Small Bookcase, Part I

I have begun a carpentry project using plans from a book I bought from my friends at the Rockler Store in Cambridge. 

So far, things are going ok.  But I have noticed a few things I didn't expect.  First of all, the 3/4" mahogany from Boulter Plywood in Somerville Massachusetts is exactly 3/4" thick.  What a bummer!  Since all boards are warped and need to be joined and planed, you can't actually get a 3/4" board from Boutler Plywood.  The mahogany I found on sale at Rockler in Cambridge, Mass, on the other hand, came in at about 14/16" - a reasonable margin that at least gets you close to a final 3/4" thickness if you select your boards carefully.

To be fair, the plywood from Boulter is of good quality, they serve it up custom-cut quite quickly, and they've got a treasure-trove of hardwood plywood types that give you extreme bang-for-the-buck as well as a very flat and stable board that's inexpensive and looks almost as good as real hardwood. 

I also found that the mitre gauge that came with my Delta 1 3/4 h.p. contractor's saw doesn't stop quite at 90 degrees perpendicular to the blade.   I used a piece of padouk wood for a fence, and planed it down a hair across the face to correct the angle.  But I fear further warping of my fence.  Do i have to buy a pre-made mitre gauge or even a crosscut sled?

Using my Delta X5 joiner and DeWalt tabletop planer, I milled 3-5" boards for the shelves and sides of my bookcase.  Since I had to use some mahogany from Boulter, I ended up with a thickness of 0.55" rather than the 0.75" called for in the plans.  Time to turn down those 3/8" dadoes to 3/4"!

I hope the shelves hold. :)

I also made an error in joining the sides: one plank on one side measures 44" rather than the 45" called for in the plans.  The mistake gave me an idea for the shape of the top of the case, which I hope to reveal later on next week.

In the meantime, take a peek at some beautiful mahogany joined boards.  One of them in particular looks great.  Too bad it's a shelf piece and not a side.

...And here we go on the dadoes.  No routing dadoes for me.  I am staying away from the beast for a little while...

Chest of Drawers FAIL!!

I recently got into woodworking, as a way to bring my designs for acoustical traps, component racks, and loudspeakers to life.  Those who've visited before may know my first project was a 2'x4' foam acoustic panel, and my second was a chest of drawers.

So ambitious was I!  Funny, so many people raised their eyebrows when I told them my first "real" project was a bureau.  The pinnacle of cabinetry and craftsmanship!  A nest of grooves, angles, and shapes that must be assembled in a particular order, and made with zero tolerance for errors in angle or dimension.  My own chest was based on the memory of a friend's similar chest I had looked at the previous week.  No plans, just the memory and a dream.

I proudly boasted on this blog that I expected to be finished with my chest in a matter of days.  But those paying close attention read on my blog that - mid-project - I discovered a tool called the joiner.  Turns out one requires a joiner in order to make a chest of drawers, and just about anything else requiring rectangular boards.  I got a joiner and made my drawers (too wide for my chest's carcase), and then I bit into the front edge of my chest while trying my first-ever flush trim with a free-hand router. 

Pressing on, I decided to build a new carcase, to fit the drawers I had made.  After fitting that one together, I discovered I had cut several of the side dadoes in the wrong places.  Another major FAIL.

It was then I realized that I needed to work from somebody else's plans.  I simply don't know enough about woodworking to design my own pieces yet.

:(

But I press onward!  Armed with a plan for a simple bookshelf, I am going to start with something slightly simpler, and see how I do...

Until next time, thanks for reading, and please come back soon!

-isaac

Hi-Fi University Articles Online

I have written several articles on the platform Hubpages over the past several months.  They range from educational articles about hi-fi stereos and home theaters, to reviews of gear I have owned.  If you're looking to buy a hi-fi in the near future, and you don't know much about the market, you may find these articles save you a lot of money. 

• Review of the Klipsch Heresy Speaker: http://hubpages.com/hub/Klipsch-Heresey-II-Review

• Bi-Amping and Tri-Amping.  Why and How: http://hubpages.com/hub/Bi-amping-and-Tri-amping-Why-and-How 
• Wattage for Stereos and Home Theaters Explained: http://hubpages.com/hub/Wattage-for-Stereo-and-Home-Theaters-Explained  
• What's the Difference Between Receivers and Separates? http://hubpages.com/hub/Vintage-Stereo-and-Home-Theater-University 

Enjoy!  And please leave your comments at the bottom of the Hubs :)
-isaac

Hi-Fi University Articles Online

I have written several articles on the platform Hubpages over the past several months.  They range from educational articles about hi-fi stereos and home theaters, to reviews of gear I have owned.  If you're looking to buy a hi-fi in the near future, and you don't know much about the market, you may find these articles save you a lot of money. 

• Review of the Klipsch Heresy Speaker: http://hubpages.com/hub/Klipsch-Heresey-II-Review

• Bi-Amping and Tri-Amping.  Why and How: http://hubpages.com/hub/Bi-amping-and-Tri-amping-Why-and-How 
• Wattage for Stereos and Home Theaters Explained: http://hubpages.com/hub/Wattage-for-Stereo-and-Home-Theaters-Explained  
• What's the Difference Between Receivers and Separates? http://hubpages.com/hub/Vintage-Stereo-and-Home-Theater-University 

Enjoy!  And please leave your comments at the bottom of the Hubs :)
-isaac

DIY backstop fence for faster, more accurate repeated cuts on the mitre saw

While I was making my first chest of drawers, I had to make a lot of repetitive cuts on the mitre saw: for the drawer faces, sides, and backs, and for the inner frame supports, guide rails, and cross-members.  My method of measuring each cut (I won't describe it here) was laborious, time consuming, and resulted in boards that were almost - but not exactly - the same length. 

Of course, in cabinetry, almost doesn't cut it.  Or at least it makes for a lot of extra work.

So I came up with a better solution: a backstop that slides to and from the saw, and can be clamped into position so repeated cuts are easy to set up, and more accurate from cut to cut.

To see more pics of my DIY backstop, and instructions on how to build it yourself, visit my Mitre Saw Backstop Hub.

Happy building!

DIY backstop fence for faster, more accurate repeated cuts on the mitre saw

While I was making my first chest of drawers, I had to make a lot of repetitive cuts on the mitre saw: for the drawer faces, sides, and backs, and for the inner frame supports, guide rails, and cross-members.  My method of measuring each cut (I won't describe it here) was laborious, time consuming, and resulted in boards that were almost - but not exactly - the same length. 

Of course, in cabinetry, almost doesn't cut it.  Or at least it makes for a lot of extra work.

So I came up with a better solution: a backstop that slides to and from the saw, and can be clamped into position so repeated cuts are easy to set up, and more accurate from cut to cut.

To see more pics of my DIY backstop, and instructions on how to build it yourself, visit my Mitre Saw Backstop Hub.

Happy building!

Chest of Drawers: Part II

Well, it has been more than a week since I proclaimed that I would be finished with my chest of drawers within two days.  What happened?  Jointing happened.  In case you don't know what jointing is, don't feel bad.  I didn't either, until last week. 

Last week, my friend Kiki and I were working on my chest of drawers.  We were cutting the Mahogany for the drawer faces.  For the taller drawers (two are designed to be 12" tall), we planned to glue two 6" boards together to create a flat 12" drawer face.  But when we put the two boards together, there was a gap between them in the middle.  Attempting to sand-away the sides of the boards only created new gaps elsewhere in the joint.  What was going on?  All the boards had been purchased pre-cut, and then we cut them to size on the table saw, so they should have been straight, right?

Wrong!  Boards from the store are NOT straight.  They may look rectangular, or at least flat on both sides and an edge, but they're not truly rectangular and parallel until they've been jointed and planed.  

Above: A jointer

Above: A planer

Luckily, I was able to find a killer deal on a planer, jointer, and 1 3/4 HP table saw.

So, now all of the drawer faces are jointed and planed.  The sides, bottoms, and backs of the drawers are dadoed and ready to be assembled into drawers.

Here we go!

Chest of Drawers: Part II

Well, it has been more than a week since I proclaimed that I would be finished with my chest of drawers within two days.  What happened?  Jointing happened.  In case you don't know what jointing is, don't feel bad.  I didn't either, until last week. 

Last week, my friend Kiki and I were working on my chest of drawers.  We were cutting the Mahogany for the drawer faces.  For the taller drawers (two are designed to be 12" tall), we planned to glue two 6" boards together to create a flat 12" drawer face.  But when we put the two boards together, there was a gap between them in the middle.  Attempting to sand-away the sides of the boards only created new gaps elsewhere in the joint.  What was going on?  All the boards had been purchased pre-cut, and then we cut them to size on the table saw, so they should have been straight, right?

Wrong!  Boards from the store are NOT straight.  They may look rectangular, or at least flat on both sides and an edge, but they're not truly rectangular and parallel until they've been jointed and planed.  

Above: A jointer

Above: A planer

Luckily, I was able to find a killer deal on a planer, jointer, and 1 3/4 HP table saw.

So, now all of the drawer faces are jointed and planed.  The sides, bottoms, and backs of the drawers are dadoed and ready to be assembled into drawers.

Here we go!

My Second Woodworking Project: A Chest of Drawers

I'm very happy with my latest project: building a chest of drawers.  I know, a chest of drawers is not a hi-fi-related item.  And yet I'm writing about a chest of drawers here on the Wicked Hi-Fi Blog because the chest of drawers in question is my second-ever woodworking project, and I'm using it as a test-bed for my next project: the ultimate stereo component cabinet.

Now, before looking at the pictures, I remind you this is my second woodworking project.  My first was a sound-absorbing panel, shown below.  The work shown took place over the past three days.

Here are pictures of my first chest of drawers, beginning with the four main vertical supports and the six internal rectangular frames.  I used a router, chisels, table saw, glue, clamps, and chop saw to make the chest so far.  For wood, I used poplar for the inner framing, birch plywood with walnut veneer for the side panels, and I plan to build the drawer sides and faces from African Walnut I bought on sale at Rockler in Porter Square in Cambridge.  I love that place.  Big up to Peter at Rockler for answering all my questions :) !! 

Here are the pics of the chest (Day One)

Here are the pics of Day Two:

As you can see, Day Two was productive: I finished all of the drawer guides, and placed, veneered, stained, and poly-ed the side panels.  I also crafted two laminated accent strips out of three strips of hardwood.  Here's how I made the accent strips:

And the final step on Day Two was the veneer/stain/poly of the side panels:

Tune in soon for pics of the rest of the project.  My goal is to have Maja using it by the morning of Day Five. :)

-isaac