Potato and Onion Bin

[BrokenolMarine]

The weather is still brutal here. Temps hovering on either side of the hundred degree mark early, then climbing on the plus side and staying till late in the day. Inside is the key to survival to gimpy old folk...

Miss Tina loves the sewing chest. Just loves it. Sitting in her recliner, crocheting this huge afghan last night, she dropped the works in her lap and looked across the living room and said...

"You know what would be nice? A potato and onion bin for the kitchen."
then back to crocheting the afghan.

Of course, I had been trying to decide on a new project. I hate being bored. Youtube search last night, searched thru the wood shed. Found some interesting slabs. Once I get them cleaned up, I might figure out what they are. Nice figure in the grain though.

Spent the rest of the morning sketching out the rough measurements for Miss T's next request. This should be fun. Rabbits, dadoes, dowel pinned joints. Can't wait.

[BrokenolMarine]

Btw, Miss Tina's afghan project is an interesting one. It's a year long weather record. The daily temps are divided into bands. Each temperature band is assigned a color and she crochets a strip across the afghan for each day's temperature. After a year, the afghan will be a graph of the year's weather.

[markiver54]

Great Jim, always like following your projects. Would like to make Carol a Bread box. She currently keeps all those type items in the nuclear oven which bugs me. Have to move everything out to use it.
Have mentioned it to her before, but, she doesn't want to waste anymore counter space. oh well...

[markiver54]

Btw, Miss Tina's afghan project is an interesting one. It's a year long weather record. The daily temps are divided into bands. Each temperature band is assigned a color and she crochets a strip across the afghan for each day's temperature. After a year, the afghan will be a graph of the year's weather.

What a great idea!!! Go Miss-T!

[BrokenolMarine]

I have gotten busy in the shop over the last week or so... Well, busy for me. I work when I can, and rest when I have to. The first step was to take measurements and make the first rough sketches on typing paper sitting in the recliner and ask the boss what she thought. She liked them. Then I went out in the shop and got the butcher's paper and made the sketches actual size. Got that done.

01 full size sketch.jpg (91.59 KiB) Viewed 5549 times

I often make several pages of these, showing front, back, and side views, but in this case, it's a fairly simple project, construction wise. I can operate off the front view, and work from this knowing the plan. (In my hollow head.) I took measurements and had an idea what I needed. Trip to the woodshed, to find wood. Came back with this... think it's maple. Will see what we have for grain patterns once it's brushed and vacuumed.

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Got it all cleaned up and vacuumed, then started to lay out the side panels. Then I realized this would be nowhere near enough wood. The day was gone and I hauled it back to the woodshed and pulled out a matched foursome. THAT should do 'er. Stacked it in the shop and left it for the day.

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Working on the layouts and getting the boards ready the next day, I was able to carefully lay out the side panels and make the cuts. The grain looks amazing, and the two side panels took one entire slice from the log. Good thing I have four.

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I have set up the planer for the side panels, and will run these through. I ripped them as the planer will handle 12.5 inches which is the exact width of the panels... but these are bowed. I learned a long time ago, when trying to flatten bowed panels you lose less wood if you rip them in the middle of the bow, planes the two halves flat, and then rejoin the panels. Time to get to work.

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After planing you can see the results. There are still some low spots with a bit of roughness, but they will be taken out by the card scraper. The grain is amazing in my opinion, and I think this is more spalted maple.

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I will put biscuits in these and join them during glue up. These are two of the largest pieces in the Cabinet and I want them strong. I may just use cabinet grade ply for the back of the cabinet since it won't be seen. The rest will be easier to process. (Hopefully.) After cutting the slots and inserting the biscuits, ever effort is made to keep things flat and level.

Here are the sides... rejoined with their mates.

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[markiver54]

Nice to have that beautiful wood on hand. Yes, it does look like more spalted maple.

[BigAl52]

Nice figure in that Marine. Maybe you could use some dark stain on it and get some tiger stripping

[BrokenolMarine]

I still have a half jar of the blended golden oak and natural watco oil, that should do it.

[BrokenolMarine]

Nice to have that beautiful wood on hand. Yes, it does look like more spalted maple.

We were lucky. Miss T keeps an eye out and came across an ad for someone wanting to trade some quality wood for firewood. We contacted her and told her we would come down and take a load, but we didn't have seasoned firewood to spare, we would buy her a load. But, she was welcome to come up and cut deadfall every year for free firewood in the future. She said it was too far to drive to cut wood, but appreciated the kind offer.

Her dad had recently passed, (in his 80s,) and had been cabinet maker. She had three barns filled with beautiful wood. We paid for a load of seasoned firewood and hauled away a full truckload of cherry, walnut, maple, cocobola, and more. Should have gone back like she suggested, but at the time... No storage space. She had three barns of wood, some had dried out, some turned doughy, but most was excellent.

[markiver54]

Wow! What a lucky find. Maybe there will be some left when you're ready.

[BrokenolMarine]

Wow! What a lucky find. Maybe there will be some left when you're ready.

Fifteen years ago, maybe twenty...
We have lots of wood.

[PT7]

I think storing and caring for wood is a skillset in itself, Marine. And it does take quite a bit of storage space, too.

I remember my Dad had a wood storage area in the upper level above his four-car garage. When we did some wood projects together, it was always cool to climb that ladder and almost always find that the wood needed was there. I wish he could have read and followed some of your projects; definitely would have enjoyed your work as I do.

PT7

[BrokenolMarine]

I think choosing the right wood for a project can make or break a project as well. Choose a special piece of wood for your box and you end up with something spectacular. Choose an average piece of pine, you have a pine box.I

I have gotten very lucky in the past, and turned out some nice pieces, and had folks ask how I start. Unlike many, I start at the top...

Yup... If I'm building a box, and don't already have the design in my head, I poke around in the wood on hand until one of the pieces claims it's the next top. I build the box, around the top. Most folks I've chatted with build a box to match their sketch, finding wood to match the box design, then find some wood to fit the top. I do that only if I have to fit parameters for a set purpose.

[BrokenolMarine]

Went to a class last night at woodcraft... (Sharpening basics) ... Good class, great info.
Stopped by Home Depot to pick up the hinges and plywood for the back panel. Asked the kid to cut the full sheet in half to make it easier to handle, the panel saw stuttered and made a minor error on the sheet. He was going to toss the sheet and get a new 3/4" sheet.

"No worries brother, I can work around it," I grinned, " Just knock a little off the price, then you don't have to toss it, or go back to the front for another sheet. "

He asked if I was sure. I nodded, and he marked the end of the panel.
It rung up 70% off. I would have been fine with five bucks.

Will get back at it this morning.

[markiver54]

Great deal on the plywood Jim!
A while back, I got a $40.00 sheet of birch plywood for $10.00 because they had put the bundle in the wrong bin. The associate said, we will honor that price.

[BrokenolMarine]

I have gotten in a few sessions but need to download the pics.
The sides are mostly smoothed and cut to size.
I cut the plywood back.
I cut two sections off one of the slabs, one 17 inches, one 11 inches.

Those were run once across the bandsaw to get a straight edge, then across the table saw using the fence to create the rails and stiles needed for the face of the cabinet.

These will go thru the planer to set their proper thickness, then the jointer to true the edges and width. Pics, there will be pics.

[markiver54]

I have gotten in a few sessions but need to download the pics.
The sides are mostly smoothed and cut to size.
I cut the plywood back.
I cut two sections off one of the slabs, one 17 inches, one 11 inches.

Those were run once across the bandsaw to get a straight edge, then across the table saw using the fence to create the rails and stiles needed for the face of the cabinet.

These will go thru the planer to set their proper thickness, then the jointer to true the edges and width. Pics, there will be pics.

No pressure on the pics Jim,
When I was young, I only read Playboy for the articles, not the pics...
JK, will be looking forward to seeing the progress!

[BrokenolMarine]

As Promised! Here are some pics from the last few days of work in the shop.

Here is the slab AFTER I cut the two pieces out, the small end tab I cut off first because it was a bit discolored. I won't throw it out, as it's probably fine for some other use, but I wouldn't risk a color difference in the larger project.

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Here is where I edged the two cut chunks on the band saw to give me a straight edge to use as a guide on the table saw fence. Slow and steady rules the day.

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As you can see, the two pieces are bowed all to Christmas... but since I am cutting 1-1/8" wide pieces, I can work with that easily.

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After passes on the table saw with the two chunks, I have 10 seventeen inch pieces (for the 16" rails) and eight 11 inch pieces (for the 10 inch stiles)

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I set up the planer and dust collector and got ready to rock.

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The rails and stiles after the planer work. Taking 1/32 per pass, it took a good while, but again, slow and steady rules the day. Check out the grain on these bad boys.

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13 17s after planner trip.jpg (181.46 KiB) Viewed 3643 times

I am very happy so far. I still have a lot of work left to do, but we are getting there. We are a long way from where we started with a pile of four slabs of spalted maple, and a sketch of Miss T's Potato Bin. Miss Tina wanted me to just make this thing out of Pine.

[markiver54]

Pine?....looks like she's gonna get the Rolls Royce of potato/onion bins!☺

[BrokenolMarine]

Pine?....looks like she's gonna get the Rolls Royce of potato/onion bins!☺

Yeah, yeah, I have been so accused.
I just try and do the very best I can.
I'm retired. I have the time, the tools, the wood...
... And if an idea doesn't work, the time to try again.

So... It may take a little (lot ) longer, but she is usually happy on the back end of a project. I don't rush.