woodworking

We've been using this hacked together silverware separator for the past couple of years. We made it out of a reclaimed dish drying rack, and as clever as it was, functional it was not. So, after several not so subtle hints, I decided to buckle down and make a new one today. I started out by cutting some rabbets and dadoes into some 1/4" oak strips. I bought a Stanley hand miter saw last year that I really like. It's got simple saw stop that really helps with cuts like this. Once I got everything ready to glue, I realized that I didn't have any way to clamp something this big. I tried to imagine what Dave, Melissa's Dad, would do as he is the jig master. After some thought, I put together a little gluing jig from scraps that kept it tight and square. Worked like a charm!

It is currently in use, but not quite finished. We opted to not use the tung oil and wait to get some food-grade oil. So, it might be awhile before it's done.

I also had a chance today to play with a new toy. It's a set of Power Grip carving tools that I grabbed last weekend from Rockler for $35. I opted for them because they were relatively cheap. The other brand, Two Cherries, that they carry cost $30-$50 per tool, so it made more sense to learn with something a bit more affordable. I was very impressed with them - incredibly sharp and accurate. I'm having a hard time imagining what would make the other tools that much better.

Sometimes you just have to take deep breaths. This is what I told myself today after completely ruining a project in the finishing stage. Learning how wood grain behaves has been a humbling and frustrating process, but I'm getting there. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the process, but I seem to have a tough time leaving well enough alone. Sometimes, one more pass is one too many.

So, after starting from scratch, I was able to finish shaping my first tapered column lamp base. After doing it a couple of times, I'm starting to get a good feeling for the hand plane. Melissa noticed that this lamp base was much more defined than my first attempt. It's not perfect, but I shouldn't complain too much. I'm sure the next one will be even better :)

So, I've got all of this kiln dried walnut from my good friend Gouge. I've been sitting on it for awhile. Dave helped me plane some of it and turn it into a pretty sweet couch table, but I haven't been sure what to do with the rest. I'm currently exploring options for making lamp bases, and also looking for an excuse to learn how to hand plane. Perfect!

Without having a decent work bench, I needed a way to hold things in place because planing requires a lot of force. About halfway through the project, I decided to make a jig that really saved the day. It's a pretty simple thing that I can clamp to the front of my bench and it has an sliding "vice" that kind of takes the place of a proper vice and bench dogs. Hey, for an apartment workshop on a budget, what are you going to do?

Planing the wood was a trip because I've never done it before. It took a lot of getting used to. Changing the depth of the blade is wicked sensitive and takes ultra fine adjustment to get it right. After a half hour of chattering and sliding, I finally got into a rhythm. I even got pretty good at shearing cross grain without much chipping at all. I swear that I spent about eight hours sanding it today, but I'm really happy with the results. I gave it a first coat of tung oil and it absolutely brought the wood to life.

The next step for this base is to attach some copper pipe that I picked up from the hardware store, which I might or might not patina first. I've got a cheap lamp kit for the electric. Now, I just need to make a cool shade!

The next version is going to include a tapered walnut column that will probably be a bit tougher. Nonetheless, I'm excited to give it a try.

So we needed a little soap dish to complement Melissa's hand made soap cakes. It's made from some 1/2" square strips of something unidentified*, rabbeted and glued. It's really simple, but I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. It would have been much easier to just go to Target, but it was kind of fun. The sucker has about five coats of tung oil, so I'm hoping it handles the moisture well. Only one way to find out!

*Originally I thought they were oak strips, but now I am unsure. Via fuzzy photos, Dave thinks that they are something South American. I may have to do some more research to figure it out. I'll post here if I do!