Month: April 2016

The “Right” Way

I made a ton of progress this weekend on both the new workbench (which will henceforth be known as the Stent Panel Workbench) and the traveling tool tote.  And I did it all through cut corners, quick fixes and general expedience.

First, I laminated another leg for the workbench.  But this time, I did it all at once.  The tenon board fit so tightly, it made sense just to build the leg around the fitted joint.  Even though the tenon board itself is slightly out of square with the underside of the table top, I can flush it to shoulder boards (which I know are square) and everything will be fine.

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The back legs are only three laminations.

While the glue was drying, I added a rack to the back of the tool tote.  A small scrap of cherry was almost perfectly sized to make spacers for the oak strip, so the rack is two-toned.  And I don’t care one bit.

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Jointer plane, smoothing plane and router plane, if you were wondering.

I also added a simple panel saw till to the front of the chest.  It’s best practice to screw in the till (one through the tongue and one from under the floorboard), but that was really annoying last time.  So instead, I skipped the screws and glued it in place (with hide glue).  I worked really hard to make the carcass square and plumb, and my reward is less fussing with slotted screws in tight spaces.

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I’m not even adding a backsaw till.  They can live in the sliding tray.

Finally, I fit the bottom for the sliding tray.  After shooting to length, I noticed a very slight twist overall. Rather than play about, I sent it through the thickness planer for an extra pass and will rely on the tray carcass (made from 5/8″ quartersawn pine) to bring it perfectly in wind.

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I did not cut corners when shooting to length, though; it’s absolutely perfect.

Even without the organizers, the tool tote really shined today.  It’s manageable when fully loaded, but would benefit from some rubber casters.

All in all, not bad for a single day in the shop.

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Who Needs ‘Em?

If you haven’t seen it yet, you should check out the Lost Art Press teaser on Roman Workbenches.  There is something about the bench depicted in the plate that makes sense to me.  At the height of a normal workbench, I bet it would be fantastic for a small-space woodworker and pull excellent double duty as workbench and stout kitchen table.  To that end, I have decided to forego the long stretchers and shelf on my Roubo-style workbench.

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It’s been at this stage for a while, actually.

Here is my thinking: the benchtop is just over 4″ thick,  and the tenons are at least 4″ wide and 1 1/4″ thick, so the joinery is plenty beefy.  Instead of long stretchers and a shelf, I will build a low, rolling cart to keep under the bench.  When in use, I can wheel out the rolling cart (for access to my tool chest and other essentials), and when I’m done, it tucks away neatly.  This will free up the corner where my tool chest currently resides and, eventually, I can revisit the floor chest idea.

The bench will still have short stretchers, although I might use lapped joinery temporarily (rather than mortise and tenon) until I determine if the bench can live without long stretchers.

Make sense?  Or am I just being lazy?

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Everything is ruined forever!

No, not really.  But the chamfer on the lower skirt isn’t as deep as I wanted.  And “Tuscan Red” milk paint is drabber than I expected.

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First coat, slathered on.

I should have carefully masked the insides, but whatever, it’s a tool box.  Also, the reinforcing corner brackets seem to be growing…

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Second coat, much more uniform.

Third coat should be the charm.  Then I’ll worry about the tray and the lid.

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Of Course I Did

In a classic case of “trying to do way too much all at the same time”, I dropped the traveling tool tote on Sunday and fractured front right joint.  Id est, the most visible joint. I was trying to attach the rot strips while the clamps were still on the tray runners and it lost balance on the saw benches.

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Everything was going so well, at the time.

Whatever stress imparted upon impact, the top nail no longer held the joint solidly and I feared for long term stability.  My choice was clear: add a dovetailed skirt and dust seal to the project, or cram the joint full of some more hide glue and reinforce everything with some ugly Home Center corner brackets.

 

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Seriously, guys, what did you think I’d go with?

Repeat after me: this is a working tool, not a museum piece.  At least the handles look nice (or will, once I blacken the screws).

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A Familiar Sight

With the floorboards now flushed to the case on the traveling tool tote, I’m at a critical juncture.  Should I finish the dovetailed skirt, or do I fit the tray runners?  Obviously, the runners, but not for the reason you’d think.

The walls of the carcass are only 11/16″ thick.  But the cast iron chest handles I’ve selected take 1″, No. 12 screws.  The case is becoming unwieldy, so in order to attach the handles I need the extra thickness from the runners.  After the handles are attached, I can apply the skirt, add the rot strips and paint the carcass (Tuscan Red this time).    Then I’ll turn to the sliding tray, wall rack and battened lid.

But in the meantime, I only have two wooden clamps and the hide glue needs to dry.

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Nailed It!

A quick update on the traveling tool tote: it has a bottom now.

First, each floorboard is tacked in position with a headless brad.  I’m still a relative novice at driving nails and I want the alignment to be correct when I drive the heavy nails.

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With a business card’s worth of space in between.

Next, I pre-drill and drive the aforementioned heavy nails (CT6, to be exact) at 5″ intervals, which I marked using my new 8″ dividers.  I also trim the overhang with a panel saw.

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The half-driven nails are a story unto themselves, for another time.

Then, I plane down the remaining overhang to be flush with the case and admire just how well cut nails cinch the work together.

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Quite remarkable, really.

Finally, I spend a few days agonizing over whether I drilled the pilot holes too deep and resolve to drive a few brads through the lower skirt into the floorboards, just in case.

Because nothing can ever just be nice.

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