On the Bench – Jan 2011

Time for a little update on the projects sitting on the bench (or on the brain!) 

With the Zebrawood boxes done, box making fever has not passed!  I’ll be picking out some stock to make another batch of the small Doug Stowe boxes pretty soon.  We have an old Oak dresser and chest of drawers that were passed on to us by my wife’s parents when we were married over 16 years ago.  They have both seen better days and have received several repairs over the years.  I’ve been trying to convince my lovely bride that we need some new dressers, that would better match our modern tastes, and that I should salvage this really nice old Oak for a few projects.  We’ll see how well I fare!  This Oak would make some beautiful boxes, especially with some corner spline accents.  I’ll also begin drawing up plans for a larger box made of Padauk.  I have four pair of these book matched boards with a healthy portion of cream colored sapwood.  

I really like the contrast and I’ve got an idea to ensure a clean flow of the grain and the transition line around all four corners.  I’ll need a light colored wood with very little grain definition for the lid panel that won’t compete with the Padauk.  I’m thinking of some clear Holly.  We’ll see what’s available from the local lumber suppliers.

One of the bigger projects coming up is the Guild Build I’ll be participating in with the online community over at www.thewoodwhisperer.com.  It’s a hanging wall cabinet and I’ll be building ours out of soft Maple for our downstairs bathroom.  As you can see it’s a pretty sparse room.

Our other two bathrooms have linen cabinets, but this downstairs bathroom has no storage at all.  The trim you see around the window and used for baseboards matches what’s used throughout the house…a soft Maple with a clear finish.  I found an unfinished piece in our basement that I’ll use to try and match at the lumber yard.

I also still have an, almost completed, display table in need of some final sanding and finishing that I’d like to get wrapped up.  It’s Ash and Sapelle and was started back in Albuquerque.  

  

It should actually make for a good cold weather project…one that could be worked on in the basement if our temperatures don’t start come back up some real soon.  Between this table and the “Lego” project (http://secondwindworkshop.blogspot.com/2010/11/initiate-lego-inspiration-in-321.html) I should have enough to bring down to the warm basement to work on without making a mess in the house.

A final project I’d like to get started on…or at least start putting down on paper, is a mantle for the family room side of our fireplace. 

We’ll be raising the TV a couple more inches to add a little more clearance and will be building a floating mantle over the fireplace and some accent shelves on that bare wall to the right.  The staircase and columns in our house are made from Douglas Fir timbers that were reclaimed from an old warehouse in Duluth.

I was fortunate that the original homeowners kept the left over timber in the basement.

There should be enough here for the mantle and the shelving…and, of course, maybe some more boxes.

Honestly I’ll be happy to start the Guild Build and get even one of these projects knocked out by the end of the month.  The colder temperatures we see in January don’t make for much comfortable working time out in the shop.  Then there’s that pesky full-time job.  They kinda like it when I show up every day, but it sure cuts into the shop time!  J

Pete