I'm currently working on a bedside table. It's taking a while as I like doing things by hand, am not very good at it, and in no hurry. But I am learning a few things along the way ...
A handy tool box
I bought a few wooden boxes from The Works recently. They are a nice size, cheap and great for storing stuff in the workshop.
I had one spare and recently on my current project I've been using it to keep the tools I'm using overnight rather than packing them away in and on the various tool boxes and shelves I have around my workshop.
One project I'd like to start in the not too distant future is to build a dedicated tool cabinet, but I've not been too sure what I'd want to put in it. I'm pretty sure I don't want to put all my tools in it, because I have a lot (too many) and for many that I only use occassionally, being store in a tool box or odd shelf isn't a problem. What I want the cabinet for is to store the tools I use regurlary close to hand, in a cabinet that is easy to access, but keeps them safe, clean, and dry.
What I'm finding is that the wooden box is effectively answering that question for me. The tools I'm finding handy to keep in the box are exactly the tools I want to keep in a handy cabinet.
Now that I have a much better idea of the tools that will be stored there, I can design a solution with the right split of cupboards and draws, shelves and open spaces, to accomodate them.
So a simple handy box has been a real boon.
A jig for dovetailing
One of the reasons I wanted to make a bedside cabinet was that I thought it would be a nice little project to allow me to practice my joint cutting - particularly dovetails.
I'm getting better at dovetails. Each time I learn something new. One lesson is that I think the key is accurate marking out of the pins from the tails (or vice versa). I've built a moxon vice and that works well, especially for the cutting out stage. But I've struggle to hold the top board still while I mark out. With this project, I'm using thinner boards than I have previously, and that has made the problem worse as they have less weight to keep them still. Balancing the board on a plane side (aka Rob Cosman) or similar just isn't holding everything steady enough.
So I've decided to build a simple jig to hold the two boards firmly while I make up the joint. I've based it very much on the sort of jig David Barron uses. I'm actually on version two. The first one was just two thick board screwed together at 90deg. That demonstrated to me that I was on the right lines, and I used that first jig to build a second that itself used dovetails to join the two main board.
And it is working really well.
The jig isn't pretty, but it is working for me. No doubt there will be a version three, but it demonstrates that something you can knock together very quickly can make a task a lot easier and more likely to be successful.
Bangy Bang Stick
I've bought a new wooden plane recently (I should do a review) and the manufacturer recommended using a small wooden mallet for adjustment - something I didn't have. So I threw one together out of scraps. As with the jig it's not pretty, but it works. It really highlighted to me that not everything we make needs to be perfect, or good looking. Sometimes a rough and ready item is perfectly good enough.
A handy tool box
I bought a few wooden boxes from The Works recently. They are a nice size, cheap and great for storing stuff in the workshop.
I had one spare and recently on my current project I've been using it to keep the tools I'm using overnight rather than packing them away in and on the various tool boxes and shelves I have around my workshop.
One project I'd like to start in the not too distant future is to build a dedicated tool cabinet, but I've not been too sure what I'd want to put in it. I'm pretty sure I don't want to put all my tools in it, because I have a lot (too many) and for many that I only use occassionally, being store in a tool box or odd shelf isn't a problem. What I want the cabinet for is to store the tools I use regurlary close to hand, in a cabinet that is easy to access, but keeps them safe, clean, and dry.
What I'm finding is that the wooden box is effectively answering that question for me. The tools I'm finding handy to keep in the box are exactly the tools I want to keep in a handy cabinet.
Now that I have a much better idea of the tools that will be stored there, I can design a solution with the right split of cupboards and draws, shelves and open spaces, to accomodate them.
So a simple handy box has been a real boon.
A jig for dovetailing
One of the reasons I wanted to make a bedside cabinet was that I thought it would be a nice little project to allow me to practice my joint cutting - particularly dovetails.
I'm getting better at dovetails. Each time I learn something new. One lesson is that I think the key is accurate marking out of the pins from the tails (or vice versa). I've built a moxon vice and that works well, especially for the cutting out stage. But I've struggle to hold the top board still while I mark out. With this project, I'm using thinner boards than I have previously, and that has made the problem worse as they have less weight to keep them still. Balancing the board on a plane side (aka Rob Cosman) or similar just isn't holding everything steady enough.
So I've decided to build a simple jig to hold the two boards firmly while I make up the joint. I've based it very much on the sort of jig David Barron uses. I'm actually on version two. The first one was just two thick board screwed together at 90deg. That demonstrated to me that I was on the right lines, and I used that first jig to build a second that itself used dovetails to join the two main board.
And it is working really well.
The jig isn't pretty, but it is working for me. No doubt there will be a version three, but it demonstrates that something you can knock together very quickly can make a task a lot easier and more likely to be successful.
Bangy Bang Stick
I've bought a new wooden plane recently (I should do a review) and the manufacturer recommended using a small wooden mallet for adjustment - something I didn't have. So I threw one together out of scraps. As with the jig it's not pretty, but it works. It really highlighted to me that not everything we make needs to be perfect, or good looking. Sometimes a rough and ready item is perfectly good enough.
