They’re done, and I’m really happy with how they turned out. This was my first experience with black walnut, and I must say, I really like the wood. It was really easy to work with my limited hand tool collection and skill set. Most of the work was done with power tools, but I used my hand tools for a lot of the finishing and finesse work.
I have read that walnut is the “premier” North American furniture making wood, and after this project I can see why. The only real drawback of walnut is that it has large pores/grain. I had originally wanted a glass smooth surface for the top, but I quickly changed my mind when I realized how much work that would require. Ok, that’s enough of me babbling on it’s time for the photos.
Yea, it's three boards, I promise.
Look mom it's a set.
buttons anyone?
My first handsaw was a cheap Buck Brothers saw that I got at the local True Value. It wasn’t very sharp, and its fit & finish wasn’t very stellar either. With that being said, it got the job done all kinds of projects. I used it for everything, cutting scarp to size when i didn’t want to move the cars to get to the miter saw, to trimming the bottom of a Christmas tree (the neanderthal police are still after me).
My parents got me the new Veritas carcass saws for my birthday, and they are leaps and bounds better than the old Buck Brothers. The bubinga handles have an excellent finish, and the blades are highly polished. In my opinion, the best feature of these saw, is newbie proof labels. After all, not everyone, can just look at a saws teeth, and tell what type of saw it is.
Sweet......
Check out the bubinga
Newbie proof labeling
If your not aware of Chris Schwarz’s personal blog, I suggest you check it out. Lately, Chris has been spicing up his posts with quotes from old issues of “The Woodworker”. Yesterday, he posted one (duplicated below) that struck me as even more relevant today than it was in 1954.
Far to often, I find myself in the situation the author speaks of; worn down by the less glamorous aspects of my job. I’ve been making a conscious effort lately to enjoy the simple things in life, and I’ve bee slowly re-discovering what truly makes me happy. I’ve spending what little time I can with those close to me, and doing what I have done in one fashion or another since I was a child; making stuff.
So many men to-day, doing work that is far removed from the making of things, the many professional workers, office workers, salesmen, factory workers – whose work may seem to be making but whose sole contribution is constant repetitive action in one infinitesimal part – lack contact with that real world in which a man can exercise his creative gifts.
They barely realise that such a world exists.
Theirs is the world of hard bargaining, of nimble wits or the routine job, which leave a great part of their natural human instincts unsatisfied, even though in all probability they do not know the reason for their perennial feelings of dissatisfaction and frustration.
— The Woodworker, January 1954
Last night my router table router, under went surgery to remove some growths that where preventing it from doing it’s job properly. When I made the inserts for my router lift, the spindle lock prevented the router from rising high enough for above the table bit changes. While not the end of the world, it was definitely annoying. Since I had some time to kill last night, I decided to rectify the problem. I taped off the bottom of the router to keep filings out of the hosing, and went to town with a mill file. After about 20 minutes, my biceps burned, and I had a nice pile of filings.
Before
After
The bad mojo is gone, and I’m back on track now. Last night, I wrapped up construction of the top, in spite of it being 50 degrees in the shop. I know I know I’m a big sissy; but I like to be warm, when I’m working in the shop. It’s kind of hard to focus on the task and hand, when you keep pondering what temperature frostbite start to become a concern.
The first thing I did, and forgot to take a picture of, was crosscut the tops to length. Routing holes for the dishes, was the second and most time consuming step of the evening. While it’s time consuming, it’s simple with a router circle jig. Step one is to locate and drill the hole for the centering pin. Step two is to pick the appropriate radius, and the final step is to start making saw dust.
Applying double sided table to the bottom of the top.
Ready to rout the holes
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