Sunday, November 27, 2016

Pennsylvania spice chest 6, crown moulding.

Today I completed the dividers and glued them in. My plan was to tackle the door next, but I had forgot to take in the pallet side that I wanted to use for the raised panel, so it was a bit on the wet side to start working on.
I moved it to the engine room and I guess it will have dried out in a couple of days.

For the design to work properly, I need a piece of crown moulding and also a piece of base moulding.
If I had known that I was going to make a project that needed a moulding, I would perhaps have brought a moulding plane with me on board. But I didn't.

The perfect piece of wood for a moulding is clear and straight grained, so I looked through what wood we have on board and found a reasonable piece. 
I am going to need a total length of 40" of each type of moulding. That length is far more than what I can accommodate on the workbench. So I had to make up a new type of workholding that would enable me to plane the entire length in one operation.

I started by crosscutting the piece to length, and then I sketched the moulding profile on one end. I tried to make a moulding that didn't have a lot of internal curves. The outside curves I will be able to make with the smoothing plane.
Most of the moulding are rectangular sections that I made with the moving fillister plane. I have incorporated a single curved section where I'll probably have to make some sort of scratch stock or a scraper to make it look good.

The exercise went rather well, and the next step will be to make a rip cut to separate the moulding from the board, and then complete the rounded parts.

I had a couple of more pictures, but just uploading this single one took 2.5 hours spread over a couple of attempts.



Rough moulding made with moving fillister.
Notice the glued up carcase in the background.

8 comments:

  1. Amazing that you could do that with such a limited set of tools.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Andy.
      Thanks for the nice comment.
      Having a lot of time on my hands also helps a lot.

      Brgds
      Jonas

      Delete
  2. Jonas,

    It's good to see work done with limited space and tools. I built what was to be a traveling tool chest but it was way too big.....Back to the drawing board.

    Your profile looks good. I expect your scratch stock idea would work well.

    ken

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ken

      Sorry to hear about your project being too big. I guess it is a comfort that the skills learned aren't lost no mater what size you end up building.

      I think that traveling tool chests are tricky, because it is so hard to determine which tools should go into it and which ones you can do without.
      It also depends on how you are going to be travelling with it. By plane or by motorhome or perhaps by car.
      I hope you find a good solution.

      Thanks for the nice comment on my profile. I have considered just using a dowel with some sandpaper wrapped around it instead of a scratch stock. I think I'll try that first. When I have to make tools it tends to take up more time than I originally anticipated.

      Brgds
      Jonas

      Delete
  3. Chuck Bender used to offer a PA Spice chest as a class and I regret never taking it, especially considering his shop was only a 10 minute drive from my house.
    I mean to ask, were you following plans? Or just going from a photo? Either way, this is looking great so far!!

    And to let you know, this project is one of the few that is on the Mrs Confused approval list.
    Bill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bill

      That is a tough one, concernign not taking such a class. But on the other hand, I don't know how much it cost a that time, and I know from myself that cost can be a deterring factor for those things.

      I am not following any plans directly. But I am looking at an article from PWM where Glen Huey makes a PA spice chest with a double arched door.
      Another source of inspiration is an article I found online for another spice chest. That is where I saw the triangular trenches for dividers.
      An advantage from designing on the fly is that I can adapt the design based on the materials I have available. The problem is that I can't blame anyone for any faults in the design.

      I can understand that a spice chest would be welcome in your home, especially given that you live in PA :-)
      The ones I have seen pictures of look great, but I am a bit concerned about how mine will look based on the material. It isn't exactly curly maple. I haven't decided if I should paint it or not. I guess I'll have to complete it first :-)

      Brgds
      Jonas

      Delete
    2. Glen Huey was actually teaching that class. The cost was not inexpensive, but I thought it worth it not only because we would be making a very nice piece of furniture, but it would also be a great learning experience.

      I have seen them painted before in what is called here in America "colonial" colors, which are traditional blues, or reds in many of the examples I have seen. They would often have decorative stencils as well. I unfortunately know little about it, though I have begun subscribing to a magazine called 'Early American Life' (yes, an actual print magazine!) Which has nice photos and articles, some of which detail the furniture which was prevalent in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Considering that I love reading about that time period, I am enjoying it very much, and learning a great deal.
      Thanks
      Bill

      Delete
    3. I have liked most of the projects that Glen Huey made for PW and PWM.
      Most of his articles are really good too, no-nonsense, just how to get it done.

      Joshua Klein made a tool chest that he grain painted. He did a really nice job on that. But I am not sure I can do that so it will look fine. But the thought has crossed my mind.

      Sounds like the perfect magazine for you, especially since you are volunteering at the Valley Forge.
      Finding a magazine that really fuels your interests is great. And I guess that there is a lot of woodwork in some of the pictures even though the article may be concerning something else.

      Well, I'd better get down to the workshop and try to continue the spice chest project.

      Brgds
      Jonas

      Delete