Brokenolmarine

Those aren't odds and ends. The two trays are used to carry tools to and from wood projects. The dump truck bed is a stackable screw tray for use on the bench. The various blocks in the tub are spacers for clamping. The wooden tray holds the bench dogs and hold downs. The wax paper is for glue ups. It all works.

I spent a couple hours in the shop late this evening making the cleats. LOTS of work but just one picture. I had to change the blade to set it at 45 degrees, then ran the two board thru the cut one edge at 45. Then I cut 4' off both, that left two feet from each. I cut those into one foot sections. I now had two four foot and four one foot. Cleats. I cut two dados in the appropriate locations on the two four footers for the wires to sneak thru on the cleats. Got it all done and test fitted, but NOTHING is attached. Too tired and hurting. Too much time on my feet. Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll organize the wires and mount the cleats to the case and the wall. All that will be left to do is turn the small thin wood into molding.

While the glue was still wet, I wiped off the excess glue, then sanded the repair to get the plug flush. Because the glue was wet, the sawdust from the sanding filling in the gaps, stayed in the gaps. Cool huh? While the glue dried, I put away the tools and cleaned off the benches and tables. This took about a half hour, and I was ready to re-stain the repair. So, Um... What Watco Stain did I use? Medium Walnut, Dark Walnut? If only there was a record of the ... Oh, Wait... I went back into the house and got a cup of coffee and read thru the narrative.... OH, there it is, Golden Oak. Boom, re-stained the repair and what do you know... a match. Next up, cleats.

This time, it's the Gap. No, not that clothing store. Well, that too, it's not one of my shopping destinations, but in this case, it's THIS gap. I don't know if I was tired, if something slipped, or Gremlins did it. I'm blaming shop gremlins. Someone fed them after midnight. But, time to fix the Gap. I could fill it with wood putty, but to me that repair would glare every time I saw it. So, I cut a thin slice off a scrap. Too wide. Tried again. Nope, STILL too wide. One last try... That one will fit. I got a touch of glue and put it on both sides. Carefully, with a rawhide mallet, I tapped the plug into the slot. Tap, tap, tap, tap... slowly and surely got 'er done. Yup, in there. I could feel it was about as far as it would go, so I stopped.

Out this morning and started by installing the latches. I installed the hinged sections on the glass door front first, using the same technique I have used throughout the project. Marked the bit with blue tape, to control depth and used the torgue set drill bit to keep the project safe. Done. The trick here is to get the loop portion of the latch properly aligned. Here comes my blue tape again, folded to make two sided tape that will BRIEFLY stick. Put it on the feet of the loop, put the loop in the hinged flap and fold into contact and press hard then lift... TAH DAH! Use the center punch to punch thru the tape into the wood, pull off the loop and the tape and drill the holes, then install. Boom, done. Time to move onto the next task for this session. I have things that bother me, others might not notice, especially from a distance.

Looks very nice, I'm sure they are pleased.

With the plugs ready, I could mount the lights. I very carefully drilled the four holes on the marks made by test placing the lights on the penciled marks during layout. I drilled the holes and vacuumed away the sawdust after each cut. No chance for it to squirrel away and damage the leather later. The plugs worked out just as I had planned and the lights look good in their place. A closer look at a plug installed. No one else will look this close. We are looking good, now we need to screw the hinge to the case, install a latch on the edge of the case top, and install the french cleats. Once the wiring is secured we are pretty much done. I may, MAY, put trim around the edge to hide the cleats. So close to the end now, I can taste it. Oh, wait, that's sawdust.

Before installing that hinged top, I wanted to install the lights. This meant running the wires from inside the case, to the back. I knew I was going to drill thru the quarter round and had been going over this process for the last week. I had decided that a brad point bit would work best, the directions for the lighting said, 3/8 bit. I decided to test the plan on the scrap quarter round. I drilled a 3/8 hole, then cut a half dozen 3/8 plugs from the quarter round to match. To allow the passage of the wire I cut a notch to one side of the plug. This worked well when I tested it on the scrap. Now, how would I trim the plug flush with the wire running through it after installation? There would be a good chance of cutting the wire with that razor sharp chisel. That would be bad. Then it came to me, I'd use the scrap with the test hole as a JIG and trim all the plugs flush in that, then pop them back out. With the JIG secure in the vise and my sharp chisel in hand, I hand manipulated the chisel and shaved the four plugs flush, slowly and carefully. I had cut the notches so that I had two plugs with notches to the right and two with notches to the left. I planned ahead. If I made a mistake or blew a plug out, I had another three feet of extra quarter round. This process, including pre-staining, took about an hour.

Next up, I aligned the hinge on the underside of the top with the glass installed and carefully drilled the holes. I marked the depth on the drill bit with Blue Painters tape, (As you have seen, I use a lot of that in the shop,) and predrilled the holes so the screws didn't shear off. Before screwing them in, each one was screwed into a wax block to lube the screw and then backed out. The torque on the drill was set to drive the screw in enough to pull the hinge tight against the wood, then STOP. I wanted to avoid shearing off the head of the screw OR cracking or splitting the wood. Shearing the heads off the screws is much more common if you go with a brass hinge and screws. When I do go with brass, I take the extra step of running a steel screw into each hole to pre-tap the hole, then install the brass screws.

Okay, settle in, I've been busy. If you need a refill on your coffee, I'll wait. First off, I sanded off the wax, and stained the sides of the display case darker, to compliment the black cherry of the top. It looks better. I'll wax the top and the side when I get it all put together. It took about a half hour just to tape off the open top to insure there was no accidental contamination of the interior. I wasn't taking any chances. LOL.

We have glass, next up, hinges and lights.

I wasted two work days sitting in the living room with my cell waiting for a call from the Wheel Chair service folks to schedule a visit for the scissor lift chair I use in the shop when I work at the Drill Press or the Band saw. The batteries won't hold a charge for more than a day. Used to hold the charge for a week or so. The VA called in the service contract and said they would call to schedule. My cell doesn't work in the (metal) workshop. They never called. I was NOT happy. Got out in the shop and got to work on the retention frame for the Plexi. I basically repeated the process I used to make the top for the case, so NO pics, but basically, set up the table saw, ripped two addition seven foot pieces of black cherry. This time however, they were quarter inch rather than three quarter inch. I took them over to the sander and cleaned them up and sanded away any saw burn marks. Then, an additional step, I used a small hand plane to cut a small forty five degree angle on ONE side corner of the strip then back to the sander to round over that corner. That will be the top edge on the glass side. I don't like to use the router if I can avoid it. Hooked up the Miter saw and vacuum and cut the pieces to length. Now we have the retention frame for the glass. Fits great. IN the pic below, it seems to bow slightly, but that's because they are just laying on the case, once I pin them, they will fit exactly. Time to apply some stain to the top. Prior to that, I sanded the corners and removed those small defects in the fit, and sanded the plugs one last time to insure they were perfectly flush. Once we were good, I used Watco Golden Oak Oil to apply that finish, and I am very happy. The contrast should make the Display Case Pop.... We are getting so close now. I can't wait to hang this thing and fill it. Watch this space...

Years ago... But it had slipped my mind. Thirty surgeries. The last five major ones averaged five hours. All that time under messed with my memory. I find I had forgotten a LOT of the small tricks and techniques, and have trouble with short term memory as well. I'll look at that as a viable option. Thank you very much.

I was thinking the sword and the scabbard crossed above the display case... Then a gift from a friend in return for what they considered a huge favor... A high end collectible replica of the Braveheart sword hung vertically to the left of the table. The thing is Long... Four or five feet, weighs about ten pounds.

As promised, here is the pic of the address where the case will live. The painting and the lamp will go away, and the medal / flag display will likely be moved to another location. I made that from a chunk of firewood we were splitting from a tree we cut down. The boxes on the table will stay, they contain the sheaths for most of the knives. I'm thinking seriously of hanging my Marine NCO Sword above the display case, and maybe my Calvary Sabre Replica below it.

It's going to hang over the table by the front door in the entry, and will be lighted to show off the knives. Vertical display, that's the reason for the long magnetic double bars. I'll try and get a pic of the location in the morning. We are getting close to the end now. I need to shape the edges of the top, and stain it, then add the LONG piano hinge and the latch to hold the door closed. This will have SIX hangers. SIX. That should hold 'er.

Went to Home Depot this morning and picked up a couple things. I picked up four more hanging loops, this thing is getting heavy. I also picked up a package of special blades for the jigsaw, made especially for cutting plexiglass, after watching a couple videos on "How best to cut Plexiglass without breaking it." Who Knew they had special blades? The teeth on the blades are smaller, closer together, and angle BOTH ways, opening a channel rather than melting back together behind the cut, leaving a smooth clean cut. NOT cheap, but after cutting this panel, worth every penny. It fits, and the cuts didn't need to be sanded or cleaned up in any way. For now, I have left the protective sheeting on the panel. It will come off later, when everything is done and I'm ready to fully assembly the case. Still have to drill some Tiny Holes to mount the plexi, mount the hinges and latches, mount the lights and the hangers. Almost done here. Done, for the day.

After trimming the plugs flush with the mallet and chisel, I test fitted the top frame to the case. It's looking good. I won't apply any finish until the top's edges have been shaped and I have prepped everything for final assembly. Next step is to cut the plexi. A REAL pucker factor moment. Crack that panel and it's $50 to replace the panel... We are getting close, but I have been slowed down a bit. CUT the tip of my right index finger last night cleaning a broiling pan, cut it deep. I know now why torturers start on the fingertips.

Got the case top glued up and pinned, and let the glue cured using all the same processes as the previous ones used on the case. Cut the plugs using the 1/4" plug cutting from the special tools drawer. This time I cut plugs from the leftover scraps of Black Cherry... and I cut a bunch even though I only needed four. I planned to snap them loose rather than setting up the bandsaw to cut the bottom off the scrap, so there was a chance some wouldn't break clean at the bottom.... extras are nice to have. Got them all plugged and left them to cure.

Over the last few days I have made some decent progress. I started on the case top. I was going to use the smaller of the two boards I prepped, but I was NOT happy with the look, and the fit was TOO close and might have been way too short after trimming. I went back into the woodpile and found some black cherry I liked and went thru the process. I ripped two long pieces the right width, then cut the four pieces needed to make the frame and test fitted them together. The test fit was successful, and I needed to sand away the burn marks caused by the table saw. This was caused by the density of the wood and the length of the cut. Note that the dados on these are not as wide and are very shallow. Rather than setting up the stacked dado blade, I cut these in two passes over the table saw blade. The sanding of the top frame was accomplished on the new 1x30 belt sander with the platten.

I cemented the new logo to the panel and installed the panel into the case using the quarter round molding to hold it in place. I pinned the molding down using a brad nailer, but did NOT glue the molding to the leather or the case sides, JUST in CASE. That was looking good, so it was time to install the magnets. I laid them out on the lines on the leather and insured they were aligned with one another using a pair of three foot rules. With the provided screws, I drilled pilot holes and carefully installed the magnets. I had placed the case on a pair of 2x2s as I knew there was a slight chance the screws might go thru the bottom of the case, so I wanted to be prepared. Slow and steady, verifying each position before I drilled, I got them installed. It looked good. Three screws did penetrate the bottom of the case by about 1/16th of an inch. The Dremel with a cutoff wheel made quick work of the little bit that showed thru. No worries. The new logo came out very nice as well. I'm going to love this new stamp on my leather work. Next on the to do list is starting on the lid and plexi window. Then installing lighting and hinges. Stay tuned.

Eight set ups, eight cutting strokes, eight flush cuts. I got lucky. Touch them with Watco Oil and they come very close to matching now. After they dry and are waxed, they may match perfectly. If they don't, I'll just say I planned it that way, as an ACCENT. Yeah, That's the Ticket, an accent. Yeah.... Far from perfect, but there is still a lot to do. I'll address the corners when I finish the lid, I'll sand them all together, and close that gap. Start on that tomorrow.

With the glue set, it's time to trim the plugs off flush. You need the right chisel and it has to be sharp. Keeping them organized and sharp is easy if they are properly stored. I took care of this one winter when I had nothing to do. I chose a wide flat chisel and my heavy mallet. The key to a clean cut is keeping the chisel flat against the surface, cutting with the grain, and a smooth even cut. If you hit too hard you'll break the plug and pull a chunk out of the countersink. I know this from experience. You get set up, tight against the plug and then a firm even stroke.

While the glue sets on the plugs, I play with my New Maker's Mark, to create a new one for the panel. I'll glue it over the one carved in the panel with contact cement. Three or four tries and I've got a good one.

Many would use a hammer to set the nails, but I used a punch and my brass mallet and a series of light taps to seat the nails. Much more control. I have ruined a piece in the past missing with a hammer. Difficult to remove a ding from a good sized hammer. So I dip each nail in the wood glue, set it in the hole by hand, then drive it with the punch and mallet. Once the nails are set, I pull a plug from the block and using a nail, run glue around the inside of the countersink. Then set a plug with a light tap of the rawhide mallet.