Expert to Beginner: part

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Monday, February 24, 2014

VENEER bubbles part 3 of 4

Heres the third article of the much anticipated VENEER series.

The first article explained how to deal with edge gluing loose veneer

The second article detailed filling in missing areas of veneer on painted furniture.

This time I will show you how to get bubbled surface veneer glued back down.

For these repairs you will need 3 items,

your wood glue, a shape utility knife, and a heavy weight.

In most cases you can see where the veneer has bubbled/lifted but

running your hand over the surface will also help find areas you dont see.

You have to get the glue underneath your veneer somehow.

The next step is the scarey one.

Use your uility knife to cut a slice into the bubble.

Use a sharp knife, and cut in the direction the grain runs.

Apply your glue getting into the cut and under the bubble.

You can squish it underneath the veneer with your finger,

you can use air to blow it under the edges,

do what ever you can think of just be delicate with the edges of the cut veneer.

Wipe up any excess glue with a damp cloth.

Now weigh your repair down.

Below you can see I used a cast iron urn (heavy) on a flat board,

I even used a small bit of folded sandpaper right over the glued spot as a pressure point.

** MINI VENEER TIP **

Wax paper wont stick to glue well.

It is a good buffering material to use

between your repair and any clamps or weights you use.

HAPPY CANADA DAY to everyone and to celebrate ...

todays SHOWROOM addition is a wonderful Lane Aromatic Cedar Lined Chest

Originally made in Ontario, Canada.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Ghetto WorkCenter Boom Arm Part I The Platform

As my regular ready knows, I have a track saw. Specifically, it’s the Festool TS55. I’m not of the ilk that think a track saw is a table saw replacement, but I do love the saw and use it often.

A great place to put the TS55, provided it doesnt fall off.

Typically, when I use the TS55 it is to cut sheet goods which are laid out on my BenchMark portable work table. Though it supports sheet goods, dimensional lumber and allows lots of clamping, the open surface of the BenchMark prevent me from putting the saw down on it (plus then the saw would get in the way of the work piece). Instead, I found myself putting the saw down on it’s systainer which was always sitting atop my CT22 dust extractor and roughly the same height as the BenchMark.

Using the TS55 Systainer as a table to rest the TS55 on between cuts proved very convenient, but I was always very nervous of the saw slipping off. While the TS55 is many things, cheap isn’t one of them. Between the electrical cord, vacuum hose and the systainer being attached to a dust extractor on wheels, I figured it was only a matter of time before I tripped over one of the cords or knocked into the dust extractor. Either accident would send the TS55 straight into the concrete of my driveway.

The fear of pulling or knocking the TS55 to it’s untimely death got me thinking of the Festool WorkCenter Organizer. It’s a neat organizer of shelves and pegboard and tool holders that Festool created to fit on top of their dust extractors. Though Ive not personally used one, the WorkCenter Organizer seems to be a very well designed accessory, based on Paul-Marcel’s review.

The Festool WCR 1000 Workcenter Organizer

Unfortunately, it’s also a nearly $400 accessory. This was not one of the Festool prices I feel is fully worth it. Rather than spend almost as much as a new TS55, I opted to make my own version.

The first step would be to make a platform with a raised lip that would both fit snugly on a systainer and also prevent the TS55 (or any other tool on top) from sliding or falling off the side.

Building the platform was simple. I started with a scrap of ½” baltic birch plywood. I laid it on top of the systainer and aligned two (2) sides. Then I marked the other two (2) side locations with pencil. I cut the platform out using the TS55.

The platform is just the same size as the systainer (or so I thought)

To make the lip, I cut out stips of ½” baltic birch on the table saw. I used a stop rule to mark out ½” along the length of the strips. Then, using that line as a reference I clamped them to the platform and screwed them in with #8 stainless steel flat head screws. The stainless was necessary, but I like the aesthetics of it.

Once the platform was assembled, I tried it out to discover that it was just a hair too small lengthwise. Rather than start over, I simply unscrewed the lip from one end and shimmed with blue tape. After a few test fittings I had it shimmed just enough to hug the top of the systainer snuggly.

Snuggly fit and no way to slide off

The TS55 fits in the platform wonderfully, and now the only way I’ll manage to damage the TS55 is if I’m clumsy enough to knock the whole dust extractor / platform / TS55 stack over.

Satisfied with the platform, I began to plot out the boom arm.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Dads Benchtop Bench Part III

With the vise nuts installed and the bench milled to accept the vise, it was time to work on the outer jaw.

The benchtop, ready for the vise.

Miller’s original features a 45° bevel on the top, outside face of the outer vise jaw. I’ve seen the bevel before on many Moxon Vises. It provides clearance to hold a saw and chisel at an angle. To cut my bevel, I eyed about how big I thought it should be, set my table saw to 45° and cut away.

Unfortunately, Once I put the vise jaw in place, I quickly realized that the big bevel I’d cut did not leave enough flat surface on the top for a bench dog hole. Rather than have the awkward hole which would have resulted, I flipped the front vise jaw around, and cut a much smaller bevel on the new top edge. This left the big bevel on the bottom, which I’ve grown to like the look of.

If Id left the big bevel on the top, I wouldnt have been able to drill (route) for dog.

To attach the vise I took the back jaw of the vise and set it upside down on my table saw. I also set the bench top upside down on my table saw. I used the saw as a reference surface to ensure that they were aligned, and then I clamped them together with parallel clamps. To fasten them, I simply used screws. I pre-drilled the holes and staggered the pattern to prevent splitting.

Fastening the rear vise jaw.

I installed the legs in a similar manner. I held them in place with parallel clamps and then screwed them to the top. Since the legs were slightly out of square, I was sure they were clamped extra tight to the top before I screwed them on.

Once I took the clamps off and flipped the bench over, I found that that screwing the legs to the perfectly flat 3” thick top was all it took to pull them into alignment. The feet sit perfectly flat on my tablesaw.

Assembling the legs to the top.

All that was left was to assembly the vise.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Stephens Step Stool Part II

I made Stephen’s Step Stool from Douglas Fir. Our big box stores do not carry the fabled Southern Yellow Pine, so I settled on our local (not-so)equivalent.

I laid out the parts between the knots on the boards and cut them using my jig saw. Because the 2”x12”s were 10’ long, I cut them on the floor using scraps of wood to hold them up and provide blade clearance.

The 2” x 12” we used was wider than my 8” jointer so I flattened the faces with the planer alone. Once each piece was cut to length there was minimal bowing. The pieces were first fed through my planer with their concave side down. They were then continually passed through the planer, alternating faces between passes, until the board where reduced from 1½” to 1” thick.

Stephen proved a great help during the milling as he was able to keep an eye on the ClearVue cyclone attached to my shop vac and let me know when it began to clog. Planing ½” of thickness off of 11½” wide boards made about 45 gallons of chips.

After thicknessing the boards I finished milling them by flattening one edge on the jointer and then cutting to width on my table saw. Once milled and dimensioned we stickered them and called it a night.

Dry fitting before joinery.

The following day I cut the dovetails using my Keller 2200 Journeyman Dovetail Jig. Some of the boards had cupped slightly, but I was able to clamp them up tightly and the dovetails cut reasonably well.

Milling the pins.

Then I glued the front and rear sections of each side together using Nexabond glue. Since using it in my clamp rack I’ve been impressed with Nexabond’s performance. Hopefully +Christopher Adkins will mail me my WIA Nexabond soon.

While the glue on the sides dried, the remaining pieces spent the night re-stickered.

Dont forget about the +Modern Woodworkers Association Podcast. We talk woodworking with Guests from around the world of woodworking every other week. Subscribe to the RSS feed or iTunes today.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Shop Tour M Scott Morton Part IV

We now bring Mortons shop tour series to its conclusion with a video tour, hosted by the man himself.

For more on M. Scott Morton, check out his site at www.scottmorton.com or catch up with the beginning posts from this series.

Shop Tour: M. Scott Morton, Part I
Shop Tour: M. Scott Morton, Part II
Shop Tour: M. Scott Morton, Part III