Showing posts with label i. Show all posts
Showing posts with label i. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Upper pull out cabinet project Part I
I have been contracted to make a kitchen cabinet that will sit in an opening previously occupied by a larger cabinet that no longer fits. My customer bought a refrigerator that is taller than the original unit, and had to take out the upper cabinet to make the fridge work.
Our solution was to make a pull out cabinet with low sides, similar to a pull out tray. We decided its best to match the surrounding cabinets profiles on the face, and also match the color. Each presents its own challenges. Trying to match profiles requires having the right router knives. Ive had to buy a bit that will match the raised panel. As far as matching the color, I have found a match, and it will be close, but not exact. The existing kitchen is nearly 25 years old, so with oils, proteins, etc., from cooking all those years, as well as fading from nearby light sources, an exact match cannot be guaranteed, but it will be very close!
Here are some pictures of the space to fill, and also of the tray and door assembly. I have used a combination of box joinery and rabbit joinery on the tray. I also have a match on the three different profiles on the door, and have a sample door to compare it to. After the glue sets, I can stain, finish, and install this piece! The front "door" will be stained and finished, while the tray itself will be clear coated (similar to the surrounding cabinets).
Read More..
Our solution was to make a pull out cabinet with low sides, similar to a pull out tray. We decided its best to match the surrounding cabinets profiles on the face, and also match the color. Each presents its own challenges. Trying to match profiles requires having the right router knives. Ive had to buy a bit that will match the raised panel. As far as matching the color, I have found a match, and it will be close, but not exact. The existing kitchen is nearly 25 years old, so with oils, proteins, etc., from cooking all those years, as well as fading from nearby light sources, an exact match cannot be guaranteed, but it will be very close!
Here are some pictures of the space to fill, and also of the tray and door assembly. I have used a combination of box joinery and rabbit joinery on the tray. I also have a match on the three different profiles on the door, and have a sample door to compare it to. After the glue sets, I can stain, finish, and install this piece! The front "door" will be stained and finished, while the tray itself will be clear coated (similar to the surrounding cabinets).
Monday, February 10, 2014
The Shop Tour Series Part I
For anyone who’s been reading along (or listening to me go on about it on the MWA Podcast), you know that I’ve been working on the shop for a long time. When I got home from Woodworking in America 2011 I went right to work on my bench (for about a month). Then it got cold and I’ve been working on my shop renovation since (with plenty of project interruptions).
I’m currently in what I call Phase 1 of the the renovation. It is the wiring, insulation and sheathing of the two (2) exterior walls. The remaining phases, as I envision them now, are as follows:
Phase 1.5 Insulate and Sheath the Floor
Phase 2 Bump out the back wall
Phase 3 Cathedral the ceiling
As I’m hoping to accomplish a lot in the shop this year, I thought it would be interesting and motivating to document it on a regular basis. So, I’m going to film a shop tour each month. For this first one (1), I spend a bit of time just going over the shop. In the future I’ll try to focus on what has changed.
Here is the premier: 2013 January Shop Tour
Read More..
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| Working down in the trenches during the early days of shop renovation. |
I’m currently in what I call Phase 1 of the the renovation. It is the wiring, insulation and sheathing of the two (2) exterior walls. The remaining phases, as I envision them now, are as follows:
Phase 1.5 Insulate and Sheath the Floor
Phase 2 Bump out the back wall
Phase 3 Cathedral the ceiling
As I’m hoping to accomplish a lot in the shop this year, I thought it would be interesting and motivating to document it on a regular basis. So, I’m going to film a shop tour each month. For this first one (1), I spend a bit of time just going over the shop. In the future I’ll try to focus on what has changed.
Here is the premier: 2013 January Shop Tour
The Greenwich Frame Part I Design
Dear reader, if youve been following along, you may remember that last March I headed up to the Northeast Woodworkers Association Showcase in Saratoga Springs, NY. One of the highlights of the trip was the great dinner we had after the show on Saturday night at my Dads barn in Greenwich.
Greenwich, NY is about 20 minutes from Saratoga Springs, just across the Hudson River. Greenwich is where my Dad plans to retire and his barn is the retirement home hes building.
I mention Greenwich and the barn because this past August, while I was in Saratoga Springs with my family, we found an old timey map of Greenwich, NY. Given my Dads affinity for his newly adopted town we bought the map and decided that Id make a frame for it and give it to him for Christmas.
In early November I picked up some Walnut for the frame from Lakeshore Hardwoods while I was at the Long Island Woodworkers Showcase.
Skip ahead to early December, and I was reminded by my wife that I had to make a frame for my Dad for Christmas. After I got over the panic (& frustration of having to put the shop renovation I was in the middle of on hold), I started by considering designs.
I knew I wanted the frame to be Greene & Greene inspired, but I didnt want it to be a complete knock off and it had to be quick to build. I looked at the Greene & Greene inspired frames made by Kyle, Marc & Brian Grella. They all gave me ideas, but none were just right for what I had in mind. I did however order Marcs Greene & Greene frame DVD & template kit. I figured that the build techniques covered in the DVD would be somewhat universal and that even if different, I could still use his jigs to save me the time of developing my own cloud lift jig.
For more design ideas I turned to Darrell Pearts Greene & Greene: Designs for the Workshop and David Mathiass Greene & Greene Furniture: Poems of Wood and Light. Pearts book was enlightening on the construction methods used and on page 79 of Mathiass book I found my inspiration. Not a Greene & Greene frame, but living room gateleg table from the William T. Bolton house in Pasadena. The legs of the table are proud of the bottom stretcher and upper apron (below the drawer). The apron incorporates one simple cloud lift and the combined affect is a beautiful frame (in this case for the empty space below the table). I took that design and began sketching.
What I settled on was a very similar frame. My Stiles are wider and proud of my rails, and the top rail has a single, simple cloud lift in the center. I added ebony plugs in the stiles to simulate a pegged tenon, as was common in many Greene & Greene pieces.
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| Dinner in the Greenwich barn. |
I mention Greenwich and the barn because this past August, while I was in Saratoga Springs with my family, we found an old timey map of Greenwich, NY. Given my Dads affinity for his newly adopted town we bought the map and decided that Id make a frame for it and give it to him for Christmas.
In early November I picked up some Walnut for the frame from Lakeshore Hardwoods while I was at the Long Island Woodworkers Showcase.
Skip ahead to early December, and I was reminded by my wife that I had to make a frame for my Dad for Christmas. After I got over the panic (& frustration of having to put the shop renovation I was in the middle of on hold), I started by considering designs.
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| The state of my shop in early December. |
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| Kyles beautiful Greene & Greene inspired frame. |
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| My design (this is as detailed as the plans got). |
What I settled on was a very similar frame. My Stiles are wider and proud of my rails, and the top rail has a single, simple cloud lift in the center. I added ebony plugs in the stiles to simulate a pegged tenon, as was common in many Greene & Greene pieces.
Next up: The Greenwich Frame, Part II: Construction Begins.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Color Options I want your opinion!
Yesterday I primed the shelving unit that we built over the weekend. I took it apart since well be assembling it upstairs (its too big to make it around the tight corners of our stairs). Taking it a part by myself was ... lets say interesting. Luckily Im ok and the shelving unit is ok and we didnt have any major accidents! But now it is all primed and ready for paint!
To save money (and since I have a lot of left over paint) Ill be using paint that I already have on hand.
So whats your vote? Cast it in the comments or the poll in the right side bar!
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To save money (and since I have a lot of left over paint) Ill be using paint that I already have on hand.
In addition to the photo above, we also have the statement pendant (sw rivulet) and the turquoise ottoman in the room.
So whats your vote? Cast it in the comments or the poll in the right side bar! Monday, January 27, 2014
I Cheat At Everything
A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to attend the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event they Hosted at the 3rd Ward in Brooklyn. I was able to talk tools and woodworking with many old friends and I made some new ones too. An old friend I met there was Matt Kenney of Fine Woodworking. Matt was there for the magazine. He spent his time working behind a bench and chatting with people as they came by.
Apparently, after I left Matt was called out for Cheating by an event attendee. For, Matt had committed the infraction of using a paring guide while cleaning out the baseline of the tails he was cutting.
Cheating? No. As Matt told the event attendees, “There’s no such thing as cheating in Woodworking.” He does a great job of elaborating his point in a blog entry on the Fine Woodworking site.
Cheating? Really? I don’t get the commenter. What makes woodworking so wonderful is that there’s no right way to do anything. From how we cut a dovetail to what joinery method we choose in the first place, there are almost as many ways to accomplish the task as there are woodworkers. I’d hate to hear what the commenter would say of my drawers, jointed with 5 mm Dominos. And yet, they somehow work wonderfully.
Thankfully, it’s not just me and Matt who think this of woodworking. From Todd Clippinger sharpening his scrapers with just a file to Shannon Rogers making everything by hand there is no correlation between the method a woodworker chooses and the results. Just practice the method with care and skill, and the results will be a wonderful piece.
Want to see Todd cheat? Check out how he sharpens his card scraper.
Read More..
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| Matt chats with an attendee while cutting dovetails. |
Cheating? No. As Matt told the event attendees, “There’s no such thing as cheating in Woodworking.” He does a great job of elaborating his point in a blog entry on the Fine Woodworking site.
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| Caught, red handed. |
Thankfully, it’s not just me and Matt who think this of woodworking. From Todd Clippinger sharpening his scrapers with just a file to Shannon Rogers making everything by hand there is no correlation between the method a woodworker chooses and the results. Just practice the method with care and skill, and the results will be a wonderful piece.
Want to see Todd cheat? Check out how he sharpens his card scraper.
Do you folk cheat?
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