A punishing schedule in the gymnasium of late has left my poor wee personage too knackered and tired for shed work, hence the dilly-dally in getting on with the hayrake. However, some progress has been made of late, as I get over the knackeritus.
The aprons for the piece are frame & panel with one long apron devoted to housing two small drawers rather than panels. The top rails of all four aprons are dovetailed into the leg-tops whilst the bottom rails are set into the legs with the traditional two-stubs tenons. Or rather, using two of the smallest Domino loose-tenons per rail-end, as I just got this new toy (I mean essential tool) so had to use it somewhere. 🙂
The short stiles are double-doweled into the rails whilst the panels are set into a 5mm deep groove all-round and about 10mm back from the apron fronts. The first groove was cut with a Mujingfang plough plane but this is not the best plougher so I resorted to the tablesaw for the rest. It took 30 minutes to do one planed groove and 10 minutes to do all the others with the TS.
The short apron frames have been slightly convex-curved with a spokeshave to reflect the curve of the braces at each end of the hayrake and a similar slight curve to the breadboard ends of the tabletop.
In practice those aprons will be very securely attached to the legs: DT at the top, stub tenons at the bottom and glued long grain-to-long grain (the stiles agin’ the legs) in the middle. To ensure all these parts lined up well at the apron ends, they were dry-assembled and planed to remove any slight protrusions. The faces of the aprons were also spokeshaved & hand-sanded to make everything flush at the rail-stile joins.
I began to field the apron panels with an LN 140 skew-block plane, using the fence and the nicker. This worked only for those areas in which the grain ran kindly. Lacking the matching LH LN 140, there was too much tear out when the RH plane was used agin’ the rising grain. I again resorted to the TS, to define the raised panel walls; then cleared off the rest of the waste with a shoulder plane, which can be used in either direction as the TS-made panel walls keeps it going straight rather than a plane-fence.
There is obviously a need for at least 3 new Veritas planes in the shed: their plough and a pair of the skew-bladed rabbet planes. 🙂
The raised parts of the panel corners, as well as the inside corners and bottoms of the apron frames, were given a 1/8″ chamfer with either a block plane or a chisel. The chisel left a pleasing surface which looks neat/even but has a slightly bumpy feel to the touch, so I reworked the plane-made chamfers with the chisel to get that feel everywhere.
With all parts except the drawers now made and ready to fit, I dyed (with a light-oak oil-based dye) and oiled the various components, avoiding areas where there will be glue applied during assembly. The oil is Liberon Finishing Oil, which is a genuine tung oil-based finish containg some extra resins and driers. I wipe on 5 – 7 very thin coats, which seems to leave a tough surafce – for an oil-based finish. Very thin coats from the off also avoid that bleed from the open pores of oak, which can leave unsightly shiney speckles if not wiped continuously for what seems like hours after the application of the oil.
The oiled top
Love that grain! Even with the big ‘oles with with Brummer.
*****
Assembly is imminent – in fact the table is dry-assembled now but awaiting the DT sockets to be cut in the leg-tops to take the DTs of the aprons top rails. The through tenons of the hayrake-to-legs will also need to be wedged after everything else is glued-up. Then it will be only the drawers and their kickers/runners to do, along with the buttoning of the top to the frame.
Lataxe
Replies
Lataxe,
Excellent progress and a good clear run through. Nice workmanship in a shedly manner.
It is a wonderment that you seem to have just the right tool for each step of the way.
One would think you build these nice pieces so as just to test all those wonderful sharpy thingys!
We of course know that is not the case and that fun little things interest you not!
Kidding aside, it is coming together in a fine fashion.
Waiting for the explosive finale.
Boiler
BB,
You exclaim, "It is a wonderment that you seem to have just the right tool for each step of the way".
Now, you musta missed that important remark I made in the middle of all the droning about making aprons, which notes that: "There is obviously a need for at least 3 new Veritas planes in the shed: their plough and a pair of the skew-bladed rabbet planes".
I was hoping that Rob Lee fellah would read about my terribe state of plane-poverty and send a number of his items toot-sweet, just in case I got all sad and teary about having to use a TS instead of a plough-plane (sob). :-) I need a-one o' those router planes as well, you know, as my tenons are not purfek.
Lataxe, a pathetic tool-junky always after his next fix.
David ,
Smugness well deserved. Lookin good.
Tom
Lataxe old chum,
Must ask, are the comfy blankets only for the hayraker, or do all your projects enjoy getting carefully tucked in and a kiss on the cheek at night? ;-)) I'm imagining a chapter each evening, from the works of Beatrix Potter, AAMilne or mebbe Kenneth Grahame, read by the doting craftsman. Or is it a song: "If you go out in the woods today, be sure of a big surprise..."
I do like those robust braces on that stretcher. Gonna look terrific when all together.
Ray
Ray,
Doncha cuddle your furniture then? No, I suppose not as that scuttle-stuff is probably too vicious and might turn on it's maker, like an ungrateful puppet with a warped wooden brain. Incidentally, I read my pieces excerpts from Bruce Hoadley as this is what seems to interest them, although it also sends them to sleep.
As to the swaddling clothes: I harvest them from the ghosts of old painters & decorators of the ragged-trousered philanthropist variety, who often died when painting in dark corners and remained there forgotten. Their ghosts are quite tame.
The swaddlers are also necessary to calm the qualm of the ladywife, who is never keen on the furniture in her hoosey until it is finished. However, the shed has no space for assembly or splashing Finishing Oil about.
View Image
Lataxe,
Whatcha wavin from under the sheet? Looks like an empty grog container to me.
Ray, I think he actually talks hisself to sleep in them sessions he has with his furniture ye know.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
"talks hisself to sleep "
I wouldn't be surprised. Some of his posts here have had that effect on me, haha
Ray, with the short attention span
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled