Neighborhood Woodworker

Here is an image of my progress to this point on the inlay for my walnut box. I would like to be further along but a different shop project got in the way the last couple weeks and seeing the design is inlaying so well with the technique of using multiple arcs I decided not to rush it.

As mentioned in a previous post, much of a weekend did end up with me trying to figure out my Celtic design for the box and how to cut this as a string inlay. One thing I did do first was to cut my Baltic birch plywood bottom for the box. I measured (as shown in the photo) the inside grooves the bottom was to rest in on both the front/back pieces and the side pieces (pairs being equal) so I could cut this bottom a hair shy of an exact fix. There is not much wood movement with Baltic birch plywood to worry about, but I cut this a hair short from an exact fit to be more assured I would not have issues assembling the box during glue-up.

Next was finding a design I liked on the Internet, not worrying about how I would inlay it, and then sizing and positioning it on the box front panel. As you can see in the photo I found my design and aligned it using measurements and some of the lock parts I will be using on the box. Once the design and a small piece of carbon paper was securely taped into the position I liked, I then traced the pattern to transferred it onto the wood.

Cutting inlay strips out of a piece of American Holly I had so I can get a nice white contrast was my next step. I keep some of the Holly aside to be use for the tray and other features such as a handle and splines. Cutting inlay on the tablesaw is an expensive operation but I find it to be easy and fast.

I use a zero clearance insert plate and set the fence ~1/32″ from the blade. I always make sure I also use a splitter and a push board to keep my hands well away from the blade and allows me to push the board and the cut strip into and out of the saw. The push board is nothing more then a long board with a notch that the blade cuts into ever so slightly. Now I raise the blade to just a hair over the Holly board and cut my strips, making sure I use a feather board on the front side of the cut to keep the wood against the fence going into the cut. Takes some practice and setup but well worth the effort. A few good 1/32″ thick strips will yield quite a bit of inlay.

Once I have strips cut I can then cut them into my ~2/32″ inlay piece using a shooter board and knife tool, the board being nothing more then an MDF with a lipped piece of hardwood and the cutting tool is similar to a marking gage. I would like to improve on my inlay cutting tool so maybe someday I will detail building one.

I had to do quite a bit of thinking on cutting this pattern as my circle inlay jig would not produce a tight enough circle, and I believe I could not have built one that would do this easily. I tried free handing on a test piece but the results did not look very nice. After some time I decided to cut the arcs in multiple passes by moving my center point each time. I end up with not quite a smooth curve but if I end my cuts at meeting/crossing points of other lines the human eye should not pick it up as it will all blend into the full pattern. I made my first cut and inlaid a strip, happy with the results so far. Guess I will be hitting this inlaying hard over the next week or so.

Another part I worked on was sanding the veneered panel for my top, I had yet to start this process and wanted my rabbet to be cut as close to the final panel thickness as possible and once the box is glued up, sanding the inside lid face will be difficult. Once sanded the panel is pretty nice for a practice veneer piece and will need to be cut down to final size before assembly.

I have a little over half of the inlay done since starting this post and finally posting it. The multiple cut arcs are working nicely. I got side tracked this past weekend replacing the door to my shop with one that has a window. The door job is not completed yet but hopefully will post some images of it and the inlay process sometime yet this week.

I purchased some UHMW the other week and one of the things I made was a new rabbeting fence for the tablesaw out of a piece of the plastic. This type of addition to the tablesaw allows you to make more accurate, safer, repeatable rabbet cuts on edges of boards without placing your nice fence in close contact to the blade. Allows you to bury the blade into the jig for a much nicer cut. I hope to show this during the process of building my walnut box.

I have not worked much with the plastic but find it very easy to machine and makes great jig parts. One of the fliers in with my UHMW had a web link with some additional information.

The jig is basically a 3/4″ thick piece of UHMW that has been cut down to be as long as my tablesaw top and a hair shorter then the height of my fence. This allows me to realign this jig to the same place against the fence each time using the tablesaw top, given they are the same size. I then drilled two 3/8″ holes all the way though at each end so I could then flip the jig and use the back side down the road when the first shows wear. The 3/8″ holes hold the Universal Fence Clamps made by Rockler which I picked up during a sale but never really used till now. They seem to do a good job holding the jig in place and tight against the fence, and I like how the clamps are out of my way during cuts.

I did smooth both sides of the UHMW with a cabinet scrapper and a little sanding making it almost like glass. Looking forward to really testing this new setup out when I cut rabbets for my veneer top panel of the walnut box.

I wanted to make something for myself that was reflective of some of the additional woodworking skills I have acquired over the last year. Storage for odd and ends on my dresser lead me to creating a heirloom wooden box that included elements of inlay, veneering, fine box craft, and as mentioned before a little something else secretive and hidden.

Walnut is one of my favorite woods and it so happens I had a big enough piece left over from another project that would work for this one. My veneering on this box will be the small quad and book matched panel I did in veneering class, something a little special to me as it was my first veneering practice piece that turned out nice. This panel will form the lid of the box that will have initial dimensions of 11×7x4.5 inches and some of the other elements I will design as I build this project.

Another key feature of this box will be the use of a Celtic knot inlay design. I saw these designs on some jewelry in San Francisco last fall and thought how interesting they would be done in wood. The final knot pattern or location has yet to be decided but the Internet is an excellent source for ideas, patterns, and drawing techniques.

So when making a box I like to plan my cuts to maximize the overall look of the box with the wood grain, to do this I lay the board out and with a ruler try to determine my best pattern and mark it up with white chalk. You can see my top panel also in the photo as well, which I keep handy when planning my pieces. I ended up cutting some of the board off at one end to save this for later pieces such as the base and tray.

Once I decided on the best look given my dimensional cuts, I took the board over to the jointer and planner for squaring and thickening. The thickness was about 9/16″ and squared down to my 4 1/2″ wide (box height). Then I cross cut my box sides out making sure I cut them in the left, front, right, back order to maintain the wood grain across three corners of the box. I could have made four corners match by resawing but was not concerned to do so with the inlay on the box that will draw the eyes. I also cross cut my pieces first then mitered them to make life easier. Just make sure you have each to the two matching sides the same size, a good miter gage and stop block helps with perform this. Here is a photo of my cut and matched pieces.

With this completed you can set about mitering the edges, just make sure you decide first what is your inside and outside face and maintain the grain direction/pattern. I use a good quality miter gage again on the tablesaw with the blade titled to 45 degrees, then sneaked up on the cut till perfectly mitered with little or no loss to the board outside size. Once you have this miter cut determined keep your stop block set and cut the other matching sides.

Once i have all the pieces mitered I like to check the fit by using packing tape to tape the sides together and fold the box to completed shape. Here it is with the top, not too bad so far, I am happy with the start.

Now some more design work, I need to lay out my cuts for the box bottom and tray supports, since I decide I will use only one tray and leave much of the box open for larger items on my dresser. I do not want a drawer so my life got a whole lot easier. I do need to plan the lid and lid cut, along with the space for the hidden compartment. I scratched out some notes on paper and came up with an initial plan that I am going to have to start sticking to on things like bottom and tray supports after I cut grooves. You can see one of the Celtic knot designs on the back of the paper showing though in the upper right corner.

The bottom and tray supports will be 1/8″ thick so my blade kerf can groove them out quickly. I set the fence and blade height and went to work, note the tray supports will only be on the sides of the box, I did this to ensure no interference with locks, etc and not to look so bulky. Here are the completed pieces from this weekends work.

Next weekend I hope to rabbet out the top set in and part of the secret compartment and potentially assemble the box, but I may still wait to do assembly till I have my inlay work done. I still need to decide on a final design and placement while learning to draw Celtic knots and plan out how to cut them as inlay. Ahhh I smell another woodworking challenge, the fun part of a project.

I am not sure I mentioned but usually between projects I like to do some positive things for the shop so I can improve the environment little bit by little bit. Back in the first part of February I got a sheet of Baltic birch attached to one of my shop walls for clamp and other storage. I have been meaning to post my progress but time has a way of slipping by so I am catching up and having one big post about the last few weeks of shop work.

My first and foremost issue was getting my bar clamps stored in the wall so I looked around the Internet for ideas on how to do this. I decided I liked the idea of storing them depth wise instead of side by side after I saw this link. The storage seemed pretty simple so I started laying out my clamps on the floor and figuring out what I needed.

I easily could see this type of storage was going to take less space over the side by side storage and if I made it as all one unit grouping them together it would take all the less space. In my shop like many others space is a premium. I set out cutting the brackets and made six of them, then I determined the layout and measurements to mount them to a backer board.

Once this was determined I transferred the measurements to the backer board, pre-drilled my all my screw holes, and then screwed and glued each of the brackets on one by one.

Here are shots of the completed project and one of all the clamps hanging on the wall. I have room to add more or different length bar clamps and the whole concept worked out better then I thought it would when I started.

Once I had these bar clamps on the wall I set about making storage for my other clamps including f-clamps, c-clamps, spring clamps, etc. The ideas for these storage units came from a free PlansNow plan and one from Wood Magazine which I had gotten free some time ago. I took bits and pieces from each of these while adjusting some of the measurements along the way.

Once all of them were completed and mounted I decide my wall storage turned out pretty nice, with plenty of more space for additions down the road. I also gained back some storage under my old bench for odd and ends.

After this attention turned to another shop project left uncompleted for years, a new scrap bin for under my miter saw. This was a pretty simple box construction with casters on the bottom and some cut out hand holds. The idea came from issue #297 of Workbench which I used as an idea some time ago to design my miter station and counter workspace.

I always say why reinvent the wheel, just take the ideas and tweak them to your situation or liking. Makes projects go faster and easier.

With this chuck of shop projects completed over the last few weeks I have turned attention to a new box project but additional detailed shop projects will be on the way. I need a larger table for my drill press and looking to make a cross cut sled for the table saw (believe it or not I have yet to make one). Some hardware is on order and as soon as I receive that I will be working on these shop items as well.

If anyone is curious as to why all the small odd and end woodworking projects, well come spring I will be working on new siding and windows for my house and hate to have to walk away from something big not completed. The process has sort of started and I am surprised to not see more information on the Internet from start to finish. I have done some of this work before but toying with the idea of blogging on the process along the way. It will not be woodworking information per say over the summer, but possibly good information for some people out there. Us woodworker have homes to maintain too and being the hands on types like to do things ourselves if we can.

Well over a year ago I was laid up from serious woodworking so to keep from getting bored I took a very old laptop computer, took it apart, and made a digital picture frame out of it.

Much of the hardware was stripped out of the laptop and the base motherboard was eventually glued to the back of the lcd screen. I used Damn Small Linux as the OS and got it all up and running so that when I was able to get back to woodworking I made a basic frame and box for it all to live in and hang on the wall.  A fun educational experience for me, one I would now not perform because you can buy a nice digital fame in the stores and they are much easier to use and not so bulky.

Well the frame goofed up quite some time ago and I never got around to fixing it, till last weekend when I finally got it running again.  When I switched to my Mac I tossed out much of my old PC stuff but kept a few odd and ends, one of which was a laptop wireless card. Not sure why I never gave the frame wireless access before but I decided to make my life easier and placed the card into the frame. I was surprised at how well Damn Small Linux accessed it and now I can easily change images out on it from my Mac.

Not so much woodworking but goes to show we are a group of inventors and innovators.  We like to step up to challenges, learn new things, and work with our hands. While doing this project I had the idea of building a jukebox with neon lights and all out of an old laptop, Linux, wireless, etc to play my MP3s; my Mac is well capable of this and other more exciting projects came along.

Several weeks back I started a Soma cube puzzle after reading up on wooden puzzles for an up and coming project. Two weekends ago I completed the cube including a stand for it.

The thing about the stand is it was to be a base for the cube to sit on but while designing on the fly I goofed up on the rabbet and decided to make what you see here. I like this stand better as it holds the entire cube in place for easy transport. The corner posts started out being glued only but that turned out to be fragile for the stand. I was able to reinforce the posts by using one of my newest tools I received for Christmas, a Porter Cable Air Pin Nailer. Talk about a great tool to have for small projects, jig building, or temporary attaching items. I used 1/2″ pins on this base and you can barely see them which is the biggest advantage of the pin nails. The base with two pins in each post is very durable now and I have a new tool I can easily see using on tons of other projects.

So why all this puzzle researching? Well one of the things I enjoy the most building are decorative boxes and as with any project I try to toss in something special no matter how small it might be. One box I have decided to create for myself is one to keep on my dresser to store various junk currently scattered on my dresser top. I plan to use a little of all elements including veneering and inlay but wanted something more. The idea of a hidden compartment came to mind and off I was on a journey to find woodworking information related to building pieces with hidden compartments, trick features, or other puzzle aspects. I am amazed at the lack of good information, but hey it would not be a secret then would it.

One of the first stops was at Quagmire Puzzle Boxes and have to say Randal Gatewood does some fascinating work. He had some information about crafting puzzle boxes but not much detail. One thing he did have was a book list so the research continued. I turned to Amazon and other resources to acquire these references while still searching the Internet. One of the best books on his list was Puzzles Old & New How To Make And Solve Them by Jerry Slocum and Jack Botermans and if you can find a reasonably priced copy and you ever think you might make puzzles, grab it. This book is great and really builds the foundation along with another book titled Puzzles In Wood by E.M. Wyatt.

The more I researched and searched the more I discovered this was a vast topic with mystery and more facets then an initial blog post could ever cover. Was I finding what I was looking for on this project? Yes, and then some as the world of puzzles, trick boxes and furniture opened up around me. I built a prototype mechanism for utilizing box splines to open hidden compartments, but it needs refinement before it is project (or web) ready. My journey is far far from over in this unique aspect of woodworking but just starting as the solid ideas for two unique decorative boxes formed, one still being my personal box with a hidden compartment. I find I enjoy this area and presents me the potential to continue to design, develop, build, and finish pieces that go beyond the standards all from a single initial thought.

Stay tuned for future posts as I begin to build some unique box projects and other wooden puzzles. In the mean time if you would like to try something consider a Japanese Puzzle Box. I have tons of respect for Japanese Woodworking; not only are these boxes a treat to open, they are beautiful for their use of Yosegi-Zaiku marquetry and veneer. You don’t need to go to quite this extreme but you can start with plans from Bruce Viney. He details out creating various puzzle boxes including a Japanese Puzzle box with 25 movements which he is right on to how these boxes work.

While taking a break from Woodworking after the steamer trunks and veneering classes I decided to make some updates to the web site. Once you start doing these things it is easy to get carried away and spend more time then expected on it. The following additions have been made:

• Ability to use PHP code in pages and posts, this will help me have an avenue for some of my long term site plans.
• Ability to place the entire web site into maintenance mode if needed while displaying a banner page.
• Improvement to the search engine of the site and have it return highlighted results.
• The contact form was added on the site which will send me an email, much easier to use for any visitor then the mailto link.
• Use of my gallery for posting images into blog entries, will allow users one place for all images instead of looking at each blog post. Allows me to keep my images more organized, I hope.
• I added some backend support tools for my own use including an improved editor and database maintenance tools.
• I changed the favicon for the site, which shows up in bookmarks and on some browser’s tabs.
• Various small aesthetic changes were made wherever possible.

What does all this mean? Well hopefully going forward the ability to provide a more enjoyable site experience and additional features. Features in the works include a library/reference page of materials and books I use, moving all the images of past post to the gallery for easy viewing, and including Google Sketchup designs and ideas in posts.

I have considered opening up comments to the blog entries, but at this time I have decided against it. My hobby at this point is Woodworking and not running a website, nor do I have the time. I decided the contact form was enough for now to allow people a means to communicate and I can post questions and comments manually as needed.

Adding more revenue making items such as ads, Amazon shopping, and logo apparel to the site has also crossed my mind. I enjoy doing this site for myself and others that might read it to sharing my Woodworking ideas and experiences, not to make money. To go down this route means more of a time commitment and potentially having to curb my opinions and ideas. I am not ready to step it up to this level yet.

Videos have also been at the back of my mind and with my Mac I could start them, but I need a video camera. You would think being a dad of some very young kids I would have one of these, but I just never got around to buying one. I believe someday I will and when that time comes, woodworking video segments will be following close behind.

Enjoy the web site changes and information; hopefully for me it is now back to the shop and woodworking on a regular bases.

I am finally putting this section of the blog to bed and posting the photos of the completed steamer trunks. I took these images back in November of last year before sending the trunks out the shop doors but I just never got around to posting them to the web site. Guess I was waiting to complete some enhancements to the web site’s Gallery section before doing so, but never thought it would be this far down the road.

Taking a minute to recap this project I recall the trunks and trays were made from local Iowa Amana Quarter Sawn White Oak and Quarter Sawn White Oak plywood with cedar closet lining on the inside. The plans for the trunks were from Woodsmith and the hardware was from a kit but could easy been purchased separately from various suppliers. The finish was a combination of Linseed oil and polyurethane, which I liked due to the soft hue, aged looks, and enhancement to the quarter sawn wood without fuming.

I was pleased with the finished projects and enjoyed making them, but was glad to be done after six months of working on these trunks. I believe the one trunk I sold for around $750; I recall I asked $400 for my labor plus materials. Would I make additional trunks? Probably, but not anytime soon. I recall what a long time woodworker once told me, make only custom pieces if you can. Multiples and lot work is boring tedious work and takes the fun out of your woodworking hobby.  

Before the snow started flying here in Iowa I bought some sheets of Baltic Birch plywood to use on various projects. One of these projects was wall storage for my clamps along with other various woodworking tools and jigs. This last weekend I finally got a sheet of it on the wall with help from a couple of friends. I took a before and after photo, one can easily see the wall space cries out to be used.

The sheet was 5′x5′ and I had to trim 2″ off the heater side to clear the gas lines. I am glad I went with this dimension of plywood as it gives me more surface space then a cut 4′x8′ sheet would have. I used 3/4″ but could have easily used 1/2″, at the time the price was not that much different. Why Baltic Birch instead of some other cheaper plywood? I like the looks and holding power of the tight plys with no voids. This way I can use 1-1 1/2″ screws when mounting to this board with no worries.

The board itself is screwed into the 16″ on center wall studs with #10 3″ screws, about 16 to be exact. My plans now will be to add some french cleats along with other shop built storage. The nice part about hanging this board on the wall is now I do not need to use anchors or fasten to a wall stub when hanging things.

The next phase will be shop made clamp hangers, as you can see where I have them now is not optimal.

Projects like this are not big or a glorious piece of furniture, but for me they make my shop more organized and enjoyable to work in.