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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
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    Default Whiskey Cabinet WIP

    Well it's been an eventful 6 months or so in my house.

    Number two is now walking, and has discovered stairs which is making life so much fun. Add to that we got the chance to move into a house here on Thursday Island and jumped at it. That meant I had to pack everything up, shift it and wait patiently for the better half to decide if she really wanted to keep things we haven't used in the last 5 years or not. We still have boxes waiting in the living room.

    The big plus for me was I now have a double garage to play in. The downside it's a classic "open under the house" type Queenslander and while the space is great, it's relatively open to the elements. We also moved during the wet season which meant all my tools were stacked carefully in the corner while I got everything else done, then I can back two weeks later to find a pile of rust with timber handles sticking out of them. So I cleaned everything off, oiled everything and put it in a cupboard upstairs while I could get a tool chest built. I had grand plans of making it out of the left over ash from my workbench build, but after resawing 3 boards over a week and a half I realised I would probably still be working on this in 2021. So I bought some plywood, got some Meranti to dress it up and make some drawers out of and put this together.





    I call it the Tardis, because it's blue, looks kind of like the famous police call box and I'm hoping it's bigger on the inside than it looks.

    Now that I have my gear protected it's time to make something for the house. I have always wanted a Whiskey Cabinet to put my whiskey of the month club drinks in, so I put pencil to paper and came up with this. I am doing this as a WIP thread simply because I like reading WIP threads so that's what I will post.



    I read "By hand and eye" over the Christmas period and was intrigued by the idea of making something that is all related. While I will freely admit I still don't fully grasp the complexities of the column orders, nor do I have the same passion for it as the authors, I thought it could be a good opportunity to try and put what I have learnt to use. So for this project I will put the tape measure away and rely solely on dividers. Hopefully it works out.

    Next step was to get all the mould out of the timber, figure out what would go where and start breaking it down. I have decided to start on the top case before I make the base. I have a limited amount of timber for the top, and any changes needed to be done will affect this the most. Because I want the door stiles to line up with the legs, if I need to change the top case and have already made the base this won't happen.

    So today was spent breaking down some Tasmanian oak, flattening it and getting it ready for glueing into panels. I both like and loathe this stage, it's a lot of work. Luckily I have discovered coffee, lovely coffee.



    My favourite photo, all the timber to be used in the project. Makeshift saw bench until I can build one, and my new measuring system.



    Toothed blade in the Henry Eckhert bevel up jack plane is my new favourite way of scrubbing. I really like this plane.



    One board flat and square, 7 more to go.

    I have to join boards together to get my finished width and ended up with one done by COB today.

    Hopefully this build won't take as long as my bench. I reckon if I can get into the garage most nights and work in the cool while the kids are sleeping I can get this done pretty quick. I've just put in a heap of lighting so I can work at night so now I just need to compete with the rats and cane toads for space.

    Ideally I would like this in the house before the wet season gets here. Let's see how that goes.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
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    ACT
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    Hi,
    I do not see a sector in your measuring kit.
    Regards
    Hugh

    Enough is enough, more than enough is too much.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Thursday Island
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    49
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    That's because I didn't need it for making out the boards for cutting
    It's buried deep in the Tardis. It's a crappy plastic one for now until I get around to making my own.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Thursday Island
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    It's been slow progress over the last few weeks, but slow and steady wins the race apparently.

    Between the kids and a few work trips I have barely had the time to get things broken down, but have managed to square 3 of the 4 panels for the main case and start resawing the timber down for the legs.



    I'm not going to lie, resawing is not my favourite activity. It seems so easy while you are looking at a piece of Tasmanian Oak and say "I'll just cut that in half to begin with". Once cut, that is two sides square.



    Sawing to width. Only cut to the line you can see. Almost there (only an hour and a half or so later).



    Sawing to width complete. I still have to do the other half but thought I would get this out of the way while I was gluing up panels. One side panel complete and to size. Checking the bottom panel for size.

    This cabinet should hold 8 bottles, or 7 and a decanter should I go that way. That is more than enough for me at the moment.

    So now I am finishing up the last of the panels before I start on the joinery to put that together. Then I will gee myself up to pull the saw back out and get the leg blanks sawn down to size before shaping.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Thursday Island
    Age
    49
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    99

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    Where does the time go??

    I have been a bit lax updating this thread for a couple of reasons. The biggest one is that I have spent the last few months turning very large pieces of timber into much smaller straighter pieces. When you sometimes only get an hour a week, and are working by hand, that can take up an awful lot of time. While stories and pictures of me sawing timber are indeed riveting, I didn't feel it would make a compelling build thread.

    Then all the sawing stopped, everything was sized and the pace picked up quite a bit. I simply forgot to take pictures of a lot of it because I was just so excited to see something happening. It's a bit depressing to feel like you have been working hard for months with little to show for it. So I charged up the faithful camera and took a couple of photos from tonights dry fit while I sized things up. I've got the case together, leg blanks roughly shaped, infill panels for two sides, and this thing is starting to look like a piece of furniture.



    Mortising station set up. I am getting much better at these, not anywhere near proficient but certainly much more confident.



    Sailor Jerry approves of the space.



    Front left view. The drawer in the front is yet to be sized but the infill panels are in. I an considering putting a small chamfer on them to add a little detail but have a bit of time yet before I am ready to glue to figure it out.



    Here she stands in all her glory, dry fit and looking good. The drawer front needs to be cut to size.

    The next big job is to size a panel for the back, add the drawer runners and then shape the legs to final. I'm going to be putting feet onto these that matches the drawer. I was just waiting to see if the height was right, this is pretty close to final, I was considering raising it but have decided this is good. So I am cutting these legs down, adding the socks and then final shaping with the curves at the top.

    I am really enjoying this build. Considering this is the first piece of furniture I have tried building completely by hand. It's all about skill building and this project has let me practice through dovetails (cut once before), half blind dovetails (never cut by hand before), mortising (done but only in large format for my bench), grooving (never done before) etc. I get to play with a curved spokeshave soon which should be fun.

    I will try and keep this updated a bit more, still hoping to have this done before the wet season arrives, but may still be working during the buildup. Right now the humidity is a lovely 50%, should be into the 80-90 range pretty soon.

    Lastly for a question - What to do with the space under the drawer? Should I put in a base to this area or leave it open? I go back and forth on this and was hoping for some advice.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Thursday Island
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    Bits and pieces, every step is a step closer.

    I've been getting a hour here and there and just whittling away at this little project of mine. I have had to give the saw a rest because it's blunt, really really blunt. I was struggling to resew some Blackwood and just thought to myself "This should be going a lot faster than this". Then I realised that I haven't sharpened my saw since I bought it just before my workbench build. It probably needs it. Sharpening saws is another skill I have yet to try, so this should be interesting. I'll let you know how it goes.

    So while I am waiting for some saw files to arrive I have turned my attention to other areas. The legs need socks and the case really needs to be glued together finally. So that's what I have been doing.



    Kerfing the legs for shape. I realised my curved spokeshave is not tight enough to do this work so I have ordered a smaller one. I will finish one leg first then work the others to match as I have not done this by hand before. What could possibly go wrong??



    My new toy, I am really impressed by this plane. I bought a heap of old Stanleys with the idea to fix them up. The only issue is that an hour spent fettling is an hour less in the shop and I get so little time as it is. Fettling, therefore, is not for me it turns out. So I bought this and couldn't be happier. Took a while to figure out the mechanism but it's really coming into it's own. Bevel up is my bag at the moment.



    All the parts laid out before glue up. Using liquid hide glue for this project and enjoying the process. Smells good too, the dog has never been friendlier



    Clamped up and waiting. I have coat of oil on the insides of the case as the light Tassie Oak just picked up smudges and dirt like you wouldn't believe, especially in an open garage like I have. Once I have the outside sorted out it will be oiled as well while I get the rest finished. The final plan is to give it a finish of shellac.



    First sock is on. Funny thing, the sliding dovetail wasn't supposed to be in the front like it now is, it was supposed to run side to side. I checked it, checked it again, marked everything, checked it again, cut the dovetail, realised I somehow screwed it up. No idea at all how that happened, I am blaming Gremlins or Leprechauns or Fairies or something. So now all the dovetails will be facing forward and I will just have to live with it.

    Hopefully my small spokeshave will turn up some time this week and I can finish this leg. I will also do some internet searching on sharpening saws and get that going as well. If I can get the base done in the next two weeks I will be a happy man. I am not going to beat the wet season, or the buildup, but I will hopefully have it done before Christmas.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Auckland New Zealand
    Posts
    312

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    Tasty [emoji16][emoji106]

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Thursday Island
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    Follow up.

    Sharpened my saw tonight (thank you YouTube) and holy cow the difference that made. What took me the best part of half an hour before I realised things could do with a bit of sharpening, I matched in about 5 minutes. The saw now just glides through, it no longer stops at a weird place in the cut, and I am a lot happier.

    Who knew that sharpening things made them work better, lesson learnt there.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Thursday Island
    Age
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    Everything is moving along nicely. I've been getting the little bits done while I wait for my small spoke shave to finish off the legs.
    This week has been drawer slides, drawer guides and cutting and fitting the back panel.



    Drawer slides and guides. The front opening is slightly larger than the back to maximise the available drawer height. The added bonus is a built in stop at the rear of the cabinet.



    The bevel up twins, Lie Nielsen left and Henry Eckert right. There are subtle but big differences between these planes. The HE was here first, then the good wife gave me a surprise thank you gift of the LN. Both excellent planes in their own right. I was going to sell the HE (no way I could sell the LN) but I just can't bring myself to do it.



    Back panel cut, rebated and fit.



    The base in all her glory. I need to trim the legs to the same height and then it's just down to inside curves, final smooth and base coat of oil to finish off. Once the base is done I will shift focus onto the top cabinet and back panel and doors.
    I plan on doing the drawer last in peak humidity so it should work all year after that. I've also changed tack on what is going in it and need to purchase a Norlan Rauk Heavy Tumbler to size things up.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Thursday Island
    Age
    49
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    It's been an interesting couple of months.

    First my camera battery decided to let go whilst in the camera and got stuck. I had a devil of a time trying to get it out. Don't buy Chinese batteries, buy originals.
    Second my computer crashed and when I got it all sorted out I found out my backup drive hadn't been working properly so I lost everything. So many photos, so many documents. Lucky I drew the plans for this by hand.

    So I've had to start a lot of stuff again which is kind of liberating really. There are a lot of photos of my sons that I will miss, but I should have printed them when I had the chance. Print the photos that are important to you.

    With those two lessons out of the way where am I am with this cabinet?? I'm at least 2 months over estimate but who's counting?? The base is done, the drawer is done and the top is attached. It's a functional cabinet right now, I just need to make the doors.

    Shaping the legs was fun as I had never used a curved spokeshave before. I tried kerfing and chiselling out to start but realised that a coping saw was a much better idea and saves a lot of time. Do all the curves match?? No of course not, but they match enough to not notice without really looking and I am calling that a win.

    Making the drawer was also a lot of fun. I've never made a drawer by hand before but was willing to give it a go after watching Frank Klausz a couple of times. Obviously mine wasn't all done in 15 minutes, but it's square, doesn't rack, has minimal droop and doesn't bind so I am calling that a win as well.

    I probably shouldn't have attached the case until I had the hinges done but I had been storing it in the back corner of the shed to keep it out of the way and found two wasp nests built in it. So I cleaned it out, added some Danish Oil and attached it to the base where I can keep an eye on it. The joys of an open shop in the tropics.



    My sawing is getting a lot better, even over the course of this build. I'm sure a sharp saw is helping but I have also noticed that I was skewed through my wrist a lot of the time which was putting me out. Now it's smooth and straight and I am confident enough to move closer to my line.



    Sorry this is a poor photo. Case is on, legs are shaped, drawer is in and homemade handles to boot. I'm not sold on the handles yet and will maybe play with them after everything is done. They seem a bit too chunky but they are very comfortable to use.




    Here is the drawer at almost full extension. It's sized to be deep enough to hold my Whisky glasses. Here you can see how chunky the handles are. They may just need a few mm taken off but I will wait and see.



    Just some nice grain detail. I've been very lucky with the timber for this build. It didn't look like much in it's raw state but once I cut and planed it the figure just started popping all over the place.


    Right now I am building doors and then it's all done.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Victoria
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    Great thread Dogs. The cabinet looks awesome and we’ll done doing it all by hand.
    You boys like Mexico ?

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam View Post
    Great thread Dogs. The cabinet looks awesome and we’ll done doing it all by hand.
    Thankyou Sam.
    Working only by hand is certainly teaching me an awful lot. I just hope I can do a decent enough job to make it look like I kind of know what I am doing.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  14. #13
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    Perth
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dogs857 View Post
    ............



    The bevel up twins, Lie Nielsen left and Henry Eckert right. There are subtle but big differences between these planes. The HE was here first, then the good wife gave me a surprise thank you gift of the LN. Both excellent planes in their own right. I was going to sell the HE (no way I could sell the LN) but I just can't bring myself to do it.
    .......

    Back panel cut, rebated and fit.



    .....
    I am enjoying your build very much and do not want to side-track. But can you say a little about the differences in the HE and LN? Curious minds want to know.

    Regards from Munich

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  15. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    I am enjoying your build very much and do not want to side-track. But can you say a little about the differences in the HE and LN? Curious minds want to know.

    Regards from Munich

    Derek
    Ahoy Derek

    Great question and one you think I would have been prepared for

    The difference is enough that I know instantly which plane I have picked up without looking at them as the HE is bigger, in every way except length.

    Just over 1mm wider, which doesn't seem like much but it affects blade adjustment in that the blade can move more left and right. This is neither a good nor bad thing, just something I have noticed.
    The HE plane is just on 500g heavier, mainly because there is more steel as the sidewalls are higher and the sweep extends further into the rear of the plane. The weight isn't an issue, nor is the sidewall height, but with the sweep extending back so far finger pressure is pretty much the best way to adjust the blade as it is very difficult to access with a hammer.
    The HE handle is larger in that it has had far less shaping done to it than the LN. It also leans forward just a little more than the LN and is a little taller.
    The HE lever cap extends past the bevel on the blade, whilst the LN sits on top of the blade. I'm not sure why the HE goes so far forward. I don't really know how to test if this affects anything, and both planes have zero issues with blade movement The only exception being that on occasion the HE will shift the blade laterally while tightening. Not too sure if this is related to the extra width or not, but I have found that downward pressure with one finger stops this from happening.

    None of these things affect performance that I have found. Because of the extra weight the HE has become my scrubbing plane and shooting plane, while the LN does Jack / Fore work. Blades from both companies work in each plane, though I did have a spare Howard adjuster in the drawer which I put on the LN. Both companies blades take and edge well and keep it.

    As I said, subtle but big. Al lot of it comes down to feel and the HE feels rather substantial.

    If you would like to know any more or want me to take some pictures to show any of this just ask and enjoy your European tour.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

  16. #15
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    Jun 2016
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    Finally managed to get some shed time this week and have just had one of those runs.If it could go wrong it did go wrong.
    My saw started jumping out of cuts and gouging my show faces.
    I forgot to tighten up my end vice and skewed a piece so violently it collected all the pieces I had just finished flattening and smoothing for my doors and sent them crashing onto the concrete floor.
    Whilst cleaning my LAJ blade it magically threw itself out of my hand, landed on my toothing blade denting the cutting edge and sending the toothing blade onto the concrete just past my rubber matting breaking off a tooth from the blade.
    My sweat reacted with the Tasmanian Blackwood turning it green and extremely rough in patches.

    Lots more, too much actually, I still shudder thinking about it all. Honestly if I managed to cut my hand off with the wax I use to lubricate my plane soles it would not have surprised me.
    In the end I had to just walk away and not do anything for a while. I am not sure who I upset but they sure got me good. I prayed to the holy trinity (Saint Underhill, Saint Klausz and Saint Charlsworth) and unknowingly sacrificed some pretty nice purple heart that my son found and hid in the yard "somewhere" that I have yet to discover, so I hoped that would suffice.

    Dusted off myself and wandered back into the shed this arvo. I only have the doors to do, this can't take too much longer surely. Thankfully the curse has been lifted and I had a pretty successful day. Not mistake free by any means, but nothing I couldn't overcome or adjust to suit so I am calling that a win.Got the pieces all straightened again, panels created and the doors are currently in the press, hopefully with glue this time (don't ask).




    And lastly a dry fit of a dry fit door.



    This brought up another issue. It appears the left hand side of the cabinet opening is about 1.5mm smaller in height than the right. Investigation has shown that it is the top of the cabinet that is the culprit, it's a gentle but consistent slope from right to left. So now I have to take the top back off and fix this issue. I should be a pretty easy fix but with my recent luck I am going to do this very slowly and carefully.

    Stand by for updates.
    I, for one, like Roman Numerals

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