Hanging File – Viewer Project
This elegant and functional project was submitted by Chet who hails from Camas, Washington. Let’s check it out:
I am a beginner in wood working and wanted to share with you a File Hanger that I built. It is made out of Maple and Walnut. It took two months to finish. I first made full scale parts of MDF to see how it would fit together. That process helped me to see the proper steps to take and kept me from ruining the more expensive hardwoods. I hope you enjoy it.
Cherry and Walnut Bed – Viewer Project
Nothing is more rewarding than building a project that would have cost thousands of dollars from a furniture store, but costs you only time and materials. Let’s check out this beautiful bed that Matt designed and built:
I have finally finished my bed project! Here’s the story. I designed this bed by jotting down some ideas and it evolved as I worked. It has taken me well longer than it should have, but it’s finally done. I used mostly cherry, some walnut for the beading, and cherry ply for the panels. Most woodworkers don’t seem to like seeing sapwood, but I actually got a compliment for “gum streak” on the footboard from a cousin that works for a cabinet company. There are a few plugs on the tops of the headboard and footboard that are cocobolo. I used oak for the rails and stained it antique cherry, because I just had some good oak the right length for the rails. I’m pretty excited and my son has been very patient. I think he’s pleased. Hopefully it’s strong enough to handle years of abuse as he and his brother get bigger.
A Special Day
Some of you may not realize that TheWoodWhisperer.com is actually just a blog. And as such, I reserve the right to post completely off-topic content such as this. Today is mine and Nicole’s 6th wedding anniversary. I know it seems like all we are doing lately is celebrating anniversaries! Unfortunately, Nicole is out of town at a conference, so we can’t be together today. But I figured that embarrassing her with a public display of affection like this would be some sort of consolation. So to my beautiful bride, my best friend, and my “partner in crime”, Happy Anniversary!
Matching Color the Easy Way
In my opinion, color matching is something of an art form. There are so many different ways to arrive at a final color and look that it can drive you nuts! Lets see, there are alcohol and water soluble dyes in liquid and powder form, oil stains, water-based stains, pigments, toners, gel stains, glazes, and the list goes on and on. But does it always have to be this convoluted?? Let me spoil the ending for you: NO!
I was fortunate to work in a refinishing shop for a while and I had the opportunity to learn about color matching using various techniques and materials. We used to mix all kind of crazy stuff together to get that perfect match. Over the years, I began to realize that many times the perfect match is sitting in a can on the shelf. And if you can find the perfect color in a commercial product, I say “why not?”. The formula should always (hopefully) be consistent and if you ever need to reproduce the color again in the future, you’ll thank yourself.
This weekend, my buddy Ron from RJones Woodworks stopped by to bring me Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Well, to tell you the truth, that’s my standard color matching consultation fee. Pretty reasonable, right? Well anyway, he’s building a custom piece for a client who wants the color to match a particular bamboo cutting board. Now lets get one thing straight: there isn’t a damn thing you can do to oak to make it look like bamboo. This is an important detail that many clients don’t realize. I have had more than one customer ask me to refinish something made from pine so that it looks like something else made from oak. I would match the color perfectly, only to find the customer disappointed on delivery day because the pieces don’t look the same. So if you are ever doing a match for a client, its incredibly important to manage their expectations. OK enough business advice.
So we were all prepared to pull out the pigments, dyes, lacquer and the HVLP. But before diving into that craziness, we decided to take some dyes and stains from the cabinet and see if we couldn’t find a pre-made solution. We tested numerous water and oil based stains and dyes (all General Finishes). From left to right we have oil-based Pecan, oil-based Antique Cherry, American Cherry gel stain, Nutmeg gel stain, Light Brown water-based dye stain, and Pecan water-based wood stain. The differences were subtle: some had more red, some had more brown, others had more yellow. But all of them were, of course, affected by the red oak laying underneath the color. This is why its always important to test your stains on an actual scrap piece of the material you plan to work with.
Now the bamboo itself contains a range of colors from light to medium to dark brown, and mimicking the exact look would be nearly impossible. But if we could find a color that was a happy medium between the light and dark streaks, we would be in business. When it was all said and done, we decided on the Light Brown dye stain. We stained a larger area to confirm the match and I think we made the right choice. Honestly, I don’t think we could get any closer even if we tried. 
So once Ron gets the client’s approval, this is a done deal. Instead of spending hours trying to experiment with color, Ron can now hop online and order up a can of Light Brown Dye Stain. And if his client ever commissions another piece in the future, its going to be incredibly easy for him to match the color.
All in all it was a fun morning. And if anyone else wants to bring me free Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, I’ll be more than happy to help you do some color matching.
David’s Shop Inventory – Viewer Shop
This Shop Tour was submitted by David. Let’s check his place out:
My shop is a work in progress but its constantly developing so I guess that’s good. I share space with lawn & garden, bicycles, camping gear, a canoe, and of course, a LARGE BBQ smoker and a couple of smaller grills.
My major equipment list won’t impress many, but it works well for me so I guess that’s all that counts. The folks who can build fine furniture with a circular saw and a cutting guide without a doubt get TONS of respect from me. My entire shop was/is put together with “bang for the buck” a primary concern. Since this is just a hobby and not my living, not a single woodworking tool I own is what anyone would consider the top of the line, (As opposed to the Snap On stuff I bought when I was a mechanic years ago…) it is all VERY effective, and does exactly what I want.
The list is…
Ryobi BT3100-1 fully loaded up with wide table, router accessory, Shark Guard, custom dust collection improvements, etc. I am working on a wide table top to fill the space between the rails and provide a miter slot for the router accessory table. Primary blade is a Freud Diablo 40T general purpose blade. Also have 24T ripping and 80T Diablo blades. Dado stack is an Oshlun SDS-0630. The saw was used and I got it and all the goodies for it cheap. The blades were on sale (I try to never pay full price for anything). The lumber for the wide table legs was Hurricane Ike debris and the table top was scrap ply from the shop.
-Black & Decker “Firestorm†FS1000L compound miter saw and Firestorm folding miter saw stand. As lousy as the Firestorm router is, it amazes me how well this CMS and stand works. While missing some features of it’s Yellow cousins, accuracy wise, it is right there with the DeWalt. I have it fitted with an 80T Freud Diablo crosscutting blade. LOVE it. The CMS was on clearance, the Diablo blade I paid full price for, but it was reasonable.
Central Machinery #32208 14†4 speed wood cutting bandsaw with riser block, micro adjustable roller bearing blade guides, Craftsman band saw fence and a variety of Timberwolf blades. 1/2†3TPI lives on it most of the time. Another HF gem. Again, sale and coupon. A shop built dust collection chute that will tie into the 4†line, and mostly surround the blade and lower blade guide. A Grizzly GO555 tension release modification is on the way too. I have mine mounted up on a Central Machinery universal mobile base which keeps it easy to move on that rare occasion. This in turn keeps me from getting a hernia.
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Goodbye to the New Yankee Workshop
Well, I suppose it had to happen eventually. I just received word from various sources, including Popular Woodworking and Wood Magazine, that Norm is retiring from the New Yankee Workshop. Say it isn’t so Norm!!!
Regardless of how you feel about his work methods and tool choices, you can’t deny the influence he has had on the woodworking community. I used to even watch Norm before I knew the difference between a pin and a tail. And its guys like Norm that paved the way for a goober like me to create our show. So here’s a big thank you to someone who I consider to be one of the greats: Norm Abram. This will make it all the more special when I break out the Halloween Norm-O-Lantern this year.
Woodpeckers Rant
Normally I don’t get involved in other people’s business, but today I’m feeling a little sassy. Yeah that’s right….sassy. I recently received my periodic E-Club newsletter from Woodpeckers. In addition to the great deals within, this particular newsletter contained a few light-hearted tool definitions and I was delighted to see them. Previously, these newsletters were all business and it was great to see a little personality come out. The jokes weren’t even that funny, but I give them an A for effort. I have copied the jokes here for your reading pleasure:
DRILL PRESS – A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.
WIRE WHEEL – Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, “Oh, ****!”
SKILL SAW – A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.
PLIER – Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blisters.
A fellow woodworker sent us a list of some valuable woodworking definitions that we thought you would enjoy! We will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks.
Much to my disappointment I just received a mass-apology from the company’s president stating “…..some of you were offended by the humor. It was never our intention to offend anyone, so please accept our sincere apology.” Sigh……..
Now I’m no fool when it comes to business and I understand Woodpeckers need to protect their assets by not offending what is likely to be a very vocal minority. But how about a little reality check here. *Rant mode on*: Are you flippin’ kidding me?!?! Norm forbid a company show a pinch of personality or an ounce of humanity! The jokes in that newsletter are just about as innocent as you can get and they harm absolutely no one. Do these people really have nothing more important to worry about? The fact is that the people who complained about this have never really experienced what it is to be truly “offended”.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am much more likely to support and purchase product from a company that has personality and is actively involved in the community. It really pains me to see a company like Woodpeckers retract their harmless jokes and go back to “business as usual”.
So I have a little favor to ask. Since the thousands of people who probably enjoyed those jokes are not likely to speak up, I think we should let Woodpeckers know how you feel about a company showing, *gasp*, a little sense of humor. Are you more likely to buy from a company that does this? Show your support by subscribing to their E-Club Newsletter or send them a quick email: mailroom@woodpeck.com
*Rant Mode Off*
FYI, I have absolutely no affiliation with Woodpeckers and this is my personal commentary. But since I make a living with off-color humor and antics, this really struck a nerve with me. If you agree, let Woodpeckers know! If you disagree and you are offended by this post: SUCK IT UP!!!
The Difficult Path
Every Friday, I include a personal note in our Newsletter where I discuss some random event or concept. I never really know what I am going to write until I am sitting at the keyboard on Friday morning. Today’s newsletter note turned into more of a blog post and its something that I would like to hear people’s thoughts on. So I am re-posting it here. Enjoy!
I have a question for you. Have you ever taken the more difficult path on purpose? You could do something the easy way, with results that were just as good, but there was something about the more difficult path that drew you in. I confronted this as I was preparing for this month’s Guild project: a wall-hanging tool chest. I wasn’t sure whether to opt for a new joinery gizmo I am reviewing, or go the more challenging route with traditional dadoes (made even more complicated because of excessively undersized plywood and the fact that the dados are stopped). So as tempting as it was to try the new gizmo on this project, as it surely would have made life easier, I decided to opt for the dadoes. And while I’d like to claim some herioc noble reason, the truth is that the simple path just wouldn’t have done much justice to our viewers. The fact is, if you haven’t dealt with undersized plywood and stopped dadoes yet, you will. So you need to know how to deal with it, with or without a gizmo. And there is plenty of time to show how the gizmo works on future shows. So I wonder how many of you own something like a Domino, an FMT or a DowelMax, yet you still occasionally make your joints the old-fashioned way. Maybe you own a planer but you still break out your #7 and the smoother just for fun. Or perhaps you have a nice dovetail jig on the shelf collecting dust, because you really enjoy cutting them by hand. I know I could say yes to at least one of those scenarios, and I know I’m not alone. If you really think about it, we all share this common trait. Aren’t we all intentionally taking the more difficult path just by being woodworkers? In today’s day and age, do we really need to make our own furniture by hand?!?! Of course not, but we do it anyway. No matter how many splinters, cuts, and backaches we get, we would still rather be in the shop than just about anywhere else. So here’s to the difficult path! I shudder to think of a world without it!
103 – Flush Trim Bits
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A brief introduction to the world of flush trim bits. Flush trim bits come in all shapes and sizes, but they all share the same basic anatomy. After watching this video, you’ll have a much better idea of which ones to buy and when to use them. I also do a quick demo using a pattern bit (a variation of the flush trim bit). This video accompanies my upcoming article “Get the Most From Your Router” in the December 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine.
And if you are interested in that big fat pattern bit, you should contact William Ng.
Bubinga Sideboard – Viewer Project
Tom has submitted an incredible Sideboard project for our viewing pleasure. Let’s check it out:
I found this amazing Bubinga at Soboba (in Santa Barbara) and knew I’d find a special project for it. There was enough for most major parts. The amount of figured wood limited my ability to completely match horizontally and vertically, but I am pleased with the outcome.
Sideboard begins as a dovetailed case. Double thickness sides let me make the half-blind dovetails the easy way. That approach also means the sides and legs are flush on the inside, with a slight reveal on the outside. Vertical dividers have through tenons let into mortises top and bottom. Case is joined to the Legs with various stub tenons and dovetails on the outsides of top and bottom pieces. Legs have a very slight taper. This case is so bloody heavy that I was afraid to remove much material from the Padauk legs.
Doors are hung using Soss “invisible†hinges thanks to Marc’s video of the Gadget Station while I was designing this piece. Which created a problem…identified after all else was assembled of course. Without a face frame, the legs interfered with the doors. So last minute taper and rounding of the outside stiles was necessary. Opps. Drawers are hand-cut dovetails with solid bottoms. Inside material is Philippine Mahogany. I had planned to use ebonized something for the pulls but eventually decided to use Padauk which darkens quite quickly and visually ties to the legs rather than creating a separate contrast. Back is composed of ship-lapped slats in grooves at bottom and held at the top with a simple molding strip.
Click here to view photos including quite a few of the progress and process in slide show format.
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