German Plate Rack, in pine by hand tools. From the pocketbook Smalls from Lost Art Press.
It fits exactly on a 1x12x8, which is super convenient. Tremont cut nails for the case construction. Barn Red Old Fashioned Milk paint.
Didn't even wait for the second coat to dry before it was hung and decorated.
There's a Cat-Ear Box in the Smalls pocket book* from Lost Art Press. But lately my kids are interested in herps, so this is our Frog-Eye Box in poplar.
They're having friends over this afternoon. They'll probably paint it with cheap acrylic craft paints.
Went herping for the first time. Took three of my kids. We were completely dumbstruck when we began to see toad after toad on the hiking trail. We counted fifteen. Some were absolute units.
The height, major and minor diameters were all laid out with a parting tool and calipers, and so they match pretty closely. But as a rank beginner, I'm still working out how to get the curves.
Knob on the right was done first, and by eye. It looks "more correct" to me. Left knob was an attempt at match, and the curves just aren't quite right.
Luckily, the difference isn't really noticable in the hand.
Rank beginner, here. Today I turned a quick London pattern handle for my very space-age glue applicator.
I first came across the idea for using a threaded rod to apply uniform areas of glue from a Nick Engler video. The handle wasn't strictly necessary (nor, truly, was the threaded rod) but this tool was a fun excuse to try turning a handle. And the threaded rod cost me, I think, $3.50.
This project kicked around my shop for a good while. My first proper drawer. First half blind dovetails (and it shows). First time turning a knob on the lathe.
Now I need to clear all the shavings off the floor and get reorganized. I let things get out of hand as the finish approached.
Converted No. 4 scrub plane came in super clutch for tapering the legs and thicknessing the drawer stock.
I didn't build my router plane until after the tenons were done. Next time I want to try using it to tune up the cheeks. I think I'll buy a proper mortising chisel before I chop another mortise.
I'm still terrible at dovetails. I'm also a little ambivalent about them. Maybe when one of my gappy dovetails finally fails, I'll start to care, and work at doing them better.
I built this router plane from the Paul Sellers kit.
I spent a fair amount of time and attention on getting my blanks absolutely flat, square and parallel. That's a skill I'm still building. It's not at all trivial with handtools.
I made two different mistakes when making the riser. The first attempt, I cut the housing for the iron on the wrong face. The second attempt, I used the incorrect angle when cutting the base.
Thankfully I started with a very oversized blank, and I was able to salvage a third attempt without needing to start over from rough stock. However, this did make my riser not as long as what Paul gives in his instructions. I do think the wider riser Paul builds is probably more attractive. My hardware seems to float in space. It seems to function just fine, and didn't split when I installed the posts.
I was a bit sloppy when drilling the post holes. They're not perfectly even or parallel. But if you squint, it's mint. I did manage to get the back post for the depth adjuster just about dead parallel to the housing, which is necessary for smooth operation.
I didn't do as much shaping as Paul. Paul's router planes are beautiful. I kind of like my oak brick, though.
After making some test cuts with it at this stage, I decided against installing knobs. I get an incredible amount of feedback from the tool with my palms flat on the body, pushing with the heel of my hand. I think the knobs would really take away from that.
I love the white oak. I managed to get some ray fleck on there, and I like the gnarlier grain along the back. Hopefully she stays mostly flat.
Thank you, if you read my novelette.
I've started to practice turning on my 1960's Craftsman lathe.
Previously I've turned a couple conical tenon blanks for stool legs and some stretchers. I've done some random practice sticks.
Richard Raffan's book and YouTube channel have been very helpful.
This is a carving mallet for a coworker who generously gave me some white oak slabs. The head is only 2.5" so it's definitely on the smaller side.
I'll be making one for myself, next.