NWB WoodWorks

Shaker Candle Stand; The process part 1

April 20th, 2010

It all starts with rough lumber, and the typical milling processes; jointing 1 face, jointing 1 edge, plane opposite face and rip to width. Repeat. With this particular piece there was the added step of re-sawing material, which is simply cutting one thick piece of lumber on the band saw into 2 or 3 thinner pieces, resulting in a greater yield from each board foot. Once all the work pieces are roughly milled to proper thickness, they are allowed to acclimate in the shop for about a week. This gives the wood time to equalize in moisture content and release any internal stresses that may be present.

The first component of this piece that I construct is the pedestal. Turning is not an element that has been present in much of my recent work, so this process took a little while since I was being extra careful. Once I got the feel for the tools again, it was just like riding a bike. I start by putting the blank in the lathe and just turning it perfectly round. I then creating an exact profile of the pedestal on a piece of 1/8″ hardboard, which shows all of the diameters and where each major profile transition occurs. At each of these transitions, I use the parting tool and a pair of calipers to sneak up on the final diameter. After this step, the piece is a cylinder with 1/8″ grooves cut to specific diameters along its length (see the pictures, it will make more sense). Next, I work the piece to blend all of the differing diameters into the desired shape, using the transitional points as a guide. Once the shape is acceptable, its on to sanding, and lots of it! Even without having turned in a while I was quite pleased with the outcome!

I next worked the legs. These are made from 3/4″ material and cut out on the small bandsaw . I make a template of the leg shape out of some 1/4″ plywood and clean it up to meet the desired shape. I then trace the shape on to the stock 3 times, then head to the bandsaw. I cut them out slightly over sized then flush trim them at the router table with a template that I previously made to match the profile. These will later receive final clean up with hand tools.

Thats all for now. Next we’ll cut the joinery for the legs!
-NWB

Tags: maple, turning
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Yes we are this awesome!!!!

March 28th, 2010

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Long Boarding

March 27th, 2010

Hardwood Productions Presents

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Building a Long board with Gordon.

March 25th, 2010

Over the past couple weeks Gordon and I have been plugging away on a project together. It has been a lot of fun working WITH somebody else in the shop! It is rare that I get to share my enjoyment of woodworking with others in this capacity. Often times it is only shared with finished products, not throughout the many steps of the process.

Anyways, Gordon got the idea to build a long board from searching around the web. Surprisingly there is a wealth of information on this topic. After we both did some reading, we determined the best procedure and approximate shape/design for the board. The trucks and wheels were ordered off the internet and arrived in about a week.

The first step was to determine the what woods to use. We ended up with, from left to right, red birch, tiger maple, cherry, tiger maple and red birch. The color differences of each wood will really pop once we get some finish on it.

Next we had to begin the joinery. For this, a regular glue joint would probably be plenty strong but since this will have abnormal loads from the rider’s weight I wanted another structural component. So for this we opted for the Festool Domino. This is a tool used to cut small mortises perfectly sized to fit their manufactured tenons. You can see on the right a number of the mortises that will accept the Domino tenons. Once glue is applied to the edges and the Dominoes, these joints should withstand any forces applied to them.

Next we clamped the 5 pieces of wood together and allowed the glue to cure. A few days later we took the clamps off and then began to clean up the both faces of the board. We did this first with the jointer to get once flat face, and then planer to get a parallel face and uniform thickness. In between passes at the planer we slowly crept up on the thickness by standing on the board supported by two pieces of wood. This gave us an idea of how the board would flex under a person’s weight once the trucks and wheels were installed. Long boards are meant to have a certain amount of flex to assist in turning and also ride comfort. We planned it down just under 3/4″ which we felt was appropriate.

Once the thickness had been determined, we moved on to the shape of the board. For this, we first drew the shape we liked on a scrap of MDF, then cut it out and cleaned it up. This becomes a template for us to use when we flush trim the long board with the router. We traced this template and then Gordon roughly cut out the shape on the final product leaving about 1/8″ from the line. Then the template was clamped to the board and routed flush.

After the cuts are routed flush we had a lot of time hand planing all surfaces flat and clean. Once we were satisfied with the surface we moved on to round over all the edges like a normal skateboard.

The board is now in the finishing room. The scheduled finish has 3 steps; boiled linseed oil, dewaxed shellac and water based lacquer. We’re hoping to taker her for a test drive this weekend.

Thanks for reading! - NWB

Tags: cherry, long board, red birch, tiger maple
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Compass Rose inlay in table top

March 10th, 2010

All Cleaned up!

Lately I have been working on a new piece and I am refining the production process to possibly to a small batch of these in the future. The table has been complete for a few weeks, but after getting motivated by a fellow woodworker I decided to try my hand at decorative inlay. I may not have started with an easy design but, I sure enjoyed the challenge I have always been drawn to the design of any compass rose. I have chosen a 16 point compass rose. For me they have a form that is quite graceful yet bold. Keep in mind that all the material here is SOLID WOOD that I have milled to create this design.

You’ll have to forgive me for the lack of pictures with this first bit of work, things were working SO well that I forgot to pick up the camera… It all starts with the bandsaw, I cut a number of veneers from larger stock. I cut these very thin pieces of wood at about 3/32″ thick then sand them smooth. Next I cut the veneers into triangles that have a 22.5 degree angle on them, and in order to make the full circle I need 8 of them. These pieces are then all glued together to look similar to a “pinwheel”. Then through the process of many angled cuts with a marking knife, and some more glue ups we end up with the compass rose you see above running through the drum sander. It measures roughly 6″ in diameter.

Marking knife tracing shape.

Next the rose is laid out on the table top in order to determine its final location and orientation. Once I like where it is, I tape it down to the table top and begin to scribe around it with a marking knife. Once I have gone all the way around the 16 pointed rose, the tape is removed and we begin to remove the material from the table. This is done by, first taking the marking knife and making the previous cuts more pronounced; then using a chisel to pare away material on the inside of the shape up to the cutlines.

parring away up to knife line

This creates a “shoulder” that will ultimately butt up against the edge of the inlay. This processes continues around the whole shape and until every where it is about 1/16″ below the surface of the table top. It is important to keep these shoulders very crisp as and imperfections in them will show up later once things are in place and the glue has dried.

Routing out center waste

Next it is time to set up the router to hog out the majority of the waste material within the body of the inlay. The router equiped with a 1/8″ spiral upcuting bit set to cut 1/16″ deep. This makes short work of an otherwise time consuming task. But once the router does the dirty work we still need to do a little clean up around the edges.

After the recess we created is clean and true, its time to test fit the compass rose into the table top. With an hour or so of light sanding and some fancy chisel work we it fits very well! Time for the glue up!

For this glue up I used a slow setting plastic resign glue that works well for applications like this. First of all, it cures slowly

Compass Rose glued into table but awaiting clean up

allowing me time to “fuss” with the layout and configuration before the clamps are applied. But also, this glue is much better at filling gaps than typical yellow glue. So just in case there were a few spots where my cuts were not perfect, this glue would fill them. The glue up went great and you can see how it look right out of the clamps.

The next task is clean up. This was a task I might have complained about a year ago, but since my enlightenment to handplanes this task is simply a pleasure! The inlay is roughly 1/32″ proud of the table surface at this point; so, 10 minutes work with my Lie Nielsen No. 62 the whole surface is flush! Following this I pulled out my smoothing plan to take care of any tearout issues present. And here is what you get:

All Cleaned up!

The mahogany, tiger maple and flame birch really work well together and once they get a finish on them will really POP! I’ll post some pictures once the table is compolete

Thanks for reading

-NWB

: Compass Rose complete, final thickness.

: Finding the right layout (blue tape is holding the last piece while glue dries)

: Marking knife tracing shape.

: outline from knife

: parring away up to knife line

: ouline pared away

: Routing out center waste

: Routed out center section started

: Glued in place, awating cleanup

: Compass Rose glued into table but awaiting clean up

: Getting there.

: All Cleaned up!

Tags: inlay
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DT Breakfast Table; Final glue up & clean up

February 1st, 2010

We are nearing completion on the breakfast table. This week I was able to finish the preparation for the glue up of the top frame. This work started off with hand planing the all 4 sides of each frame piece, to eliminate any machine marks from previous milling operations. My trusty Lie Nielsen No. 62 was the hero for this operation with a little backup from my Stanley No. 4 where the grain was not cooperating.

I also had to clean up the rabbit that will accept the glass. This was a simple operation with a chisel, shoulder plane and a router plane. These tools work very well together to get into tight spaces. I had only “squared off” 1 of the 4 inside corners, so the remaining 3 were my first task. This was done by using a chisel to square the corner and the router plane to flush the bottom. Next, I took the shoulder plane and removed any machine marks along the length of the rabbits.

You should also note the rounded edges that wrap the half lap dovetails. This was an idea I had a few weeks ago, that really help to showcase the joint and pulls your eye in for a closer look.

With the final touch-ups done I began the glue up. This was a pretty straight forward glue up only consisting of the faces of the half lap dovetails. But remember at this time, I installed the four nuts that I previously discussed. These will allow the top to be secured to the base with 5/16″ bolts. Once clamped together, I set the top frame on the base as it will be when assembled to assure that everything will dry in proper position.

The final group of pictures just shows an assembly after the top had been removed from the clamps. Aside from a little more cleaning up on the base, rounding corners on the top and the scheduled finish, these pictures depict the final product pretty well!

Once the piece was in this state, I spent a fair amount of time just looking at it… A few times on Sunday night I walked down to the shop, for no other reason than to stare at the piece. I kept the drooling to a minimum, but for me it is quite simply an enjoyable piece to look at!

Thanks for reading! -NWB

: Lie Nielsen No. 62 for cleaning up the top frame before glue up.

: Chopping the remaining corners square

: Lie Nielsen sholder plane (back R) Lie Nielsen router plane (back L) Starrett adj. square (front)

: Square & cleaned up

: Final glue up

: Glue up in clamps

: Glue up setting on the base

: Table assembled

: Bolt in the hole attaching top & base

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DT Breakfast Table: Back at it!

January 4th, 2010

Well, its been a while since I have posted any progress of my work as it seems life has once again gotten very busy and pulled my attention in other directions. After a week where my dad came up to build a new center console for his classic Boston Whaler, the holidays were right around the corner. Once I cleaned up a few things on the boat console, it was time to start Christmas projects for family & friends. This year the gifts were spalted maple veneered clocks. They are of my own design in somewhat of a ‘modern’ style. The other set of gifts I had on my list was a set of 3 walnut and tiger maple picture frames for Toni, to house a few drawings of Mason done by our friend Lyndsey of 3 Legged Dog Ink. Both the drawings and the frames turned out great and Toni was very surprised! MORE ON THESE LATER!

With the long weekend for New Years I was able get into the shop and work on the DT breakfast table. I started off by laying out for the bolts to attach the top to the base. Next the holes were drilled and countersunk so the bolt heads and washers will not be visible once assembled. You can see the goofy jig I made for the drill press in order to locate the holes correctly on the base. Once those were drilled, I transferred the holes into the underside of the frame for the top. These holes were drilled to the proper depth to accept a 5/16″ nut mortised into the underside of the top half of the half lapped dovetail.

With the holes drilled, next I needed to cut the mortise to accept the nuts that will be embedded in the top. This was simply done by tracing the shape of the nut in pencil, then cutting along the lines with a chisel. Once these two faces of the half lap are glued this nut will br retained by the lower half of the joint, securing the table top to the base.

I then moved onto cutting the rabbit in the top frame that will accept the glass. Two sides were done on the table saw and the other two were done by hand held router with a spiral up-cut bit and fence. Two different methods were used because one set of rabbits ran the full length of the piece (ones done on the table saw) and the other two were ’stopped’ meaning they didn’t go all the way to the ends of the board (ones done by router). This is easier to understand by looking at the pictures below.

Once all 4 rabbits were cut I assmebled the top and began to square off the round corners left by the router bit to accept the glass. With any luck this one should be wrapped up soon. Thanks for reading!

-NWB

: Laying out for bolt holes

: Fixture for drill press

: Boring for the bolt head & washer

: Through hole drilled in base

: through hole into the top frame

: tracing the shape of the nut

: cutting the mortise for the nut

: Nut mortise at half depth

: Nut installed in mortise

: Once glued, this nut won't go anywhere

: Rabbit run on the table saw

: Stopped rabbit done by router

: Corner that must be cleaned up.

: Just like that; ready for glass

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DT Breakfast Table looking good

September 29th, 2009

Last night I was able to do the remaining 3 glue ups for the pillar/supports. All went as planned. Once all the dowels were in, I was able do another dry fit. This time I was able to set the top onto the table to get a glimpse into the final product. With the top sitting on the base for the first time, I can now begin to plan what edge treatments I will give the top. The corners of the top will be rounded and the bottom edge will also whats called a table edge. Both of these details will accentuate the curves in the base.

In the pictures you can see how the holes are slightly offset in order to draw the joint tight and also as a dowel is driven in. And the remainder of the photos are just a combination of dry fits and mock ups with the top on. I’m going to keep pressing on, in hopes of having it ready for finish by Oct. 10.

-NWB

: Offset holes for drawboring

: Driving a dowel

: Dry fit

: Dry fit looking down

: Looks kinda like a table!

: Another view.

: Looking up

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DT Breakfast Table: Assembly has begun!

September 28th, 2009

We’ve had a busy week, so I only got a few hours in after work all week. Once Sunday came along I was able to get most of the day down there.

First off, I got the holes drilled in the base for the through bolt. By doing this, the table will be ‘knock-down’ to help in moving / storage. In the end the base will break down into two sections, the top will be a single piece and then the glass will also come out. Once I drilled the holes in both pieces, I then layed out the mortise for the nut to sit in. I cut the mortise with a chisel and tweaked the fit so it would be sung so when the bolt is tightened, it will not spin. The mortise will ultimately get a plug to hold the nut in place.

Next I got into cleaning up the pillars and table supports with hand tools. It was a combination of my low angle jack plane, spokeshaves and card scrapers. The pillars were particularly tough to tame because of the heavy curl those pieces have. So for those I would fair the curve with my new Lie Nielsen Boggs Spokeshaves then get a final finish with the card scraper to control the figure. On all of the flat surfaces I used the No. 62 low angle jack plane sharpened at a steeper angle because of the heavy curl. The table supports were quite a bit easier because they were more straight grained. The same operation was used; spokeshaves on the curves and No. 62 on the flats, no need for the card scrapers here.

With everything cleaned up, it was time to begin the pegs for the mortise and tenon joints. I first laid out the three holes on one of the pillars and set up the drill press to keep all 4 sets of holes located properly. I then filled each mortise with a scrap to prevent tearout from the drill bit and drilled the 12 holes in the pillars. Then I drilled the holes in the tenons which are offset by approximately 1/32″. This processes called ‘draw boring’, is used to pull joints together with a mechanical connection that doesn’t require glue. With the holes offset and drilled, I then began to make the dowels out of some cocobolo stock that I have had for a while. I first cut the cocobolo into 3/8″x3/8″x6″ sticks, then in a ‘v-block’ turned the square into an ocotgon. By knocking off the corners it makes driving the dowel through the dowel plate much easier and produces a clean result.

Last night it was getting late but I wanted to see how these glue ups were going to work, so I tried one. Glue on the mortise, tenon and in the holes for the dowel. I then get some glue on the dowels and drive ‘em home. The other GREAT thing about draw boring a mortise and tenon joint is that clamps are not needed for the glue up. The tension created by the dowels is plenty of pressure while the glue cures. This tension also helps combat seasonal movement and gaps that are associated with it for the life of the piece.

It is always exciting when the first glue up of a project goes as well as this one! I’m quite happy with my progress, and can’t wait to eat my first meal at it! I have the three pillar/table support glue ups left, then its onto the base/pillar joints of which I will use the same process of draw boring. Until next time….thanks for reading!

-NWB

: Through bolt hoding base together

: Bolt coming through and mortise for the nut

: Cleaning up the pillars with a card scraper

: Pillars; all clean

: Pillars cleaned up; with a dry fit. Look at that curl!

: Cleaning up table supports with the good 'ol Lie Nielsen No. 62

: Drilled the holes for the dowels in pillars

: Holes drilled in pillars; dry fit to locate holes in supports

: V-block used to prep dowels

: Making a dowel!

: Lie Nielsen dowel plate & some cocobolo

: Cocobolo plugs on the first glue up

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DT Breakfast Table Update

September 15th, 2009

Here are some pictures of last nights progress! It’s coming along quite well. A good amount of hand work ahead but so far I really like what I see!
-NWB

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