New Testingstan

Shop appliances!

New Crosscut sled in the works:

The old one is starting to fall apart and lose accuracy, so I need a new one that will let me keep my cuts true. It's not done yet; I've only stacked the pieces for the picture.

Thin rip cut push block:


How it works:

Basically, it lets me make thin cuts along the grain in smaller(ish) pieces without slicing my fingers off.

I'm also working on a plunge router mortising jig, but I've not got it to the point where I can show you a picture and have it make any sense. Though the basic idea is pretty simple. I'll post those later today, probably.

The mortising jig didn't take long at all to finish.

With the plunge base of my router attached (and set on top of the fence of my in-progress crosscut sled):


How it guides the cut on the piece:


To make it work, you put a mortising bit in the router (and put the router motor in the base) and then line it up to cut the mortise.

(A mortise/tenon joint is a wood joint version of "insert tab A into slot B" with the mortise being the slot and the tenon being the tab.)

The completed crosscut sled:




Complete with my Idiot Warning Box (patent pending):


This one should be a bit more accurate and sturdier than my old one because I put more care into squaring up the fence and put it together with screws and glue rather than just glue.

(That's not to say that there's anything wrong with building things with glue, like furniture, but you need the right joints and not to be using MDF. With the materials and the way it's put together, this works better with fasteners and glue.)

New clipboard in the works:


Same woods as the one I made for Mom for Christmas, but with a slightly different configuration. I also used a different finish. Her's was shellacked and waxed; mine has 5 coats of shellac and 3 coats of polyurethane, which I think actually works better. If/when I make these in the future I'll stick with that kind of finish.

(Obviously I've not added the clip yet. I'm going to give the polyurethane day or two to finish curing. It's only dry at the moment.)

Salsa I made (chipotle salsa, chipotle lime sauce and the salsa verde from August)


I took a couple jars with me when I watched the Super Bowl at a friend's house. They were well received.

Carcase I'm working on:

I still have another set of pins to cut and then I'll move on to the back and other bits and pieces.

What's it going to be when I'm done? You'll just have to wait and see...

I haven't been doing much lately. I had to start over on the carcase that is in my previous post, which I've started today. The original, as it turns out, was just far enough out of square that, not only would it not have worked, I also wouldn't be able to fix it.

Oh, and yesterday I put a doppelbock in the fermenter. Fresh beer!

"Arrowheads" I made at a class on stone tools at the Houston Museum of Science. It was very interesting, but I think I won't be adding yet another hobby. ;D

Unfortunately, the best of the four (far left) was broken in two when I was trying to trim up the lower corners. I hit it with the hammer stone just a bit too hard.

Mini Six Board Chest:



It's got a lot of little problems. The joints are okay(ish), but the lid isn't square (and I can't fix it without botching things more thanks to the brass screws). Also, as you can see the finish both seeped past/through the tape and wax paper I had put on to keep it out of the interior and I got some on the interior just by touching it absentmindedly with my spare hand as I tried to steady it while finishing. Also, the nails I used to attach the front and back caused small, little splits.

Still, I have somewhere to keep my woodworking DVDs and free up space in my book box for all my actual books. Well... until I by another one.

Pair of benches:


I started these 8 months(?) ago. They're the same design as the one I made about a year ago (Page that's blue now. I would have finished them back then, but I was going to use them for tailgate and ended up not needing them for that purpose. So, they sat in the woodpile till yesterday and this morning. I've still got that big pile of 2by lumber that I need to work through.

This project was in the pile and the quickest to knock out so it got done first. Later I'll glue up all the joints and then paint them.

BUT I GOTTA WORK THROUGH ALL THAT DAMN WOOD FIRST!

What do you do when you want to use dowel joints, but you're not using oak or pine and, so, can't find a dowel at the hardware store to match the wood you are using?

You split some pieces, get out your dowel plate and start hammering them through it.

And, yes, it's just as much... fun... as it sounds.




Ten down. Only ten more to go.

And I should probably make three or four extra...

Let me just add this morning: OOoooooowwwwww.....

A small table I'm building out of walnut and walnut ply. It's not complete, but this is what the dowels were for. Once I finish the assembly process, I'll sand it and then put a finish on it. Probably an oil/varnish blend.

Top (just sort of laid together, not actually assembled):

It's four pieces of walnut framing a piece of walnut plywood.

Frame (fully assembled):


(I also put in a strip of bloodwood to give it an extra bit of character*. It's on one of the lower crossbars.)

*This is a roundabout way of saying, "I fixed a fuckup by hiding it."

I should add that the frame is held together entirely be friction, i.e. the dowels.

Well, save for the bloodwood strip which is glued on.

Ingredients:


Pureed ingredients covered with cheese cloth:


This will stay at room temperature for two days, then go in the fridge for a month. Then get mixed with vinegar and xanthan gum and pureed again more thoroughly into liquid. Then bottled.

After that it will go on things that are rather bland and make me think, while I'm eating them, "You know, this would be better if it was painful to eat."

Spiced Bourbon Cherries:


1 cup bourbon
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean
Cherries to make the whole thing a pint.

Cap the jars and put them in the fridge.

The recipe called for bringing the bourbon to a boil with the cinnamon and vanilla to meld the flavors but I forgot to do that and just put it all in the jars. After a few months of macerating(?) I doubt there will be much difference.

Traditional Maraschino Cherries and Jelly.


Not the neon red, sugar balls we're used to, but preserved in sweetened maraschino liqueur with spices (4 pints). I had about four cups of liquid left over so, rather than waste it, I added sugar and pectin and made jelly. Managed to get three pints of that.

Cocktail cherries. AKA what we call maraschino cherries.


4 pints of cherries and 4 pints of jelly made from the leftover juices.

Holiday Cherries:


They've been described as being smacked in the mouth with a baseball bat of Christmas. They're great.

Tenon jig for the table saw:

The bit of oak acts as a backing for the workpiece and the little red thing holds down it down while being cut. (There's a second hole that's currently hidden so I can move it closer for narrower pieces.)


How it fits over my table saw fence. Which is adjustable. (You can also see the second hole for the clamp if you look close.)


[A tenon and mortise joint is sort of like the woodworking equivalent of "Insert Tab A into Slot B" where the tenon is the tab and the mortise is the slot. This cuts the tenons.]

Oh! And I made another batch of cocktail cherries. Got 5 pints of cherries and 3 pints of jelly out of it.

Hand saw crosscutting practice:



7 cuts and I'm wiped. On the plus side I can rest while watching the World Cup final. Deutschland werden gewinnen!

Pepper sauce (back on Jun 21).
Pre-blended:

Jarred:


It's got some good heat to it and a nice peppery flavor. I've only tasted on it's own, but I think it'll make a nice addition to sandwiches, chicken, pretty much anything you'd put Tabasco on.

Applejack and Red Wine Cherries (with Cinnamon and Orange Zest):


Probably the last of the season (I suspect). There's also a batch of Kölsch in the fermenter now.

I've been a busy little bee today.

Toolchest!:

Above you can see the basic layout. (There's also going to be a cart, of sorts, that effectively adds another shelf below this piece.)


The dado joint (one of them) that I used to support the shelves.


The nails that I used to reinforce the dados.


The dovetails that hold the bottom on.


Most of the tools that I used (less my coping saw).

I've started the joinery to put together that cart I mention, but I'm gassed so I'm done for the night and drinking one of those Kölsch I started a few weeks back.