..Kev Posted July 6, 2016 Report Share Posted July 6, 2016 How long do you get in the mornings to work in the shop? Looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted July 6, 2016 Report Share Posted July 6, 2016 Looking good Ross. You're almost there. Have you selected your paint color yet? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 How long do you get in the mornings to work in the shop? Looking great! Kev, I get up at 4:45 am, and have from 5:00 to 5:30 as "me time". I usually take that time for exercise to keep my back from falling apart, but when a project is active, I'll trade 2 or 3 workouts each week for sawdust. Right now, mornings are the only time cool enough to take it. Looking good Ross. You're almost there. Have you selected your paint color yet? Thanks, Dave. My lovely wife is the color picker, last I heard she was leaning toward 'whale gray'. Sort of a bluish-charcoal color, should go well with a walnut top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 Doors are looking great Ross. My hats off to you, I am not sure I could work in little tid bits of a half an hour at a time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 1 hour ago, wtnhighlander said: Kev, I get up at 4:45 am, and have from 5:00 to 5:30 as "me time". I usually take that time for exercise to keep my back from falling apart, but when a project is active, I'll trade 2 or 3 workouts each week for sawdust. Right now, mornings are the only time cool enough to take it. Thanks, Dave. My lovely wife is the color picker, last I heard she was leaning toward 'whale gray'. Sort of a bluish-charcoal color, should go well with a walnut top. It takes me that long to get the first cup down and the first section of the newspaper read while sitting on ....... well, you know. Something I needed to share with someone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 Nice job Ross, kudos on the schedule...maybe someday I'll have one again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 Well, a half-hour is a lot longer than I got today ... no alarm, I was almost late for work. Fortunately, I am easily awakened by light in the room, so the bit of sunshine leaking around the windowshade around 5:40 prompted me to open my eyes. Had it been a rainy morning, I'd still be in bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted July 8, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 Better luck with the alarm today. I was able to trim the doors to length, and do a little work on the feet. Because of the locked rabbet construction of the legs, I had the little grooves left. They are barely visible when the case is upright, but it bugged me anyway. I used a clamp and some scraps on my crosscut sled to hold the small parts while I ripped them from another piece of scrap. And here is how the look at the moment. I'll trim them flush when the glue is dry. Now, for the first time ever, the entire case is assembled (with blue tape, not screws!) Front: And back: I still have to figure out the hinges. I think the euro hinges will work if I add blocking inside the face frame, but that will interfere with the adjustable shelf. Might go with leaf hinges after all. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 nice progress Ross looks great, i've had the same issue with those grooves and filled them like you did, i would have bothered me also and its an easy fix and the right thing to do. i have a love-hate relationship with hardware, i love it because it means I'm getting to the end and hate it because its my last chance to screw something up 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 Looking awesome Ross! Suggest a quickie mock up of one of your doors with the euro hinge on it to test the theory. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 That is coming along nicely. Great fix on the groove. I'm with you on the leaf hinges. Euro hinges tend to say "kitchen and bath" to me but, that's just me :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 On July 7, 2016 at 3:56 AM, wtnhighlander said: Fortunately, I am easily awakened by light in the room I have the same trait, some times it is a gift and some times a curse because no matter what time I go to bed I am up with the sun. This is great looking Ross, I think the door proportions came out nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby W Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 On 7/8/2016 at 3:51 AM, wtnhighlander said: I still have to figure out the hinges. I think the euro hinges will work if I add blocking inside the face frame, but that will interfere with the adjustable shelf. Might go with leaf hinges after all. The case is looking good, Ross. I have used the euro jingles, but find they loosen up over time and have to be fiddled with. With leaf hinges, you do the work once and you are done. Plus they are almost invisible inside or outside of the cabinet. Keep up the good work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 So, leaf hinges, it is! I needed hardware with a dark finish, like the 'oil-rubbed bronze' stuff at the typical big box stores. However, none of my local hardware places carry simple leaf hinges in anything but bright brass, or zinc coated steel. Rather than search online and wait for an order, I bought some brass ones, and 'rolled my own'. First off, these things are clear-coated to prevent tarnishing. Since tarnish is what I wanted, the clear coat has to go. Previous research indicated that boiling in a solution of baking soda in water would soften the finish. I tried it, boiling for about 20 minutes. It does work, but I suspect it was the heat more than the PH. Anyway, while the parts are still warm, a little 0000 steel wool takes the coating off with little effort. It gets tougher when it cools. After scrubbing, I soaked the pieces in a solution of white vinegar and table salt. This produces a nice clean surface to 'tarnish'. Rinsed with clean water, and blotted dry, the parts were ready for the treatment. The internet provides several techniques for aging brass hardware. Simple heat produces a soft golden patina. Ammonia fuming is supposed to turn the brass dark. However, I needed a near-black finish, so I chose a product I was already familiar with. This stuff is available in the sporting goods section of my local WalMart. I applied it with an acid brush. I poured a little into a plastic cup with the screws, and let them soak. The hinges required three (or was it four?) applications, checking for shiny spots that needed more cleaning in between. The results look like this, still wet. Later, I'll rub them down with a paper shop towel to remove the film of scum that forms at the surface, then apply some wax. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted July 12, 2016 Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 You can also get different patinating solutions from art supply places that will yield different shades of coloring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 The result of my science experiement; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 42 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said: The result of my science experiement; Those turned out pretty good. I'll have to keep that in mind if i ever want to try and make my own tarnished brass items. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 Looks like they came out real well. Did you get the finish you were hoping for? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 Chet, they match the 'oil rubbed bronze' pulls pretty well. Later on, I plan to make different pulls from the heads of railroad spikes. My son is a huge rail fan, I think he will appreciate the detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 Railroad spikes would be a cool idea. My wife and I are with your son, we are big rail fans. We travel quite a bit now and if we don't drive, the train is our choice. So much more pleasant then flying if you have the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 Just got caught up Ross, it's looking fantastic! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted July 18, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Got back to work on this for a bit this morning. I have the hinges all mortised in for the left-side doors, and attached with a single screw each. I found one to be rubbing against the bottom of the frame, so I glued a strip of sandpaper to a straight board and worked it down to fit. The doors close now, but not together. I still need to chamfer the edges so the corners don't interfere as the doors swing through their arc. Then repeat on the right-side doors. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Just caught up on this thread, looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDrow Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Wow! This is an awesome project! On the long list of things my wife wants me to build, something akin to this will be coming up in a few months. Thanks for sharing the project and how you have worked around certain obstacles. Looking forward to seeing how it ends up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2016 Thanks for all the accolades, but I'm just a hack, making this up as I go. I get by, with a little help from my friends! ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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