hammer, hammer, hammer--ouch!

This past summer I had carpel tunnel surgery on both my hands. The surgery corrected the problem, but the total healing of the heals of the hand takes about a year. Well, Wednesday I chiseled out two mortises on the top of my table. The mortises came out fine, but my hand was really aching by the end of class. With the first mortise, I couldn't tell how far down I had gone and had chiseled out a good portion of the board below. With the second mortise I could better judge how I was doing and even finished by chiseling from the back (underside).

On Friday, I went with Professor Evans to Habitat for Humanity D.C. My luck it was sunny, but freezing. Since all the tasks involved heights, I volunteered to work on the roof because that crew would be in the sun and warm. The task for the roof was to put up sheathing. I didn't know it but, sheathing is thick plywood that is hammered to the joists and is the first surface of a roof. There were three staff members and five volunteers. Basically, the staff put down sheathing adhesive on the joists, and placed the sheathing. Then the volunteers hammered the sheathing to the joists at intervals of every six inches. It was tough because once I got the nail in with only an inch remaining, the nail would bend and have to be removed and a new nail hammered in its place. Because I didn't have to hit the second nail with as many strokes, it usually made it in without bending. I found if I could get the nail in with 12 strokes, all was great and satisfying. But if it took 14 or more strokes, I had to do it all over again. Uck! By lunch time, my hand was killing me. The lunch break only made it stiffen up and hurt worse. I believe I did at least my fair share of the work. I didn't take any breaks until after lunch, but I noticed our crew was all working harder and slower than before. I think we were all tired. Over all it was a fun and educational experience and I hope to join them when they go back in the spring.

Surprisingly, the next day, my hands didn't hurt at all! :-)

fun, fun, fun

I had so much fun in class tonight, that I just had to update this blog. The table saw was still in extreme demand, so I kept working on my table top.  My method was a bit unconventional, but it worked. The middle of my table top has a 9" hole that will hold a bowl. My goal tonight was to make that hole.

 I drilled lots of holes

 Cleaning out all those holes

Chiseled the pieces between the holes and yeah--a hole in the middle of the table top.  While this may seem to be a lot of unnecessary work, it gave me the experience of chiseling the wood.  I learned a lot about what to do and more importantly, what NOT to do. 

Sanding the inside.

The final result.  It still needs some hand sanding and on Wednesday I plan to cut (chisel) the mortises on the table top.  Wish me luck.

where does the time go?

Deja vu. I know I started this post a few minutes ago, and then poof! It was gone.

Ever get that nagging feeling that you've forgotten something, but are too tired to try to stay awake to figure out what it is? Well for me it was this blog. I usually update it on Sunday nights, but have been so consumed with my Commercial Design project that I completely forgot about this blog--that is until 4:30 AM when it woke me up.

Anyway, last week feels like ages ago. On Monday, I practiced more tenons and progressed to mortises. No sawing involved here. It was fun to get to use my chisels. Professor Takagi showed me another similar joint to the loose wedge that I was planning on, it is the fixed wedge. It will look great for the table top. (sorry no photos, I forgot that too). We ran out of time, but since it looks like it will take me a lot longer than I have to develop the skill to saw a straight line, Prof. Takagi said he'd show me how to make tenons on the table saw. (He put it much more diplomatically--like it would be good to learn multiple ways to make tenons and people practice for years to get handmade tenons just right). It did make me feel better. He even cut one crooked to show me that it wasn't just me, and that skilled craftsmen can still cut crooked sometimes.

Wednesday, I was running late and instead of parking my car at the garage and taking the shuttle, I thought it would be faster to drive straight to class at Foggybottom and pay to park there. Boy, was I mistaken. Traffic was horrible. Did I mention that class starts at 5:00 PM? What was I thinking? Driving about 5 miles in DC traffic shouldn't take an hour--right? Wrong! I managed to make it to class at 6:00 PM and felt lucky to be alive.

Since I was late, and it seemed everyone needed the table saw, it didn't look like I'd get to learn how to make tenons the new way that night. So I decided to work on my table top instead. That was quite satisfying. I knew that the two outsides (long grain) were true, but needed to be cut to the correct size. The end grain sides also needed to be cut to size as well. I measured everything 3 times and thought I might be able to drill the holes for my mortises, well maybe I might. Those will be super visible right there on top and a different color wood, any mistakes will really stand out. Professor Takagi fit me in to make my four cuts on the table saw to get my top to the correct size. I was proud and amazed that my measurements were correct and we didn't have to make any adjustments. By then it was getting late and I didn't want to press my luck with the drill press. So I cleaned up and left hopeful that things would be great next week.

tenons

Last week I practiced cutting tenons. It's harder than Prof. Takagi made it look. All of mine were crooked. Also, using the chisle required more physical strenght than I had. I'll have to work on that

Japanese saw cuts on the pull.

getting better, but the one on the right is way off.

not good enough

more practice trying to cut straight lines

I could use the mallet here

need more physical strength

this little ridge is important

final tenon, but way crooked.

Progress

Making progress this week.  Thanks to Professor Takagi working all weekend to fix the machines and dust collectors, everything went much smoother and faster.  I was able to finish joining and planning all my boards.

Next, everyone that needed to, glued their tops.  My top is 3 boards glued together and clamped in place.  The images below do not show all the angst we were feeling trying to hurry and get everything in place before the glue set.  We had to act quickly and a partner was crucial.



3 boards are glued together.



side view showing
the clamps and cauls.

 Although my project doesn't need them, it was fascinating to learn how to make finger joints. They are like dove joints but are straight rather than angled.  To make the finger joints, we were also introduced to dado blades.  I hadn't realized that dado blades are really 2 blades with spacers between them that also have teeth for cutting. All together, they cut a gap.


gap between the
2 dado blades



spacers also have teeth

the spacers need to be off set from
the blade's teeth.









A sled on the table saw makes the whole operation safer. First, a notch is cut into a board that is clamped to the sled.  That board is the ancillary fence. A small piece of wood is cut and sanded to fit snugly in the notch in the ancillary fence. This small piece is called the key. 


Professor Takagi making finger joints

ancillary fence clamped to the sled

the key


The next step is to remove the key and place it next to the key hole, line up the blade to cut the first notch in the board.  Then you replace the key, slide the board over so that the notch fits on the key.  Then cut the next notch that will be the perfect distance equal to the width of the blade and the key.  You continue these steps until the board cannot fit anymore notches. 


cutting joints

final board with finger joints cut.

Then you cut all the notches in a second board so that the two boards will interlock like fingers interlocking.





New York and the Renwick

NEW YORK
On Friday, the class took a field trip to New York City. I was looking forward to the trip; but fate had other ideas. Originally, we were supposed to meet at 10 AM, and the only bus I could find that would get me to the city in time was leaving D.C. Union Station at 3:30 AM.  So I bought a ticket.  Then I asked my husband if he would drive me to the bus station, and he thought that was unreasonable and was willing to pay the difference for me to go later. 

Fortunately, the class meeting time got moved to 11 AM, so I was able to find a bus leaving D.C. at 6:30 AM.  That was perfect, because there is an express metro bus that leaves about 4 houses down the street from my house and it leaves at 5:25 AM.  It should take 35 -45 minutes to get to the Pentagon, where I'd transfer to the metro to Rosslyn and walk half a block to meet my bus.

Well, everything was going as planned, except the bus by my house was 10 minutes late, then instead of 35-45 minutes, it took an hour.  At Rosslyn, I ran up that extremely long escalator; ran the a fourth of the block in time to see my bus pulling away.  Rats! 

Time to regroup and go over my options.  The bus attendant verified that I had in deed missed the 6:30 AM bus, but they had another one leaving at 7:30 AM.  If it wasn't full, I may be able to get a seat on that bus, except it was Friday and Fridays are usually full because people are going for the weekend.  Now what?

Well, the day before, I had a major critique on a big project in my Commerical Design class and had not slept the previous 2 days. I was exhausted. I made the call to go back home and do the alternate assignment instead.  After letting my professor know not to expect me, I took the metro back to the Pentagon, figured out how to take a local bus back to my neighborhood (all the express buses were done for the morning).  The closest stop to my house was a mile and a half, so I got off and walked home (in the rain).

RENWICK GALLERY

The alternate assignment was to visit the Renwick Gallery in D.C. (across the street from the front of the White House). The gallery's current exhibit is Something of Splendor, Decorative Arts from the White House. It was okay, but I prefer the permanent collection. While at the gallery, we were to select 3 pieces, sketch at least 2 drawings of each piece, including a detail. Then write a 2-page paper on one of the pieces. 

The three that I chose were: The Ghost Clock by Wendell Castle. It stands over 7 feet high and is made entirely of laminated and bleached Honduras mahogany. The drapery looks soft like muslin, but is in reality wood carved to fool the eye.

back and detail

The next piece was Larry Fuente's Game Fish. From a distance, it looks like a blue Marlin, but on closer inspection, it is made completely with plastic beads, ping pong balls, dice, dominoes, chess pieces, toys, and other found objects that relate to fun and games.  I had seen this piece in books that I have studied in art history and other art-related classes, but there is something magical about seeing it in person, up close, and to be able to study the details. 

What the Game Fish looks like from a distance.

Detail of the Game Fish

Drift

My final selection was Drift, by Matthias Pliessnig.  It is white oak and bamboo (26 x 96 x 35 in).  It is an amorphously shaped piece of furniture made by soaking strips of wood for several hours before putting them in a steam box. When the wood is pliable, it is removed and clamped into place within thirty seconds, after which it begins to cool and become rigid.

Working in the Woodshop

We all got started on our projects.
 
Step 1:  Use the joiner to make 2 sides flat and perpendicular to each other.
Step 2:  Use the planer to make the third side flat and perpendicular to one of the first 2 sides.
Step 3:  Use the table saw to cut the last side so it will be flat and perpendicular one of the other 3 sides.

Rough board with uneven sides.

This is the intimidating table saw. 

Tools and boards that are ready
to start becoming a table.