Altar build


Bombarde16

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Still haven't solved the question of how I'm going to cut tenons on the curved legs, so I'm procrastinating focusing on other parts. Today, that means cutting joinery on the straight legs.

0119131339a.jpg

Fifteen rough tenons and I only need twelve. Plenty of time to mull the problem while fitting these into their mortises. The feet are cut square and at final width. So, even if I don't solve things by the time all the straight legs are fit, I can still drag things out by crosscutting the feet and fitting the moldings.

how many did you have to toss out becuase they didnt work?

Yow. You expect me to jinx myself by answering that? Wait until the piece is done and delivered...then we'll talk.

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Assuming that every one of the arcs has exactly the same spring back, the bending form could help give us layout lines for the tenon at the bottom. But it won't help me to lay out the cuts at the top.

Undercarriage.jpg

As great as Sketchup is, this is where we make the jump into relative dimensioning and that's the real reason I want to do the straight legs first. Get those assembled and attached squarely to the upper frame, then I can lay out (for lack of a better term) the rise and run of the arcs as well as where the internal frame pieces will go.

What I see now is doing the layout on a big sheet of paper. The miter cuts at the top are easy to do by hand. The tenons at the bottom, though, are another matter. My thinking now is to create a negative form that matches the outside of the curve and use this to cradle the arc on my cross cut sled. That'd allow me to do three of the four sides; but the inside of the arc would be another matter. Perhaps I finish that by hand...perhaps I forget the table saw and bodger up some sort of router cradle/jig/dealywacker that allows the curved part to hang freely off the bench.

Something to ponder.

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Maybe a jig that is made onto a sheet of plywood with the best top edge of the arch drawn onto the plywood and cleats mounted at the shoulder locations, than you can adjust the arch blank until you find the best location to the drawn arch. here is a crude picture of what I'm talking about

gallery_2926_751_1359.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sure enough, got the straight legs, feet and upper receiver assembled tonight.  Our guest bedroom has become the assembly room because, were I to assemble this part in my shop, it wouldn't fit out the door.

 

PICT0012.JPG

 

Obviously, the tops need to be trimmed flush.  More on that later.

 

I've also settled on using the router table to cut the tenons on the arcs.  Started bodgering up a jig to this effect (right now it's just two pieces of plywood...use your imagination) and should be ready to test sometime on Monday.

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Sure enough, got a second wind tonight and finished building the jig to cut tenons on the arcs.

 

IMG_8618.JPG

 

The fence in front references off the edge of my bench top router table.  The two wings sticking up give me something to grab onto...and they help to straighten out the warped piece of plywood I used.  Channel in the middle for a router bit, plus a perpendicular fence and two clamps.  Allows me to grab onto the end of the legs and cut shoulders with the long arc hanging off in any of four directions.

 

Last step will be taking measurements for the rise and run of said arcs, and finding a big enough sheet of plywood to lay out my cuts as higtron described.

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I had a few free moments today and managed to start cutting the tenon faces.

 

0211131316.jpg

 

I actually don't have any test scrap for this and there's no way to test the fit without cutting off the part that the jig holds onto.  So, it's measure twice and go for it.  Went through two of the arcs, one came out too thick and will need some love with a shoulder plane, one came out not thick enough and will need to be built back up.  The third hit the Goldilocks size and, now that the router height is locked down, the next nine will be fine.

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Your neighborhood looks cool.

 

hahahaha dude after all this about the cool build and your comment is this.  Rob i wish you would get done with this project so i can find out what it looks like been following it since the begining.  kinda lame to say this but i have been siting on pins and needles for each set of photos to see where your at.

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Your neighborhood looks cool.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

hahahaha dude after all this about the cool build and your comment is this.  Rob i wish you would get done with this project so i can find out what it looks like been following it since the begining.  kinda lame to say this but i have been siting on pins and needles for each set of photos to see where your at.

 

Yup, that whole day job thing is a drag, isn't it?  I'm sure a dedicated pro could have cranked out one of these in a matter of days.  The good news is that, at my portfolio's current rate of growth, I should be able to retire and focus on woodworking sometime around the year 2133.

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Finally found a clear afternoon to finish with the router jig.  Tenons are roughly formed and now it's just the slow work of fitting and paring.  Thankfully, that can be done inside as temps have once again dropped below freezing.  Cut the spreaders for the top of the arcs and also smooth planed the saw marks off the flat sides of the arcs.  Getting close.

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noooooo go all night no more little delays like sleep and rest i want to see a finished alter.................dude i just had a random thought......will they bless that alter? if so you think they would bless your tools?

 

Not only is the consecration of an altar actually listed on page 197 of the Book of Occasional Services (https://www.riteseries.org/brain/bos/3/56/) but it further prescribes that it is specifically reserved for the local bishop.  Next episcopal visit for this church is sometime in the spring and we'll take care of it then.

 

Given the level of profanity that goes into any project, I'd just as soon not have my tools go anywhere near anyone in a position of ecclesiastical authority...

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