I'm almost looking forward...


to getting back to the office tomorrow. Almost...
I'm beat. These holidays take a lot out of me, especially when I've spent several weeks beforehand finishing up a project. I really think I'm getting to the age where I need to pace myself a bit better.
I pulled the mantle out today, attached the top and put the first coat of the final finish on it. Also attached to stringers to the wall so I can nail it into place when it's done. Then add the trim to the bookcase, then that's that. I'm going to fill the bookcase with my collection of vintage books about New Jersey, my collection of Molly Pitcher and Battle of Monmouth stuff and a few other things that are near and dear, like my grandmother's old silver dinner bell. I think I'll make that Arts and Crafts style mantle clock before I do the Roycroft case, just for fun.
Well, time to chow down on some more left overs.
Later.



go ahead, make your day...

Happy Thanksgiving..!


From all the inmates and things that go bump in the night at Stately Sad Old Goth Manor!




(please push play to complete the horror of this scene...)



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go ahead, make your day...

ooh, shiny...


nothing like a freshly waxed oak dining room floor...






go ahead, make your day...

usually...


I'm hammering to get the latest project finished right now, like last year, when I was piecing in the last of the living room flooring at ten o'clock on the night before Thanksgiving, but this year, the mantle and bookcase project are done. So, having time on my hands, I've decided that today would be a great time to wax and buff the dining room floor and the floor in the foyer. I started at six thirty and I'm already about a third done, I should be finished by early afternoon. Have to do it in sections so I can move everything about. It really needed it, though, it hasn't had a good wax and buff since the spring.
In other news, here's what I'm planning as my next woodworking project, a tapered Roycroft book shelf, with through tenons and driven keys to hold it together.



I found that image on the website of an antique dealer, they're asking $3200.00 for it.
The original piece was made by the Roycroft studios in 1904 and sold for $20.00! I'll feel lucky if I can just purchase the wood for ten times that. I'm going to go for quartersawn oak for the framing, and use quartersawn oak ply for the sides, backs and edge joined boards for the shelves, which is a bit of a departure from the original, but will be easier to construct and save a few dollars. Here's the original ad for the piece...



I wonder if what they thought was just a commodity piece in their day would turn out to be a coveted work of the wood crafter's art today?
It will fit nicely in the odd corner we have in our living room.

Well, I think the latest application of wax is probably dry enough to start buffing, so back to work I go.



go ahead, make your day...

Almost there...


Still have to add the trim around the bookcase and between the mantle and the bricks, but here it is.








The third picture is actually the real color of the finish.




go ahead, make your day...

gettin' there...

Been a busy week, both at work and at wood working. Here's all the bits and pieces, with the assembled cross piece at the top.



Spent the better part of today assembling, gluing and screwing together into this...



That's the three major base components clamped together and dropped, more or less, into place. It's not squared up yet or trimmed to the exact height and the shelf is not on yet.

Tonight it's installing the blocking to keep it all square, a quick final hand sanding with some 300 grit, then the staining begins. After that's done and the finish is applied, I'll do the final assembly of the base, drag it back in here and do a final fit, trim the bottom as necessary so the top of the shelf lines up with the bottom floor of the bookcase (some 5/16" dowels will help with the alignment and keeping in check), attaching the nailers to the wall, attaching the shelf and final installation. Probably be finishing that up Wednesday night, but it will be in place for Thanksgiving.

Well, back to work. Much to do and no time to do it.
Later.


go ahead, make your day...

wood, and more wood...


After running my usual Saturday morning errands, I drove to the local fine wood merchant and spent three hours going through their supply of red oak, picking out pieces for the mantle. I was resolved to creating my own book matched panels to be inset in the legs by having to saw slices out of a board on the band saw, but I found a most curiously grained piece that, with a little careful attention, will create an almost bookmarked pattern. The piece is almost nine feet long, and has almost the same grain patten on each end, with the mirroring point in the center of the length. I've never seen grain like that in oak before, I think the gods were looking after me today. I'll be sure to point it out when I post pictures of the final piece.
I finished the two coats of the second stain color on the shelf today, it's going to have to dry for twenty four hours before I can start applying the final finish, but it's going to look great. I have my cutting schedule figured out and my assembly schedule as well. Putting something like this together is like a puzzle. You need to have a definite plan to assemble the pieces together, or you can run into some bizarre troubles. That's experience speaking.
Tomorrow is trimming and ripping and planing and sanding, then, if I have the energy, I'll start assembly of the three major elements of the surround. I'm not using a field attached to the wall to build out from, which is usually a plywood base to which all the elements are attached in situ, I'm making the two legs and the center piece as separate units, which will be assembled together, along with the mantle shelf, then attached to stout furring strips that will be attached to the wall. This will allow me to fit the pieces accurately to the wall, as it is not the straightest and it has a slight bow from side to side, which means the outside of the legs need to be slightly deeper than the inside. None of this is making any sense to you, is it? Sorry. I get a bit passionate about this stuff. Suffice it to say that it will look just fine when it's complete and I'll be pretty proud of it and I can't wait for the "oohs" and "ahhs" on Thanksgiving.
Have a great night.



go ahead, make your day...

Saturday's Goth Girl...





Words, sometimes, are unnecessary...
May I introduce a recent acquaintance, Raivyn. A very talented poet and musician, she also possesses extraordinary taste in boots...
I suggest you drop by her place and discover more...

---

As for me... it's back to woodworking today. Yesterday I scored a beautiful piece of 2 x 8 oak for the mantle shelf, which is now scribed and trimmed to fit, and has two base coats of stain applied. I shall resume that task as soon as I get done here. After the first coat of the second color stain is applied, it's off to pick out the pieces for the rest of the mantle. If all goes well, assembly of the major elements will be completed and finishing will be underway by the end of the weekend, leaving only the installation to be completed during the week. I may make the Thanksgiving deadline after all...
Later.

go ahead, make your day...

sneak peek...


well, here's the fruit of my labors, so far...




shimmed into place, ready to nail, which i will do tomorrow after work, when i'm a bit more coherent. the walls are actually straight, within reason, i should say. my little digital camera has a tendency to distort things.
friday i start the hunt for materials for the mantel and surround.




go ahead, make your day...

11/11/2009...




Thank you, veterans.


No comments today.

i'm beat...


the damned bookcase for over the mantel is finished. pictures tomorrow, after i get it in the wall and squared up.
on a scale of one to ten, it's a nine. as with any woodworking project, when it's complete, you find at least one thing you would have done differently. anyone who's not versed in cabinetry wouldn't even notice, it looks fine.
time for some ice cream and then to bed.



go ahead, make your day...

Saturday's Goth Girl...





I really like bangs. Almost as much as pink hair...

---

Not much else to report. Just started applying the final finish to some of the bookcase pieces. It's about twenty eight degrees, perfect weather for having the windows open to get rid of the fumes. I really need to do this crap in the summertime.
More later.



go ahead, make your day...

finishing...


I've been up since five this morning, staining the pieces of the bookcase. Mrs. SOG and I came to a compromise on the color of the finish - it's not quite as dark as a traditional Arts and Crafts oak finish would be, but it's not a light as she wanted it to be, either. I had to experiment on some scrap last night to get the right color. I pretreated the wood with a pre-stain conditioner, mostly because the carcass and shelves of the bookcase are red oak plywood and it's a crap shoot on how the stain would take. I applied two coats of Minwax Gunstock stain, which I will follow up later with one coat of Minwax Provincial stain. The two coats of Gunstock give the oak a nice, rich, red undercoat, the Provincial brings out the grain and softens the red hue quite a bit, but lets the warmth come through. I'm going to let that last coat dry overnight and see what it looks like in the morning, I might give it one more coat to tone it back even more. I also bought some premade strips of oak beadboard for the back wall of the bookcase and am staining that to match. I'm ragging on the stain, to work it into the grain. Brushing stain just doesn't work for me. It's a lot more work and takes longer, but it really looks like it's hand finished. I'm going to put three coats of ragged on satin poly to protect it. The first coat will be scuff sanded with 500 grit paper, the second coat will be burnished with good old brown paper bag kraft paper. That's about the finest sandpaper you can find.
I'm hoping to be able to assemble the carcass on Sunday, slide into the hole in the wall and square it up to mark the position of the stringer I'll attach to the wall to support the bookcase so it won't sag. Then I'll install the shelves, add the beadboard and install it permanently. Monday night after work, I'll start ripping and shaping the pieces for the mantel, I should have that done and all the staining done so I can start assembly next Friday morning. I'd like to have it complete by the end of next weekend so I can help the Mrs. restore some order in the house before Thanksgiving. It always seems I'm playing beat the clock with these projects just before some major holiday.
I think I'm going to have something to eat, I haven't had anything but coffee all day.
Catch you later.


go ahead, make your day...

A history lesson...





June 26, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy travels to Berlin and gives his historic speech against the Soviet Union's construction of the Berlin Wall, concluding with the historic, "Ich bin ein Berliner!"

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June 12, 1987 - President Ronald Reagan stands before the Brandenburg Gate and offers up his challenge to Soviet Premier Gorbachev - "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

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November 5, 2009 - Invited to attend the anniversary celebration in Germany of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the Kenyan Wetback Squatter® in the White House turns it down, declaring - "No thanks, Ich bin ein beginner..."

---

H/T to Bill O'Reilly on the Factor tonight.



go ahead, make your day...

I am a busy bee...


All the pieces for the built in bookcase are cut to final size, the stopped dadoes for the shelves are cut, everything is sanded and ready to start staining tomorrow night. I opted for red oak plywood for the shelves as well, as the span will be almost thirty inches and it's less apt to warp. I had some scrap 1 x 3 red oak that I ran through the router table, using a 3/4 bull nose bit, then ripped strips 3/4" wide. I adhered them to the edge of the shelf blanks to hide the front edge of the plywood to hide the lamination and give the impression of solid wood shelves. After everything is stained and finished, I'll drill some pocket holes to fasten the sides to the top and bottom. I have to whip up a right angle jig out of some scrap ply to hold the pieces square to each other while I drive in the screws. Then I'll square the carcass, slide the shelves in from the back and mark them to trim the excess off the back edge for an accurate fit, then secure them with some wood screws through the sides. Then it's time to slide it into the hole in the wall, shim it square (or what looks square from across the room; nothings square in this place, I have to do a lot by eye). I'll scribe a line on the back wall, then remove the cabinet and add a strip of wood to support the back of the cabinet once it's in place. I'm going to finish the back of the bookcase with 3" oak bead board, stained to match, which I will then attach, then slide it back into the wall, re-square it and fasten it into place. After which, I shall have a few beers. Then I get to start constructing the new mantle and surround. If I get it done before Thanksgiving, I'll be amazed. It's a simple design, but consists of twenty eight individual pieces of wood. I settled on a linear Arts and Crafts design, with recessed panels in the two uprights and the cross piece, a heavy, thick plinth on the bottom of each upright to visually ground it. The mantel shelf will be supported by three piece brackets that match those I made for the book shelves that go around the top of the room, one on each upright. There will be five rectangular keystones to support the center of the shelf, that will match the keystones that support the window stools, so everything in the room will be tied together, style wise. It will all make sense once you see it.
In other news, I'm proud of my fellow New Jersey citizens for electing Chris Christie yesterday and sending a message to Washington that we're getting fed up with the nonsense. I hope Chris can accomplish even some of what he's promised to do. He was a great United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I hope he can clean house in Trenton and set the damned unions on their ear. We'll see.
Well, I'm going to go watch some baseball. After yesterday's success, it would be nice to see the Yankees win the series tonight.
Have a good one.


go ahead, make your day...

meh...


survived the weekend. got a new fridge. it's shiny, white and cold. it makes ice all by itself. spent most of my time woodworking. ready to sand and stain all the pieces of the bookcase and assemble. played yard slave. drank too much ale. ate too much leftover candy. saw a deer as big as a horse in the state park a few miles away. blew out the toes of my last good pair of socks. watched football, baseball, NASCAR. spent an hour drinking coffee and shooting the breeze with a guy from Jamaica who moved to the US and now works at the local Home Depot. made a killer meatloaf for Sunday dinner, with egg noodles and a Caesar salad. reminded myself to never buy another Craftsman router bit. ever.
nice life, huh?


go ahead, make your day...