Vacation

First Semester is complete. I now have two weeks to relax. I need it. For the last three and a half months, I've spent 6 days a week in the shop for a minimum of 8 hours a day. My cabinet realistically has a couple weeks of work left before it is complete. I thought it was going to be difficult to put down this project that I have been so focussed on for the last month. This last week drained all my energy and I have now realized that I need a break. Finishing this project will be much easier with a nice rest and clear mind.

Cove Cutting

I am getting ready to shape my two floating panels. I enjoy working with my hand tools a lot. The stock of Olive that I have is quite thick. Even though it takes a plane wonderfully, it is a dense wood and would require many blade sharpenings. I have decided to remove a large portion of the stock with the table saw and finesse the shape with my planes. I'm going to use an old carpenters trick to remove the waste. I will make a cove cut on the table saw.



I set up a fence that runs diagonal to the blade. Now instead of the blade making a thin little saw kerf, it will cut a hollow that matches the circumference of the saw blade.



I made a test jig to make sure I had the right angle and blade height. I have to be absolutely sure that I am not taking too much out. I cannot ruin this piece. Olive is a very pricey wood. I start by making very light passes over the blade. The machine room is filled with the wonderful smell of olive. Much better than burning olive; which I imagine would be quite unpleasant.



I removed most of the material that I wanted to. Now I will start shaping it with my planes.



The Olive is going to complement the Sycamore so well!

Cabinet Surgery

Time to fix my mistake. What will I need. Clamps, Pin Vise, Thinned downed Glue, and a Syringe.



With the cabinet clamped up, I carefully lift the side that is not glued down.



I mark out where my dowel holes are and drill at an angle until I puncture into the dowel hole. Once that is done, I inject glue into the dowel holes and clamp it back up like nothing ever went wrong. The fix went great and the cabinet is now sitting in the clamps waiting to set.

What else have I been up too? I've been working on my door. I have the frame almost done. I need to do a little more work to get the frame ready for glue up.

A few little fixes. The shoulder cut on one of my frame members didn't come out square. As a result when I put the frame together there was a little gap in between the frame. I built a saddle; which is a jig that allows me to correct the uneven joint.



I only had to take off a thin little shaving to get a better fit of the joint.



With my frame fitted to size it was time to start mocking up the shape of my two floating panels. I need the panels to curve slightly past the door frame.



I have also chosen a wood for my curved floating Panels. Olive. A great wood with warm tones. I can't wait to start shaping it.

Three Stage Glue up Gone Wrong!

Gluing up a Cabinet can be very simple and easy... if done correctly. The cabinet has 4 points of contact which must be glued up. Glue the first two joints separately allowing enough time in between for the glue to set up. Once those two have set up, glue the third and fourth joint together, put it in the clamps and done. Guess what I did?

I arrived back at school after lunch; ready for my third glue up. I only put glue on the 3rd joint. By the time I realized I wouldn't be able to pull the cabinet apart to glue my forth joint, it was too late. We all had a good laugh over it.



Luckily I am able to open the unglued joint and not wreck the other three joints. I will have to do a little "surgery" to the cabinet. I should be able to correct my mistake without damaging the appearance of the piece. Lucky me.

Pre-Finishing

It took a little longer to finesse the shape of my cabinet than expected. But it all makes up for it when I put my finish on and see the beautiful smooth surfaces. Pre-Finishing?? Let me explain. Most would assume that when a cabinet is built, it is completely constructed and then the finish is applied. A smarter approach is to finish while building the cabinet. It is a lot easier to apply a finish when they are in pieces. Getting into corners that are glued up can be tricky.

There are many ways to finish wood. For most of our projects at school, we stick to a simple finish, that leaves a natural look. I will not bore you with the details. Our finish usually ranges from 3 to 6 coats of Shellac and 2 coats of wax polish. 6 coats??? That must take forever to finish? Nope. Shellac dries really quickly; many coats can be applied throughout the day.



When mixing Shellac an empty bottle is needed. Most people choose a fancy wine bottle or whiskey bottle. I decided to use a bottle that I found humorous. I selected a bottle of Colt 45. It cost 7 dollars, has a high alcohol content, tastes like piss, and promises to "get you drunk every time". I washed the bottle out and mixed up my shellac. The next morning I arrived at school and checked my shellac. It smelt like Malt Liquor. The shellac was ruined. Oh well, guess I will use a boring old wine bottle.

The Shellac made a nice smooth finish to my cabinet carcass. The Beeswax Polish I applied after added a nice shine and made it feel like silk. I have never achieved these results with a finish. But it isn't just the finish, that made my cabinet so smooth. Surface preparation is the main reason the surfaces finished so well.



The pieces for the cabinet carcass are now ready for glue up.

Catching up

It's been almost a month since my last post. I have been very busy or just too tired to get another post up. I have a lot to talk about. I am behind schedule. But things are going smoothly this week, so I feel I can catch up.

Where to start?? My Krenov inspired Pipe Cabinet is not longer looking like what I had originally planned. During my mock up, I couldn't get my door to achieve the look I wanted with the original idea. My door will have a frame but instead of a panel sitting in the frame, I will have two curved panels in between the frame members. It is a little difficult to describe. Hopefully when I get my door started in the next couple of days, I can post photos that will better explain my design.

Wood: I have obviously chosen a wood to use for my cabinet carcass. I originally wanted a darker wood. Changed my mind when I found a beautiful piece of Sycamore ( European Maple) and couldn't pass up the opportunity to build with it. Sycamore is a light wood, with a nice straight even grain. The wood has a curl. When it is planed smooth it give a rippled look to the piece.



This is the Sycamore. The material is so vibrant when it is planed smooth. I am really enjoying working with Sycamore; the wood works so easily with my hand tools.



Shape: I decided to build a tall narrow cabinet. It is roughly 9 inches wide by 24 inches tall and 6 inches deep. This is what it looks like just after doweling the carcass. Up next some interior work and then shaping.



This was an early mock up of the drawers and shelf I am going to put in. The design has changed a little. There is no longer two rows of drawers.



Before I can do my final finish and glue up the cabinet, I need to shape the tops and bottoms. Mortise out my Flipper Flopper and Door Leveler. As well I need to add the mortise for my Knife Hinges. The fit here is a lot tighter than my Wabi Sabi Cabinet. I am glad I corrected that mistake.

And that about takes me up to where I am at. If all goes smoothly, I should be gluing up my cabinet carcass tomorrow and then starting on my door.