This will likely be the last entry in the Working My Wood series. As demonstrated by Star Wars, going past a trilogy is often un-warranted and disastrous. And all this public working of my wood is hard and it chafes. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy, and bruised. Actually it’s not all that hard, but I think I’ve probably overplayed it. And I’m mostly out of mesquite planks anyway, maybe only another picture frame or two.
But now onto what you’re actually all here for, the working of wood. Or the excessive juvenile double entendres. Whichever. Here, I describe the building of a small book case. Note – I suck at article layout, especially in an image heavy article. So minimal effort to prettify it – I’ve shrunk the images down to make it presentable and just center aligned them. Each image is a link to a bigger version in the media library.
Here’s the layout of the planks after planing but not cut to length. The 2 sides pieces are on the right, the 3 shelves in the middle and the pieces that will become the back supports on the left. The back supports haven’t been cut length-wise yet.
The design is dictated by the length and number of planks I have left. So I end up with a 34x28x8, three shelf book case. I apologize in advance to UCS, but it will also be a rough, rustic edge piece. I actually don’t have a raging clue for rustic, but given the constraints – no jointer, already relatively small width panels even before truing up – I decided to deal with the complication of uneven edges. Normally, on a book shelf, you put a back piece in, usually 1/4″ plywood to provide both lateral strength and keep the books from falling out the back. Given the unevenness of the planks, that’s not feasible, but one still needs to provide that strength and keep books from falling out the back, especially since the shelf edges are uneven, so I designed thin supports to stretch across the back of each shelf.
Layout to get sides lined up somewhat uniformly. End cuts are made on the lines perpendicular to the grain. Vertical lines roughly follow the grain and were scribed to keep the wavy edges of each side lined up with each other as best possible.
The next step is to cut the sides and shelves to the correct length. This is complicated by the fact that you need to keep things somewhat parallel even without true edges to reference off – it would suck to have the sides line up at the front to back on the bottom but be 5 inches out of line near the top; would make it real hard to install shelves. So the procedure is to overlay the sides and orient them so they have roughly parallel edges both on the top and bottom. Then clamp them together and draw vertical lines roughly down the center of each and scribe perpendicular lines across. I can then cut the boards at that line and have roughly parallel sides. Did I use the word roughly enough? The procedure is repeated with the shelves to ensure that they will remain approximately lined up vertically (i.e. if you drop a plumb line from the front edge of the top shelf, it will mostly line up with the front edges of the other two shelves. Roughly.).
Sides (left) and shelves (right) after squaring procedure. Everyone is trimmed to their final ~squared and true shape. Front of case is to right, back to the left on the sides.
Left – Shelf support cutouts on one of the side pieces. Right: Final cuts on both sides with the shelves. On the right, all the boards have also been sanded down to an 800 grit. Note you can also see the cutouts for the back supports on the side pieces.
Close ups of the back back support cutouts (Left) and rough fit (Right).
For straight boards as opposed to the totally LGBQTRWPUO ones I have here, the next step would be to make dado cuts straight through (or ‘stop’ dados) on the sides to support the shelves. Here, since the front and back edges of the sides and the ends of the shelves are both uneven and unique, need to custom cut the ‘dados’ – can’t be through cuts and have to be hand shaped to fit each shelf uniquely. So I laid out horizontal lines on the sides and then lined the individual shelves on each side and traced out the shape of the end pieces onto the sides. Thereafter, can use a plunge router to define the rough location of the recesses and hand chisel the shape of the shelf ends. The same idea applies to the back support – hand chisel out mounting slots custom for each back piece.
Glue up. Book shelf “case” on the left, back supports going in on the right.
With all the cuts made, everything sanded down sequentially to an 800 grit, parts fitted, it’s time to glue up. The first glue up is of the case itself. Just drop some glue into the shelf cutouts, insert shelves and clamp it up. We let that set-up for 24 hours and then glue up the back supports.
Once it’s all glued up and set, sand the back supports even to the sides and do a final hand sand of the entire case down to 1600 grit. I’ll spare you a blow-by-blow of the 2 coats of natural stain (with a 1600 sand in-between the coats) and 3 coats of poly-urethane (with a steel wool ‘sanding’ in-between the coats). In some ways it’s the part of the project that makes me most anxious – 10 minutes of work, followed by 12-24 hours waiting for each round. I hate waiting.
With that, the book shelf is complete! I think it turned out OK. There’s some gaps in the fitting, mostly in the back supports; that’s partially due to twisted, warped wood with unusual shapes and partially due to my lack of skill. One limitation, driven by the narrow widths – set by the size of the limbs – is that it’s not ideal for larger books.
And here concludes the “Working Wood” trilogy. If there was a Woods 4, this would be it’s M-Fing Theme Song
Final book shelf from a couple of different angles.
Close up of the shelf in action. Also my entry into the next “what we’re reading”.
Beautiful work.
I remember Rush Limbaugh once said that if you find a craftsman’s work to be good, you need to tell him. I’ve expanded that to, if a street act makes you stop and watch, you need to leave him money.
100% agree with Mojeaux.
Very nice work.
Really nice work!
I love the hand-fitting and excellent finish work.
Also, we have a very similar reading list.
The book the end seems familiar.
“on the”
Beautiful work!
It looks likely to topple over and crush a small child.
Approved.
That’s what L brackets are for. 😉
Indeed. If you tie the child to the wall, they won’t tear down your shelving.
I don’t see the lie.
Very nice work, I know the guy who wrote that book, cool dude
Glibliography!
Thanks – I’m going to be pretty quiet for a bit here, on a work call I actually need to focus on, unlike most! If I’m done before afternoon links drop, I’ll pop back in.
Very nice job. It reminds of my FIL’s work. He really got into it after he retired from his factory job.
Do you sell your work?
I’ve never contemplated selling it. Mostly because I’m too close to it and see all the flaws and can’t conceive of anyone being willing to spend money on it. But also in large part because it’s just a past time without demands or requirements.
So much this!!! ^^^ I once had a woman I ran into in the drugstore offer to pay me to make her a bag like my crocheted Everything Bag. I took her number, but…I just didn’t want to do it for business instead of pleasure.
Lovely work! The finished piece is downright…funky! I’ve said before that I’d love to do woodworking if I had more money and space. In junior high, I preferred woodshop class to Home Ec.
Nothing sucks the fun out of a hobby like customers and deadlines.
I understand. My FIL worked in his small garage facing the street at the front of his sub. He was working on a set of four chairs and was just about done. Someone pulled up and offered him money for them. He said the price was fair, but the chairs were for family. No deal. I forget the amount. It was sad when he couldn’t do the work anymore.
I work with the garage door open all the time. Alas, no one stops in. Usually they just quickly gather up their children, cast their eyes down, and hurry on. Maybe I should start wearing pants and underwear when I’m working.
OT, but must share.
Oh, you want a link, too?
WTF?
???
*extends middle fingers in their general direction*
That’s gotta be a parody, right?
My nephew came down to visit me last weekend. We shared a bewildered laugh at the idiotic “Fauci” song. I really wish there was a way to pull this steaming pile to send to him. It would be great for a long-distance laugh.
I assume Fauci is gonna get some kind of award at Biden’s SOTU next year – Presidential Medal of Freedom maybe?
Something broke in my brain, I couldn’t go more than a couple seconds.
They’re a half step away from calling the vaccine hesitant subhuman. You know who else insisted that a subgroup didn’t love their families and were only interested in selfish ambitions?
Freudians ?
Sting?
Oy
After the Robert Malone link this morning, I think my brain is about to pop.
Watched on mute.
A doughnut licker: that’s who you want (ostensibly) promoting public health.
MMMMM, Obama.
Komsomol, Hitler youth, “Dear Leader”, the English Royal Family. There just seems to be an innate primate drive to define a leader, and set them on a pedestal and worship them. If the system is fortified against it going to far, it’s probably OK. When the system isn’t, or is specifically designed to encourage and exploit it, it’s poisonous. We are the same primates, and destroying those checks we once had in place will lead to bad things. Especially since those who rise and thrive in a system warped to exploit that apparent innate drive (e.g. Fauci [spit]) are often times the worst sort of people. But I also don’t see an easy way around it.
It always amazes me how poly makes the colors pop on a piece of wood like that. Amazing contrast.
Very nice. Straight lines are over rated.
It’s all about the curves, mikey!
+1 Szotyscy & Zaleski
https://www.google.com/search?q=Szotyscy+%26+Zaleski&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS839US839&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVmNbgjJ_xAhWOKs0KHeb_DWMQ_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1604&bih=797&safe=active&ssui=on
That’s what she said.
Beautiful work. I do like properly finished wood. I’m a bit impatient when it comes to stuff like this and tend to try to rush finishing. Rushing prep and sanding in between is the worst thing you can do. This is why I will try to slow down during my next foray into wood working.
I always have to force myself to slow down and do the finishing “right”. And it’s still never quite perfect; my weakness is skipping the tack cloth and pressurized air between sandings, especially those between stain and poly coats. I’ve managed to force myself to mostly do it right, but still have the imperfections. It’s especially challenging with the assembled but not yet complete piece – much harder to effectively reach all the nooks and crannies.
I actually got my card scrapers today and used them on a tabletop. As far as I can tell, they do the job of sanding much quicker but with more physical work.
I have a set in the bottom of my wood working box. Never used them. Really need to break them out and give it a shot.
Sorry, timed out responding. Probably going to be one of those dreaded double posts.
I have to really force myself to slow down on the finish and not skip steps. With an assembled piece, it’s much harder to reach all the nooks and crannies effectively. And skip digging the air compressor out and cleaning up everything between sanding. And not carefully rubbing with tack cloth (only recommended to actual wood mind you). And even being aware of that, I still manage to cut corners and not be pleased with myself after the fact!
Of course. God-damn squirrels are upset that I took away their tree. Actually no squirrels around here, must just be solidarity with lizards and rattlers and doves.
“I still manage to cut corners and not be pleased with myself after the fact!”
That is my problem as well.
I too am a big fan of properly finished wood.
Beautiful work! The wavy lines give the piece an “organic” feel.
*OT screams at sky*
I hate customer agencies. We’re getting contradictory pressure because none of them is ready for something that is well over a year in the making which really only requires communication to the end users and a simple remediation.
Of course no one did either, and now they’re worried on the day before our change because their procrastination will make a shitshow with the end users.
And since we stopped paying for Siteminder, we must move forward with the migration off…
Looks great!
That is really nice looking.
STEVE SMITH WORK WITH HIS WOOD ALL DAY. MOSTLY STRAIGHT.
I thought hikers skewed more male than female. Wouldn’t that make STEVE SMITH less than “mostly” straight?
REST FOR ONE SECOND BETWEEN HIKERS. ME VERY OLD. /STEVE SMITH
STEVE SMITH PITCHER NOT CATCHER.
Were all gay if the room is dark enough.
I am constantly amazed at the artistic ability, the ability to see something in a piece of wood that I would never could have imagined. Then take the piece of wood and transform it into a piece of art that is both beautiful and useful.
Thanks, Putrid, for showcasing your talents and really embarrassing a geezer.
Thanks! I sometimes wish the process was “seeing something in a piece of wood” and then transforming it into that. Usually it’s more like, “I should make a book shelf. It will look like this. [starts cutting wood]. Oh, crap, that’s not going to work the way I thought it would. Shit, that doesn’t fit! What the heck am I going to do now?!?” Just adapt, try to make it work, take a week off, let it ferment in the back of your mind and come back to it. Sometimes what comes out the other end is adequate.
Hope your cold recovery goes well!
EF and I came down with horrible colds – imported from our son’s Summer Camp. Imagine most of your energy sapped away. Sleep… sleep… sleep is all I want to do.
I managed to get to the antique booth today. I had to restocked the Calder prints – sold three of them on Tuesday at a nice profit.
Vinyl continues to sell – I can’t get enough of VG+ good titles – stuff like the Beatles, Led Zep, the Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, etc always go quickly. It kind of sucks buying product I don’t particularly like but ya gotta keep the punters happy.
Saw a story come through my news feed with the headline: “Summer cold or COVID-19? How to tell the difference!”
But comparing it to the flu is right out and minimizing the impact.
Yeah we’re not running fevers and haven’t lost any taste. Also LH Jr. and EF have been vaxxed (though EF didn’t want to do so).
So if this is COVID I’ve had worse.
Just getting over a cold, not serious, a little inconvenience and discomfort
I saw in a pharmacy the other day an at-home antigen test kit. Since Ive maintained all along that I had the infection in early 2020 Im tempted to put my money where my mouth is.
The girlfriend wanted to get one of those, but they can only test for infections over a fairly short (~4-6 months IIRC) time in the past.
Completely OT: I’ve been playing the original XCom: UFO Defense which must be a 16-bit program. It’s still a great little squad, turned based game though they didn’t fix the opening doors thing until XCom2. ie – you have to walk through a door to open it which just makes a squaddie a ripe target for enemy fire.
*double thumbs-up*
I truly love that game, although if X-Com were a person we would have an extremely abusive, codependent relationship.
My gaming of late has been the PC release of “Days Gone”. It’s fun, but the linear and forced decision portions of the story kind of bother me. So many opportunities to develop the character based on decisions in the game. But it’s good fun nonetheless.
I’ve been spending more time playing on the Switch instead of the PC, just because I’m literally sitting at the PC all day long for work anyways. Sitting in the same room all day was having a negative impact on my mood.
Was running around finishing up stuff in Breath of the Wild waiting to see if anything else would be announced at E3 for Zelda remasters/BOTW2 news. Since nothing on that front, and digital sales, picked up Octopath Traveler, and I’m going through that. I’ve just completed getting a full party of four together. I’m mildly amused that the healing items in the game aren’t potions, but fruit. Apparently healing grapes don’t grow in bunches.
LOL. I remember playing that decades ago.
The tangible fear associated with sending a shock trooper through the door, meeting a psychic alien, and then having him come back to blow up half your squad was part of what made it fun.
SCOTUS tossed out the Texas challenge to Obamacare. I guess as long as there’s no penalty, you can’t have standing to sue, and any penalty will be a tax, so nothing is off limits.
STEVE SMITH IMPOSE HEAVY PENAL TAX.
Roberts, king of the government cocksuckers, won’t be revisiting this POS law.
No surprising anymore. I used to have faith in our system, but learning about some of the old cases(wickard v filburn,korematsu, and others) started me doubting it.
It used to bother me when conservatives were celebrating the Heller ruling, but I couldn’t articulate why.
Reading Anatomy of the State really accelerated that.
After seeing the penaltax ruling and how they refused to even look at the election, what good are they?
After seeing the penaltax ruling and how they refused to even look at the election, what good are they?
They control one of the levers dictating how fast the train goes towards socialismtown. The lever doesn’t change the direction of the train or grind the train to a halt, but it can change how fast the fascist wasteland is flying by out the window.
They are just another branch of the government conspiring to violate your rights. The failure of the co-equal branches to check each other’s power and expansion is what the second amendment was intended to remedy.
Nullification and sessecion we’re also means commonly floated and used in the early Republic, as a way for the states to check the federal government.
Tom Woods just did a few podcasts on the early history of the Constitution and the Kentucky Resolutions, which I had never heard of.
I have tried to make up for the deficiencies of my public education, but there is still so much history I never learned.
Anyway they stated the Alien and Sedition acts were unconstitutional and the State could declare it void.
It was written secretly by the Vice President Thomas Jefferson.
Nice woodwork
Woodworking is one of those skills I wish I could do… but the investment in time and machinery means it’s pretty lucky if I can hammer a straight (ahem!) nail. And I have a fear of cutting my a finger off when using a power saw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYYuyvyr2HY
I’m terrified of my table saw.
Thankfully I can store it unplugged with the blade lowered below the surface of the table.
I sold mine awhile back. If I ever get one again it will be this one.
I also sold mine years ago. I bought it off Craigslist, finally realized it was just taking up space in my garage, and sold it for more than I paid. Very old Craftsman.
I’ve been using my Son’s version of that very saw for doing my flooring.
But every one of the safety features are missing.
Managed to fuck up a $60 stair tread when the saw kicked back and cut 9″ groove across the top.
I had enough scrap to fix, but now I have one tread with a seam in the middle.
Gonna need moar brake cartridges and hot dogs.
It’s an amazing demo. My buddy has one of their cabinet saws and it’s nicer than my old Powermatic 66.
Now owned by Festool. Even more ways to empty your wallet!
Festool bought them out?
Huh, I figured Powermatic would.
Technically I believe it’s the parent TTS.
“I have great fear of tools. I once made a birdhouse in woodshop and the fair housing committee* condemned it. I can’t.”
Wish I could too. Lovely work, anyway.
There’s a Little Free Library near me that hinges from the top. Drives me nuts.
*presumably meant code enforcement
That movie always remined me of this scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgPgsvxxxKE
This is what it looks like when a new CEO, consultant, or other savior comes to the company. Your the kid who finds the marble.
There’s a lot of wood work you can do without power tools. I’m sure there’s some in-your-end-o that could be worked into that statement… A lot more time consuming and you’ll still have the danger of very sharp cutting edges, but at least no power tools. You might be able to get away without investing in machinery, but then will need a lot more time to invest!
I thought an “innuendo” was an italian suppository.
*narrows gaze*
For you.
It was actually the Heil 5
I was actually going for Er in ATHFCMFFT but couldn’t find the clip, so I’ll just leave this here.
Nice.
Very King Diamond-esque
I think it was Mastodon.
Unfortunately, I think the intro was the highlight of the movie. Or maybe I wasn’t on acid….
Loping off a digit or two is nothing to be afraid of, it builds character and you always have a good story to tell. It doesn’t even hurt, because you go into shock when it happens and afterward you get lots of good drugs. You only really need to worry about the couple weeks when you first have all the dressing off and it’s still a bit tender, you do not want to stub your nob into the edge of a soffit at that point.
Lopping off a digit or two can also get you an IRS audit.
/Hey-Ohhh
“Traditional” woodworking is much cheaper albeit slower and requires more skill. If you can snag some cheap tools off eBay and restore them, you could get started quite easily. There’s usually a way to do almost everything with hand tools, but it may be more work.
There’s a guy on YouTube named Rex Krueger who runs a great channel with lots of videos on how to get started on woodworking with little to no tools. He shows you how to make simple tools yourself out of wood (which is what woodworkers did for most of history until mass industrialized production came along).
Nice work PutridMeat!
A doughnut licker
Mmmmmmm, donuuuuuuts.
Somebody writing the English headlines has a sense of humor.
Japan condom-makers fear anticlimax at Olympics – https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/17/national/science-health/olympics-condom-makers/
Nice book prominently displayed by our Mr. Saran.
/dons sunglasses
Guess that about…..WRAPS it up.
You haz mail. I am scarred for life.
Its no SugarFree, but Ill take that as a compliment.
Stuff like that is why all the craigslist chics were fawning over me.
I’m telling you, you need to do an article series here a la Derpy.
Got feedback on an ad about Financial Advisor independence — featured a bald eagle on a guy’s arm in an office setting.
Was told by the client it was “too patriotic”
What a stupid world we live in.
You know who else was too patriotic…
Sam the Eagle?
40% of Oregonians?
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2021/06/14/survey-reveals-scale-oregonian-support-white-nationalist-ideals/7657355002/
*cue surveys that 85% of Democrats support most of the national socialists’ platform*
Does that number go up if they exchange (((them))) for “the 1%”?
Make it more urban ?
Wu-Tang Financial
*NSFW words for the office. Unless you work at Def Jam.
Diversify your MF’n portfolio
I lol’d
https://imgur.com/a/QHtxpns
Yesterday Mrs. Animal went to the post office, and when she returned home she handed me an envelope from BATFE. I received my revised Curios & Relics FFL with the Alaska address. So now I can start surfing Gunbroker again!
So that sound I heard was your wallet crying out in despair?
His wallet died when he built the 3 story underground walk in gun vault.
Repair of car’s A/C & brakes was done by about noon, but since I didn’t have any particular gotta-do’s at work today, my boss suggested I go ahead & take the rest of the day off. Came home, had some lunch, went for a short walk with TT, cleaned the toilet, and now I’m getting in some mid-to-late week Tranquility Base time! Cicadas are still audible, but not nearly as bad as they were this past weekend.
Im in Da Bubble over here. I was just out with the Dozer, and maybe heard 1 lonely incel cicada.
Still havent seen more than 2.
Still seeing some flitting about. They’re rather fond of the lilac bush right by one corner of the patio, but for now, at least, they’re leaving me alone.
Remember all those greasy slider buns ?
Thats why I was outside with him.
Have you checked the local pizzeria?
Meanwhile, at Chez Mojeaux, XX TD’s graduation collage has been successfully arranged and dry fit into the frame, although I need to clean the glass and actually finish the framing. It came out beautifully, if I do say so myself. Or it will have, once I’m finished. And I’m dabbling in watercolors and when I say dabbling, I mean DABBLING. I suck.
If only Hitler had a PBS painting show like Bob Ross.
William Alexander was close
Now that was funny.
Bob Ross, the progenitor of ASMR vids.
I liked the glib-friendly use of “tuna can lids” in his bit.
Since it’s watercolors, would you say you’re dribbling in them?
Watercolor is difficult, I believe. Unlike other media, you can’t go back & fix it the way you can with acrylics or oils.
I think Jackson Pollock used acrylics.
Then he had no excuse for not going back and fixing his paintings.
Ooooooo! A live-edge bookshelf. Nice.
When are you building my new speaker cabinets?
Beautiful work P.M. enjoyed the series. Speaking of wood—just got back from Home Depot.
2x4x8 doug fir $9.75
2x4x16 $21.87 + tax
How are people building houses right now?
Blue state refugees still gots plenty o’ equity. F*ckers.
Any company that bought timber last year is in for a boom this year. I bet if I drove out to the mills their yards are empty. Last year the pine mill an hour away had logs piled 50 feet high leaching and drying.
They better do it quick cuz this bubble will pop no matter how much the govt subsidizes it. I guess we are in for another housing crash and millions of people’s mortgages underwater.