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Discovery Workbench

Started by metalspinner, July 02, 2012, 10:17:25 AM

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WDH

That is some very special wood.  Special wood for a special piece.  That is how it should be.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Tree Feller

Great WIP thread.  Those spalted panels will certainly be eye-catching.
Cody

Logmaster LM-1 Sawmill
Kioti CK 30 w/ FEL
Stihl MS-290 Chainsaw
48" Logrite Cant Hook
Well equipped, serious, woodworking shop

SwampDonkey

Yes, the spalted wood is eye catching.  :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Piston

Great Job so far!  I remember every one of the small woodworking projects I did with my dad.  Your making memories.  ;)

(granted, there isn't a whole lot that I need to remember :D) 
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

metalspinner

Things are still moving along. 

12 hours yesterday was spent making drawer parts.  I got as far as having them all drum sanded.  I emptied my dust collector 5 times throughout the day plus two wheel barrow loads of sawdust from ther floor. My dust collector needs to be upgraded. :(

Running all those parts through the planer wore us both out.  Because I roughed out all the drawer parts there were lots of little pieces that kept Nick hustling on the outfeed side.  For the passes through the drum sander, we were able to take a load off and sit on stools. :D

I picked up new router bits for the Leigh jig and will get started dovetailing after breakfast.  The lumber retailer that carries baltic birch is closed on Monday's, so drawer assembly will be mid-week.

Installing the drawers in the cabinets has become quite  a trouble shooting challange.  You will all notice there are no drawer runners installed in the cabinets.  My plan is to have grooves on the drawer sides that will ride on runners inside the cabinet. My concern is installing the runners accurately.

So, this is what I came up with and feel free to advise me on shortcomings of this plan. The runners will be installed on a seperate plywood panel ( 1/2" baltic birch) that will then be inserted into the cabinet.  My hope is that I will better be able to make adjustments for spacing of the runners with all the work outside of the little cabinet work space. The plywood panel then can be set into the cabinet and screwed to the upper and lower rails.

What do you guys think of this plan?
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

SwampDonkey

I know how sawdust and shavings mount up. I had a big pile I kept feeding on the old garden last winter. Making all that loom stuff and tool bench. This spring I moved the shavings over to the new garden to put down on barrier fabric around the 4x8' beds I have. Funny how the shavings held the layers of snow from the winter a while after all the other snow had long gone in the spring melt. ;D I had a big cardboard box I loaded up several times when it was time to clean up the shop, which was often. I burn wood, so have to be careful of shavings more so than sawdust.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WDH

Is there a particular reason for going with drawers that have grooves in the sides versus a center runner on the bottom?
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

metalspinner

Just that I hadn't considered it, Danny. At this piont I'm not sure that is an option. It would have made alignment a bit easier for sure.

I spent the day cutting on the drawers. The first thing to do when using a dovetail jig is to establish a reference edge.  I used blue tape around the top corner to make it obvious to me. When the dust starts flying, I loose track of that sort of thing.



 

All the parts layed out ready to go.



 

Here's the jig set up. The drawers are graduated in one inch increments from 2" - 5". This allowed me to set up the pairs of fingers on the jig once as they are one inch wide.  That way I didn't have to adjust the fingers for each size drawer.



 

It took seven test cuts to get the router and jig positions set just right. For half blind dovetails, all this test cutting is neccesary.  If these were through dovetails, only one test cut would be neededas you can "sneak up" on the proper fit with just the one sample.
 


 

The test sample has a bit of tearout because I exited the cut to quick. But the fit is just right.



 

If you're really bored, you can watch this video of some of the action. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbzu_g17xUU&feature=channel&list=UL

I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

SwampDonkey

Some day I need to get myself a Leigh dovetail jig.  ;D

Remember the movie "Jaws" and chief Brody says, "Your going to need a bigger boat".

I need to expand the shop. :D

Coming along nicely on the workbench. :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Norm

Good video Chris, I'm going to keep this one bookmarked for when I get one.

WDH

I really like that SawStop Work Bench  :D.

When you run that many drawers, you make quite a mess.  That router can make a lot of chips  :).

It looks like that you are dovetailing both the front and back of the drawers.  They should be extra strong.  I usually just do the sides and attach the back with a butt joint or with a rabbet.  Do you machine a groove in the sides and front to slide in a panel for the bottom?
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

metalspinner

W,
When I started cutting the tails, I changed my mind instantly from the dadoed back to the tailed back. Dadoing would have required at least three more machining set ups and runs.  The dovetail jig was already set.

I did put a groove in all four drawer parts for a captured bottom.

Leigh has a newer dust collecting setup for the jig, but I have not used it. I keep telling myself to get it, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

SD,
The shop is tight. Plus, I just unloaded 1,000bf from the kiln and this project is spread around. It's about time to utilize the workshop annex - my 6 x12 box trailer. :D

Guys,
That little video doesn't touch on any jig or router set up.  When it comes time to learn your machine, let me know if you want help and I can work up a video to help get you started.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Al_Smith

Looking good so far .I myself have to have my mind " right " before I ever attempt intricat cuts and fittings like that .I too have about a half dozen of those Irwin type clamps .A tad pricey but worth what they cost IMO .

WDH

The manual that comes with the Leigh D4R jig is like a book.  It is even spiral bound.  It is very detailed and thorough.  Many people have said that the Leigh jig is too hard to set up, but I bet those folks never read the manual in detail.  I found it very straight-forward.

Well Chris, you have a Wood Confession to make  ;D. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

metalspinner

Discoveries are the reason I made this bench.  Maybe, some day, the work that takes place at it may help cure a disease or discover a new life form. Today the discovery was that the wood used to build it is not beech. It's hickory. :D

All throughout the process I had my doubts about the "beech", but just chalked it up to never having used it.  Then I got to the drawer fronts that I know are beech and it all just didn't add up. :-\ 

So I took a few pics and sent them to Danny to confirm my suspicions.  DanG blasted! He wouldn't just give me the answer.  He made me look it up! :D :D

Now I need to scrap this whole thing and start over.  This was supposed to be made of beech. >:(
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

SwampDonkey

I didn't want to say anything. And I think I still won't. ;D  ;)

That's ok, I've seen rock maple and beech get mixed up (in lumber form). ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Norm

Quote from: metalspinner on July 10, 2012, 10:23:24 PM
Now I need to scrap this whole thing and start over.  This was supposed to be made of beech. >:(

:o

I won't tell.... :D


WDH

I wanted to let him off easy, but that apotracheal parenchyma was too much to ignore  :D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

beenthere

Seems could be just as proud (or more) that it is hickory, as if it were beech.

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

metalspinner

Along the way there were clues that are now obvious signs.

The entire stack of lumber was blond.
There is no visable ray fleck on any face of the boards. (That is what I noticed on the drawer fronts)
The wood is heavy and dense.
This past weekend, I used the scraps to grill some ribs and they had a wonderful, smoky, hickoryish flavor. ::) :D

QuoteSeems could be just as proud (or more) that it is hickory, as if it were beech.

I was just teasing. This project is more important than just the bench. ;)

Thinking back, if I would have known the pile of lumber was hickory, I may not have used it for worry that is was too difficult to work. Now, I'm glad the mistake was made.  Hickory isn't any more difficult to work with than other hardwoods.

While all this detective work was going on I kept pushing on with the project.

The drawers are all assembled!



  



 

And all the drawer fronts ended up in the right place. ;D
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

PC-Urban-Sawyer

Yep, this will become the President Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory) Memorial Desk and will be a site for sore eyes for years to come. When your son is all grown up he'll be able to say that you made this for him and used the best lumber to make it.

Herb

Texas Ranger

The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Sprucegum

I sure like the way you lined up the grain  8)  8)

tyb525

When you showed the close up of the dovetails, I didn't think it looked like beech, I figured you were using some scrap hickory as test pieces.

Either way, looking great :) I have some spalted beech that has been drying for a couple years I need to get out and play with.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

WDH

Wow, that is a whack of drawers!  They turned out very nice. 

As to working with hickory not being any different than other woods, have you tried to sand it yet?  :D
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

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