No Comment #2 - Dem Legs

I admit it, I nearly forgot to get back to the remaining build videos of the Tim Burton table! mea culpa...

This episode goes over the legs; not going to go over the actual shaping process as that's just rasping, but do cover how they were designed and laid out and something useful for anyone making a table: how to easily level it.

Next episode will cover the finish as I did that before assembly. Since I'm going to the shop after this post to work on finishing Angle Madness, it shouldn't take forever for the next episode :)

YouTube channel improvements and a fun video

Awhile ago, YouTube changed rather dramatically to link the G+ social network into its comment system. That was a bit of a mess.  However, at the same time, they updated how the channel page works and I now can create sections on the channel page for certain videos.  I've since created a section for Angle Madness besides a few other projects, like the Tim Burton Table (No Comment #2), the Sculpted Mahogany Vanity, and the Quilted Maple Frames.

The videos under each section are in reverse chronological order and if you are logged into YouTube, it will remember which videos you've seen already and watermark the thumbnail with "Watched".  Makes it a bit easier to navigate around.

I still cross-post those videos here as well as other non-video content. Certainly searching, whether with the search box to the right or the label cloud, is much easier here than there :-/

The link to my YouTube channel was buried up there, here it is again: Half-Inch Shy YouTube Channel

-yawn- boring post! ...but here's a cool video on making trees with a lathe... someday, I'd like to try this!

Angle Madness! - Odds 'n' Ends

Before closing up the drawer boxes with the top panel, they need glue blocks in the corners. Normally this isn't something that needs much discussion, but these blocks are special (as you can see from the photo!)  Each needs to fit into a corner gluing two sides and a bottom panel. With the angles, each drawer tier has 16 custom-fitted glue blocks; some aspects are mirror imaged from other blocks, but each requires a different saw setup.  Won't bore you cutting them all, but will show how you extract the included angle between arbitrary sides like those in this project so you can exactly match the angle for a block.

We'll also make a unique marking tool to eliminate some of the error I was seeing in marking the panels for the rabbets.

Overall, it's an odds 'n' ends episode. Next episode, you'll start with the boxes all glued up (top panel as well) and sanded ready for the outside surface finish.

I chatted with Charles Neil about some goals for the final project's finish for the boxes, burls, and the lower support box in Wengé I haven't yet started (it's just a box! no, really!!)  I gave him a run down of the design including some elements we haven't worked on yet and why they are there. He came back with 2-3 schedules for the boxes and some great tips for what I wanted on the burls.  I have some experiments to run this week to see what the final finish will be; we'll go over the options and how they worked out, too, in case something that didn't work for this will work for something you are working on.

Shop Tips - DIY Inspection Cam

I had a need to peek inside the tiers of Angle Madness tonight when marking out the cuts for the top panel.  In this short video, I'll show you 3 different DIY inspection cam ideas that you can likely use with things you already have.  The first time I used one of these ideas was to dig into a long wall cavity to locate some wiring; worked very well!



Top panels are dry fitted into the drawer tiers of Angle Madness. The next episode will cover a number of odds and ends before some interesting stuff I'm eager to get to!

"Finishing, Simply Put"

I recently received "Finishing, Simply Put ...no chemistry degree required" by Charles Neil in the mail. Weirdest thing happened: I read the first 120 pages right after sitting down with it. Finished the book the next night.  Not often a book on finishing keeps me glued to a seat.

What I liked about this book is the volume of photos to show what's going on. I've included some scanned pages here to give a feel for it (the grey shadow to one side of the scans is due to my scanner).

I've followed Charles for a number of years so some parts of this book were review of some of his own techniques. That said, though, having things I learned from him here and there all in a compact reference with photos is well worth it.

Other chapters included new ideas, like using water under oil to control blotching, or very old ideas, like the use of asphaltum over dye to create rich Mahogany colors.

Most finishing books fall into two categories: details on the chemistry of finishing, and cookbooks.  Both are very useful; certainly I have a couple in each category.  This book hits a practical stride between those two explaining how the parts build to the finish you want to achieve.

There's considerable coverage on how to avoid common pitfalls (with photos), how to recover if you didn't (with photos), and common repairs (with photos).  I love books that cover "when things don't go as planned".

The volume of photos and easy text make this a fast read. Since formulations for stains, dyes, and clear coats are different for every vendor, this book specifically references many products by name and even shows their differences in photos.

Oils, varnishes, and shellac are all covered along with water-based products with discussion of special issues with water-based products.

Here's a link to a PDF of the table of contents.

This is a self-published book so you won't find it popping up on your usual woodworking radar so I thought to give it some attention.