Vaughn McMillan
12-17-2005, 6:51 PM
Here's a little something I put together over the past few nights. It was a something to try the new bandsaw out on, and since LOML and I are going to a party tonight and supposed to take "white elephant" gifts, I figure I'll bring this as a gift and see if people fight over it.
The top and bottom are oak, and the back is oak and jatoba, with 1/8" maple accent stripes. The towel rod is a dowel from the local hardware store. This paper towel holder a prototype of an idea I've been cooking up for a while. The top is held on with rare earth magnets and stacks of steel washers inset into the wood.
I did the initial "wave" cuts on matching pieces of oak and jatoba, ganged up and glued together, then resawed the resulting pieces, so I had the materials for two (opposite-patterned) towel holders. (Double-sided tape would have been easier and faster.) I also made a plywood template of the wave cuts with the plan of using a flush trim bit in the router table to make the oak and jatoba pieces fit perfectly. Since the pieces were also somewhat small, I made jigs to hold the workpieces and the templates together so I could keep my fingers out of harm's way on the router table. Unfortunately, the first piece of jatoba I tried to trim this way exploded (thank goodness for the jig), so I decided to do the final shaping of the wave cuts with a sanding drum on the drill press. Slower, but far less nerve-wracking.
Here are a few shots...first the holder with all parts attached:
27694
And with the top detached. Note the magnets in the back of the holder, and the stack of washers in the end grain of the top piece. There's also a magnet in the top piece that mates with a stack of washers in the end of the dowel rod:
27695
And a view of the back...if I make any more holders like this, I think I'll carry the wave theme through the top (and maybe the base), too:
27696
And lasting evidence that this was a "quick and dirty" assembly...pocket holes holding the back onto the base. No great joinery here. I did attach non-slip rubber pads on the bottom after this picture was taken, so it stays put real nicely on the countertop or table.
27697
Fine woodworking it ain't, but it'll be a bit nicer than the average "white elephant" gift at this party tonight. ;) Maybe it'll give some other Creekers ideas for a last-minute gift.
- Vaughn
The top and bottom are oak, and the back is oak and jatoba, with 1/8" maple accent stripes. The towel rod is a dowel from the local hardware store. This paper towel holder a prototype of an idea I've been cooking up for a while. The top is held on with rare earth magnets and stacks of steel washers inset into the wood.
I did the initial "wave" cuts on matching pieces of oak and jatoba, ganged up and glued together, then resawed the resulting pieces, so I had the materials for two (opposite-patterned) towel holders. (Double-sided tape would have been easier and faster.) I also made a plywood template of the wave cuts with the plan of using a flush trim bit in the router table to make the oak and jatoba pieces fit perfectly. Since the pieces were also somewhat small, I made jigs to hold the workpieces and the templates together so I could keep my fingers out of harm's way on the router table. Unfortunately, the first piece of jatoba I tried to trim this way exploded (thank goodness for the jig), so I decided to do the final shaping of the wave cuts with a sanding drum on the drill press. Slower, but far less nerve-wracking.
Here are a few shots...first the holder with all parts attached:
27694
And with the top detached. Note the magnets in the back of the holder, and the stack of washers in the end grain of the top piece. There's also a magnet in the top piece that mates with a stack of washers in the end of the dowel rod:
27695
And a view of the back...if I make any more holders like this, I think I'll carry the wave theme through the top (and maybe the base), too:
27696
And lasting evidence that this was a "quick and dirty" assembly...pocket holes holding the back onto the base. No great joinery here. I did attach non-slip rubber pads on the bottom after this picture was taken, so it stays put real nicely on the countertop or table.
27697
Fine woodworking it ain't, but it'll be a bit nicer than the average "white elephant" gift at this party tonight. ;) Maybe it'll give some other Creekers ideas for a last-minute gift.
- Vaughn