Staying Busy and out of trouble, 2020-21?.

[ljohnsaw]

Those cross cuts that released the tenon, so to speak:  That is a complicated compound cut, right?  The blade is angled the same as you made the cheek cut and the miter guide is angled that amount as well, correct?  You would just need a stop block at the fence to get them all registered the same.  The only gotcha is the miter angle changes between the faces.  A little blue tape on the uncut sides to clue in which angle you should be cutting on the opposite (bottom) side on the saw.  OR, you could use the off cut from the cheek to use as a shim on your square miter gauge - if it is big enough.  There will still be a little clean up with a hand saw and/or chisels.

Look at some old tables and you will see a piece of steel (could be wood) that makes a 45 angle across the corner.  Then a screw is run through the mid point in into the leg to stiffen it up.  The inside corner is knocked off for the brace to land on it.  If steel, it is bent on the ends and sits in a saw kerf in the skirt boards.  If wood, it would need to be screwed in.  Just a thought to stiffen them up.  Or just glue and screw them in from the inside into the skirt.

[Old Greenhorn]

That issue may be less of a problem than you think. The angle is so small and the distance so short that the saw kerf pretty much takes care of itself and I just need to clean the corner a bit with a file. But we will see when I get back to it in a little bit.
 I might look into that corner brace idea, those brackets are available but I forget what they are called and can't find them in a google search right now. Baby steps for now as I figure all this stuff out.

[doc henderson]

such a small angle, you can play with the idea of cutting the splay angle for the legs, on the backside of the aprons.  just run it through the table saw, and have the legs splay out, and skip the half lab on the leg.  The outside is square but the inside has the 2.5° angle.  or with leg taper on the inside 2 sides, the leg will look splayed but is really perpendicular.  making it look more refined.  I have called my stuff elegant rustic.  bark on one side, but a kid cannot scrape or cut themselves easily.  sounds like a traditional wood worker problem.  so much wood with so many ideas, and so little time, and never enough tools.  

[Old Greenhorn]

such a small angle, you can play with the idea of cutting the splay angle for the legs, on the backside of the aprons.  just run it through the table saw, and have the legs splay out, and skip the half lab on the leg.  The outside is square but the inside has the 2.5° angle.  or with leg taper on the inside 2 sides, the leg will look splayed but is really perpendicular.  making it look more refined.  I have called my stuff elegant rustic.  bark on one side, but a kid cannot scrape or cut themselves easily.  sounds like a traditional wood worker problem.  so much wood with so many ideas, and so little time, and never enough tools.  

Another neat idea! But I don't want to test that here. The skirt is WO and I have precious little on hand. I used a lot of it building the shed and these pieces were supposed to be battens for that, but they bent like bananas coming off the mill and have laid in the shop ever since. I planed them, cut them short and got the edges trued up into some nice pieces with a bit of effort. 
 Next time I will look into that. Now I am off to the shop to get this done, or screw it up, whichever comes first.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I am afraid  may be too tired to keep my eyes open after the evening session, so I am doing the daily report now. This morning I went out and got started on jigging all the cuts for the legs and didn't too too bad, in spite of marking everything I still managed to do one cut on the wrong side and lost a leg, so I used the spare. Then I put it together and glued it and put a single bronze screw in each leg side. 


 

I set that on the side to set up, put the top back up and sanded off the little epoxy pours. There was some settling in the knot hole one deep bug hole, so I had to mix and do another tiny pour. Then I set the top on the legs and there wasn't much I could do but wait on that.


 

 The weather was nice so I went out and looked for the next thing to do. After the swamp cleanup over the weekend it was looking better, but there was a snapped off maple with a remaining 10' trunk that came down many years ago. It was 'dead' for a long time but now has two volunteers coming out of it and they are about 6" diameter and 20' tall. This will not end well, given the rotten condition of the stump.  Time to take care of that and let some sun in on this wet ground. SO I got the gear on and took that down. The stump was about 28" in diameter so it was a bit more than a simple 'knock 'er down' job and it didn't fall as I wanted, but I got it down, cut everything up, limbed it and spread all the limbs for matting in the swamp and also took out a little hemlock and EWP while I was at it. Everything all nice and clean and I was pooped out. I put all those tools away and went back in the shop. 
 The glue had dried but not the epoxy. So I took all the clamps off and set up a large fence (or what I thought was a large fence until I saw @EOTE 's super fence) and used that to trim the legs. This worked a lot cleaner than using the sawmill, by far.



 

It stands pretty neat and I think those leg ideas I was given really make it look a little sexy, if that is possible.


 

I sanded it all over and just before I came in for dinner I gave it a coat of tung oil. I plan to go out after dinner and flip the top to pour some other small holes in the top side, or is it the bottom? I don't know yet, lets just call it the other side. Then by tomorrow maybe I can do the final sanding and oil it up. This one seems to be coming along faster than previous ones, maybe I am getting better at this? I dunno. I do know I have to start thinking again what is next. Usually I have a long time between projects, but they seem to be getting closer together. I might have to go and look at my notes and sketches.

[doc henderson]

now that is a table.  your wife will prob. want to keep it!

[Old Greenhorn]

Nah, she doesn't want to replace the trunk we have as a coffee table. I will add it to the stock to see if someone wants it.
 I did go back out last night and add another coat of oil to the leg set.


 

Then I flipped the top and did some small pours on the other side. Maybe today I can finish sand it and get a coat of oil on that. Then begin the final finish either tonight or tomorrow.

 In other news I checked into my work email and find that my department has been transferred to a new boss. Had they done this years ago, I might still be working there. On the other hand, they have appointed a new production manager, who knows nothing about making parts, so that isn't going to go very well. I wish them well, but I am not too hopeful. Still glad I am making the move.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well another busy and unprofitable day here at Woodsman Forest Products. But it did mark 3 days in a row I stayed out of trouble and kept busy. (This might be do-able!)
I wasted some time doing 'market research' this morning (perusing FB marketplace, and CL), then I checked my sketch book for new projects to start. The project in my head after that disappeared after I stepped in the shop. I went to work on that table top, sanded off the epoxy on both sides and started working down to a nice smooth 'baby bottom' finish, then I oiled it with Tung oil and the RO popped up beautifully. The live edges soaked that stuff right up like it wasn't even there, so I will be going out in a little while to do it again. I also found which side I will be using for the top. The best meduallry rays will sadly wind up on the bottom, but there is some fair stuff on the top and a tiny bit of spalting in the live edge to be seen. This is the top side.


 

I am fairly happy with it. SO far it has gone fairly quickly, but the final finish is yet to come which is where I get picky and waste a lot of time.
After lunch I headed back out to the swamp and mill area. It is still too messy for my liking and I had a pile of slabs that were now in the way since I expanded my area. So I cleared some stuff up then cut all the pine slabs and stacked them so they can dry off the ground. There are a few hardwoods in there, but not much. I have another pile of those on the other side I will attack soon. What wasn't good for slabs fed the various firewood piles. The pine slab will get turned into fire pit benches, and the hardwood will be for better stuff. WV knows what I mean.


 

The pile will get bigger in a few days when I do the hardwood. But I am making working room. I cleaned up that pile and everything around it, including an HF antenna that had been half buried there for 25 years. I had to get the mule to yank the coax out from under the dirt. The important thing is I am clearing working space and now trying to parse out how to best use it. I see a bit more backbreaking hand work to make things better. Wish I had a dozer for a day and some big loads of fill.   Still I like it, it is coming along. This was a mess of clutter last week.


 

I knew when I was throwing that stuff in piles I was making a mess I would have to deal with and now I am.  Lots of time and effort spent trying to reclaim a few hundred square feet,but it's what I've got to work with. This was the mess I started with today and it is gone now.



 

But, there is always more to do. I am hoping this leads to something that allows me to bring in some money at some point. I know one thing, if you have orders and paying work, you need an efficient work space. So that is what I am focusing on now.

[samandothers]

The table top you showed was really nice.  Like the rays in the red oak.   

It is hard not to toss things aside sometime even when you know you will need to pick it up later.  Then later comes around and it is like 'why did I do this... I'll do better next time!'  but it never seems to happen.  At least it has not happened yet for me.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I wasn't avoiding work when I threw that stuff in a pile, I was trying to make time. It was cold and snowing and I had to get a loft built. I knew it would wait for a sunny day and be a lot easier to handle.

 Yesterday I did nothing. Felt poorly all around, thought I might be getting a cold or something and that bruise on my tailbone was really hurting a lot. It made me miserable as I could not find any position that was comfortable, even fell asleep on the couch for an hour in the afternoon, which is not normal for me at all. All I did was some sanding and put a first cost on the new table project. I was in bed by 9.
 Today, was better. Up and out on time, but I never made it to the shop. When I stepped outside it was SO nice that I decided it was time to see if the yard tractor would fire up, and it did, so I mowed the lawn. It looks good, then I attacked the last slab pile I have here (I still have a big one down at the old mill site to clean up). But before I could do that I had to put the new tire on the trailer, I was tired of blowing that tire up every time I needed to use it.


 
I got the tire changed and then had to make a quick run out. Our neighbors just down the road have a new album releasing today. This was supposed to come at the end of their Australian tour and just before their US tour and in the midst of all this they are doing it from home and through social media. I felt badly for them with the investment they have in this project and they are dear friends making some very special music. So I had sent them an email and asked if I could drop by and pick up a copy of the CD today, so I did that around mid-day then ripped it onto my phone and played it on a loop all day. An amazing body of work that has me enthralled. But I digress. 
 I pulled that slabs out and looked them over and trimmed the junk, some I just completely cut up. I made a mess.


 

But I wound up with a few on the trailer that went on the pile.


 

And I cleaned up my mess (I had to so I could get the tractor through there to put it away).


 

That little pile will get moved when I make a place to stack the shop firewood but that is another project, cleaning up the side of the shop, that mess had a 20 year birthday a few years ago.(Actually if you look past the trailer in the 3rd photo above, you will see the mess to which I refer, along the whole length of the building.) But things are looking better and I had zero time in the shop today. Tomorrow it should rain, so I will get back to it then. It will give me more time to study this new CD. The creation of good music always puts me in awe, such a gift that is.

[Old Greenhorn]

Kind of an off day yesterday. I did a bunch of chores and some cleanup but nothing worth talking about. In the morning I sanded and redid my first coat on the table and legs. I am beginning to have a lot of trouble getting a decent finish without blotches, lump, or dips and I can't figure out why. Last night I looked it over and tried to touch up just smaller sections and I think I made it even worse. The stuff looks pretty good in photos, but no so great in real life. I am beginning to think my urethane is getting too old. It is nearly a year ago I bought it and those cans have been opened and closed a lot of times. It seems a little thicker than it used to be even after stirring.


 
I guess I will sand it all again today and take another shot.


 
Perhaps it's the humidity? But under varying conditions I still get poor results. I gotta figure this out. Finishing takes time but doing it 4 or 5 times before it gets fairly 'OK" is a bit much.

[doc henderson]

humidity can be an issue. also if you start with oil it is usually recommended to wait 72 hours before adding a top coat.  another option is to just go with an oil finish with a paste wax for protection, but it will not last without some maintenance.  the table looks good.  the wood clear so not a knot.  I sometimes will wipe down with mineral spirits after a light sanding.  just throwing out some ideas.

[Old Greenhorn]

All good points Doc, I will try the mineral spirits, that just sounds like a good idea. This was bothering me so much that I made the run into town right after my morning post (bad idea, even early on a Sunday of a holiday weekend, there were lines of contractors trying to beat the weekend warriors and a few weekenders in there also) and I just got one quart of urethane.
 Turned out, that was it, my stuff was old. The new stuff went on PERFECT! 


 

So after that I needed a new project for the day. I decided to attack a set of benches and do a bunch of them to really find out what kind of time I put into these things. I had 6 slabs waiting and dry, so I took them out to work in the sun. I stripped the bark by hand or with a draw knife as required. Did a rough sand on the tops with 36 grit, the new belt sander worked well for that, then another pass on all with 120 grit. Then I flipped them and did them all on the round side with 80 grit in a palm sander to remove  loose fibers, dirt, and irregular spots. Somewhere in between I did the ends and rounded the corners. Worked up a pretty good sweat. I also trimmed a couple with the chainsaw.



 

Then I got that old can of urethane and used it up on the round sides of these to get a first soaking coat on. Man they got really dark, not sure I like them that way.



 

See that first one in the foreground? It looks like ash, right? And it has all those bugs tracks in it like EAB, but it's maple. I am wondering what makes those tracks? Holy cow, this thing is riddled with them. It looks really nice with the urethane.

 It's Sunday, so I had to play a little. I took one of the cut-offs and made a slot in the pig bench with a chainsaw to shove the slab into for a seat back. Mixed results, but my free-handing skills are getting better. Well, maybe just a little.


 

 All in all, not a bad day. I cut it short because my daughter came over for 'a talk', that required my full attention so the rest of the afternoon was taken up in that. But I did get something done. Tomorrow I have to make legs for all this stuff.  I don't enjoy making legs. I need 24 for the 6 slabs. Maybe I will try so new options, as soon as I think of them.

[Old Greenhorn]

Weird day. A holiday for sure, but none of the remembrance and recognition that usually accompanies it. Just stayed home and worked and thought about those who had given us so much. Seemed like a lot of folks traveling here and there and I didn't want to add to any of that.
 First thign this morning I did something dumb. Was making my eggs and sausage and sloshed the fat and butter from the frying onto the forefinger in my left hand. I knew that would hurt a lot more later and sure enough, once again I was right.
 Today was 'leg day'. I had to make at least 25 legs for all those bench slabs. I was not looking forward to it. I planed the 2" stock I had down to 1-3/4 (roughly) square. I sanded a point on the ends and then stuck 'em in a vise and ran the tenon cutter on. To clean them up I sanded everything sort of smooth after. Tough work on the wrists and forearms for me. I alternated the tasks doing about 4 at a time. By about 2 pm blisters has raised up on that burn. SO I followed the protocol and covered it up. 


 
Hey, I found this bug hanging out, does anybody know what it is? Seems to like my wood.


 
Not much exciting about making a pile of legs, so not putting up any photos of the same old legs. My son was over working on his truck today and he brought this fir pit a client had thrown out because the bottom rotted thru. Nice sized and he wanted to help me burn up my bark piles while he worked on the truck. I laughed and said 'go for it, knock yourself out'. We ran about 8 wheel barrow loads through it today and didn't make a dent in the pile. Using a little forced air sure did help move things along more quickly. If I could find a way to hook up a blower and just leave it going all day, I could really feed all this junk in faster. I have a huge bark pile and about 1/2 cord of old rotten firewood driving me crazy. 



 
  That blower makes it like a blast furnace. Sound like a hot air balloon taking off.
 Tomorrow I will gt back to normal a bit without the distractions. Put legs on all the tables and work on finishing up that coffee table.

[WDH]

It is a pine sawyer beetle. 

[Old Greenhorn]

What do they eat? Should I be concerned with the hardwoods?

[thecfarm]

I have only seen them at my softwood pile. They can find fresh cut eastern white pine. My Father and me cut some pine back in '93. No pine had been cut on our land for probably 100 years, Them critters found the pine. We could hear them making holes and see the sawdust come out.
Get a OWB.    That's where all my dead wood goes. Seems to be a never ending supply of dead wood.

[WDH]

They infest conifers.  There are other different beetles that infest hardwood.  There is a beetle for most every kind of wood. 

[WV Sawmiller]

OGH,

   What size tenons are you making for your bench legs? Planing down to 1-3/4" seems a bit small for me but my tenon cutter leaves a 1-1/2" tenon/peg that is 3" long. I cut my leg stock 3" and lately 2-1/2". I think I may have used as small as 2" stock. If you are using the same kind of tenon cutter I am, yes, it is hard on the wrist. I usually use a draw knife to remove the corners before using the tenon cutter. Which reminds me my cutter blades need sharpening. Keep us posted.

[btulloh]

@Brad_bb uses a burn barrel design that’s real good at getting rid of everything including sawdust. I couldn’t find the thread just now, but it’s here somewhere. Not fussy to use and is real good at sucking O2.