Display Cabinet 1

Getting Started

We have a stone chimney running up against the north wall of our living room, and we used to have a book case in front of it. There needs to be something in front of it or it just looks wrong. The book case was OK, but we really need something different there. I saw a design for a mission style display case, and I modified it for my dimensions and used quarter-sawn oak veneered plywood from Menards instead of solid quarter-sawn oak boards glued together. I will glue solid oak around the exterior edges, including the bottom edges to mask/protect any edges that will be exposed.

Here is an image of the design from SketchUp:

 

The two colors just show the plywood vs solid oak. The colors will match in the final piece.

I got the two sheets of 3/4inch 4x8 solid veneer core quarter-sawn face veneer plywood a couple days ago. I set up a cutting platform behind my truck before unloading the plywood. I used my two shopdogs, a plywood grid I made, and a piece of 3/4-inch 4x8 styrofoam insulation to make the cutting platform. I could just slide the sheets of plywood out of the truck onto the cutting platform and cross-cut them down into manageable pieces for the table saw.

 

I only had to make one cross-cut on each sheet, but that made them small enough for me to start cutting them down for width on the table saw. I got to use my table saw extension table for the first time. It was nice not worrying about the wood falling off the end of the table saw onto the floor.

 

The sheets after cross cuts with circular saw. The sheets came face up in the package, so I added some painters tape to stop any big tear-out.

 

This is the cutting diagram. I ended up taking the kick plates (bottom left) from the right side of the other sheet so the grain would be running the right way.

 

I labeled each board as I ripped them with a Sharpie and some tape.

 

These boards will be the sides of the cabinet. I need to mark the tops on these because the grain looks a lot better with them oriented one way over the other. The rays/flecks catch the light a lot better.

 

Ripping the kick plates. The table saw extension flips down when I don't need it.

Now I can start cutting the boards to length. I will score the back face of the boards (down side on the table saw) to create a crisp line and avoid tear out on the two outside side boards. The front face (up side on table saw) should be OK since the blade cuts down into the wood.The other board's ends are all buried in a dado, so it is not an issue for them.

Overcoming One's Vices

 

Finishing the Moxon Vice

I finished the Moxon style vice. Actually I ordered some belly leather scraps to put on the jaw faces today, and they won't be here for a few days. But I finished the woodworking parts anyway. I chopped out the hexagonal nut shape in the other handle and the back of the back jaw. I smoothed off the handles with a plane and spoke shave. Then I glued the back jaw down to the base.

Link to SketchUp model

 

I used a bowed piece of wood for the front jaw.

 

A better view of the inset nut in the handle.

 

I inset the nut on the back of the back jaw, and added another nut to keep the rod from turning. 

This shows the handles spinning action and a board being clamped.

Starting to Carve and a Moxon Vice Build

My First Carving Exercise

I had drawn an acanthus leaf on a piece of black walnut a while ago and I thought I should go ahead and try to carve it using the new carving gouges I built the case for. I quickly found the advantage of holding the gouges the way people on the internet demonstrated, and to be mindful of the grain direction. I am sure it will take a lot more practice to be ready to add a carving to a project.

I will post more pictures as I progress with the carving.

Cheap Moxon Vise

I looked at the myriad examples of Moxon vices on the internet, and I thought I would give one a go. I paid about $20 for a 3/4" 10tpi 24-inch-long threaded rod and some nuts and washers and started cutting stuff up and drilling some holes.

Link to SketchUp model

 

I threaded two of the bolts onto the rod so it would be easier to hold in the vice.

 

I measured 12 inches to the middle of the 24-inch rod.

 

I cut the rod in two.

 

I cleaned up the ends a little so there wouldn't be any sharp points or edges.

 

I drilled some holes in some scrap wood, and chopped out the nut shape most of the way through a piece of red elm for a handle. 

I still need to make another handle and secure the back jaw to the base so I can clamp the whole thing to the bench by the base instead of the back jaw. I also need to secure the nuts behind the back jaw so they don't turn. I will probably chop some more nut-shaped holes. I used a piece of oak that had a slight bow to it for the front jaw. I oriented the bow toward the back jaw.

Trash Can from a Moving Box

One Man's trash is piling up

I was cleaning up the shop getting ready to start my next project, a mission style display case, and I had been using a moving box as a trash can. The problem was that it was over-flowing and there wasn't an easy way to get its contents into trash bags. I had to sit there and hand transfer everything into two large trash bags. I don't want to have to do that again, so I made a top for the box so I can fix a trash bag to a wooden hoop that is slightly larger than the hole in the top. I used scrap wood for the lid, and cut a 1/8 strip of wood off a 3/4" x 7" x 60" piece of oak left over from the bed slats. I just formed a loop with the strip and glued the ends together with some twine wrapped around a few times for good measure. Works like a charm.

 

This shows the design and what it looks like with a trash bag installed.

I didn't have a 22" square piece of plywood lying around, but I had a piece I could cut 4, 11-inch squares from. I gang cut the 8" radius arc in all of them at once on the band saw.  I screwed them to the lap-jointed rectangle I had screwed together earlier. I then just had to cut the 1/8" strip of oak and make the loop. I attached a garbage bag by sticking the bag down through the loop and lid hole, and tucking the top of the bag over the loop and down into the lid hole again. The weight of the stuff in the bag helps pull the loop against the lid, securing the bag. 

I spent the next twenty minutes sweeping up around the shop and testing it out. 

It will be a lot easier the next time it gets full.

Storage Chest 5 Plus a storage box for my carving tools

Last Look at the Chest

Well, I added the cross piece to the lid to make the Z pattern. I threw a couple desiccant bags I get from work in there with my hand planes and have been using it for a week or so. I set it up on the floor on a couple of pieces of wood to make it easier to get into. I love the way the lid and lock works. That was a fun project.

  

Storage Case for Carving Gouges

A while back, I got a set of Ashley Iles dove-tail chisels plus a couple optional chisels making the total set have 8 chisels. The little chisel roll that came with the set had six pockets. Last year I got a Two-Cherries 6-chisel set which came in a nice leather roll with, like, twelve pockets. I swapped chisels and rolls and now my chisels all have a home. I also keep a cheap 1/4 inch bench chisel with my dove-tail set because I use it for any heavy chopping I need to do if I leave too much waste after sawing out the waste with the jeweler's saw. Now I just needed somewhere to put my carving gouges.

I bought the gouges a while back and have just kept them in the postage box they came in, in there individual plastic sleeves. I saw the chisel case that David Barron uses to keep his dovetail chisels handy, and I thought I would make a similar deal for my carving gouges and other carving tools.

I used some scrap for everything, because I am not confident enough to tear into the nice wood I bought in St. Louis a few months ago. I get a piece of zebra wood, birds-eye maple, and wenge. I can't believe how expensive that was. The scraps I used were from my bed project, plus one old piece of Alder (I think), from an old bed repair I did years ago for a friend. Anyway, here is the finished case. I stained it with Gun-Stock Minwax stain, and then a couple coats of shellac.

 

I made it roughly 12 x 16 x 2 1/2 inches. The lid was from a piece of oak that was 3/4 inches thick, and 6 inches wide. I resawed it to make book matched, 5/16 inch pieces that I edge glued to make the panel. I used the alder for the sides.I used plywood for the bottom.

 

The lid slides along the slots cut into the back and sides. The supports are made from the leftover pine from the storage chest. I just drilled 1 1/4 inch holes for the handle supports, and 5/8 holes for the smaller supports that keep the pointy ends from touching. I made room for 9 gouges, but only had six, so I was able to put my carving knifes and small carving tools/pouch in there as well.

 

The Alder I used for the sides (or what ever that old wood was) didn't take the stain very well. It didn't really have a visible grain, so it looks kind of splotchy. This was the first time I used shellac. I like it.  The dovetails turned out pretty good. I am trying to perfect my technique so I can use some of that fancy wood I bought.

Here is a link to the SketchUp model at 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com:

Model of Sliding Lid Dovetail Box