Aaron’s Knife Block – Viewer Project
This project was submitted by Aaron. Let’s see what he has to say:
I should preface any description of my block with my credentials. This is the first project I have ever done that involved some form of joinery without screws or nails. I started out with every intention to build the block just as “The Schwarz” had. My first mistake was in the layout. Maybe a carpenter’s pencil was not the best marking instrument (joking). I also did not use a marking knife on the first pass, and I experienced a great deal of tearout. I used the jigsaw blade recommended and a fence, but this was not adequate. I experienced a huge amount of deflection from the blade, which led to unsightly joints. Then I tried to figure a way to salvage the project and dadoes were my solution. A live Guild session a while back helped me finish my router table which I had not used yet. I picked up some curly maple from Bell Forest for the body of the block (utilizing my Guild discount of course). 
I figured it was a good time to try it out. I did not like the look of the finished piece so I decided to add the base. It was a scrap piece of paduak with a slight chamfer on the edge. I had an extra bag of bamboo skewers so I decried to add some reinforcement to the dadoes. I simply dropped some skewers in a small cup with some old dark mahogany Minwax for a day then pulled them out to dry. So that is where the dark colored dowels came from. I finished the piece by popping the grain as shown in “Pop Goes the Maple” with SealCoat and Dark Maple Transtint. Followed up with four coats of Arm-R-Seal. The block did not end up like I originally planned, but I enjoyed the process. Thanks again for all of the help and late night emails.
Maple Bunk Bed – Viewer Project
This project comes to us from Jeff in Massachusetts. Let’s check it out:
Here are a few photos of a project I completed in April of 09. It is basically modified from Rockler’s Bunk Bed Plan, made from Maple with a few coats of water-based poly, for my youngest daughter. She has the smaller bedroom and uses the top bunk as a loft space for hanging out and reading (loves to read).
It is mostly to plan but I substituted hardwood dowels for the turned spindles (yankee thrift) and left out a few of the curves. I don’t own a bandsaw so curves are roughed out with a handheld jigsaw and then completed with a pattern bit and my router. The top loft got quickly loaded with her ’stuff’ including stuffed animals. The photos show the ‘backside’ view too (which is kind of funny, at least I think so).
Maple and Cherry Sideboard – Viewer Project
A beautiful Sideboard submitted by Pierre-Alexandre Aka “Loupitou”. Let’s see what he has to say:
I finally completed the sideboard project. The woods used are curly/tiger maple and cherry with pine for the back. This is entirely solid wood construction. The fun part of this project was that I only used dovetails for joinery and as a result, this is a big (and heavy) puzzle, with a unique order to follow for assembly. Finish is sprayed clear shellac followed by sprayed poly with 320 grit in between coats.
It was a my really first big project and I’m overall satisfied. I should have paid more attention in the selection of the parts from the wood, but I made the mistake of selecting the parts on rough wood. The real figures and defects in the wood appeared after planing.
Nick’s Workbench – Week of Workbenches
This late addition to our Week of Workbenches comes from Nick. Let’s check it out:
It’s just a pretty traditional cabinetmaker’s workbench. Its made of soft maple and pine for the base with big dovetails and all! The base is held together with double mortise and tenons with some bolts for the longer stretchers. The top is just a 2 1/2″ thick slab of maple with the dogholes on there. The caps around the top are all dovetailed and bolted together. The tail vise is just the screw type with the grid work of wood underneath keeping everything in line. I made my own wooden dogs out of padauk just because running into a metal dog is just something I don’t want to deal with. And here’s a link to my blog: Derrevog.Blogspot.com. Thanks and I hope you like it!
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