Kablam.........

My wife's best friend from college stopped by for lunch with her husband on her way home to New Hampshire today. It's been a while since we had last seen Margret and Jim. It was a nice break in my routine to spend time and have lunch with friends. After the doings in the shop this morning, I was ready for any kind of a break.

at oh dark thirty five

I was putting on the second coat of shellac and saw a piece of wood here. I pulled it off with my fingernail along with some shellac and paint. Having to fix this hiccup will delay getting this done for xmas. I still have plenty of time but I'm not thrilled with this set back.

drawer runners laid out

I am using the same drawer runner detail here that I used on the bookstand. I think it's a simple solution that solves a few problems.

first one done

Having two routers is a big help here. I can keep the other one set to the dadoes I did yesterday and use this one for the drawer runners. This stopped dado is only about an 1/8" deep. The other dadoes are a 1/4" deep. I don't like changing any tool settings until after the project is glued and in the clamps.

second drawer runner

After I defined the walls I made a whole bunch of chisel stomps. I removed it with a 5/8" chisel (the dado is 3/4" wide).

waste removed

After the waste is removed, I chisel down on the outside walls. I also squared off and cleaned up the the two ends of the dado.

router is the next batter

I use the router next to get the dado down to a consistent depth. I chiseled the outside walls before I routed any deeper with the router.

maintaining the ends

I practiced cleaning up and squaring the back dado end first and then I did the front one. The back end will covered so it won't be seen but the drawer runner buts against the front one. This one has to be square and clean looking.

drawer runners

I am using an off cut from the shelves to make the drawer runners.

offset from the back

The drawer runner is tight up against the front end and overlaps at the back one. I will glue the first couple of inches at the front and screw it too. The back won't be glued and I'll screw it down in a slotted hole to allow the sides to expand and contract.

I am falling in love with this

This is a real handy adjustable depth gauge slash square gizmo gauge. There are probably other fun things it will do that I haven't discovered yet.  Here I used it to get the depth I had to saw off the drawer runner. I like the size of the sliding part because there is lot to mark against. I know it's dead nuts square too because I've checked it several times.

big brass knob

This is the absolute best feature on this gauge. This knob is knurled, big, and very easy to tighten and loosen. This tightens done solidly with less than a quarter of a turn. It has not loosened nor lost any setting even once on me. It's a nice feeling knowing that this won't change as it gets tossed around the bench as I work.

fitting the shelves

Margret said that she would text before they left Connecticut to come here. That would give me a over an hour heads up so I started doing this. The first step was to fit the dado. My dadoes are now coming out tight but I remember when I struggled with this. I just couldn't master that reach under to mark for the second wall. I made a ton of projects using dadoes and it took a lot of them before I got to where I am now. I don't want to jinx myself and say that I have mastered it.

sawing for the through tenon

 I barely made this saw cut with my tenon saw. If I couldn't have sawn this, I would have chopped it out with a chisel.

first cut

I had to trim this one with a chisel anyways. The rest of my saw cuts were a lot better but I still had to trim one more. But it wasn't as bad as this one.

first shelf end fitted  1 down and 3 to go

I don't mind trimming and fitting at all. I find it relaxing and exciting at the same time. It never gets monotonous, even with doing the same operation here 4 times. I think it's because although they are the same each one is fitted/trimmed differently than it's siblings.

nice fit

My goal was to get a snug fit that wouldn't need to be wedged. I met that goal on 3 and lost it on one. I still don't want to use wedges so on that one I will epoxy a plug in the gap.

oops

Wrote my labeling on the wrong part of the end. This is an easy fix. I'll make the dadoes on this side a little bit deeper so that the tenon protrudes a bit more. Hopefully it'll stick out enough that once I plane it, the writing will disappear. If not, on to plan #2.

both shelves are fitted

The dry clamp was good. There weren't any surprises nor any creaking or cracking noises. Which I might add is a good sign at this junction of the build.

this is not a good sign

I was sawing out the circular bottom cutout and when I went to take it out of the vise it cocked and I pulled. The side split in two but it's a clean break so that is in my favor. I glued and clamped it up and set it aside to cook until tomorrow.

I should have quit after the split

Every time I think I have something mastered, I end up doing something like this. The cutouts I sawed on the bookstand came out pretty good. This looks like I sawed it in the dark..

I quit after this

My first two strokes with the rasp blew out chunks on the show side. After I glued them in place I shut the lights off. I'll deal with this tomorrow.

accidental woodworker

trivia corner
What is the world's most traded spice?
answer - black pepper

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