Christmas Present Build time, again...

[steven c newman]

So...Grandpa Steve has a project to do....build a Blanket/Hope Chest for eldest Grandson's "Better Half".....

have recently brought home about 25bft or so of Quarter sawn Ash....3/4" x 6" planks...
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random lengths...11 boards in all ($20!) and figured I could build a little bigger box with these...
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mostly the grain looks like this....though there is a few knots to work around..

Just got done watching Norm Abram's New Yankee Workshop, Season 1, Episode 4, Blanket Chest.....hmmm...will see how I can build it in MY shop....being mostly hand tool shop...

And..have it all built, and finished and ready for Christmas Day Delivery?

Frame & Raised Panel sides? Raised part to show? Bread Board Lid? 22" tall? Around 3' long.....16" front to back?

Single Brain Cell Sketch Up is now hard at work.....need to start cutting and ripping.....

Stay tuned....( BTW: have a Cardiac Stress Test this coming Friday morning...)

[steven c newman]

Kind of sore, right now...area right between the shoulder blades is hurting...was a BUSY afternoon..
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All shavings from pushing the Stanley #45 around.....Ash does NOT like it....
hauled 2 planks to the shop, and got out a few tools, for now..
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marking out for leg blanks....3/4" x 2-5/8" x 23" strong....had a few knots to work around
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One is in the burn pile...have a way to work around the other..
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other end?
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Might get a couple rails in there? tablesaw to rough cut for length, then set up the rip fence..
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Thought I could use the Stanley #45 as a Tongue & Groove plane.....tried at least...will have to see IF it needs a lot of sharpening...couldn't get anything to cut right....didn't even like going with the grain...

set up the tablesaw instead,,ripped the tongue wannabee off, and made 3 other blanks to match...
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Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Ok, corners are made by a T&G joint..
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Got things milled for this...then, the edge where a raised panel will fit was milled next..
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Yep, helps when I go WITH the grain, and use the old candle to make things slide better..had 4 rails cut to length....that also needed a groove milled...on just one edge..
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And..another use for the tool well....run a clamp from it to the side of the bench...Just have to watch the clamp clears the Stanley 45's fence...
And, this is what I managed to get done...
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Not too bad? may be able to glue up a few panels? As soon as I find out what sizes I'll need...

Stay tuned..:D

[Tim Best]

Looking forward to following the build, Steven.

[steven c newman]

hauled another plank to the shop today....start time was 1100hrs....quitting time was 1430hrs....
Cross cut the plank...2 for the long rails, 2 for dividers between those rails..
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Then rip cuts for all 3 boards...at 2-5/8" wide..
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First set wasn't too bad...even kept the 1 x for later....the second set of rails?
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Which more or less determined how long the rails will be....
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By the time one end was squared up, and all matched for length...wound up at 24" long...One of the dividers has a knot....almost right where a groove will be going

Reset the tablesaw to do the tenons...took a couple test runs, to get them just about right...
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If you look at the one end, you'll see where I was going too thin....corrected that, and started running all the tenons
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Dividers got theirs done..
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next up? need to set up the bench clamp..
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And get ready to mill some more grooves...
Stay tuned, part 2 is coming right up..

[steven c newman]

Ok, grooves, as the Stanley is still set up. But first..
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I thought I wanted a level playing field...as some of the edges are a bit too rough...then the groove can be ploughed,,,
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Top edges of the grooves were looking a bit ragged...
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The Wards 78 was sitting there, anyway..so I ran it down the groove, adding a slight bevel...
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Long rails are now milled...tenons and grooves...next the 2 dividers...
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And..that knot, again....Dividers get a groove along both edges...
Which brings us to part 3 of today's shoptime...mortises...for that I'll need a jig...
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Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Mortises....Jig is set up..
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And ready to chop? Not quite...these will be laid out for Haunched Tenons....
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As I have a groove to fill up....chopped out for the actual tenon...and try a dry fit....only to find out, that the tenon is a hair too fat...we have ways...
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Wards 78...planes the cheeks down a bit....trying for Mallet Tight...not Split out the side Tight...
Try again..
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Nice for the top of the leg..but..as the bottom rail does not go all the way to the bottom of the groove....needed to do a bit of trim work..
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Saw cut across right where the rail will stop...then a chisel....and then the dry fit..
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Gives it a nice little step detail....Stiles to rails were now done...
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This will be either the Front, or the Back of the chest....depends on what the other looks like..:rolleyes:
next, those dividers needed to be centered in the rails....they also don't need a haunch....as the raised panels will fill the grooves nicely..
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Time for a full dry fit?
stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

Full dry fit..still need to glue up a few panels....just needed to know how big to make them..
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A few marks here and there, to get the sizes needed...

I did find out about having sharp, square corners...in Ash...
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Ouch!...Not sure which corner got me....was during all that mortise chopping....

Tomorrow? Day #3....I need to build the other 3 frames...and maybe start some panel glue ups...
May need a pair of Kevlar gloves?
Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Laundry Detail tonight....2 more Mortises done...Mortise chisel was taken to the stones for a refresh....will see how long that lasts...
Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Still on laundry Detail...clothes have gone into the dryer....and 4 more Mortises are done....and so am I....will see what Thursday brings....

[steven c newman]

Stashed out of the way, for now, couple of clamps to hold it..
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And, by the time the dryer was done...second frame was too...and measured to find out how big the make the panels for the glue ups,,,,
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Stay tuned...right now? Lunch...

[steven c newman]

had a decent plank to haul to the shop, this evening 70" long...one small knot...IF I have to duck going to the shop..so did this board...laid it on the tablesaw...
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Now..I need a couple panels...3/4" x 10-3/4" x 12-3/8"....i figured I can cut enough pieces (6) at 11" long...
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And leave just enough to square the ends....shortest one IS 11"..but, by the time I rip the edges straight and square...if I glue up just 2 boards...5-3/4" does not add up to 12-3/8"...hmm...reset the rip fence a few times..
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Wanted one straight edge to start..reset again to 3-1/2"...and run these through again...with the just sawn edge against the fence....which left..
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about 1-3/4" wide "fillers" I can then lay out three wide parts and a filler..
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And, line up fot the best grain match..
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same 4 boards...

Stay tuned..more to come...2 hours of shoptime, tonight..:D

[steven c newman]

So, all set to glue a panel? happened to have some dowels handy...they can raised the board up a bit, to make clamping a little easier..
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Stand up all but the far one...add a bead of glue to each board, lay it down, and moosh the glue a bit..until all the parts are ready for some clamps..
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Do 2 clamps, roll the panel over, add the middle clamp....and set the panel aside to cure....repeat for panel #2...and set it aside..
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And let these sit overnight....also, the first two frames were sat down in front of these...to be out of the way....

Decided to work on the frames for the ends....
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getting better at this....was a bit of a brain...cramp....until I got things straightened out as to who goes where...and in what direction...was trying to install a rail bass-ackwards...
Also...a few extra cuts were made...mainly at the foot details...got rid of that sharp cornered step....will get the burn marks sanded off later..
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Getting a better fit with the haunch, too....bottom rail done on the side, turn things around...and do the top of the leg..
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And, since I was on a roll, I also did the other leg of this frame...
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And set this aside....was starting to have issues with the chisels.....
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got to about here, on the other ( and LAST) frame....2 hours was just about enough....closed up the shop for the day

Tomorrow afternoonish? may try again....need 4 more panels glued up, and that last frame assembled....

Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

Day #4.....the Shed/Tent out in the backyard..
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Now has a new "roof", as I replaced it with a better tarp....took about an hour, since I was the only one working on it....took a short break..then hauled some planks to the shop...some were "Good"
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The plank behind it was was so bad..
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These were from the ends of it....and the third plank?
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Not the greatest looking board...set these 3 aside for a bit....sharpened the Mortise chisel up....and changed the bandsaw blade..
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New blade doesn't burn....Mortise chisel chops a lot better..
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And..doesn't get stuck, either...managed to get the last frame done...
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And stashed it over with the rest of the frames...a front, a back, and now two end frames..
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Which meant the rest of the 2 hour shop time was spent milling parts to make 4 more panels...
Stay tuned....:D

[steven c newman]

Second "half" of Day #4....
Cross cut those 3 planks down...throwing out the bad parts...until I had 12 of these.
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Was trying to get them about 11" long....then chose an edge that LOOKED straight...set up the rip fence to about 5-1/2" from the blade...and rip off the wavy edges...marking that freshly sawn edge...then reset to3-5/8" width...and run them all through...with the freshly sawn edge riding the fence..stashed the 1 x 2s aside...first 3 boards and a 1 x 2 were arranged for best grain match..
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had a few small gaps...we have ways..
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Was mainly the first edge....jig does have other uses besides mortises...
to get the panel glued up, first I needed some clamps...emptied some clamps..
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Stashed Panels #1 and #2 over on the bench..while I glue up Panels #3 and #4
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Needed cauls, this time around...but, not enough clamps for Panels #5 and #6..
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So these 2 will have to wait, until tomorrow...
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BtW: this is a clean mortise in my shop....and a nice, snug fit, too

Will be working on panels next...
Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

Day #5 started out...ok....didn't end very well

Got the last 2 panels glued up
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Hmm, for some reason, I needed cauls on both faces...ok...
Squared up the other 4 panels...didn't need to cut much off..
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One of the ends didn't even need a cut...checked to see if the panels will fit...without dropping straight through..
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Then jig a panel up on the bench, and flatten one face...
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then a #4 smooth plane to make a few beveled edges..
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Trying for a raised panel look...
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looking for that "crisp" corner detail....got all the edges beveled...needed to make rebates on the other side...
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So the stiles and rails would fit like this was going along great (kept hearing a cracking noise?)
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It was when I went to rebate the LAST edge...one of the sections decided to..."Un-glue" itself, when I clamped the panel back down...:mad:

Pull the two pieces out of the jig, joint both edges (apparently "Spring Joint Glue Up is not a "thing" dealing with Ash)....then figure out a way to clamp the two back together with a fresh bead of glue..and hope the clamps stay put....until then...bench is closed, because the jig is part of the clamp-up...so..shop is closed until tomorrow...maybe....

Spent a bit of "overtime" today....should have just stopped at 2 hrs.....instead of working 3.5 hours....I'll set a timer, tomorrow.:eek:

Stay tuned :rolleyes:

[Frederick Skelly]

It's looking good! I'm impressed with how productive you are - you get a lot done in a few hours per day.

[Mike Soaper]

Thanks for the interesting build journal.

[steven c newman]

Ok, Day 6....went a little bit better than Day#5 did...got the broken panel all fixed up, last rebate milled,,then a dry fit..
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was still ticked off from yesterday...decided to cheat a bit..tilted the tablesaw blade to 15 degrees, set the fence (and zero clearance overlay) so 1/2" between the blade and the fence,,,ran all four edges through...then reset the saw, and run the rebates through...2 cuts per rebate...then back to the bench, and use a couple planes to tidy things up...
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like rebates....bevels were planed smooth, burn marks were removed....took a few tries to get the next dry fit to FIT the way I wanted it to..
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I also cut the new foot profile...
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then knock the dry fit down to just parts...do the other foot...cleared off the tablesaw, lowered the blade....had a glue up to do..
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Might have just enough clamps? had to "hammer adjust" a couple spots....
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this is sitting face down...the grooves you can see is where the end's tongues will fit, when I glue up the entire case....so far, just either a "Front' or a "Back" is done...which was the plan for today..Monday, the shop is usually closed..that "Monday Thing"....will give this panel a day to cure...then sand it down smooth...while i try to get another frame done..

Stay tuned....( only spent 2 hours in the shop, today...)

[Michael J Evans]

Steve
You get whole project done in the time it takes me to cut a couple dovetails. You must flat out move in that shop.

Excited to see the end result

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Clearly you think bigger than I.... I will make (at my sister's request) toothpick boxes.

Smart me would just cut the sides ta 45 degrees and glue these together. Stupid me will cut tiny little dovetails.

[steven c newman]

Somedays, I seem to move way too fast....and that gets me into trouble.....I have to learn when to slow down a bit...to get a better fit..

Not a fan of working on Mondays, either...bad things seem to happen when I do...

Andrew: Even worse? Try hand cut finger joints on that small box.....BTDT...
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[Richard Hutchings]

This is great! By the time I start thinking of Christmas presents, it's too late to make them.

[steven c newman]

Seems whenever I go to the basement to do things other than woodworking.....I almost always wind up doing woodworking anyway....

Monday? 2 road trips...one to go and buy one more 1 x 6 x 6' Ash board...making sure the grain will line up with the 3 planks on hand..in order to have a wide enough panel for a lid....the second one was to Harbor Freight, as a couple sanding belts were worn out ( one was starting to break at the seam, do NOT buy those blue belts) and decided to install the new belts ( wasn't paying Lowes for their gold-plated belts)....one thing led to another in the shop...decided to at least try them out, and check how they tracked.....the 4" x 36" needed the tracking adjusted....the 3" x 21" did not...

Tried to flatten a panel, with the jack plane...
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Was an issue with some "dots" of dried glue.....to save the iron in the jack plane...I simply buzzed them flat with the new sanding belt....same with the burn marks on the feet of the chest...used the new belt on the 4 x 36 sander....120 grit belts on both sanders.....

happened to be thinking of an idea.....to hold a panel perfectly vertical on the tablesaw.....came up with a jig...of sorts
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2 pieces of scrap, and 2 c clamps....to make a "slider" that can run on top of the rip fence...
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A 1 x 2 sits on the top of the fence, a strip of plywood keeps the 1 x 2 aligned with the fence....c clamps hold a panel to the 1 x 2 and the plywood holds everything to the fence...I can then push the panel through a cut safely....no wiggles going on ( had to wax the fence for the jig to slide better)just slide the part through nice and steady, no burn marks..
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Now, when doing a couple panels as a Raised Panel using hand planes MIGHT be nice....it tends to be slow, unless you want a good Cardio Workout going on....and the surfaces weren't always nice and flat when done....or as consistent...tablesaw can be bad, as well....holding the panel vertical by hand, edge dropping down into the saw....a slider can get better, repeatable cuts....
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Without burning, kickbacks, and other such defects....and as long as you push the jig through the cut, without stopping, things don't burn....explains that small burn mark...

Zero Clearance Overlay....is simply a 1/4" strip of plywood, wide enough to sit under the rip fence, and support anything being cut....can't use the mitre gauge with it....not really suppose to.

Even the (cheek/shoulder) cut for the rebates.
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can be done safely. And, not as stressful to either me, or the panel...to complete a rebate cut....use just the rip fence, and lay the panel flat on the saw...
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two panels all nicely raised, with a rebate to sit in the grooves of the frames...

I mentioned working on the burn marks on the leg's feet, from an old, DULL bandsaw blade? And removed those with the new belt? well I also traced around the revised feet onto the old pattern feet, the bandsawed those....thought I might as well do a glue up of the second large frame ( front/back?) as the tablesaw was now cleared off..
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So much for not working IN the shop on Mondays....

[steven c newman]

May head to the shop about 1pm, or so? And start on Day 8.....wonder how far I'll get today...in 2 hours....

[Jerry Olexa]

Your work progressing nicely...Good job....Take it slow, easy..

[steven c newman]

One of THOSE days, today....just get started...had to run to the store...groceries were needed! Then back home, try again....had started on building a better slider for my rip fence
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Was jointing an edge for the jig to slide along on....contractor shows up to measure the roof...mess around with that...until he handed me the estimate..to send to the Landlord...then back to the shop, again
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Found enough short screws to assemble the jig....and set this aside for a while...
Frame #2 came out of the clamps...
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And set it over in front of Frame #1...looks like a match? then the last 2 panels came ( unwillingly) out of their clamps...trimmed them square, and made sure they were close to the same size..then start on flattening 4 faces ( and NOT mine..)
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Finally got all four done..
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Time to set up the new jig on the tablesaw!
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Blade tilted to 15 degrees..made sure it was high enough ( it wasn't, another turn of the crank cured that..)then gave it a shove...
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It didn't want to slide!...added those shims ( just a strip of course sandpaper) and tried again..
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Slid a bit better..was also clamping it too low...

stay tuned...start time today was around 1-2pm....end time? almost 6pm....sheesh..

[steven c newman]

part 2 of today's follies...bevels were getting done...
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Used the old Stanley No. 3c, type 11 to remove any burn marks.."What burn marks?" That's the idea...

Bevels are all done...reset the saw to do both of the rebate cuts...one on the vertical..
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All the way around both panels...then reset the saw...
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using just the rip fence, run the panels through on the flat...all the way around....test for fit...was a tad fat..we have ways.
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Not taking too much off, and checking as I went for fit...
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had a couple bumps in the bevels to flatten out, too....until time for the dry fits..
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Frame #1 and Frame #2..
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Might as well spread some glue, and add some clamps..
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And a few cauls...also made sure the panels were centered..and set things aside to cure, for a day..
BRB..

[steven c newman]

Panels got centered in the frames..
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panel #2 was having issues with a couple clamps..they didn't want to stay put...the 2 clamps are resting comfortably on the floor where they landed...I got out some "better" clamps...
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I used a few cauls, because one leg was trying to lift up, instead of laying flat...

left this sit on the bench, for tonight...needed to sweep up the shop..
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"Clean up, Aisle #1!" Then hang up the apron..
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Turn off the work lights, and the shop fan...and called it a day...

May go out and buy a 1/2" pine HandiPanel ..2' x 4' to use as the bottom for the chest...will price some Aromatic Red Cedar as a liner...and a hinge....may go with three "butt hinges" instead of the piano style hinge,.....need to make some cleats, to attach the bottom panel to..

Stay tuned.:D

[steven c newman]

Today was a bit laid back, trying to rest up from Yesterday's long sessions....clamps came off everything, cauls were removed...no cracks were to be heard....except for the whack of a caul being removed...
Cleared off the tablesaw...lowered the blade out of sight...decided to try just a "Dry Run" of dry fits...more to see how things will fit together, and IF there will be enough room on the saw's top.....and get the "Brigade of Clamps all set up and ready to go....when I do the glue up...later, too worn out today to attempt such a thing...so, first corner..
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With a small c clamp up at the foot holding the 2 sides still...framer square to see IF it is indeed a square corner...it was...then
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Place the other end on the saw, clamp the foot together....so far, so good...then the 4th side..
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used both the small c clamps, and a few F clamps...one corner wanted to protest a bit....
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And a clamp or two the long way...this end is 16-1/2" wide, chest stands (without the lid)22-1/4" tall, and is 28-1/8" wide across the front/back....

Spent maybe an hour in the shop....may get around to a glue up..tomorrow?
Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Glue up was done this afternoon...needed a couple extra clamp...letting sit for a while...

Plywood for the chest's bottom has been bought...1/4" x 24" x 48" Luann. i figure by the time the 1/4" Aromatic Red Cedar planks are also glued in place, there should be at least 1/2" floor for things to sit on..

stay tuned...will try to take a couple pictures, after Supper...

[steven c newman]

Too many clamps?
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maybe ?
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Needed a couple others, to correct an issue with the feet..
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Wasn't lined up just right...

Plywood panel is awaiting being cut to size..
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And a bag of screws to hold it in place..
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into a pine 1x2 cleat that I still have to mill...may need to clear the bench off, again?
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"Name that tool"?

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

removed 16 clamps today. sanded all the glue joints flush.

Next? Set the chest on the floor, for now. Had a scrap 1 x 4 x 6' Pine board..
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needed it cross cut to 2 lengths then ripped for 2 pieces 1-1/2" wide..
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Add some counter bores, and pilot holes...installed as cleats to hold the bottom panel
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With glue and screws....then used the chest to mark out how big a piece of 1/4" Luann Plywood I'll need to cut...easy, just set the case on the plywood, and trace around the inside with a LONG pencil..
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Bear in mind, the two items are sitting on top of my tablesaw...and I have to reach up, over, and into the case, to reach the plywood....good thing I have long arms..then cut the blank for the bottom of the chest,,,
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Once the cleats have cured....I can remove those clamps....add a bead of glue and and a few screws to secure the plywood in place...next payday, I'll pick up some 1/4" T&G Red Cedar planks, and line the bottom.

Until then? Sand everything down to 220 grit....and see about building a lid. looks like that will be a 4 board glue up? Maybe a bread board end thing, too?

Stay tuned..I might just get this done by Christmas...:D

[steven c newman]

Laundry Detail last night....meant a few more trips to the basement.....which is both the laundry room, and the woodshop....loaded up the washer for it's second load, while Load #1 was going along in the dryer...

Removed the clamps from the cleat install....bead of glue onto the cleats....push the plywood panel down into the glue...and add a few screws...
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Moved the chest over, out of the way of loaded hampers going by...
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Then...next trip to check on both machines...hauled 4 planks to the shop....rough cut to length....then ripped for a slightly better fit of a lid..
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had a couple areas in one plank to remove, so it is now the skinny filler strip....I now have a stack of cut-offs to sort through...
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As I also need 2 strips for the bread board ends.....I'll need to clear the deck for action, before anything else gets done, today
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And get out the Jointer plane....hmmm..a No. 7c? A No. 6 or 6c? Maybe the old No. 8?
Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Took a few minutes, but..
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Deck is now cleared for action....
As for those 4 blanks....I squared the ends up a bit...then started to joint the edges..
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Using a Stanley No. 7c, Type 9.....but, that was a bit too much plane...downshifted to a Stanley No. 6, Type 10, AND an Auburn No. 81
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Yes, the #81 is a bit long...but, it weighs about half of what the #7c does...
Checked for any gaps..
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yep, there are indeed 2 boards there...kept going..
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3 boards, still no gaps....was finally able to lay out all four boards to see what the grain will look like..
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needed to work on the skinny "filler" board a bit more...finally able to glue and clamp them all together..
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I also managed to rip some stock to make 2 bread board ends from...
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All from one board...will select the best two, of these. Right now, two are serving as cauls..
To keep the one end of the blank flat....had an issue with the ends not wanting to meet up flat....cauls made them match.

Will let this sit overnight...maybe tomorrow, I can work the panel up into a lid?
Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Sunday was a day "off" consisting of making sure nothing would get wet, just in case that Thunderstorm would cause the creek to rise in the shop...I guess that counts as "Day 13"? Chest wound up sitting on the panel glue up, sitting on the tablesaw. Today, despite it being a Monday :rolleyes: Figured I could at least sand the chest to about 120 grit... had to get it off of the saw, and onto the bench...
445157
All sanded smooth...changed the router bit to a cove bit ( it had a dovetail bit in it) and ran that around,,
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The feet areas were a bit tricky to do..
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sanding drum in the Dremel helped blend things together....Ok, I can set this chest aside...remove the cauls and clamps from the lid blank..
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Not the prettiest sight...but, a new belt in the beltsander, and a jack plane...
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Soon had things almost flat...not perfect, but close enough...Ends needed a trim looking a bit ragged, and the lid was a hair too long...skil saw and the fence..
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One done, mark the other...
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And the other end is trimmed....was I done with the fence? Nope...stay tuned..
:D

[steven c newman]

Ok..happen to have another router, still set up from when I made this computer desk....
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Think I bought the No. 610 for $5? Anyway....reset the fence so the edge of the cutter is at the edge of the panel....idea is to mill a tongue on the ends of the panel, for the bread board ends to fasten to..one face at a time..
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I had a plywood scrap marked up to where to set the fence at...flip the panel over..
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Complete the first tongue. Rotate the panel around, and mill the other tongue...
Those two "cauls" were next. Trimmed to length...then set up to mill a groove....more of a "nibble" than a mill....until I have a nice slip fit..
445167
Then glue and clamps...
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That caul? Was clamped to keep that end flat until the edge was in place...yes, I glued the ends on...panel consists of 4 narrow boards...not much to move...

Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Day 15: Have the lid done..
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And added a box to the inside...
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Hinges will be bought, later today...for both Lids...
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Clamps can come off today, as well....

[steven c newman]

Hinges have been bought...for both lids. Can of stain, and a couple brushes....need to test it out on some scraps of ash. Sanding discs for the ROS, just in case. carton of Red Cedar "Closet Liner" planks, to line the bottom of the chest with...waiting on glue to dry on the box....and see about hinge installs...tomorrow.....48 years ago today wife and I got married....going to take the rest of the evening off...

[Michael J Evans]

Congrats Steven!

Build also looking very good!

Thanks for sharing.

[steven c newman]

Thank you.

Today was all about installing hinges.....and snapping a pilot hole bit.....
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Box lid. Hinges are sitting with the barrel down...as the main lid will be "landing" here...took a bit of extra digging..
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To allow the barrel enough room....the snapped pilot hole drill bit?
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Of course, it would have to be the skinny one...the hard to get a replacement for....

As for the "piano hinge" ....a corded router buzzed down enough of the back rail's top edge to allow the hinge to sit flush....about the 3rd screw hole, was when I snapped that tip....left just enough sticking out, that a pair of visegrips could pull it out....then chuck the VIX bit into the cordless drill....
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Then re-install the driver bit. Chest is sitting like this, because I can stain the entire insides better...
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Except for the plywood "floor".....I now have a box of Aromatic Red Cedar planks to do the floor with...
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And I don't want any other finishes to impact the Cedar.....

May try to varnish the insides tomorrow....and see about attaching the main lid.

Will start looking or a mortise latch/lock...as some way to keep the lid shut. Also trying to decide IF this chest would use handles on the ends.....but NOT in the raised panels...

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Insides now have a coat of clear gloss poly....lid has been installed, even has a "backstop" to keep it from tilting back too far when opened...outside has been stained ( brush on/wiped down) and then a coat of BLO (brushed on,wiped down)....
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Still need to stain the underside of the main lid, and see about a handle for the ends....
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Something like this...centered on the top rail on the ends...?


Clear out a large space in the shop.....and set the chest on the floor...have cedar plank floor to install...stain and varnish the underside of the main lid....and maybe get a few better pictures...

Stay tuned....one month to go....wonder how to wrap this up as a present.....maybe just a big red bow?

[steven c newman]

Cleaned up an area to work on the floor..
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Got the underside of the main lid stained and wiped down..
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Used the mitersaw to cut the cedar planking..
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And installed that..
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Test out the backstop..
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Just an Ash scrap, glued across the back of the chest, right below the hinge..
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Just got back home, after buying a couple handles to install, after the varnishing is done....
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Stay tuned....only a month left, to get this ready for that big RED bow....

[steven c newman]

Insides still need to "air out" a bit more....may give yet another day.....fun part will be varnishing both sides of the lid.....AND the outside of the case....in one session.....sure to be cussing involved then...

Have about 4 weeks to get the Finish done......should be about right? handles have been drilled, to allow them to be attached with screws from the outside.....I ground off the fake screw heads, and drilled new holes right in the same spots.....had to sharpen the drill bit, first...

[steven c newman]

Outsides and both sides of the lid...chest now has it's first coat of Clear Gloss Poly on....will see how it looks later Tuesday. Better screws have been made to fit the new handles. fake screwheads on the handles were removed, and then drilled on through to accept the new "real" screws...

Either 320 grit paper, or, 0000 steel wool rub down Tuesday.....and see about the next coat of varnish.....

[steven c newman]

Photos, or it didn't happen, is it? Well..
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Front view, this morning....after these were installed on each end..
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Lid was stuck, but, was easy enough to pop open...
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Fix a couple spots, sand to 320 grit, wipe it down....apply coat #2...

First, need to get this up off the floor, and save me back......:rolleyes:

[steven c newman]

White streaks have been fixed...chest has been sanded to 320grit....wiped it down, added a "glaze" coat of the stain....then a coat of clear gloss poly..
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Front looks a bit better...
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Left end has a lot of grainy details...
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The end that had that "HUGE" white streak...looks a lot better...

Let this sit a day or two....then a rub down with 0000 steel wool....and see how it looks...

Thanks for looking in..

[steven c newman]

Ok, got the chest upstairs...and tried to find enough light to take a few pictures.....seeings how I do NOT have a "Photo Studio"....
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Front view...was trying to avoid all the glare...
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Which will blind you....that lid is very shiny....
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Added those Furniture Glides....white socks?
Thanks for looking in....I hope she will like her Christmas Present from Grandpa Steve....( grandson's "Better half")

[Tim Best]

Steven, Thanks for sharing. That was a fun build to follow.