Curved Plinth

[xy mosian]

Hi all. I am in the middle of making a curve fronted cupboard for swimbo. Nothing really fancy just a softwood face to a melamine faced chipboard three-sided corner. The time came to make a plinth.
Now I didn't have a lump of wood big enough to make it from one piece, I don't have a bandsaw with the required depth of cut either. One of my options was to fabricate it, pictures show the process used.

I built the core up from odd scraps in the manner of a brick wall around a well, as you can tell I wasn't too bothered about the inside surface. Norm uses a windy nailer to tack pieces as the glue dries, I don't have one so I used poridge power, a few panel pins and a manchester srewdriver.

You can see from this image that the front 'veneer' was cut from a board, bent with water and a heat gun and rabbit's feet etc and glued on. Although the result is not perfect, it is solid.

The front veneer was cut, by hand, from a re-claimed soffit. Nice stuff that '70's softwood.
The larger piece to the top was left to allow screwing to the underside of the cabinet.
All in all I'm fairly chuffed with myself, one of Norman Stanley Fletcher's 'Little Victorys' I think.
Thanks for looking,
xy

 

[RossJarvis]

I built the core up from odd scraps in the manner of a brick wall around a well, as you can tell I wasn't too bothered about the inside surface.

Although the result is not perfect, it is solid.

The front veneer was cut, by hand, from a re-claimed soffit. Nice stuff that '70's softwood.

xy

Yep, looks nice and solid, good job.

Just wondering how you shaped the individual "bricks", Band saw? porridge power & saw? and how did you cut the "veneer" by hand, did you hand rip a thick board into a thin one? or have you a very sharp kitchen knife?

Ross

 

[xy mosian]

I built the core up from odd scraps in the manner of a brick wall around a well, as you can tell I wasn't too bothered about the inside surface.

Although the result is not perfect, it is solid.

The front veneer was cut, by hand, from a re-claimed soffit. Nice stuff that '70's softwood.

xy

Yep, looks nice and solid, good job.

Just wondering how you shaped the individual "bricks", Band saw? porridge power & saw? and how did you cut the "veneer" by hand, did you hand rip a thick board into a thin one? or have you a very sharp kitchen knife?

Ross

Hi Ross, Nice one. Individual bricks were cut with an electrickery Jig Saw. The 'veneer' was porridge power and a rip saw. I took a nominal four mm from the face of a board. I planed the surface first then cut the 'veneer', it only took about forty minutes pushing the saw backwards and forwards. The planed surface was glued to the core, after bending, and then the other surface finished, block plane and spokeshave.

xy

 

[RossJarvis]

Hi Ross, Nice one. Individual bricks were cut with an electrickery Jig Saw. The 'veneer' was porridge power and a rip saw. I took a nominal four mm from the face of a board. I planed the surface first then cut the 'veneer', it only took about forty minutes pushing the saw backwards and forwards. The planed surface was glued to the core, after bending, and then the other surface finished, block plane and spokeshave.

xy

I admire your patience and skill, I've been thinking about ripping boards by hand to get thinner ones, but with my current progress at ripping I'm thinking I need a lot of practice first. I might be better off planing boards thin and glueing the shavings back together for the others!

Ross

 

[xy mosian]

Thanks Ross, although I'm not sure about the skill. The patience? It's just a matter of getting on with it.
I have been reading your Japanese Toolbox thread, alternately smiling and weeping with you. Keep at it you'll get there, you're a brave soul for sharing.

xy