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New Year's Resolutions - Woodworking 2016

1K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  BinghamtonEd 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm the kind of guy that doesn't really get too excited about new year's resolutions of the usual format - E.G. Lose weight, exercise more, be more patient…etc. This year I thought I'd try something different, and create some resolutions/goals for the new year related to woodworking. Maybe if I connect my resolutions to something I love doing, and get a little more concrete, I'll actually follow through.

2016 -
1: Get better at finishing - Next to sanding, finishing a piece is the part I dread. As a result, I usually work through it as fast as possible, and end up with "acceptable" results. This year I'd like to take my finishing game to the next level. I'm not sure if this will require some new reading materials, some new courses at the local woodworking store, spending tons of time practicing. More than likely a combination of all three.

2: Design a piece of furniture from scratch - Not necessarily come up with some kind of ground breaking new style of furniture - but I would like to start with a blank piece of paper and completely design something from the gound up. Up until now I've used existing plans, or taken those existing plans and modified them as I go to get something that works for me. I've started reading "By Hand and Eye" and am exciting by the thought process and methodology it lays out.

3: Learn Hand cut dovetails - This has been on the list for a long time - but it's usually when I'm neck deep in a project that I want to get done. So I always use work arounds. I want to commit to a "30 days" challenge, or something along those lines so that I can learn the mechanics outside of a project build.

4: Finish my new shop - We moved back in May of 2015, and I got a new shop. It has a long way to go - insulation, electrical - 220, walls, dust collection, tool storage, etc. etc. etc. This one will probably get broken down into specific projects along the way.

Rather than use a blog format, I thought posting this on the forum would be fun. I'd love to hear what everyone else is hoping to get done this year to move themselves and their craft forward. Ideally, this would be a great place to check back in and help keep each other accountable and encouraged.
 
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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
As far as woodworking, my resolution this year is to replace our kitchen cabinets. Have all the rough maple already for the frames/doors. Also resolve to keep the garage more organized and clean. But, my garage is currently 40-45 degrees, so gluing/finishing is out of the question until spring. So, until then, I resolve to get a couple hundred hours of skiing in.
 
#3 ·
First of all, I love the idea of this thread, Steve. Second of all, my goals are MUCH less ambitious than yours.

1. I'd like to finally get my router into the wing of my take saw. So simple, but so hard to make time for it.

2. I'd like to finally build my daughter's nightstand, for which I turned the feet 8 months ago!

3. I'd like to make a built-in pedestal for my washer and dryer.

4. More DYI than woodworking: I'm going to finally build a shed in my backyard, and put hardwoods down in the house.
 
#4 ·
@Ed - Sounds good - i've got Kitchen Cabinets on my bucket list too. What style are you thinking about?

The cold problem is the same here - with a freestanding garage/shop it's at the mercy of the elements right now. At the moment in Nebraska it's around 15 degrees - so that's my shop temp. Kind of a catch 22 - I want to get insulation up so I can heat it efficiently, but I don't want to hang insulation in the cold….

@Joe - Thanks! I've also had a router table wing on my To Do list forever. I found a router table at a garage sale, and I don't know how long it sat, and how many projects I worked through before I finally bit the bullet and mounted the router. I think it took all of 15 minutes to actually get on there…then it was one of those "why didn't I do this months ago?!" kind of things.

What style of night stand are you making? The turned feet have me wonderin.
 
#5 ·
When we bought her bedroom set (before I got into woodworking), there wasn't a nightstand available. Since she was a baby, we never really noticed. Now that the bedroom set is being used by my second daughter, and she's about to turn 3, we'd like one (really I'd like one, just so I have an excuse to build something!)

So that's a long-winded way to say that the style is to match the existing furniture set. Here are some pics of the short dresser, my rough sketchup model and two of the turned feet. The feet in the sketchup model are just placeholders.

Cabinetry Drawer Dresser Chest of drawers Gas


Wood Wood stain Rectangle Gas Hardwood


Wood Table Flooring Rectangle Art
 

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#7 ·
Funny you mention the cove… That's probably the real reason I haven't started it yet. Subconsciously I think I'm scared of it! You are right about cutting the cove on the table saw, but I'm still torn as to how I'm going to cut the cove around the corners. I posted a topic about it last summer and got some good ideas, but I'm still not 100% convinced what the best option is.

You can't really tell in the picture, but on the furniture I'm matching, the piece ends after it turns the corner. So, I'm tempted to try cutting the curves of the corners and use a rasp and file (or make a scratch stock) to cut the cove in those two areas.
 
#8 ·
Adding another two to my resolution list

Tablesaw Tune Up - I've come to terms that I wont be upgrading to a cabinet saw for a while - and really my old C-man does the job pretty well. Once the weather warms up I want to do a full clean and alignment on it. Take the top off - lube the gears inside, and add Table Saw PALS to get my blade alignment more accurate. It's been pretty darn close, but I know it could be better.

Build a more precise crosscut sled - Once the saw is tuned up I want to set aside some time to really build a nice crosscut sled that is really dialed in. Like everything else - the one I've been using for a few years has been "good enough" but I know I can get better results out of it if I just spent some dedicated time focused on it.
 
#9 ·
I wouldn't focus just on dovetails. The root of it is cutting to the line consistently. That's where you should start. Take a scrap board and a few minutes each day in the shop and cut to some lines in some scrap.

When you get a handle on that, then there are no limits.
 
#11 ·
@Ed - Sounds good - i ve got Kitchen Cabinets on my bucket list too. What style are you thinking about?
- camps764
We're going with pretty non-ornate solid wood frame & raised panel doors, with face frame cabinets (prefinished ply for the boxes). Not full overlay, but we're keeping the reveal somewhat small. Color, still TBD, my wife keeps changing her mind, but it'll probably be some shade of mid-brown, I've had pretty decent results in the past mixing dye to her standards, so I'm not worrying about that yet. Full extension, soft close drawers, soft-close doors. Removing a small 28" deep wall that currently creates our inconveniently-placed pantry, and making a new pantry cabinet. Haven't had a chance to check the innards of the soffit yet, but hoping to knock that out and gain another 8" of space on top. I know where the venting is, and we have electric baseboard heating, so short of any electrical, I suspect they're pretty empty. Also putting in a new tile floor, tearing out our unusable bar space for another row of base cabinets and a pass-through, and replacing the heaters with toe-kick heaters.

Our current cabinets are probably the original ones from 1976, and the drawers are literally falling apart, and the too-thin doors have been painted and are chipping.
 
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