woodworking in an apartment

Lighting the Way

I know it’s tautological, but the most problematic aspect of small-space woodworking is just that: lack of space. I am fortunate enough to have a large common area that I can temporarily annex into the workshop, but that really only helps me for assembly or short term lumber storage.

With a rather full tool chest already, any time a new tool comes in, something else has to go (or, at least, to be stored). Normally, it’s a phantom problem, because I’m not really buying new tools. I have almost everything I need. But I can’t just leave random tools laying around to trip over.

Although, I admit the shop is not the model of order most days...

Although, I admit most days the shop is not exactly the model of order…

As I plan out a lighting rig to go with the new camera, though, I am faced with a dilemma. I don’t want to reassemble a special lighting stand every time I need to snap a new picture. But I also don’t want my apartment to be cluttered with yet another free standing obstruction.

I think the third option, if it exists, is to build a rig that will work both as photography lighting and as workshop lighting. My current front lighting setup for joinery (an LED task lamp) isn’t working that well because of the depth of my workbench. Not to mention that it’s also very directional and the head gets in the way when photographing. On the other hand, a traditional front lighting rig with a diffuser may not shine brightly and clearly enough for use during joinery work.

I just don’t know yet how to solve for both issues, while simultaneously not creating something else for me to trip over. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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I Bought a Real Camera!

Usually on The Apartment Woodworker, I try to come up with clever titles for posts. Today, no such luck.

It’s been almost 6 months since I started The Apartment Woodworker, and it’s been pretty clear to me from the beginning that I needed a real camera. The internal camera on my Samsung smartphone is pretty good, but like all smartphone cameras, any bit of zoom immediately grained out the picture. I had been putting it off until I was sure The Apartment Woodworker was something I’d enjoy. It’s been a blast, so I took the plunge and bought a proper point and shoot. It even shoots video, so maybe there is some of that in store.

I have tapped a buddy of mine to teach me how to use the thing. I’m hoping that with a bit of training, and some better lighting (which I will unveil later this week), The Apartment Woodworker will reach new heights of artsy foofiness. The updated banner (full image below) was shot using the new camera.

Very little staging required!

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Daylight Savings Time is Dumb

I know it’s only an hour, but I truly despise Daylight Savings Time. Most of my clocks adjust automatically, but that’s not the point. For the third year in a row, I didn’t realize the clocks rolled forward and I started woodworking before quiet hours ended. I’m an early riser, so this morning, I was woodworking audibly while everyone was still sleeping it off. I didn’t get a noise complaint this time, but that’s also not the point. I’ll say it: Daylight Savings Time is stupid in 21st Century society.

On a side note, I am finally using the last of the home center Douglas Fir for an upcoming project that is totes adorbs.

I would like to point out that it was the Germans and Austrians during World War I who first implemented Daylight Savings Time as a way to conserve coal during wartime. And that it was OPEC who forced America to permanently implement Daylight Savings Time during the 1970’s.

Not exact a positive pedigree for a concept.

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On the Virtues of Power Tools for Stock Preparation

This one is text only.

Here at The Apartment Woodworker, I am always looking for new and exciting ways to bring the strange world of small-space woodworking to life. In a total reversal from my usual course, I would like to talk for a moment about the virtues of power tools and apologize to anyone at whom I ever scoffed for using a table saw in rough stock preparation.

If you haven’t angrily closed your browser yet, let me explain. I make no secret of my reliance on a thickness planer, nor do I deny I often turn to my orbital sander for quick finishing-prep. I also love a good roundover or chamfer by router and I sharpen the forstner bits for my power drill with a rotary tool. I even own a sweet miter saw that lives at my parents’ house. But I rationalize this because each one of those power tools complements my hand-tool-first approach to small-space woodworking. Every single board first gets at least ripped and planed S2S by hand before a power tool even touches it.

For the first time ever, though, I wish I owned a table saw. I have been hand-ripping rough-sawn, close-grained hard maple for the plant stand project and Praise Alvis is “hard” an understatement.

I’d be cutting joints by now if I had a table saw. My 4.5 tpi and 6.5 tpi rip panel saws are way too coarse and my 9tpi rip panel saw is way too fine. And each now has a kink in the plate that I need to hammer out. It’s true I don’t have the room for a table saw in my apartment and I could just grab my circular saw from my brother’s house, but that’s not the point. I merely see the point now of power stock preparation.

Up until this point, I considered myself to be a handtool snob who would never, ever use, let alone buy, a table saw. But now I think that when I again have a full-sized shop, I just might just buy myself a SawStop and learn to use it safely. Or at least a bandsaw. Those aren’t so bad.

For stock preparation only: not for joinery. I’m no powertool sissy.

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Another One Down

I am officially over making footstools.

This is the last one, I swear to Glob.

I finally got around to making the third of three footstools for my brother’s new house. The first two footstools were for my niece and nephew. This third one is for use in the kitchen.

This is very clearly a utility piece. Made from home center Douglas Fir 2×10 (leftover from the Planing Slab project), I opted to be super lazy and left the stock pretty close to original thickness and width (after some rough flattening, straightening and squaring). I just realized that I forgot to mark the pieces to ensure continuous grain in the three main boards, but I imagine it will get a couple of coats of paint regardless.

I think that in hardwood, I would have been comfortable with just the two sides and the top. But in something as soft as Douglas Fir, I opted for an additional cross-support, which connects to the sides via mortise and tenon. I did not glue or otherwise attach the cross-support to the underside of the top to allow a tiny bit of flex.

Solid as a rock in softwood.

Speaking of flex, one nice byproduct of using such a soft wood is that the entire piece has a bit of give throughout. This means that any bit of twist or wobble the piece might have (due to an uneven floor or what have you) vanishes when the weight of a person is applied.

With this done, I am now done with footstools, forever. Probably not forever, but certainly for a while.

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Safe and Sound

I have been pouring over potential plant stand designs for several weeks and I finally settled on what I think will work. The final height of the pot should end up roughly the same as the temporary fix (see below), which has been a useful guide. I haven’t nearly finished the build yet, but some of the stock (scrap hard maple) is at least surfaced and ready for final dimensioning and joinery.

In my continued quest to not turn The Apartment Woodworker into a “look at this awesome thing that I made with my awesome tools” kind of website, I would like merely to share the design specs and explain some of the choices. I am certain the design will be refined further through the build process, but for now, I am satisfied with the aesthetic baseline.

Careful readers will note the ratio of each leg above and below the cross-member is almost exactly that of a lightsaber (or, if you’re boring, a katana).

First, the piece only has three legs. While there has been much going on lately in the world of three-legged furniture, I really just wanted some practice cutting angled tenons and chopping angled mortises. Much of what I design and build is square and true, which can get pretty boring. Plus, the splay and the angle of the legs will keep it stable and the tops of the legs will secure the pot laterally.

Second, the hub design was born from how to get the correct splay angle on the legs. I initially gravitated toward a lapped t-shape (seen top right), which would have reduced the number of individual pieces but required a compound angle on each tenon. Unfortunately, the piece will be weight-bearing, and that compound angle would not place the load on the legs parallel with the mortise and tenon. The hub design, though, allows for the in-line load distribution. I can drawbore each leg assembly to the hub for an eternal joint, even with the additional complexity.

Finally, although the drawing doesn’t show it, I will probably shape the legs a bit as an excuse to put my new spokeshave (a very old Stanley with a very new blade) through it’s paces.

In case you are wondering, this is my current, temporary solution. River ate the crown off the left stem, which was the impetus for this particular project.

Now I just have to build the thing. I’ll post pictures when it’s finished.

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A Time to Revisit

It’s been a long time coming, but I think I’m ready. I’ve progressed sufficiently in my woodworking that it’s finally time to revisit my red oak desk. I still love the design (mitered half lap joints continue to be a personal favorite) and I’m quite satisfied with the overall size and shape (which is why the revisit hasn’t been a high priority), even the joints were cut almost entirely with a plunge router. I don’t even think I owned a tenon saw at that point.

I’m very proud of the piece, despite being made entirely with power tools.

There is no real need to revisit the piece. I just think I can do it so much better now, almost two years later. And I’d love another crack at some of the design elements.

The biggest design change I think will be to thin out the frame pieces a bit, which are currently full-width red oak 2x4s. 3/4″ or so off the width will create a slightly more delicate feel (without any real compromise to strength). I’d also like to tweak the shape and increase the size of the exposed ends of the cross-rails. I’ve had to reinforce them once already and, although they are holding well, I worry that one day they’ll snap off again. There are some execution-related flaws as well, but they are pretty well hidden from day to day view.

I apparently used to not know a ton about grain matching.

The tabletop (which is quartersawn and well-jointed) is not permanently affixed and is in fine shape, so I’ll just reuse it as is. Also, I have quite a bit of air-dried, rough-sawn red oak stock available, so I won’t need to salvage anything from the existing desk (meaning I can build the new frame at my leisure). Plus, it will give me a chance to use the new planing slab.

There is also a matching printer stand that fits two metal baskets on the bottom shelf (because I didn’t know how to make drawers back then).

There will be significant stock preparation involved, and I have other projects in the works already, so the desk revisit will likely take a while. I’ve already sketched a few possible design tweaks, which I will share when I discuss the build.

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Now, About That “Mostly”

Whenever someone asks me what I do in my free time, after the involuntary “free time, that’s funny”, I undoubtedly mention that I like to make things out of wood (and write about it). I think that may be an understatement. Sometimes, all that keeps me going day-to-day is the fantasy of one day having the time and the space to have a studio/workshop where I design and build furniture on my own schedule.

But, for now, woodworking doesn’t (and doesn’t have to) pay the bills. But it does pay significant emotional and intellectual dividends.

The next question is usually about types of furniture I like to make. “Oh, tables, benches and chairs, mostly” I’ll say, careful to also mention that I don’t particularly enjoy casework (in part, because sheet goods are gross).

Now, about that “mostly”…

I don’t very often talk about my obsession with pet furniture and plant furniture. In truth, I spend more time perusing the internet for cat perch ideas and plant stand designs than I ever spend scouring human furniture catalogs. Store-bought pieces are fine (and I’m certainly not taking commissions on cat perches or indoor planters), but anything handmade by me is not going to break down or come loose. When it comes to my kitty and my dragon trees, that’s the most important thing. I know lots of pet owners and indoor plant aficionados who would agree.

This is made from 8/4 red oak offcuts. Call me old fashioned, but I believe a piece of furniture should outweigh the load its bearing.

I’m not saying I’ll ever actually open up a “non-humans only” furniture store. I’m just saying it would be awesome and hilarious. I’m sure my parents would be proud.

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Jointer Plane Envy

It’s getting to that point: I think I need a jointer plane. I’ve survived quite well for a while now jointing (and doing almost everything else) with my No. 5 1/2 jack plane. A jack plane really is more than enough for all normal woodworking tasks (as I’ve said before), but it would be pretty awesome though to have a real try plane. The extra seven inches of length would make all the difference in the world.

That’s what she said?

I will first attempt to clean up an old corrugated Craftsman that was gifted to me last year. But I know myself, and this exercise ends in me splurging for a premium plane. Unlike other size planes where I’m happy to flatten and tune a mid-priced brand, I would rather spend the money for an already true, flat and square sole. I’m leaning toward the Veritas bevel-up model, about which I’ve heard good things.

No matter what, I bet agonizing about it will earn me another few more months to figure out where to keep the thing in my tool chest. Hollar at me if you have any other suggestions.

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An Apology to Accessories

A few days ago, I wrote about how cleaning, honing, sharpening and project planning just wasn’t as fulfilling as actually making things. Although I stand by that statement, I think it may have sounded more negative than intended.

When I first started woodworking, for good or for ill, I was focused on acquiring “tools” (as most people understand the word). Things that cut. Things that shape. Things that go ” whirrrrr” at various pitches (which nowadays is just me making sound effects for my router planes and braces).

In a brief moment of calm over the weekend (I did not, by the way, get any ripping done), I was rummaging through my toolchest in hopes of finding more excess to trim. I was struck by how few “tools” I actually own. I won’t go through the litany again, but in sheer number and volume, it’s not much (and certainly my “tool” collection hasn’t grown significantly since establishing the apartment workshop several months back). In reality, there is so much more to a workshop than “tools”.

The real heroes of my apartment woodworking shop.

A good portion of my shop equipment is not “tools” (as most people understand the word), but accessories for sharpening, setting up, maintaining and protecting my “tools”. Accoutrements that allow my chisels, knives, planes, saws and squares to consistently perform at a high level.

And clamps. Lots and lots of clamps. Always more clamps. In soft focus.

Learning to use these support items effectively is the other half of woodworking. Dull, poorly set tools are as much a threat to safety and success in the workshop as poor technique. So while I will enjoy the making more, I will also be thankful for the vises, sharpening stones, files, gauges, blade guards, rust prevention chemicals, and that sort of thing that make the making possible.

In sum: sharpen early and hone often; lubricate and polish regularly; protect edges always. Your tools and your projects will be better for it.

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