It is amazing how a chair is transformed from "just wood" to being a comfortable place to sit and relax once the upholstering is done. This has been my morning coffee chair for the past while. I have to compete with my wife for its use in the evening. It seems to be perfect for sitting and spinning wool as she loves to do. It is also the chair that draws people like a magnet when they come to visit.


The Morris Chair is the prototype recliner. It is easy to see why. Grab a good book (Fine Woodworking, Wireless Systems or Clock making - whatever your fancy), a cup of java, sit by the fire and enjoy!

This is chair number one. Number two is under construction and being built in the shop.

Cheers Everyone

Hello Everyone! Well next weekend is the Arts Alive show in La Conner WA. I will be off to show some of my pieces. Given space in my van I plan to show my clock, bookcase and Morris Chair.

The show is in the Garden Art Center, 2nd Street, LaConner WA, November 8,9. The Woodworking show is from Saturday morning, November 8, until Sunday, November 9. Show times are 9:00AM to 5:00PM each day.

Check out Northwest Corner Woodworkers Association for details http://www.ncwawood.org/

Building a Morris Chair with spindle sides is one thing - staining it is another. This project is from a plan I purchased at a local wood working store. The side rails are at about an eight degree angle - which meant all the spindles needed to be cut and tenonned at the mating angle. Major jig setup here to make them easy to repeatably cut.

Most fun on this was steaming the back rests. I built a large steam-box out of construction plywood. For steam I used a NEW metal gas can feeding the box via a flexible radiator hose. For heat I used a propane turkey cooker (thank-you WalMart). This setup created more than enough heat to get the oak pliable again.

After cooking each 1/2 inch thick piece for about 45 minutes I quickly removed them from the box and clamped to a jig. This is an amazing process - but you have maybe 20 seconds or so once the board hits the air before it is less pliable. Work fast. Wear leather gloves. Be very careful of the steam!

This is a Stickley style bookcase built a few years ago. The glass on the doors is a nice touch if you keep the books inside organized (oops).

I built this to hold stereo equipment by making it deeper than the original plans called for. However once done plans changed and I didn't want to cut the holes in the back for cables. (Or I was ordered not to by an admiring fan)

Keeping everything flat on the doors as it is glued together was the challenge here. And as usual with doors; getting them to fit snug and square in the case. This was a joy to build.

Wine Rack Project

This is a wine rack project I built perhaps 4 years ago.

The interesting method learned here is how to cut semi-circles. You don't - instead use a forstener bit or circle cutter to make a full hole in a board then rip it in half. Or clamp two boards together and drill on the join.

I am still working on keeping it better stocked.

Next Project

The Next project is to be a communion table for a local church. The material is to be black walnut. The design will follow Craftsman styling. The table is to be nearly 8 feet long.

The Twelve insets are to represents the Apostles.

The text inset of "This Do In Rememberence Of Me" is to be Birch.

The legs are 4 inches square at the floor.

The drawing was done with Google Sketchup. I highly recommend using this tool for rendering projects.

Also shown is the raw lumber for the project.

Lots of planning remaining on the cutting diagram before I make sawdust out of this material.

Cheers,

Making the Bed Knobs with a Jig

Ok so here is how I made the bed knobs.

Yes it is possible to buy them - but that is no fun.

I am also not talented enough to make them by free hand turning. Time for a jig!

Have a look at the picture and note the jig I made to pivot my router around the center of rotation on my lathe. The diameter of the ball is set by the hole I place the pivot bolt into and the depth I set on the router.

I start by mounting a block of wood to the faceplate on the lathe. Using a gouge I rough it to a cylinder that is slightly bigger than the ball diameter that I need. These where 4 inches. To give the router a break I knock off the end of the cylinder to a 45 degree - eyeballed to a level where I know it is not into the ball volume itself.
Ok so far?
Next, I set the jig pivot and router depth so that the end of a 1/2 inch dia straight bit is about 1/16th greater than the finsh diameter needed. Note the bit is fairly long - about 2 inches.
Move the jig at the arc position shown (zero degrees) up to the end of the cylinder and tighten the jigs clamp (not shown) to the lathe bedway.

Start the router while holding it in position. Start the lathe on a relatively slow RPM setting. Now slowly arc the router/jig on its pivot from 0 to 90 to the limit you can go on the jig before it is limited by the lathe head. This is the rough cut. Arc back and shut all down. Repeat another pass with the router dropped the remaining 1/16th for the final cut.

This is what the turning looks like after arcing the router.

After this stage I use a parting tool to reduce the shoulder down to a small cylinder. In this case it was about 2 inches about 1/2 inch long.








I drilled a hole in the top of the bed post of equal diameter to the cylinder I parted off at, glued the ball in place and thats it! All done other than cleaning up the chips. Balls of fun! Till next time - Cheers.

Bedknobs and Painted Wood

This project was inspired by a need for a bed for my daughter and suggestions a fellow woodworker at the office recommended.

Most of my projects are stained wood - Oak, Mahogony, Cherry etc. This is my first painted wood project. It was a blast to do the woodworking and this time out grain from a visual perspective was not a big deal. The painting was a blast as well. I used an airless sprayer and shot it with gloss latex. The overspray still present in my garage is a reminder that I need a spraybooth setup. Yet another project!

The foot and headboards are made of fir 4x4s and 2x4's covered with Lowes' "whiteboard" and pine tongue-and-groove panel board. The rails are plywood with leftover oak cap rails. Yes I painted over good oak material. Another work buddy dropped of a ton of oddball oak sticks that came in handy for this project.

The bed bolts together with a homemade bolt-and-pins mechanism. The bedknobs where made with a ball turning jig I built for my lathe. This was a fun project. More to come.....