[offseid]

Sketchup Model

I had been planning on entering the LumberJocks Halloween Challenge. Anytime the prizes are given away randomly, instead of based on skill and craftsmanship, I'm all over that! But my wife didn't particularly want me spending a lot of time in the shop merely for the chance at a $50 gift certificate for tools (and DEFINITELY not for a plane holster or a cap, she would say).

So she told me that she'd let me have $50 extra bucks for tools if, instead, I built a lego table for our kids. We're expecting our third child in a few weeks, and once that little bugger starts crawling around, we'll need to have those legos off the floor.

So I thought that was a pretty good deal. I downloaded Google Sketchup (my first time using it) and started planning the table. I based it off of this great project (a train table) by Joshua Sargent.

The table will be a multi-use table. The plywood panel will be covered with a 70×100 (centimeters) "car mat" - you know, a colorful very thin rug that has roads, buildings, etc. drawn on it. It'll be removable if need be. I'll then build a frame and panel "lid" which will seat onto the top. On one side, it will be a plain smooth surface for a homeschooling workspace (I'll have to figure out the best way to fill the grain so it'll be smooth). On the other, I'll have a checkers/chessboard painted on one half, and on the other half…hmm, any ideas?

Below is the sketchup of the main part, minus the lid. You can see that it's pretty much identical to Joshua's table, except that I've joined the frame pieces with dovetail joints instead of screws. I think I'll still need screws to attach the legs to the frame, unless you guys can think of another option.

Thanks for reading!

 

[woodworm]

Sketchup Model

I had been planning on entering the LumberJocks Halloween Challenge. Anytime the prizes are given away randomly, instead of based on skill and craftsmanship, I'm all over that! But my wife didn't particularly want me spending a lot of time in the shop merely for the chance at a $50 gift certificate for tools (and DEFINITELY not for a plane holster or a cap, she would say).

So she told me that she'd let me have $50 extra bucks for tools if, instead, I built a lego table for our kids. We're expecting our third child in a few weeks, and once that little bugger starts crawling around, we'll need to have those legos off the floor.

So I thought that was a pretty good deal. I downloaded Google Sketchup (my first time using it) and started planning the table. I based it off of this great project (a train table) by Joshua Sargent.

The table will be a multi-use table. The plywood panel will be covered with a 70×100 (centimeters) "car mat" - you know, a colorful very thin rug that has roads, buildings, etc. drawn on it. It'll be removable if need be. I'll then build a frame and panel "lid" which will seat onto the top. On one side, it will be a plain smooth surface for a homeschooling workspace (I'll have to figure out the best way to fill the grain so it'll be smooth). On the other, I'll have a checkers/chessboard painted on one half, and on the other half…hmm, any ideas?

Below is the sketchup of the main part, minus the lid. You can see that it's pretty much identical to Joshua's table, except that I've joined the frame pieces with dovetail joints instead of screws. I think I'll still need screws to attach the legs to the frame, unless you guys can think of another option.

Thanks for reading!

Hello Eric.
I think your wife is right. For sure you would be able to add some tools for your shop if you choose to build the lego table for your kids. And you may not loose anything.

By the way how is life in Kota Kinabalu? Any good store to shop decent woodworking machine or hand tools at least? Oh yes, for your info there is a jet tool dealer newly set up in Petaling Jaya. I got the http://www.jet.com.my address from aidaarif who recently joined LJs.

Have a nice day Eric

 

[rikkor]

Sketchup Model

I had been planning on entering the LumberJocks Halloween Challenge. Anytime the prizes are given away randomly, instead of based on skill and craftsmanship, I'm all over that! But my wife didn't particularly want me spending a lot of time in the shop merely for the chance at a $50 gift certificate for tools (and DEFINITELY not for a plane holster or a cap, she would say).

So she told me that she'd let me have $50 extra bucks for tools if, instead, I built a lego table for our kids. We're expecting our third child in a few weeks, and once that little bugger starts crawling around, we'll need to have those legos off the floor.

So I thought that was a pretty good deal. I downloaded Google Sketchup (my first time using it) and started planning the table. I based it off of this great project (a train table) by Joshua Sargent.

The table will be a multi-use table. The plywood panel will be covered with a 70×100 (centimeters) "car mat" - you know, a colorful very thin rug that has roads, buildings, etc. drawn on it. It'll be removable if need be. I'll then build a frame and panel "lid" which will seat onto the top. On one side, it will be a plain smooth surface for a homeschooling workspace (I'll have to figure out the best way to fill the grain so it'll be smooth). On the other, I'll have a checkers/chessboard painted on one half, and on the other half…hmm, any ideas?

Below is the sketchup of the main part, minus the lid. You can see that it's pretty much identical to Joshua's table, except that I've joined the frame pieces with dovetail joints instead of screws. I think I'll still need screws to attach the legs to the frame, unless you guys can think of another option.

Thanks for reading!

Good work with the SketchUp. I like the dovetails on the ends.

 

[Texasgaloot]

Sketchup Model

I had been planning on entering the LumberJocks Halloween Challenge. Anytime the prizes are given away randomly, instead of based on skill and craftsmanship, I'm all over that! But my wife didn't particularly want me spending a lot of time in the shop merely for the chance at a $50 gift certificate for tools (and DEFINITELY not for a plane holster or a cap, she would say).

So she told me that she'd let me have $50 extra bucks for tools if, instead, I built a lego table for our kids. We're expecting our third child in a few weeks, and once that little bugger starts crawling around, we'll need to have those legos off the floor.

So I thought that was a pretty good deal. I downloaded Google Sketchup (my first time using it) and started planning the table. I based it off of this great project (a train table) by Joshua Sargent.

The table will be a multi-use table. The plywood panel will be covered with a 70×100 (centimeters) "car mat" - you know, a colorful very thin rug that has roads, buildings, etc. drawn on it. It'll be removable if need be. I'll then build a frame and panel "lid" which will seat onto the top. On one side, it will be a plain smooth surface for a homeschooling workspace (I'll have to figure out the best way to fill the grain so it'll be smooth). On the other, I'll have a checkers/chessboard painted on one half, and on the other half…hmm, any ideas?

Below is the sketchup of the main part, minus the lid. You can see that it's pretty much identical to Joshua's table, except that I've joined the frame pieces with dovetail joints instead of screws. I think I'll still need screws to attach the legs to the frame, unless you guys can think of another option.

Thanks for reading!

Hmmm… pondering your questions…

You could make the long rails tusk tenons through the legs, held captive by the rails which are in turn held captive by wedges, or…

Utilize some of that cool Greene & Greene stuff like Marc did, or…

The heck with it. How about carriage bolts? Even-dare I say it-anchor bolts (bleah!)

Here's the easy part: one side checkers, the other side backgammon. No gambling, however.

Peace-

Mack

 

[Beginningwoodworker]

Sketchup Model

I had been planning on entering the LumberJocks Halloween Challenge. Anytime the prizes are given away randomly, instead of based on skill and craftsmanship, I'm all over that! But my wife didn't particularly want me spending a lot of time in the shop merely for the chance at a $50 gift certificate for tools (and DEFINITELY not for a plane holster or a cap, she would say).

So she told me that she'd let me have $50 extra bucks for tools if, instead, I built a lego table for our kids. We're expecting our third child in a few weeks, and once that little bugger starts crawling around, we'll need to have those legos off the floor.

So I thought that was a pretty good deal. I downloaded Google Sketchup (my first time using it) and started planning the table. I based it off of this great project (a train table) by Joshua Sargent.

The table will be a multi-use table. The plywood panel will be covered with a 70×100 (centimeters) "car mat" - you know, a colorful very thin rug that has roads, buildings, etc. drawn on it. It'll be removable if need be. I'll then build a frame and panel "lid" which will seat onto the top. On one side, it will be a plain smooth surface for a homeschooling workspace (I'll have to figure out the best way to fill the grain so it'll be smooth). On the other, I'll have a checkers/chessboard painted on one half, and on the other half…hmm, any ideas?

Below is the sketchup of the main part, minus the lid. You can see that it's pretty much identical to Joshua's table, except that I've joined the frame pieces with dovetail joints instead of screws. I think I'll still need screws to attach the legs to the frame, unless you guys can think of another option.

Thanks for reading!

Nice looking idea, Eric.

 

[offseid]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

 

[lew]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

Hang in there, Eric! We all have days like this.

 

[sbryan55]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

Frustration is a fundamental part of the learning process when we are trying to develop a new skill or learn to use an unfamiliar tool. But, in situations like yours, the initial frustration is well worth the end result. Once you "hone" your planing skilsl you will have increased your inventory of hand skills.

Keep us posted on your workbench progress.

 

[dsb1829]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

I typically find my frustration leads to new tools. New tools lead to setup time and more frustration. But at some point you begin to break out of the fog. For me it happened this weekend (about 5 months of heavy hobby investment). I focused on a project, building the base for my new dining table. As the individual tasks were completed each gave a sense of accomplishment. Just a few months ago I couldn't sharpen a plane, much less use one to remove tool marks and taper legs. I found myself with a big grin as the fluffy shavings piled out the mouth of my 90 year old smoother. It was such a joy to have things start to click. Hang in there.

S4S is a bit of a misnomer at the lumber yard. Maybe there should be 2 grades of it (like ready to use and needs work). Some of the s4s at the home center locations is terrible. It is cupped, bowed, warped, and twisted. You would be better off chopping it into kindling and saving yourself the aggravation.

From the tool fund it looks like you are heading to the neanderthal side. Not a bad place to be. I often find far more satisfaction in getting tasks done with only the hand tools. I also view it as a way to pass forward this knowledge to future generations. Good luck.

 

[offseid]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

 

[Texasgaloot]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

Eric-

Sorry I haven't had the time to reply in a timely manner. I'm also sorry for the frustration-been there, done that! I've been playing in sawdust almost as long as Matt has been alive (don't tell him I said that.) It seems like in every project I can recall except for a handful, there has been a point where I have said words to the effect of, "Holy Cr*p! I can't finish this thing! I don't have the _" Words for the blank vary with the mood: tools, skill, material, skill, time, skill, money… did I say skill? I'm not going to say that anything magic happened, because I still have a few unfinished projects I've started floating around, but otoh the vast majority of my projects perseverance as seen me through. Set the tools down and come back tomorrow knowing my feelings are normal.

This is happy news for me, really. Another convert for "the cause" of Neanderwoodworking!

Mack ("The Wood Shepherd")

 

[8iowa]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

eric:

Sometimes things happen for the best. Sharpening up your hand planes and planing skills is a big positive. I think the hand plane is undergoing a "re-discovery" by many woodworkers.

 

[woodworm]

A Tough Day in the Shop

So yesterday I went to the lumber yard and bought all the wood I expected to need for the lego table. I was pleasantly surprised at the price. I bought 12.5 board feet of kapur (30' of 1"x4" and 10' of 1"x3") for $18.25 and a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood for $13.75. I tried to pick boards that were straight and not warped, and at least in that respect, I succeeded.

Today I had some good dedicated shop time. My first task was to cut the boards down to the individual components of the table. As I was doing that, I realized that I had neglected to look for one thing when at the lumber yard - cupping. One board was cupped the entire length.

Since I don't have a thickness planer, an electric planer nor a belt sander, I dragged my knuckles over to the "workbench" (a 2"x6" resting across my japanese sawing trestles) and tried to "knock off the high spots" as I hear people like The Schwarz say. Easier said than done. To the extent that I feel skilled in sawing, I feel that same amount of ineptitude in planing. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a workbench. It also doesn't help that my irons haven't been honed in a while.

So I got frustrated. Frustrated that my blades are dull. Frustrated that I don't know how to flatten a board. Frustrated that flattening a board is kind of important sometimes. Okay, often. Frustrated that this quick-and-dirty build of a lego table might take months.

But then I chilled out and decided to take a long view of my progress in the craft. Hand plane skills don't come overnight. I need to think of this as part of the journey. I am considering whether or not to go buy another board to save me time in building this project. That would, however, still leave me needing to learn how to flatten a board. So maybe I'll stick it out.

In the meantime, I now know how I'm going to spend the last of my Tool Fund money: I'm going to get a replacement plane iron/chipbreaker set. I think it will really help me be less anxious about planing. My #4 and #5 planes both use the same size irons, so I'll be able to interchange them as needed. And I'll be able to turn my existing irons into specialty blades. Maybe one will be slightly cambered (as will probably the Hock be), and the other I'll turn into a scrub plane iron. I think I heard one of Matt's podcasts talking about that.

Kind of a rambly post today, but that's how I feel. A bit discouraged, but at the same time determined to get through it.

P.S. Oh - here's a pic of the parts. Notice the yellow sapwood on what will be the legs. I chose that board partly because it was so straight, but also because, what the hey, let's see how this ends up looking!

Looking at the picture, I think the cupped boards is correctible, since it's not associated with a "twist".
Draw lines on the board end at the lowest point for both sides, if the remaining thickness is usable for your project go ahead with hand planning. If the thickness of stock to be removed is something like 1/4" IMHO is not worth doing.
I have done that when making my workbench, and I got to take a week rest.
Alternativelly, rip them into two halves (get the service from a sawmill, in your case) then the flattening work would be much easier.

Good luck.

 

[offseid]

Hand Planing and Hand Sanding

On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he's still not here!), my wonderful wife said, "Why don't you go do some woodworking?" Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it!

So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some staining and marring on the surface. (By the way, I went out and bought a replacement board for the cupped one, so I didn't have to deal with that.) But still, that's quite a chore when doing it all by hand with no workbench.

My makeshift bench involved placing two 2"x6" boards side by side on my sawing trestles, with the boards butting up against the wall. I used a couple narrower boards (1"x3") laid parallel to the wall as a planing stop. This mostly worked when planing the shorter boards (the leg pieces). For the aprons, I had to plane one half, then flip it around and plane the other half (while sitting on one end of the board). Oh - I have to mention that the grain on this kapur is so funky, there didn't really seem to be a "with" or "against" the grain! Kinda nice, wouldn't you say? I had no tear-out, no matter which way I went.

After all that planing, I went over everything with 100# sandpaper. Good enough for now. Here you can see my setup - my wife took this pic while I was sanding:



And after it was all said and done - what was that, like 2 or 3 hours? - here is what I ended up with: a bunch of pieces that look pretty much exactly like they did when I started:



And here's a closer look at what the kapur sapwood looks like compared with the heartwood. Very interesting - I'm curious to see how it turns out in the end! These are the leg pieces - I'm matching up one of these heartwood/sapwood pieces with one pure heartwood piece. Still trying to think of where that strip of sapwood should be in my leg assembly (see the Sketchup drawing). Oh, incidentally, in the pic below you can see that one of the 2"x6" boards also has some sapwood mixed, but it's much more of a pukey dark greyish yellow (can something be a pukey dark greyish yellow?).



On a side note: I really need to fettle my Stanley #4. It would work fine, and then every 10 minutes or so my chipbreaker would jam up with shavings. Aargh!

 

[ChicoWoodnut]

Hand Planing and Hand Sanding

On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he's still not here!), my wonderful wife said, "Why don't you go do some woodworking?" Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it!

So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some staining and marring on the surface. (By the way, I went out and bought a replacement board for the cupped one, so I didn't have to deal with that.) But still, that's quite a chore when doing it all by hand with no workbench.

My makeshift bench involved placing two 2"x6" boards side by side on my sawing trestles, with the boards butting up against the wall. I used a couple narrower boards (1"x3") laid parallel to the wall as a planing stop. This mostly worked when planing the shorter boards (the leg pieces). For the aprons, I had to plane one half, then flip it around and plane the other half (while sitting on one end of the board). Oh - I have to mention that the grain on this kapur is so funky, there didn't really seem to be a "with" or "against" the grain! Kinda nice, wouldn't you say? I had no tear-out, no matter which way I went.

After all that planing, I went over everything with 100# sandpaper. Good enough for now. Here you can see my setup - my wife took this pic while I was sanding:



And after it was all said and done - what was that, like 2 or 3 hours? - here is what I ended up with: a bunch of pieces that look pretty much exactly like they did when I started:



And here's a closer look at what the kapur sapwood looks like compared with the heartwood. Very interesting - I'm curious to see how it turns out in the end! These are the leg pieces - I'm matching up one of these heartwood/sapwood pieces with one pure heartwood piece. Still trying to think of where that strip of sapwood should be in my leg assembly (see the Sketchup drawing). Oh, incidentally, in the pic below you can see that one of the 2"x6" boards also has some sapwood mixed, but it's much more of a pukey dark greyish yellow (can something be a pukey dark greyish yellow?).



On a side note: I really need to fettle my Stanley #4. It would work fine, and then every 10 minutes or so my chipbreaker would jam up with shavings. Aargh!

Looks like fun.

I was just out planing the top of my nightstands today. That smoothing plane makes nice fine shavings.

Take a nice fine flat bastard file to the flat part where the chip breaker touches the iron and make it flat. Angle it back a touch so the front edge touches first and there are no gaps. It will be fine.

 

[Tangle]

Hand Planing and Hand Sanding

On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he's still not here!), my wonderful wife said, "Why don't you go do some woodworking?" Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it!

So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some staining and marring on the surface. (By the way, I went out and bought a replacement board for the cupped one, so I didn't have to deal with that.) But still, that's quite a chore when doing it all by hand with no workbench.

My makeshift bench involved placing two 2"x6" boards side by side on my sawing trestles, with the boards butting up against the wall. I used a couple narrower boards (1"x3") laid parallel to the wall as a planing stop. This mostly worked when planing the shorter boards (the leg pieces). For the aprons, I had to plane one half, then flip it around and plane the other half (while sitting on one end of the board). Oh - I have to mention that the grain on this kapur is so funky, there didn't really seem to be a "with" or "against" the grain! Kinda nice, wouldn't you say? I had no tear-out, no matter which way I went.

After all that planing, I went over everything with 100# sandpaper. Good enough for now. Here you can see my setup - my wife took this pic while I was sanding:



And after it was all said and done - what was that, like 2 or 3 hours? - here is what I ended up with: a bunch of pieces that look pretty much exactly like they did when I started:



And here's a closer look at what the kapur sapwood looks like compared with the heartwood. Very interesting - I'm curious to see how it turns out in the end! These are the leg pieces - I'm matching up one of these heartwood/sapwood pieces with one pure heartwood piece. Still trying to think of where that strip of sapwood should be in my leg assembly (see the Sketchup drawing). Oh, incidentally, in the pic below you can see that one of the 2"x6" boards also has some sapwood mixed, but it's much more of a pukey dark greyish yellow (can something be a pukey dark greyish yellow?).



On a side note: I really need to fettle my Stanley #4. It would work fine, and then every 10 minutes or so my chipbreaker would jam up with shavings. Aargh!

My gosh, Eric, it almost looks like you're working in the shower. More woodworking under duress. Keep at 'er pardner. You're gaining on it. Neat wood, but I've never heard of it.

 

[Beginningwoodworker]

Hand Planing and Hand Sanding

On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he's still not here!), my wonderful wife said, "Why don't you go do some woodworking?" Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it!

So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some staining and marring on the surface. (By the way, I went out and bought a replacement board for the cupped one, so I didn't have to deal with that.) But still, that's quite a chore when doing it all by hand with no workbench.

My makeshift bench involved placing two 2"x6" boards side by side on my sawing trestles, with the boards butting up against the wall. I used a couple narrower boards (1"x3") laid parallel to the wall as a planing stop. This mostly worked when planing the shorter boards (the leg pieces). For the aprons, I had to plane one half, then flip it around and plane the other half (while sitting on one end of the board). Oh - I have to mention that the grain on this kapur is so funky, there didn't really seem to be a "with" or "against" the grain! Kinda nice, wouldn't you say? I had no tear-out, no matter which way I went.

After all that planing, I went over everything with 100# sandpaper. Good enough for now. Here you can see my setup - my wife took this pic while I was sanding:



And after it was all said and done - what was that, like 2 or 3 hours? - here is what I ended up with: a bunch of pieces that look pretty much exactly like they did when I started:



And here's a closer look at what the kapur sapwood looks like compared with the heartwood. Very interesting - I'm curious to see how it turns out in the end! These are the leg pieces - I'm matching up one of these heartwood/sapwood pieces with one pure heartwood piece. Still trying to think of where that strip of sapwood should be in my leg assembly (see the Sketchup drawing). Oh, incidentally, in the pic below you can see that one of the 2"x6" boards also has some sapwood mixed, but it's much more of a pukey dark greyish yellow (can something be a pukey dark greyish yellow?).



On a side note: I really need to fettle my Stanley #4. It would work fine, and then every 10 minutes or so my chipbreaker would jam up with shavings. Aargh!

Looks like Fun, Eric!

 

[offseid]

Hand Planing and Hand Sanding

On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he's still not here!), my wonderful wife said, "Why don't you go do some woodworking?" Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it!

So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some staining and marring on the surface. (By the way, I went out and bought a replacement board for the cupped one, so I didn't have to deal with that.) But still, that's quite a chore when doing it all by hand with no workbench.

My makeshift bench involved placing two 2"x6" boards side by side on my sawing trestles, with the boards butting up against the wall. I used a couple narrower boards (1"x3") laid parallel to the wall as a planing stop. This mostly worked when planing the shorter boards (the leg pieces). For the aprons, I had to plane one half, then flip it around and plane the other half (while sitting on one end of the board). Oh - I have to mention that the grain on this kapur is so funky, there didn't really seem to be a "with" or "against" the grain! Kinda nice, wouldn't you say? I had no tear-out, no matter which way I went.

After all that planing, I went over everything with 100# sandpaper. Good enough for now. Here you can see my setup - my wife took this pic while I was sanding:



And after it was all said and done - what was that, like 2 or 3 hours? - here is what I ended up with: a bunch of pieces that look pretty much exactly like they did when I started:



And here's a closer look at what the kapur sapwood looks like compared with the heartwood. Very interesting - I'm curious to see how it turns out in the end! These are the leg pieces - I'm matching up one of these heartwood/sapwood pieces with one pure heartwood piece. Still trying to think of where that strip of sapwood should be in my leg assembly (see the Sketchup drawing). Oh, incidentally, in the pic below you can see that one of the 2"x6" boards also has some sapwood mixed, but it's much more of a pukey dark greyish yellow (can something be a pukey dark greyish yellow?).



On a side note: I really need to fettle my Stanley #4. It would work fine, and then every 10 minutes or so my chipbreaker would jam up with shavings. Aargh!

Hey Scott, thanks for saving me the 10 minutes I'd have used to see exactly what to do with my chipbreaker. I was thinking sandpaper, but the file sounds easier.

 

[ChicoWoodnut]

Hand Planing and Hand Sanding

On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he's still not here!), my wonderful wife said, "Why don't you go do some woodworking?" Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it!

So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some staining and marring on the surface. (By the way, I went out and bought a replacement board for the cupped one, so I didn't have to deal with that.) But still, that's quite a chore when doing it all by hand with no workbench.

My makeshift bench involved placing two 2"x6" boards side by side on my sawing trestles, with the boards butting up against the wall. I used a couple narrower boards (1"x3") laid parallel to the wall as a planing stop. This mostly worked when planing the shorter boards (the leg pieces). For the aprons, I had to plane one half, then flip it around and plane the other half (while sitting on one end of the board). Oh - I have to mention that the grain on this kapur is so funky, there didn't really seem to be a "with" or "against" the grain! Kinda nice, wouldn't you say? I had no tear-out, no matter which way I went.

After all that planing, I went over everything with 100# sandpaper. Good enough for now. Here you can see my setup - my wife took this pic while I was sanding:



And after it was all said and done - what was that, like 2 or 3 hours? - here is what I ended up with: a bunch of pieces that look pretty much exactly like they did when I started:



And here's a closer look at what the kapur sapwood looks like compared with the heartwood. Very interesting - I'm curious to see how it turns out in the end! These are the leg pieces - I'm matching up one of these heartwood/sapwood pieces with one pure heartwood piece. Still trying to think of where that strip of sapwood should be in my leg assembly (see the Sketchup drawing). Oh, incidentally, in the pic below you can see that one of the 2"x6" boards also has some sapwood mixed, but it's much more of a pukey dark greyish yellow (can something be a pukey dark greyish yellow?).



On a side note: I really need to fettle my Stanley #4. It would work fine, and then every 10 minutes or so my chipbreaker would jam up with shavings. Aargh!

Not a problem.

Any babies yet? Those mommies start getting testy the later it gets.

 

[offseid]

Hand Planing and Hand Sanding

On Saturday (the day after our baby was due, and he's still not here!), my wonderful wife said, "Why don't you go do some woodworking?" Since I was actually in the mood to tackle the next task on my Lego Table, I went for it!

So the task of the day was to prep the table pieces for assembly. That meant planing and (some) sanding. The boards are in decent shape, being pretty much flat and square, so I only had to smooth them a little and take off the top layer to remove some staining and marring on the surface. (By the way, I went out and bought a replacement board for the cupped one, so I didn't have to deal with that.) But still, that's quite a chore when doing it all by hand with no workbench.

My makeshift bench involved placing two 2"x6" boards side by side on my sawing trestles, with the boards butting up against the wall. I used a couple narrower boards (1"x3") laid parallel to the wall as a planing stop. This mostly worked when planing the shorter boards (the leg pieces). For the aprons, I had to plane one half, then flip it around and plane the other half (while sitting on one end of the board). Oh - I have to mention that the grain on this kapur is so funky, there didn't really seem to be a "with" or "against" the grain! Kinda nice, wouldn't you say? I had no tear-out, no matter which way I went.

After all that planing, I went over everything with 100# sandpaper. Good enough for now. Here you can see my setup - my wife took this pic while I was sanding:



And after it was all said and done - what was that, like 2 or 3 hours? - here is what I ended up with: a bunch of pieces that look pretty much exactly like they did when I started:



And here's a closer look at what the kapur sapwood looks like compared with the heartwood. Very interesting - I'm curious to see how it turns out in the end! These are the leg pieces - I'm matching up one of these heartwood/sapwood pieces with one pure heartwood piece. Still trying to think of where that strip of sapwood should be in my leg assembly (see the Sketchup drawing). Oh, incidentally, in the pic below you can see that one of the 2"x6" boards also has some sapwood mixed, but it's much more of a pukey dark greyish yellow (can something be a pukey dark greyish yellow?).



On a side note: I really need to fettle my Stanley #4. It would work fine, and then every 10 minutes or so my chipbreaker would jam up with shavings. Aargh!

Nope, not yet, but we're thinking tomorrow will be the day!