Plate 18 – Book Stand (revision 1)
Books are piling up everywhere in our house, particularly on our center table in the living room. There have been some subtle hints that it’s getting pretty difficult to dust that particular table. Taking the hint, I decided we need more book shelves in the house and I located a design that was close to what I need.
I had already modeled the project as it’s shown in the book Advanced Projects in Woodwork ©1920 so all the work was in modifying that original model. This wasn’t all that difficult thanks to Sketchup.
In order to allow for my 12-inch tall books to fit onto the shelves of the book stand, I had to move the lower shelf down and the upper shelf up to get adequate space. Once the modifications were completed I created scenes (views) in Sketchup, and exported that to Layout (included with Sketchup) to make my build drawings.
On the righthand side of this post you can see an image to the completed design in isometric view. If you’re interested in build drawings, they can be downloaded here: plate 18 – book stand (revision 1).
The little kids have been asking for wooden swords so I started experimenting with ways to build one. I intend to practice building these prototypes until I’m confident enough to build them in hickory and walnut—this prototype is in clear pine. After I complete this sword in hickory I’m hoping to make some other styles; this one is ~38.5″ long.
Here’s a link to download a dimensioned drawing to build your own: Broad Sword Plans
Last Christmas I built some toy airplanes for the little kids. It seems I didn’t post any images of the build here so I’ve posted the photo album below:
Last Christmas I built some “Lego” boxes for the little kids. It’s the first Christmas they’ve been with us and I wanted them to have something that is special…something you can’t just go buy at a store. Below is the album showing the build process.
I came across a cool design for a storage and set up workcenter for my dovetail jig in ShopNotes Magazine. Below is a photo album of the build.
I built a prototype of the cabinet I was thinking of using in my workshop. The design has changed based on the things I learned from this build. Below is a gallery of photos showing the build:
Here’s a modified design of the Arts & Crafts Book Rack. My son, Clinton, isn’t fond of the keyed tenons so I changed the design to have shorter through tenons and chamfered the ends where they protruded through the end of the rack.
Here’s a gallery of photos showing my build of the Arts & Crafts Book Rack with keyed tenon joinery. I’ve posted some of these photos before but this is the complete set of photos.
Robert Pirsig, whose 1970s best seller, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, was presented as a meditation on the subject of quality. Pirsig lays out his central theme in describing how two young mechanics had carelessly repaired his bike:
The mechanics in their attitude toward the machine were really taking no different attitude from the manual’s toward the machine, or from the attitude I had when I brought it in there. We were all spectators. And it occurred to me there is no manual that deals with the real business of motorcycle maintenance, the most important aspect of all. Caring about what you are doing is considered either unimportant or taken for granted. On this trip I think we should notice it, explore it a little, to see if in that strange separation of what man is from what man does we may find some clues as to what the hell has gone wrong in this twentieth century.
Pirsig’s view, as he develops it, is that a good life may be found through craftsmanlike engagement with the actions, objects, and relationships of ordinary experience, through caring about what you do. If you choose to ride a motorcycle, then being able to repair a fouled spark plug becomes a moral imperative.
— Peter Korn, Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman
Since I didn’t start this project before Christmas I (obviously) didn’t get it completed to give as a gift last year. One reason I pushed it off is that it has miter joints and I haven’t successfully made precise miters. Gaps in a miter joint are horrible.
There’s no way to learn without getting into the workshop and doing it so I started the frame. Below are the pictures of what I have completed at this point:
4/4 quarter sawn white oak stock I’m using for this frame.
I cut off a piece just long enough to make the pieces I need.
The 4/4 stock is thickness planed down to 3/4″ thick.
The edges go throughout the jointer to square them up for sawing.
2″ strips are cut front the stock.
The pieces are miter-cut to length and dry fitted.
A 1/16″ deep, 5/8″ wide relief is dadoed into the face of frame.
The frame is dry-fitted again. Small gaps are present in the miters.
I used the dado blade to cut insets in the back of the frame to hold the glass.
Dry-fitted again; gaps still visible.
There are very small gaps in the miters joints. I’ve got a couple of options for repairing them but I’m leaning toward using a table saw miter sled I saw Steve Ramsey on Wood Working for Mere Mortals (click here to see his solution) use.
One overarching lesson I’ve learn while woodworking is to not panic or get frustrated on a project. Calmly think it out and come up with a solution. Rarely have I had to scrap an entire project. People who know me know it’s tough for me to accept less than perfect. It’s sort of a sport for them to find the flaws in my projects because they know I’m having to bite my tongue not to point them out.
Eventually this tiny issue will get solved and the frame will look pretty good. In the process I’ll have new skills for making miters without gaps.
