July 30, 2010

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Some words about woodworking contests and challenges

June 30, 2010 By Al Navas

I invite everyone to visit the WoodNet woodworking forums, to read about the contest to “…Get yourself a single construction grade 2″ x 6″ x 8′  and make something beautiful out of it…” The contest ends at midnight tonight; the winner in each of four categories will be announced in the next few days. My “curvy table” entry is located here; the thread has been read over 3,000 times!

The original announcement is located here; and all the entries in the 2 x6 contest are here. The first thread has been read a total of 9,700+ times already, and has over 100 replies.

I encourage everyone to participate in these contests and challenges. Why? Because they are important to each of us in several ways:

  • We are pushed to meet a deadline in the shop
  • We are moved to “think out of the box”
  • They move us to try things we might not try otherwise
  • There is nothing to lose, other than a few hours’ worth of our time, in return for several hours of enjoyment focused on a single objective
  • Beginners and advanced woodworkers participate on equal footing, regardless of experience, tool availability, or skill set — only creativity, and a desire to produce the best within one’s ability

What do you think of the entries in the WoodNet 2 x 6 contest? Which will likely win in the various categories?

I would love to hear from you what you think about these contests and challenges. Will you participate in the upcoming Lumberjocks Summer 2010 Woodworking Awards?

— Al Navas

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Filed Under: Blog, Design, Education Tagged With: contest, Design, furniture

One desk, two versions

June 3, 2010 By Al Navas

I am offering my client some options in this computer rendition:

Two desk options.

Members at the WoodNet Forums and also at  Tommy MacDonald’s 207 forum gave me some terrific feedback on options available to prevent sag of the version with the unsupported top. The “shell version” on the left allows removal of the two drawer cabinets — the cabinets will be on casters, for flexibility in office use.

I seek further opinions on HOW best to prevent sag of the desk top in the “shell version”. I will be mocking up the shell design in a half-size cardboard model; I might even try sitting on it, or putting some selected weights on the top, to determine the weakest point. My guess: the weak point is that closest to the center front edge. Any other guesses?

Please use the Comments section below to leave me a suggestion, or send me an e-mail to sandal_woods@bbwi.net. Thanks!

— Al Navas

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Filed Under: Blog, Design, furniture Tagged With: Design, furniture

Drawer stops for the stand-up desk

April 6, 2010 By Al Navas

If you follow the blog, you already know I dislike stuck drawers, and sloppy fitting drawers. In the sloppy category I place a drawer that goes into the opening crooked, such that you must fiddle with it to align it to the opening. The solution to avoid this is to install drawer stops, and to carefully trim them to ensure perfect alignment of the drawer front with the apron.I use a variation of the technique used by Mario Rodriguez, which he discussed during his presentation at Woodworking in America at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; I shot and edited a video that you can watch at this link.

To ensure proper alignment, I insert a drawer stop into a mortise I mark and then chop with chisels. I also use liquid hide glue, to make it easy to replace the stops if needed:

The right drawer stop.

The following photo shows the taper I put on the bottom of the front edge; this allows me to tweak the position of the stop during the glue-up (once the glue has cured, I simply trim the edge to ensure perfect alignment of the drawer front):

The left stop.

In the next photo I show the two drawer stops installed, and ready for trimming — I set each stop 2-5/8″ from the drawer openings. In this photo I have removed the drawer bottom, to make it possible to peek at the front edge:

Both stops installed, ready for trimming.

Once the glue has set on all stops, I will do the fine-tuning with the small #75 bull nose rabbet plane.

— Al Navas

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Filed Under: Blog, Design, Education, Mortise, furniture Tagged With: desk, drawer, furniture, hide glue, Mortise, stop