Popular Post SawDustB Posted March 10, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I cut the curves in all the rails tonight. This was done with the scroll saw, so it wasn't exactly fast. I then clamped all the rails together of each size and fine tuned them on the curved part of the belt sander. I tried the spokeshave briefly, but I always seem to end up with it chattering and causing more problems than it solves. A lot of sawdust later, they're all shaped. One design decision I'm wrestling with is whether to add a chamfer on the frames around the plywood panels. I'm thinking of having the chamfer be 22.5 degrees, running the boards on edge so it's cut into the face of the boards. It would soften the edge a bit, and maybe give it some interest... On the other hand, maybe I'm better sticking with the square aesthetic and just easing the edges a little. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Looking good, that wood is going to look awesome when finished. Have you decided on a finish yet? I really need to try/buy a spoke shave. They seem like they'd be useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 1 hour ago, Chestnut said: Looking good, that wood is going to look awesome when finished. Have you decided on a finish yet? I really need to try/buy a spoke shave. They seem like they'd be useful. I'm trying to decide how to finish it. I'm thinking about using shellac with dye to pop the grain as Marc did in his video on it, although I also have some water based dye I've had good luck with (and is the same tone used on our coffee table that will be about 6 feet from the toy box). I was thinking about trying some of the General Finishes water-based varnish, but I'm not sure. The spoke shave seems like it'd be great the couple of times I've gotten it to cut correctly, but it's an ancient Stanley that was completely rust covered when I got it. I gave it a bath in Evapo rust and sharpened the blade, but I've never had good luck with it. It seems to want to chatter quite a bit. I've considered buying one of the lee valley aftermarket blades for it, but I don't want to put money into it if I should really just buy a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 40 minutes ago, SawDustB said: I gave it a bath in Evapo rust and sharpened the blade, but I've never had good luck with it. It seems to want to chatter quite a bit. I've considered buying one of the lee valley aftermarket blades for it, but I don't want to put money into it if I should really just buy a new one. I have experienced a little chatter with my cheapo spoke shave. I get better results by backing off on the blade a tiny bit and skewing the shave as I make my passes. It's like burnishing a card scraper or using a draw knife. You want the tool angled and the contact on the cutting edge to start on one side of the blade and end on the other in a slicing motion. Watch your grain, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 2 hours ago, SawDustB said: I'm trying to decide how to finish it. I'm thinking about using shellac with dye to pop the grain as Marc did in his video on it, although I also have some water based dye I've had good luck with (and is the same tone used on our coffee table that will be about 6 feet from the toy box). I was thinking about trying some of the General Finishes water-based varnish, but I'm not sure. The spoke shave seems like it'd be great the couple of times I've gotten it to cut correctly, but it's an ancient Stanley that was completely rust covered when I got it. I gave it a bath in Evapo rust and sharpened the blade, but I've never had good luck with it. It seems to want to chatter quite a bit. I've considered buying one of the lee valley aftermarket blades for it, but I don't want to put money into it if I should really just buy a new one. Awe man that nice figure and water based just doesn't sound right to me. Some thing oil based would make it pop a lot more, I like the idea of shellac but you'd need something a bit more durable for a top coat. I really like the idea of dye and shellac, maybe that's just because I've tried it recently and really liked how the finish turned out. Would flame birch blotch with dye used like that? I looked at getting some vintage Stanley spokeshaves but i think I'm going to go the veritas route and just buy the set. It's expensive but it's not like they are ever going to wear out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 58 minutes ago, Chestnut said: Awe man that nice figure and water based just doesn't sound right to me. Some thing oil based would make it pop a lot more, I like the idea of shellac but you'd need something a bit more durable for a top coat. I really like the idea of dye and shellac, maybe that's just because I've tried it recently and really liked how the finish turned out. Would flame birch blotch with dye used like that? I looked at getting some vintage Stanley spokeshaves but i think I'm going to go the veritas route and just buy the set. It's expensive but it's not like they are ever going to wear out. I was thinking of using General Finishes Enduro Var, since it is water-based but supposed to look like oil. The fallback plan is Arm R Seal, but I was concerned that I might have the stinky box problem with using it on the interior. I wouldn't trust just shellac, since my daughters are going to end up beating this thing up with their toys, and it'll probably get things spilled on it at some point. I've never finished flame or curly birch before, so I don't know if it would blotch (or is it supposed to, and that's kind of the point...?). Finishing is a little ways off, so I'll worry about it when I get there. I'm assuming since I'm using plywood for my panels I can just finish them after assembly, since they shouldn't move that much. Is it OK to glue the panel into the frame to prevent rattling, since there shouldn't be a wood movement issue? I definitely wouldn't have gone out of my way to get the Stanley spokeshave, but it happened to be there when I went to buy a used router plane. It seemed like it would be worth picking up, since the used tools market is awful here, but so far it's mostly just frustrated me. The Veritas ones look nice... 2 hours ago, davewyo said: I have experienced a little chatter with my cheapo spoke shave. I get better results by backing off on the blade a tiny bit and skewing the shave as I make my passes. It's like burnishing a card scraper or using a draw knife. You want the tool angled and the contact on the cutting edge to start on one side of the blade and end on the other in a slicing motion. Watch your grain, of course. Good to know, thanks. There's a good chance the issue is me, not the tool, although I suspect it could be sharper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 So I cut the chamfer around the panels on the router table. I'll clean up the corners with a chisel after it's glued up and dry. Here's the test fit: And then I prepared for the glue up. This is always the most nerve wracking part of the build. I decided to glue in the plywood panel. Finally, I got it glued up and into the clamps. Unfortunately, I discovered all of my 3 foot clamps were a fraction of an inch too short. This is all I could scrounge up that was long enough, aside from an ill fated attempt to join two 2 foot clamps together. It also meant that I could only glue up one for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 I hate it when that happens to me. I got the link up of 2 clamps to work before but it's not ideal. Since then I've invested in plenty of parallel clamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 SawdustB, I've resorted to using wedges to clamp a panel between two battens attached to my bench, for exactly the same reason! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 SawdustB, I've resorted to using wedges to clamp a panel between two battens attached to my bench, for exactly the same reason! I'd love to do that... Just as soon as I get a bench built. That's hopefully the next project. As seems to always happen, the second glue up was less smooth than the first. Maybe I tried to rush it? It seemed like the joints were a little tighter, so less time to get it all squared up. I ended up having to use the one long pipe clamp I've got to pull the diagonal into square (wasn't off by much, maybe 1/32 over six inches). I also put just a bit too much glue, so I had a bit of squeeze out on the mortises. Anyway, it's all glued now. Unfortunately, that's likely all I'll get done today, since the girls are getting back from their grandparents. Next up should be finishing that chamfer and some sanding, then assembling the box. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 I've been working my way through cleaning up the corners of the chamfer around the plywood panels. You can see the initial starting point in this picture. I marked lines showing where the chamfer should be, along with the 45 degree intersection. In this picture you can see that I've used a saw (small dozuki) to cut on the 45 and across the grain. I was very careful with the depth of cut. Finally, I used a chisel to pare away the waste. This worked OK. I've been taking care of the corners on the inside of the box first, so I get practice on the less visible parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted March 19, 2016 Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 Looking good. In regards to the clamp problem, party of my dry fit is to also test how and where I'll use clamps, has saved my bacon a few times already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 Looking good. I'm regards to the clamp problem, party of my dry fit is to also test how and where I'll use clamps, has saved my bacon a few times already. Yeah, I really should have. I just knew I had several clamps labeled at 36 inches... Unfortunately, that was the bar length, not the max opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 A little more progress today... I got the box test fitted, and cut the plywood dividers. I had to do a little more finessing of the tenons to get them to seat properly. You can see in this picture the box upside down. I was fitting the bottom piece of plywood. It just drops in on top of the dividers, and I'm planning to glue and pocket screw it to the sides. This way, I avoid any visible screws from outside. You can see the bottom piece of plywood fit into the box. I also cut the plywood for the lid, since it's exactly the same size. I'm pretty happy with the size. Next up, I need to finish sand the inside of all pieces and add small chamfers to break the edges on most pieces. I'm wondering if I should do that on the edges where the hinges go... Or do I just sand on that edge? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 Coming along very nicely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Its looking great Brian. Closing in on the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I like to sand or chamfer all exposed edges to some degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Relay looking good...Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Thanks guys! I'm happy with it so far, although my wife has started asking how much longer it's going to take... I like to sand or chamfer all exposed edges to some degree. I certainly plan to do something on all edges, since this is going to be used by both my daughters, who are currently at 2 1/2 and 6 months. I'm planning to do a 1/16 (at least) chamfer on all the exposed edges. The part in not sure on is if I should keep that same chamfer on the pieces where I'm installing hinges, or go smaller and just break the edge. I'm concerned a larger chamfer will make them harder to install. The hinges I bought are no mortise ones from Lee valley, which I'm pairing up with the same lid supports Marc used on his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 I had a little bit of time to construct the lid over the last couple of days. I decided I didn't want to screw through the face of the wood edging to hold it on so I opted for dowels. I'm using 24 in total. I thought about just glue, but I can guarantee this lid will get jumped and climbed on. You can see my lovely setup here. I had to drill the holes in the plywood, then use dowel centers to position the hardwood. I glued up the short sides first. I had to be creative to get it clamped. Finally, I did the long sides the same way. At least for this size I've got a reasonable number. Next up should be fitting the hinges and routing the chamfer. Then a whole lot of sanding and finishing. I still haven't settled for sure, but I'm thinking dye with shellac to pop the grain followed by enduro var. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 And once I got it out of the clamps, I cleaned up a bit and trimmed the overhang on the edges with my flush trim saw. Great little tool for that. I couldn't resist checking to make sure it fit the box. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 Starting to look like the toy box it is. Great job Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Seems like I missed a bunch of your posts. I'm all caught up now. You're doing a great job man it really looks great, you should be proud! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Thanks guys. Starting to get on the home stretch now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Looking good can't wait to see this guy fully finished. Get a little burning on the top frame? Pardon the spelling sent from my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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