Staked Side Table-Part 7

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Greg Merritt

If you follow me on Instagram then you know my shop time this past week was mostly spent adding texture and burnt wood decoration to the top slab of the table.  It is a simple, albeit time-consuming, process that has the effect of visually lightening the table top. Continue reading →

Posted in Staked Side Table-000 | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Staked Side Table-Part 6

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Greg Merritt

What I lacked in progress today, I more than made up for with stress.

The day started easy enough.  I simply added bamboo pegs to all of the draw joints.  Yep, it is overkill, but it is how I like to put drawers together.  I doubt that I will ever have to worry about one of my drawers coming apart.  The process is simple.  Cut up a few bamboo skewers, drill a few holes, add a little glue and knock the pegs into place.   Continue reading →

Posted in Staked Side Table-000 | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Staked Side Table-Part 5

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Greg Merritt

Now that I have the shaving horse built and a little practice with the drawknife under my belt, legs were next up on the agenda.

The stock for the legs is red oak. Since I have yet to find a local source for stock of this thickness, I mail ordered this material.  Sold as turning squares, these are 1-1/2″ square surfaced on two faces.  The remaining rough faces are “fat” enough that when the blank is planed on all four sides, you will easily end up with the advertised 1-1/2″ square.   Continue reading →

Posted in Staked Side Table-000 | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Shaving Horse Tangent

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Greg Merritt

For quite I while now I have been thinking of getting myself a drawknife.  Everytime I see a video of someone using one to quickly hog off material the spark is lit.  Usually though, I talk myself out of it.  “I don’t really need it…I can make do”.  You know the conversation that takes place in your head when it comes to buying new tools.  I think we all do it.

Continue reading →

Posted in Shaving Horse | Tagged , | 28 Comments

Staked Side Table-Part 4

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Greg Merritt

A little over a week ago there was frost on the ground in the morning, yesterday it was 90° with 50% humidity.  That is a pretty drastic swing and made for a tough time in the shop, but I have to take my shop time when I can get it. Continue reading →

Posted in Staked Side Table-000 | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Staked Side Table-Part 3

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Greg Merritt

This past week, once again, was lean on shop time.  Busy, busy at work and by the time I made it home, I was spent.  But that’s the way it goes sometimes. Continue reading →

Posted in Staked Side Table-000 | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Essential Woodworking Hand Tools-a Review

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Greg Merritt

I have followed Paul Sellers’ blog for quite some time now.  When he announced his online woodworking instruction course, Woodworking Masterclasses, I eagerly joined and have been a member since the first project.  As a result, my skills as a woodworker have and continue to improve.  Along the way Mr Sellers’ graciously agreed to use my drawings to illustrate the projects for his Woodworking Masterclasses.

Mr. Sellers’ methods and philosophy can, on occasion, be controversial and he, at times, directly challenges the mainstream convention, but his results are undeniable.  Often times making a seemingly impossible woodworking task well within the reach of the beginner.  So when he first announced that he was writing a new book, I eagerly awaited its arrival and now it is here. Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Thoughts-Views | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Staked Side Table-Part 2

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Greg Merritt

Did I mention that I was building two of these tables at once?  These two tables are destined to become  bedside tables in management’s bedroom.  (Nothing in the house is considered mine, management just permits me to use it.)  I know, I know, I have a previous nightstand design that has yet to be built, but that one is now slated for another bedroom.

Continue reading →

Posted in Staked Side Table-000 | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

Staked Side Table-Part 1

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Greg Merritt

Step two in my exploration of staked furniture.  Nothing too daring, just a slightly larger version of the staked stand with a drawer thrown in for good measure.  While the staked stand was built mostly ad hoc, I put a little more thought and effort into the design of this next iteration.

In the ADB (The Anarchist’s Design Book), CS (Christopher Schwarz) recommends building scale models of these pieces with wire legs.  The idea being that the wire legs can be easily manipulated to find a pleasing arrangement of rake and splay.  The ultimate goal being to find the resultant (combined) angle of the rake and splay as well as the sight line on which that resultant can be found.  For it is the resultant angle that will guide the drilling of the leg mortises. Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Staked Side Table-000 | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Tables and Seating in Hillbilly Proportions

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Greg Merritt

I’m a big fan of designing my projects based upon proportions.  Not that I have an issue with a dimensional approach, I just find proportions give me a framework within to work.  Up to this point my designs have begun with some sort of controlling dimension or distance.  Then everything else is proportioned around that.  In the book, “By Hand and Eye“, one of the concepts presented is to proportion items based upon your own body.  The base module (controlling dimension) is the span of your hand.  Using this base module, you can then derive distances proportionally based upon your individual body.  Your hand span happens to also coincide with the height of your head. Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Illustrating | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments