After letting the seat blanks set for a few days I checked
and they were still flat and square.
This meant that I could start with the final sizing and milling of the
blanks.
First was to mark the bevels on the pieces so I was sure and
make the 3 degree cuts angled the right way.
After tilting the table saw blade I made one cut on each board.
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| Seat Boards with one Bevel Cut |
There are three combinations of angled cuts
and straight cuts needed for the seat blank.
This means to get the proper width I had to reset the saw fence for each
combination. For some of the
combinations I had to add a board to the table saw fence because it does not
sit tight to the top of the table saw surface. The gap
would allow the edge of the bevel cut to ride under the fence and possibly
prevent a smooth cut.
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| Guide Board Tight to Table |
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| It looks worse than it is |
I always work in the shop with eye, hearing and dust
protection. However, while making the
ripping cuts on the table saw one splinter got away and stuck in my thumb. It was small and did not even get through the
callus. Just a subtle reminder to me to
be careful.
Once the cuts are made the application of a clamp pulls all
the pieces and joints together resulting in the rough scooped shape of the
seat.
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| Dry Clamped Seat |
Tracing the template I made for the seat gives me
the layout lines I will need for cutting and sculpting the seat later. However, before gluing up I have to drill holes for the
dowels that go between the seat pieces to reinforce them and cut the leg joints.
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| Seat Blank with Pattern |
After marking the location for the dowels on the top of the
seat I used a caliper to mark their location on the edge then followed that up
with a punch to give a good place for the drill to start.
Since the seat boards have their edges beveled as 3 degrees
I had to build a jig so the holes for the 3/8” by 2” long dowels would be square with the edge of the board and not the face.
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| Jig Used with Drill Press for Doweling |
Careful measurement in layout paid off when the dowels were test fit into the boards.
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| Test Fit with Dowels |
Next up – Seat Mockup Part 3 Leg Joints
Your drill press angle jig allows for accurate results and really saved me lots of headaches. I learned on my practice seat to first use the angle jig to set the tilt of the tablesaw blade (for ripping the edges of the 5 seat boards) from the slope of the drill press jig, thus ensuring even greater accuracy. Thanks, Dave
ReplyDeleteGood idea to use the jig to set the tilt of the tablesaw. Wish I had thought of that as it would have made things easier. Sounds like you are off and running. If I may ask what are you making it out of?
ReplyDeleteI'm making it out of cherry my first time around, Dave. I would have preferred walnut, but turns out it would be about 3 times the cost in my area. I like how cherry works and ages. I'm still working on getting the Maloof joints dialed in with the router and will leave a comment on your episode that discusses that issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Tim
Tim I am biased toward cherry because as you I really like the way it works and how it ages. Walnut is a nice wood to work with too but as you say walnut of color and quality is pretty pricy. One thing to consider with walnut is how it ages. Almost 25 years ago I built a computer cabinet out of cherry and on the doors ran a walnut inlay between the frame and panel. If you look at the first post of Computer Cabinet, you will see a photo of it. When built it looked great given the contrast between the two woods. However, over time the cherry darkened, and the walnut got lighter. Now you can hardly tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Dave, I have thought about color contrast in regards to the laminated rocker. I know the cherry will darken, and walnut's not the only dark contrast wood that will lighten with time. I'm considering using a lighter wood such as maple for the contrast. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteFor the dark contrast wood, I too wanted a dark strip. Regarding the cherry/walnut color convergence take look at the recent March 6, 2023 posting that shows what five years of exposure does to cherry and walnut.
ReplyDeleteAs to other alternates ebony would be a good choice but even if you could get a piece long enough to make the rockers it would be prohibitively expensive. I considered a couple other alternates, Wenge Millettia laurentii but could not find a piece that I liked that was long enough to work. What I did find was a piece of Katalox Swartzia cubensis long enough and affordable. This wood is really dark and almost 8 years later it is still almost black. Go to the May 18, 2015 post to see what it looks like. It is also really hard. For comparison the Janka hardness of cherry is 950 lbf while Katalox is 3,660 lbf. Take a look on “The Wood Database” for more information. A lighter wood like maple or maybe birch is an option but I did not consider them because I really wanted a dark wood.
I decided to go with maple as the contrast. I made some test laminations and put one out in the sun for a week and like how it looks as it ages. I'd include pictures, but can't figure out how to do that on this blog. I did text you at a number listed for you, but no response.
ReplyDelete