Almost to Completion!

I am almost to completion. This has been one long road with this cabinet and to look at this cabinet one may think it simple and not much to it. But it has been a vary good endeavor for me. I fit the drawers accurate from the start today, a big improvement from the last cabinet. The details are small, but I have made continuing improvements which will fuel future projects. Over all I am pleased with the results.

11/28/10

The Maker's Mark.

The end is near. All that remains is the innards. And a little wax.

20 Posts.

All the stain is on and it looks good. Overall it’s coming together.

Trimmed dovetails!

I trimmed all the dovetails and this weekend should start putting the stain on.

I am still at the door. but it is all good.

Door and hinge.

I put a third hinge mostly for visual balance. The door has been most difficult to fit but I almost have it where I want it.

The Devil

The devil is in the detail. And the Devil is in this new cabinet. The design looks simple, but simple it is not. Fitting the door has been most difficult. And the last two cabinets I cut myself. I was trying not to this time, but I ended up cutting myself. I don’t know, maybe its good luck.

The Panel is fitted in the door!

With help from my shoulder plane the gray pine panel is fitted.

I am still at it!

working on the door now.

Labor Day weekend

Labor Day weekend is a good day to finish or start a project. So keeping with tradition I have started a new cabnint, well I actually started it August 27, but I started more work on Labor Day. It should be fun. I would like this one to be out some time in October

The start of a new cabinet

After the completion of (figured pine with mahogany accents) I spent some time streamlining my shop (the hypogeum) and it is truly rising. I insulated more walls and organized the placement of tools to better vacillate workflow. And so I am ready to start a new project and for the most part I think I have it worked out, (at lest in my head I do). As my last cabinet was light in color. This cabinet will be dark and gray. It doesn’t sound real happy, (it should fit in with Halloween season). I think it will look quit imposing in a good way. I have already made the first cuts Friday the 27th so it’s on the way.

Ebony stained pine with gray pine panel.

Completion

Wow how the time has past. July 20th was my last post, but this is the craziest time of the year for me. Work and the fact that I go back home to Nebraska for the annual Camp Creek Antique Machinery and Threshing Show, (which is in its 34th year now,) but that is for another blog. This is for the cabinet that was almost completed before I left for all that. This is for all practical purposes my tenth cabinet. Which was started May 1st and was completed August 1st. Is it my best? Well it has many enhancements over past ones. The lines are tighter, the details better and the way I orientated the grain of the wood is the best to date. This is the first cabinet that I put a face frame on and I complty designed it in my head. No drawings, no thumbnail sketches. Also I documented it on this blog.

Where this will go or how this will develop, I don’t know. But I hope it will be the beginning of something good that will enhance the over all product.

But there are some things that I didn’t do that I wanted to do. Like make the knobs instead of purcuesing ones. And giving the cabinet an ultra cool artsy name. But I did make the brass knobs look tarnished with the help cases brass black and I did settle on a name, (Figured Pine with Mahogany accents). Yea. Over all I had a lot of fun building it and it help me get threw this fun time of the year for me. My goal is to finish two more before the end of the year. But I don’t want to make junk, so we will jest have to see.
I plan to start September 1st. Thanks for the interest.

It’s getting there.

The progress is slow with the drawers. This is not an easy part, and jest like the door all things need to be perfect or the over all look will be ruined. I have had a lot of distractions this week, some good and some to be excepted for this time of year. In these photos the over all look of the cabinet can be seen and ones the drawers are in place the knobs and the finish are all that are left. I would like to have the cabinet completed before leave for Nebraska. But I’m not going to compromise on anything.

1/16

I am in the make or brake faze. This weekend I fit the door to the cabinet, this is always a definitive moment for the project. I have done this many times by now so I need to up it a notch. And so fare all is good, I got the 1/16 of an inch that I was hoping for and the detent for the door is right on. I apologies, I’m jest not abele to express in words. Up next is getting the drawers put together and turning the knobs.

Good weekend

Productiv.

Focus

Over the past week I have focused on the pine cabinet with the bird’s eye grain pattern. This one has my interest for now and I believe it will be most unusual. I want to make this cabinet most eye caching. Over the past five years I have colleted the wood that is going in to this cabinet, the photo of the weird pattern of knots sparked my imagination the instant I looked at it, but how to use it to its fullest was the problem, but I think I have found the solution. In the end it’s all about balance. And yes the dove tails are hand cut but I am not trying to make a statement with them or have the construction be a focus at all. I want the pattern of the wood to be the fist thing that’s gets you and hopefully the way I have enraged it.

For the most part, Good.

I have been moving on right along with the two cabinets. About ever day I make some progress. Right now I am trying to get the dovetails cut and the cases joined. I did make a mistake on one of theme but I turned it around. But I have come to the realization that I need to name each of the cabinets or things can get confusing as I write this. Each has its own personality. That it for now, more to come.

Time

Time

I am not a big fan of sandpaper, the dust and loud sound of the sander. That’s why I prefer to use a sharp hand plane, the buteful shavings and equally beautiful sound of making those shavings. But with the current material that I am working with the sandpaper is the best chose. This bride’s eye pine, (that I call it) will not yield to my Stanley #3 the way other woods do. But I am going to make the best of it. This pine has a beauty that captures my interest, I want to rush but I need to take my time, I feel this is going to be good.

Ideas Wood Steel Time

Ideas> Wood< /Steel + Time =

This is sort of like an equation, (I jest made that up).

After months of getting my new shop up and running it is still not completed, but that is for another blog post. But my new shop (The Hypogeum) is operational and I have so many ideas in my head that I jest have to start working on them.
Saturday may 1st I started to work on two cabinets. Both will have similar lines to cabinets that I have built in the past but with many more refinements.
The one cabinet that I have pictured hear is pine. It has the most interesting brides eye grain pattern that I hope to exploit. I also have a small plank with some interesting knots in a cluster that I hope to use for the panel of the door.

The second cabinet will be similar to the 2009 small chest of drowses. I am also entertaining the possibility of adding a stand for the cabinet, but I haven’t got that fare yet.