Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 (hope this is the right place for this topic) We've been on the lookout for white garden furniture for a while. None have been comfortable with the backs too straight up. Most has not been particularly pleasing to the eye and I've had a gnawing feeling one is not allowed to buy factory made furniture while owning a woodworking shop (despite being a total woodworking noob). Friday the 3rd of June Home alone for the weekend with the SO away, got stuck in front of the computer looking for garden furniture. Found a good looking one but the group would set us back some $1 000. Kept surfing and found some lumber prices, all of a sudden I decided to build something similar myself - despite my SO saying no (she wanted the furniture done for Midsummer). I made some sketches to figure out dimensions and amount of wood. I looked up when the local lumberyard would open, researched planers for a while and then went to bed. Time used: Two hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Saturday 4th of June After breakfast a took a short walk to the lumberyard and decided their selection would do, back home to get the car with the boat trailer. Going back home after shopping I actually got to second gear in the 300 meters, but if I only could have found 'em I would have used more and better straps. Loaded inside the shop. They did not carry stock wide enough to make the table legs, but I had already contemplated gluing two 2" x 3" togheter. I cut and started to reduce the thickness (to get the rounded corners out) on my old jointer in desperate need of a tune up, but I soon closed shop and went on another shopping trip. I decided to get a cheap China planer that I knew was no good, but I could not afford a good one right now. Once home again I thought things were going smoothly with the machine and soon all pieces were ready for glue up! I was looking forward to using some of the B I G clamps, dry fitted everything and applied lot's of glue. It was really hot in the shop attic (where the big clamps are) and I realized the glue only had ten minutes of open time at normal room temperatures. Better work swiftly! The small clamps are there to keep things level and there's only glue in every second joint - I'm making four legs and not one massive piece of wood. I realized I'd better remove the small clamps before the scrap wood became integrated with the rest, they were already rather stuck. I left the glue-up to destiny and went downstairs to begin work on the table top. I used a big cardboard box in approximately the planned size and put it on the veranda to tune the measurements for our needs. Try that with factory made furniture... After settling on the measurements I cut the crossbars for the table top frame and put them at the right distances from each other. Next step was to cut the lenghtbars (?) for the frame and mark out the tenons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 I thought on how to make my first tenons ever for a while and started with the band saw, but soon realized the router would be a better choice. But how would I keep things level? Of course! Let's make a quick table for it out of some scrap MDF and clamps! Now the tenons became a quick task! Next step was to create the strips for the actual table surface. These are made out of thinner material than the frame to keep weight down. Since I don't own a mitre saw this took a while. I had to cut every piece thrice; first over size on the crap table saw, then fine saw one end in the band saw and the third time cutting the other end to length (also on the band saw). Very efficient working... I also ripped the pieces down a bit with the band saw. With the router table-mounted the 40 tenons was a quick task! All the pieces for the table top laid out. It was only now that I began thinking of which side would be face up. Most had one good and one ugly but some had two ugly sides. I should have put them through the planer first, a little late now when the tenons are already cut. Lesson learned. I went over the pieces with a round over bit in the router. The strips only on the top and the crossbars facing the strips only in the places there would be a groove between the strips. Time to do the mortises in the crossbars. I took the MDF-board and the router from the "table" and put it in the bench wise so the router got mounted horizontally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 I got caught up in routing and gluing the table top so I totally forgot to use the camera but: The two crossbars in each end got twelve mortises each. The ones for the lengthbars of the frame got thicker and centered on the crossbars and between them ten thinner mortises put off center so the table top will be level. The center crossbar got the same treatment but on both sides. In total 48 mortises in three crossbars. I got real lucky with the thinner mortises since one of my router bits was of perfect width! The mortises for the lenghtbars had to be routed with the router raised a bit to make them wider. I put a screw through the MDF into the "table" in one end thus creating a sort of hinge to make it easier to readjust the height of the bit. I had a hard time to not make the mortises over length and failed on almost every one of them, but not too bad so the holes will be covered when all is mounted. When all the routing was done I fitted the frame pieces and tried a random selection of the strips in their mortises and they all fitted fine. I prepared for glue-up and turned the bench into a giant clamp by clamping pieces of wood on the surface and on the wise. It had been a long day and I did not want to close shop this close to gluing, so I skipped dry mounting and just went for it. Not the brightest idea it turned out, of course one of the tenons was too thick and being stressed out by the short open time I tried to force it in with a mallet. Crack goes the crossbar. D'oh! I quickly narrowed the tenon down with the band saw and finished the glue up, once done I realized I have a camera again! For extra precaution I used short screws into each joint from the underside, I put them in the middle so the tenon can expand in the mortise if it has to. I then sat down and let the day sink in, feeling quite pleased! Total for the day was 5 h shopping and 10 h building, adding up yesterdays 2 h of planning reveals I've already used 17 hours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Sunday 5th of June The table top has dried over night and it was exciting to flip it over and see how the surface turned out, not bad! It also seems a lot more rigid then I had dared hope! The accident with the too thick tenon is easily bent down again so it should be easy to repair. Another thing I might have been able to avoid if I had taken the time to dry fit everything is how to align all the pieces correctly. I could not figure out a way to move the frames lenghtbars in time. One of the joints with the center crossbar did not turn out very good, easy solved with a handsaw but kind of annoying that the table top is a little bit narrower in the middle. Time to make the table top a little more interesting. I made an MDF-template. Not owning a jigsaw I got the honors. When the handsaw had removed most of the waste in each corner I clamped the template and took out the router with a flush cut bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Once all four corners was done I rounded off the entire table top with the router, then I turned my attention to the repair and applied lot's of glue. With a splinter I made sure to work the glue into the crack. I put a plastic bag over the repair hoping that it would not stick to the glue. My clamps was not very willing in the deep throat aspect so I put every heavy item around me on top of it. While the glue dried I grabbed a quick lunch and then released the future legs from their prison. I planed them down to 65 x 65 mm and cut to lenght in the band saw (72 cm minus the thickness of the table top). Now I found out first hand that my cheap planer was no good, if I put the pieces to the left in the opening a lot more wood was removed compared to the right side. In the end I got rhombuses instead of perfect squares. Despite the slight deform I rounded of all the twelve edges. Back to the repair and to my delight the plastic had not stuck to the glue at all (but some of the bags printing got stuck)! I placed the legs on the table top, that thing starts to resemble an table! Today I got 5½ hours of construction, so total is now 22½ hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Monday 6th of June - Happy birthday Sweden! I cut pieces for the edging and spent a lot of time trying to get as long tenons as possible into the legs and where to put them. When the time came to make the mortises in the legs I tried a lot of scraps first not wanting to fail on the real deal. I came to the conclusion that it's just luck if the mortise ends up the right length and that stop blocks was needed. The router is once more mounted horizontally. All the effort I put into making the tenons as long as possible turned out to be a waste, I could only make the mortises about an inch deep with the router mounted to the MDF. But the mortises turned out great in every other regard if I may say so! I cut the tenons to leave some space for glue and then I used the same template as with the table top to make the edging more interesting. After all work with machines it was very, very relaxing to turn off all the noise and hand carve the tenons to a tight fit. Legs and edging dry-fitted! I put on the table top and got a cold feeling that the table was very low. Perhaps I should not have used the height measurement from the Internet straight off? I rushed inside to measure the dining table - puh! I must have been fooled by all the tables designed for standing work in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 I prepared everything for glue-up. Again ten minutes of glue time is very short, I had to improvise a bit with the long clamps and how to connect them in the middle. Perhaps one should actually dryfit everything including the clamps when doing complex things for the first time... While the glue was drying I spent the time to clean up the mess left by the machines, I should really invest in dust extraction. Right now I don't even have a shop vac and relies solidly on brushes and breathing masks. Today I got another 5½ hours of building so the total is now 28 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Tuesday 7th of June Took a "lie-in" from work and continued work on the table. I fitted a screw into each tenon just in case. Then I applied a first coat of primer. One hour of painting today, total 29 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Wednesday 8th of June Another "lie-in" and the first coat of primer on the places not painted yesterday. When I came home from work I used putty on some tear outs.. Total for the day two hours, project total 31 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thursday 9th of June - Happy birthday me! Half an hour sanding and painting before work, starting to get the speed up! When I got home from work I mounted the table top to the legs. Of course I managed to find the small screws I put in the table top tenons earlier... I checked each leg with the spirit lever and even if the legs aren't straight they're not that bad either considering all things. The photo is from the least straight leg. Detail of the corners where the strips meet the crossbars, did a little routing on the crossbars before mounting the strips. The table as one whole for the first time! Another half an hour in the after noon so total is now 32 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Friday 10th of June Another morning session and beginning the last coat of paint! Using a paint for windows which should last fifteen years, let's hope! When I got home I removed runnings with a scalpel. Then I painted the table for the last time and for the first time I felt a beer in the shop was in order! Since it was the last coat I took extra care so today I spent two hours painting. Thus the table was finished in 34 hours! 2 h laying out plans 5 h shopping 21½ h build and assemble 5½ h painting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Monday 13th of June No time for the shop but I did carry the table onto the veranda. It looks great and I'm looking forward to the day I can throw those plastic chairs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Saturday 18th of June Spent some time tinkering with the planer. The right side is pretty even but the left side is a mess with varying thickness. I removed the glide plate in the bottom and it looks like the table was not machined properly!? Notice how the light between the machine table and the square varies. I'm gonna ask a friend to mill it flat, perhaps somehow beef it up a notch. Even if the machine is flawed it's still costs a third of proper machines so some tinkering will fit in the budget. For now I stick to the right side, it's fine. Time to get some chairs and a sofa going. I tried some of our existing chairs at the table to find the one I felt was the best. I traced the contour of the rear legs/back to a piece of masonite (I was certain I had a piece of MDF big enough for this but could not find it). I used the traced contour as a base and drew my own design, angling the back a tad more. Then I cut an template. I traced eight rear legs onto some wide planks, trying my best to avoid the knots. Time to let the "mitre saw" do some work. Cut and ready for planing to 40 mm thickness. The planer had some work to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Spent a lot of time drawing the legs onto the pieces, trying hard to avoid the knots and getting the fibers in the right direction. Once done I cut 'em close on the band saw. A lot of waste! For a time I have considered upgrading the blade guides on the band saw. The rear disc does not rotate very smoothly so I get sparks and cutting the legs made things really hot - so hot that a small heap of dust on the guide started smoldering - agony! I'll move the upgrade project up a few notched... I attached the template with double sided tape and prepped the router in the table. Damn, the template got wedged between the router and the bearing - despite the fact I had adjusted it to leavve a little "beard" on the parts. I tried it again making sure I was really pressing down but with the same result. I found the MDF-piece I had in mind for the template in the first place and made a new template. It did not take that many legs before the bit got loose from the router causing another mess. I thought I had tightened that thing down! Glad it decided to move down and not up into the air! Luckily I could still use the template! Despite the mishap I routed all legs as far as I could with that setup on the router and then called it a day. Time spent on chairs/sofa: Four hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Monday the 20th of June It struck me I had not taken a picture of how the routing table turned out rather quickly after the first mounting. The handles interfered with the old set up so now it's just the piece of MDF attached with screws to the old table saw. The MDF flexes a bit so not very good and perhaps the reason the masonite template got wedged in... With a router bit having the bearing on top I quickly finished routing the legs, which of course also copied the old mistakes but at least I did not get any new ones. I have not yet decided if I'm gonna fill the mishaps with putty or thin the legs down further, don't want to compromise the strength too much. I was sanding down some irregularities with the shop built sanding wheel when the sand paper exploded. For a while I've had some agony that the wheel should explode so it scared me quite a bit! Of course I got the machine between myself and the off switch, I was not that happy going near the thing when I was not sure what had happened. I took off the sanding wheel and put it in the pile of "tools too dangerous to use" and intend to buy a modern one instead. I used the little cheap sanding mouse instead and got plenty of time to dream of a Festool RO 150. I noticed that the original furniture has thicker legs and is made out of better wood. Got concerned I might have made to weak legs so I tried standing on one of them with my 100+ kilos and bouncing a bit: I can sleep with no worries in that regard, it's not likely that such forces will be exerted on the back rest... Another hour put to the project. So total is now 39 hours with 34 of them put into the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 That concludes the back log. I've been distracted with putting in a new table saw so no more building have occurred. I'm gonna keep reporting for the duration of the project as soon as it goes back into gear again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Did anyone notice the "drill press of the apocolypse" in the background? Where did you find that monster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Wow, Tobbe - thanks for the detailed work in progress. That concludes the back log. I've been distracted with putting in a new table saw so no more building have occurred. I'm gonna keep reporting for the duration of the project as soon as it goes back into gear again. I liked the "walked to the lumberyard" - I could do that too, but it would take me about 5 - 8 hours! The most important question is... was your SO satisfied with the results? John P.S. Not jealous of your workshop. It's only about 25 times bigger than my dungeon. And has windows. And machinery. And cramps, damned great big ones too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Did anyone notice the "drill press of the apocolypse" in the background? Where did you find that monster? that, to me, is the beginnings of a really great "steampunk drill press." All it's missing is the slave labor in flying goggles and leather armor to turn the bit... and maybe some gaslight fixtures for task lighting... and a steam pressure gauge... I'd love to know how old that beauty is. And also where you found one. That is definately a wonderful photo of a beautiful tool (and effect of sunlight on a working shop). Looking forward to seeing more on this project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Thanks all! The SO is really genuinely pleased with the table. I got to think about it during the building: How would she react if she did not like it knowing I've spent 34 hours on it? Luckily that did not happen! The drill press is probably getting close to 100 years old, have not seen any year (but not looked that closely either). It used to be driven by the big belt drive system in the ceiling but has been retrofitted with it's own motor. And I found it in the wood shop that came with the house we moved into last year. I've just moved it to get room for the new table saw and it's a behemoth! I knew it was gonna be heavy but that was just silly... Gonna clean and lube everything now that I've already took big chunks away from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Very nice work and killer shop! Dig the old machines they are really cool. Keep posting I enjoyed following along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted June 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 Thanks jimmykx250! I found a super-great deal on a brand new table saw so I've been distracted rearranging a lot in the shop, but finally the new saw is in place and hooked up to the mains (I'm gonna open the windows behind for more outfeed space)! Cuts like a dream! So now I just have to do a "little" clean up of all the things I moved around and then I can go back to building the chairs and sofa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andysgo Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Great writeup! I really appreciated you showing how you dealt with speed bumps along the way. The table looks great and I am looking forward to seeing the chairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobbe Arnesson Posted July 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Thanks! This weekend got spent on other tasks but I hope to get to cleaning up the mess this week and perhaps get a few hours done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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