An introduction to the whole thing.
I've been wanting to keep a blog going and found a couple issues with the whole concept. First big issue is the lack of consistency in what I am working on on any given day. I bounce so much that that even I can't keep track of what I'm working on at any given moment. So this blog is meant to be semi-daily and mostly for me to keep track of what I am doing and where I need to go next. In reality I have far more then five on my plate at any given moment and sometimes I even ditch all of them to try something different for a simple project. It's also to show that I do more then hang out in OT to watch people bicker and throw in my two cents.
So without further ado, here they are in no particular order.
Picked this up at an antique store for 20.00. I'm not certain what the wood is yet and have mostly wasted my time trying to figure out what it is that holds the slats to the metal bands on the bucket; they seem to be a form of rivet but they have a solid head on both sides. Overall it seems to be mostly there, just need to start off with a can of evaporust.
The apple press.
A kitchen trestle table and benches.
This is clearly a long term project. I was offered my choice of 5 rows of apple trees and I could cut down all I wanted. I dropped them off at the mill in the next town over. Most of the wood is sliced 1.25", there are 2 at 2.25 and a third at 3". They are in a closet off of the shop, that gets them out of the sun and weather. There is a fan on them all the time during the day and it gets shut off at night. The humidity has dropped a bit in there at this point. A dehumidifier stands ready but at this time I should be fine with windows open and the fan. The hope is that around the time these start hitting 30-25% moisture content the temps will be up in NY. The closet in the summer can easily hit 120 and has gone higher in effect kiln drying them like a solar kiln. Hope to start slicing into the wood in Sept/Oct and have it done for Christmas time.
A workbench
Perched atop the trestle table wood in the pic above is the start of my workbench. Currently I have a 7'+ x12"x2.9" top, I have started working on the other side of the bench as this will be a split top to hold tools. The goal is 7'x28"x2.5". Also slightly visible are the three legs I've gotten so far, I haven't found a pallet with a good enough piece for the fourth yet. The top will be solid white oak with the bottoms a random mix of red and white.
A mobile countertop.
The wife originally wanted a mobile cutting board that could be put next to the table during fancy dinners. So I made the cutting board below. It is 19"x23"x2.25", turns out I didn't get it done fast enough as it has to be counter top height now for which this board isn't big enough. I spent quite a few hours getting it flat and square with theend grain patterns having a wave effect to change it now. So now it will be inset into a stone countertop with red oak legs and two drawers. The legs are in production and go from 2.125" at the top to 1.5" at the bottom, hopefully these will be thick an strong enough to hold the top. Total top will be 2'x4' in size. The woods are purpleheart, white oak, walnut, maple, apple, cherry and mahogany.
Finally a bedroom set for the wife as well. I'm happy enough with what we have for now but since she wants it I'm happy to build it as well. Only thing I have to show for it is one of the tops to a night stand. This is my newest project so at the moment only the two stand tops are cut to dimension.
And then there was the project that almost made the list but I just finished it. My daughter is reaching an age where she will be needing a toddler bed any day now so I've just gotten it finished in anticipation. This design is completely from out of my head, no plans provided or available. I literally wrote nothing down. The one looks a little foggy because I hadn't finished rubbing out the wax. The side rails use stub tenons and bolt directly to the headboard. When she needs it will be fully assembled and a project thread made on it.
Final pic I promise. This is my first and best major project and the reason I finally took the plunge into woodworking that I'd been wanting to make for years.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far, updates will follow regularly.
,
I've been wanting to keep a blog going and found a couple issues with the whole concept. First big issue is the lack of consistency in what I am working on on any given day. I bounce so much that that even I can't keep track of what I'm working on at any given moment. So this blog is meant to be semi-daily and mostly for me to keep track of what I am doing and where I need to go next. In reality I have far more then five on my plate at any given moment and sometimes I even ditch all of them to try something different for a simple project. It's also to show that I do more then hang out in OT to watch people bicker and throw in my two cents.
So without further ado, here they are in no particular order.
Picked this up at an antique store for 20.00. I'm not certain what the wood is yet and have mostly wasted my time trying to figure out what it is that holds the slats to the metal bands on the bucket; they seem to be a form of rivet but they have a solid head on both sides. Overall it seems to be mostly there, just need to start off with a can of evaporust.
The apple press.
A kitchen trestle table and benches.
This is clearly a long term project. I was offered my choice of 5 rows of apple trees and I could cut down all I wanted. I dropped them off at the mill in the next town over. Most of the wood is sliced 1.25", there are 2 at 2.25 and a third at 3". They are in a closet off of the shop, that gets them out of the sun and weather. There is a fan on them all the time during the day and it gets shut off at night. The humidity has dropped a bit in there at this point. A dehumidifier stands ready but at this time I should be fine with windows open and the fan. The hope is that around the time these start hitting 30-25% moisture content the temps will be up in NY. The closet in the summer can easily hit 120 and has gone higher in effect kiln drying them like a solar kiln. Hope to start slicing into the wood in Sept/Oct and have it done for Christmas time.
A workbench
Perched atop the trestle table wood in the pic above is the start of my workbench. Currently I have a 7'+ x12"x2.9" top, I have started working on the other side of the bench as this will be a split top to hold tools. The goal is 7'x28"x2.5". Also slightly visible are the three legs I've gotten so far, I haven't found a pallet with a good enough piece for the fourth yet. The top will be solid white oak with the bottoms a random mix of red and white.
A mobile countertop.
The wife originally wanted a mobile cutting board that could be put next to the table during fancy dinners. So I made the cutting board below. It is 19"x23"x2.25", turns out I didn't get it done fast enough as it has to be counter top height now for which this board isn't big enough. I spent quite a few hours getting it flat and square with theend grain patterns having a wave effect to change it now. So now it will be inset into a stone countertop with red oak legs and two drawers. The legs are in production and go from 2.125" at the top to 1.5" at the bottom, hopefully these will be thick an strong enough to hold the top. Total top will be 2'x4' in size. The woods are purpleheart, white oak, walnut, maple, apple, cherry and mahogany.
Finally a bedroom set for the wife as well. I'm happy enough with what we have for now but since she wants it I'm happy to build it as well. Only thing I have to show for it is one of the tops to a night stand. This is my newest project so at the moment only the two stand tops are cut to dimension.
And then there was the project that almost made the list but I just finished it. My daughter is reaching an age where she will be needing a toddler bed any day now so I've just gotten it finished in anticipation. This design is completely from out of my head, no plans provided or available. I literally wrote nothing down. The one looks a little foggy because I hadn't finished rubbing out the wax. The side rails use stub tenons and bolt directly to the headboard. When she needs it will be fully assembled and a project thread made on it.
Final pic I promise. This is my first and best major project and the reason I finally took the plunge into woodworking that I'd been wanting to make for years.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far, updates will follow regularly.
,