The summer is coming to a close and I am pretty far along with the spice box. My deadline was and still is December 1st!
I started out with the intention of doing it all by hand, and I have completed a good deal by hand! That said, I have cheated on some things. (Things that I don't do well or I just prefer to use a machine because its faster.)
Hide Glue Thoughts
This week I have been trying to get the case glued up and I had success today. I wanted to try hide glue for no other reason than I have always been curious. I have been reading up on it and to be honest, I couldn't see a down side. (Keeping it heated is a hassle but not really.)
Yesterday I tried a rub joint with the hide glue and I was impressed at how quickly it set up and how easy it was to do. One of the pluses with hide glue is it supposed to clean up well and not leave a residue. I'll be able to say more about that later when I start finishing. (Just a note, the hide glue I used had no bad smell, or none worse than me covered in sweat.)
Today, I only had one real problem with the glue up. I walked out of the shop to let the glue heat up and when I returned the crock pot had warmed to 180 degrees. This was way hotter than what I had read was advisable. In fact, one source said that if that happened, to toss the glue. Being a cautious guy, I threw out the glue and made a new batch. (I was glad I had not made that much.)
One thing I noticed was that the hide glue did not bind as much as yellow glue. This is a good thing especially when gluing up dovetails. If the hide glue holds the joints together then any hassle with the heating of the glue is worth it.
TOOLS
I have been using my router planes this week and am surprised at how handy they are. If I had any doubts about buying them I take them back.
I like doing as much by hand as possible, I figure its good upper body strength building and I hate the gym. Anyway, I was using my back saw for crosscutting some boards to length. I could not figure out why my bench hook kept coming back towards me with each stroke. Then I remembered, my backsaw looks western but the teeth are set to cut on the back stroke, similar to a Japanese saw. I guess I could hook the bench hook on the opposite side of the bench so I would have the support of the hook when the saw is taking a bite out of the wood. That just seems wrong to me. I think I may be shopping for a decent saw to use with my bench hook.
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| Large Router Plane |
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| Laying out for Dados. |
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| Cabinet ready for glue up. |
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| Feet almost ready to glue on. |
