Post a photo of the last thing you made

[duke]

I find in pine I need to mark the mortises fractionally undersized, they then come out good, else they are sloppy. I think it’s the softer wood.

I love the inlay, but you need the bench to other way vs the radiator else you can’t see it.

 

[duke]

I got fed up of the kids blocking the stairs when they're putting their shoes on so I designed and built a bench for our hallway. It's the first piece of furniture I've designed and built from scratch. Top and slats are oak. Frame is pine, painted white to match our staircase. The small inlay is a Jay from white maple (cut on my cheapo 3018 CNC).

Some things I learned from the build:

- Getting accurate mortice and tenons is tough. My joints were so loose on my first attempt that I ended up scrapping the whole frame and starting again.
- The angled legs made it much more difficult to get the frame completely square and the joints tight. There's probably some technique to this which I'm missing.
- I hate working with pine. It's so soft that the slightest ding leaves a permanent mark. I also felt like my chisels/plane irons were never sharp enough to cut pine end grain. Maybe I just need to work on my sharpening game.
- I got the slats to fit pretty well by routing a rebate in stretchers, putting the slats on the stretchers, then glueing equally sized wooden spacers such that the slats were flush with each one. Once the glue started to dry I carefully removed the slats so that the stretchers could be painted, then replaced the slats after painting for a nice flush fit. The video shows this.
- The plan was done in Fusion 360 and I found it very useful for being able to change one dimension and have all dependent dimensions be updated automatically.

Any tips (or criticism!) gratefully received. Very much still learning.

View attachment 179436

Smart looking bench, i like the contrasting finishes.

 

[velar]

Re your mitre angles, here is a method worth having a trial go at

1. Produce the inlay trench to your required width and mitre angle
2. Prepare a stock of inlay veneer
3. Lay in overlong veneer strips such that they overlap at the mitre (you may have to tape them down)
4. Lay a ruler straight edge from corner to corner along the mitre line
5. Cut through both inlay strips

Never done it myself but it seems feasible
Brian

Thank you Brian - that seems pretty logical. Much appreciated - Will try it ASAP!

 

[velar]

Not quite right? Very fine work IMO... I am sure your son is very pleased!
Projects this small are quite difficult to execute, again, IMO.
I have discovered a truism in my woodworking: I am the most critical scrutinizer of my own work.
Most people do not notice the little things... .

Thank you! You're not wrong - I'm exactly the same

 

[akirk]

Re your mitre angles, here is a method worth having a trial go at

1. Produce the inlay trench to your required width and mitre angle
2. Prepare a stock of inlay veneer
3. Lay in overlong veneer strips such that they overlap at the mitre (you may have to tape them down)
4. Lay a ruler straight edge from corner to corner along the mitre line
5. Cut through both inlay strips

Never done it myself but it seems feasible
Brian

Seems a logical way to do it - but would you not end up with a gap the width of the blade / kerf?
the top piece would need to be cut one side of the dividing line / the bottom piece the other side of that line - so you couldn't cut both together...

 

[Jamesc]

With inlay you normally use a knife so there is no kerf

 

[akirk]

With inlay you normally use a knife so there is no kerf

because the knife blade is so sharp?

makes sense...

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I’m building extra tool boxes today

One of my neighbours looked into my workshop and asked if I had enough tool boxes. I've got another sixteen indoors ...

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Good grief your wife is an angel. I have one small workshop which is “full of way too many things you will never use” according to my wife.

Many years ago I planned to spend sixty or seventy quid on a tool. My wife had a little moan and I said would you like me to spend £70 on the tool or pay someone £70 to do the job because I haven't got the tool? Well, she said I suppose if you look at it that way it makes sense to buy the tool. She's never since complained when I've bought kit.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Many years ago I planned to spend sixty or seventy quid on a tool. My wife had a little moan and I said would like me to spend £70 on the tool or pay someone £70 to do the job because I haven't got the tool? Well, she said I suppose if you look at it that way it makes sense to buy the tool. She's never since complained when I've bought kit.

That has been my approach over the years. I always buy the right tool for the job I’m doing. I’ve taught my son in law to do the same. Not only does it get over the spending money on useless tools remarks, it usually makes the job much easier.

 

[donturner]

I find in pine I need to mark the mortises fractionally undersized, they then come out good, else they are sloppy. I think it’s the softer wood.

I love the inlay, but you need the bench to other way vs the radiator else you can’t see it.

F.

Yes, that's good advice. I found that there's quite bit of give as you push the tenon in, so a seemingly too tight mortice, actually expands to being a nice fit.

Re the inlay, thanks. It's supposed to be slightly hidden, just a bit of added detail to anyone who's interested in it. I really like the effect of the maple in the oak though. Maybe my next piece will display a more prominent inlay.

 

[Baball]

A desk for my 7 year old daughter. I reused a chest of drawers I made a few years ago, and made the desktop and other leg out of oak. Finished with Osmo polyx raw.

First time using plugs to fill a few voids and threaded inserts to attach the top to the leg and drawers.

She now has a nicer desk than I do.

 

[velar]

because the knife blade is so sharp?

makes sense...

Yup I’ve been using a scalpel. Which brings its own problems - gets grabbed by the grain, bends and wanders - but to all intents and purposes = zero kerf

 

[carpenteire2009]

Not high art, when compared with lots of the projects on here, but I enjoyed making this "bug hotel". It's made entirely from salvaged materials- palletwood, copper from old cylinder, trimmings from garden shrubs, bamboo canes, pine

cones etc.

 

[BentonTool]

One of my neighbours looked into my workshop and asked if I had enough tool boxes. I've got another sixteen indoors ...

Would like to see pictures of them...

 

[Stigmorgan]

Would like to see pictures of them...

The neighbours?

 

[BentonTool]

The neighbours?

The boxes...

 

[Sangy]

Oak and Wild Service desk I made for my daughter, still needs a couple more coats of finish and I can't make my mind up if the drawer needs a handle or not? What do people think?

 

[Ilya]

One more amateurish attempt to actual wood working, a couple of broken screws and a broken drillbit (stuck in the hinge))

 

[Jamesc]

One more amateurish attempt to actual wood working, a couple of broken screws and a broken drillbit (stuck in the hinge))

We have all been there with broken drilles/screws. I have cut the heat off a scre and super glued it to the hinge to cover up my misshap.