Armoire Progress

[Donnie Raines]

Hey Jim,

Not bad.....! At least your cutting on poplar....just think how long you would have been there were you useing maple or something.....

Remeber: Cherry, Walnut, Poplar(and some others)... will compress nicely when forced toghther in a joint like this. In other words...you can cut closer to the lay out mark and the joint will seal its self. Also, roundover the backside of the tails prior to beating them together...that will reduce any chance for blow out.

[Jim Becker]

Hey At least your cutting on poplar....just think how long you would have been there were you useing maple or something.....

Actually, hand cutting on softer material can be "harder" in the sense that it's easy to "crush" the wood if you let your tools get less-than-sharp or not square to the cut line and easier to do surface damage when you are not paying attention to where you are putting things down. DAMHIKT! The density on the poplar I'm using is also variable, so that made things interesting, too.

[Alan Turner]

JIm,
Nice set to DT's. To tighten, for structural reasons, I use the Frid method. After assembly, take a hand saw and make a kerf at least as wide as your widest gap. Then, cut some small strips just a touch wider than the kerf. Beat on them a bit with a metal hammer to compress the fibers, and reduce the size to slide in the kerfs a bit tight, when dry. Then, with the strips at a 45 deg. angle, fill the kerf with glue (hide glue is best since it is non staining, and put in the patches. Let dry, and cut/plane flush. Since the repair is at a 45, end grain will show from both sides, and be pretty well invisible. Good chance to use that LN LA Block plane.
Alan

[Frank Pellow]

...

Well...my body couldn't handle that nor do I have all the hand tools to do that properly. I look at it this way... Tools, no matter what kind, are there for a purpose--to help the craftsman reach some goal. I figure it's a nice thing to use a combination of hand-powered and electric-powered tools and use them where they each have advantages to "me". Hand tools are far better suited to a lot of the fine tuning and delicate things that I find myself doing more and more of. Power tools are better for me for a lot of the more major operations, especially when my time is limited...which it always is, unfortuantely.

...

I know, I know. I was just kidding and, actually, I would have (and have in the past) also switched to power tools once the hand-cut dovetails were finished.

[Chris Padilla]

Looks good, Jim! Gee, someday I'll get back to finishing up that EC my wife claims I started 2 or 3 lifetimes ago! I so want to dig into my stash of figured maple....

[Tyler Howell]

Very tastie!

[Jim Becker]

Since I got no shop time last weekend, this is the first progress on the armoire project since the weekend before that. Late today, after I finished getting set up for a little Festool event I'm hosting tomorrow (more on that later...don't ask in this thread, please), I got to work assembling the carcass by starting with a dry fit. (Picture One).


A little adjustment to the width of the shelves was in order (to flush them with the dado at the rear of the case) and then it was on to the glue-up. This was started with one side down on the bench and to insure that the shelves didn't slide laterally when the other side was put on top, I did succumb to toe nailing two brads inconspicuously into the joint, engaging both the shelf and the side. A square was held against that assembly to keep the joint as square as possible before clamping could commence. The dovetailed top was left off until the initial clamping was taken care of.

After the second side was added, some clamps were engaged to both keep the unit square while manipulating it onto its "back" as well as provide something to support the 36" wide project on top of a 20" wide bench...the Bessey K-Body clamps did a good job for that. Once rotated and checked for square, the dovetailed top was glued up and put on the piece. To clamp it down and draw it down as best as possible on the carcass, some smaller clamps were spanned from the joint of the upper shelf and moderately tightened. The whole assembly was left to dry overnight on the bench. (Picture Two)

There are two short vertical partitions that need to be sized and installed between the top and the upper shelf as well as between the lower shelf and the "bottom" of the case. They will slip into stopped dados already prepared and waiting for them.

[John Miliunas]

Certainly looks as though you're making forward progress, Jim! This is a good thing. Sounds like you're following a solid plan. My problem, if I can't continue on a project for that long is, I forget what in the blazes I was going to do next! I think that "OldTimers Disease" is kicking in! Thanks for the update!

[Mike Tempel]

You do some very nice work and I love your shop - very jealous . I do have one thing I would like to commend you on in addition to your outstanding work. You are wearing safety glasses with side shields and hearing protection while working. Too many of us forget how easily and quickly something can happen and I am glad to see that you think to protect yourself. Thanks for the pics and I am truly envious of your work.


Mike

[Jim Becker]

You You are wearing safety glasses with side shields and hearing protection while working.

Mike, I've always been fanatical about wearing safety glasses and even more so since I had LASIK a year and a half ago and no longer have even "regular" glasses to protect me. They go on at the beginning of the day and unless I leave the property on an errand, they often stay on until I'm done in the evening. As to hearing protection, I have a severe loss in my right ear already (not from abuse...osteosclerosis in the middle ear)...no reason to destroy the other one. The one change I made there is that I've been using my Bose Quiet Comfort II headphones for the purpose when I'm doing long sessions with loud tools. I can still hear the radio that way inbetween cuts.

[Frank Pellow]

Loooking good Jim.

I see that, if I hope to emulate your glue-up, I need 5 more Bessey clamps.

[Bruce Page]

Jim, the armoire is coming along nicely, I’m looking forward to seeing it completed.

I noticed in one of your shots that you had a vac hose draped over your shoulder. When I’m sanding panels like that, I attach a spring & light chain to a hook in the ceiling to hold the hose above the work and attach the power cord to the hose using velcro strips. It makes the sanding a little more enjoyable.

[Frank Pellow]

...
When I’m sanding panels like that, I attach a spring & light chain to a hook in the ceiling to hold the hose above the work and attach the power cord to the hose using velcro strips. It makes the sanding a little more enjoyable.

...
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That sounds like a good tip, Bruce. I will definately try it.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the tip on hanging the hose/cord, Bruce. I'll definitely try that next time.

Before my little “Festool-val” today, I got the armoire out of the clamps, sized the vertical center partitions and got them glued in. The two cubbies in the top will remain as open spaces and the two on the bottom will each have a pull-out drawer. Here's a pic of how it looks put together. Time to move on to the doors and cabinet back. The latter will be T&G floating in channels to allow for seasonal movement.

[Aaron Montgomery]

Jim,

That's really coming along nicely. I can't wait to see more pictures as your project continues to develop!