Thank You and Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Greg Merritt

It is the Thanksgiving holiday here in the states and I have found myself in a retrospective state of mind.  I have a lot to be thankful for.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into some long winded list of what I’m thankful for, but focus on just one. Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughts-Views | 4 Comments

Dinning ala Nicholson

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Greg Merritt

If you have been following along, you know that I have recently moved to a new-to-me home.  This one is a little large than our last and its nice to have the extra room.  Apparently there is a downside though.  I was informed by management that we will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner and that we would be needing a table that will seat at least twelve maybe more.  For those of you outside the U.S., the Thanksgiving holiday is this coming Thursday.  Not a lot of time for much of anything, let alone a huge dinning table.

Don’t judge me by what I’m about to show you.   Continue reading →

Posted in Banquet Table-Ply and 2x4 | Tagged , | 21 Comments

NW Workbench-Progress 2-Complete

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Greg Merritt

This was a lucky week and weekend for me.  Waaaay more shop time than normal.  If it wasn’t for that pesky day job there would have been even more.  Of course, management insists that her and the boy need eat every day.  Ingrates!

The bench progressed throughout the week.  The legs were bolted in place and added blocking to the bottom side of the top as per the video.  This blocking adds a little extra thickness for the holdfasts to bite into.  Then the top was Continue reading →

Posted in workbench | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

Bookcase-Progress 11-the Details

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Greg Merritt

OK, this is my final final post on this bookcase.  There was a comment or two in my last post pointing out and inquiring about my edge treatment to inside corners.  This set me to thinking about what I do and how some of the details get glossed over.  Not because I’m trying to keep them a secret, but they have become so engrained that I do them without much thought.  Anyway, I thought I would go over some of the details that make up this bookcase.  First, I’ll tackle the inside corner treatment. Continue reading →

Posted in Design, HBD Bookcase, Thoughts-Views | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bookcase-Progress 10-Complete

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Greg Merritt

After two coats of my “pine” enhancer concoction, two coats of T&T Original and a final coat of paste wax I’m calling the bookcase done.  All-in-all I’m pretty happy with the end result.  My finish experiment went really well and I know that I’ll be using the tinted linseed oil for future projects. Continue reading →

Posted in HBD Bookcase | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

NW Workbench-Progress 1

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Greg Merritt

The “Naked Woodworker” video makes out like the bench build is a one day project.  This may just be for effect or Mr. Siemsen may be able to pull this feat off.  A well organised shop and an experienced builder might just be able to build this bench in a day.  Since I come up a little bit short on both counts, my build will take a little more than a day.  I did give it my best shot though. Continue reading →

Posted in workbench | Tagged , | 24 Comments

Bookcase-Progress 9

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Greg Merritt

The inaugural first coat of Hillbilly Pine Enhancer is on and I think I may have a winner.

OK, let me back up a little and tone down the BS.

I use pine for a lot of my projects.  Damn near all of them actually.  Partly because I’m frugal, partly because its easy to obtain and I simply enjoy working with it.  Pine has a lot of pluses and minuses, but finishing has to be pine’s biggest downside.  I further complicate it by trying to use as non-toxic products.  This last bit is even more important now that my shop space is directly connected to my house. Continue reading →

Posted in HBD Bookcase | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

Another Big Change

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Greg Merritt

What is the first thing any woodworker thinks of when presented with a larger workshop?…..

A BIGGER WORKBENCH!

As soon as I realized that my recent move was going to give me a larger shop area I began dreaming of a bigger bench.  However, being frugal by both nature and circumstance, I was immediately conflicted. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, workbench | Tagged | 22 Comments

Bookcase-Progress 8

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Greg Merritt

I made it out into the shop this afternoon and began working on the drawer components.  I needed six sides and three backs.

I began with the sides and managed to dig enough out of the off-cut bin to satisfy my needs.  The common practice with drawer sides seems to be that they are Continue reading →

Posted in HBD Bookcase | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Bookcase-Progress 7

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Greg Merritt

Time in the shop over the past week has been hit or miss.  Every little bit adds up though.  The lower aprons are now installed.  Which means that the case assembly is now complete.

It was at this point that I ran into a little trouble.  This bookcase is the largest thing that I have built and finish planing presented a bit of a challenge.  Up until now my assemblies have been small enough that I could either finish plane them on the bench or place them on low sawhorses and pin them against the bench.  Neither of those options were viable for this bookcase.  So I had to get creative. Continue reading →

Posted in HBD Bookcase | Tagged , , | 6 Comments