Wildwood Workbench

A stitch in time

2010-07-12T11:45:00.000-05:00

This was a posting I didn't publish at the time since it was a Christmas gift, and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Enough time has past though ( Christmas in July anyone?) and it is about time to share the results.

This antique sewing machine cabinet came to me in a pretty sorry state. There was major wear and tear, including several splashes of paint. It was being used as a stand for a miter box in the garage.

Before I did anything to this, I had to pause and make sure I wasn't ruining a potentially valuable antique. Perhaps I've just seen Antiques Roadshow too many times, but I really wondered if the "original finish" on a piece like this would be important to keeping its value.

It turned out that the hype on the popular antique shows was perhaps a bit overstated. If you had a one-of-a-kind item, or a very rare piece, there would be a benefit to retaining an original finish. Especially if the furniture was very finely made. In the case of sewing machine cabinets, they are relatively common, factory produced and not too terribly hard to find. So knowing this, I decided that the piece would be more enjoyable and more usable if it was restored to a better condition, and would never be a priceless heirloom that a foolish carpenter stripped the finish off of, rendering it junk.

I unfortunately failed to capture the stripping process on camera, as it was a bit of a time sensitive process of applying and wiping/scraping off. But I basically painted the gel stripper onto the wood, one face at a time. Then scraped and wiped it off. It worked really well on the flat areas, and took a bit of extra effort in the small nooks and crannies. I did some light sanding, being very careful not to work through the veneered parts. Where the veneer looked to be lifting free, or splitting, I re-glued it. Here are the results:

I saved the original Eldredge decal on the front face, because I really liked how it looked. The wood got three coats of Minwax Tung Oil Finish. In the future additional coats can be applied to restore a fresh finish. Tung Oil is an older style finish, and while it is not as durable as a polyurethane, it also displays the grain of the wood much better since it penetrates the wood, and gives a hand rubbed lustre.

The little drawers had the same detail as the box above, and look great once I used a bit of brass polish on them. Underneath the box of course is where the sewing machine is stored. The cover would have kept dust off the machine, and giving it a cleaner look in your home. The grain patterns on this part really looked great once it was finished.

I also sanded the iron legs and treadle wheel that the cabinet sits upon. Then it got a fresh coat of black paint, that really made it pop.

Now's the time to get those orders in for Christmas! Only 165 days left!

A bit of shade on a hot summer day.

2010-07-08T19:25:00.000-05:00

Here are a few images of a pergola that I built this week in Fayetteville. It's about 12' x 12' at the base, and the back corner had to be worked in with the clipped corner of the deck. There are double posts in that corner, and the lattice ends in an open pattern, short of that corner. It was a bit of a head scratcher to get that right, but I think it turned out well.

The existing rail posts were really uniquely done. Running down, and bolting into the skirt-board/rim joist is a 2x4, and then spaced about an 1 1/2" forward of that is another 2x4 that rests on the deck itself. Joining them are 1x4's that were spanning the gap and used to frame out the section of spindles. The homeowner was having a bit of trouble with them pulling free as they were joined with only finish nails. Fortunately for this add-on though, the 4x4 post fit perfectly into the void, once I removed the interior 2x4. Then after it was done, I modified the top railing to fit around the new extended posts. Once it dries and can be stained, I think it will look as though it was always a part of the deck.

Jig-a-rama

2009-11-20T12:26:00.000-06:00

If you've spent any time around a shop, you've got a pretty good idea what a jig is. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if short on time. Or, if you are killing time at work (shame on you), read through it and post your improvements to it.

So, here's my quick and dirty definition. A jig is something you use to machine multiple parts with the same characteristic(s). It is not to be confused with a pattern. A pattern would be for creating multiple parts of the same size and/or shape, but would not aid in the actual application of tool to material. Instead, patterns are used to trace a shape onto your material. A jig is always combined with a tool to do its job. Templates could be either/or, but I would say closer to the pattern end of the spectrum.

So, with that said, let's get back to jigging. For a recent project, I had to create a tapering jig for my table saw. There are a pretty wide range of ways to make a jig but something I have noticed is that there is a definite time/money/quality triangle that applies to building one. In this example, I chose quick and cheap. When it comes to jigs, that usually means it will do the job with the materials on hand, but wouldn't be something you want to be using 2 years from now.

For this tapering jig, I used scraps from around the shop. There is a piece that rides along the rip fence of your tablesaw. Then, hinged off of that, is a second fence that can be angled away from your normally perpendicular rip fence. This fence has a sled for the part to ride on, as the entire assembly is pushed through and past the blade. The result is a part that is angled slightly along the longest dimension. There is a stop at the back of the sled to keep the piece in place and prevent it from kicking back.

I used a few scraps of primed MDF for the two fences, and had some concerns about them bending and bowing out of true. Adding the sled to the blade-side piece seemed to square it up, so I did the same to the fence-side. I made a U-shape that cupped the ripfence nicely. Everything is glued and nailed together, except where I used screws to attach the hinges and the piece that locks down the taper adjustment. The U-shaped runner works very well. I like how it holds the fence true to the rip fence, much safer than a freely sliding assembly.

The taper adjustment will not last much past this project. The materials I used just do not stand up to repeatedly having screws taken in and out. You can see that the MDF is splitting where the screws go. For the adjustment, I would use a threaded insert, or a t-nut that could be fixed in place, and yet be adjusted as needed. If you look closely at the first picture, you can see I added a block of wood to hold the angle at a fixed distance from the ripfence.

As time goes by, I will use this quick and dirty jig to model a better, more durable one. I could buy one here also, though there is something fun about making your own, and using up those oddball scraps. Solid maple fences and replaceable plywood sleds, threaded metal inserts for adjustable points. Nylon washers or runners to make it move smoothly. It's enough to make me want to build just jigs.

Temporary though the jig might be, it did a fine job helping me create these tapered black walnut legs for the desk. I'm using them set at a compund 10 degree angle. Pretty sweet, no? Feel free to post any comments, or questions and if you enjoy the posts, please consider clicking the "Follow" button to get more updates from my shop.

Some work in progress

2009-11-19T08:28:00.000-06:00

A few posts back I showed you some concepts for a small school desk. I sketched a bit of it, and even did a small prototype. With the lumber I picked up recently, I began to build a finish version of it.

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.

Picked up some lumber today.

2009-11-02T16:02:00.005-06:00

Picked up some lumber for a few projects I want to work on over the next few weeks. I get my solid stock from a local dealer. He's located in Prarie Grove, AR and is a 3rd or 4th generation sawyer. He's semi-retired, but will take a break from deer hunting to sell lumber.

I got a few short pieces of black walnut, and several lengths of clear maple. I went with a fairly select stock for both. The maple is really clear and has some beautiful grain patterns, the black walnut is equally breathtaking. I figure I will let it rest in my shop for a few days to acclimate to the moisture change. I can't wait to get started.

The original sketch-up

2009-10-31T17:04:00.001-05:00

Saw an old school desk at a yard sale a few weeks ago. Stopped to take a look, but it was in lousy shape. The chair didn't really match the desk. The top was plywood and not solid. I have been wanting to find a set of these desks for the kids' playroom, but this one just wasn't worth it.

When I got in the shop a few days later with nothing pressing, I started making a few sketches. Perhaps I could build one in wood for less. As you can see, I don't always go to the computer to design. In this case a quick pencil sketch helped me get a clear picture of the desk I wanted to build. Don't laugh, I wasn't planning on showing anyone this until I started to like how things were looking.

It seemed simple enough, so I started building a quickie prototype. I had some plywood scraps that were perfect for the job.

Taking the "rough sketch" idea even further, I experimented with an idea I read about a few months ago. It was the idea that a carpenter can build without a tape measure.

Wierd huh?

Basically, you know how big things ought to be, and what proportion those things should be in relation to each other just by looking at them. Then, you just make cuts and such by copying other pieces. So knowing how big a desk is by sight, I just cut a piece that looked like a desk. I still don't know if it is 28" wide, or 26" wide, it just looks about right. Then, I cut a piece narrower to represent the width of the box and so on. When I was doing the box sides, I just set the tablesaw to the width I wanted, and knocked out equally sized parts. It was really fun, really quick, and I will be playing with the idea more.

Here's the result:

It's really rough, the legs are just some ripped down 2x4 scraps. I used them just to figure the angle and height I was looking for. It does the job to see how it looks. The exposed front of the opeing is raw plywood. With all that though, I think I like it. I've already started on a second prototype and I think I will follow it with a final version in clear maple, with a little chair. Stay tuned, and be sure to leave a comment if you like it.

The sun will come out, tomorrow!

2009-10-23T09:49:00.000-05:00

Finished the shed this week, and it was simply glorious working in the sun again. Wasn't much left to finish here, except for adding the door and some trim. Also did a two color paint job so the trim would match the white soffit and fascia of the house. Turned out very well, and was a hit with the homeowner.

Mike,
Thank you very much for building my shed. Your quality of work is second to none. We came into this project, thinking that it would be very costly and that it would take several weeks. We were wrong on both accounts. The cost for the shed was w/in reason and you finished the project in less than a week. You are very professional and we would not hesitate to contact you for future projects.
Darryl

Of course here's some pictures

Dear Diary, it rained today...

2009-10-15T20:45:00.003-05:00

Day 1

Started the foundation for the 10 x 12 shed. It was raining. Sometimes a drizzly, misty rain. Other times it was like standing under a sprinkler. Not the kind that goes ta-chuck, ta-chuck, ta-chuck...more like the kind that makes a big arcing rainbow. I guess saying it was like one of those super large shower heads would have been a better analogy. I think they look look like sunflowers... Anyway, these two pictures were taken fairly early, by ten I was too wet to bother with snapshots.

Got the foundation leveled and nailed together. Added the plywood decking, and had two walls up before I let the rain chase me away. I guess that means the rain beat me...but I put up a good fight. Rain - 1 , Me - 0

Day 2

My hammer is rusty.

That just stinks. It's not that I mind having a rusty hammer, it's just that I already have one. I didn't think to bring the rusty one for monsoon season this ~~week~~ month. Ah well, good excuse to buy a new shiny hammer (for shop use only this time).

Much better day today. Kept hearing that it was about to rain on the radio all day, and so I was cruising along pretty well. The rest of the walls went up, as well as the rafters and a bit of siding. Before I left there was half a roof.

I wish I could post the sensation of working in muddy, sloppy, squishy grass. Did I mention slippery? It was slippery too.

Rain - 1 Me - 1

Day 3

Coming along nicely now. The roof has come in really handy today. I wish I could have put that on first. So the siding is complete, the roof deck is on, all of the soffit and fascia, and most of the drip edge. Tomorrow, shingles.

I considered switching from shed to ark, but I don't think I could get a giraffe through that doorway. Well, I could, but repetitive stress disorder from bending their necks all the time would have been a surefire lawsuit.

Rain -1 Me -3 (extra point for avoiding litigation)

Maple Crib and Changing table

2009-09-27T14:56:00.000-05:00

Here is a crib and changing table I did several years ago, that I haven't posted yet. Both pieces are done in maple with a clear finish. The crib uses hardware from Rockler and can transition from a low crib bed (as shown in the picture) or a higher surface for a small baby. This is similar to a bassinet, and works well for a child that is not big enough to climb out. The changing table has a surface that can accept a changing pad to cushion the surface and prevent the little one from rolling off. The work surface to the right of it comes in handy for wipes and other supplies.

As I look back at these photos, I'm reminded of when I built this. Each of the vertical spindles in the railing of the crib is mortised into the horizontal rails. To make it even more ridiculous, I didn't cut tenons on the tops and bottoms of these spindles. To make each slot, I used a mortising machine (the Delta bench top model shown here). It took several hours and was an extremely painstaking process. The tool is essentially a drill press, with a square chisel surrounding the drill bit. The machine has a long handle and is geared to apply plenty of slow even pressure in conjunction with leverage on the handle as you slice the inside walls of the mortise slot clean. Each slot required several pulls, and as you see how many spindles there are, it took some time. If you look closely, at the connection point of spindle to rail, you can see some of the holes have less than perfect cuts. A tenon on the end of the spindle would have covered this (and made for a smaller mortise), as the shoulder would overlap any imperfections.

It's funny as I look at a project like this, I really notice the small imperfections, and can't think of too many things to say about what went well. Perhaps when things go flawlessly, the results simply speak for themselves. The mistakes or changes we'd make though are noteworthy, and seem important. Perhaps it comes from a need to assure yourself that you did in fact learn something, and that you wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Twin over full bunk bed.

2009-09-25T12:04:00.000-05:00

I shared some of the design ideas for this bunk bed project in this post. As you can see in the photo, it is now a reality. The concept behind this bed was my memory of the loft beds everyone had in the college dorms. It seemed most everyone bought a loft like this from an older brother, or a friend who had moved off campus. I never actually saw a brand new one, they were always well used. At some point though, I imagine a trip was made to the lumber yard, several lengths of rough lumber were bought, along with some bolts and screws, and during move in weekend, a new loft was built. It was that quick and simple approach I took to this project.

The wood seen is all 2 x 6 framing lumber. Supporting each mattress is 3/4" particle board. I considered using a bolt together method for construction. It was more true to the original concept, but I worried about kids clipping themselves on exposed nuts and bolt heads. I used screws sunk below the surface of the wood instead.

The ladder is a recycled wooden ladder I've been meaning to retire for a really long time. It was actually my very first ladder, and it had gotten really wobbly. I had several customers offer to let me use their personal ladders, rather than see me sway back and forth at the top of mine. Time to get a new ladder when that happens. It makes a great fixed set of steps though, and it is now securely attached with brackets.

Come to think of it, this entire project was all built from leftovers and repurposed material. It is a green bed! I'm offically a green builder. I should probably go hug a tree or something. Hope you like the bed.

Will work for cookies (and sandwiches)

2009-09-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

So I've had some pretty fun projects lately, but today was definately a highlight. I did some odds and ends repairs at Stone Mill Bread in Fayetteville today. Not only was it a lot of fun hanging out with the folks there, I worked with the delicious smells of their kitchen in my nose all day.

There's not much to say about the work itself. I didn't bother with pictures since a new faucet, or a leak-less drain aren't really picture worthy. However, if you notice the new heating and cooling register covers, and it improves your already superb dining experience, well... you are very welcome, and I'm happy to help.

Also, if you haven't been to the Stone Mill Bread company, what are you waiting for? It is awesome. I had a Jalapeno Heaven sandwich today, and I was completely blown away. It was simply fantastic. Last week, I tried the Rueben, (toasted of course). So good. Also...there are cookies.

New project - bunk bed

2009-09-15T07:27:00.003-05:00

Started a new project yesterday. This is a twin over full bunk frame. It will be done in 2 x 6's that are fairly rough. The thought is for a boys room, it would be fun to use something that can/will take a beating.

I did this drawing in Google SketchUp in order to figure out the angle of the slanted support, and thought I'd post it, since I liked how it looked. SketchUp 7 is a free program that can draw in 3D, and it can do quite a bit for a free program. If I had the upgraded version you could move the object around in the picture and zoom in and out, which is pretty cool. Someday, I'll upgrade.

New porch add-on (completed)

2009-09-14T19:41:00.001-05:00

Here's the new porch, fully roughed in. For this project we did the rough construction and the home owner will be doing the final finish.

The previous porch was at ground level as you may have seen in the last post. We added a treated lumber framed deck and plywood subfloor. The new finished floor is level with the ground floor of the house, getting it above and away from any water drainage issues in the back yard.

The roofline was joined much higher on the main roof, allowing more headroom, and a more open feel to the room. Above the brick is where the soffit was cut back to match the new ceiling height. We found that the previous rafters were simply toe-nailed into the fascia, not a very secure attachment method for a roof. The new rafters are nailed alongside the main roof rafters, and should be much more secure, in addition to giving that extra head room. You can see the small wall above the brick that will be drywalled.

New porch add-on (tear-off phase)

2009-09-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

The most recent project wrapped up last week. Here are some photos of the before and after. Unfortunately I didn't think to capture this until after we had the old porch torn off, so all you can see here is the slab that we left in place, and a giant pile of debris off to the left. Also, please note one tired helper leaning on a sawhorse. Whew!

The existing porch was at ground level and had some water issues because of it being low. Tearing it down we came to the conclusion that the slab was originally an outdoor porch, possibly screened in. Later it had been closed up and made into an all-season porch.

My proudest moment of the tear-off was loading the entire porch onto a trailer, and successfully getting it to the waste management facility. This is about 2 tons of stuff. I didn't so much load it, as I stacked it carefully to lean toward the center and middle and then saved the large flat pieces to box it in. Who said playing Tetris had no real world application?!

Since I can't sleep in today...a post about a bed.

2009-09-07T07:41:00.001-05:00

As you can tell, I'm trying to get caught up on some of the examples of things I've built over the last few weeks. Here is another one from a couple years ago.

This is a queen sized bed I designed and built. I wanted something that stood really tall, both from mattress to floor as well as the height of the headboard. It was a fairly simple project. The head and foot are built like a shaker style cabinet door. The joints are all tongue and groove. The corner posts have a mortise to accept each panel. The rails are removable for easy shipping and storing. I went with a fancy clip that is mortised into the rails and corner posts, but I think if I did it again, I'd do something beefier, and increase the height of the rails. I also would do a small footstool or set of steps that matched, to use for crawling up onto the bed. That is something I always pictured when I designed a bed this tall. I hope you like it.

Shoe closet chaos - banished!

2009-09-06T09:04:00.003-05:00

Here is what the front show closet looked like prior to the start of this project. It was an awful mess. You can't even get the door closed without sort of kicking the pile back and slamming the door quickly.

The complicated piece of this project is that we are going to do this without a lot of modification to the existing closet. For example, there is a heavy base molding running the perimeter. The opening is tight, and the hardwood floor of the entry way runs into this space. You can also see an access panel for the AV and phone systems of the house. I definitely didn't want to interfere with that.

So faced with the thought that it would be nearly impossible to fit a full width cabinet past the door opening, I came up with a rather neat idea. Each of the pieces in the divider was put together with no fasteners, and no glue. I cut the pieces to interlock together. Then it was a matter of thinking through which pieces could be put in past the opening and when. The center vertical and the horizontals was tipped sideways and set in place, then the two outside uprights were slotted in to lock it all in place. Et voila!

Everything was painted white, and the uprights were coped to fit over the base molding. Every pair of shoes shown in the above picture is now on the shelf in the lower picture. Of course, there is now a new jumble in front of the organizer, but I can only do so much.

Re-upholstered Chairs

2009-09-05T09:02:00.000-05:00

These chairs were starting to really show some age. I took some time out and did new fabric as well as new cushioning for them. You can see in the first picture that the seat is a a lot thicker, and has a better shape to it.

The first step was to remove the seats and then peel off the old fabric. It was like furniture archaeology when I did so. There was another fabric underneath the brown one shown! The cushion had literally deteriorated to mere scraps. I also felt that the seat itself was a bit old, and as with a lot of old furniture, had a sort of old smell to it.

I cut new seat blanks out of Baltic birch plywood, and applied a new 1" foam pad that I cut on the band saw. I used 3M's Super 77 adhesive spray for this step. Then I just wrapped the seat in the fabric, carefully folding the corners as I did so, and stapled it evenly ever 2-3" inches, or as needed to take up any slack spots. It was important not to stretch the fabric too tautly, and compress the cushion unevenly.

The fabric that my wife selected had some more blues to match the rug. I think they look great!

Day bed with trundle drawer

2009-09-05T08:09:00.000-05:00

This was a fun project I did last fall. I realized I hadn't shared it yet, so as I enjoy my Saturday morning cup of coffee, I though I would load some pictures of it.

The couple that commissioned this were looking for a daybed for their guest room/TV room. They needed somewhere for guest to sleep on as well as somewhere for the kids to watch cartoons. All of the designs they found were a bit more ornate, with turned knobs at the post tops and other detail work. We decided to eliminate those and make what you see here.

Missing from this picture was the trundle drawer that fit underneath the bed and accepted a full twin mattress. Also, the sides detach from the back and the front rail, so this can be moved very easily.

Bathroom overhaul: during

2009-08-20T07:30:00.000-05:00

As promised, I have a few pictures of the project taken a couple weeks ago. The feeling as I took these was a real "ahh, I can see the end now, and it will be good." There is always a spot for me near the middle where I sort of wonder if it will come together. I used to think that it was a bit amateur to think like that, but I think it keeps me focused on doing my best work. I like that trace amount of fear that says, "Stay focused, or this will all go very badly."

So here we are about 80% through the project. The walls have gotten a first coat of paint. The cabinets have been painted and distressed. Tile is in, and as you can see in this shot I'm in the midst of grouting the floor (the hazy/wet tile is between washings). The tile is a black slate, and it is amazing. It does not have the browns and greens of the slate I've seen in the past. It is a very uniform graphite color. The homeowner selected a really great bowl sink and granite top that you can see here also. The water in the sink pours out the faucet like a pitcher pouring into a basin, and it really makes you want to fill it and splash your face with water like a commercial for soap.

The shower has a small stone pebble floor tile, which turned out really neat. Shower walls were done in black porcelain tile. This works out really well for a shower as it is a non-porous material. The faces of the tile are smooth and consistent. The same slate we used for the floor would have been really nice in the shower, but I worried about such a soft permeable material in a wet space.

This shower will be getting a hinged glass shower door and side lite. The finish will be a brushed nickel, and the glass will be clear. I can't wait to see it in place, as it should really finish it off nicely.

The last shot is a detailed look the woodwork we painted and distressed. It was a pretty detailed process, but overall not complicated. The cabinets as you can see from my last post, were a medium brown stained oak. This linen cabinet actually had doors that we decided to removed permanently. The large hinge slot holes were filled and sanded. Once painted they disappeared.

The paint process was a primer coat (which the guys at Sherwin Williams in Springdale were nice enough to tint and mix for me). I'd recommend when priming anything a dark color to put a dash of your dark paint in the primer to get your undercoat a bit closer in color. This sure helps when there is bleed through, or especially in this case a sanded through distressing.

After getting everything primed, I did two coats of the gloss black. One coat was just too thin to cover, but I expected that to be the case. Once the black was dry, we did the fun part. Using a sanding block I just knocked the paint off the corners of everything. I did it sort of quickly, since I did not want a factory look, but rather a naturally worn out product. I tested a few techniques on a scrap, and used a sample door that we were matching to, in order to get this figured out. The final coat was a water based poly. It helped seal the bare wood I had exposed and also to give everything a consistent sheen.

Feel free to comment or post any questions.

Bathroom remodel: before

2009-08-18T20:09:00.001-05:00

This is where I've been for the last few weeks (read: months). As you can see the wall paper is partially torn off. The original request was to finish the tear off and paint the walls.
After a few conversations via phone and email this was gradually scaled up to include:
-Painting the cabinets
-Tearing out the shower/tub
-Framing and tiling a brand new shower
-New tile for the floor
-New sink, new plumbing fixtures
-New light fixtures

In all of these photos, I think that the mirror over the sink was the only thing we didn't change. These were taken on day one. In my next post I'll show you what it has become.

Cherry, naturally

2009-08-17T09:08:00.000-05:00

My first natural edged bowl was a pretty successful endeavor. It started as a chunk of firewood. Several months ago, I split it and mounted half of it to a lathe faceplate. Then I got busy and forgot about it. Yesterday though, I found this bowl inside of it.

The log came from a home in Bella Vista, Arkansas. A woman posted an ad in the local paper advertising free wood, for anyone willing to bring a chainsaw to her house. In retrospect, this tree would have been on top of her house several months later if she hadn't done so. Our recent ice storm last February would have surely toppled it. At the time I thought I'd start a pile of firewood in the backyard.

Fast forward a few months, to what I call the "lathe craze of aught 9." My friends Tim and Adam were turning pens and bowls left and right. I spent one evening at Tim's dad's shop trying my hand at a pen or two as well. I was hooked. I eventually found a used lathe for sale (on a completely unrelated site for Airsoft enthusiasts!). By this time the lathe fad was of course over. In fact the airsoft craze died down right after that. I tried a bowl and a goblet on my new tool, just to try it out, but then got busy with some things.

Last week I gave the shop it's first real cleaning in months. I found this old chunk of wood, and the faceplate still mounted to it. It had split pretty badly on the ends, and what may have been a semi-wet piece was now pretty completely dried out. On the plus side, the wood was more stable now than it was. However, turning green wood is much easier on me and the tools. I decided to give it a try.

Learning from the test bowl I did last spring, I took a reciprocating saw with a long course blade to the log and tried to make a roughly octagonal piece before attempting to turn anything. My lathe has only four speeds, which require moving the belt to attain them. The slowest speed will rock the lathe pretty bad if a piece is lopsided. When this happens, I need to basically steady the machine with one hand, while using a gouge to make the blank circular (and balanced) with the other. It is a little sketchy.

I spent about 30 minutes getting it into a better shape, and then gave it a rest. I had some things with fresh paint on them in the shop, and realized I was about to kick up quite a mess. I left the piece mounted there over the next few days. On Saturday, I was loading some tools to head to the job site, when I saw what this blank was going to be. I had considered a natural edge bowl before, but in a green piece, that bark edge will come away from the bowl, as the wood dries. In this one, I already had a dry piece.

I was eager to start it, but it wasn't until Sunday afternoon I had the time. The dry hardwood was a bear on my chisels, and I made several trips to the grinder to but a keen edge on them. I used primarily a large gouge to get the shape right, and alternated between the inside cut and the outside cut as I worked the bowl to the shape. I used a parting tool to remove it from the plate, and to define the bottom edge.

I spent a good deal of time sanding this piece, but still can find faint tool marks. I am not sure how to remedy that. Perhaps just more sanding? I did quite the number on myself during this part of the process. I used my hands to apply pressure to the paper while it was spinning and burned my index and middle fingers pretty bad. The heat just built up really fast! I've got a small blister to show for it. I thought I had a better solution when I wrapped a tennis ball with sandpaper and used it to apply pressure in a contoured fashion. I was feeling pretty cocky until the sandpaper skipped and the ball bounced and rebounded my hand against the spinning bowl edge. I barked the back of my knuckles pretty well on that one. Nothing like a bit of blood for the effort.

For finish, I started with a caramel tinted shellac, but wasn't happy with it. It seemed too dark, and I wanted a more natural color. I sanded it back off and used a spray on water based poly. It needs another coat, but I think it is the better finish. If the bowl hadn't split, I would have been more worried about using a food-safe finish, but as the end grain split makes it too porous to hold anything, the poly works fine for this piece. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Welcome

2009-05-12T16:53:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd start a place to jot down a few things that have popped into my head while working in the shop, or show a project or two I've been working on. I've been in business for about 9 months now and things have been great. The work is coming in, and most importantly, it is the type of work I want to be doing. If you have any questions or would like me to look at a project for you feel free to leave a comment, or fill out the contact form over at wildwoodworkbench.com.