Vaughn McMillan
03-29-2006, 3:06 AM
A while back, a lady in Ohio contacted me and asked if I could make her a paper towel holder to go with her new bathroom cabinets. Here's a thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=31437)where I asked the SMC gang for advice on how to mimic one of the details of the cabinets.
The holder itself is very basic...a few pieces of cherry held together with glued butt joints and pocket screws. The pattern on the end pieces was what challenged my rookie skills. I ended up making a template and using a "classical groove forming (http://mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_groov.html)" plunge router bit (it's at the bottom of the page). My template wasn't perfect, but the flaws matched exactly on each routed piece. ;) This was my first attempt at template routing, and I had to make several templates before I got one that I was happy with, so I got a fair amount of practice. I made the template out of particle board because that's what I had handy. I found the most accurate way for me to cut the hole in the template was on the drill press. Curved parts were cut with a forstner bit, and the straight lines were done with a spiral cutting bit (Rotozip bit) at the highest speed my little benchtop drill press could muster, using the fenced drill press table as a poor-man's milling machine. I realize this isn't real good for the bearings on the DP, but I took my time and didn't push the cut very hard. The little Rotozip bit generates much less dust than anything I had available for the router table, so I could capture it better with a Shop Vac.
Since I was trying to match an existing stained cherry finish, this was also my first attempt at staining cherry -- a wood that I think should be left natural. I like the results, but I don't know how close the color will match -- I only have disposable camera pictures as a guide. I suspect I missed the tone, gauging by the pictures. It'll darken over time anyway, so whatever I do it'll not match for long. I used a Minwax gel stain, and although I like working with the gel compared to oil-based stains I've used in the past, I'd still rather let cherry be cherry. :rolleyes: The customer is always right.
I initially tried to finish this with brushed semi-gloss water-based polycrylic, but after a number of unsatisfactory attempts, I scraped and sanded the whole thing clean (except the rosettes), re-stained it, and finished it with BLO and a few coats of Minwax satin oil-based poly from a spray can (another first). In four hours I got a better finish than I'd seen from the previous week's worth of attempts with a brush and can.
Compared to a lot of the furniture and cabinet work that gets shown here, this is small potatoes, but it was a good learning experience for me, and hopefully other noobs like me can get some ideas for their own projects. For those of you who are thinking of making a living doing this, be aware that I spent a bit more in tools and materials than I'll charge this lady for a paper towel holder, and that covers none of my time. (I do get a new router bit, a template collar set, and a fair amount of new experience out of the deal.) Good thing I'm not trying to put food on the table doing this. ;)
Here's the original detail I was trying to mimic:
35187
And here's my attempt:
35185
And the full monty:
35186
If anyone is looking for the spring-loaded rods that go into this type of wall-mounted holder, they have them at www.craftparts.com (http://www.craftparts.com) -- do a search for "paper towel". Lots of other little wooden bits and pieces, too. (BTW, no affiliation with the site.)
Comments are welcome...
- Vaughn
The holder itself is very basic...a few pieces of cherry held together with glued butt joints and pocket screws. The pattern on the end pieces was what challenged my rookie skills. I ended up making a template and using a "classical groove forming (http://mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_groov.html)" plunge router bit (it's at the bottom of the page). My template wasn't perfect, but the flaws matched exactly on each routed piece. ;) This was my first attempt at template routing, and I had to make several templates before I got one that I was happy with, so I got a fair amount of practice. I made the template out of particle board because that's what I had handy. I found the most accurate way for me to cut the hole in the template was on the drill press. Curved parts were cut with a forstner bit, and the straight lines were done with a spiral cutting bit (Rotozip bit) at the highest speed my little benchtop drill press could muster, using the fenced drill press table as a poor-man's milling machine. I realize this isn't real good for the bearings on the DP, but I took my time and didn't push the cut very hard. The little Rotozip bit generates much less dust than anything I had available for the router table, so I could capture it better with a Shop Vac.
Since I was trying to match an existing stained cherry finish, this was also my first attempt at staining cherry -- a wood that I think should be left natural. I like the results, but I don't know how close the color will match -- I only have disposable camera pictures as a guide. I suspect I missed the tone, gauging by the pictures. It'll darken over time anyway, so whatever I do it'll not match for long. I used a Minwax gel stain, and although I like working with the gel compared to oil-based stains I've used in the past, I'd still rather let cherry be cherry. :rolleyes: The customer is always right.
I initially tried to finish this with brushed semi-gloss water-based polycrylic, but after a number of unsatisfactory attempts, I scraped and sanded the whole thing clean (except the rosettes), re-stained it, and finished it with BLO and a few coats of Minwax satin oil-based poly from a spray can (another first). In four hours I got a better finish than I'd seen from the previous week's worth of attempts with a brush and can.
Compared to a lot of the furniture and cabinet work that gets shown here, this is small potatoes, but it was a good learning experience for me, and hopefully other noobs like me can get some ideas for their own projects. For those of you who are thinking of making a living doing this, be aware that I spent a bit more in tools and materials than I'll charge this lady for a paper towel holder, and that covers none of my time. (I do get a new router bit, a template collar set, and a fair amount of new experience out of the deal.) Good thing I'm not trying to put food on the table doing this. ;)
Here's the original detail I was trying to mimic:
35187
And here's my attempt:
35185
And the full monty:
35186
If anyone is looking for the spring-loaded rods that go into this type of wall-mounted holder, they have them at www.craftparts.com (http://www.craftparts.com) -- do a search for "paper towel". Lots of other little wooden bits and pieces, too. (BTW, no affiliation with the site.)
Comments are welcome...
- Vaughn