Penguin Isokon Donkey wip

[Chris152]

And lots of questions.

Goal:

I thought I'd do a quick post of what i've done so far, so i can ask my first question.

I chose beech for the legs so cut a piece from a board, which has been seasoning in the house a good few months:

Cut pieces for the legs on the bandsaw:

Cut the cross pieces and rough angles:

Then planed to approx sizes:

I'll be joining them with dowels.
The one on the right is about 1mm off the one on the left on account of the angle, but I find trying to plane end grain tricky at the best of times and I think if I try any more I'm going to start losing fit to the upright, creating a non-flat surface. And hopefully it's close enough. More work to do on the legs, which'll follow.

But - thinking ahead, what's the easiest/ most silly person-proof way to build boxes from 12mm ply? Would it be terribly wrong to go for butt joints, glued, tacked and filled?

ps Just noticed the one on the left is out of alignment with the drawing it sits on - it actually fits properly but I forgot to line it up properly for the pic. It's the one on the right that's out in relation to the drawing, by about 1-2mm at the bottom of the right leg.

 

[AndyT]

Looking promising!

In reply to your question about the plywood boxes, if you can get reasonable straight edges, ordinary pva glue and some panel pins should be just fine.
These boxes are smaller but only 6mm and are strong enough for their job

how-can-i-make-these-boxes-t89897.html?#p974412

I'm assuming the donkey will just have its ordinary burden of books and nobody will expect to ride it round the room!

 

[Chris152]

Thanks Andy, that was the answer I was hoping to see!

 

[Chris152]

Ok, next question!

How do I best remove bandsaw cutting marks from the recesses that the cases sit into?

Is it a block plane more or less across the grain (except as far as i can follow the grain) and finished in the corner with a shoulder plane?

Thanks.

ps Maybe i should rename the thread as a qip - questions in progress.

 

[AndyT]

Yes, that would work. Or a broad chisel. Or a router plane with other pieces of the same thickness alongside for a reference surface.

The boxes will hide those surfaces anyway, won't they?

 

[Chris152]

Ok, thanks Andy. I don't have a router plane, and don't trust myself with a chisel so the planes sound the better way to go.
The boxes will sit onto them but i was thinking that the edges would need flattening, but - reading your comment, I just (since writing my last sentence) tried a straight piece of wood into the recess and it creates a perfect edge as far as my eyes can see. I'll check all the edges and if they're the same, could be a better edge than I'll get with my dodgy planing!
Thank you again.

 

[Chris152]

A frames dowelled and glued up ok with little wedges to clamp square:

Four ends cut and dropped into position just so I could get an idea of how it might look:

Not sure if it's a few degrees off (top left) or if that's just how I've plonked the bits.

And one case in progress:

I'm going with my original idea of assembling, marking the top for horizontal and then cutting, probably with a track saw - Nev's idea (in the General woodworking thread) required accurate measurement and execution of the angles on the top, which I'm sure are beyond me; and Richard's required assembly upside down and leaving the cross piece on the A frame til last (creating the right angle for everything else) but I think the cross piece on the A could easily go wrong with me at the saw, and would probably look awful as a result! We'll see.

 

[Chris152]

I marked and cut the feet with a track saw, then mounted the the cases so far to see how it'd look:

All looks ok, tho I'm not looking forward to the next bits. I think I need to screw the cases onto the frame before marking for horizontal and cutting the ends horizontal. ok. Bu then I have to remove the cases to cut the backs at about 80 degrees to follow the line of the sides for the tops to sit on, and then cut the front and back edges of the tops to about 80 and 100 degrees to follow the back and front faces of the cases. If that makes sense.

I think my best bet is to cut the angles as close as possible but with a bit of excess, then finish to the correct angle with a plane. hmmm.
Then I've got to put the shelf and upright in before fitting the top, I think that'll be more glue and pins, or maybe a thin strip for the internal shelf to sit on(I'm sure the grown-up thing would have been to cut dados for the internal shelf and upright, but that was just too much for me to get right at the start.

If there's a better way forward, any suggestions gratefully received. C

 

[AndyT]

I think it all looks good and you are clearly thinking several steps ahead. Both very good signs!

 

[Richard_C]

Excellent and thanks for all the progress pictures.

 

[Chris152]

Very quick and general question - is there any reason not to cut the tops as per the guide (positioned on marks to create horizontal top) at maximum depth of the track saw?

Doing so will allow me to set the angle of cut on the track saw in the cut section of the top back (running vertically in the pic) more easily.
But will it create more tear out/ any other problem with the cut as set up?

eta - I've just realised i can only cut one side of the back (vertical in pic) with the saw angled - the other side would require the track to be suspended in the air. doh... So i guess it's going to be a square cut for that side, planed back - but again, having a deep cut on the ends would direct the angle of the plane.

 

[sammy.se]

Re you question on tear out, What tooth count is the blade in your track saw?

 

[Chris152]

I can't remember, Sam - but I know this is the standard one that came with it. It seems to be cutting ok, I'd swap it if I was looking for a really nice finish but this ply's going to need some sanding and filling for sure - especially when it comes to the next stage of trying to get the angles for the top correct.
Sooo, I went ahead with a deep cut with everything taped to stop tearout, looks good enough and gives me a starter for the next cut, marking and planing that angle along the top of the back.

 

[Chris152]

eta - I've just realised i can only cut one side of the back (vertical in pic) with the saw angled - the other side would require the track to be suspended in the air. doh... So i guess it's going to be a square cut for that side, planed back - but again, having a deep cut on the ends would direct the angle of the plane.

Complete nonsense, Chris. If you line them up end to end you'll see it's the same cut for both cases.

Damn, didn't see that so went ahead and planed to the correct angle. Which was 10 degrees, so I was able to cut the front and back of the tops to the same angle and it worked well.

This is one of the uprights glued and clamped in place, no nails as it was too awkward to get to them with a hammer and secure the cases, which is annoying as the ply on both cases is a bit warped and needed pulling in to contact both edges of the upright.
Should it be ok without the pins or should I try to hit some in before removing the clamps tomorrow?

 

[Jake]

Doing well Chris. Looking forward to the end result.

 

[Chris152]

Top resting on to check fit. What's the easiest way now to fit the shelf on the left side? I was thinking either attach a little lip for it to sit on, or just glue and clamp? It's only going to be holding the weight of a few paper backs.

Also, I struggle to get those nasty stickers you can see on the one in the background off the wood without them ripping and making a mess - is there an easy way?

Thanks.

eta - and while I'm asking more questions: I think I'm going to paint this rather than let my friend do it. Some edges will need a little planing, and I guess I need to fill and sand the cut edges and joins.
What is the best filler to use?
What primer does it need? He brought this hardwood ply - does it need extra sealing so pigment can't seep through, or is that outer ply so thin as not to matter?

 

[AndyT]

I'd just glue and clamp the shelf. The easiest way to get it aligned is to rest it on a temporary piece of ply (or anything else) of the right size, at each end.

Try meths for the sticker, or white spirit, or acetone.

 

[Chris152]

I'd just glue and clamp the shelf. The easiest way to get it aligned is to rest it on a temporary piece of ply (or anything else) of the right size, at each end.

Hadn't thought of that - and I always find the wood wants to slip out of position on the glue if it can, so really helpful. Thanks Andy.

 

[Chris152]

I'd just glue and clamp the shelf. The easiest way to get it aligned is to rest it on a temporary piece of ply (or anything else) of the right size, at each end.

Hadn't thought of that - and I always find the wood wants to slip out of position on the glue if it can, so really helpful. Thanks Andy.

Works a treat - saves lots of fiddling!

I had to mount the case in a vise so I could get under it to clamp the block of wood top and bottom. I'll wait a few hours before I try to move the lot and do the second one, then unclamp both tomorrow (the loose upright needed pulling in to meet the end of the shelf on account of poor shaping of the shelf - something was a bit out of square).

 

[AndyT]

Wow, a live build-along!