I have started to woodwork in 2010, which makes all of this rather recent. I work for fun and to learn. Here is a chronology of the projects that I've completed.
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The gateway to a brand new passion.
The first one is always free right? |
Project 1 - Symmetric Computer Desks
Armed with nothing but a compound miter saw, three Home Depot chisels, a 12V drill, a screw driver and three sanding blocks, I made these.
The motivation was very practical, and the woodworking goal very simple. We needed two desks for the kids' computers and it needed to be simple, light and straight.
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This bench is my bench. There may be a lot of benches like
this, but this bench is mine... in fact, it probably is
one-of-a-kind. |
Project 2 - A small version of the New-Fangled workbench.
Working with the desks highlighted the importance of having a solid work surface. I decided to adapt a design from Fine Woodworking and size it down to fit in my tiny shop. This bench was inexpensive to build, but very versatile and heavy enough to stay put under any situation. I also use it as an outfeed table for my tablesaw. The material is framing lumber and the finish is a single coat of Danish oil.
Project 3 - Pine shelves
This shelf is one of a pair that is designed to be placed on top of the computer desks. The challenge with this project was to mount the shelves on blind dados and to stain them.
This is the last project made prior to me getting the milling equipment, and thus the last restricted by the use of pre-milled lumber from the home depot.
The lumber is premium pine. The stain is of the Saman brand. Saman is a Canadian brand. The stain is water-based but non-grain raising. Getting a color mainly means mixing from stock colours. This requires testing, made more difficult by the fact that the colour changes when it cures. But with a little patience to let the tests dry, the results were pretty much on par with the original idea.
Project 4 - Record No.5 Handplane restoration
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| A Mackay family heirloom back in business! |
This project was a small one that I plotted to celebrate the arrival of Mr. Bandsaw. My father-in-law had this plane in his workshop that was a bit hard to operate. After much scrubbing, and building from scratch a new tote and knob, this plane is now ready for action in my future projects. The wood used is Sapele. These were finished with Tried and True Danish Oil and wipe-on polyurethane. The knob was shaped using rasps and files since I do not have any turning equipment.
Project 5 - Shire's tabletop loom
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| The full project without the Christmas bow. |
Motivated by Christmas and eager to try to work from rough lumber. I made this loom with sapele and birch. All parts are hardwood, including the gears and ratchet system. This was an interesting challenge in precision. The wood is treated with Tung oil and wipe-on polyurethane.
Project 6 - The Hayrake table
This project was the first of a series of project for the new house. I made it oversized compared to the design on
FineWoodworking.com : with a total length of almost 8' and 40" wide. The tabletop is made of edge glued quartersawn white oak and the stretcher is made of hard maple. I estimate the total weight of the table to 130-150lb: a good 100lb goes on the tabletop itself. I learned about jointing very large pieces to a fine level of precision, and spent over 5 hours of planing with the No.5 and scraping with the card scrapers.
I got the thumb up from Mike Pekovich, art director of FFW magazine and the guy who made the video series for this project. That's pretty cool.
Project 7 - Danish cord weaved workbench
My wife wanted a bench for the lobby. I found an interesting design on FineWoodWorking.com, and adapted it to include a back. Most pieces are gently curved, and the joinery is quite intricate. Weaving was a 7 hours job, and costed quite a bit more than it needed in material (anyone want to have something weaved?).
