Update on My 6 Month Pledge to Not Buy Tools or Wood

 Back in March I had made a pledge to my wife on a PostIt Note that I wouldn't buy wood or tools until November.  She promptly taped it up on the bathroom mirror.  Since now it is now November, thought I'd provide an update on how I did.  

I wasn't perfect but I did really good.  I didn't buy any tools for 6 months.  Even passed up on some really good used tool deals in the local woodworking club I belong to.  As for wood, I broke the pledge once.  For the Shaker chimney cabinet, I had planned to use 3/8" cherry in the front and back frame and panel.  The wood dried and developed a cup in it.  I thought I could flatten it out enough during glue ups to make it fit.  In little test sections, I could but when I tried the dry fit for the whole frame and panel.  I had to make a choice on what to do.  Given the size of the work, my first time working on this scale, I decided to break the pledge on buy some Baltic birch for the back and cherry veneered stuff for the front.  

So yes, I broke the pledge however, that was the only time.  In that regard, I was very happy with how well I did.  

With Christmas coming up, I haven't gone tool crazy.  Also, I have enough wood at home to make some other items before I get to the item I really want to make.  The next piece that I really want to make is a Limbert No 355 bookcase.  I want to make it out of Honduran Mahogany.  It's a wood I haven't worked with and I think it will look nice with this piece.  The wood will be spendy so I need to save up for it.

Shaker Chimney Cupboard - Part 1

 In the Mar/Apr 2013 issue of Fine Woodworking (FWW#232), the cover piece was a Shaker chimney cupboard cabinet built by Mike Pekovich.  Though I hadn't started woodworking at the time, I knew I was close (I had a decade of excuses for not starting - would make for a good blog someday).  I immediately fell in love with this piece.  I must not be alone as there was a video series and DVD that followed.  I really wanted to make it and put this on my mental list as my first dream piece to make.

When I say dream piece, at the time, I didn't have the skills yet to make it.  Some day I would and till then, I could just dream of making it.  In fact, at the time, I couldn't even imagine the order of operations.  In late 2015 (6 years ago), I started woodworking.  Fast forward to 2021 and I now have made this dream piece.  It came out pretty good.  I made it out of cherry.  Since I don't have a bandsaw or planer or jointer, I worked with a local millworks company to provide me with S4S'd "1x12" cherry.  I spent about $1,000 and got twice as much cherry as I needed.  That would allow me to pick the parts for this piece.  Left over wood would get used in another project.  The left over wood will likely become the "15 drawer chest" that Christian Becksvoort has designed (C.H. Becksvoort - Welcome (chbecksvoort.com))  I want to upgrade my shop storage space and Becksvoort piece will be perfect for that.

The wood arrived in Aug 2020.  Though it is kiln dried, I still like it to sit in the shop for a long time before use.  Ideally, 6 months to a year before I need it.  Yes, this is likely overkill.  So be it.  I even get satisfaction of seeing the raw wood just sitting there knowing what it will become.  I started working on it in July 2021 and finished in Sep 2021.  It took 190 hours.

There were many challenges along the way and I learned a lot.  There were a few big boo boos but I managed to fix them.  I am very happy with the way it turned out.  Of course, it could be better.  That comes with time.  I made it as best I can at this point.

For the finish, I kept it simple.  Freshly made garnet shellac on the outside and blond shellac on the inside followed by wax polish.  It is being used in our guest bathroom to hold towels.  In our master bathroom (which gets more humid), we have an inexpensive one that we use to hold towels.  If I even get the bug to make a second one, I will replace the Ikea one.  My wife is happy.  There piece is a transition to larger work I have planned for the home.  All in all life is good.  

The next post will focus on rough cutting stock and dado layouts.

Paul Seller's Clock out of Mesquite

 About 4 or 5 years ago, my brother was living in Austin, TX.  I took my family and we spend a nice Christmas there.  Texas is quite beautiful and we saw many things.  While there, I went to Woodcraft near Austin.  I picked up about some mesquite wood and planned to build a Paul Sellers clock out of it.  I have built about 5 or 6 of these clocks in the past and like them.  They make great gifts.  Plus, since it is my doing the same piece over and over, I get to see how my skill has evolved over time.  The mesquite would add a nice touch and be great way to remember my Christmas holiday trip to my brother.

The clock finally made it to the top of the list.  I was excited as I have never worked with mesquite before.  I mostly work in cherry (I like the way it looks) but I really enjoy trying different woods.  Part of what makes woodworking fun is experiencing the uniqueness of different woods.  

Mesquite did not disappoint.  It is really hard stuff and must dull my irons a factor of 5 or 10 more quickly than cherry.  I just sharpened more frequently.  Despite being so hard, it is also brittle.  Needless to say, I pressed on.  The fragrance of mesquite is amazing.  In fact, I saved all the shavings and gave them to my nephew as he is a huge bbq'er.  I am sure this will be much more fragrant than the mesquite you buy at the store.

I finished it with blond shellac and the wood took on a lovely color.  As best I can tell, the wood will darken over time.  This will be nice, 

The wood was not without it's challenges.  I found working against the grain (as happened for some of the grooves) resulted in some big tear out unlike I've seen with other woods.  Superglue was very helpful.  This won't be my last Paul Seller's clock.  Christmas is coming up and I might make a few more for family.  However, I will make them out of something softer such as walnut.  That's a really nice wood to work with hand tools.  In fact, a few clocks ago, I made some plywood templates for the Paul Seller's clock.  That makes it even more fun when I build it as there is less measuring and more direct marking.  It takes me about 20  hours to make a clock out of cherry.  The mesquite clock took about 23 hours.  Curious to see how long it takes to make one out of relatively soft walnut.