More woodwork "learning"

The ultimate plan is make an oak console table to replace another table in the house - as the timber is pretty expensive I'm making a smaller test piece using the same techniques but with oddments of timber (oak for the top and legs, a contrasting timber for the rails - it might be a mahogany)

The top has been made gluing six strips together and the rails and legs cut to length. Mortises have been marked out and cut in the legs (with the new machine) 

Tapering the legs - the leg (with the mortises already cut) is clamped onto the jig at a slight angle overlapping the edge of the jig - the jig is then passed through the table saw to cut a very fine wedge to create the taper - the two "inside" faces of each leg have the taper cut.

Please, no comments about the lack of a guard on the saw, the operation can't be done with the guard in place - the width of the jig allows for keeping hands well away from the blade.

The "glue-up" - clamped upside down on the MFT

Routing the bevelled edges on the oak top

The final result - not perfect by any means but good practice for the various techniques, and it used up oddments of timber.

Water filter installation

 Our previous coffee machine was plumbed into the water supply with a water softener* and a filter -  they were uninstalled when the new machine arrived, freeing up a lot of space in the under-counter cupboard.

As we prefer to use filtered water in the coffee machine I have installed a new "filter tap" (3-way - H, C & Filtered) on the sink next to the "coffee nook"  - using the previous filter unit with a bit of simple plumbing** and we have pleasantly-tasting water again.  

It all fits behind the false back in the under-sink cupboard, yet readily accessible for the approximately six-monthly filter cartridge replacements.

* the water softener, being redundant, is for sale on ebay & Facebook Marketplace
** not very elegant as the original pipework was poorly laid out - but it's functional.

Footstool project - completed

A footstool to go with our refurbished mid-century modern chair*   The frame** is made of, I think,  sapele timber with mortise and tenon joints attaching the rails to the legs - all edges with a soft round-over and finished with a hard-wax oil.

The upholstered top is a sheet of 9mm board and a dense foam pad covered with polyester wadding in a stockinette cover, a thin cotton covering and finally the citrus coloured chenille fabric. 
The colour match isn't perfect but is closer than the photograph suggests.

* Mid-century modern chair - earlier post

** Project components - earlier post

Christmas is coming - again

The festive cut-outs are up on the fence again - I've failed through lack of inspiration to add a new one this year - but the new picture is taken from the other direction, looking from the road.

One slight change is that they are now watched over by our new security camera on the fascia above the garage doors!

The usual Christmas tree in the porch and lights along the front of the house will be installed this week and the traditional "St Mary's Road Christmas Lights" will be switched on at all the neighbouring houses on Sunday 7 December 2025 - with, weather permitting, some consumption of mulled wine as we celebrate.

.oOo.

I'm flattered that a lady living down the road (she's lived in the same house for more than 50 years) that walks her dog past twice a day makes a point of bringing her grandson to see my various seasonal displays.

Giving it a hard stare

We've just booked a birthday treat in May . . . involving a bear, a duffel coat and a suitcase.  

Staying at a trendy Z Hotel near The Savoy theatre - just hope there's marmalade for breakfast!!

Coffee machine R.I.P.

Our "commercial" coffee machine developed some VERY expensive to repair faults - we've had it 10 years so not too bad.  The previous (identical) machine got to 16 years before we decided to replace it.

So, it became a "value judgement" on the cost of repair against a new machine - sense prevailed and we now have a "semi-automatic bean-to-cup" machine.  

The new machine in the "coffee nook" - as they call it in the U.S.

Downsides:
- it's not plumbed into the water supply as the previous machine
- it doesn't have sufficient throughput of hot water to make tea
- it doesn't keep cups warm on the top of the machine*

Upsides:
- it has a grinder so the quality and taste of coffee is better than from ready-ground
- it will reduce electricity usage, only taking power when making coffee - the previous machine kept the water tank heated (think a small immersion heater!) 13 hours a day
- there is a 3-year warranty
- the previous machine required periodic servicing at about £150 a time 

*remedied with a hotplate on the shelf above the machine, timed for brief "coffee time" periods during the day.   UPDATE: After 5 days the heat tray has failed 😞 - Amazon is being pursued for a refund - UPDATE - which has now been made. . .  and yet another UPDATE - a new hotplate has been purchased, German made and built like a tank it keeps the cups warm.

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The old machine has been sold on ebay for "parts or repair" - offsetting about 25% of the new machine cost.

Another woodworking machine

 Just bought from Facebook Marketplace, at a very keen price, a machine to cut mortise joints - second-hand but unused, packed in the original box.

I've been cutting mortises with a drill, chisel & mallet - the machine makes a better job, is more accurate and faster.  Tenons are cut on the bandsaw.

UPDATE on the boat project

The panel is now installed and fits snugly between the two beds enabling it to become a double (a foam "slab" will slot in between the two existing mattresses)

A weekend away - Northumberland

 A trip, staying in Alnwick, to visit the "Christmas at Bamburgh Castle" tableau - themed on Treasured Tales - including Captain Hook, Jack & the Beanstalk, Aladdin, Rumpelstiltskin . . . and more.

The Christmas Tree was constructed with a spiral staircase and stacks of books amongst the decorations (a similar theme to the St Pancras Christmas tree a couple of years ago)

This chap, made from sheets of Corten steel was at Alnmouth

Other highlights were a visit to Cragside with a 6-mile scenic drive around the enormous estate (in the rain!) - and on the way home, the North East Land, Sea & Air Museum in Sunderland.

I did go to the Harrogate Woodworking Show on the way up to Northumberland - managing not to buy anything save for a £20 bundle of "useful hardwood offcuts"

New project . . . (to be continued)

Parts cut to size ready for some joinery . . .  I'll post some progress pictures and the item when it's finished.

Tenons cut . . . . 

Dry-fit with clamps to check height and overall size

Some woodwork for a friend's boat

 A friend asked me if I could make a couple of items for his boat - the larger photographs are of the new items and the thumbnail pictures show where they will be in use.

1  A cover for the induction hob to protect it from damage when not in use (or in rougher weather) - in the form of a simple wooden tray that serves as a protective cover when inverted and a tray for serving drinks the other way up. Stained black with a semi-gloss varnish seal.

2  A panel to fit between two single beds in one of the cabins that, with a sheet of dense foam, creates a double bed - made from 12mm plywood with a tapered shape to fit with edge lips to lock onto the existing side rails of the beds. Stained in a shade of mahogany with a varnish seal.

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Work in progress:

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This is the boat, 43' long on the waterline, with two enormous Volvo diesel engines!

Baguettes . . . mmm!

 A new acquisition for the kitchen in the form of a "baguette baking tray" - the very simple method is to create a wet, sloppy dough, prove it, place strips in the corrugations and bake.

Baguette tray from Amazon

First bake (by my wife, not me) today achieved an excellent result (chicken, stuffing & cranberry filling - shared for lunch) - the lunch baguette didn't have the "added value" seeds.

I saw this on a YouTube channel - Nicky & Harri - a young couple turning an unloved bungalow in Berkshire into a two-storey home, doing most of the work themselves.  The daily baguette making and sandwich fillings being a feature of the excellent content.

BST - British Shorts Time

 In March I set myself the challenge to only* wear shorts everyday during British Summer Time - i.e. from the end of March to the end of October.

Decathlon "Forclaz" lightweight shorts in grey - I have three identical pairs!

The challenge was pretty much achieved with just two short (!) exceptions:

1 Easter Sunday family lunch (approx. 7 hours in trousers - spousal pressure prevailed)

2 A friend's funeral in late September (approx. 5 hours in a suit and tie - an outfit not worn since my brother's funeral in October 2023) 

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* as in "not long trousers" but otherwise clothed normally!

Nest of tables - progress

 See the earlier post with the two nests of tables
Sorry if this is like watching the proverbial paint dry - but it is an interesting process for the G-Plan tables.

The original, rather orange coloured, tables with the varnish removed from the centre panels - using a carbide blade scraper followed by a light sanding.  The small patch at the top right is just to test the stain colour to be applied.  The frame of each table has been cleaned with "krud cutter" to remove any grease, rinsed with water ready for waxing.

Stain applied (two thin coats) with the darker wood edges masked off and then "de-nibbed" with #000 very fine steel wool.

Two thin coats of Hard Wax Oil applied and allowed to dry, de-nibbed - and then application of a high-quality paste wax polish to the complete piece, followed by buffing to hard semi-gloss finish.

The light is slightly deceptive - all three tables are now the same colour.

The finish product staged for advertising in my etsy online shop [SOLD]

. . . and a trick to remove glass-rings from furniture . . .  apply mayonnaise* and leave overnight, wipe off and rings have (usually) disappeared.
*Hellmans is recommended but ALDI own-brand works 😀

UPDATE to Cotswold Airport - Part 2

Update to post - click:  Cotswold Airport - part 2

Looking through some old photographs I found one of me (aged 20) in the actual seat in the Britannia in 1968!  It's the last row on the port side of the aircraft - my father had the window seat.