Work in the new New Legacy New York woodshop

Another day in the workshop before I leave

This is a treat for me to be back in the woodshop this week. Snow falls make it special as I love the snow too. Of course winter has its set backs but on Wednesday we managed to pour the new concrete porch bases outside so now we can get the outside concluded and focus on the inside when the really cold weather hits. Looks as though we will be right on target for our very first New Legacy New York start-up workshop in April 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

Raising panels again with #4 plane

Spending time in the workshop has always been important for me. I worked on my US toolbox so that the others have something to work on in my absence. We had a short session on making refined mortise and tenons earlier this week,; so that they could see the techniques.
I made the framed lid by running the grooves, mortise and tenoning the joints and then raising the two lid panels with my #4 plane. The joints took 8 minutes a piece and I had 4 in the top and 4 in the bottom frame. The whole process is fun to do and very simple with the Veritas plough plane. Hopefully, when I return in February, I will have it ready for the next show in Virginia and New Jersey. I can make the drawers in Wales and bring them back to glue them up when I arrive here in February.

 

 The top formed and assembled

The raised panels are quite simple to fashion. Someone asked me why I didn’t raise the panels clamped in the vise flat rather than upright in the vise. There are a couple of reasons. If I clamp in the vise flat I can cause the wood to belly up or down and that being so the bevel will come out uneven. If the wood is already bellied, the vise will flatten the wood and the bevel will be perfectly even. The same is true on the bench top with bench-dogs. If the panel is cupped or bowed, the bevel I cut will be straight and show as uneven bevels.

 

 

Superstructure nearly done

I like the top with the two panels. I decided on this because if the higher levels of changes in humidity here over Britain. The panel would have been over 14″ wide going along the length of the box. This way they are under 9″ wide and so will shrink (or expand_ much less.

I left them the a full 3/4 “ thick so that, if I want to, I can screw supports to the underside of the  lid with turn buttons to hold my saws, larger square and such.