And we’re back

So, how has everyone been? In case you haven’t notice, the lack of activity on this blog has gone on for about a year now. Well, today, that season of inactivity ends!

My work situation changed a little over a year ago and now it has changed again. For the better. For the scarier. More on that later. Maybe.

Moving on.

I’ve been taking on projects while away at a decent enough pace. Through the next few posts I’ll highlight a few things I’ve made as they relate to new projects. For now, let’s check in to what is currently being built.

Since the start of this blog the topic of the Dutch Tool Chest has haunted a majority of the posts. All the way up until wood was delivered so said project could begin. Then the wood sat (actually it stood). I had few commission projects to tackle first. Nothing too elaborate and I’ll dig up some pictures later. The first was a stripping job for a rocking chair (not my favorite) and the other was a kid’s table and four chairs in the Alaskan mom style (you know who) using the most devilish joint ever conceived.

It wasn’t that bad, the kid (and more importantly, the mom) loved the chairs and table and I was overly compensated for the project. Win-win.

Back to the DTC.

After looking all around, I could not find any of the pine species that were generally recommended. Instead, I went with what was somewhat local and bought cypress. This would be a new species to me so that was exciting.

This wood was clearly at the top of the lumber pile. Very much “in the rough” when delivered. But it cleaned up nicely.

I prepped the sides and bottom back in June, which turned out to be a mistake. I ended up starting school again and took an eight week fast-track class which consumed all my free time. After completing the class, I came back find that my wood, which had been planned mostly down to finished thickness, had of course twisted.

I fought through that and squared up the sides on my table saw. After which I placed them next to each other and discovered one was a rectangle and the other was more rhomboid-ish.

After a few words, it become obvious there was no salvaging this board. Luckily, there was one board that was “extra” and I crosscut another side out.

A slight detour for a second. I’ve had my planer for well over a year now but finally got a dust collector shoot/hood for it. One word: Amazing. Highly recommended. The shavings not on my floor have reduced by about 99%.

I teared up a little bit on the first use.

Back to the chest. Usual stuff follows, gang cutting dovetails, cope out the waste, chop to the line, you’ve seen it all before.

I wanted four tails, laid out 6 (the back board) and settled for 5.

I cut the dados for the shelf, trimmed the sides to a 30 degree angle, and notched out the through and stop grooves for the lock.

Next on the list is the back. Originally I set out 4 boards that were ugly ducklings at the ball. After reexamining, I only need 3 and they will vary in width some as I cut around a knot or two and where the lumberyard straps passed over.

The ugly back boards. Look, there’s my new Library of Congress sticker in the background.

That’s it for now. My goal is to have the main assembly completed by this weekend; I’m taking bets on whether or not that will happen.

There are two incentives to get this done soon. The first is that classes start back this week and I need this to be done as my woodworking time is about to split by lots of reading and writing. Next, this is a domino project but not in the German toolmaker way.

With the DTC finished, my hand tools move out of the cabinet where they are currently stored. Then, other things move in as a new wave of organization will sweep across my garage. Afterwards, several little projects relating to organization and overall workplace neatness can happen. At least, that’s the plan. Reality can be cruel sometimes.

Each a peach,

Jonathan