Author: Rob

Pergola Paver Patio

After a heavy, wet snowfall crushed our test gazebo last winter, we decided to come up with a more permanent outdoor sitting area with some protection from the late afternoon, i.e. Happy Hour sunshine. After considering (and costing out) a raised deck with screened in porch area, we settled on a pergola with some configuration of shadecloth and a paving stone floor that ended up not requiring a building permit to install.

I designed the 12′ x 16′ pergola around standard sizes of CedarTone pressure-treated lumber from Menards, supported by four 12″ diameter concrete piers sunk below the local frost level. For the patio surface, we chose Uniblock WestPort Beechwood concrete pavers that come in a mixture of three sizes. On sailcloth advice from Emily and Lucas, we contracted with Jackson Canvas Co. to fabricate strips of Sunbrella material that would eventually be woven between the joists of the pergola to provide overhead shade and a fun shadow pattern on the barn wall. Completing the sun protection, I installed a 10′ wide Coolaroo roller shade that we picked up off the shelf from Lowe’s.

With invaluable help from Jess, Al, Kyle and Linda that will always be more appreciated than I can ever express to these very special people, this summer-long project finally came together in the middle of October. Perfect timing, as the weather was cool but comfortable, especially for laying the pavers, which was, after all of the foundational preparations, a back-breaking and satisfying week’s worth of work.

The photos and captions below will illustrate the steps and progression of our Pergola Paver Patio project!

A mock-up of the new outdoor sitting area on the west end of the barn.
Excavation area marked in orange with pier locations indicated with rebar.
Borrowed TopCon rotary laser level was used in several steps of this project.
Jess brought his excavator and loader and saved me a summer’s worth of hand digging!
Stripping the topsoil in the excavation area.
Excavation continues, transferring soil directly to the loader bucket for removal.
Due to the slope of the area, the excavation was deeper on the north end.
The original slope can be seen in the witness line on the block barn foundation.
Rotary laser receiver mounted on a graduated grade rod.
A hydraulic auger attachment on Jess’s Bobcat made short work of drilling for the concrete piers.
Twelve inch diameter holes about four feet deep.
Jess inspects his hydraulic auger handiwork.
Four foot Quick-Tubes cut in half to form the top portion of the concrete piers.
Pier forms with bracing attached.
Five thousand PSI concrete mix, pea gravel and wooden stakes to cast the four concrete piers.
As a brand new Schnauzer puppy, Jake was eager to “help” with the project!
High strength concrete, all mixed by hand in a wheelbarrow, for the concrete piers.
It took two days of steady work to mix and lay all of the concrete for all four piers.
Another trip to Menards for CedarTone 4x4s to form a retaining wall around three sides of the excavated area.
Retaining wall “kit” all loaded up!
HeadLOK timber fasteners and 3/8″ rebar to construct and fix the retaining walls.
Concrete piers curing and retaining wall lumber in place.
Al, fresh off the plane from Colorado, dug right in and was a great help in putting the retaining walls together in one day!
A fellow mechanical engineer, Al knew the importance of getting the retaining wall base courses level and true.
Al hammers giant rebar “nails” through predrilled holes to stake the retaining walls in place.
Retaining walls completed just in time for a light evening rainshower.
Once the retaining walls were complete, Jess brought highly compactible paver base from his own stockpile.
Al eyeballs the paver base in preparation for rough leveling with the rotary laser and come along.
With the piers, retaining walls and paver base in place, it was time to build the base pergola structure.
Another big box trip for all the galvanized and stainless steel hardware that would hold the pressure-treated pergola components together.
Enlarging the mounting holes in the Simpson StrongTie adjustable post bases.
After calculating compensation for the final pier locations, post bases were marked for installation.
A rotary hammer drill made short work of drilling the pilot holes for the 5/16″ Tapcon concrete screws.
My impact driver easily drove the Tapcon screws into the predrilled pilot holes in the concrete.
Piers and post bases ready for 8″ x 8″ post installation.
The Moffett truck-mounted forklift made short work of unloading the pergola lumber, including several 16′ long 2x8s.
CedarTone lumber bundle staged in the turnaround area of the driveway.
Two multi-position ladders would provide overhead access for assembling the pergola cross beams.
Kyle sets the first 8×8 CedarTone post in its galvanized steel post base.
A wry grin signals two posts in place and two to go!
Tightening down the nut on one of many 1/2-13 x 10″ galvanized carriage bolts holding the structure together.
Marking a consistent location to drill for the next carriage bolt.
The multi-position ladders handled the different in ground height with ease.
Using a sight jig for plumb and square, Kyle match drills through two 2x8s and one 8×8 with an eighteen-inch long auger bit.
Four posts and four east-west beams in place, plumbed and braced.
The basic form of the pergola, without needing to make a single cut to any of the standard-length components.
Attaching post to post base with special Simpson StrongTie screws.
Angle bracing cut from CedarTone 4x4s and ready to install.
Through bolted at the top, the lower end of the eight angle braces was attached with two long TimberLOK wood screws.
Angle bracing on two levels.
During a pause to work on a different project, we took advantage of the seating area and to test out some shadecloth configurations.
Happy Hour in the new seating area.
Jake spent a fair amount of time in his big playpen under the temporary shade of the pergola area.
Another jig spaces seven sets of joist hangers on 24″ centers
The multi-position ladders came in handy cutting and setting the joists by myself.
View from below, showing the newly installed joists.
A 12′ x 16′ shadecloth tarp gave us shade and some ideas for a more permanent solution.
The west end of the temporary shadecloth, attached to the two multi-position ladders (not shown).
Installation of the Coolaroo 10′ wide roller shade.
For a reasonable price, the Coolaroo roller shade provides protection from the low angle evening sun coming directly in from the west.
Using a jig to predrill for threaded inserts to attach one end of the Sunbrella fabric strips.
Quarter-inch by 1″ long zinc plated threaded inserts.
Stainless steel screws and fender washers through grommets clamp one end of the Sunbrella shadecloth strips as they are woven between the joists in an alternating pattern.
Sunbrella strips during initial installation.
Shade configuration completed, the Sunbrella strips will be removed and stored during the cold season.
A tensioning method for the excess length end of the Sunbrella strips will work for a while, but a more elegant solution is needed.
Sunbrella strips tensioned and fixed in place.
Fun diamond shadow pattern from the alternating weave of the Sunbrella strips.
Two strings of LED solar lights provide a surprising amount of illumination at night.
Nearly 10,000 pounds of UniLock concrete pavers, delivered and staged in Jess’s construction yard next door.
Paver base ready for final leveling and plate compaction.
Several passes with the plate compactor firmed up the paver base gravel considerably.
Paver bundles delivered from the construction yard and ready to be installed.
Two yards of bedding sand delivered from 8 Point Supply in Ann Arbor, approximately eight thousand pounds worth.
A borrowed electric concrete saw made short work of the pavers that had to be trimmed around the piers.
Using a recommended random pattern (that’s an oxymoron, right?), the location of each individual paving block was predetermined in the SketchUp model.
The first paver is set against the block barn foundation and south of the pattern centerline.
Three-quarter PVC pipe has very close to a 1″ outer diameter, and served as the guides to screed 1″ of bedding sand over the compacted paver base.
With Linda directing the location of each block and checking them off on the design, efficiency of completing the pattern was greatly enhanced.
On-the-fly trimming of blocks provided a decent “fit” around the concrete piers.
When she wasn’t directing paver placements, Linda picked up a shovel and helped level the bedding sand layer.
A few taps with a rubber mallet helped settle each paver into the bedding sand below.
The predetermined margin between the paver pattern and retaining walls worked out almost perfectly.
Kyle and Linda teamed up to set more of the pavers on a chilly, overcast Saturday.
Except for trimming around the piers, only four pavers had to be cut to finish the overall pattern.
Main body of pavers completed, with only cutting and filling in around the piers to go … or so I thought.
Turns out that I had installed the plastic edging backwards. Fortunately, it only took a couple of hours to pull up and re-set the edge blocks and install the edging correctly.
Correctly installed edging, ready for river pebbles to fill in the gap between pavers and retaining wall.
Closeup of properly installed plastic edging.
River pebbles, the last of the heavy stuff to install.
River pebbles finish the gaps with a permeable, attractive material.
Closeup of the installed river pebbles.
The Pergola Paver Patio complete, wetted down for a little shine!
We love the textured WestPort Beechwood pavers from UniLock.
Pergola Paver Patio complete before the snow flies! 😉

October 21, 2023

•

Rob

•

Large Projects, Yard and Garden Projects
Jess Farm Table

When my nephew Ryan and his wife Makayla bought their farmhouse in western Michigan, a maple tree over three feet in diameter was literally pressing against the back wall of their new home. Soon, they had the old tree felled and hired a crew to mill it into thick slabs and dry them in a kiln. I love wood with a good story, so when Ryan called to ask about helping them build a big farm table with the maple from the tree, I was honored and practically jumped at the opportunity to create another piece of heirloom furniture in my workshop.

Shortly after our conversation, Ryan arrived at the shop with a pickup truck loaded with thick, wide slabs of kiln dried maple. Due to the age and condition of the maple tree when it came down, it was soon apparent that we would have to be very strategic about how to best utilize this special wood.

Because their new old farmhouse had a spacious dining room that would easily accommodate a large table, the target size for our project was eight feet long and forty-two inches wide. With a few photos selected for design inspiration, we came up with a SketchUp model that everyone approved. Because of the sizes involved, this project was done in two phases, the nearly two inch thick table top and a sturdy table base to support it.

The following series of project photos will illustrate the steps take to bring this project to fruition … and to its final destination, about twenty feet from where the legacy maple tree had grown for at least over one hundred years!

Ryan and Makayla took down a large maple tree behind their farmhouse and had it milled up and kiln dried.
From across the state, thick maple slabs arrive at my shop in Chelsea.
The slabs were all over two inches thick, so multiple saws were needed to complete the initial cuts.
Twenty-three structurally solid four-, five and six-inch wide boards of varying lengths were cut, milled and glued up to form the table top.
Table top boards in process.
Jointing one surface of each table top board to make it clean and flat.
Several pieces of this legacy maple tree contained bits of metal, likely nails or some part of an old wire fence. These bits of metal would spell disaster for cutting edges and had to be located and removed before machining could continue.
Another bit of metal extracted with an array of hand tools.
Jointing and planing of the table top boards resulted in several barrels of maple shavings.
Each table top was planed, making the upper surface flat and parallel with the bottom surface that had been run across the jointer.
A good illustration of how the jointing and planing operations reveal beautiful maple grain hidden under the rough saw marks from the initial milling of the tree.
Some of the table top boards laid out to get a sense of what the final top will look like. Beautiful!
Pipe clamps with extensions, in preparation for gluing up the eight-foot long table top sections.
Table top boards planed and ready for jointing and planing the edges to make them consistent and true.
Running the table top boards through the planer on edge.
Building a dead flat four-foot by eight-foot platform to glue up the large farm table top on.
Assembly platform reinforced with straight 2x4s underneath.
Assembly platform ready for glue up operations to begin. This platform is destined to be a large workbench top for Ryan!
With years of experience laying high end hardwood flooring, Ryan’s keen eye helped to arrange the table top boards in their final pattern.
Squaring the ends of the table top boards was the last operation before glue up could begin.
Table top boards dry fit and clamped, with markings indicating their row-and-column locations.
Because of the large area involved, only one strip of boards was glued up at a time. With 24 hours of glue curing allowed, the glue up took place over several days.
Just the right amount of squeeze-out indicates a glue joint that will be very strong.
The progression of glue ups continues. Each strip of boards used the subsequent strip of boards without glue to insure that the joints would all be straight and line up properly.
The final table top glue up step, with a 2×4 used as the outside backer for the clamps.
The track saw and short guide were set up to trim off the ends of the glued up table top.
The “city skyline” offcut.
We ended up about 3/16″ shy of our target eight foot long table top.
Passed down from my dad, a sharp and true No. 7 Stanley hand plane and lots of elbow grease made the first flattening pass on the top of the table top slab.
A cabinet scraper, a card scraper and a lot of orbital sanding brought the table top to its final condition, almost ready for finish.
Supplemental maple for the table base was generously provided by Uncle Jeff and Aunt Deb!
A new belt sander and some very coarse grit belts helped to level the bottom of the table top slab.
Nearly covering the large assembly platform, the table top is complete and ready for pickup.
The old maple tree that grew less than twenty feet from where the Jess family will enjoy many meals on this table provided lots of character in the grain patterns, worm holes and spalting.
An area of spalted maple, indicating that the maple tree was stressed and nearing the end of its life cycle when it was harvested. Depending on the species, this maple tree could have been anywhere from 100 to 300 years old.
The finished table top, the assembly platform and several unused legacy maple boards loaded up in Ryan’s truck for the trip back home.
Ryan cutting some of the table base maple to length before glue up.
Plenty of glue and lots of clamps make for strong laminated table base members.
Ryan applying clamping pressure and looking for that right amount of glue squeeze out.
Several of the table base laminated components being glued up at the same time.
Machining one of the laminated table base stretchers to its final dimensions.
Planing table base component edges in preparation for the final glue up step.
Ripping thin maple strips to hide the exposed edges of the laminated table base components.
Using a supplementary platen on the planer, the thin maple strips are machined to their final 1/4″ thickness.
One edge of four leg blanks receiving the thin maple strips that will hide the laminations.
One of the long stretcher laminations receiving its thin maple strip, with other base components used as clamping backers.
Shoulder cuts on the 10 degree angled legs … and a mistake that took an extra day to fix. (Hint: the legs only had angled tenons on one end.)
Using the tenoning jig on the tablesaw to make cheek cuts, which also should have only been on one end of the leg blanks.
Close up showing the tenoning jig with one of the legs clamped at its 10 degree angle.
Each tenon takes two passes to cut both cheeks with the tenoning jig.
Thin strips being glued onto the legs to fill in the cheeks of the unneeded partial tenons.
This fix didn’t impact the structural integrity of the legs. The majority of area that will sit on the floor is still solid material throughout the component.
The two short cheek cuts will be done by hand, to form an angled tenon at the top of the legs. This allows right angle mortises to be drilled and chiseled in the adjoining components.
A Dozuki, or Japanese dovetail pull saw, is used to cut the short cheeks which for angled tenons.
Waste from the handsawn cheek cuts.
Side view showing the angled tenon on top of one of the table legs.
Overview of the setup for handsawing and truing up the angled tenons.
In process components for the two leg subassemblies, ready for some mortising.
To accurately lay out matching mortises, the location was first transferred from the tenon component, then digital calipers were used to center the mortise layout lines.
After careful planning and layout, drilling most of the waste material out of the mortises was done using a Forstner bit on the drill press.
How do you make a bunch of round holes into a rectangular mortise? With really sharp chisels, a soft blow mallet and plenty of patience!
Close up of the mortise layout after drilling.
Chiseling the sides of the mortise (with the grain) went fairly quickly. Chiseling the ends of the mortise (across the tough maple grain) took a lot more time. Squaring up the corners of the mortise (grain in both directions) took the longest amount of time.
Once the initial tenon and mortise cuts were completed, lots of test fitting and fine tuning with chisels and my new shoulder plane were needed to achieve the final fit of each joint.
My new Veritas shoulder plane’s blade reaches to the sides of the plane’s narrow body, so it can cut clean 90 degree corners.
Success occurs when the mortise and tenon slip together smoothly and both components are perfectly centered on one another.
Back drilling through the mortise for the long timber screw that will reinforce the glued up joint.
Using the back drilled hole through the mortise, the pilot hole is extended into the end of the adjoining tenon.
Overview of the clamping setup for drilling the leg subassemblies.
A six inch HeadLOK timber screw is used to reinforce each joint of the leg stretchers. The tenon extends one inch into the leg, so there is about two inches of thread engagement for plenty of strength.
Carefully transferring the tenon locations of the leg subassemblies to the cross piece that will get two mortises in precisely the right locations.
More mortise roughing on the drill press.
Two cross pieces with all four mortises drilled out and ready for hammer and chisel time.
Two leg subassemblies dry fit with all joinery completed … well almost. The two leg stretchers still need mortises to receive the long lower stretcher.
Squaring off the long lower stretcher and cutting it to final length, taking the two one inch long tenons that will be formed next into consideration.
Precision joinery requires square and true stock.
Clamped mockup of center stretcher subassembly with the two leg subassemblies.
Sliding panel jig and outrigger setup for making the shoulder cuts on the long lower stretcher.
Big clamps kept the stretcher tight against the panel jig fence so the shoulder cuts would be consistent. A stop block clamped (lower right) on the fence provided registration for each of the four required shoulder cuts in each end of the stretcher.
Precision machinist’s squares were used to lay out the cheek cuts on the long lower stretcher, which were also made by hand with the Dozuki saw … while standing on a ladder for proper body position!
Completed cheek cuts for the offset tenon, with the workbench and wood vise “far below.”
Shoulder plane smoothing and fine tuning the tenon cheek cuts.
Transferring the long lower stretcher tenon locations to the centerlines of the leg stretchers.
Completed mortise in one of the leg stretchers.
Dry fit assembly of the two leg subassemblies and the long lower stretcher.
Notches on the long upper stretcher were finished on the bandsaw, with the help of an outrigger roller stand.
Dry fit assembly of the two leg subassemblies and the long upper and lower stretchers.
The two angled center supports in the table base are from the legacy maple tree the table top is made from. Fifteen degree angled tenons were formed on each end of these special components.
The Dozuki was used to make the short cheek and shoulder cuts of the angled tenons on each end of the base center support components.
Close up of the fine Dozuki saw teeth. The body of this Japanese saw is only 0.012″ thick, so it cuts a very thin kerf.
The shoulder plane smoothing and finetuning its namesake tenon shoulders.
After carefully transferring the location of all four center support tenons, the corresponding mortises were drilled and ready for chiseling.
Two center support mortise and tenon joints completed, and two to go.
Dry fit assembled table base, complete!
The table base was fully disassembled and a 1/4″ roundover bit in the palm router eased sharp corners and helped hide the glue lines between the laminated edges and thin maple strips.
Close up of the 1/4″ roundover bit with sharp carbide inserts.
Close up of a 1/4″ rounded over corner, making the glue line of the 1/4″ thick maple strip practically disappear.
Special off center mounting screw holes were designed to allow for some expansion and contraction of the table top.
Overview of the palm router rounding over operations.
After rounding over the sharp edges and sanding each individual component, the table base was final assembled with glued up mortise and tenon joints reinforced with timber screws.
Because of some rain in the forecast on table base delivery day, my buddy Jess lent me his enclosed trailer to protect the just completed base assembly en route.
Securely strapped down and ready to ride across the state!
The whole rig, ready to go.
Arrival at the Jess farmhouse, where the table top awaited its base for final, final assembly.
The big table top was a welcome sight, as I hadn’t seen it in person for a few months!
Upside down and centered, seven timber screws fixed the base to the top.
Ready to be flipped upright for the first time ever!
Woodworking complete, the new farm table was ready for finishing, which Ryan and Makayla had agreed to take on.
Ryan giving his brand new farm table a bit of a wipedown.
Little Nova approved of the new addition to the large dining room.
The new dining room chairs, bought to complement the large farm table, looked fantastic arranged around it!
Ryan and Makayla did the hard work of putting this gorgeous custom-tinted finish and clear coat on their new farm table, in plenty of time for the first of many Thanksgiving and other family dinners to come!

October 7, 2023

•

Rob

•

Furniture, Joint Projects, Large Projects, Special Projects
Loft Ladders

Two young friends have lofts in their rooms and they were in need of a permanent way to access them. After visiting to take some photos and measurements, we decided on seventy-five degree ladders with treads about six inches deep and eighteen inches wide. We also planned to use 1-1/4 inch thick poplar, to match the existing woodwork leading to the entrances of their rooms. In keeping with the existing woodwork, we chose a Bona Traffic HD anti-skid floor finish, a waterborne two-part finish that would let the beauty of the poplar show through and be very durable.

While a seemingly straightforward project, a few factors made these ladders a bit challenging. Vertical dimensions to the lofts were 107-1/2″ and 108″ respectively, so the stringer boards were over nine feet long. For strength, the eleven 1-1/4″ thick treads per ladder were designed to be let into 1/4″ deep dadoes on each stringer, and secured with four 2-7/8″ HeadLOK timber fasteners each. Machining these dadoes, evenly spaced and at 15 degrees from the edges of the stringers, called for a custom router jig which worked well, until the stringers were compared and a small amount of cumulative error was discovered. This resulted in some adjustment cuts, some custom filler strips and a lesson (re)learned about the stackup of tolerances.

In hindsight, one stringer should have been machined with the router jig as described above, then the dado locations should have been transferred to the matching stringer. The router jig should then have been positioned according to the transferred locations. This method would have resulted in the dadoes matching from stringer to stringer … the first time!

The photos below will illustrate the steps in this project, including the correction of cumulative error due to the stackup of tolerances using the router jig!

Custom loft ladders designed in SketchUp.
Otis’s room and loft.
Otis’s room and loft sketch showing position of planned ladder.
Nevis’s room and loft.
Nevis’s room and loft sketch showing position of planned ladder.
Lumber delivery from LL Johnson in Charlotte, Michigan.
6/4 of Select and Better kiln-dried poplar, sorted to net nine pieces 7″ to 10″ wide and 11′ to 12′ long. Ripped one edge and surfaced two sides to 1-1/4″ thickness.
I had to combine my 4′ and 8′ track saw tracks to rip a parallel edge on the longest boards.
The best four boards were selected for the stringers, cross cut to about 10′ long and ripped to the final 6″ width.
Four clear poplar stringer blanks, ready for the next operations.
Twenty-two tread blanks cross-cut to final length, ready for the next operations.
The stringer dado router jig was designed and ready to build.
More of the stringer dado jig components being prepared.
The bottom band on the reversible jig was designed to register on the bottom of each stringer, and then in the resulting dado for each successive machining operation.
The stringer router jig was built to include 0.020″ of clearance for the treads.
A fifteen degree cut on the bottom of each stringer provided the first registration surface that would result in a 75 degree ladder geometry.
Yup, that’s fifteen degrees, alright! Kidding aside, once the miter saw was set at this angle, all required cuts in both stringers, test and setup pieces were cut before the saw setup was changed.
Router jig registered to the bottom of the stringer on the 15 degree cut (not shown in this photo), ready to machine the first dado. The removable strips around the opening were used to machine the first pass of the dado, then removed to machine the final depth of the dado. (This two-pass technique was later deemed unnecessary for a 1/4″ deep dado in poplar.)
The router jig was registered on the *bottom* of each previously machined dado, but this still resulted in a tolerance stackup that varied between all four stringers. Drat!
At this stage, the four stringers were left long at the top ends, so the tricky operation of translating the target vertical dimension to the length of the angled stringer.
With a carefully clamped board simulating the floor surface and distance out from the vertical dimension, the top 15 degree angle cut could be accurately determined.
A 15 degree bevel jig and drafting square completed the setup to determine the final cut at the top of each stringer.
The target vertical dimension for one ladders was 108″ …
The two stringers for the 108″ ladder were matched up and cut at the same time, to assure that both stringers would be identical in length and configuration.
… and the target vertical dimension for the other ladder was 107-1/2″.
Forty-four 2-7/8″ HeadLOK timber screws for *one* of the loft ladders!
Two part Bona Traffic HD Anti-Slip waterborne finish with hardener.
Using my angle gauge, I tilted the tablesaw blade to 15 degrees to rip the front and back edges of all twenty-two treads.
Ripping 15 degree angles on the treads to match the angle and depth of the stringers.
Treads in process. Several extra tread blanks were prepared after some slight twist was observed in some of the original blanks. Since the tread thickness had to be maintained at 1-1/4″, any even slight twist could not be machined away.
Setup to hand-cut notches for the upper wall mounting plate to nest in.
A very fine bladed Japanese Dozuki (mortise and tenon saw) pull saw was used to make the matched shoulder cuts for these angled notches.
The pull saw was also used to cut away the rest of the notches, with stock left for truing up with chisels and a shoulder plane.
Finished notches ready to accept a wall mounting plate.
For both dry fit and final assembly, an extra piece of the 1-1/4″ poplar was screwed to the bottom of the stringers to simulate the plane of the floor on which the ladder would eventually sit.
After back-drilling undersized holes in the stringer dadoes with a jig, these holes were used in dry fit to match drill pilot holes into the treads for the timber fasteners.
With one ladder dry fit assembled in the background, the second ladder is being dry fit assembled in the foreground.
A project milestone, both ladders shown in their initial dry fit assembled states.
Individual filler strips machined and matched to specific locations on each stringer.
Sanding treads flush to the faces of the stringers, still in dry fit assembly.
Matched treads marked with stringer locations before disassembly.
Getting ready to glue in filler strips after dadoes on one of each set of stringers were adjusted.
Using shims to clamp in the filler strips while the PVA glue cures.
Treads and wall mounting plates ready for sanding and easing of sharp corners.
Filler strips glued in the tops of the dadoes that required adjustment.
Final sanding of stringers in preparation for finishing.
Final sanding of treads in preparation for finishing. Block plane was used to ease sharp corners before a quick hand sand to smooth them.
All ladder components set up for a four step finishing process.
Stringers ready to receive the waterborne two-part floor finish.
Designed for flooring and other large areas, calculations were needed to determine the proper amounts of finish and hardener to mix together in four partial batches.
Four sets of mixing containers and small roller trays after all four steps of the finishing process were completed.
Final coat of finish on the top surfaces of the treads, still wet so shinier than the final satin sheen.
Stringers with the final coat of finish. Fortunately, the anti-skid formulation dried very clear and only left a slight texture but did not feel like “sand” had been added.
Final assembly of the finished loft ladders, ready for delivery and installation.
Four-and-a-half inch timber screws secured the wall mounting plate to the internal rim joist of the lofts.
Nevis’s ladder in place.
Otis’s ladder in place.

Two notes: The cumulative error mentioned above, and the resulting cosmetic fix had no impact at all on the structural integrity of these ladders. Also, handrails will be designed, fabricated and installed before my young friends are officially released to use their new loft ladders!

August 30, 2023

•

Rob

•

Furniture, Medium Projects
Play Kitchen Repair

Michael and Olivia wanted to give their Uptown Expresso Play Kitchen to Elliott, but a few minor repairs were called for before the hand-off happened. The refrigerator door was missing, and the oven door had a big crack in it!

Fortunately and surprisingly, the manufacturer, KidKraft, had some repair parts available … but not quite all the ones we needed. The photos below illustrate the steps to make this neat play kitchen ready for Elliott to enjoy.

Michael and Oliva’s Uptown Expresso Play Kitchen was in great shape, except for the missing refrigerator door and the cracked oven door.
With serial number in hand, we contacted the manufacturer, KidKraft, and found out that they had lots of spare parts available.
Cutting out the new refrigerator door blank from 1/2″ plywood.
Since a replacement oven door was coming, I salvaged the hardware from the broken door to use on the new refrigerator door.
The drilled out rivets would be replaced by small machine screws and Nyloc nuts.
The replacement oven door (left) came with hardware but no handle.
Fortunately, it was an easy swap to put the old oven door handle on the replacement door.
The new refrigerator door and a new door handle were fabricated, drilled and ready for finishing.
Fabricating a replacement handle from pine, in the style of the other handles in the set, was pretty easy.
Salvaged hardware ready for re-installation.
A latex undercoat made the new door and handle ready to accept their final finish.
Painter’s points support the new refrigerator door as it is being painted.
Metallic silver spray paint was the closes approximation of the existing finish on the other play kitchen doors.
Finished handle ready to install.
Two new doors, complete and ready to assemble on the play kitchen.
The repaired Uptown Expresso Play Kitchen, ready to be returned to service with Elliott!

December 1, 2022

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Rob

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Repair Projects, Small Projects, Toys and Games
Box Joint Jig

After I enjoyed making the Box Joint Box for Jeff, I decided to make a more permanent box joint jig for the workshop. I wanted a jig that didn’t depend on clamping it to a miter gage on the tablesaw, that would accommodate different thicknesses of wood and that would be easy to make very fine adjustments with. Borrowing ideas for box joint jigs from several different sources, I designed my own jig in SketchUp.

The most informative video I found was William Ng’s YouTube video, Make an Accurate Box Joint Jig, Simple and Fast. I’ve linked William’s video below. William runs the William Ng School of Fine Woodworking an Anaheim, California and based on his videos, I think he is an excellent instructor with a good sense of humor, too!

I also borrowed some concepts from Phil Huber’s YouTube video, The Ultimate Adjustable Table Saw Box Joint Jig! I’ve also linked this video below. Phil is Executive Editor of the Woodsmith Shop, the video extension of the woodworking magazine, Woodsmith, which I’ve had a subscription to for many years. While William Ng used a quick box joint jig clamped to a crosscut sled, Phil Huber’s jig had it’s own integral runners that fit into the miter slots of his tablesaw.

The photos and captions in the gallery below will give you an idea of the box joint jig I came up with!

My box joint jig design features three adjustable, removable fences to accommodate 1/4″, 3/8″ and 1/2″ material thicknesses
Adjustable Box Joint Jig and Instructions, designed in SketchUp and Layout
A challenging part of this build was fitting the 3/4″ plywood runners and doubled base layer to the miter slots of my tablesaw so the jig moved smoothly and without any side-to-side play
After fine tuning the width of the doubled base and attaching the side rails to it, I still had to use sandpaper and just working it back and forth in the miter slots to achieve smooth movement
Finished sled assembly
The stop block and adjustment screw concept for fine fence adjustment was meant to use feeler gages but I ended up using my mag base dial indicator instead
The two 1/4″ carriage bolts in the adjustable fence go through 3/8″ diameter holes in the sled to allow for side-to-side adjustment of the fence in the thousandths-of-an-inch range
Operator view of the box joint jig
Each one of the adjustable fences will be matched with my dado blade stack set for 1/4″, 3/8″ and 1/2″ box joint finger widths. The corresponding indexing keys will also be matched to the actual finger widths my dado stack cuts
The first test pieces of the 3/8″ finger joint width fit almost perfectly after the initial adjustment was made, based on caliper readings and dial indicator settings
The first box from this box joint jig, made from cherry, will be the accessories box to use with this jig
The accessory box glued and curing in quick clamps
Painter’s tape on the inside of the box joints prior to assembly helps to prevent excessive squeeze out on the insides of the box
Operator view of the finished box joint jig with accessories box and dial indicator set up
A tung oil finish on the legacy cherry of the accessories box highlighted the end grain of the box joint fingers
Beautiful rays in the cherry grain are highlighted by sunshine in the finished accessories box

November 25, 2022

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Rob

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Boxes, For the Shop, Jigs and Fixtures, Small Projects, Tips and Techniques
JOY Yard Signs

After almost ten years after making the first two sets of JOY yard signs, Stephen requested another joint effort to create two more sets. One of these sets would go to Andrew and Megan, and the other set would go home with Stephen, as a surprise early present to Katie. The plan was to finish them in time to present them after our family Thanksgiving dinner.

Stephen and I worked for nearly a whole Saturday, from acquiring the plywood at Chelsea Lumber through getting the first coat of red and white paint on all of the components. This time, Stephen brought his own jigsaw, so our cutting out time was literally cut in half! The signs ended up being completed in time for the Thanksgiving day presentation!

A full scale layout in SketchUp showed that a whole sheet of plywood would be needed for each set of JOY yard signs
3D view of full scale layout
Measurements of existing JOY sign letters for scaling in SketchUp
The ten year old Mahan set of JOY sign letters still look good and were used as patterns to reproduce this year’s sets
After disassembly, Stephen traced the existing letters onto a fresh sheet of AB fir plywood
Climbing up on the workbench provided a better body position to cut out some of the letters
Sharp blades in the jigsaws made quick work of the 3/4″ plywood sheets
Stephen is very artistic and handled cutting out all of the small details
A bit of sanding and all the letters and other components were ready for their first coat of paint
Closeup of Stephen’s handiwork on the detailed figures
A small foam roller and foam brushes worked well for applying the paint and made for simple cleanup afterwards
Applying white paint to the components that will be attached to the “O” letters with stainless steel wood screws
Almost ready to flip everything over on painter’s points and start painting the front surfaces and edges
It was satisfying to see all the letters and components with their first coats of paint on the same day that we brought the raw plywood into the workshop
I am determined to me more discerning about what scrap wood gets to stay in the workshop after every project
Fortunately, there was enough red and white paint left over from other projects to complete these two sets of JOY yard signs
Second coats of paint complete and after some drying time, ready for final assembly
Final assembly of the “O” letters and an example of the 3/4″ conduit clamps to hold the letters on the 1/2″ round steel concrete forming stakes
The final presentation of the JOY yard signs after a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with nearly twenty loved ones at the table!

November 22, 2022

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Rob

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Gifts, Medium Projects, Special Projects, Yard and Garden Projects
Kyle’s Salt and Pepper Mills

When I heard that Kyle could use a new pepper mill, I saw an opportunity to make a custom set of salt and pepper grinders. The hardware kits were available from Penn State Industries and I had some legacy cherry blocks that would be fun to turn.

I created a few shape variations in SketchUp, from traditional to more sleek and modern designs. Once I decided on the design to use, I made 1:1 templates to facilitate turning two nearly identical forms. A bit of new kit was also needed for this project, so a mini step jaw chuck and a drill bit extension came along with the mill kits.

Finished with Mahoney’s food safe Walnut Oil, the cherry wood will darken to a rich reddish brown with time and exposure to light. The photos below will illustrate some of the main steps of this project!

Two sets of salt and pepper mill kits and some new hardware from Penn State Industries.
A few shape variations were modeled in SketchUp before a final shape was chosen.
SketchUp design and 1:1 templates ready to mount on plywood.
Legacy cherry blocks roughed out for two sets of mills.
Forstner bits were used to produce the needed bores and counterbores on the drill press.
Boring the main through hole in the bodies of the mills was challenging to get straight and true.
Turning a precise diameter tenon on the mill caps.
Turning the mill cap and body together, I used one of the templates to transfer locations and profile diameters to the round blanks.
Using outside calipers and a parting tool, I transferred diameters from the template to the blank.
Using a sharp roughing gouge, defining the outside contour was a matter of “connecting the dots” of various depths.
A second profile template was used to fine tune the profiles to their final shape.
Two nearly identical mills complete and ready for assembly and finishing.
The hardware was assembled prior to finishing, per the kit directions.
I used a jeweler’s loupe to help precisely locate the predrilled holes for tiny wood screws that fixed the hardware components in place.
Mahoney’s Walnut Oil and Beeswax finishes added a beautiful low luster sheen to the cherry wood.
The finished mills, ready for final assembly of the hardware components.

November 21, 2022

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Rob

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Uncategorized
Table Saw Cabinet

Sometimes, projects in the shop are simple and quick, often to answer an organizational need. During a major shop cleanup and re-organization, I took down the shelves on the wall to the right of the tablesaw, as they were difficult to access and accumulating scraps that were hardly ever used. One function of a small part of the lowest shelf that I lost was keeping my tablesaw pushblocks, featherboards, angle jigs, etc., within easy reach.

Using plywood and a drawer slide reclaimed from my former office cabinetry and taking advantage of unused floorspace under the extension table, I built this small cabinet in an afternoon. Now, my most often used tablesaw accessories are back within easy reach!

Sized to fit the available space, this little cabinet keeps my tablesaw safety accessories at my fingertips
The repurposed drawer slide is from my former desk’s pencil drawer
The finished plywood is repurposed from my former credenza side cabinets
Shop view showing the empty wall to the right of my tablesaw

October 22, 2022

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Rob

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Cabinetry, For the Shop, Storage
Mary’s Mesquite Log

Mary was saddened when a sudden Arizona storm blew down a mesquite tree in her yard. Not long ago, Mary’s husband Boyd had passed away, and that particular mesquite had always been his favorite tree. As Mary’s friend, Deb asked me if they sent me a log from Mary’s fallen tree, would I be able to make some small item from it for Mary to keep. I replied that I would certainly try and that I would be honored to help preserve a small part of Boyd’s favorite tree for Mary.

It would be my first time working with mesquite, and I was a bit concerned that the wood, having recently fallen, would be green and require some time for drying. Once I received the log and started breaking it down into smaller pieces, I learned that mesquite is a very dry wood, even alive. This was confirmed by a bit of research, with my moisture meter and by the fact that the wood soaked up both oil and film finishes like a sponge.

As this project turned out, I was able to make five small items out of that small mesquite log that arrived in my workshop via UPS. Deb presented Mary with a pen, a rustic bowl, a small box, a rustic bud vase and a card / photo holder. I received a lovely email from Mary, who has experienced nearly ninety trips around the Sun, expressing her appreciation for the special mesquite keepsakes.

Mary’s mesquite log, and the first time someone has ever shipped me a log
It took over an hour of hammer and chisel work just to remove the bark
The first bandsaw cut, breaking the log down into workable shapes
One end of the log split into two small bowl blanks, one as a backup in case the turning went awry
Various half rounds, flats and other sections whispered the secrets of what they would eventually become
Some small, thin flats said they wanted to be a mitered box
Cutting box joint miters on the chopsaw
Box parts prepared for assembly
Using wide painter’s tape as a hinge makes gluing up small miter joints quick and easy
Painter’s tape and rubber bands are enough clamping while the glue cures
Small box ready for some finish
A Big Ben pen kit and a couple of sets of mesquite blanks
Drilling the pen blanks on the drill press using the scroll chuck from the lathe with pen jaws installed
Prepping a bowl blank on the bandsaw speeds up the turning process on the lathe
Pen parts nearing their final diameters on the lathe
Six to eight coats of Aussie Oil friction finish and the pen parts are ready for assembly
A fitting pen kit for the mesquite wood that I thought took on a tobacco hue with the addition of some finish
Completed Big Ben Cigar Pen from Mary’s Mesquite Log
Bowl blank attached to the lathe with a worm screw clamped in the scroll chuck
Outside shape of the bowl finished and prepared to flip around and clamp with the 2″ expanding scroll chuck jaws
Turned bowl I’m calling “rustic” because part of the rim near the log pith blew out
Sanding the bowl on the lathe with an inertial sanding tool and compliant Velcro pad
Small bowl finished with walnut oil and beeswax
Drilling for three bud vase inserts
The angled end section of the log inspired the idea to attach a small ledge and make a photo holder
The Marietta Wood Works brand was applied to at least one of Mary’s keepsake items
A clear lacquer spray was used on the photo holder and the end grain of the log soaked up a bunch of coats like a sponge
Mahoney’s walnut oil finishes are food safe and easy to apply. His beeswax and oil finish provides a lustrous sheen, as well.
Mary’s Mesquite Log keepsakes, ready for Deb to deliver in person
Mary’s Rustic Mesquite bud vase has pride of place on Mary’s countertop

October 15, 2022

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Rob

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Bowl Turning, Boxes, Gifts, Pen Turning, Small Projects, Special Projects
Rob’s Music Studio

With my MIDI controller keyboard at the center of a temporary recording studio in the basement and my Kawai synthesizer in the living room, I just wasn’t playing the piano as much as I would have liked. Linda and I talked about this on our trip to Jack Lake in Canada in the late summer, and we brainstormed on possible solutions. We decided that having both keyboards and all the recording equipment upstairs and in the same place would be ideal, but there was just no place we could think of that would accommodate that setup. It became apparent that my office would be the best place, but there just wasn’t room to add any more furniture.

I think Linda said, “You really don’t use your desk very much, do you?” And the light came on. I had recently updated my computer setup with a cool standing desk, and if I repurposed some of my old desk into a music studio, there would be plenty of room to have everything neatly in my office.

The most challenging part of this project then became designing a music studio desk to hold two full-sized keyboards, a laptop, a display screen, an audio interface and two monitor speakers and all the accompanying power and signal cabling … and still have everything organized and tidy. The 3D modeling in SketchUp started with full scale mockups of the two keyboards and I was off tho the virtual races. The photos below, along with their captions, will lead you through the execution of this project.

All good cabinet projects start with the breakdown of sheet goods
Grafting on a four-inch bump out on the top shelf saved having to buy a second sheet of birch plywood
Assembly of the basic upper case, the heart of the music studio design
The old desk pedestals received new cleats to hold the music studio components. Using these two pedestals also preserved most of the drawer storage space from the original form of the desk
A temporary fit check of the main components, to make sure the Kawai keyboard was going to fit
A full extension Accuride drawer slide would allow the upper MIDI controller keyboard to be tucked away when it was not in use
The upper keyboard drawer sides with slides mounted prior to final assembly
The completed upper keyboard drawer slideout
New tops for the old desk pedestals had to be a-1/2 inches thick to add just enough height for a keyboard cover for the lower Kawai keyboard, which had to be set at a particular height for proper playing position
Aluminum U-channel extrusion, sold as 3/4″ plywood edging, made perfect tracks for pullout shelves on either side of the central knee space
Am I going to have to add “and Metal” to Marietta Wood Works? Maybe.
Because of all the large surfaces that had to be finished, I decided to use oil-based polyurethane instead of the water-based oil-modified MinWax product that dries almost more quickly than one can apply it to large areas
Rolling on the polyurethane made quick work of coating all the surfaces
Final assembly and setup day in the office
The unique pullout on the right is for use with the computer mouse in this position, and came be flopped upside down and stowed to provide neat storage for the mouse when not in use
The completed setup with a removable vanity panel that hides all the wiring (from the cat)
A closer look at both keyboards, with the upper MIDI controller keyboard pulled out
I saved building the lower keyboard cover as a separate step, after everything else was assembled
Test fit of the lower keyboard cover
Wiring panel with the vanity panel removed. I added some wire racks to this back panel to better organize the wiring, even though it was going to be hidden from view.
Rob’s Music Studio is affording me a lot more playing time!
Rob’s Music Studio 3D SketchUp model for comparison to the final product

October 15, 2022

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Rob

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Cabinetry, Furniture, Medium Projects