Post by @shom@gts.shom.dev

shom
@shom @gts.shom.dev
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A long and narrow slab of walnut on a workbench. It has two "live edges" with lighter color sap wood and darker middle. The lower edge is next to a black straight edge and this is the front of the shelf.
A long and narrow slab of walnut on a workbench. It has two "live edges" with lighter color sap wood and darker middle. The lower edge is next to a black straight edge and this is the front of the shelf.
A close of the front live edge. Mineral oil application has made the wood look much darker to simulate what a finished version might look like. There's a curve that protrudes out and it has a crazy amount of "crotch figure" (swirly lines and patterns) and chattoyance.
A close of the front live edge. Mineral oil application has made the wood look much darker to simulate what a finished version might look like. There's a curve that protrudes out and it has a crazy amount of "crotch figure" (swirly lines and patterns) and chattoyance.

I bought this slab of walnut two years. This has been many things in my head over that time. It's too short and narrow for a lot of those applications, but the two year timer is up and it has to become something.

So it'll be a monitor riser shelf for my desk. With the live edge on the front and the back squared off to avoid the sap wood. Looks like it'll be 44½" (113 cm) on the 55" (140 cm) table top, 12" (30.5 cm) at the narrowest and 15" (38 cm) at the widest.

Did some rough block planing and put some mineral oil to get a feel for what the showcase feature is going to be... just look at that crotch figure 😍

#Woodworking #BuildThread

Replying to @shom@gts.shom.dev
shom
@shom @gts.shom.dev
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An e-ink tablet (PineNote) in the dark with the screen illuminated with an amber backlight. There are three iterations of drawings of the side profile of stubby angular legs, each more detailed. The last one with measurements.
An e-ink tablet (PineNote) in the dark with the screen illuminated with an amber backlight. There are three iterations of drawings of the side profile of stubby angular legs, each more detailed. The last one with measurements.

Today was leg (design) day on the PineNote!
I don't know if I have the skills to actually build this with the angles as drawn. I want something that's not just rectangles sticking out of a slab, want to try stuff, but without doing too many design elements and detracting from the wood figure.

I don't have enough walnut for legs but I have some cherry that I can mill up to be 1" (2.5 cm) thick or the most sensible way to say it: ⁴/₄ four quarter 🤦🏽‍♂️

Tomorrow we cut into the slab... hyperventilation!

#Woodworking #BuildThread #PineNote

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shom
@shom @gts.shom.dev
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The walnut slab is on a workbench in a garage workshop with some tools all around. The slab has a straight edge clamped to it parallel to the long edge.
The walnut slab is on a workbench in a garage workshop with some tools all around. The slab has a straight edge clamped to it parallel to the long edge.
Now the slab has a straight edge clamped paralled to the short edge and a circular saw is sitting next to it.
Now the slab has a straight edge clamped paralled to the short edge and a circular saw is sitting next to it.
A view from the top showing the current off pieces placed next to the final shape of the slab (straight edge rectangle except the front which is a live edge).
A view from the top showing the current off pieces placed next to the final shape of the slab (straight edge rectangle except the front which is a live edge).
The underside of the slab shows that one of the short edges has a crack running from the edge over 6" (15 cm) into the slab. There's also some material that starts tapering off towards the edge from about where the crack starts.
The underside of the slab shows that one of the short edges has a crack running from the edge over 6" (15 cm) into the slab. There's also some material that starts tapering off towards the edge from about where the crack starts.

Making the first cuts on the project are always stressful. Come to think of it, so are the last cuts.

I don't often wish for a track saw with a dust collection port but definitely wished I had one today. My circular saw had less than ⅛" (33 mm) capacity left for this cut so that was lucky. I did stop the cut halfway through the long edge and cut off the off-cut because I felt it pinching in at the start off the cut, that was a good idea. Things I would do differently in the future, cut it supported on top of some foam on the floor and taken multiple passes.

Tomorrow I will mill up some cherry for the "legs" and thickness the slab which should fit in my planer by the skin of my teeth. And start figuring out how I want to address that giant crack on the underside (I have never done bow ties 🤔), ideas welcome.

Edit: why is media showing up as sensitive? Weird, let me toggle.

#Woodworking #BuildThread

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Ken Brucker
@sigsegv @hachyderm.io
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@shom I’m working on a 4.5” thick bench top. Cutting the ends to length, I made one pass with the circular saw, flipped it over and carefully aligned to finish the cut. Used my track saw and it let me do some final aligning to get the two passes to meet nicely in the middle. Definitely one of the cuts I was anxious about.

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shom
@shom @gts.shom.dev
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@sigsegv woah that is THICK! I bet flipping it is a workout. Glad the flipping and aligning worked out, sounds like the track saw was helping for the finessing. Looking forward to seeing your build!

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Ken Brucker
@sigsegv @hachyderm.io
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@shom I have a couple pics from last weekend I need to post. I’ve been idle on the bench for months but got restarted recently.

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shom
@shom @gts.shom.dev
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@sigsegv ah fellow cyclical hobbyist, lovely!

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shom
@shom @gts.shom.dev
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The protruding part of the live edge is barely not fitting in the opening of a planer (a white box with an opening).
The protruding part of the live edge is barely not fitting in the opening of a planer (a white box with an opening).
A close-up view of a different planer, a green top with a white edged shelf and a dust port above where the slab is barely visible entering the other side, a lot roomier.
A close-up view of a different planer, a green top with a white edged shelf and a dust port above where the slab is barely visible entering the other side, a lot roomier.
A partial view of the underside of the walnut slab which has the long crack. There's a lighter color wood bow tie resting on top across the crack and a blue pencil is also next to it.
A partial view of the underside of the walnut slab which has the long crack. There's a lighter color wood bow tie resting on top across the crack and a blue pencil is also next to it.
A very messy work bench with a router with jig, dust collection hose, a glue of boards looking like a medieval torture apparatus and more junk with some machines in the background.
A very messy work bench with a router with jig, dust collection hose, a glue of boards looking like a medieval torture apparatus and more junk with some machines in the background.

I had the choice of making the slab narrower by an inch (2.5 cm) so it would fit in my planer. Or be like a big-time YouTube woodworker and take my piece to an industrial spot because it's so massive. I went with option 3 and took it to my friend's and it was a huge help and a good hang.

Now the slab is perfectly flat, the smaller cracks have been filled with black CA glue, the giant indent will get an expy pour within the next day so it can cure while I need to take a break from the project. But I need to stabilize the crack on the underside with a bowtie first. I have never done any of the things I just wrote in this paragraph. But checkout my practice bowtie, pretty happy with it, first time using the bandsaw for a finesse cut.

Also, because I'm not about that curated public success and private failure life; here's a photo of the messes I've made. That board glue-up was not ideal, I'd rather deal with a panel glue-up, it was sliding all over. I had the dust collector hooked up to the correct machine 50% of the time. And I decided to practice my bowtie inlay cut on plywood, knowing it was a bad idea, and didn't learn nearly as much as I could have if I just wasn't miserly about offcuts.

#Woodworking #BuildThread

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shom
@shom @gts.shom.dev
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A video of a blob of black epoxy with tiny air bubbles on the surface and a flame from a safety lighter popping the bubbles.
Walnut slab on the end of a messy work bench. The slab has a blob of black epoxy on middle right and some black epoxy lines extending to the right edge along where cracks were.
Walnut slab on the end of a messy work bench. The slab has a blob of black epoxy on middle right and some black epoxy lines extending to the right edge along where cracks were.

Did another new thing today, mixed and poured epoxy! Popping the air bubbles was the most fun part. I mixed more than I needed and it got way too hot and started smoking when the left over started curing. In the future I know to spread out left overs in a thin layer to let it cure. That's the current state of the slab, I 'm really hoping it's one of those things where it needs to look worse before it starts looking better. Up next will be a bowtie for the crack on the underside and then decide on if I want to round over the the bottoms and/or the tops of the straight edges, then legs, joinery, sanding, finish.

I've been strapped for time this week and this will be the last update for a couple weeks due to other commitments. Thanks for following along and the encouragement.

#Woodworking #BuildThread