Sandal Woods - Fine Woodworking & Cabinetry

Until just a few days ago I used the sliding bevel exclusively to mark the dovetail layout on the tails boards. However, yesterday I started thinking about using a marker, and today I executed the idea: Make a prototype 14° dovetail marker.

It is amazing how much quicker I can now mark the tails, and extend the lines to a second board as I get ready to gang-cut:

It took me about 30 minutes to make these, including resawing the small original board. After machining I simply glued the tops to the angle templates using 2P10 adhesive (on the template) and activator (on the tops) - you can release finger pressure in 10 seconds, and it holds. Not bad, if you make prototypes.

So far I am pleased with the results. I still prefer to do the layout using calipers, and then use these markers to complete the layout.

Related links:.

1. My Aha! moment with hand-cut dovetails
2. Hand-cut dovetails - all four corners now cut
3. Hand-cut dovetails - my first results
4. Cut… stone the saw… cut…
5. Practice should make perfect: Hand-cut dovetails
6. New knife from The Czeck Edge

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The harvest table in our kitchen had become too small when our daughter and her family come to visit. As a result, a few months ago Sandy asked me to make an add-on top, to make the table top longer and wider. With five girls around, every inch of table top is needed at meal time - or when the crafts come out.

To make the modifications I used four 8-foot pine pieces from the home improvement center for the actual top, and 4-inch stock for the aprons. I installed cleats under the top, to ensure perfect alignment with the harvest table that would now support the new top.

This arrangement worked for several months. But recently, with the arrival of granddaughter #6, getting around the table to the back of the kitchen became hazardous - i.e., it became almost impassable, with two or three girls moving toys in and out of the kitchen while adults moved hot dishes to the table.

It was time to make the wide table top a little narrower. Sandy requested I remove one of the boards and make it a folding one. I moved the top to the shop, and started work. First I moved the cleats that allowed tight fit in the narrow direction; and I had to move only one of the end cleats. Then I used a hand saw for the first time in possibly two or three decades, and made short work of cutting the aprons to the new dimension, allowing a two-inch overhang.

I wanted to salvage the removed apron and the fourth board (the one I removed), as they were already painted to make them look 100+ years old. It turns out that pine, and most lumber, does not take well to hard pounding with a mallet, as it splits along the long grain.

Scrap the idea of a folding piece.

I did manage to salvage the apron that was attached to this board with cut nails, by carefully pounding on the wide board with the mallet while holding the apron in my hand.

Ultimately I re-assembled the now narrower top to fit over the very old harvest table. And we can now navigate around the table much more safely.

Just getting started:

Removing one board - sawing the apron:

The top is now only 3 boards wide:

Lessons learned:

1. My practice sessions with the dovetail saw helped me tremendously using the saw for this job - I was able to saw to the line!
2. Don’t pound on pine, or it will split along the grain, on either the first or second strike.

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Sandy and I took a short break and headed for the Sparks Flea Market on Thursday, to attend the 2008 opening day. We were there two years ago, and looked forward to finding some unique hand tools, or unusual cabinets. Sparks, a tiny, unincorporated town, is located in NW Kansas; it is nestled amongst some low and rolling hills; it is surrounded by beautiful corn and soy bean fields. Make sure to read about the Sparks Ghost Town; the story is written by Elmer, the Night Guard for the Sparks flea market.

We ran into Rick, a tool collector and tool maker from St Joseph, MO - he is practically our neighbor. He had on display a vast array of hand tools, but not one I was looking for this time. Nevertheless, we will be visiting him in St Jo soon. He makes metal tools, too, from plumb bobs to enormous punch centers - all of recycled materials. Here is Rick with a portion of his large display of hammers of every imaginable type:

We found two cabinets I loved. The first I liked because I had never seen one like it; and the second one, because we already have a similar one, and Sandy would like nothing better than for me to build a similar upper cabinet and base, as a - matched - set.

The first cabinet is a pie safe, possibly made by an Amish craftsman. It was different from any pie safe I have ever seen; this one has a mesh screen on the door (is the mesh a replacement for original tin panels?). The back was (my guess) shiplapped construction; I was unable to move it to look at the joinery, because other stuff around it meant moving more than the nice lady owner wished to move (its price was astronomical):

And the second piece, a bakers table and storage cabinet, caught our attention. Sandy already has in the kitchen an antique bakers table, minus the storage cabinet. First, our find, with dovetailed drawers and mortise and tenon joinery on both the top cabinet and the table:

Sadly, the drawer pulls had been replaced with gaudy plastic-looking handles, and the finish had been redone in some non-traditional finish. A shame, as a collector might not want it in this refinished condition.

Regardless, my excitement grew as I looked at this table and storage unit on top, as it reminded me of ours in one corner of the kitchen:

I have no idea whether ours is older or newer. But the drawers are put together with nails:

I suspect I might be making a reproduction bakers table and storage cabinet at some point in the not-too-distant future. If so, I relish the opportunity to making a matched set of these two pieces.

I have a request for everyone reading this: Please help me nail down a good reference for the pie safe above. I look forward to learning more about this type of cabinet. Thanks!

Download Quicktime (*.mov)

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In this episode I show how overlapping rabbets provide one solution to fitting the doors to the cabinet, while minimizing the door gap. I used a small shoulder plane to clean up the rabbet surfaces, to improve the fit and allow the doors to close with a nice, tight fit.

Credit for the overlapping rabbet solution belongs to Norman Pirollo, who publishes the blog The Refined Edge. Thanks, Norman!

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Download Quicktime (*.mov)

Edit to add: I have substituted the video, due to the error in the URL for Norman Pirollo’s blog, The Refined Edge. The URL is now shown correctly as http://refinededge.blogspot.com/.

In this episode I show how I did the layout, and chopped the mortises for the knife hinges in the doors, and in the carcase. Then, for the first time, I do a dry fit of the frame and panel doors to the carcase.

The knife hinges provide an elegant solution in this cabinet, because they are unobtrusive; they remain hidden for the most part, with only the heel showing a fraction of the hinge. They are seen only when we open the doors.

The tricky part of using this type of hinge is the layout: The more accurate the layout, and the more accurately we cut the mortises for these hinges, the better they appear once we finish chopping the mortises. The secret (I can’t remember where I read it) is to cut inside the dimension of the hinge, and then enlarge the mortises to final dimension when we reach at least half the final mortise depth. This ensures a tight fit; on the other hand, if we start at full mortise width, we run the chance of ending with sloppy mortises, much wider than the hinges.

Chopping the mortises using hand tools, using only sharp chisels and a small hammer, is a pleasurable experience. This is the time to take our time, and do a good job, for the reward is nice-looking, and tight-fitting mortises around the hinges. I found myself taking breaks, both planned and unplanned, during the time I was chopping the hinges. Planned, to allow me to retain my concentration, and unplanned due to powerful storms that swept through our region. But over the course of two days I finished the eight mortises, with total time of about 6 hours on the 8 mortises.

Remaining patient is absolutely key, to make it a pleasure to do this job. Turn on some jazz, or whatever favorite music you enjoy, and get it done!

Now, an apology to Norman Pirollo, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Norman, I made a typo on the web site address I gave for your blog. The correct URL for Norman’s The Refined Edge web site is: http://refinededge.blogspot.com/ . Norman does superb work in his studio; from reading his blog I have learned several hand tool techniques I employ in the building of this cabinet. And, after reformatting my 500GB hard disk drive (the result of one of the brutal storms that swept through here), and other video rendering problems possibly caused by power surges, I did not dare go back to make changes to the final version of the video.

Relevant links: All posts in my blog dealing with the Krenov-inspired cabinet, from veneering, book- and slip-matching, to making the doors.

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The Bookcase Challenge is now official!

Lumberjocks, in partnership with Popular Woodworking, have given us this brand-new challenge: Design a bookcase we could build in our shop, win, and get published in Popular Woodworking Magazine!

From Martin’s announcement at Lumberjocks (also click on this link to learn other details about the Challenge, and Challenge Rules):

“This time it’s all about the bookcases. Everyone needs them. Are you ready to design a bookcase that catches the eyes of Popular Woodworking’s editors, establishes you as a paid and published author and presents your design to thousands of fellow woodworkers? I’ll bet you are.”

And in Glen Huey’s own words at the Popular Woodworking blog entry about this Challenge:

“The winning original design will be published in Popular Woodworking magazine. We’re talking a full-out article, not just photos of the best design shown in a gallery. You’ll become a published contributing author – a fully paid contributing author – with your own byline.”

If I can do it, YOU can do it, too. So, go to Lumberjocks and, if not yet a member, sign up, and make your entry to the Challenge as a blog entry.

You can view my entry, the first entry made in this competition, by clicking here. Let me know what you think of my simple barrister bookcase design, by leaving a Comment.

This post is a continuation of the previous post, to answer Neil’s question in its entirety. In the previous post I used new, resawn veneers, not the original panels I showed in “wing” book match that Neil requested me show in slip match arrangement.

I decided to follow up with this post, because I failed to mention, and to show, that it is possible to obtain more than one book match for every set of panels. This photo illustrates what I mean; for the alternate “wing” book match I simply swapped the position of the boards, as I tried to suggest with the arrow (this is a large image-please give it a few seconds to open):

I hope you can notice the differences in color for the two panels shown on the left-hand side of the photo above. These reflect the color/brightness differences I see in the shop. The photo on the right shows the outer surfaces of the board; these surfaces show dramatically different spalting patterns, and much of the symmetry is lost; this is the main reason that slip matching will not work very well for these two boards, as shown in the photo below:

I hope this exercise helps in the visualization of panel or veneer matching. In this instance it helped me to decide that the slip match for these resawn panels will not work very well; this was due to the differences in the spalting patterns of the front and back surfaces of the original board.

When resawing veneers, which are much thinner than these resawn panels, it should be quite easier to achieve slip matched patterns that are pleasing to the eye.

Neil wrote two days ago:

“I was wondering;…. What the 2 panels … would look like if they were slip matched?? What do you think in comparison to the match you’re showing us????”

Part of my reply read: “…This is a great suggestion, and a terrific opportunity to share with the readers the differences it *can* make to try different things…”

In the photo below I have placed side-by-side a new set of spalted maple boards I resawed today, to obtain 1/8-inch thick veneers. I photographed the pair immediately after finishing the resawing, so they still have some blade tooth marks. For resawing I selected a new board that showed strong “ink lines” demarcating the spalted areas; the original boards I showed earlier would not have produced the results you see below.

The photo shows the striking difference that results when the boards are slip matched (Option 2), vs. the more traditional book match(1). The following are immediately apparent:

1. The book matched pair has a nice balance and feel to it. This is the pattern that results when we resaw a board, keeping the resawn boards in sequence and then we open these two boards like the page of a book; growth rings, spalting pattern, etc., form symmetrical patters about the contact edge.
2. The slip matched pair results in a panel that could show tension or imbalance, in sharp contrast to the book matched pair. This pattern is created by slipping, in sequence, successive pieces of the resawn veneers; the veneers are not turned over as they are slipped over each other. In the repeating figure that results, the grain pattern does not match up at the joints.
3. The book match option may work better in the case where symmetry is paramount. On the other hand, when finished, each veneer may have different light reflection.
4. One advantage of using the slip match option is that the finish will have a uniform color, because the exposed faces have similar light reflection.

I trust this will help you in selecting a matching option when working with resawn veneers. I would like to hear your opinion on these options, any advantages or disadvantages you experience as your work with these matching options, and how you are likely to use each one.

Edit to add: Now, to answer Neil’s question.

Neil: I really like the slip match pattern I get with these particular veneers; in fact, I will use this option on some projects. But, for my Krenov-inspired cabinet, at this stage I think I might stick with the book match option. What actually happens will depend more on the actual look of the doors on the carcase, and with the whole thing assembled and on the base. Who knows? I might even make two sets of doors, and a selection process based on viewing the real thing in person. With this type of cabinet I usually stay fluid until the last moment, while always keeping the target in mind.

Thanks, Neil, for suggesting that I evaluate and share the slip match option!

JET 708115K JWBS-14CS 14-Inch 1 Horsepower Woodworking Bandsaw with Graphite Guide Blocks, 115/230-Volt 1 Phase

The boards for the Krenov-inspired cabinet and for the door frames are already milled. I have set them aside for a few days to stabilize, after milling them to 1/8-inch above the final thickness.

Now I turn my attention to the spalted maple door panels. The following examples were cut from one board, and show quite different results. Photos 1 to 3, below, show:

1. Two of the remaining 8-foot boards; I may have to resaw some more specimens cut from these two boards, to see what wonderful treasures might be hidden within.
2. Resawn board; the two halves placed side-by-side resemble a skeletal, ungainly Don Quixote, from the neck down.
3. Resawn board; this one has an ethereal quality; maybe wings?

I wanted to share these with you, to show how resawing different parts of a board can yield dramatically different results. Each of these resawn pairs has its own character, its own personality. In the end, final bookmatched pair selection might give the cabinet wider appeal, or no appeal at all. This is one reason I prefer to evaluate several resawn pairs.

Which bookmatched pair would YOU select, and why? I would be interested to hear your opinion.

(1) (2) (3)

I am still working on the prototype doors for the Krenov-inspired cabinet. I know - when will I get this done? Soon, I hope. Took some time out to fix the slop in the tenoning jig on the table saw; then I was unable to machine square mortises on the rails using the Delta hollow chisel mortising machine. It was one thing after another, and then the weekend arrived.

Weekends are a time to relax and to get the body batteries recharged. I took care of recharging mine this weekend, but maybe not fully.

Something was nagging me, subconsciously and, at times, very conscioulsy. On Friday I was unable to get the stiles perfectly aligned to the rails, using mortise and tenon joinery. Friday night I left the shop after cutting the first set of mortises on the rails, and the tenons on the stiles. A little background: For this cabinet I reversed things - the rails extend all the way to the edges of the doors. And it looks terrible when the edges of the stiles are not perfectly aligned to the edges of the rails, especially since I have designed the stiles to be inset about 0.030″ on the outside of the doors, to provide a shadow line.

Nagging… Something had changed with this machine, and I could not figure out what. Time to step away. Late Friday afternoon is not the time to start fooling around trying to solve this.

Over the weekend, I engaged myself with family stuff, plus some reading and computer work. As I did this, I kept adding to my mental list of things to look for in the mortising machine on my return to the shop. Of course, I could have had the doors and the cabinet box built, had I just forgotten about the machine. But I will be needing it for several other projects this year; so, it was OK to take the time to solve the puzzle. And, besides, it WAS the weekend.The key turned out to be Edge #1 and Edge #2 in this photo.

THE LIST:

1. Remove the riser block, and start with the column on the table, as shipped from the factory several years ago.
2. Check that the chisels are square to the base. And check that the alignment does not change as the chisel height changes.
3. Check that the table is flat.
4. Check that the fence is flat, and square to the table.
5. Check and double-check all bolts, to make sure nothing moves when plunging the chisel into the workpiece.

I had (just about) exhausted all possibilities, so this afternoon I went to work on THE LIST. The riser block came off, and I replaced the column back on the table. The chisels were perfectly square to the table on all sides. The table was flat. Both sides of the fence were flat. But Edges 1 and 2 were not aligned perfectly! BINGO!!! Sliding the workpiece left to right was smooth; when I was sliding it right to left, the edge of the workpiece “caught” Edge #1 - son of a gun!!! Had something happened to the fence, and now it was not perfectly flat? More importantly, WHAT to do to fix the problem?

Solution: Install a sub-fence that straddles both sides of the fence.

Cutt-off rack to the rescue: I had a piece of red oak the same width as the prototype rails and stiles, so I simply screwed this to the fence. Delta has thoughtfully provided one hole at each end of the fence - or maybe THIS was the reason for the holes, i.e., to allow installation of a sub-fence, to correct misalignment problems? I probably will never know.

I do know one thing: My rails and stiles ARE perfectly aligned now. I don’t have to sweat THE LIST any more. Problem solved. Now, to build the cabinet. But, finish the prototype doors first, to make sure the dimensions look alright in this cabinet. THEN build the real thing. I guess I just prefer to build prototypes, to work out the kinks in the joinery, etc. But, recently, I have had to work out more kinks in my machinery than in anything else.

I promised myself there will be no more kinks this week. I hope I can keep this promise.