Sharpening the Saw

Saturday I took a class on Table Saw basics.  I’ve been looking for a woodworking class and found that a hardware store in Atlanta, Highland Woodworking, offers a wide variety of classes.

Driving into class on Saturday I was a bit anxious.  Would this class be worth giving up my Saturday for?  Would the instructor be knowledgeable?  I’ve gone to classes (in subjects other than woodworking) where I have known more than the instructor or the material was so basic that it was a waste of time.

It was an awesome class.   I’ve been using a table saw for a few years on some pretty basic projects, but I learned plenty.  Jim Dillion, a local professional woodworker and a former college professor, led the class.  Jim spent a good deal of time on safety and technique, which I was really interested in learning about.  He was also great at gearing the day toward areas the students were interested in.  The five hours I spent in the class will save me tons of time on my next project.  As well I will be a lot more conscious of safety – and I already give power tools a good bit of respect.

The class inspired me to learn more about my own table saw in order to produce better work.  I don’t have a high end tool shop – my table saw is a Craftsman homeowners model that is pretty basic (compared to the higher end saws).

So today I spent some time with the saw cleaning and adjusting a bit.  I cleaned and waxed the table.  I also lubricated the worm gears for adjusting blade height and angle.  I checked my blade for square against the table and found I have some adjusting to do.

So I think I’ll spend a bit of time in the evening this week cleaning and adjusting.  Then it’s on to building some of the great jigs Jim introduced to us this week.  I’m going to start with the cross cut sled and then build a high fence.

The class was well worth the $75.  I’ll be back for more classes.

More Fireplace surround constuction

Back view of the mantel

Sideview of back plate cleat

Cleat attached to wall

Fireplace surround underlying construction

Mantel and corbels being stained

Finishing in progress

So here’s the continuation of my earlier post on building the fireplace surround.   The pieces I haven’t covered yet are the corbels, the mantel, and how these pieces are mounted to the wall.

I drew a template of the corbel on paper and transferred it to a piece of pine.  I cut out the template with a jig saw and sanded the curves smooth.  Each corbel is glued up from three pieces of 1 inch red oak.

I cut equal sized blanks for each piece on the table saw and cut them to length on the miter saw.  I ripped all the pieces to width during one session on the table saw so the dimensions would be the same.  I set a stop on the miter saw stand so the length would be the same on each.

I traced the template on to each blank and rough cut the curves with a jig saw.  I then clamped the pine template to the blank and finished cutting the curve with a straight bit in my router.  It was a little time consuming, but it worked OK.  I thought using 1 inch oak would be easier than 3/4 inch because I would have fewer pieces to cut and glue up.  It turned out that 1 inch is just beyond the depth I could cut with my router and bit, so it came out a bit rougher than I would like.

I glued the pieces for the corbels together.  They are attached to the back plate with wood screws.  The back plate has 3 pieces of oak glued and screwed to it.  The top and bottom piece are to pushi it out from the wall to give it some more depth.

The middle piece is a cleat that attaches the corbels and back plate to the wall.  I cut one piece of oak at a 45 degree angle.  Once piece is attached with glue and screws to the back plate.  The other is screwed to the studs.  I used construction adhesive as well to provide additional bonding.

The matel is a box created with pocket screws.  Everthing is glued together.  It mounts to the wall by sliding over a piece of 2x ripped to slightly less than the opening on the back of the mantel and attached to the wall with lag bolts.

Here’s how it all goes together.  The leg on the left side of the fireplace goes on first.  Making sure it is plumb and level, it is attached to the two blocks of pine behind it.  Then the base is attached to the leg.

Next the corbel and back plate slide over the cleats and sit against the right leg.  Then the mantel slides over the block.  Once it is leveled, it is attached with wood screws through the top.  I tried several different ideas so that there wouldn’t be any exposed hardware, but this won’t really show.

Then the left leg and base are attached.

Fireplace surround construction

I finally got around to buying a TV for the basement.  The blue tape about the mantle was used to get a feel for the TV size.    Since it’s going to be installed over the fireplace, I felt motivated (finally) to finish the fireplace surround.  Lots of sanding, stain, then poly.

Fireplace surround before finishing

Fireplace viewed from the right

Construction detail of base of leg on fireplace surround

Construction detail of leg of fireplace surround

I wanted to show a bit of the underlying construction before it gets permanently attached.  It’s built from red oak.  The legs on either side are three pieces of oak joined with pocket screws and glue.    At the top I added a band of flat trim with cove underneath it.  The base is made from three mitered pieces topped with cove.

I routed the cove trim from the same material so it would all match.  I used brads to attach the trim, but if I was to do it over, I’d do it all with glue.  The oak is really hard and I had some splits in the trim from using the nail gun.

The legs will be attached to the pine blocks screwed to the wall.    The hardware will be hidden at the bottom by the base and at the top I’ll attach it from the side facing the mantel.

More on constructing the corbels and mantel later.

Fireplace surround update

Construction of the fireplace surround is underway.  Here’s a recent picture.

Mantel under construction

The surround I based this design on was constructed from quarter sawn oak.   After a visit to a local lumber supply, I decided on red oak.  There was plenty of stock to choose from and I really liked the grain of the wood.  I built the legs of the surround with pocket screws and glue.  The mantel is joined in the same manner except that the bottom is fixed with glue and brads since there isn’t enough room to join both the top and bottom with pocket screws.

Three corbels (brackets) will be mounted under the mantel shelf.  There are also a few pieces of trim to apply yet.  Joining each piece to the wall creates its own set of challenges.  I want to minimize any visible hardware and I want to be able to build it in place, remove it for finishing, and then reinstall it.     I’ll try to post more detailed pictures of the underlying construction when I do the final install.

There’s a picture of the fireplace without the surround in this post.

Cabinet for home theater components

OK,  awhile ago I posted about my first shot at building a cabinet.   Since the last post I decided to add a face frame to the cabinet to dress it up a little.  I primed and spray painted it black.  It actually fits with the room pretty well.  And it definitely looks better than having the equipment sitting on the floor.

Cabinet for home theater components

First run at building a cabinet

The original theater plan called for cabinets, but we decided to skip that rather large project to get the space usable before the holidays.  So I installed the electronics and everything is now sitting on the floor.  I decided to use some scrap 1/2 inch plywood to make a small cabinet for the receiver, bluray player and power conditioner.

Some quick measurements of the equipment and the plywood showed that the best use of the lumber would give me a cabinet 24 inches high by 20 inches wide by 18 inches deep.  I planned to use my Kreg pocket hole jig to join the pieces.

The end result came out just OK.  It will do the job for now, but it’s not going to win any prizes for pretty.  That’s OK, because I was looking for some experience with the tools and construction methods before I tackle the larger cabinets.  Here are my lessons learned:

• Face joining the 1/2 plywood top and bottom to the sides didn’t work.  The manual said it wasn’t recommended, but I gave it a try.  The material splits.  Glue and brads did the trick.
• The pocket screws held the fixed shelves firmly to the sides, but if you overdrive the screws, it split the plywood and went through the sides.
• I was glad I glued all the joints, since not all of my pocket joinery worked well.  Where I had to back out a protruding screw, I was able to use a brad to hold everything while the glue set.

I spent about 2 – 3 hours working on it Sunday.  It seems sturdy enough for 1/2″ plywood.  I’ll see what it looks like after it gets some paint.  If it’s not too ugly, I’ll post a picture