2. Steve's Workshop- The Commissioning and Production

[Steve Maskery]

A follow on Thread to the Workshop Build Thread

A couple of years ago I started to make a coffee table. It is going to be pseudo A&C style, with wedged tenons through breadboard ends. And if you think that that is a recipe for disaster, you would be right, if it were not for the fact that I have every intention of cheating.

I did this at the Community Workshop where I volunteer, but it was difficult to do, TBH. There is nowhere to leave stuff from one week to the next, things grow legs, and anyway, I'm supposed to be there to supervise and help, rather than doing my own thing. So I got as far as gluing up the boards for the top and fitting, but not securing, the breadboard ends.

It has stood propped up against the wall for two years and has darkened somewhat, but it currently looks like this:

I wish there was a little more catspaw in the bottom left corner, but it is as well-balanced as could make it with the material I had.

The underside is not quite as pretty. The end of one of the BB ends has some rather inyerface sapwood that is starting to spalt.

OK, I know I won't see that long white dart, but the end of it will show. Not much, but it will be there and I know from bitter experience that if it is there I shall see it and it will bug me.

What to do?

Well if the BB ends were a bit wider, I could simply rip 6mm off the inside edge, but they are already a tad narrower than I would really have liked.

I decided to patch it.

So a hunt around resulted in some bits of oak. The first piece is not a very good match at all.

That is because it is American oak and my table top is English oak. That won't do. But the next piece was much better.

So I examined the endgrain to see how best to cut a patch.

A piece from the middle would give me a decent match, I thought.

I decided to try to cleave the wood, but it wasn't as clean as I had hoped.

Actually I wasn't happy with my first attempt, but the second was much better.

Then I sawed off the spalted section with my dovetail saw. Although the teeth are fine, they are shaped for a rip cut, so it worked very well. I cleaned up with my 311.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I bevelled it to get the grain in the correct orientation and then, using the offcut as a caul, I glued in my patch.

I'll know tomorrow how well I've fixed it.

................................

On a totally separate note, I got my old camcorder out this morning. I wasn't at all surprised that all the batteries are dead, they were not holding their charge like they used to when I packed them away four-and-a-half years ago, but using the AC adapter it sprang into life. I want to get filming again, but I really need to buy new kit. I've been discussing it with Eric the Viking, and he reckons that I am underestimating the cost. I've had another look at my figures and have reluctantly come to the conclusion that he is right. I hate it when he's right. Which is nearly always, actually. ](*,)

So I'll film a promo with my old kit, explaining what I'd like to do and then if people back me I'll do the work, and if people make it clear that they are not interested, then it will be dead in the water. We'll see. I can't afford to fund it as a vanity project like I did 10 years ago. Life is very different now. Better in some respects, but financially isn't one of them!

And the other satisfying thing that happened today was a call from a gentleman from the Computer Support Department at Microsoft. It was a courtesy call to tell me that they had detected that there were some problems with my computer that were causing other problems on their network, and he could fix them for me. How very kind of him.

But I was not near my computer at the time, I would have to go into the house.

When I eventually got there (it was a journey of about one metre, but I don't walk as fast as I used to - yes I'm getting there, nearly there now) he told me to switch it on. Well it is an old Win 98 machine and takes AGES to boot. Was I still there? Oh yes, just waiting for it to boot, there is a lot of stuff on it, it is very slow.

OK, I have the big picture, now. I think it is called the Desktop, is that right?

I had to find the key labelled CTRL and press it with my thumb and then press R. No, nothing is happening. Oh dear, it appears to have frozen, my mouse is stuck. Tell you what, I'll re-boot.

So I re-booted (not), and this time, I told him, CTRL R did work.

What does it say in the box?

Oh I don't know, I haven't got very good eyesight, I need to find my specs, just a mo.

And so we went on. Eventually I got bored and told him it was a Mac.

What?

A Mac. Mackintosh. Have you heard of them?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

At least he wasn't conning some old dear for those ten minutes.

 

[galleywood]

That's a good way to deal with them.

 

[Graham Orm]

Just a thought Steve, wouldn't it have been easier just to re make the bread board edge from scratch?

 

[Steve Maskery]

It would if I had lots of pippy oak to spare. But I don't and the two ends are quite nicely balanced.

 

[Bm101]

Sounds like you missed out on a trick there Steve, I got a similar call a week or so back. Turns out that he needed my paypal account to fix my PC. Clever guy, he said I'd see a marked improvement in PC performance within a month. Amazingly he also turned out to be Prince who's father was an exiled King and he just needed my bank account details and I should be on a £37 million pound winner any day now.
Touch!
Sorry you missed out fella. We can't all be winners I suppose.

(keep the pics coming!)

Chris

 

[Steve Maskery]

A couple of weeks ago I had a similar conversation with a guy who tried to get my credit card details. I strung him along for half an hour, including several call-backs.
Childish isn't it? But so very much fun.

 

[Bm101]

I'm actually quite disappointed I never get these calls. Is that odd?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes, very.

 

[CHJ]

Replaced our 'phones with call blocking versions a couple of months ago, any numbers not in the contacts/phone book have to run the gauntlet of announcing themselves and trigger a connection key, any that do that and are not wanted in future can be blocked, just one so far in this category.
Not one computer generated, pre-recorded or unwanted international call since has got through, seems some 'phone spam systems register none completed calls as they are reducing.

You do need caller display option, ours is free as long as line rental is contracted for 12 months.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Bit of a scare this morning, I couldn't find my workshop keys. Different pair of jeans? No. Did I go down later with my coat on? No. Ah! There they are, still in the lock...
I had set the alarm and locked up, just them them in the lock. Fortunately I did not have a visitation. I really must be more careful.
So after my heartbeat returned to normal I started to clean up my patch. Bandsaw off the waste and plane it flush

I really must remember to move that anglepoise out of the way when I am taking pics. It is too intrusive, but I simply don't see it.

I threw my shooting board away. It was no longer true and in pretty poor state. I thought that by getting rid of it, it would spur me to make a new one. It's on my Tuit list...

But I do have my mitre shoot, which I can also use for square ends. I need to remake this, too, actually, it doesn't side smoothly like it used to and anyway, I got the position of the screw wrong when I originally made it, which is why it is stood off the front of the bench.

Then over to the router table to recut the end of the mortice

And the end result

I then spent AN HOUR trying to get my drum sander parallel. It's better than it was, but it is not perfect. The tiniest adjustment moves the darn thing a mile. So in the end I cleaned it up with hand planes and a ROS.

This is the underside

TBH, if it were not for that shaken knot at the front, I'd have this as the top, as the pippiness is very nicely distributed. But that knot is a deal-breaker.

This is the top now

I'm happy with it.

 

[Wizard9999]

Very informative few posts on the table patch Steve .

Terry.

 

[Wildman]

tidy patch well done.

 

[Eric The Viking]

That's an astonishingly neat patch.

I've got a mahogany drop-leaf spider table I ought to be doing something similar with some time soon, but it's more by way of restoration. Even if I have the necessary skills (doubtful), I think I'm going to struggle to find a match though.

 

[lurker]

Would you mind "doing" a mitre shoot build as it's something I want to make.
I have a lot of blocks of beech that might do nicely for this

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Lurker
It will be one of the projects for Workshop Essentials Series 2, assuming that it goes ahead.

The mitre shoot is an astonishingly useful gadget to have in the workshop, in many respects it is easier to use than a shooting board. The problem with the one in the photo is that I got the position of the screw in the wrong place and so if the jig is held in the vice right up to the bench top, which is the best place for support, the handle is fouled by the bench. That's why I have it sticking out a bit.

The other problem with it is that it did not take too kindly to being abandoned in a barn for a couple of years. It's got damp and does not slide smoothly anymore. But it's definitely a candidate for a video project.

 

[stuartpaul]

Would you mind "doing" a mitre shoot build as it's something I want to make.
I have a lot of blocks of beech that might do nicely for this

+1 from me as well Steve, - looks a very useful bit of kit.

 

[doctor Bob]

Can I ask why you didn't put a colour the sap wood ?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes you can.

 

[Steve Maskery]

OK, that was a cheap joke.
TBH it never occurred to me, and anyway, I know just about nothing at all about stains, dyes and finishing, it's not at all my strong point.