Category: Woodworking Projects

Shop Projects (and Spring Like Weather)

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I took some time between (non-workshop) projects to finish up some improvements for the shop. The first was to complete a rack for my chisels. I had glued up the side panels a month ago, but decided to focus on the bench build. So my chisels sat in the bench tool tray the entire time. Not the end of the world, but it wasn’t very organized. I had to be careful to not knock them around or catch myself on one of the sharp edges.

I pulled inspiration from the April 2011 Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Chisel Rack completed and hung on the wall.

My next project will be building a chicken coop (hönshus) for the Norlandia preschool in Hovmantorp. It won’t be furniture, but it will help pay for the workshop. I needed sawhorses for the project (and they are useful to have around). I did a search around the web and decided to build a set of folding sawhorses that will easily fit in the car. I finished assembling the second sawhorse this morning before heading home to meet Izzy after school.

Completed shop made sawhorses.

I have a few lessons learned from the build. The biggest is to double check the crosscut sled on the tablesaw. It wasn’t perfectly square which explaned my trouble getting the pieces to line up perfectly. That is next on my list to fix in the shop. I threw together the crosscut sled to try it out on the tablesaw, but need to be more careful aligning it. There is a huge pendulum crosscut saw in the shop (a Waco EBMD Crosscut Saw from 1961 with I believe a 18-inch blade on it). I tried to true that one up, but I wasn’t able to get it perfect, but I think in hindsight it is better than the one on the tablesaw. Oh well, a project for next week.

I’m hoping to pick up the lumber for the chicken coop on Friday and do most of the build over the weekend. It will be a lot easier to build when the school is closed and I don’t have to run home to meet Izzy after school. The weather forecast looks favorable. Hopefully I can get a trailer for the lumber with my US driver’s license. If not, I’ll have to see when they can deliver the wood and do the build next week.

We are starting to get some spring-like weather here between the stretches of Sweden-winter-like weather (i.e. cold, overcast and wet). Today was one of them. There is a 2-mile loop from my workshop that takes me around a mile-long lighted running/walking/biking path (Löpanäs elljusspår) through the Rottne countryside and down by lake Innaren. It gets Hoagie and I out for a little over a half-hour and breaks up the day. It hasn’t been too busy during lunch-time which allows me to let Hoagie run a little bit.

Hoagie enjoying the walk around the Löpanäs elljusspår on a beautiful March afternoon.

First project finished and out the door!

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My first non-workshop-related project has been completed and and delivered. I finished the last few rows of the Danish cord bench yesterday and Susanna and I dropped it off at her sister’s house. It isn’t perfect, but I’m happy how it turned out (for a first attempt at weaving).

The completed Danish Cord Bench, ready to be delivered.

Getting the weave even and correct is a challenge. I think the trick is to go slow (which I did, but could have done a little better keeping the warp and weave straight as I went along) and make sure the tension on each strand is the same (which I don’t think I did very well). It was a fun project to complete, even if it took a while to get done.

I started the project thinking I was going to do all the work by hand, but quickly decided that wasn’t the path I wanted. I quickly turned to the existing table saw to rip the boards and decided I wanted a planer to thickness the boards. Getting the planer I wanted in stock took a few weeks. I did the first mortise by hand, then decided to get the CNC running and use that. Setting up the CNC and getting it all working accurately took a few days. I thought I could do the weaving in a single day, but it was my first time trying to weave cord, so it took a while longer than I had planned. I had to keep going back to the class video and watch the next step.

Danish cord bench weave. You can see where I didn’t get the cord to lay evenly flat on the rail.

My big lesson learned from the project is that I need to build a better finishing table/cabinet. I inherited a dining room table with the shop space that I used, but it isn’t perfectly flat. I did the bench glue-up using the table as a flat surface, but then found a little wobble in the table when I put it on a flat surface. I also realized the tablesaw needed a new blade, but I already wrote about that adventure. I may also upgrade the CNC spindle to a small router. That would make things like mortises a lot faster.

So what is next? I think I have a little less than half of the cord left, probably not enough for another bench, but maybe a few bar/workshop stool tops. I’ll put that in my project queue. I’ll take today and tomorrow to try to build a chisel rack and organize the shop a bit. I already have a list that should keep me busy enough for the next few months:

  1. Build a loft bed for Izzy. This will be bolted together, so should be a pretty quick project. But I always say that before I jump into a project, so who knows how hard it will really be. I plan on measuring and designing the bed today or tomorrow and picking up lumber for the project next week.
  2. Build a TV stand/entertainment center (Tv-bänk in Swedish). Our current one is terrible. I want to try veneering, so this will be a bit more complicated to finish. But I’ll make it from plywood, so that should help speed things along.
  3. Coffee table. Ours is functional, but we could use a nicer one.

I have a few non-furniture projects to work on as well:

  1. A chicken coop for the preschool Susanna works at. They are hiring me to do small projects around several of the schools, so this will be done as a pretty high priority once I get the go ahead on the project. Need to pay for the workshop!
  2. A decorative (and movable) fence for our patio so we can hang out there with Hoagie.
  3. Build a new outhouse by the lake cabin.

And then there are workshop projects:

  1. Storage rack for my chisels (they are all just sitting in the tool tray on my workbench for now)
  2. New finishing table/cabinet
  3. Finish the drawers under the laser engraver
  4. Bar stool/bench
The completed bench

Adventures in Sävsjöström

~ Chuck ~ 2 Comments

The past week has been busy. We arrived in Sävsjöström on Thursday. We didn’t pick up our rental car until Monday, so spent a lot of time at home and getting rides from Susanna’s parents.

I spent time building a workbench in Dan’s workshop. He generously offered to let me take a corner of his shop to start my wood shop over here. Even more generously, he let me pick through his lumber stock to make the bench. I brought over three hand saws and two handplanes to leave here, with the plan to pick up clamps and chisels (and other tools as needed) locally. The workshop is a 15-minute walk from their house, so I have been getting my steps in most days.

My workbench pushed alongside the wall. I will probably still add a shelf below the bench and some shelves to hold the handplanes if I have time.

The week has been very social. For New Year’s Eve, Susanna, Izzy, and I went with her Sister’s family to a friend’s house for dinner and games. Almost all the kids stayed up until midnight and the neighborhood fireworks display. We had a great time, and Susanna has been paying for it today. I was the designated driver, so I’m not feeling the effects of the night today. Izzy and I had a nice outing to Kosta outlets while Susanna slept until early afternoon.

Earlier in the week, Susanna, Izzy, and I went to an open house. We are a few years away from buying a place here, but we don’t have lots of time here between now and then, so it is good to get an idea of what we like and don’t like about apartments here. Of course it was new, so Izzy loved it. I suspect Izzy will love most of the properties we go look at.

A snowy morning walking to the workshop in Sävsjöström, Sweden.

Dan took me bowling with a group of his friends over the weekend. I am certainly not a good bowler, but I had fun. I even won the first game, but was trounced the second game. After bowling we all went out to the pizza buffet in Kosta. I was invited to join them at the Sävsjöström “sport club” sauna that evening, but I was still feeling the time change, so declined. It was a good call. Apparently the person that was responsible for turning on the sauna that morning didn’t do it correctly, so they had to wait over an hour for it to heat up.

I found a woodworking store (SweDendro-Tools) in the nearby city, Växjö. Not really found it; Dan has been there, so he pointed me in the right direction. I dragged Susanna there with me so I could get two parallel clamps, chisels and a sharpening stone. I decided to get Axminster Tools clamps and chisels. I haven’t seen them before and I believe that they are a UK company, but the quality seems decent. The chisels sharpened up nicely, but time will tell if they hold an edge. The clamps are nice; they were half the price of the Bessey clamps. Then again, I haven’t used Bessey clamps, so won’t be able to compare them.

We have a busy week planned with visits to relatives and friends, a hockey game, and possibly a sleepover with Izzy’s cousins. I will see how far I get in the workshop in the time between all the activities.

Susanna keeping me company while I build the workbench.

A long week (with COVID) and some small projects

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It has been a long week already, and it is only Tuesday. It feels like Thursday at least.

I started feeling symptoms on Saturday night and tested positive on Sunday. Luckily it has so far been mostly mild, but I have had no energy. I’m stuck isolating until Friday at the earliest. It has been a long journey since the first lock down in spring of 2021, and I was hoping that it had passed me by. My luck ran out this week, though as far as weeks go, it wasn’t too bad of a week to get sick and have to isolate. Will is mostly in his room in the loft above the garage. Ben is at his mom’s house. Susanna and Izzy are six hours ahead in Sweden. I get the whole second floor and my workshop to myself all day. I just haven’t had energy to do much for the past few days.

Today I’m starting to feel better, though my energy is ebbing by the time I’m writing this. It is almost time to give into watching YouTube and Netflix for the night.

My weekends started out well. I got up early on Saturday and took Hoagie for a walk. It was hot, so I picked an easy 2 mile hike in Ledyard, the Pine Swamp Wildlife Corridor Loop. It wasn’t a very nice trail, and there was a section that I had to pass through some construction by the local power company. I’ll be avoiding that trail again.

The not so scenic Pine Swam Wildlife Loop.

Over the past few days I was able to finish off a few smaller projects that I had started last week. I didn’t get any work done on the house, but I was able to get some time in the workshop. I completed the sides and brass reinforcement on the holder for my #4 smooth plane. I also made a simple holder for a try square that I put above the chisels. I’ll probably make additional wooden holders for my other squares.

New storage for my #4 smooth plane

Most of what I did when I got tired of sitting in bed and watching TV was to just clean the shop a bit. And yes, I am bored. My workshop is probably more organized than it has ever been. there is hardly any crap left sitting on my tablesaw. My goal this week is to entirely clean the junk off the horizontal work surfaces and put everything into a home.

Slightly improved hand tool storage.
Finished Cutting Board

Friday night in the workshop

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It is much quieter around the house with Susanna and Isabella out of town. My evenings are pretty open without having to juggle getting Isabella to go to bed. Tonight I decided that I would be happier if I did something other than watch a show after dinner, so I headed out to the workshop. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of TV time over the next few weeks until Susanna and Isabella return. Yes my life is that exciting.

I decided that my next workshop project was to replace the rack I built to hold my chisels. Chisels stick in the current rack and can be difficult to get out. Plus it doesn’t look very nice.

My existing chisel rack made from a spare piece of white oak.

I headed up to my loft and pulled out a piece of cherry lumber. I was in no mood to dig out a piece of exotic lumber after the pain of working with Yellowheart. Cherry is very nice to work with. Not too hard and not too soft and darkens to a nice color with exposure to the sun.

I decided to do as much by hand as I could. I cut a 25″ piece off of the board, and ripped (by hand) a 2″ wide piece off that cutoff. I flattened one face by hand, but there was no way I was interested in milling to thickness by hand, so into the planer it went. I used a handplane and scraper to finish the surface

Cutting the openings to the holes.

I edge jointed the board by hand. It felt nice to get the handplanes out again. I marked out and then drilled the holes using the drill press; I had already setup the drill press for a test piece and don’t think digging out the bit and brace was really worth it tonight.. The slots were cut by hand and then shaped with a rasp.

Shaping the holes using a rasp.

Finally I lightly sanded the entire piece and softened the edges, wiped it down with mineral spirits and put a few chisels in it for a test fit.

Test fitting the new chisel rack.

The next step is to mill a backing board with rabbet to allow me to mount the rack to the wall and apply some sort of finish to the project. I’ll probably also put some sort of ledge below the chisels to keep hands from bumping into the sharp edge of the chisels. I also don’t think my mortise chisel (far left on top picture) will fit in the holes I made, so I may have to modify or add another spot for that chisel. The final step will be to acquire more chisels. Maybe make the set match better, because matching tools are always important.

Now I just need to think of a project to build for the house.

Workshop Project – Saw Till

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Saw Till – completed and hung

This morning I put the final finish coat on the Saw Till and hung it in the workshop. I made it from yellowheart lumber with some spare flooring milled for the back. I learned a few lessons from this project.

Yellowheart (Euxylophora paraensis) is hard to work with. It has a Janka Hardness of nearly 1800, so it is harder than Hard Maple and White Oak (1600 and 1350 lb Janka hardness respectively). It was certainly tough on the chisels, and the interlocking grain pattern made it difficult to plane. Next time I’ll stick to oak or cherry.

I also didn’t make the till tall enough for all my saws. The saw to the right of the till is about 1″ too long to properly fit on the till. I could probably still put it on the till; it wouldn’t fall out but would stick out the top.

Now to sharpen a few more saws and add them to my collection and figure out my next shop project (maybe improve my chisel storage).

Coffee Table (Finally)

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Sometimes it is easier to start projects than to finish them. Okay – it is almost always easier to start than finish. The new coffee table was no exception.

I had the table frame and top constructed in May. Then life came in the way. We had to complete some house projects and replace windows. Travel for work. Yard projects. Time with the kids. It is easy for the days to slip to weeks and to slip to months. But the project is finally finished and in the living room. It isn’t perfect, but it is the most complicated project I have made to date.

It is constructed of solid cherry – with the drawer bottoms made from 1/4″ plywood (I was running out of wide cherry, and the plywood bottoms can be glued into the drawers and won’t move with the seasons. I finished the project with a single coat of shellac and then Enduro-Var as a top coat. This is my first project using Enduro-Var, and it is great. The water-based finish dries quickly and looks great. I think I have my new go-to finish. Next time I’ll try spraying it.

Cherry coffee table – drawer detail.

Cherry coffee table – completed.

A quick project from reclaimed material…

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Will asked me to help him build an archery target. He was tired of shooting at a half-fallen-apart bale of hay. We went into the workshop, found some old foam insulation blocks, and pine reclaimed from some benches that had been in our sun porch. It was a short project to put together a target and stand, and nice to use some materials that had been sitting around the shop.

Ready for target practice

Using the Stanley No. 45 Plane

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I’ve been pretty good at getting back into the workshop. I have the AC installed – and even though it doesn’t completely keep up on a hot and humid day like today, it helps. I’m currently building a case for my new workshop computer. The case will allow me to add filters to keep the dust out of the machine.

Using the Stanley 45 as a plow - cutting a rabbet along the grain on a piece of antique pine.
Using the Stanley 45 as a plow – cutting a rabbet along the grain on a piece of antique pine.

Today I’m cutting rabbets on the rails of the case to allow me to install the bottom and sides of the case. Normally I would set up the router table and use the router, but I need to go get longer bolts to attach the fence to the new table and I’m lazy. Plus, Izzy has been hanging out in the shop at times (in her pack and play), so I need to find ways to do things without power tools.

Which brings me to the Stanley No. 45 Plane. The plane came in a collection of antiques I got from my dad. It is in pretty good shape, though the cutters need sharpening. Last night I started sharpening the cutters.  The cutters are almost at a 30-degree bevel, but not quite and it took me a while to grind the proper bevel. So, after sweating at it for a while, I decided to only grind the 1/2 dado cutter. I’ll work on the rest as I need them (and in hindsight, I should have done one of the wider ones).

How did it work? At first use, it works well. I had to make two passes to get the width of the rabbet I wanted (hence, the wish I had sharpened a wider cutter) which made the finished cut a little rougher than I had hoped. Of course I didn’t do a good job cleaning up the rabbet either, but no worries – the rabbet will be hidden.

Now back to work – time to clean up the rails and glue up the frame. And maybe later to eBay to browse different cutters for the plane.