Do it yourself

April 8th, 2015 at 4:20:22 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Evenbob
An amazing amount of work to get
it on the nose square, I was surprised.


Oh indeed. Seems the easiest thing in the world to do, and I have innumerable failures under my belt because "bah, that's easy!"

Fortunately, if I may rip off Socrates, I now know enough to know that I know nothing.

Quote: Evenbob

You get what you pay for when you hire
cheap labor.


Cheap? Ever try those "free" knuckleheads? They're a walking disaster ;)
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 4:31:09 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Face
Cheap? Ever try those "free" knuckleheads? They're a walking disaster ;)


He was good at putting on the siding and
roof, he was basically a hammer jockey
who thought he knew more than he did.

When I was refinishing furniture in the 90's
and had to take something apart, like a
100 year old rolltop desk, I was in awe of
the craftsmen who built this stuff. No wonder
it was called a trade, no room for amateurs.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
April 8th, 2015 at 5:34:12 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Evenbob

When I was refinishing furniture in the 90's
and had to take something apart, like a
100 year old rolltop desk, I was in awe of
the craftsmen who built this stuff. No wonder
it was called a trade, no room for amateurs.


Ain't that the truth. I recently acquired a bureau that was given to my great grandmother on her wedding, which is going on 100 years ago. It is still rock solid with not a shimmy or a shake in it. No splinters, no loose drawers, nothing. You couldn't make it again if you tried. Even that type of wood doesn't exist anymore.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 5:47:11 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
A lot of old furniture is veneered. If you've
ever worked with veneer, especially on
curved surfaces, you will have nothing but
respect for the men who did it for a living.

If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
April 8th, 2015 at 7:43:56 PM permalink
Ayecarumba
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 89
Posts: 1744
Looks great Face! I'm curious how you got the pegs for the legs "square". I don't have a jig on my drill, and can never drill a perpendicular hole by hand, yet I see professionals do it with their off hand and eyes closed. Is there a secret technique?
April 8th, 2015 at 9:32:15 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Ayecarumba
Looks great Face! I'm curious how you got the pegs for the legs "square". I don't have a jig on my drill, and can never drill a perpendicular hole by hand, yet I see professionals do it with their off hand and eyes closed. Is there a secret technique?


Thanks, Aye!

Square as in center of the leg? Or square as in just a straight hole through?

Center of leg is easy if it's polygonally (?) shaped. If square, just draw a straight line from diagonal corners to make an "X", and X marks the spot. Mine were octagonal, but the same applies. Circles are a bitch. What I would do in the Good Enough Garage Slash Woodshop is grab 4 straight edges. Arrange those into a square around the circular peg, then use that square to draw my X. It's hunchin' and figgerin', but that's how I do. Of course, that's also why my legs ain't square, but whatever. It works for me ;)

Straight holes is just practice. I've done it enough to have made plenty of mistakes, so I kind of know how to not get too crazy. You have to sort of look at your bit from two angles, 90* apart. If you look at the side of the drill, it might be straight. But look from the back, and you're leaned way over. Once you got it straight, you have to remember that leaning on it to give the pressure to drill is gonna cause you to push it back out of true. It's not perfect; in fact, it expressly imperfect. But it's close enough that I usually don't have problems. All the holes I drilled and I drilled but one cockeyed. Good Enough ;)

If there is a trick for "professional" work, I don't know it. And don't give me too much credit; the legs already came with screw studs in them. As a result, the hole for my dowels was already there =p
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 10:07:21 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Almost finished.

I came down today to find the legs rock solid. The only movement was the flex in the leg when I really cranked on them. No wiggle whatsoever. So far, so good.

I began to flip it over, and worried about the pressure on the legs in doing so. It was no worry at all. Totally solid.

Once I had it up, I could see they weren't level. They're straight, so that's good. But the table rocked. No biggie; as I said earlier, a little bit of sanding or some feet will square it all up, no problem.

So today was gonna be all finishing, and god, how I loathe finishing ><

The table has a dip dead in the middle from not getting the 2x8's perfectly flat. I had previously fired up the DA to get all the edges flush, and I fired it up again to do the laborious task of flattening the surface. 3 hours and a cloud of dust later, it's a lot better. Not "great", certainly not that. But it's at least "OK", instead of "god awful". Putting a straight edge shows it's about 1/8" between edges and center. I ain't got a $20,000 industrial planer, so it's as good as I could do =p Really, my back gave up so I had to stop. I might go further, if it continues to bother me as much as it did today. I guess we'll see.

I carried on smoothing the sides and grinding the dowels flush (after 30 min prone on the floor to realign my damnable back). Then came the edges, and I almost threw it all away.

I had planned on angling them off with a circular saw and sanding it smooth. Just a little something so it wasn't so blocky looking. Well, I cut through just one of the four 2x8's when my saw died. The batteries did not make it through the winter and are toast. I had to track one down, so into town I went. I went to Pop's, my grandpa, my goalie, my cousin, I needed a damned saw lol. Finally tracked down Jonny L and got one. He also suggested a router for the edges, and a 5 minute lesson later, I came home with saw and router in hand. And 5 minutes after that, disaster.

The router was beautiful... until the damn bit came loose >< I did not notice it was dropping further and further until it was far too late, and the long edge of the table was ruined beyond saving. Fortunately I built the frame far enough back so as to give a stout lip with which to carry the table, so I had room to spare. I cut 3/4" off the edge of the whole table, readjusted the router, and was back in business. 15min and a disaster of a mess later, it was all done.



It doesn't look like much, but finishing never does. The longest day yet, a full 8 hours. It's "close to" flat, smooth as butter, and is rock solid. All I need do now is even up the legs, and then do the spot sanding of any dips, sharp edges, or other imperfections and I'm done. I figure even with all the stupid things I do that take up time, this took all of 25 hours at a total cost (paper, glue, and everything included) of ~$118.



Now... how much would you pay for something like this? That's a serious question, and don't worry about my precious feelings. I can't find anything online that is comparable, and I'm curious. It's all fir, so there's no hidden value in the wood. I suspect I would need to do something to cater to those who decorate for a rustic motif in order to get real value out of it. Something like building it out of reclaimed barn slats. But for what it is... how much? Ready, set, roadshow me.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 11:21:00 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
The Amish have a lock on hand built
furniture, they bang it out on a daily
basis. They're everywhere, no way
you could compete with their quality
or prices.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
April 8th, 2015 at 11:46:00 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Evenbob
The Amish have a lock on hand built
furniture, they bang it out on a daily
basis. They're everywhere, no way
you could compete with their quality
or prices.


I am aware. Huge Amish community not 15min down the road, and a store right in town. But while there is no way I could compete with their quality, their stuff is pretty damn expensive. I had a bench that wasn't much more than a split log with generic pegs stuffed into it that was mid $100. Their small bureaus are over $500.

Ain't trying to get rich. I just need some milk lol
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 11:56:02 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
Quote: Evenbob
The Amish have a lock on hand built
furniture, they bang it out on a daily
basis. They're everywhere, no way
you could compete with their quality
or prices.


Evenbob you remind of this recurring bit in this old movie. But the clincher is the closing line.

You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?