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Drawer prep…

FinishingSidecar CotWoodworking

…is done. Phew. The thicknessing, as I might have mentioned, is interminable donkey work, but it’s done. Even with a freshly sharpened scrub plane and using that chamfer-down-to-the-line-so-it’s-easier-to-see-what’s-left-to-come-off trick, it’s still a long-winded pain in the arse.

Yes, yes, very clever, shut up.

Back of the drawer was the easiest to do because of the shorter run, but it’s over-wide. Also, you see how it’s such a small, compact board? Yeah, well, take a quarter-inch thick board that size and turn it into even thick shavings and this is what happens:

No time to clean it up yet, have to get the crib finished and then there’ll be a long tidyup afterwards and a clean-down. And a memorial service for one of my bench cookies, which managed to fall off where I’d perched it and in between the OSB sheeting lining the walls and the outside wall of the shed.… Read the rest

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Drying day.

FinishingSidecar CotWoodworking

My original plan was to make the drawer today, but that plan didn’t take into account things like drying time on glues given the current low temperatures. Titebond PVA glue would be grand, but hide glue is something I’m still figuring out, so I’m giving it lots of margin for error. Especially as I found today that I almost had a major error during the glue-up; the use of a mallet to drive the top crossbar and back support into the mortice put torsion stress on the two end joints, as I knew it would (stupid mis-steam-bent upright) but I thought it’d be safe enough.

Nope. Small (1.5cm long) crack right there. Not critical; the wood is now stabilised by the glue and it’s holding well; but enough to give me a moment of thinking “wow, that nearly destroyed a week or so of work without the raw material available to do it over…”

I might just try to get a little glue in there and clamp it closed tomorrow, just to be safe.… Read the rest

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Not done yet…

FinishingSidecar CotWoodworking

…but it’s getting closer.

I’m kindof cheating a little there – that’s a dry-fit before gluing in all the slats. But it all fits and the mattress top is at the right height so that’s a good start.

Got the day rolling by checking on the last coat of shellac for the rear support and especially the endgrain carving, which turned out well.

Then I put a tarp down on the assembly table, laid out the parts and rails, and dry-fit everything together. Then I stood the crib on the back panel, got out the hide glue and glued up the tenons going into the front panel, and then glued up the wedges and started driving them home to secure everything.

It went pretty well, even if one wedge did fail after I’d driven it home (it’s the one listing off to the left in the top photo).… Read the rest

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