Showing posts with label one. Show all posts
Showing posts with label one. Show all posts
Thursday, February 13, 2014
It Is Better To Light One Candle
...than to sit and curse the darkness.
Well thats so true, but up here in Alaska on the shortest day of the year, with only 5 1/2 hours of sunlight, we like to light more than one.
Heres an easy project that is instantly practical. I made the first three-light holder at my sons request. The four-light was made specifically for Advent. The wood is a 100+ year Doug Fir 2x4 (and a real 2" by 4" too) salvaged from my friend Daves attic remodel in Cincinnati. It was heavy, and hard as a rock! It was also just right for this project - thanks Dave!
First I transferred the angle for the ends from the original, did the lay-out, and cut the ends:
Then I bored the holes:
I scribed a line in from both sides to create the side bevel:
I wasnt trying to match the angle from the ends, as I think it looks just fine when they are not the same.
I chalked the side for easier visibility and stared hogging off wood with the scrub plane:
Im not sure why, but the surface looks flat in the photo, but trust me, the scrub was set pretty coarse and the grooves were deep.
Once I got close to my line, I switched to a cambered #6:
The final smoothing was done with a #5 1/4 "junior jack" plane.
Complete:
With oil and wax and next to the original:
And with flaming wax:
This is a fun project for that special piece of wood youve been hoarding (come on, admit it, we all do it...) that also works fine with a nice chunk of 2x4. Its also a good project for kids.
Have fun and light a candle - or two, or three...
Monday, February 10, 2014
one way to shorten an antique model t door
on the inside view, you can see how we cut and mitered the stiles and panels to shorten them.
the first one of that pair i used was on my garage at the house just after i bought them and i shortened that one to 7 feet too before i made the frame and hung it. in the photo below, i used the mason miter technique on the stile and rail intersections, but on the new metal shop, i decided to keep the cope and stick joints by shortening the stiles themselves and gluing them back together. in reality, either way is fine.
mason miter joinery at the red arrow
the first pair i bought at a tag sale in the 80s for $20. for the pair. they were already only 7 high and 4 wide. i used one on the front of the shop above, and one on the side door on the shop porch, below.
i think they came from the same manufacturer as the new pair, as all the joinery techniques and moldings appear to be the same ...
the joinery on the doors originally was 4, 1/2" dowels, about 6 inches long at each horizontal
and vertical intersection. invariably, the joints loosen and the dowels can be cut with a hand saw or fein tool and the rails removed.
and vertical intersection. invariably, the joints loosen and the dowels can be cut with a hand saw or fein tool and the rails removed.
i rejoined the stiles and the bottom rail with 8" timberlock screws as i couldnt spread the stiles enough to insert loose tenons or dowels ... worked fine, and im sure its at least as strong or stronger than the original dowel joinery.
i added a couple of dominos for alignment ...
and made a jig for gluing them up straight
mitering and regluing the panels and stiles was a cinch
and then we glued up the whole door and made some jambs .. love the antique wavy glass. and, ive also made new doors like this for new construction. i have some photos somewhere ... nothing like a generous entrance to add elegance to a building ...
