Any woodworkers?

Sorry long response. I started in the shop with my Grandfather. He was depression era and did things out of necessity. Woodwork consisted of outdoor furniture, garden beds, home repair and interior cabinetry. My mom carved oriental faces in tree knots and branches and my dad was a woodcarver, metal worker, and a scroll saw artist. They instilled the artwork part of woodworking which allowed me to see what existed within the wood and the scroll saw and chisels they passed down allowed me to reproduce my artwork within the wood. I carried all of this into my landscape construction business where I built cedar bridges with matching planter boxes and furniture with scroll work and uniquely designed hand carved faces. I also had the opportunity to teach in a middle school wood shop class with really nice equipment including a lathe. Though I would say that I still have a lot to learn about turning wood. I still build out of necessity. Home improvement and repair, drawer bed systems for my truck, collapsible cabinetry for our new RV, and backyard projects. I have really enjoyed watching you embark on this journey.

 

Cutting boards. They are one of the best skill builders, and as you get better, there are so many ways to enhance them.

Then boxes. These are beginning pics.

 

This is more recent

 

Not incompetent, you dont have the right tools and experience yet. Sometimes you have to accept this is as good as can be done with what I have to work with at this time.

A card scraper, a spoke shave, and a GOOD hand plane along with sharpening stones will blow your mind with what you are able to pull off.

 

Thanks for not condemning my fumbled efforts. I will look into the card scraper, spoke shave. Hand planes were not part of my set because of the skill I needed to develop for it.

This is intended as a gift, so I submitted photos of the imperfection to an appropriate judge before I give up (or just cut the handles straight off).

 

Ok, couple questions. What sander are you using? Start out 120 grit, 220, 320, 400. Palm sander will get the marks out.

Circular saw isnt best for clean cuts. Just like a jigsaw. Some tricks for better cuts with circular saw is let the saw get up to speed, push saw steady through and dont release the saw trigger until your blade is all the way through your piece. And also a quality blade.

 

60, 120, 220, 320, 800. Palm sander I have not purchased before due to low volume of project, but this project is worth a few dollars just-because.

Jigsaw has dropped in uses for me ... scroll saw would be needed for later irregular shapes.

Circular saw I try hard to use ONLY at full speed. I binds/burns if used ramp-up/ramp-down. I once helped my brother use his new circular saw to cut fence scraps. I had to gently explain that his role was to cradle but not control the cut end to prevent the saw binding.

I may get the spoke shaver from a local store that is full of woodworking toys ... my brother the lawyer would just sit in the car and read news on his cell phone if we went there. They have Woodriver Spoke Shaver for $60 that might salvage the tray if I first practice on test pieces. "Salvage" meaning reduce the appearance, not be perfect.

 

What a legacy!


In pleased to hear you're enjoying it. It is most certainly a journey. ❤

 

Theyre lovely!! Is that burl?

 

I love those behind the sofa tables! Also, I think I get the desire to do dovetails. I want to do those. I haven't made my first try yet.

 

Here is a project that all my Middle School students had to do, for it incorporated all the equipment minus the lathe. The top allowed the to utilize skills necessary to build cutting boards, table tops, and high end cabinetry. The legs were designed to work with various angles. And used the scroll saws to cut the custom pieces which allow these TV Trays to fold and self stand. This taught them to be precise. Gluing, Planing, Routing, Pinning with dowel stock, and Sanding and Staining. Once they passed this performance task they were move onto dove tails and jewelry boxes, then free to design and build.

 

You yourself will be more critical of stuff you build. I do it also. 60 grit is too coarse IMO. Are you using block sander?

 

Yes Maple Burl veneer. I have two vacuum presses. One roarocket hand pump and a electric constant duty vacuum pump press.
Everything I know about veneering I learned here.
https://www.joewoodworker.com/

He is a outstanding resource and the best value in veneer sales as well.

 

Block, with changeable paper. 60 is destructive, yeah, but spend more time with 220/320/800 (though 400 may be enough for most uses).

I already feel the idiot, wasting all that wood on neanderthal methods. But I am old enough to know that the only way to appreciate the correct way is to do it the wrong way.

Spoke shaver can help salvage the last bad part. I cannot feel shamed by the engineering, though, despite some 45 degree corner issues.

 

Its ok. Keep at it...dont give up!

 

Here is a good video showing the method this guy used to build his tray. It’s right around 5:00 in where he makes the handles. This is the method I would use…I have also used the circular saw to cut the angled side and done similar with my sliding compound miter (12”Dewalt sliding compound) and the stop block to cut the angles rather than the bandsaw. If you use the compound miter you would have to build a jig to hold the wood in place and move it away from the back fence and towards the center of the blade. This allows you to square the cut if not curving it like he did in the video. Square cuts require more precision…You should be proud of the results that you achieved.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RvoE0ZeDGJg

 

Thanks for that video, and for the grade. I considered low handle slots but decided a lower slot could allow loss of liquid contents like soup or spilled drinks. Still, we each choose our design. I like the small slices in the corners, helps ties the edges together forever. My first iteration before it was chopped to save the middle insert has dowels at 45 degree to keep the corners from separating.

I used a 1 in spade bit to create the main cut-outs of the slot (flat blade spade instead of a tri-fluke or auger bit to minimize metal-wood contact and reduce burning). Also used 1 in spade to form the arc-corner of the top of the handles. Then circular saw to complete most of the cut toward the hole ... finish off with jigsaw. Next round will use circular saw 1/4 in offset from the sloped line and finesse the last 1/4 with spoke-shaver. That offset should limit burning.

I think your efforts had fewer end-grain issues because you used 45-degrees and mine are much close to 90 degrees (the artist in me decided that ... damned artists!).

 

The planter box was started... a while ago and was more or less finished yesterday, the gate was done today.