Maple Mania part 8

I've done more sanding on the top to get rid of scratches from the low grit sand paper used to flatten the top.
Also there were some gaps that I wasn't happy with so I mixed some epoxy with some of the sanding dust and filled any blemishes in the top.

Jut after filling the gaps.

I don't have any pictures but I got the aprons trimmed to length and added some blocking for the legs to attach to.

Last week I also ordered the finish for this project.  I am going to use General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish, I will be applying it the way The Wood Whisperer does with his end grain cutting boards. From what I have read this is very durable finish since the end grain will absorb the finish. I wanted to see how the finish was going to look so I sanded one of the cut off and gave it a quick coat.

The finish gave the maple a warmer tone. 

I also wanted to see how the legs were going to look with top so I clamped one on for a test.

Over the weekend I also got the MDO plywood that will be used for the entertainment center I am building for out living room. Now I need to double check the plans and get my cut sheets made.

This is my 100th blog posting and the 2nd anniversary is just around the corner. I have a lot of fun building in the shop and getting to share my projects and ideas here on the blog. Thanks for reading.

Maple Mania part 7

I wasn't plan on this being a 12 step program but it is starting to feel like it. After giving the aprons a good sanding it was time to start thinking about how the pieces need to go together.

I trimmed the two thick aprons a little longer than I need. Then took time to lay out the locations of some dowels to help with alignment during glue up and hopefully add a little strength. After drilling for the dowels I test fit the two thick aprons and measured for the two thin aprons. After cutting the thin aprons to the final size I once again marked out locations for dowels to connect the thin aprons to the thick aprons.

Then it was time for a dry assembly.

dry assembly

 By doing the dry assembly I found I didn't have enough clamps to clamp it all together at once and to get alignment correct I didn't think I could assemble it in stages. That meant I had to get some more clamps.

After a trip to the store I had enough clamps to start the assembly. I wish I had some pictures of it going together but I was working alone and was in a hurry to get it all together and clamped before the glue started to set.

a more appropriate number of clamps

you can't ever have to many clamps

 I scraped as much glue squeeze out off as possible and then let it all set to cure.

Out of the clamps, you can see I left the aprons proud of the top. They will be evened out when flattening the top.

I then used a hand plane to even the corners of the aprons up and a belt sander to flatten the top.

The top is looking really good

Next the aprons need trimmed to length, some more sanding, attach the legs, and apply finish.

Dunlap Lathe and D R Barton tools

Turning the pens and watching some other turning videos has got me really interested in getting my old lathe setup. So I stopped by dad's where the lathe is in storage and check it out and looked for any tags on it so I could look up any information on it. The lathe was my Grandpa's.

From what I can find it appears to be a 1942 Dunlap sold by sears.

1942 Sear Catalog

The motor looks a little scary but the lathe looks to be in good shape

Dunlap

 I also gathered up the turning tools. They  are all D R Barton tools look to be from 1880 or prior according to the Davistown Museum

I am looking forward to getting this all cleaned up, and ready to use. Using the tools that once belonged to my grandpas is a neat feeling for me. 

Walnut Pens

One the UFOWW forum there are a lot of members who turn and make pens. I have a lathe that was grandpa's but I've never used it and it is still in storage. I was really impressed and with the pens and became interested in turning some.

A fellow UFOWW member,Robert aka Bob, lives about 80 miles away. I started talking with him and we talked about meeting up some time. Then I got the idea I wanted some pens made from the walnut that came from my grandpa's farm. I asked Bob about making some pens for me, and he offered that I could come over and he would teach me how make the pens.

I cut the boards to pen blank size and then mailed them to Bob so he could prepare them. Yesterday was the the big day. I got an early start so I could be at Bob's house around 8 am. 

It was beautiful morning.

Bob taught me how to turn using some extra pieces he had and then I got started making my walnut pens. I was amazed how easy and gratifying making the pens were the first pen took a little while to make but I got the point where I was able to make a pen in about 45 minutes. 

Now for the part that makes the blog better, less words more pictures. Some of these pictures Bob took of him preparing the blanks and he took the action shots of me making the pens.

The bundle of blanks right out of the box

Bob lablled each blank

next they were cut to roughly the correct length, leave a little extra on each

the blanks

Next a hole was drilled through the center of the blank

each blank has a brass tube glued inside, this is part of the pen kit

the ends of the wood blank have to be trimmed flush and square to the brass tube

Now the fun starts

Shaping

wiping on the polish

buffing the polish

laying out the tenon

cutting the tenon

all the parts of the pen

pressing the parts together

the 7 finished pens

Maple Mania part 6

In the last post I had glued up the top section. I did a okay job of getting the pieces even when gluing them all together, but the slab still needed flattening. I chose to use my router sled to flatten underside of the slab. I used the largest bit I had which was a 3/4" straight bit. I was disappointed in the surface this left, but then again it was routing end grain. I also might have been taking to large of a cut. But it is not something sanding can't take care of. I sanded the bottom of the top with both my belt sander, and my random orbit sander and removed most the tear out caused by the router bit.

After flattening the top

Another angle of the flattened top

The top will be flattened once the aprons are glued.

I really wanted to see how the aprons were going to look with the top so I clamped two of the aprons on for a mock up. The aprons are all over sized right now still. I like the way this is looking.

Mocking up the aprons on the top to get a feel for the final look.

 Next I started sanding what will be the inside faces of the aprons.  It will be a lot easier to sand all the these surfaces now than when it is all assembled.

Two of the aprons after sanding

This week I will be trimming the aprons to size and then gluing them to the top.