There is just something about clamping up lumber that pleases me. I like how the glue squeezes out. I like how strong and steady a good pipe clamp is. (You can tell by this photo I don't have nearly enough of them. Those puny bar clamps in the middle serve the purpose but the T-handle of a Pony(tm) clamp is just so much easier on my hands.) I really like working with something outside of the standard 3/4" lumber most things are built from, and taking the scraper to freshly glued up stock is about as pleasing as popping bubble wrap. I love it!
These will be the legs for the desk. At the time I clamped this up, I still had not decided on the final shape of the leg for the desk (I tend to design on the fly sometimes). I had an idea to shape them on the lathe and while the glue dried on this, I was turning mock ups on the lathe out of scrap 2x4 pine I had laying about.
I think it would be fun to do legs like the one I turned here, but I just kept thinking it was too round and delicate for the look and style of what I had. I did another one that I chucked off center in order to get a rounded taper. It had potential, but I think I would need a larger rough stock than what I had glued up so far. I'm also fighting some issues with my Rigid lathe. I was a bit rough with it when I first brought it home. I turned some large off center chunks of firewood, and I think I've got the headstock a bit wobbly.I eventually settled on a square taper, and I'll get some pictures of the jig I wipped up for it in my next post. In fact, that was the second jig I built for this project, perhaps you'll just get a post that is completely jig-centric. Yes, jig-centric. I should patent that.
One last teaser, I've also got the top part of the desk roughly fabricated. I did the box out of black walnut and the top is maple. I just get giddy over maple and black walnut next to each other. More to come.
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