[sras]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

Hi Jim! Thanks for the comment.
Six stools does tend to cause things to pile up

 

[benjireyes]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

That's some serious material and time management and cataloguing Sras! Nice step by step documentation. Would love to se the finished stools.

 

[Ecocandle]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

That was a great blog post. I love the approach you take to the project. I can't wait to see the next steps and the finished project.

 

[stefang]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

A smart way to work Steve. I'm sure your blog will show others with limited time how they can get more done. Like they say; small streams make large rivers.

 

[ellen35]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

Steve,
This is a wonderful blog! I'm pleased to see you are still working on these.
Your blogs are well organized and easy to follow and your pictures are great!
Thanks for the tutorial and the great organizational approach to the project.
Those stools are going to be awesome!
Ellen

 

[sras]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

Thanks for the comments!

Benji - I would like to see the finished stools too! That is going to be a while at this pace …

Brian - The next steps are likley mortises - lots of mortises … so many mortises (that word looks weird if you type it over and over). Then come tenons - lots of tenons … so many tenons

Mike - Nice quote! Much better than the one I think of "How does one eat an elephant? - One bite at a time"

Ellen - By the time these are done I am going to need to use one to sit down and take a rest!

 

[sras]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

Thanks Autumn! I have worked with "mahogany" before - a soft and pale wood (not real mahogany). This is my first time working with a good quality mahogany. The wood is beautiful. I hope this project shows it off well (that is the intent

 

[OutPutter]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

"Parts is parts."

One of my favorite quotes seems appropriate here. Good job on the blog and the project so far.

 

[sras]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

You're so right Jim - especially when there are 6 copies of each part! It will be fun when the "parts" start to look like stools.

 

[Kentuk55]

Finding shop time in a busy schedule -or- Making slats & cutting pieces

The next step in this project is making the curved slats for the back of the stool. The process is the same as for the curved parts with a couple exceptions. First the pieces for each set of slats are cut from two blocks. These blocks were next to each other when cut from the large stock. Instead of marking with a saw cut as I did last time, I used a permanent marker.



By angling one stripe across both blocks, I am able to keep the strips in order. The total number of stripes tells me which stool this set of strips belong to.

The other difference is the clamping jig.



This jig has two curves and required careful adjustment to create a tight fitting result.

But, this is not what I want to write about for this post. I think it would be nice to share how I find shop time. We all have busy schedules and, at least for me, the woodshop takes a lower priority. I find that I can fit in shop time a little bit at a time.

I start out with a stack of strips to be glued up. This makes a good example of how to find shop time.



My shop is located off the back of my garage. Gluing up a set of 4 strips takes 10 to 15 minutes. If I can find that much time before I leave for work, I have enough time to glue one more set.



As the days go by, I find that the pile slowly shifts from only one done to only a few left to do.



And then the day comes when I have glued the last one up!



Then there are days when I have more time. That is when I can take the rest of the wood and start to cut it into final pieces.



In this case, there is a bit of prep work to make sure that the grain runs from one part to the next wherever possible. There were several 15 to 30 minute sessions where I just focused on marking the pieces.



Once again, cutting the pieces is done a little bit at a time. The longest session was less than 2 hours. Over time, the pile of big parts turns into a pile of smaller parts.



And once again, the day came when the last pieces were cut.



There is likely some extra time in this project that results from working in small sessions. For me the tradeoff is that I get to make progress and spend time in the shop more often.

The project is now to the point where all the pieces have been cut to thickness and width (well almost all … ). Next is cutting to length and then cutting mortises.



Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs
Cutting legs to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
>Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs

Total so far: 44 hrs (7+ hrs per stool)

Jim took the text right outta my fingers. lol

 

[sras]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

 

[a1Jim]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

Some great saves there steve look forward to more .

 

[zlatanv]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

First time I have seen this series, been busy and haven't had too much LJ time, great work, can't wait to see them finished, wood looks great, and nice work on patching.

 

[sras]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

Thanks Jim & Z - hopefully I can give an update without as long a wait as last time!

 

[ellen35]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

You are the king of patches!
This has been a really nice build.
Ellen

 

[stefang]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

Very professional looking fixes Steve. I have been through this myself (many times) and though I feel I can adequately fix almost any mistake I make, oh the time it can suck up! But anytime spent making corrections on those beautiful stools will be worth it, and someday your kids will probably inherit them.

 

[CaptainSkully]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

Thank you so much for sharing the OOPS! moments. I think that's what makes this site and it's contributors so amazing.

 

[sras]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

Thanks for the comments - as far as I am concerned, it is the unexpected that makes teh story interesting. You are right, Mike fixing them does take a lot of time and I would rather not need to patch things up. Like the title says - I do intend to be perfect, but have learned to deal with the times when I fall short of that vision.

 

[Broglea]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

Steve - Thank you for being transparent with your oops moments. I too have many of these fixes on my projects. Today I was doing some work with the router table and didn't realize the bit had moved up while in the collet without me noticing. I made a pass on the table and you guessed it, had to patch the work piece.

 

[mafe]

While visions of perfection dance in my head

I deal with correcting mistakes instead!

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I AM still working on this project. In addition to regular life, we have had a week long vacation, business trips (including 2 weeks in China), a family illness and preparing for RAGBRAI . The shop time has been hard to come by.

I figured this would be a good time to confess and share how I am dealing with this round of unexpected issues.

Dull Bandsaw Blade

I started to shape one side of the back legs. I knew my bandsaw had a dull blade, but I got lazy and told myself that I could just leave a little extra wood. Wrong. The blade took on a twist and curved right past my line. Stopped and bought a new blade (one with a better tooth profile) and the rest of the cuts went fine. But I was stuck with one leg that needed help.

My solution was to flatten out the damaged area and glue a patch on.



After the glue dried, I smoothed the sides. The grain matched quite well.



Once I did the final shaping, there is a faint glue line that I think willl nearly disappear once the wood darkens (sorry no pic)

Router Pattern

This one was an act of real poor thinking. I had been shaping several legs and always being careful to turn the router on and off only when it was stable on the template.

Except this ONE time.

I lifted the router while it was on and the bit cut into the pattern The solution here was automotive body filler (Bondo).



The filler was applied to the cut and then sanded smooth.



Chipout

The base of the leg flares out and it was not a surprise that I had some chipout. Most of the time, I could find the missing piece and glue it back in. One time I had to make a patch. I squared up the chipped area and flattened it with a sharp chisel.



I found a piece of wood with matching color and glued a block in.



Mortises and Tenons

This project has a LOT of mortises and tenons. I took extra time to draw each mortise and then I would check it against my pattern piece.

Foolproof - right?

Wrong!

Every once in a while, I would forget to check a piece against my pattern. As luck would have it, one time I skipped checking was on a part where I had shifted the mortise location 1/2 inch. Back to gluing patches… I came up with a fairly creative soution to apply pressure while the glue dried. Luckily, this particular joint has a tenon shoulder that will completely cover this patch.



I managed to cut a tenon or two a little thin. More patches. These are completely hidden inside the mortises. I should point out the black dot on the end of the tenon. This is my technique for preserving the orientation of each piece. The black dot is always in the top right front corner of each piece.



The Big One

When I first did the rough cutting of the legs, I had one kick back incident. The only damage was the blade dug into the side of one of the legs. I saved the scrap from shaping the leg to get a good color match.



I used my laminate trimmer to create a pocket of even depth. Then I created a paper pattern by rubbing a pencil over the recessed area. I cut a thin slice off my patch piece and placed the pattern to match the grain.



It took a while to get the patch shape to match the cutout area. Lots of hand filing.



I glued the patch in place with just a little extra thickness. A little sanding and this is what I ended up with. I had hoped for a little better color match, but it is down next to the floor so hopefully it won't be too big of a distraction.



I have been cutting a lot of motises and tenons. Not the most thrilling blog material, but I'll try to show where I am with my next post.

Current time log:

Cutting rough stock: 2 hrs

Legs
> Cutting to width and thickness: 4 hrs 20 min
> Cut to final length: 3 hrs 30 min
> Shaping: 5 hrs 50 min
> Mortises: 10 hrs 35 min

Seat Back and Back Rest
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 3 hrs 35 min
> Prepping laminations: 8 hrs 40 min
> Glue up Laminations: 3 hr 50 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 2 hr 25 min

Back Slats
> Cutting thin stock for laminations: 1 hr 55 min
> Prepping laminations: 3 hrs
> Glue up Laminations: 6 hrs 5 min
> Trim Laminated Parts: 10 min

Lower rail parts
> Cut to width and thickness: 10 hrs
> Cut to length: 1 hr 30 min
> Tenon: 13 hrs 20 min

Total so far: 78 hrs 45 min (13+ hrs per stool)

So cool Steve, wonderful advice.
Best thoughts,
Mads