Blanket Chest - Finished!! (Photo's on page 8)

[OPJ]

This is a job I've agreed to do for big soft moose (Pete) - and, on top of that, it's also my first commissioned piece of furniture! I've started this thread mainly to keep Pete up-to-date but, also, because I know I'm gonna need a little bit of advice along the way... :roll: :wink:

Here's the design we agreed on. It'll be made from Scandinavian redwood and finished with an oak stain, to suit both Pete's bed and his budget. Dimensions are 1200mm long x 500mm deep x 800mm high.

It's a simple leg-free frame construction, with T&G boards in between the fill the panels. Ignore the odd-looking detail at the corners, I only drew this one up quickly and haven't bothered to draw in the joint detail! I also need to play around with the layout of the boards a bit, particularly the two outer panels.

I collected the timber yesterday morning from Bristol City Timber. Cost was about £80, including a half-sheet of 12mm hardwood ply (for the base). Generally, I'm satisfied with the overall quality and their service - although, one of the guys there couldn't understand why I didn't want to buy PAR and save myself a lot of work! :roll:

I ordered the timber in the longest lengths I could fit in my car, so that I could then get the back home and start cutting to approximate lengths. I started by cutting the timber for the T&G boards down in to 2'6" lengths, which I could manage more easily on when it came to deep-ripping them on the bandsaw.

I've been playing with a new thin-kerf 5/8" x 4tpi blade from Dragon Saws recently and it surpasses the one Ian sent me six-months ago! In all honesty, it was a little too fine for this kind of work - skip-tooth blade with deep gullets are better for clearing the gunk out of gummy softwoods. It wasn't until the 17th board (out of 20!) that it started to struggle (you'll see why shortly...). Where some of the timber has shakes and splits, I could see smoke escaping at times - from the colour though, I'm pretty sure this was from all the sap inside! :wink:

I haven't built anything in softwood at home for a while - and yesterday, I was reminded of why I used to hate working with the stuff! The blade, wheels, tyres, drive belt, guides and pulleys were all caked in a thick layer of resinous gunk!! :x The saw was vibrating like crazy as I neared the end of my stack! :?

The finish was excellent, by the way and, I was happily using a feed rate of just over 1m/min. :wink:

This was the material that I bought, cut down in length. 32mm would have been plenty, they only had 38mm thick.

Fortunately, I bought a bit more than I needed. So, I should be able to discard most of this ropey-looking stuff... Failing that, I can use it to set up the router table or rip them down in to narrower boards for the outer edges.

You'll hear me complain about the size of my workshop at times but, that's nothing compared to my bedroom in its current state... All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not doing this full-time right now!! :shock:

(You must be glad now that you didn't decide to tackle this one yourself, Pete! :wink

I'll leave it stacked here for about a week before I commence further maching, which is usually plenty of time for kiln-dried softwood to settle down. Not sure how long I can stand the strong smell of resin though, I felt ill when I woke up this morning! :?

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Question Time:

If I finish the rails at 20mm thick, how wide should I rout the grooves for the T&G boards? I was gonna go with 5/16" for an 8mm board but, can't decide whether 3/8" (5mm either side) would be too much? There's plenty of waste for planing either side.

Where can I source some brass chain for a reasonable price? Screwfix only sell ridiculously long rolls that I'd never get through.

 

[big soft moose]

(You must be glad now that you didn't decide to tackle this one yourself, Pete! :wink

.

too right - i'm not set up for it. I have a lathe , small rexon bandsaw, dust extractor and extremly ropey mitre saw (B&Q). Basically i make round things - and coffee tables etc , i'm not up to big furniture (as my bendy bookcase episode proved)

its all looking good in your capable hands though - look forward to more WIP pics once the wood has stabilised.

 

[MikeG.]

That looks like an awful lot of wood, Olly! Are you sure you got your cutting list right?

As an aside, I quite like the look of bandsawed timber, and I would seriously consider using it unfinished in the right circumstances. I don't know, but I reckon you could probably get a high-build finish that would even leave it feeling smooth but looking sawn.

If I finish the rails at 20mm thick, how wide should I rout the grooves for the T&G boards? I was gonna go with 5/16" for an 8mm board but, can't decide whether 3/8" (5mm either side) would be too much? There's plenty of waste for planing either side.

A classic of its type!!!! This is just what the other thread re Imperial or Metric was suggesting.....a complete mix! Anywqay, to answer your question, I wouldn't be doing t&g boarding myself. I would be making the panels out of thinner timber, maybe down to 7 or 8mm, and I would use half-laps between the boards. As for the groove to take them, I would go closer to the back (inside) edge of the panel.........say 3 or 4 mm, leaving me room to take a stop chamfer out of the outside edge (which would be about 8 to 10mm wide if my maths is correct). I also don't get too hung up on 20mm............if I can get more out of the boards set aside for the job, I would get as much as I can.

When you rout out the groove for your panels, you will use a wing-style cutter, won't you.......rather than stand the board on edge and try and use a straight cutter?

Something I would always do, without fail, is set the "legs" part of the frame forward of the rest of the frame (in both planes........ie it would be the same in the front panel and the side panels). I would make this at least 4 or 5mm, but up to 12 or 15 mm in some cases, particularly as I would also want a chamfer.......the bolder the better on the legs. If you leave the legs flat with the rest of the panel, it doesn't really read as a leg..........it just looks like an extended panel stile.

Incidentally, I would probably not cut mortices either. Depending on your groove dimensions, I would probably just cut a mortice to suit the groove.

Right, that's too much typing!!!

Incidentally............I like the dust mask. I reckon it's that Trend Airshield thingy, isn't it? Do you use the optional visor? I am about to do some fibreglass work, and so a decent air-filter is an absolute necessity.

Keep up the good work!!

Mike

 

[wizer]

As an aside, I quite like the look of bandsawed timber, and I would seriously consider using it unfinished in the right circumstances. I don't know, but I reckon you could probably get a high-build finish that would even leave it feeling smooth but looking sawn.

Your crazy Mike, but I like you

 

[big soft moose]

As an aside, I quite like the look of bandsawed timber, and I would seriously consider using it unfinished in the right circumstances..

My swimbo would probably kill olly (and you) if he takes that suggestion to heart. we have an ikea leksvik bed which is pine (or more likely spruce or similar) finished with an oak stain, and the requirement on the blanket box was for a finish to match the bed.

 

[MikeG.]

BSM,



It was only an aside.........not a suggestion for Olly!!

Please don't kill me!!

Mike

 

[MikeG.]

As an aside, I quite like the look of bandsawed timber, and I would seriously consider using it unfinished in the right circumstances. I don't know, but I reckon you could probably get a high-build finish that would even leave it feeling smooth but looking sawn.

Your crazy Mike, but I like you

Who was that.........."Oooooh, you are awful, but I like you".......?

Anyway....

I reckon a kitchen done with a bandsawed finish could look brill, in the right place (say, a barn conversion)..........so long as it didn't feel rough at the edges.

Mike

 

[wizer]

Sure Mike

 

[Jake]

Very Tate Modern, Mike...

 

[Mr Ed]

If you're looking for bandsawn furniture you want to look at the work of Roy Schak;

http://www.royschack.com/

He was featured in F&C 99.

Cheers, Ed

 

[Paul Chapman]

Impressive work, Ed. Thanks for the link.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Neil Dyball]

As an aside, I quite like the look of bandsawed timber, and I would seriously consider using it unfinished in the right circumstances. I don't know, but I reckon you could probably get a high-build finish that would even leave it feeling smooth but looking sawn.

Your crazy Mike, but I like you

Who was that.........."Oooooh, you are awful, but I like you".......?


Mike

Dick Emery?

 

[TrimTheKing]

Dick Emery?

:shock:

That sounds seriously painful!!!!



Mark

 

[OPJ]

Erm, thanks for your replies, guys! :shock:

Mike,

I actually agree with your point on the "legs", though I would probably give myself only 2 or 3mm extra on the outside (it has to be flush inside). I can't believe I overlooked this!! I'm reluctant to buy any more timber now, I'll see what I can get from this 1" stock, otherwise I'd have to buy 1½", which would be very wasteful...

What you've suggested with the boards is actually what I intend to do - rebated edges, I don't know why I keep referring to them as T&G! :roll: If I cut the grooves with a slot cutter, I'll have to do it in two passes. I think my largest size cutter is ¼" ? I know you like your chamfers :wink: but, I want this to remain somewhat in keeping with the design of their Ikea bed.

Dust mask is a Trend AirAce. which cost around £30. I really like it and you only have to change the filter every three months (cost approximately £3.50 each?). I do have the optional visor but rarely use it, mainly because it's a faff to remove and refit when it comes to storing the mask in the plastic case. I really should try and use it more often though, as I hate wearing over-specs over my glasses when I'm not wearing contact lenses!

 

[MikeG.]

Mike,
I actually agree with your point on the "legs", though I would probably give myself only 2 or 3mm extra on the outside (it has to be flush inside). I can't believe I overlooked this!!!

I would laminate Olly, if you haven't got enough thickness left after planing. Don't buy any more wood!!! You've got enough there for an extra blanket box already!

Mike

 

[Benchwayze]

Dick Emery?

:shock:

That sounds seriously painful!!!!



Mark

The old ones are the best!

 

[OPJ]

Don't buy any more wood!!! You've got enough there for an extra blanket box already!

Honestly, Mike, I know it looks like a lot but I really haven't bought that much extra!! :x I made sure I had an extra long and short rail for the top and bottom, an extra couple of legs/muntins and a few extra boards for the panelling... That's it!

I can show you an example of what happens when I buy too much wood though - take a look at the photo' below, which I picked up back in November for my drop-leaf table at college. I've sorted out all the components for the legs, rails and frame but, most of the 1" boards are still there! :roll: (The top itself, which is elliptical, will only be around 890mm x 660mm, if I remember correctly.)

 

[MikeG.]

too much wood

That is an oxymoron, I believe!!!

Mike

 

[Benchwayze]

That's absolutely true Mike.

Like workspace and cramps We can NEVER have an excess of timber! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[big soft moose]

Like workspace and cramps We can NEVER have an excess of timber! :lol: :lol: :lol:

you can if you dont have an excess of workspace