Just when you might have been thinking
all I did was hike and take pictures, along comes another revelation: I like to make things out of wood.
I've not been so meticulous about taking photographs of my woodworking projects as I have things I've seen on the hiking
trails but I did find several (mostly taken by other people and given to me) which I can share with you.
I got started in woodworking back
in 2003 when I was unable to find a satisfactory solution to my custom cabinetry needs for a kitchen remodel. I went
to the library and checked-out a few books on kitchen cabinets then shortly thereafter I was busy making my own cabinets
for a $20K+ kitchen make-over. My first major project was completed using a $99 tablesaw and a few more very amateur-level
woodworking tools. I hope you'll enjoy the photo gallery of some of my woodworking projects. Meanwhile, I'll try to round up a few more pictures to complete the photo library of my
projects in wood.
Last Project-->I've recently completed a "shorter" version
of a traditional chest-of-drawers using something close to the Mission style of furniture design.
I've developed my own plans for this chest using ideas gleaned from photos of chests in this style and hours spent perusing
a variety of construction techniques typically used on Mission (also sometimes called Stickley) and Arts & Craft style chests. Mine is a blend of those.
African mahogany is the primary material I'm using for the exterior of the case to include the
drawer faces. Drawer sides and internal panels are made of poplar. I've completed the final coat
of satin polyurethane and hope to have some more photos after the drawer pull hardware has been installed.
Click photo to open photo gallery in a new window.
Difficult? Yes.
My chest design uses inset drawer faces with traditional interior web frame dust panels for support.
The tolerance around the face and the vertical gap between the top and bottom of the drawer sides inside the chest is only
1/16". This has made for a tedious final fitting since rarely does anything I've ever built come out that close
to being perfectly square & true--especially something as large and complex as this chest! There are six drawers
in my chest design which is to be shorter but much deeper than a traditional chest. My design is 35-1/2" wide x 36"
high x 25" deep. The close tolerance drawers also presented a design challenge for a drawer over-extension limiter device.
I decided to use a spring-loaded self-closing cabinet door hinge that I mounted to the back of each drawer. It flips
up and catches on a screw placed into the overhead dust frame. Flipping the hinge plate down allows the drawer
to be pulled completely out of the chest.
My only disappointment has been the extreme variation in grain patterns and wood tone (coloration)
among the boards I'd purchased for this project--especially the difference between the hardwood and the plywood panels.
The hardwood mahogany will darken with time and in a year or so it will be nearly as dark as the plywood panels. I could
see evidence of the darkening just in the short time the materials were stored in my shop--places where I'd placed a parts
ID label were noticeably lighter beneath the label than the surrounding wood. I don't know how much the satin urethane
will affect the natural tendency of this wood to darken with age.
Photos posted....
I've snapped a few photos of my work so far and uploaded those for you to see. I've yet to
install the drawer pull hardware. Click here (or on the mini-photo slideshow) to open the photo gallery in a new window. Updated 9/15/08.
I've recently completed construction of an oak bookcase
with windowed sliding doors to use for my hiking reference materials. The image to the right is the one I've
built. Click here to see a few more images of this bookcase. If you'd like a copy of the plans then contact me and I'll help you find them.
Janice helped me cut the glass panes for the slidng doors (about 12" x 16" each, qty=6) which are mounted
using Euro-style sliding door hardware. I've used shellac for the final finish coat since the cool weather at my place in December prevents
polyurethane (my normal coating of choice) from properly curing Shellac is alcohol-based and can be applied even in freezing temperatures yet still be expected to properly cure in less than a few
hours! For winter projects I usually use shellac for the clear coat finish.
I'm very happy with the bookcase..
I've also built a mobile miter saw stand for my newly purchased Ridgid
12" sliding miter saw. The new mobile miter saw stand replaces a large table that took up too much space and wasn't
very functional. The plan I used came from the July 2006 issue of American Woodworker magazine. I'm quite
proud of the new miter saw stand. Photos and more details will be posted soon.
...............................................
My computer is now perched on the result of a recent home furnishings project: A
corner computer desk. It is a gem of a desk. Iused a plan that appeared in Woodsmith magazine
that is available for purchase from PlansNow and August Home Publishing. I usually don't like commercially produced
plans and there were several things I didn't like about this one. Nonetheless, it is very time consuming to
draw my own plans so I decided to "toe the line" and build it like it was detailed.
For the gearheads among you, here are some of the tools I use for my
hobby:
