Ronn W

I have a Wood river #5 and a Veritas bevel up with 2 different bevelled blades. Both will do the job if set up properly but the Veritas is the better plane. I especially like the fact that I can change the bevel (blade) for tricky grains.

I have the Leigh RTJ400. True, there is no variable spacing but I found it to be a good jig.

I agree that Narex is a good chisel and reasonbly priced. I have a couple. My favorites are LieNielson chisels but they are not cheap.

I thought wood working was gender nuetral.

Absolutely. I cut a 1/8" deep grove x 1/4" wide all around each leg with the table saw. I milled a board to 1/4" thick to fit in the grove, rounded off the edge with a 1/4" round router bit and ripped it off the board to be 1/4" + 1/8" = 3/8" wide. Then just cut the four peices to go around each leg - used a shooting board for the miters. Held each piece in place with tape while the glue dried. Thank you all for the kind words. I am thinking about trying to make a floor lamp to sit beside reading chair but, so far, have not come up with a design the I like (No lathe in the shop). Anyone have any design sketches or ideas for me?

I should have done a journal on this one but I get involved and forget. Anyway, this is my latest project. The detail work to at least as much time as the desk itself. I know that a couple of us have made shameless plugs for Marc Adadsm school of Woodworking and this deak is another. The design of the desk, joinery techniques, stringing and oval inlay, strining and finishing (sort of) were all the result of the school. The carving is a result of Mary May's online school. I think is all starting to come together. Desk is walnut 9Oh, my God - the price of walnut up here). Desk is 24" x 48" x 30" high. Joinery includes dovetail at each end of the front top rail to the legs, doulbe mortise and tenons for the face frame joints and dominoes for the side and back rails to the legs and between the pieces that make up the top. I use power tools to hog out the dovetails and mortises and pair to the scrib elines with chisels. The sides and back are frame and panel use 1/4" walnut veneer plywood (actually turned out to be just over 3/16) Tray for keyboard in place of center drawer. Not really a federal style feature but that's what was required. Legs were grroved to look like columns with base and cap of 1/4" half rounds in 1/8" grooves. Bottoms of 1 5/8" square legs are tapered 4 sides to 3/4" square. Cockbeading on drawers was new for me. top and bottm cock bead on each drawer cover the entire top ( or bottom) face edge while the side cock beading is much narrower so as not to cover up the dovetails. Carvings are a simple bracket design. Thank you Mary May. Top and vertical edges are mortised and tenoned to the frame to add stiffness. String and oval and bell flowers are mad of holly. The oval is 12 pieces of holly veneer cut out of a rectangle shape, sand shaded and then re-assembled and glued to 1/8" bacltic birch. Then I cut the final oval shape and applied the Holly border. Next I used double stick tape to hole it in place while I scribed around the oval. Finally routed it out and glued it in place String in the top for decoration. Stringin is 1/32" wide. I used a dremel tool with edge guide or circle cutting jig to make 1/32" wide x 1/16" deep grooves. Finish is Satin ARS over 2 coats of shellac. The body of the desk has 2 coats rag applied and the top has 5 coats applied with sponge brush and a lot of sanding in between coats to get the surface grain filled enough to be a decent writing surface That's about it. Thanks for reading.

Looks great. I have made a couple of chess boards recently - used veneer. Used basically the same approach that you used for cutting and assembly to get nice squares.

IMO the best joint would be a good fitting sliding dovetail.

Dave and I had a great visit and a wonderful lunch. So good to see you again. My wife thanks you again for the spurtles. She loves them.

That is satisfying.

I you have somw thin scrap material, you could put it under your 1/4" plywood, cut them at the same time - no tearout. Good luck.

Best wishes on a speedy recovery.

That's some good looking cherry. Good luck.

I have led replacements for flourescent b ulbs in my shop (daylight) Those lights darken cherry in hurry.

Fascinating. I wonder if the mystery tool is a hinge mortise jig of some kind.