My Day of Woody Things

[Chems]

I finished my main hardwood project I've been working on for 6 months, basically all the time I've been woodworking. So after a major clean up today I got to moving a few other bits through. I don't know if everyone else is the same but I buy things to make when I know I don't have time to do them. I bought a mirror a few weeks back. So I framed that up, its going to be painted and then stenciled with some hand made stencils I made the other evening. Sounds naff but wait and see!

It will need to be primed and painted tomorrow, I should have used MDF not pine but never mind! Its a Christmas present this one.

I then broke apart my router table I made at the start of the year time,

Tomorrow should also see the start of a new router table been constructed. I used the some of the leg work from this table to mate with some Axminster casters I bought months ago and made a mobile base for my P/T using some M/T joints:

My faithful but very lazy helper has gone inside to the warmth.

"Getting rid" of buckets and buckets of scrap, I've been doing this all week, this was "aided" by cooking up a few hotdogs and eating them by the flames.

After that straight back in and I started planning up some oak I bought on Wednesday for my next hardwood project:

I've only got experience of Chestnut hardwood, but I can tell working with European Oak is going to be fun, its very hard! I made a major error, wanted to make 3 small panels 12x9 and bought a section of lumber 12 x 27 plus a few inches for waste and the waney edge. I then realized that I'd sized it up with the grain going the wrong way, so I could actually only get 2 panels out of the piece! A rse I said. Have to get some more. Fortunately the place is just down the road from me.

Hope you've enjoyed my days work, I'll update with tomorrows progress.

PS Sorry for not smalling the pics!

PPS Just cause I'm really proud of this a pic of the finished project I mentioned :

 

[OPJ]

Looking forward to seeing this router table develop and, you're right to be very proud of your finished project so, don't worry about the picture! :wink:

 

[Philly]

Nice one! Thanks for sharing the pics - glad I'm not the only one with a "ShopCat" :wink:
Cheers
Philly

 

[Chems]

So I went to the wood place early this morning and got a big board of 18mm MDF, and about 15ft of 2x2 pine for the router table. Work has not yet begun because I've been planning up the other panel of oak and trying to remove the terrible mill marks with my card scraper. I only own 1 plane a No 5 1/2 and I'm not going to let it near the oak as I know it will just make a mess. What I really need is a nice Number 4 to do the job.

I made 2 push pads today thou. They are very functional. Also sanded the mirror down ready for paint. I will picture update later!

 

[Evergreen]

That's a very attractive TV/media cabinet.

Much more compact than the standard glass TV stand.

 

[Mr Ed]

At the risk of being controversial here :wink: what are you expecting a no.4 to do for you that a 5.5 won't in this situation?

I accept that the timber may demand a different (higher) pitch plane, or maybe to be scraped if it is a tricky grain, but the change from a 5.5 to a 4 isn't going to fix that.

Cheers, Ed

 

[Chems]

Sorry OPJ didnt make any progress on the Router Table. Tomorrow . . . although I have to go to work tomorrow so its going to be limited!

I did how ever get totally fed up of my bench, I am planning on making a new on in the very near future but I really fed up right now so I decide to mount one vice as a tail vice and make some hardwood jaws set up for dog holes.

Gluing up over night, dunno how good it will be as the vice is just a silverline jobby from before my wood days. Used some left over chestnut for the jaws. Its a horrible looking bench but its nice an high an I will keep it as a back bench when I make a good one so worth the time.

Here are the push pads drying:

But much more intrestingly than that, I went out after making my last post, got out my diamond stones and started sharpening my blade with the aid of some WD-40, testing on a off cut of oak I was getting good results, so I screwed to strips to the work top to hold my piece and began planing. Low and behold it came out fantastically and I really enjoyed it. Its the first ever time Ive used my plane as an actual smoothing plane, I bought it off ebay in bad condition did it up an got a new blade for it but it never seemed to work, but it did today!

And all finished hence the shaving pile:

Really enjoyed doing that, and I got a lot of satisfaction from it, had terrible thicknesser markers all over it but not anymore!

 

[Mr Ed]

Well there you go - that's answered my question.

It looks like the 5.5 worked very well - nice work Chems

Cheers, Ed

 

[OPJ]

Glad you got your planing working for you in the end, it looks like it was well worth the perseverance. You've also highlighted why I'm looking to build a new bench with dog holes - I also have to screw scraps to my bench when I want to hand plan the face of a board, it's a real PITA! :x

One day, though...! :wink:

 

[Chems]

Ed, I didn't see your reply earlier, obviously your thoughts reached out to me over the country and thats why I was seized with the resolve to get that 5 1/2 working for me! I really can't explain how happy I am to have found this capability, it makes me feel like a proper woodworker!

OPJ, as you know I've spent that last 6 months working in my shop and all the time I'm getting annoyed with things. Theres huge amounts of space its just lack of some simple bits thats been doing me in. I feel like these past few days Ive made real progress in making it a better place to work in, an that in itself is really very satisfying.

It seems as if the new year will see me building my own workshop, can't wait!

 

[Digit]

Some very nice work there, very nice indeed.

Roy.

 

[joiner_sim]

It always great to hear someone else's workshop tales, no matter how small the details may be. I enjoy reading and also seeing what other have been upto. As I had already commented before, very nice first project with the TV stand.

I myself, have been T&G 5 1/2" boards together to make 11" shelves once glued up. And then fitted them into an alcove. I didnt bother doing any WIPs because I didn't think any1 wud wanna see them, but it's always great to see what others get up to. So feelin guilty now. Admitted, my camera fone is broke though so thats my excuse.

 

[Chems]

I love taking pictures of things Ive been working on, for my own records as much as anything. An my phone seems to have quite a good camera really so its always with me no going to fetch it. I've learnt a lot from other peoples pictures, no ones going to learn anything from mine but still nice to post them!

 

[joiner_sim]

You might say no-ones going to learn anything from your pictures.

But.... someone is always looking and learning. They may not even be a member. But someone is learning from the photos.

If photos do nothing, they inspire if nothing else. They make someone have a go at doing some woodwork. I personally like your TV stand, I haven't made any furniture like that, and I would like to.

Photos are brilliant.

 

[motownmartin]

We all learn from photo's Chems and yours are no exception, how many times have you said 'i've seen this somewhere before'

 

[Paul Chapman]

We all learn from photo's

Very true. I wish more people would post pictures - a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say :wink:

Cheers :wink:

Paul