack. My 14" sweep brace has a thicker handle than all the others, so it needs a wider slot. A planemaker's float and a cheap rasp did the job pretty quickly.


----------



## Turns4wood (Dec 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Looks like it will get the job done


----------



## duckmilk (Oct 10, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Nice cabinet Dave!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jerry & Duck. Drawers and doors to go, but it's got a bunch of stuff off my bench already, and that was the primary goal. I think I'm going to see if I can resaw that piece of elm in half so I can do two rows of book-matched drawer fronts. I'm wondering if I want to do something wild like folding doors that won't be in my way when they're open.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


This cabinet looks good with the tools in it.


----------



## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Is a small forge the next addition to the shop so you can make your own nails?


----------



## luck (Jan 21, 2010)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


We never have enough storage for tools, it is hard to enlarge a shop by the inside.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom. I thought so too. Though my first thought was "Aiigh! What if I didn't build it big enough?"

Probably not, Earl. This one is full of Robertson #2 head 6×1.5" pan-head wood screws. Bought a box of a thousand or so on eBay for the same price 100 would cost at my local hardware store, and I'll probably be using them for a good long time.

Agreed, Luc. Maybe it could be done if I could find my board-stretcher, but that got lost at some point. ;-)


----------



## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Nicely done Dave. Thanks for taking the time to share.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Thanks. Not done yet, but drawers and doors will be less of a hurry, I think.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Hi Dave, I'm back again, reviewing posts, and this time I was wondering if you intend to add doors to the cabinet?
Tom


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Drawers first, Tom. Then doors. I may do bifold doors with piano hinges do they can swing completely out of the way next to the cabinet, or I might do something else. Still working on figuring that part out.

But first, I have a 5' x 7" x 5/4 piece of elm I'm going to resaw into two roughly half-inch finished boards for drawer fronts. I'll use one half for the top row, and the other for the bottom so the drawers are book matched and continuous grain across the front.

Once those are done, I'll get to work on the doors. Unless there are demands to get the bookcases that are next on my list started. Could be the doors will get postponed a while.


----------



## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Well done Dave. that's a fitting home for your lovely braces.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Andy. The thing that surprised me is that I will fill about half the drawers with bits, and I'm still missing a few I need (I have three 5/8 bits, for example, but they all have softwood lead screws, and will split walnut if I forget and don't drill a pilot hole).


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Back and cleat, hanging it up*
> 
> First order of business today was putting the back on the carcass. This involved cutting plywood, so I got out the saw horses and circular saw. Three cuts to get the 1/4" maple plywood to size (or between 1/16 and 1/8 oversized, I'm not accurate enough with a circular saw to cut any closer than that), then glue onto the carcass and screw the plywood in place.
> 
> ...


Got a few more braces from DonW today and the till is looking kinda full. I really need to get started on the drawers for it soon.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Starting on drawers*

Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.










I guess it was finally soon!

I had resawed a bunch of pine down to about ¼ inch. First up was cutting it to size and flattening it.










Then I laid out the tails.










Cut the tails.










Laid out the pins.



















Cut the pins. And remember to mark the waste *before* cutting out the wrong bits.




























And test fit each corner.










Then I marked where the grooves for the bottom will go before I got something worng.










And got a little groovy.










After cutting out a piece of ¼ inch plywood to fit in the bottom of the box, I test fit everything, and glued together the first box. This one will fit in the lower right drawer slot, and will contain my set of long brad-point auger bits (I think). The drawer fronts and handles go on after all seven boxes are done. I'll also put in runners on the sides of the cubbies to hold the drawers level. But next up, is building six more drawers and then fitting out something to hold the bits in place in each of them.

I'll try to remember to show the setup for the combination plane and how I mark the size of the drawer bottom when I'm doing one of the next drawers. I think I may also need to put some slips under the bottom in some of the drawers, as I can only cut about a ⅛ inch deep groove for the bottom, which may not hold great if I've got heavy stuff in the drawer.

Stay tuned!


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


I don't think the nineteen months were a lost cause, you've completed a lot of woodworking in the mean time.

You probably covered this elsewhere but my memory is shorter than a gnats whiskers, how do you go about resawing to obtain the quarter inch boards?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Tom, I don't know if I did or not.

These pine boards started as 3/4 s4s pine offcuts that were left over from my bookcase build. In this case, 1×4s.

I put my Kreg fence and resaw guide on the bandsaw, put a line down the middle of the board using a pencil and my hand as a marking gauge










and then resawed using the bandsaw with a Timberwolf 1/2 inch 2/3 tpi skip blade, basically splitting the board in half (two 5/16 inch pieces). Plane flat, and you've got two ¼ thick (or so) pieces.










Usually I do that by hand, but some time a few months back I got the Kreg fence and it makes getting pretty close using the bandsaw quick and easy. One day I went through a bunch of the pine offcuts and made enough quarter-thick boards for all the drawers (I hope).


----------



## sawdust1whisperer (Nov 11, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


That really fits the bill Dave.

Great planing and execution on this one.

You have an impressive collection of bit braces.

Best Regards, and happy New Year.


----------



## oldrivers (Feb 10, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Great storage that will be nice place handy to select the brace you want to use.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


James, I need to take a picture of the current state of affairs. The till is full with braces, and I need to figure out a storage solution for the eggbeaters.

And for bits, I've got:

spoon
spade
hardwood auger
softwood auger
brad-point long augers
forstner
plug-cutting
brad point
gimlets
cheap metal bits

And that's not even counting the reamers, spoke pointers, hollow augers, hole saws, or expansive bits. I have a lot of boring tools. ;-)

Thanks, Oldrivers! It's getting there.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Looking good Dave, nice job on the dovetails. And yes marking waste is a good thing, I do the same.

As for the dividers for the bits, take a look at my recent tills, some narrow strips with indentations to keep them for knocking and causing damage.

I have been adding to storage. I took the week off from work. And the sweetie has been really nice about it.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. I remember looking at your tills and thinking I might need to borrow some ideas there. But we'll see how it goes. The long brad-point augers are my longest bits, and I may have a problem finding a home for them. That's probably a problem for Thursday, though. Tomorrow we've got a bunch of errands to run, and I need to finish finishing the arm of a chair I repaired yesterday and today.


----------



## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Dave, I saw a cool set of Irwin auger bits with storage box at an estate sale about a year ago that I had forgotten about until I saw this post so I did a quick search and found an example. The box was a little too beat up and falling apart so I didn't buy it but I though it might trigger some ideas on your boring storage quest. Instead of a drawer, maybe a box like this you can take to the bench? The compartments are basically coves sized for each bit and the bottom level pivots out. I regret not buying it when I saw it, though I seem to recall it was a little overpriced for the condition it was in.










Of course you could just buy one too.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


That's one of the ideas I've had, Nathan. I'll probably use something like that for the drawers which will contain multiple smaller sets, such as the plug-cutters and forstner bits. A drawer with multiple removable boxes I can take to the post drill might make sense.

Plus the plan is that all the drawers will be removable. I may put drawer stops in to keep me from removing them *inadvertently*, but they'll all be able to be removed.

Alas, today is unlikely to see any progress. Household chores and errands need doing, and I'm trying to jam them all in today so I can spend the rest of the year working in the shop. ;-)


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Nineteen months ago? That's like yesterday in shop time. Excellent project to get organized. How do you like that Timberwolf blade? I used that particular one for years with great results before switching to the resaw king.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


I have snapped four of the Timberwolf blades since moving to NM, Dave. Two were due to bad setup on the bandsaw (the blade guides got knocked askew during the move and I didn't notice), but two just snapped right next to the weld, near as I can tell. So I'm not thrilled, but they seem to do the job. And I've got a friend who makes knife blades out of my old bandsaw blades, so maybe one of these years I'll get a knife or two out of the deal…

With the bookcases done, I'm trying to get a shop-organization project in between other projects. One of these days I'm going to need to restock on poplar or other "utility wood" but hopefully we can get back to MN come spring, and I can load up the truck with cheaper Midwestern lumber.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


I really love that you make this effort for your braces, most people throw them in a drawer.
Lovely to see your turning saw in action.
Happy new year.
Best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Mads! I hope to have a till for all of my tools. The "studio tour" here is in late September, and I think I will sign up for it in 2022. Rather than draping sheets over my tools so people can concentrate on the work, I hope to have all the tools safely packed away in tills. It may take many years to complete the process, but I won't finish if I never start!


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


My mothers last husband sad: 
Little by little, is the easiest way to eat an elefant.
Studio tour, is that a day where people can come and visit?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Yes. There are about 120 artists (in a community of 3000 houses) who all have open studios on one weekend in late September. Tourists and locals come visit and purchase artwork, and 5% of all sales go to fund our fire department. That reminds me, I should make sure I have renewed my membership for 2022.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


That sounds interesting Dave, and with some proceeds going to the fire department, makes it even better. Our fire departments need all the funding they can get, more so for the volunteer ones.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


It's pretty neat, Eric. 2020s studio tour was cancelled, and last year I visited 8 studios over the two days. Met a few neat people, bought a little metal table for the living room from a neighbor, and decided that in 2022 I'll try to be ready to open my studio.

If nothing else, I've got a bunch of bowls ready, except for price tags.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Cool Dave, 
Wish we had more of this in Denmark, her I see it only for painters and pottery.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


In Minneapolis we had a similar thing in the "arts district" of Northeast Minneapolis. It started as a bunch of artists drinking at each other's studios on the first nice weekend in spring. Now it has a couple hundred studios, and thousands of people coming to look at the art.

Personally, I found the art crawl in Minneapolis much more interesting when it started, and such a thing seems relatively easy to start. ;-)


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


I would not like a open workshop here, but would love if there were a wood working community, to inspire each other, talk wood and share a beer from time to time, in each others places.
Good think I have you guys, for a virtual beer and shop visit.
Smiles my friend.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Ahh. I don't think I'll mind opening my shop two days per year. If nothing else, it gives me a deadline for organizational projects.

But yes, the community here is very nice, as well. Unlikely I would ever meet you at an open shop. ;-)


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...





















As you can see I need to follow you and make some order…

My shop is always open for you.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting on drawers*
> 
> Nineteen months ago I said I needed to get started on the drawers for my brace till soon.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Mads! I need to take a picture of my bench one of these days. Chaos abounds, but I'm working on it.

And my shop is always open for you as well. By the time you get here I may even be able to see the bench again!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Another day, another drawer*

First, a photo of how the till looks today.










That's yesterday's drawer-box in the lower right corner. I took it to the belt-sander to bring the dovetails down to level. I had cut them so the pins and tails protruded just a little, and it's a lot easier to fix that on the belt-sander than with a plane. Normally I cut dovetails so the flat surfaces are slightly proud of the end-grain, which is easier to plane flat. Maybe tomorrow's blog will cover that…

Todays update will fill in some blanks in yesterday's drawer construction. If I were a better person I'd go back and edit them into that blog.

As there are some variations in the carcasse, I'm measuring each drawer individually. No idea how many inches each is, but they should fit pretty good…



















So that's how I measure them. I also noticed that yesterday's drawer has the dovetails the wrong way around for greatest strength, so I switched things up today and cut the tails on the sides (which are the shorter boards).

And here's a picture of using the combination plane to make the grooves. I clamp the board to my new small bench (because there's room) with the edge just over the edge of the bench so the combination plane can index off the edge of the board.










And here's a completed board (either the left or the right of the drawer, don't remember which)










To mark the size of the bottom, I set the (test-fit) drawer on the piece of ¼ inch plywood, with the outside of two edges on two edges of the plywood.










Then I mark along the inside of the box.










Since I set the depth-stop of the combination plane to about half the thickness of the boards, this will work out to be about right.

And sure enough, it fits pretty well. The bottom was maybe tighter than ideal, but it's close enough that I won't worry about it unless I move the till to somewhere more humid.










Took about 90 minutes from cutting the first board to length to shutting off the lights with the next drawer-box in the clamps.


----------



## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Your miles ahead of me Dave, I've never attempted a dovetail drawer.


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Looking goos Dave.

Progress, looks like it will take less than 2 years start to finish, well, as long as you don't get sidetracked


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Coming along very nicely Dave, looking good.
.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Peter. The way I'm building them (false fronts, attached afterwards, drawer box built so it will end flush with the front of the cabinet) is one of the simpler ways to do it. The drawers are just open-topped boxes this way.

Thanks, Mike! I'm sure I will get sidetracked (I built a new square yesterday, for example), but hopefully I can get these drawers built and clean some of the chaos off the bench.

Thanks, Tom!


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Looks like progress Dave. I guess that's a good thing on your side with the lack of humidity. When I try to compensate for that here on occasion it comes back and bites me.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Yeah, thanks, Dave. I think the solution is as simple as nudging the depth-stop just a touch deeper on the combination plane, but I could also cut the plywood bottom on the other side of the line, or do more planing away of the raggedy edge after cutting it with the circular saw.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Love that you have made a brace till.
Mine just hang in a pile on the wall, so one fine day, I will follow your example.
Fine work Dave!
Best thoughts my friend,
Mads


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Thank you, Mads! It's been a long time, but I find that I use it a lot, as I keep the most commonly used bits in some of the braces so they're ready to go. The only problem is that I did not make a spot for a brace with an auger bit to hang in the till. But perhaps that will hang on the door, which remains to be constructed.

I think my marking tools will hang on the outside of the door, as well, but that is not yet certain.


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


now i no better than to ask a woodworker why he has so many tools,but i gotta ask,whats with the brace fetish buddy ?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Heck, I barely have enough, Pottz! 4, 5, two 6s, two 8s, two 10s, a 12 and a 14. Most two-jaw, but one three-jaw for the hex-shaft buts.


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Not sure what you're on about pottz, I thought everyone had this many braces?


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...





> Not sure what you re on about pottz, I thought everyone had this many braces?
> 
> - MikeB_UK


lol-nope,i had one and gave it away.i think someone had cut the cord off maybe ?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


It appears Pottz prefers tails on his toys, Mike. It takes all kinds I guess. ;-)


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...





> It appears Pottz prefers tails on his toys, Mike. It takes all kinds I guess. ;-)
> 
> - Dave Polaschek


lmao !!!! well im definitely one of the "other" kinds,and proud !


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Long as you're happy, buddy. ;-)


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...





> Long as you're happy, buddy. ;-)
> 
> - Dave Polaschek


you always make me happy my friend ;-)


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Careful there, people might talk. :-0


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...





> Careful there, people might talk. :-0
> 
> - Dave Polaschek


what the hell,no matter what, they always talk,we know what we got,and thats all that matters to me.


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


It's not a fetish if everyone does it pottz  - may have to make a till for them myself at some point, they do seem to be multiplying.


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


i think i may have entered-"the twiight zone" lol. i remember those yankee screwdrivers my dad had one.but that was only because there were no cordless drills then.


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Those yankee drivers are awsome pottz.
Power can't run out and the length of them means it is incredibly easy to drill a pilot hole to an exact angle, also about as quick as a cordless.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


Looked again this morning. I think I've got two 4s and two 5s. Plus two eggbeaters that are in regular use (countersink bit, and 1/16 bit for making pilot holes), and two eggbeaters I still need to refurb so they work well…

No yankee drivers, but my 6 has a screwdriver bit in it. That's pretty handy when I have a big flathead screw to put in or out, but I'm slowly switching all the big screws to Robertson drive.


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


dave you ever try torx screws,i switched to those years ago,as long as you keep the tip in the screw they will not slip.grk makes some very good quality screws all torx drive.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Another day, another drawer*
> 
> First, a photo of how the till looks today.
> 
> ...


I've got Torx screws and drivers, but I'm very happy with an R-2 bit in my small electric drill / screwdriver. It handles 90% of my needs with a single bit, and I've never had it slip. With Torx, I'm always wondering "is that a T-20, or a T-25, or what?"


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Drawer clean up*

Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.










So I scribbled on the sides with a pencil and hauled the belt-sander outside to clean things up. The belt started out as 60 grit, but I've been using it long enough that it's probably more like 120 now. Still plenty good for cleaning up drawer sides.










After a few minutes, the sides were cleaned up, and the drawer fits much better. Maybe a hair loose, but plenty good for my purposes.










And it looks pretty good, too.


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


Hi Dave, It looks like it is fitting now!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers, Jim


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


Yeah, Jim. It would've fit, but it would've been tight. Now it slides in and out smoothly.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


I agree & use your method of work discussed here, make the drawers a fraction oversized and trim down for a piston fit. Nice one ….

I try to make the tightest fit with the height, so the drawer dosen't drop down when pulled out about two thirds of the max. Seems to be successful for me so far.


----------



## sawdust1whisperer (Nov 11, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


You probably made more dovetails this year than most of us do in a live time.

The view from you garage is wonderful and mysterious.

Good job Dave.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! I'm leaving the drawers short on the height front, but I'll put runners on the sides to hold them down so they don't tip out. But I wanted enough slack height-wise so I can easily pull them out if I need a specific set of bits for a project, rather than just a single bit.

Thanks, James. That low wall on the left of the photo of the belt sander is the small courtyard by our neighbor's front door. In the distance you can see the foothills of the Ortiz Mountains to our south.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


Looks like you are making progress Dave. I like your fine tuning of the drawer, I sorta do the same, except using a palm sander. I prefer the drawers to be a little snug. I will end up using some paste wax on the bottoms of mine along with the runners.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. I've never been a huge fan of super-tight drawers. Living in MN for most of my life, tight drawers just wouldn't move in the summer with the high humidity, so I learned to like them a little loose.

I also had about 1/16 of pins sticking out on this box, so it was definitely a "clean up with the belt sander" job. I'll use a plane if the pins and tails aren't proud and I need to take wood off the sides to level things out. Should try my low-angle plane for the end grain some time.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


I hear what you saying about the humidity, it can definitely tighten things up. I figure a playing card space on each side.

With my current project, I need to take that into consideration. Disadvantage of building in the winter.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


Yeah. A playing card is probably enough. Other thing is, it's not *that* hard to plane a little off the sides if the box tightens up in the summer. Just a pain to have to do it if you're busy with other stuff.

I figure for shop furniture, I'd rather leave it a little sloppy and not have to mess with it later.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


A little loose for the goose is better than fight with the tight I always say. This reminds me I have to adjust the one in our pantry cabinet. I think my hand is ready to get back to work.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


That's great news about your hand, Dave! I've been having a little arthritis in my right hand lately. Hasn't stopped me going to the shop, but it's cut a couple days short.

Oh well. Getting older isn't much fun, but I guess it beats the alternative.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


I also make drawers too big and then plane or sand down.
Looks fine Dave.
Best thoughts my friend,
Mads


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


When I decided that I was going to put the fronts onto the drawer boxes, rather than cutting half-blind dovetails, that made it much easier to decide to build the drawers "to size" and then sand them down a bit. If there is extra room around the edge of the drawer, it will be hidden by the front, which will also cover up my uneven joinery in the carcasse, since my first attempts at sliding dovetails were not great.

Thank you, and a happy new year, my friend!


----------



## sawdust1whisperer (Nov 11, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


Dave is that a Harbor Freight disc and belt sander in the outdoor photo? If it is would you recommend it?

I've been thinking about getting one.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer clean up*
> 
> Took yesterday's drawer out of the clamps this morning and checked it for fit. As I expected, it was a bit tight, due to the bottom being a hair large.
> 
> ...


It's an older Grizzly, James. Got it from my sweetie's dad when he closed up his wood shop. But I've been pretty happy with my Harbor Freight 12-33 lathe. It's not great, but it does the job.

The Grizzly sander has been a workhorse for me, but it has no provision for dust collection, which would be something I would look for in a future upgrade. Having to drag it outside so the dust can blow away is kind of a pain.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*More drawers*

Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.

Had one drawer box all ready for glue-up when I walked into the shop, so that was the first task. Got it together and started cutting the next box, which went well, and the first box had spent a little over an hour in the clamps, so I could remove them and reuse them on the second box of the day.

And then I started on the third box, and was done and ready for glue in under an hour. Apparently practice still makes me better! So I found four longer clamps and a couple shorter ones to hold the box together, since I'm pretty sure the glue wants at least an hour to set before I remove the clamps. I had a brief thought that I should be using hot hide glue, since the cold at the shop floor near the door won't bother that as much, and I could almost go clamp-free, but I haven't been setting up my glue-pot in the mornings, so Titebond II use will probably continue.

In any case, that was enough for the day, and I'll knock out the last two drawer boxes today, and maybe get the previous batch of three sanded and fitted today, and can get started on designing storage for the bits tomorrow.

Edited to add: here are the three drawer boxes in place, after cleaning them up on the belt sander:


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


Well, at our age you can't remember everything. (At least that's the case for me)

HAPPY NEW YEAR.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


As I've said before, most days I'm just happy to discover that I remembered to put on pants (or trousers for our British and Aussie friends). As long as I remember that, it can't be all bad.

Happy New Year, Tom!


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


Still making progress and ending the year at the same time. Not bad.
Have you thought about using band clamps for the drawers?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave!

I don't have any band clamps (I know, a huge shortcoming on my part), but I'm pretty sure given the protruding pins and tails, I would need to add cauls with band clamps, and then I would still have issues with keeping the drawer box square. Six clamps per box seems a little excessive, especially for such small boxes, but I can square them up and keep them square pretty reliably that way.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


*As I've said before, most days I'm just happy to discover that I remembered to put on pants*


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


Well, forgetting them entirely is a slightly different problem than getting the order wrong. ;-)


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


Progress is good


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawers*
> 
> Yesterday I was busy building and didn't stop to take pictures.
> 
> ...


Sure is. Tomorrow I think I'll start on building bits inside the boxes to hold the various bits. My long brad-point bits are going to be most challenging. They'll have to go in diagonally, but since I don't use them often, I think that's okay. They'll be the bottom layer in one of the drawers.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*

A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.

First is one of the steps I don't think I've mentioned in previous write-ups of building a dovetailed box. If the opposing sides of the box are not the same length, it will be very difficult to make a square box. So after cutting the sides, I will match up the opposite sides in my face vise and look at their lengths. If they're uneven, like this pair are, they will need some clean-up.










I do the cleanup with a block plane. In pine, I can take a fairly heavy cut so it goes quickly, and as long as I'm careful, I won't get any spelching. First I go from right to left, tapering off the cut as I go, so I don't remove any material from the left edge.










Then I turn the block plane around, and come from the left edge to the middle, evening things out. If I'm overlapping a little, I won't leave a crown in the middle, but if I do, that's usually not too big of a problem, as I'll clean that up with the final sanding of the drawer.










That done, I dovetail as normal.

For the glue-up, I put glue on the spaces between the pins, and on the sides of the pins.










I slop it on a little heavy. It's a lot easier to clean up a little squeeze-out than it is to have to re-glue a joint.










When clamping the box, I put the first clamps on to pull the tails onto the pins, placing the clamps so they're compressing everything against the bottom of the box. If I have made everything fit right, the bottom will still be able to move a bit.

The next clamps go the other direction, holding the sides with the pins tight in the tails.

And then the third set of clamps go on, holding the top of the tail-boards tight on the pins, but not so tight that the boards bow in and end up curvy.



















And that's it for today. Happy New Year, and thanks for looking!


----------



## sawdust1whisperer (Nov 11, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Nice Dave. I'm a big fan of squeeze out too. Better to have to much glue than not enough.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Textbook procedure, just as all the woodworking books & magazines outline it. Nice work.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Thanks, James!

Thanks, Tom! Guess maybe they know what they're talking about, eh?


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Those are looking good Dave, you are making progress. I always use a stop block at the miter saw when I am cutting the identical board lengths for drawers and cabinets. Even an 1/8" off you never get a square box. The plane is a good idea.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


I haven't been using the miter box for these. The 1/4 inch thick stock will slide under the stop block if I'm not careful, so I've been cutting them with a backsaw. On the pair that needed planing, it was probably a matter of cutting on different sides of the pencil lines, though I might've mis-marked one of the boards too. But fixing one with a block plane is pretty quick, plus the planed end is easier to mark (and see) lines on.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Yes, good surface to mark is always nice to have, and "x" for the waste. I hate to make the mistake and cut the wrong piece out, done it to many times.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


I generally only mark everything the first few dovetails of a big batch like this. Toward the end of a batch, I leave out the Xes and the vertical lines on the pins. Haven't made any mistakes lately, which probably means I'll be in for a doozy when my mind does wander.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


When I was build the drawers for my storage, I marked all the fingers I had to cut. Did not want to have two fingers colliding, and I have the depth reference line.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Yeah, part of the thing with my small dovetails like this is that I intentionally keep them down to four tails with three pins between them, which means I don't have to remember a lot of cuts. And between the bookcases and now these drawer boxes (plus 40 or 50 drawers for the hardware cabinet to come), which pieces get cut out is almost an unconscious decision. The right configuration just looks right as I'm cutting it.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


No spelching, that's the way to go. Heck I had to look up that word. Don't think I've ever heard it used, Maybe?
If I ever start to do dovetails again I will be giving you a call. You are really into those hand tools.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave! I think it's a perfectly cromulent word, especially among us galoots. Though the use of the bandsaw for dimensioning the wood likely knocked a couple points off my galoot index for this project, as did the use of the belt sander for final cleanup. Ah well.

Just holler if you need some tips, Dave. Glad to help a buddy!


----------



## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Have always found glue-up came in 3s….equal parts glue, cauls, clamps, and cussing…
(There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those that can count, and those that can't…)

IF a board can fit between the jaws of my bench vise…I use the jaws to stop any blow-outs. Seeings how I have Oak jaws in the vise…

Looking good, so far..


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer boxes / odds and ends*
> 
> A few odds and ends as I built the last two drawer boxes today.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Bandit. I ended up cutting the top off one of the boxes today (to turn it into two short boxes), and that used the face vise of the bench. More in the latest update, which might be after lunch.,,


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Fitting out drawers*

Today I started fitting out the drawers.

The biggest problem (the longest bits) I had were a set of long brad-point bits. They're almost exactly the same length as the drawer openings, which means they have to go into a box diagonally. Or he box needs holes drilled in the side walls. So I started by cutting about an inch off the top of one of the boxes and putting a bottom on it.




























I also drilled holes into it from the two ends, but forgot to take a picture. Mañana.

In the bottom portion of that box, I put in holders for my set of Fisch augers with hardwood lead screws. They're very nice, but they're not a complete set, and Fisch is unlikely to ever make a complete set, so I didn't leave any spare room.

To make the rests for the sharp ends, I drilled holes in two pieces of board clamped together in my face vise. That worked pretty well.










The square ends of the bits just slide into half inch holes in another board. And then I made room for my "spare" tapered reamer bit in that case, as the Fisch bits will almost certainly get used in the same projects where I need a tapered hole (chair or staked furniture work).










I'll likely cut the box down a little farther tomorrow and make runners so these two partial drawers can sit one atop another.

That was it for today.


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Nice progress, Dave!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers, Jim


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jim! I've got a couple head-scratchers that are slowing me down at the moment, one is my old (full and then some) set of Russell Jennings bits (3-16, 18 & 20, mostly hardwood lead screws), and my goofy-sized construction augers with the softwood lead screws (3/8, 15/32, 9/16, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, which came that way as a set, honest!). Beyond that, I think it's mostly assembling jigsaw puzzles so seven drawers will be enough, rather than needing a dozen.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Nice solution to the extra long drill bits, good thinking.


----------



## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Dave, Your shed is going to be one of the best organised and sorts sheds in the country; definitely a great well done job.


----------



## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Once again you put me to shame. I managed to drill 4 holes and install some barrel bolts in the workbench.

BTW - one of these days you need to show us a picture of your shop with all of the newly built storage boxes.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


That's it for the day? I haven't even started yet. LOL. Good thinking with those nice bits.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! It was a head scratcher for a while.

Thanks, Peter! Hopefully it will be. At the moment I have such a mess on the top of my main bench I have to set up a sawhorse outside in order to cut plywood for the box bottoms.

Thanks, Earl! But yours is probably bigger. I plan to update the shop pictures fairly soon.

Thanks, Dave! Thing is, they're not great bits (they needed sharpening right out of the box), but they're useful once in a while. And really only with power tools. I expect they'll get used maybe once a year, if that, but when I do need the long brad-point bits, they'll save me the headache of a wandering hole drilled with something else.


----------



## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Looking good, so far!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Bandit!


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


You are making some really good progress there Dave. Great solution for the bits.

It sounds like we are inspiring a few here to get some organization done. Lol


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric! No shop time today, but it sounds like I should get a full morning both tomorrow and Wednesday.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Yea, I am back to work. It was hard going into day after being off since the 24th.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


We just had a couple errands to run, and then it was a nice day out so we went for a walk before dinner, and the day kinda went poof.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


That sounds like most weekends, poof and it's gone.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Fitting out drawers*
> 
> Today I started fitting out the drawers.
> 
> ...


Yeah. At least we're retired so we get to try again tomorrow. Or something.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*First drawer done, starting on the second*

Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.










Next up, the small drawer that will hold my long brad-point bits.










When I drilled the smaller holes for the brad points, I broke through the end of the box (intentionally). So today it was time to fix that up. I glued on (with hot hide glue) a spare bit of edge-banding to cover the holes and protect the brad points.










Since it was hot hide glue, I didn't really need to clamp at all, but it made it easier to take the curl out of the edge-banding.



















And now the small drawer is done. Time to give it some runners to ride on. I cut a couple pieces of oak, and tacked them into the till, spacing them the thickness of a scrap above the drawer below them.




























And a little over a half hour later, I figured the glue was "set enough" to test the fit.










Yep. That'll do.

Time for the next drawer. This will hold my old set of (mostly) Russell Jennings auger bits. I made wooden holders for the largest bits.










And then reused one of the metal clips from the (broken) box I got the bits in to hold the smaller bits. Plus I added a small handle I had left over from something else so I could lift this tray of bits out.










Again, hot hide glue put the piece of plywood into the end and set up quickly enough that I could continue working, rather than having to wait for the glue to dry.

So that's two drawers fitted out.


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


You are almost done and with that hide glue you can make them faster….........Cheers, Jim


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Looking good dave, I still need to make something for my brace bits, I may be swiping a few ideas from yours.


----------



## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Dave, This must be one of the best organised shed tool storage on LumberJocks….


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Well, there are still five more, Jim. Got a lot of bits…

Mike, I've stolen most of the ideas from others, including Eric. Feel free!

Thanks, Peter! Slowly getting there.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Nice work & solution to the brad point bits storage. Those are some really long brad bits, do they have a special application?


----------



## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Looking good, so far!....


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! Like shorter brad points, they're good at going where you point them. I bought them to drill the not-quite 12" long holes for the carriage bolts that hold the front two boards of my new bench together, because I tried drilling a hole with my regular augers which weren't long enough, and then using another bit I had, it ran into a knot and veered off at an angle. These go straight through, even with knots and crazy grain, and can drill about 11" deep.

Thanks, Bandit. Bit by bit.


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Bit by bit… lol… I see what you did there.



Looking good, nice work!


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Those bits are fitting together nicely, great solutions. You are moving along on the storage. And installing runners with a small spacer works wonders.

I think all of us here have taken a few ideas from others. That is why I like this site so much.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Heh! Thanks, Smitty!

Indeed, Eric! Take the best of everyone else's ideas and a guy can look pretty smart!


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


I like what Smitty said, bit by bit. haha.
Dave, I like making the drawer a perfect fit as you did. After all it's custom work. Many people think making all the drawers standard is a better way to go but your way you can fit more. Wood workers can always change it later. 
I like your thinking.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave. There's at least one more set of bits that has me scratching my head, so there may be another custom-fit drawer before I'm done.

The nice thing about my plan at this point is that the two pieces of hand-resawed elm that are going to be the drawer fronts will be cut after everything else is done, so I'm hoping it'll look almost continuous, except for the pulls. And maybe labels. Haven't figured that part out yet.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


My God you have a lot of wonderful old drill bits.
Looking good with the order in the drawers, you will have an easy life after this.
Bit by bit.
Smiles.
Best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


I do, Mads. At one point I decided I wanted to learn about how all the various types of bits cut, so I picked up some of each to use and see what I thought of them. And then I discovered the various ways people have abused them over the years, mostly sharpening them incorrectly. Ah well. It's all learning.

Smiles, friend! Be well!


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


This is why my workshop has become a tool collection - I wanted to try them all.
Smiles.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


It can be expensive being a curious monkey, no? ;-)

Many smiles!


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


Laughs yes.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *First drawer done, starting on the second*
> 
> Started out today by cutting down the drawer holding my Fisch auger bits. They only need a single level, and the added space will give me room for runners for the drawer above them.
> 
> ...


I know that feeling, brother!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*

One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.

First the batwing bits, because I won't use them very often. They're nice for making a clean hole it they're in good shape, but mine aren't yet, and they haven't been a priority to sharpen up yet.










Recesses for the larger bits, pieces of bamboo skewers to hold the smaller bits, and a couple ipe knobs I turned from a ¾ inch diameter stick I had laying around so I can life the set out of the bottom of the drawer.

Next is a tray for my forstner bits. Again, carved using three different gouges.



















Then I stuck a couple pieces of pine on the ends of that board so it can sit over the batwing bits in the same drawer. I may need to add a handle or I may not. Trying to decide if I'm going to make another tray to hold my plug cutters in this drawer too, but I got hungry for lunch and called it a day in the shop.



















Once the glue has had a chance to dry, I'll cut off the top and bottom of the sides to get the tray of forstner bits fitting perfectly.


----------



## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Those bat wings (spade?) bits look like antiques 8^)
I'd hate to be someone who offends you when you are armed with one of those in the business end of your crank drill!

Are your Forstners marked in 1/16ths or are they metric?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


They are. But they've been used hard and resharpened… inexpertly.

The forstners (they're Freuds but without the wooden case) are marked in eighths, but I think in sixteenths so that's the numbers I wrote.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Coming along nicely Dave, looking good with the double stack in this drawer as the prior.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! I thought about whether to make two short drawers again, or stack inside the drawer like this. Decided I'd go this way, and maybe squeeze in my plug cutters, too. I'll decide for sure tomorrow morning when I see how things fit after I cut the stack down to size.


----------



## sawdust1whisperer (Nov 11, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Dave. Something about your work makes me sad.

Oh I know what is. It's because I don't have storage boxes like yours.

Great hand work with the gouges.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Thanks, James. I still don't have storage boxes like mine either, though I will soon. My sweetie asked how it was going today, and I told her, "Well, I have three drawers done. But they're not done because the drawer fronts and handles still have to go on. And I need to finish the insides of the other four drawers, and I'm not sure that's going to be enough, but other than that, I'm plugging along!"

She responded with, "bit by bit!" and when I started laughing, I had to explain how that was funny because I'm building storage for bits and she looked at me as though I've gone senile.

But for a project I was going to wrap up "pretty quickly," this one is taking a while. I'm 9 days into this most recent bit of work, and feel like I'm still less than half done with this step. Plus once this is done, I need to build doors which will also hold the eggbeaters and maybe some marking tools.

Ah well. It's sure better than sitting around bored!


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Dave , you have quite a collection. I like those old spade bits . They look easy to sharpen….Cheers,, Jim


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Looking good Dave, you are definitely making progress. The bat wing bits as you call them (it's a spade bit) they do look old.

A comment I make occasionally is "I'm hungry and I can't concentrate" good time for lunch.

Hears a thought for you, what about a finger hole to pull the tray of bits up. That may allow you more room to add a third one in this drawer.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jim. The problem with them is that at least once, someone sharpened the outside of the spur that slices across the fibers, so I need to narrow the other foot of the bits slightly so they work correctly again (and cut a slightly smaller hole). It's not the end of the world, but it means that even getting them really cheap on eBay, I might've overpaid.

Thanks, Eric. I've been calling them batwings to distinguish them from modern spade bits, which have a less graceful shape and two spurs.

A finger hole is a good idea, but the turned ipe handles I put on the lowest level don't stick up much farther than the bits in the tray do. And if I cut the top of the pieces off on the tray holding the forstner bits, I might have room for a third level. We'll see tomorrow, I guess.


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Fancy French(ish) fitting 

Those center (batwing) bits are the ones I use most, it's possible they are a lot easier to get over here than there (or at least a lot cheaper).


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


I like the idea of the countersink forstner bit tray. I just have too many of those. 4 boxes = to 1 would be much better. All but a few have been sharpened recently. I should make one of my attache cases for them. I think I will. I have to keep up with the Joneses (Daves).
As kids my brother and I called them batman bits whenever we heard our dad mention them.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Mike. As I said to someone else, the main problem with those bits now is that someone sharpened them poorly, taking metal off the outside of the spur, which makes them not really work. I know how to fix it, but haven't set aside the time to do so yet, as it's fiddly metalwork, which I enjoy less than fiddly woodwork. And they don't come up too often on eBay, so I haven't seen another set I just had to have.

I looked at people who just drilled holes and stood them upright too (points up), Dave. Decided I might need to do that if I get some larger diameter bits, but for now an inch is enough for me to start hollowing something, and then take the bedan to it to widen that initial hole. But if I get larger Forstner bits, they'll only be used on the lathe, so maybe they'll go with the lathe tools.

I like the idea of an attaché case, though. Have bits, will travel starring DoubleDave!


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


*Have bits will travel.* I like that. Maybe I'll use that in my next posted case. After all it has a handle.
I'm looking at all the forstner bits now figuring how to arrange them nicely in one case.
I'll need the thinking cap for this.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Just don't strain anything putting on the thinking cap. Make sure to take a nap if you feel like you might be overheating the gray matter. ;-)


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...





> Thanks, Mike. As I said to someone else, the main problem with those bits now is that someone sharpened them poorly, taking metal off the outside of the spur, which makes them not really work. I know how to fix it, but haven't set aside the time to do so yet, as it's fiddly metalwork, which I enjoy less than fiddly woodwork. And they don't come up too often on eBay, so I haven't seen another set I just had to have.


If you've got a drill adaptor, moving it slowly closer to a sanding block should work to fix that (I havent tried it, don't have a drill adaptor, but it should work, probably . it is a pain fixing it with a file.



> I looked at people who just drilled holes and stood them upright too (points up), Dave. Decided I might need to do that if I get some larger diameter bits, but for now an inch is enough for me to start hollowing something, and then take the bedan to it to widen that initial hole. But if I get larger Forstner bits, they'll only be used on the lathe, so maybe they'll go with the lathe tools.
> 
> I like the idea of an attaché case, though. Have bits, will travel starring DoubleDave!
> 
> - Dave Polaschek


Yeah, I went with the drill holes for the center bits, and just lie the block down to put the drawer away (the ones at the bottom are either duplicates or one I haven't needed to sharpen), not great as organisation goes, but good storage density.
Although I do like the attache case idea.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer - batwing and Forstner bits*
> 
> One more drawer mostly done today. These are both carved into a piece of ¾ inch pine.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I'll probably just fix them with a file, though. The grinder will be too easy to overdo it. Or maybe I'll find another set that don't need fixing one of these days.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*

Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.










Then with four holes drilled (for eight bits), I cut them apart on the bandsaw. Woohoo! They'll fit in a single layer in a small drawer!










So I measured how much space I needed and cut off the drawer.










And glued and clamped a bottom to the piece that didn't have a bottom any more.










For the other half of the drawer, I carved trays for my countersink bits,










Plug cutters,










And I'll fill the rest of the drawer with spare twist bits and the spade bits I use for drilling through saw plates.










I think I can take another 1/4 - 3/8 inch off the drawer with the spoon bits tomorrow in order to make room for a pair of runners, so that's going to be the first thing for tomorrow, I think. Almost out of bits to find a home for, finally!


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Lovely spoon bits, how do they cut?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Very well. They're the set from Gramercy Tools and came quite sharp. I haven't had to resharpen them yet, but they look like they won't be too difficult to sharpen. No worse than most curved gouges, and perhaps a bit easier, even.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Bit by bit you knocked it out if the park there Dave. Great organization for all of those bits you have.

I have never heard of a spoon bit, so the silly question what are they used for?


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Looking good, progress is at a rapid pace.

Regarding the spoon bits, in an article I read about their use, they aren't started like other bits, that being dead center on hole placement, but rather they spiral from somewhere off of center location into the center. Do you find this to be the case?, or did I misread?


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Thanks.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. They don't have a lead screw, so you can make a flat bottomed (well, round-bottomed, but not through) hole, such as to put a stick for a chair into. I will be making a stick chair or two at some point, and they'll be handy for that. They also can leave a nice clean entry hole, and if you're skilled, you can actually steer a hole as you go, and even make it slightly wider at the bottom than at the entry. I'm getting there…

The other thing I use them for is my existing dining room chairs. They're joined with dowels, and some of the joints are falling apart. I can drill out the old dowel with a spoon bit, enlarging the hole up to the next size I have, and then make a new dowel to redo the joint. Trying to bore out a busted dowel with anything else is pretty tough, but with these, it's not so bad.

Thanks, Tom! Right, they start about 1/3 off from the center, and during that first time around, they'll sorta trace a circle, the center of which you want to keep where the center of the hole will be. If you're getting off to one side, you can crank the other direction (they'll cut either way) and sorta migrate the center back the other direction. Takes a bit of practice.

You're welcome Mads!


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Those sound like they would be a handy bit to have. And if you can make the hole wider at the bottom, you could put a wedge in the end of the dowel. Problem solved on chair legs.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Yeah. That's how I'm repairing the chairs. Drill out the remains of the old dowel and put in a new ash dowel with a blind wedge in the bottom of the hole. Works pretty well for the chair arms.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Another nice fitted tool drawer. I just learned something about spoon bits . That's enough learning for today.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Small drawer, spoon bits, countersinks, plug cutters*
> 
> Started on the next drawer of stuff. The spoon bits I have are about the toughest to make fit, so I started with them. Rather than using a gouge to carve a holder for them, I used auger bits to drill through two pieces of pine simultaneously, with them clamped in my face vise so the lead screw wouldn't push them apart.
> 
> ...


Glad to help, Dave! Hope I didn't cause any overheating, buddy! ;-)


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Last drawer insides*

Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.










When I left off yesterday, the short drawer I was working on looked like the photo above. When I came back to the shop, I realized I have 3 VIX bits I need to have a home for, so I got another piece of pine and started carving.










I also wanted the drawer to be a bit shorter. There's no good reason for the trays to be a full 3/4 thick, so I set the fence in the bandsaw to about 3/8 inch and resawed them.










I also took 3/8 inch off the top of the drawer box with one of my larger backsaws.










And then I set the two drawers in their cubby to make sure they'd fit with the runners in place, and got ready to glue the runners in. By this point, the glue was up to temperature. [brief break in the narrative while I run out to the shop and unplug the crock pot for the day, and put the glue back in the fridge]










I set the lower drawer in place with some spacers, then did a rub-joint with the runners until the glue grabbed.










That's that pair of drawer boxes complete. I looked through the bits I have remaining, and it looks like the rest are just getting tossed into various drawers for now.



















And with the drawer boxes done, I started laying out the drawer fronts. I took my piece of resawed elm that's going to be the fronts, and decided which way it'll be oriented, then planed one of the edges square as a reference surface.










Then I cut both boards to width and cut off the last 3/4 inch from the end so I'd have a square surface there to measure from.










Then I laid out the drawers on each of the boards, and called it a day. I'll double-check my work tomorrow before making any of these cuts, as once I start cutting, I'm committed to this plan. I think you'll be able to see the marks on the boards. The plan is that the drawer fronts will butt up against each other, leaving bookmatched grain on the two rows of drawers, and continuous grain from left to right along the row. The wood lost to kerfs should be just enough that the drawers won't rub against each other.










Thanks for looking!


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


This is coming along fine. I notice you operate in a similar manner to me, that being design & adjust during the build. 
I'm currently building a single door cabinet to match the buffet I made for my daughter's dining room, and I'm using the completed pieces like the 2 sides at *"about"* 7/8" thick to cut the cross members to obtain a finished cabinet with an 18" over all width.
I wouldn't have to do this but I seldom mill all boards to the traditional 3/4" thick since I flatten & surface materials by hand. When it's flat, that is good enough & I adjust additional components to accommodate.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! Yeah, I adjust as I go, and to be honest, I often don't even know the thickness of the lumber I'm using. The drawer fronts started as a single 4/4 board that got smoothed, then resawed in half-ish (my cut wandered while cutting the long board). I'll smooth the side I resawed after all the drawer fronts have been cut out, and I'll end up with something between 1/4 and 2/4 finished, and quite probably with the two rows of drawer fronts being slightly different thickness. If it bugs me, I'll fiddle with them until they look right, and then put on the handles.

The drawer boxes were built "pretty close" to the sizes they needed to be, but because of hurried and inexpert joinery on the carcasse (my first sliding dovetails, among other things), no two are exactly the same size. But they look like they'll be close enough that my eye won't be bugged by them. And I tried to make the drawer fronts closer to the same size (without making them too goofy), which will hide some of the differences. Or not.


----------



## sawdust1whisperer (Nov 11, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


Your getting there in style Dave. Are we going to see the finished project?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


Eventually, James. Thanks! There are still doors to be made, possibly with the offcuts of the elm drawer fronts incorporated, and which will hold eggbeaters and perhaps some other drills. I probably won't start on those for a while, as I have projects for in the house I'm supposed to be tending to, as well.


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


Man are you ever getting organized….........I love it….............Cheers,Jimj


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


This is looking good Dave. I really like the grain in that elm. You are going to have a fine cabinet there to organize all those bits and the braces.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jim! It's all stuff I had hoped to do before moving from MN to NM, but better late than never, right?

Thanks, Eric! It was a chunk of elm that I got fairly reasonably priced at my regular lumber yard back in MN because of a big knot that I cut off and used in a box in a swap. The rest of it I've been saving for something special. I think I resawed it partly in MN and partly here. It's been resawed and leaning against the wall in my shop for over a year now.

My only real question remaining is whether I'm going to grain-fill it with black or just finish it as is. I think either way will look pretty good, but I can probably use some more practice with grain-filling.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


Dave don't you want to kick yourself when you make a drawer or box for a accessory and miss something. I just did the same for my countersink bits. I miscounted how many there were? At least that's my story but I was able to get them fitted. Your efforts are coming along good.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Last drawer insides*
> 
> Step zero for the morning was to get the hot hide glue going. Figured I was going to need it today.
> 
> ...


Well, Dave… yes, but I have titanium knees, so I'm not much of a kicker any more. But that's why I haven't glued any of the trays into the drawer boxes yet (and probably won't for a while). My shop is chaotic enough yet, and I still have at least two boxes of stuff I haven't completely unpacked yet, so I'm planning on me being a screwup and missing something.

The drawer fronts are probably going to be the thing that'll be most obvious if I make mistakes, so I'm glad I waited until today to cut and attach them. I figured out, I think, a better way to line them all up, but have to try it out to be sure it'll work. Just about ready to head out to the shop to try that out now.

Thanks! It's taking a lot longer to build out the drawers than I initially guesstimated, but that's ok. We're not going anywhere for a while, so I've got time to try and get it right.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*

When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.

First step was to trim the boards down to length so I wasn't wrestling a 5-6 foot long piece around the shop. I used my "new" miter box for that.



















This also will give you a bit of an idea of the chaos that is my bench top at the moment.

With that done, I wanted a way to get the drawers aligned vertically so I could mark how much I need to take off the top of the top row and the bottom of the bottom row. I decided that the best next step would be to flatten the backs of the boards. For the thicker one, this meant trimming off 3/32 in some spots, so I set up to resaw it on the bandsaw. I didn't take any picture of that because halfway through that board, the bottom of the bandsaw blade had wandered enough that it hit the side of the insert in the table, snapped, and the end of the blade took a little bite out of my finger. Nothing a band-aid wouldn't fix, but it threw me off a bit.

I inspected the bandsaw, and the problem is that the sliding bracket that holds the upper wheel doesn't slide very well, and the sides of it that should be smooth so they'll slide in the groove on the frame are all chewed up. So it sticks. So I had plenty of tension on the gauge that shows the tension on the wheel, but I didn't have as much tension as I thought on the *blade*, so bad things happened. New part ordered. Sigh.

So much for having my tailed apprentice save me some work. I put a new blade on, tensioned the blade and finished the cut, and then unplugged the bandsaw until the new parts arrive.

Then I got out the transitional plane I got from my Secret Santa and smoothed the backs of the drawer fronts enough that I figured I'd be able to glue them to the drawer boxes.










I used a couple screws and a piece of blue tape to hold the top board in place while I marked and double-checked the height, then cut the excess off the top of the board and planed the top edge smooth.










Then I used the miter box to cut the drawer fronts apart.










Then I screwed each drawer front onto the drawer box putting a single screw though the area that will (hopefully) be covered by the dealer pull.










Back to the miter box to repeat that for the bottom row.










And I screwed each drawer front onto the appropriate box as I went.










With all the drawer fronts in place, I cut the two halves of the short drawers apart, after visually verifying where the cut should be, and screwed those to the drawer boxes.










I discovered that one of the runners I put in yesterday hadn't stuck, so I cleaned it up and reglued that (luckily I had set up the glue pot when I got to the shop).










And with that, I called it a day. I'll come back and trim a little off the left edge of the lower row of drawer fronts, trim about 3/4 inch off the bottoms of the bottom row (they all hang below the bottom of the cabinet now), then sand the fronts of them smooth and finish them with some shellac. They may get the whole French Polish treatment, but I still need to decide if I want to fill the grain first or not.

And then they'll get the drawer pulls installed, and I'll take a break from this till for a while. I need to repair and repaint a rocking chair we have (it used to belong to my mom) and then get started on my project for the turning swap.










Thanks for following along!


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


This cabinet is progressing nicely. Too bad about the bandsaw blade, frustrating, but at least it wasn't worse than a band aid fix.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! I've broken a few lately and have been wondering what I had wrong with the machine that they were popping so often. Glad I figured out at least one of the potential causes and have a new replacement part on the way already. Plus I just received a 6-pack of blades from Suffolk, so I had a spare ready to put on.

And the break this time is the first time I've ever been caught by the broken end of a blade. Glad it was as minor as it was. Didn't even need to get the super glue!


----------



## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


Is this house furniture or shed storage solutions! 
I think house furniture…..


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


Those drawer fronts look good Dave, you are moving right along. I see why you built a small bench first. As for that band saw blade, sorry to hear about that one. Sounds like you figured out the reason, and it was only a minor injury.


----------



## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


i just love the grain match makes it look very nice :<))))))))


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Peter! It'll stay in the shop / shed, but I'm going to be working on some furniture for inside the house soon, so I might as well get some practice, right?

Thanks, Eric. Yeah, having the miter saw bench has been a help, if only because my main bench is full of stuff. And yeah, the bandsaw blade sucked, but I'll heal in a few days, probably before the replacement part gets here, but it did already ship today, so that's something.

Thanks, Tony! I've been saving that elm board for a while, knowing it would be the drawer fronts for this cabinet. And after this (at some point), there will be a parts bin for the shop with wormy chestnut drawer fronts. It may just be shop furniture, but it's nice to spiff it up where I can.


----------



## planepassion (Nov 24, 2010)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


Superb use of continuous grain on your drawer fronts.


----------



## sawdust1whisperer (Nov 11, 2014)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


Like GR Hunter said great grain orientation. Looks like one big slab with draws in it.

Great job Dave

Are you going to stain it. Either way it will look fine.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Cutting Drawer Fronts to Size*
> 
> When I left off yesterday, I had roughly laid out the boards for the drawer fronts and was thinking about how best to keep them aligned through the process of attaching them to the drawer boxes.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Brad!

Thanks, James! It got a coat of BLO this morning. After looking at it closely, I figure BLO plus a few coats of blonde shellac will probably be a nice finish. It means another day or two while waiting for the oil to cure, but it's not like it's going anywhere.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Starting to finish the drawer fronts*

This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.

First up was trimming the height of the bottom row. Pretty easy to mark, just reach around behind and use the bottom of the carcasse to make pencil marks at each end of a drawer front, and then connect the dots.










After sawing them off, I started on each drawer. For each, as I pulled it, I first marked which side was up on the back.










Then I planed the front as smooth as I could with my small smoother. It needs some tuning for dealing with the interlocked grain of elm, so I couldn't get a surface I liked just from the plane.










Depending on the board, I used 60, 120 and 220 grit sanding blocks as needed. I also used a block plane and 60 grit on the end grain of a couple pieces where there were nubbins left at the end of the saw cut.




























And finally, I fixed any cracks from behind with some CA glue. It's not a strong fix, but these will be glued to the drawer boxes, so there shouldn't be any great need for strength.










Here's one done, finished with a coat of linseed oil.










And completed.










I had hoped to glue in the drawer fronts yet this morning, but that was when I was planning to finish with shellac only. After getting the surfaces ready, I decided oil and then shellac would look better. And there were enough small cracks and bug tracks that I decided against grain-filling.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


That is looking really nice Dave. The grain across the front is really popping. I like you sanding blocks and the way you have them labeled for the grit too. I need to make a few of those myself, I like to use blocks with sanding, more so to take the corners off a bit.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. The sanding blocks were by Poohbaah and I use them a lot. Using a sharpie to label the sandpaper when I put it into the block saves me confusion down the road: "is this worn out 120, or 220?" ;-)


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


I hear ya on the grits, when I cut if the pieces I use, I try to get a piece with the grit stamped on the back.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


The drawer fronts are looking good. Got any ideas for decorating the fronts?, like chamfering the front edges, or maybe adding a bead molding around each front. All your work so far has been for function, now you can have some fun with embellishments. Maybe even carve the fronts with designs or names for the contents.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


I've been thinking I might just leave them plain and flat, Tom. It looks kinda neat having it look like one large board, but maybe a bead around each… hmm…


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


Looking good Dave, liking the elm.
Not entirely sure how a bead will look with the 2 split drawers, I'd be tempted to see how it looks with whatever handles you are going with first.

I'm too lazy to write the grit on the paper each time I change it, that's why all my sanding blocks look different - that's my story and I'm sticking with it


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I've been thinking about it more, and I'll just finish them with shellac tomorrow and get the hardware on, and then if I decide they need tarting up, I can do that later.

I was too lazy to write numbers on the paper, but I put a sharpie on a piece of string on my sandpaper shelves and now I manage to use it most of the time.


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


Nice progress!!.............Cheers, Jim


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jim!


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


Coming along as smooth as your sanding. Interesting you glue on the fronts. I use DF tape to hold while I insert two screws in case I need to change the face. I wonder which way is the woodworker way. Anyway?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Starting to finish the drawer fronts*
> 
> This morning I started finishing the drawer fronts. It will probably be at least a two-day process.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave. I was originally planning to peg them with dowels, but I think an unbroken face will look better. I could just attach them with the drawer pulls, but I think they'll last better if I glue them on. I'll be using hot hide glue, so if I later need to take them apart, I can with steam.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Shellacking the drawer fronts*

Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.

Tools are a pad,










which is stored in a jam jar when not in use,










a squeeze bottle of a 1 pound cut of shellac (1 oz per cup of alcohol),










and a smaller squeeze bottle of linseed oil.










I started with two coats of shellac, padded on. It takes two drops of shellac for the smaller drawer fronts, and four or five for the larger. I alternate between figure-eights across the grain and swooping passes with the grain.

When just shellac starts feeling a little "draggy," I will start adding a drop of linseed oil to the pad for every three or four drops of shellac.

After six more sets of applications of oil and shellac, the pad started to drag again. You can often see wrinkles in the face of the pad at this point. That's a signal that it's time to take a break for at least 10 or 15 minutes. Longer won't hurt. I'll be coming back to these tomorrow.










Looking at the surface, I'm starting to get some nice gloss on the high-points of the surface, but I haven't really started filling the grain at all. I guesstimate it'll take two or three more sets of 6-8 coats before I'm happy with the surface.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


Looking good.
Best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom!

Thanks, Mads!


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


A lot of coats but the finish looks great Dave. I've been number things like that for awhile now. I don't think I would remember the four. LOL.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


Well Dave, I don't have to remember. All four are different enough sizes that they'll only fit in the correct places. And I've got five for the next batch of finishing, but two of those are the same size, so I'll number those. But I figure that's a few days off yet.

And yeah, it's a lot of coats, but they're thin and go fast. I think I did eight or nine coats total this morning in about 20 minutes. I thought about using some rottenstone to speed up the grain-filling (it's fine pumice, and abrades away a bit of wood which fills the grain), but I think it's going quickly enough that I'll get done soon enough.

I figure when he first set of four drawer fronts are getting glued on, and I've got the glue hot, I'll also start working on the rocking chair, repairing joints on that between coats of finish on the next five drawer fronts. And then I'll have the shellac out, so I'll hit the chair with a quick coat or two of that to act as a primer.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


Dave FWIW. Instead of 2-3-8 coats to fill in the grain, try using a piece of old sandpaper to rub in the finish. You will get a grain free finish with one coat. You will see it getting slushy and just like you did it will start to drag. Then you can rub on as many coats of whatever you're using to get your sheen. In this case I used a old 100 grit for illustration and a piece of oak. Similar mix with shellac, alcohol, walnut oil but this works with any finish you can think of. Try this on a piece of scrap and you'll be surprised. Hope you don't think I'm trying to hijack this blog, just trying to save some work and time.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


Yeah, Dave. That's about how the rottenstone works, but I wasn't in a big hurry, and it's getting there. Plus I'm retired so, as my sweetie says, if you get done faster, you'll just have to [some chore I don't really want to do] instead. ;-)

Took a break from finishing today though. The new bracket for the top wheel on my bandsaw arrived today, and I had to do some fiddling to get that to fit. All done but pressing the new bearings into the wheel and then reassembling, so I might even finish that today.


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


Looks good, I must get around to trying shellac one of these days.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Shellacking the drawer fronts*
> 
> Today I didn't have a lot of time, so I pulled four different sized (so I don't get them mixed up) drawer fronts off and started shellacking them.
> 
> ...


It's the main finish I use, Mike. It's not as hard as polyurethane or modern varnishes, but it's fairly safe to use, and I always have a salsa jar (more like 3) of it mixed up and sitting in the shop fridge. I've heard people complain that it will go bad if you don't use it fast enough, but I've never had that problem.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*More drawer front finishing*










Today's finishing started with the four drawer fronts I showed last time. I gave them all a half-dozen quick coats of shellac and oil, with some rottenstone to fill the grain a little quicker, then put them back so I could pull the other five drawer fronts to work on those. I don't think the first batch are done, but they're getting close. One more session should do the trick.

This next batch has the drawer with the crack and the bug tracks. That one got some CA glue drizzled into the crack from the back before I started, and also some CA on the front side. I don't want that crack to open up while I'm finishing the board, and I feel like I've solidified things a little.










My squeeze bottle of shellac was getting a little low too, so it was time to mix up a new batch. 2 ounces of shellac flakes in the 14 or 15 fluid ounce salsa jar leads to a mix that's just a little bit over a one pound cut. Dissolves fairly quickly with the magnetic stirrer mixing it up. It'll be ready for use tomorrow morning when I'm back in the shop for sure.










Also, I used some rottenstone in the first bits of finishing on these drawer fronts. It's fine pumice, and will abrade the surface of the wood a bit, creating a slurry in the shellac and oil, and then pushing that slurry into the grain. I decided I'd compare using it first versus using it in the second round of finishing.










The downside of using rottenstone is that it wears out the pad fairly quickly. But that's an easy problem to solve; just move the outer layer of t-shirt to a fresh spot after wearing through somewhere.










A few more coats of oil and shellac, and the second batch of drawer fronts are looking pretty good.










There are still some spots where the grain hasn't been completely filled yet, but I think I can safely put the rottenstone away and just finish with shellac and oil.










And that'll do it for today. Tomorrow I'll hopefully wrap up with the shellac and maybe hit the drawer fronts with a couple coats of violin varnish, which will give them a slightly harder surface, more able to stand up to being shop furniture that gets used a lot.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looking good Dave.
Shiny and warm.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The shellac finish looks great, adds a nice tone to the wood. Nice work.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks, Mads! I just got these five drawer fronts almost finished this afternoon. Four more coats of oil and shellac and two of varnish. I think they get one or two more coats of varnish tomorrow and then get glued to the drawer-boxes.

Thanks, Tom! I really like the look of it, and it's nice that if there's a mistake partway through (such as one of the fronts that had a small blob of shellac / wood / rottenstone slurry on it), it's possible to rub out that mistake later with just a little more shellac and some elbow grease. And while it's more work than slapping on two or three coats of poly (but not that much more, especially if you pick up dust in the poly and have to sand back a couple times), it's a lot more satisfying, to my mind.


----------



## robscastle (May 13, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OMG I hope you hid the tee shirt from the washing lady!

and wait for it… who has an electronic stirring machine may I ask!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm the washing lady, Rob. And I have a couple dozen old t-shirts that have become shop rags. My sweetie said that many of them were too worn for me to wear them in public, so I recycled them.

And yes, I have and electric stirring machine. It makes using shellac so much more pleasant than having to mix it by hand, or wait 24 hours for it to dissolve on its own (or longer if making something stronger than the one pound cut I favor).


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, French polishing is relaxing and satisfying, and since it goes on so thin with each coat, it's hard to make a mistake, and it makes the wood grain beautiful.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It is! Though the smaller drawer fronts are small enough that it's hard to get a good rhythm going on them. Ahh well. One more day of polishing and then I'll be done with these.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds like you're working as a retiree. LOL. The best way to work. Looking good Dave.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm tryin', Dave. Some days I'm better at it than others, but I'm sure with more practice I'll get the hang of it.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The finish is looking good Dave. You are on the finishing line. Great job.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Eric. There are still the doors to make for this till, but they'll be some time later. Other projects are higher priority again.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds like you have a plan there. I am in the same boat with my storage cabinet, on hold for a bit.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *More drawer front finishing*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah. Many plans for things in the shop, but they are seldom the highest priority.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Drawer pulls on - mostly*

Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.

Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


----------



## recycle1943 (Dec 16, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


I like the staggered drawers -


----------



## Bluenote38 (May 3, 2017)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


One leftover? I see why you will need the 100 drawer hardware chest.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Thanks, Dick!

Yeah, Bill. Sad thing is that I bought this set of 10 almost three years ago, intending to use them for the drawers in this brace till, and maybe having two left for the doors. Whether the three were lost in the move, or maybe they're rattling around somewhere in the shop… and I've got plenty of other pulls I could've used, if only I had counted before I started screwing them on.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


They look nice Dave and I can see why you went out and paid extra for the replacements.. You're a better man than me. I would of made wood ones or turned something on the lathe to have some lathe time. I get cheap when it comes to the little things. LOL. But the little things do matter.


----------



## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Very swish Dave!


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Looks good, of course you'll find the missing 3 as soon as the new ones turn up.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Prices on *everything* have gone up, it's not your grandfather's world anymore. 
Upon discovery that you were two pulls short, any reason you didn't make wooden pulls?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Thanks, Dave! Plus they're the ones I had picked before even starting this build. I can get stubborn sometimes.

Thanks, Peter!

Thanks, Mike! I'm sure I will.

Thanks, Tom! I had screwed on about half of them before I realized the plastic bag they were in seemed lighter than it should be, but holes had been drilled and such… plus as I said to Dave, sometimes I get stubborn.


----------



## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


nothing beats some GR8 organization *LOOKS VERY NICE :<))))))*


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Nicely done Dave, the finish looks wonderful on the drawer fronts and the pulls set if off even better.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Thanks, Tony!

Thanks, Eric! I'm pretty pleased with them, though one drawer front moved just a hair on me when I glued it on and I had to take a block plane to the side of it to make everything fit.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Life is so often like that… one missing. Laughs.
Perhaps we just forget, when we have a whole bunch extra….
Looking like you soon have a finished cabinet.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Thanks, Mads! I still have another big project building the doors for the cabinet above. They will hold eggbeater drills and perhaps some marking tools, as well, and I probably will not begin on that project until summer. Many things going on.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Ohhh I know this, having too many projects goin at the same time…
Have some that has been following me for years and years.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Those are ones that give you a good feeling when they're finally done, though. Worth saving one for when you need it.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


Yes some become a even bigger joy once done, smiles.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


I have two projects going at the moment for the swap which will both be very nice to have finished. Trying new things, with all the interesting detours that can bring.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


I'm always late to the swaps and also try all to not have deadlines in my life, smiles.
I think it's so wonderful that the swaps keep rolling.
Are there still any of the masterclasses, they were great fun also.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Drawer pulls on - mostly*
> 
> Over the past few days I've finished gluing all the drawer fronts onto the drawer boxes.
> 
> Today, I went to put the drawer pulls on, and discovered that I only had 7 of the 10-pack of pulls I bought some time back in Minnesota. And it appears they've been discontinued, but I found three more (I only need two, but if I don't buy a spare, I'll end up needing one) online. Only $5 each, plus $10 shipping. Pretty sure that's more than I paid for the 10-pack originally.


I haven't heard of any of the master classes, but yes, the swaps keep rolling along. Shame it's so expensive to ship between the EU and the US.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Door frames*

I finally got back to my brace till this morning.

Found a few pine 1×4s in the storage and ran down the edge of them with the combination plane to pretty them up a bit.

Then I cut them to length for the doors I'll need. I'm planning on building doors that are 3 inches deep, with a 3/4 inch frame around the edge, using mitered dovetails for joinery, and a piece of 1/4 inch Baltic birch plywood for the face.



















With the frame pieces cut to length, I stopped and thought for a moment. I want the pins extending out through the tail boards which will be the sides, so I grabbed the left and right sides of the left door, put them outside to outside, and cut my first two sets of tails. I used the same layout as the plinths on my Jefferson bookcases, so I already had a story stick on hand.

With the dovetails laid out, I started cutting, and got through all four corners pretty quickly. I ended up having the left and right side of the right door upside down from what I had originally planned, but other than that, everything went well.










Next was cutting the groove for the door face. I wanted a quarter-inch groove, about a quarter inch from the front face of the door sides (in order to avoid splitting the groove across a pin and tail - putting it this way kept it entirely within the miter), so I set up the combination plane accordingly, and set the depth stop to a hair shy of 3/8 inch. I also rough-cut the door faces from the larger piece of plywood outside with the circular saw, and will trim them to exact size next time I get some time in the shop.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


Looking pretty good Dave. The combination plane detail is a nice touch.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


Thanks. This will be the main thing in front of me as I'm working at the bench, so I figured I should spiff it up a little. Though the door panels will be carrying egg-beater drills on the inside, and probably some marking tools on the outside.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


I see what your doing now Dave, and it's looking like a good door setup.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. I hope so.


----------



## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


looking good Dave. Slow and steady wins the race!


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave. This is also sort of a "palate cleanser" between a project for the current swap, and before I get back to trying to finish off my fancy laundry hamper, and then start cranking out "arty" pieces for the show this fall.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


Watching you cleanse your palate while playing with other projects. Always best to have a couple things going.


----------



## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


Nice Dave.

Hadn't considered that mitered dovetails would mean you didn't need extra trim, might have to finally get round to trying them.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Door frames*
> 
> I finally got back to my brace till this morning.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave! Simple joinery like this is almost mindless. The hardest thinking was trying to decide which face of each board was in or out to make the grain easiest to plane.

Yeah, Mike. Thanks, and I had been thinking about that and decided I should give it a try. I did 4 foot lengths with the combination plane, and had about 4-8 inches of leftover after cutting two pieces from each, so I also got to throw away the boogered-up ends of the board, or dodge knots. And as you noticed, no separate trim needed.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Gluing up the doors*

This evening I got a little time in the shop to glue up the doors of the brace till. Yesterday I had finished the joinery for the frames, and rough-cut the door panels.

This evening, I measured the door panels more carefully (since I had made the grooves about 3/8 inch deep in 3/4 inch boards, I can set the frame on the panel, aligning two outside edges, then make a pencil line on the two opposite inside edges, and be pretty close to right). So I did that and cut the door panels with the circular saw.

Then I test-fit things. The grooves were really tight for the 1/4 inch plywood, so with a block plane I took three passes angled along each face of each edge of the panel, raising it just a hair. Now the panels fit into the grooves, but they were about 1/8 inch too big, so I set up the table saw with the fence almost touching the blade and quickly turned a bit of the edges into sawdust. Could've done the same thing with a hand plane, but my low angle jack plane that I normally use for trimming the edges of plywood was not very sharp, so the tailed apprentice got the call.

With things fitting correctly now, I put glue on all the pins, set the door panels in place (no glue on them), and placed on the tail boards. Then on with the clamps and call it a night.










Tomorrow I think I only have a few minutes in the shop, but that should be enough to plane the dovetails smooth (the pins are protruding just a hair) and put on a quick coat of BLO, and I can hang the doors on Friday. Fingers crossed!


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing up the doors*
> 
> This evening I got a little time in the shop to glue up the doors of the brace till. Yesterday I had finished the joinery for the frames, and rough-cut the door panels.
> 
> ...


Moving right along Dave.

Hope all is well there with those fires. Sounds like they are getting worse according to CNN today, spreading towards Texas.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing up the doors*
> 
> This evening I got a little time in the shop to glue up the doors of the brace till. Yesterday I had finished the joinery for the frames, and rough-cut the door panels.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. After hauling brush this morning, I had to play "painter's apprentice" for the painter who's doing our fireplace, mostly holding the ladder while she worked on the top, so I was expecting zero shop time. Glad to get the glue-up done.

The past two days have been cooler and with lower winds (and three sprinkles of rain today, but the sidewalk was only damp after the third one) so they made a lot of progress on the fires, but the wind machine is cranking back up on Friday.

We're going to try and get another pickup load or two of brush hauled away tomorrow morning. We've got a big patch of tumbleweeds outside the bedroom, and it's the last fire danger within 20 feet of the house. We'd have liked to gotten a 30 foot perimeter, but we'll hit it again in the fall and should be in pretty good shape after that.

Normally the big spring cleanup (and neighborhood roll-off) is in May, and everyone always complained about it being too hot, so this year we got them in April. Nice, but that's also planting month for us, so it made for a busy month.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing up the doors*
> 
> This evening I got a little time in the shop to glue up the doors of the brace till. Yesterday I had finished the joinery for the frames, and rough-cut the door panels.
> 
> ...


Nice work Dave, looks good so far. I like the reference to the tailed apprentice.
So, too hot there for you guys, "everyone always complained about it being too hot, so this year we got them in April." - come to PA, last night we spent the evening sitting out in 35 degree windy weather to watch out granddaughters High School Lacrosse game. Think I'd like some of that hot right about now.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Gluing up the doors*
> 
> This evening I got a little time in the shop to glue up the doors of the brace till. Yesterday I had finished the joinery for the frames, and rough-cut the door panels.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom!

Yesterday we had 80. As I said to my sweetie, "I know it's going to cool off tonight (low around 42), and it just feels *wrong* to turn on the A/C in April." Luckily, we got just enough rain to settle the dust so we could open a few windows and cool the house off so we could sleep.

Plus we could see the smoke plume from the fire in the Jemez mountains going to our north, so we smelled almost no smoke. But its going to be a long fire season. Sure hoping the monsoon hits early this year.

Looks like the wind settled down enough that we can haul brush again this morning, and they swapped out the full roll-off yesterday, so now there should be a mostly empty one for us to throw our tumbleweeds into. But it'll be nice on Saturday when they take it away until fall, and we won't feel like we need to be out working to take advantage of it.

If you want some warm, come on down. Other than the spring winds and the fires, its pretty nice.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Finishing the doors*

Another short session in the shop today, but I got the edges of the doors planed flat with a block plane.










Then I put on a coat of BLO.










Wiped off the excess with a rag.










And set the doors on a scrap of cardboard to dry.










Hopefully tomorrow or Saturday I can get them hung.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Finishing the doors*
> 
> Another short session in the shop today, but I got the edges of the doors planed flat with a block plane.
> 
> ...


Those turned put nice Dave, after hanging I presume you are going to fit the inside for hanging tools.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Finishing the doors*
> 
> Another short session in the shop today, but I got the edges of the doors planed flat with a block plane.
> 
> ...


Exactly, Eric. I don't want to fit them for tools without seeing how those tools are going to interact with the braces hanging in the till.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Finishing the doors*
> 
> Another short session in the shop today, but I got the edges of the doors planed flat with a block plane.
> 
> ...


Fitting the inside out, can be difficult at times.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Finishing the doors*
> 
> Another short session in the shop today, but I got the edges of the doors planed flat with a block plane.
> 
> ...


Yeah. One side will be eggbeaters, but the spacing of the slots in the holder will require some cogitating. And I typically peg things in with dowels once I'm sure they fit, but those can be drilled from the outside pretty easily.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Finishing the doors*
> 
> Another short session in the shop today, but I got the edges of the doors planed flat with a block plane.
> 
> ...


Looking good Dave, awaiting the big reveal - the till in use. Two thumbs up.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Finishing the doors*
> 
> Another short session in the shop today, but I got the edges of the doors planed flat with a block plane.
> 
> ...


Well, it's been in use for quite a while, Tom. I supposed I'm approaching the point where a picture of it fully loaded is due, though. ;-)

I think tomorrow is a day with almost zero shop time, but hopefully this weekend…


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Hanging a door*

Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.

First step was to measure and cut the piano hinges to size. I figured 20 inches worked about right on the 21 inch and change doors (wanted to cut between the fingers on the hinges).

With the hinge cut, I held it even with the top of the cabinet and marked where the holes would need to be.



















With the holes marked, I used a brad awl to mark the centers of the holes, and then used a 1/16 inch bit in an eggbeater drill to drill a 5/8 inch deep pilot hole (having consulted my handy chart and seen that a #6 wood screw needs a 1/16 pilot hole in soft woods).










That done, I moved to the door. Again, holding the hinge even with the top edge (thus getting alignment between the door and the cabinet), I drilled pilot holes for the top and bottom hinge holes, and put in two screws.



















Then I drilled the rest of the pilot holes and put in the rest of the screws, attaching the hinge to the door. Then I ran screws into the top and bottom holes in the cabinet and then removed them, so I would have an easier time when it came time to insert those two screws while holding the door with one hand.










After getting those two screws in (no picture, because only two hands), I put in the rest of the screws and it was time to run to town for our shopping.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Nicely done Dave, the last two photos clearly indicate a new home for the braces will be just as intended, a fine home for these beautiful tools.. Nice work.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Thanks! I just wish I could get more than a half-hour at a crack. Sounds like the winds will be down tomorrow so its back to yard work.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Dave that is going to make a nice storage till. I like the idea of having a thicker door panel to add items to. Well done.

I need a storage till for all of these swaps items I have received and the ones in which I made a set for myself.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Eric, it's a solution to having too much crap. ;-) I got the hinge onto the second door this afternoon before dinner, but I think I'm going to be building something to hold my eggbeaters into it before I mount it up. I'll ponder that this evening…


----------



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Nice work, Dave!!!!!!!!!! i love organizational projects

cheers, Jim


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jim! It's desperately needed so I can get some space back on my bench.


----------



## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Dave, I'm just impressed that someone is still using the old style slot screws.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Peter, not only am I using slotted screws, I'm driving them in with a screwdriver I made myself as a prototype for the current swap.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Dave, sometimes those old school ways work better than the new. And you can hear the radio.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Right, Eric. Or the voices. ;-)


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


You hear voices too, I'll tell ya what they come up with some great ideas.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Well, some times. They also come up with some pretty sketchy ideas. The key is knowing which to listen to.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Maybe just maybe I can use a cabinet like this. Coming along good Dave.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Those sketchy ones can be fun. Hold my beer.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave. It's the one right in front of me when I'm working at the bench, so I expect it'll do more than just hold boring tools.

I'll be sure to post the video on YouTube, Eric.


----------



## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Coming right along Dave, been very interesting. Do you have a finish in mind?


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Thanks! Almost all of my shop furniture just gets a couple coats of linseed oil, Dave.

Plus, I'm going to be hanging stuff on the outside of the doors (squares, miter square & combination squares are going there, I think), so any finish would get beat up pretty quickly.


----------



## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Sensible choice Dave, LO is protective, durable and easy to touch up. Looking forward to another progress picture.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hanging a door*
> 
> Another quick session in the shop today. I got one of the doors hung.
> 
> ...


Coming soon, Dave. Got the second door hung this morning.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Second door*

Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)

So, here's a look.




























The doors don't quite both close at the same time, because geometry, but I should be able to fix that fairly quickly with a block plane without having to remove either door. Plus, the left one will probably have to come off at some point so I can hang tools on it. Not going to worry about that today, though.


----------



## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Nice layout, will be handy to have the marking & layout within easy access.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom! I've been trying to decide if more layout tools go on the left door (marking gauges mostly, I think), or if perhaps a few hammers need to live there, as well. As I organize stuff, I keep finding tools that have been buried almost the entire time I've had this shop.


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Great organization Dave. I like the idea of having the layout tools on the outside within easy reach.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. A lot better than just having them laying on the bench, right?


----------



## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Very true Dave. My cabinet wall is getting filled up. May have built a new one or add on.


----------



## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


That's the way organization should be set up. Looks great Dave.


----------



## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Yep, looking better and better every time I check it out.


----------



## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. Had room enough to stand on my bench this morning to fit the latches on the doors, so maybe it is possible to build my way out of this mess. ;-)

Thanks, Dave. Getting there.

And thanks, Dave. Having a bunch of spare pine boards from the bookcases gives me a chance to keep at it without trips to town for lumber and worrying about the high cost.


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## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Very neat and well organized!


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Second door*
> 
> Before I hung the second door, I spent a few days outfitting it with hangers for additional tools. I wanted to put a bunch of my marking and layout tools on the outside of the door, and a couple eggbeaters on the inside. (The first door will get the balance of the eggbeaters on the inside and more marking tools on the outside, as well)
> 
> ...


Thanks, Peter! It's getting there.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*

Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.










I put the latches on the top of the till because I can still reach them just fine there, and they'll hold better there.










Next up is outfitting the left door with hangers to hold whatever tools I decide need to live there, then it'll be about time to call the till done.


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## Sycamoray (Jun 24, 2020)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


It's been good to follow along, even for those of us who have fewer braces to store.

Also glad to see that Cerro Pelado isn't putting too much smoke onto you.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


Thanks! I built the till when I only had four braces, but then I had to fill in…

Yeah, I'd rather not have fires, and we get a lot of smoky nights (with the air filters running all night), but mostly the winds have been blowing the smoke around us.

Hope you're far enough from Hermit's Peak / Calf Canyon that you're ok.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


The toll came out nice, be sure to post when the second door has the tools hanging.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


What do you mean multiple projects at once, When retired it's one project at a time , start to finish, that's it. hahahahaha. you know how that goes.
Coming along nicely Dave. I was looking at my bench cabinet last night. It's not ready for a overhaul yet.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tom. Will do. I expect there will be that blog post before I get around to writing up the project.

Thanks, Dave! Till doors, laundry hamper door, plus the latest cholla bowl. I thought I was done with it, but looked at it more closely, and it needs at least one more shop session before I can call it done.

Plus I've got three or four ideas for stuff I need to get started on for this fall's art show. Ugh. Can I go back to work? ;-)


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## MikeB_UK (Jul 27, 2015)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


Coming along nicely Dave.


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## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


Looks good Dave, I like the latches on top, makes more since. With all of these swap tools I have been receiving I need a cabinet to store them in, within reach of the bench.

Nice view outside that window.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Mike!

Thanks, Eric! Yeah, top was the only real choice for me, though i do tend to pile "stuff" up there, too. All of my templates for bookcase dovetails and for spokeshave handles live up there, along with a couple drafting rulers…

The view? Yeah, that's just looking down our street with the Ortiz Mountains to the right and the San Pedro Mountains distant on the left (not really visible due to the smoke). I have to stand on tippy-toes to see out the windows, but it's nice light filling the shop most of the day.


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## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


Yes I like the windows in my shop to. Plenty of natural light. On the nice days I open the overhead door and the man door on the other end, get a nice breeze through the shop.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Adjusting the doors and putting on the latches*
> 
> Multiple projects going on in the shop today, so I didn't make a ton of progress on the till. I did get the doors planed (and sanded - pine is almost as fast to shape with 60 grit as with a plane) so they'll both close at once and then I installed the latches. I'll probably need to take a hair more off each of the doors - maybe a 64th or so from each, so that they'll still close once I put a coat of oil on the edges that meet in the middle.
> 
> ...


We're still in spring here, which generally means it's too windy to open the door *and* windows unless I really want a thorough cleaning of the shop, but opening the rightmost window, and the double doors (which is are on the left end) makes for a nice cross-draft, usually blowing out the door.

As I get older, I find I'm turning on the lights more often. I have three fixtures, all of which have 40W "corncob" LED lights in them (each equivalent to a 300W incandescent bulb). It's pretty bright in the shop with the lights on. Plus I have a 2000 lumen LED work light mounted on the left side of the bench for when I'm carving or doing other work where I need raking light.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

*Hammers on the door*

Getting a little more progress. I made hangers for my most commonly used hammers on the door of my till.










Left to right, the ball-peen hammer I got from my dad, and which I use for nearly everything; the plane hammer I got from Kenny in the turning swap; the dead-blow I got from Kenny in the turning swap, which is proving very useful (autocorrupt wanted to "fix" that to useless -f'in Apple); and my dice mallet from Earl, which gets used pretty hard, and keeps on whacking.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hammers on the door*
> 
> Getting a little more progress. I made hangers for my most commonly used hammers on the door of my till.
> 
> ...


One very well organized and nicely built till Dave.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hammers on the door*
> 
> Getting a little more progress. I made hangers for my most commonly used hammers on the door of my till.
> 
> ...


Thanks! Getting there. I still need to kit out the inside of the left door, and not sure what else.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hammers on the door*
> 
> Getting a little more progress. I made hangers for my most commonly used hammers on the door of my till.
> 
> ...


Turned out to be a tribute from all the great gifts you received. Looks great Dave.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hammers on the door*
> 
> Getting a little more progress. I made hangers for my most commonly used hammers on the door of my till.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave! I still have to upgrade the plane storage one of these days, plus both my file and saw tills are overflowing… always something that needs organizing in the shop.


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## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hammers on the door*
> 
> Getting a little more progress. I made hangers for my most commonly used hammers on the door of my till.
> 
> ...


Well done Dave, that is a good shop cabinet having the most used tools up front and center, ready for action.

I'll be getting back to organization after finishing a few projects.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

DavePolaschek said:


> *Hammers on the door*
> 
> Getting a little more progress. I made hangers for my most commonly used hammers on the door of my till.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Eric. Its getting there. But I haven't been in the shop now for a couple days, other than to drop off a package of sanding discs for my bowl sander and to sweep up. We've had a painter painting our fireplace who finished today, and we both had to keep an eye on her so she didn't do things that weren't agreed to. I think we're going to town to buy plants tomorrow, so maybe Friday I'll get back in the shop…

Hope your organization goes well.


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