As I've mentioned in the few previous posts I've made I'm very new to woodworking. I've spent my time since getting into hand tools learning about how to use the various tools I've acquired, practicing sawing technique, dovetail joinery,and learning some other joinery techniques as well. I've even made several small boxes to store some of the smaller tools and supplies that I like to keep on my work bench.
Tonight I finally finished my first real project - a table top music stand (or, more likely a book stand for my wife to use for her cookbooks, etc.).
I started with big box store pine and dimensioned it to the sizes that I wanted to this piece. Before cutting the different joints I taught myself/practiced the half laps and mortise and tenons on some scrap before getting to work on the actual project. Overall the joints turned out pretty well! The shoulders of the half laps ended up a bit compressed/gappy because I did too many test fits but nothing a bit of sawdust and glue didn't improve - lesson learned for next time!
The two things I'm not happy about are the stain and the hinge - the golden gel stain I used turned out much more orange than I had hoped, and despite what I thought was careful sanding I still discovered some scratches, etc. after staining and finishing. I could have gone back and fixed those issues before I got too far into the finishing process but I decided to leave all of the imperfections alone as a reminder of the progress I am making.
The hinge turned out to have a bit more play than I wanted. Both halves are screwed down securely but i guess there is enough play in the hinge pin that it has some wiggle to it. I'd like to make a second one of these out of a hardwood that I can clear coat (flamed maple might be nice!) and I will likely look into a different method of attached the leg to minimize play (maybe just a higher quality hinge with no play?).
I already have the lumber for my next project - a split top saw bench so that I don't have to awkwardly saw larger pieces from my workbench. Thanks for the friendly advice and feedback I've gotten so far on these forums!
IMG_2757.jpg IMG_2790.jpg IMG_2791.jpg IMG_2792.jpg IMG_2793.jpg1