Working plan: March 2014

Thursday, March 6, 2014

New Project Book Nook Part 1

Alright, alright, time for a new project! I was asked to build a childrens bookcase that would hold books with the covers facing outward instead of the traditional binding facing outward; kind of a book display really. I did a little research and found these are typically called a Book Nook. These are pretty interesting, and pose some unique challenges, because of the dimensions; typically they are only a foot deep, about three feet tall and about 4 feet wide. What got me was only being a foot deep; I felt that this would make for an unstable design. I did notice in my research that many of them had a way in which to fasten the top of the book nook to a wall for stability.

So, with all this in mind, I decided on the final dimensions and design. This one will be 12" deep, about 42" wide and about 36" tall. It will have 3 shelves with each shelf capable of holding about 4 books side by side and roughly 3 or 4 deep. I also decided that this piece will be made in cherry and the finish will be BLO and shellac, no stain.

My first order of business as was to make a trip to Peach State Lumber and get the cherry I would need for the project. I decided I wanted 8/4 cherry so I could resaw it for the sides, since I knew I would have to glue two pieces together. I literally had to go through the entire pallet to find the boards that would work for me, but sometimes you have to do that. So, here are the boards I picked up:

From Book Nook

I did get more than I needed because I will be using the rest for another project once Im done with this. My first order of business was to mill the lumber square so I could resaw it on the band saw. Some of this required the use of hand tools, which I dont mind.

From Book Nook

Once that was done, they were resawn on the band saw and laid out for glue up. Here you can see the book matched pieces, ready for glue up. I always make some kind of witness mark on the boards so I know exactly how they should be put together.

From Book Nook

Once I had both side panels glued up, it was now time for the tedious process of laying out for the 3 shelves. I wanted them to be equally spaced both vertically and horizontally. I did this by laying them back-to-back so that I could just transfer the lines from one to the other and know they were in perfect alignment. Here are the two side pieces laid back-to-back with the insides facing up.

From Book Nook

Also note that I make sure to mark the grain direction; that is was the arrows are for. This just helps me keep everything flowing the same direction. Next, I had to do all the layout lines, which took a good while because I wanted to be exact and there were some design features that I had to take into account. After the layout was done, I used a router to rout out a 3/8" deep dado for each shelf and then used chisels to square up the dados.

From Book Nook

So, my next order of business is to mill up the pieces that will be for the front and bottom trim. These trim pieces will serve multiple purposes. First, they will have a dado in them that will allow them to fit into the shelves so that will help to keep the shelves from sagging by adding support. Next, they will stick up from the front edge of the shelf about 1" which will provide a lip for the books to set into so they dont fall off the shelf and lastly, the will have a profile on them to add character. Once I have those trim pieces done, I will also begin to build the back of the shelves. That is all Ive got for now....

Be Safe!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Table Saws and kickback

For a nice video showing the value of a riving knife click here.

Another bracelet

Just got an email from another Mere Mortal, Bill Akins, who decided to try his hand at turning my wood bracelets. He used red cedar to turn this bracelet for his wife. He used a faceplate on his lathe to cut out the center.

Nice work Bill!

BTW, if any of you have tried any of my projects, send me pics!

Id love to see them. zrammedia (at) gmail (dot) com.

Sanding and sandpaper for absolute beginning woodworkers

I want to thank Shy Lev-Ari, a viewer from Israel, for suggesting this video. A lot of us take sanding wood for granted, yet it is the most basic skill we need to know about woodworking. Ive often quipped that woodworking is 10% design, 10% construction, and 80% sanding.

But with all the grades of sandpaper available, its something that can easily confuse the beginning woodworker. In this video, I have tried to boil sandpaper down to its basics.

Essentially, woodworkers need to know that you can do almost anything with only three grades of sandpaper: 80, 120, and 220. 80 is the coarsest grit and is used for leveling out rough wood caused mostly by machine marks from saws.

From there, move up to a 120 grit sandpaper to smooth out the marks left by the coarse 80 grit paper. Finish off your wood with a 220 grit (fine) sandpaper.

You can learn a lot more about sanding and get more detailed, but for most of us, we really dont need to bother sanding past 220 grit. Let your finish provide the smooth feel of your project.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

What the hell is that thing

On weekdays, I dont have any time to build anything out in my shop. But I still manage to pop in from time to time and sort of plan out projects I want to work on come Saturday. Somehow, just being in the shop helps me to think a bit more creatively. I might just pick up a few chunks of scraps and start "assembling" them into something. Plus I just like to putter around, maybe clean up a bit.

I save more crap than you can imagine. Today I decided to crack open one of my ancient coffee cans of stuff. Maybe something there would inspire me.

Well, lets see. Theres the lamp plug that looks like Thomas Edison designed. One plastic caster wheel. A tail light bulb from a car I probably sold 20 years ago. An eraser that still has the smiley face I drew on it in 6th grade. It no longer erases. A 12" length of chain. A couple of enormous wing-type toggle bolts. Just the wing parts...the bolts dont fit.

And this:

This is a connector to a Coca-Cola Machine I have left over from when I was 18 and did maintenance work for a chain of movie theaters. WTF? Why in the world do we keep this stuff? What kind of bizarre things are in your shop?

Then again, someday I may want to build some sort of lighted soda dispenser that can be rolled around on one wheel. I better put everything back in the can.

Contests and more on the spinning top It really spins!

Mere Minutes
After my less-than-stellar attempt at making the top yesterday, I wanted to show you that it actually does work. I just needed a larger space for it to spin. I think a sharper point would help too.

*****

Whirligig contest.
There is still time to enter! Heres the original video with all the details. There are over $1000 worth of great prizes, so get on it. Enter over on A Simple Design of Ocala.

Heres an update video from Laney:

*****
Picture frame contest.
This looks like a fun one. Brian over at Garage Woodworks is running a picture frame contest. Hes giving away a Woodpeckers 12" Precision Woodworking T Square. Enter here.

Woodworking Class blog

Hi Folks.
I made this blog so I can post information relevant to our class. If you forget to read it, it wont do us much good, so check it frequently.
Ive been in communication with Tim Holton of Holton Studio Frame Makers, about his aniline dyes. He gets them from Woodworkers Supply. I just ordered some for myself, to test them out. Here are Tim Holtons colour samples.
Above, is the Woodworkers Supply colour chart of water-based aniline dyes.
Also notice that Tim Holton shows profile views of his various mouldings, with measurements, so you can use these to help you design future profiles of your own.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Custom spice cabinet

I just finished this custom cabinet for holding and displaying spice jars. This is salvaged elm from the Sydney area. At one time this wood was headed for the splitter and the stove. The back is pine. I was really pleased to be asked to make this piece as a gift for a local artist.

Gaboon Ebony

Since we are all going to be buying our own wood at some point for at least one of our projects I thought it might be useful to some people in the class to do some research on exotic woods that they might be interested in. The picture above is a turning stick of gaboon ebony. This particular piece of wood is pre-cut so that it may be turned on a lathe. You can buy pieces like this in all types of wood. I found a website that has information on a very wide variety of different wood, most of which I have never heard of (http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/#letterA). I chose gaboon ebony because I have some experience working with it. This is the blackest wood in existence, it is so dark that you can hardly see the grain. It is actually just the inside of the ebony tree.

It comes from Africa and can be very expensive. I bought a small amount last semester at Southern Lumber for $70 per board foot, which was on sale at the time. Since it is so expensive it is mainly used in small amounts for details such as piano keys or knife handles. It is very dense and can be fragile if dropped on a hard floor. Its extremely hard to work with because of the density, but if you are persistent you will definitely be happy with the outcome. When gaboon ebony is finished just by sanding it is extremely smooth to the touch and very beautiful. It has a natural shine and can be finished to a higher polish than most wood. If you absolutely have to have a finish on it www.woodturnersresource.com recommends using a sanding sealer before applying any oil or lacquer.
When you are working with ebony it is important to not be exposed to the dust for long periods of time. A dust mask is recommended when handling this wood because it can be toxic. I would not advise you to make an entire table of ebony, but if you want to add some small black details this wood can be that extra elegance you need.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Fall Mantel Ledge Ideas

Hey there! Its only the beginning of the week and Im exhausted already and wishing for Friday. Can you believe we are nearing the beginning of October? I cant! It will be Christmas before you know it.

I finished up our fall mantel/ledge this past weekend. I think I changed it about a 100 times until I was satisfied with it. I tried to use things I already had around the house cause I dont like spending extra dough on seasonal things. First thing I did was top it with a wide plank of barn wood to warm up the ledge and give it a little more depth so I would have more room. Heres a look.....

Remember those vintage music magazines from 1936 and 37? Well, I didnt use them in the guest bathroom. I decided to use them here but I didnt want to commit to actually sticking them to the wall, so I picked up 3 foam boards from the Dollar Tree and glued interesting ads from the magazines to each one, then nailed the boards to the wall. The trays are also from the Dollar Tree, but I spray painted them oil rubbed bronze cause its what I had.

The pumpkins were decor I had left over from last year, except the small white ones, which are real. The old wood frame is one of the finds from our picking trip. I love the the music ad centered in the frame. I thought it tied in very nicely with the New York subway art also hanging in the room.

The books are vintage finds, the candles from the Dollar Tree. I wrapped them in jute twine for a little texture. These arent going to be lit, so its all good, no worries about all the paper and fire. :)

These iron pots were also found on our picking trip. My kids love candy corn and caramel so I filled em up so they could grab a treat when they walk by.

Thats it! What do you think?

Happy Fall! Have a great day! Linking up with TLC! Come join the fun and get some great ideas for fall!

Dining Room Table

One of the things Ive loved so much about blogging this past year is how much Im learning about home design, building my own furniture, and various wood treatments. And I look forward to learning so much more. Now that I work with wood for a living, Ive also learned so much about different ways to age new wood, though, Im certainly no expert.

Several years ago when I decided to build a new dining room table with the table legs that my dad made, I really didnt know that much about any of those things, but we really needed a larger dining table for our larger than usual dining room and I really wanted to give those special table legs a purpose. The tabletop I put together then was okay, but, I wasnt happy with the dark stain and polyurethane combo I used. It didnt absorb into the wood, instead, it sat on top of the wood and dried to somewhat of a strange shine. Neither of which I wanted. I also longed for a thicker table top. Preferably barn wood, but, our supply was gone and the barn wood we could find was just the thin 1 inch variety. Also perfectly fine, but not what I wanted for a top.

My go to wood source for projects around the house is the cheap craft wood aisle at Lowes, the lower grade, with slight warps and knot holes, works fine for my projects. Its cheap, even though sometimes you have to sort through the stack to find the best pieces, but again, cheap, and thats just how we have to roll around here. As many times as I have made trips to Lowes for wood over the years, Ive never ventured into the "man lumber" section. Well, wouldnt ya know, on a trip with hubby there the other today for deck lumber, I discovered 2 x 8s that were not treated, thick and in my price range! Duh. I thought that section only contained green, treated lumber. Well, that has opened up all kinds of possibilities. And these were going to be perfect for a new tabletop. I bought 5 of them (each 8 feet long) to make a 6 foot long x 3 foot deep table top. They were 4.75 each......total cost was 31.00 bucks.

I really wanted to age the wood to make it look like barn beams, especially since my sweet husband gave me the salvaged barn wood shelf I built for him. I wanted to make them match. So I decided to age each piece separately before I even made the top.

First thing I did was cut each one down to a 6 foot length. Then I took my sander and rounded all the corners and sides quite a bit so they looked worn down. I did this with a palm sander and 150 grit sandpaper. Then I took 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the tops down very smooth, then wiped down completely.

Next step, BRUSH on Minwax Special Walnut stain. I brushed it on because you can get so much more into your wood using a brush than using a cloth. I let it soak in for about 15 minutes and then took a clean, dry rag and wiped off any stain that didnt soak in. Then I let dry completely for several hours.

Next step, again using my sander and 150 grit paper, I sanded again, paying close attention to the corners and edges. The trick is to get those areas to really look worn down. (Do not sand off all the stain, you just want to distress it a little by removing some of it.) And then again with 220 grit to get everything nice and smooth. Wipe down with another clean dry rag to remove every last bit of sanding dust. Then I took another clean, dry rag and used Minwax Paste Finishing Wax in Natural to wax each board. Then wipe to a nice smooth finish. It will be so smooth and lovely.

Then I just laid each board side by side, attached beams to the back with large screws to hold together, attached the table base with angled wood corner braces that attach to the table top and each apron underneath, turn it over and thats it. Here is a before pic of the dark table that I wasnt happy with.

And here is the new tabletop.

I am so thrilled with this top! Its thick and sturdy and matches the salvaged barn wood shelf behind it perfectly! And it lightens the room,

which always seems dark because of the dark floors.

I dont think I could be more pleased.

I dont know about you, but when you get something new for a room, does it inspire you to completely change the room? It sure does me, so, thats what I did. And Im very lucky to have a hubby who doesnt mind if I do these things, as long as I keep costs very low.

I also took down the monster shelf I built for my platter collection that was in the place the shelf is in now. Again, another one of those things I learned. It was too big for the room (if thats possible) and I wanted the table to be the focal point.

BEFORE

Um...icky photo. Also before the new camera (and learning not to take photos at night.) I laugh when I see posts and photos from when we first started this blog a year ago. Clearly, I knew nothing about taking photos. But thats what its about, right?

Learning as you go along.

Here it is after removing the shelf monstrosity.

So much better. I kept the white console table my dad built for me and moved it across the room. The huge rolling pin is vintage and was a gift from my hubby. :) The mint growing in the chocolate terra cotta container is orange mint and smells so good!

We got rid of a few other pieces of furniture. When hubby comes home with vintage furniture pieces, I tend to cram them all in the dining room because its so big and I want to keep everything he finds. But Im learning that less really is more. You know? I also made a lot of changes on the walls, just by moving some things from other rooms into the dining room. Its an inexpensive way to change a look.

A few months ago I saw this amazing huge chalkboard made from salvaged molding on Marias blog. I know, I know......another chalkboard. But this was the king of all chalkboards, so I gave away all my other ones and decided to build one like Marias using new molding instead of salvaged. I have to say that I adore Marias style and blog. I recently splurged and purchased one of her vintage french linen kitchen towels. It is so lovely that washing and drying my hands in the kitchen has become a simple pleasure. ;) Anyway, Im currently working on several tutorials, one of which is how to build this giant chalkboard.

Another change was the curtains. Weve always had the wood blinds, which I love. Ive received so many emails asking where we purchased those blinds. We bought them at Lowes when we first moved into our home. Im not sure if they are still available because its been so long. I dont know the name either but I do know they are bamboo. I bought these sheers at Wal-Mart for $16.00. I changed out the curtain rod with a skinnier one to accommodate the curtain holes.

Our dining room and kitchen are my two most favorite rooms in our home, probably because its where we are the most.

Done! If you are still here after that long post, thanks for visiting today! Stay tuned for tutorials, back porch decor and a fun vintage school map project for one of my kids rooms! Have a great weekend!

Diana

P.S. The paint used on the walls is Manchester Tan by Benjamin Moore. :)

P.P.S Please check out this post for the tutorial and photos on how I built this table. :)

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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Happy Labor Day Bread Boards

Hey friends! Happy Labor Day to you!

Whats everyone been up to on this holiday weekend? We had a major change in weather and it was just beautiful outside. Made me ready for fall, thats for sure. We worked in our back yard to prepare for a movie themed Halloween Party were having. All the details on that later!

Hope everyone continues to enjoy the holiday weekend! More bread boards are listed! Click here to order! And thank you so much!! :)