All the entries for the WSBO are now listed.
Please take a look at the many different and great looking shelves that the participants made, and please vote for your 3 personal favourites.
I guess the more people that will vote and show their interest in the build, the likelier it is that Chris Wong will arrange another build off in the future.
Showing posts with label Wall Shelf Build-Off. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wall Shelf Build-Off. Show all posts
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Sunday, January 29, 2017
WSBO 5, Shelf completed
After gluing up the shelf, I just had to wait for the glue to dry before sawing off the protruding pegs and wedges for the dowel.
After sawing them all off, I sanded the surface flush.
I measured out for the two holes for mounting the shelf and bored those too.
That was all the work that was required today.
For me the biggest obstacle isn't to build the stuff. It is to take a decent picture of it.
At home I would have hung the shelf on a door or some other wood clad surface, and I could have taken some pictures of it.
But out here I don't want to make any holes for temporary mounting of my shelf. I tried to make use some tape, but that didn't work well either.
In the end I tried to make a cyclic wall (I think that is the name) using a floor mat and taping the top if it to the wall.
I had to balance the shelf to get it to stand by itself, so the hooks are not hanging quite as they will when the shelf is really mounted.
After sawing them all off, I sanded the surface flush.
I measured out for the two holes for mounting the shelf and bored those too.
That was all the work that was required today.
For me the biggest obstacle isn't to build the stuff. It is to take a decent picture of it.
At home I would have hung the shelf on a door or some other wood clad surface, and I could have taken some pictures of it.
But out here I don't want to make any holes for temporary mounting of my shelf. I tried to make use some tape, but that didn't work well either.
In the end I tried to make a cyclic wall (I think that is the name) using a floor mat and taping the top if it to the wall.
I had to balance the shelf to get it to stand by itself, so the hooks are not hanging quite as they will when the shelf is really mounted.
The completed shelf.
View from the other side
Details of mouldings.
Shelf lying on the back, note the position of the hooks (Thanks gravity..)
Saturday, January 28, 2017
WSBO 4, making hooks and glue up.
The shelf I have at home has got some hooks hanging on the dowel. These were some that I made and installed many years after making the shelf as my sloyd exam project.
I wanted to make some hooks for this shelf as well, and they are not hard to make with some very basic hand tools.
The hooks at home are made out of heavy copper wire. Out here I have access to bronze brazing rods that are 3 mm thick (1/8"). They will work just as fine, but they are a little bit harder to bend.
I placed two extension pieces from a regular 1/2" square ratchet/socket set in the vice. The distance between them were probably 1/2" or so.
I start by making the eye of the hook.
When that is done, I fold the hook end around the other extension piece and make sure to fold it a bit longer due to the tendency of the metal to spring back.
Once I had made a bunch of hooks I used some pliers to cut them free of the rod that I made them of.
The places that I cut were rounded using a needle file.
Before the glue up I marked the position of the individual pieces in relation to each other, and I drilled some pilot holes for the screws.
The shelf and the supports are fastened to the back piece by means of glue and screws.
The shelf is temporarily screwed to the supports to keep it in place while the glue dries. Once the glue is dry I will remove the visible screws and replace them with a small wooden peg.
The had a kerf sawn in each end before I mounted it, and a wedge is glued into it.
When I had everything glued up and only needed to screw in the two last screws for temporarily holding the support in position with the shelf, I decided that the support was a little bit out of square. I pressed at it but it didn't move. I very lightly tapped it with my hand, but it still didn't move.
Then I gave it a smart blow of the hand, and the support broke in two...
I guess the dowel was a tight fit.
The broken off piece was recovered and glued back. After cursing a bit I managed to get a couple of clamps on, and finally the last two screws were in place.
I wanted to make some hooks for this shelf as well, and they are not hard to make with some very basic hand tools.
The hooks at home are made out of heavy copper wire. Out here I have access to bronze brazing rods that are 3 mm thick (1/8"). They will work just as fine, but they are a little bit harder to bend.
I placed two extension pieces from a regular 1/2" square ratchet/socket set in the vice. The distance between them were probably 1/2" or so.
I start by making the eye of the hook.
When that is done, I fold the hook end around the other extension piece and make sure to fold it a bit longer due to the tendency of the metal to spring back.
Once I had made a bunch of hooks I used some pliers to cut them free of the rod that I made them of.
The places that I cut were rounded using a needle file.
Before the glue up I marked the position of the individual pieces in relation to each other, and I drilled some pilot holes for the screws.
The shelf and the supports are fastened to the back piece by means of glue and screws.
The shelf is temporarily screwed to the supports to keep it in place while the glue dries. Once the glue is dry I will remove the visible screws and replace them with a small wooden peg.
The had a kerf sawn in each end before I mounted it, and a wedge is glued into it.
When I had everything glued up and only needed to screw in the two last screws for temporarily holding the support in position with the shelf, I decided that the support was a little bit out of square. I pressed at it but it didn't move. I very lightly tapped it with my hand, but it still didn't move.
Then I gave it a smart blow of the hand, and the support broke in two...
I guess the dowel was a tight fit.
The broken off piece was recovered and glued back. After cursing a bit I managed to get a couple of clamps on, and finally the last two screws were in place.
Bending a hook.
Seven bronze hooks lined up.
Glued up shelf.
WSBO 3, supports and planing a dowel.
Since the design of my shelf is traditional, it requires a bit of curves on the supports.
The biggest obstacle for me is to make nice curves with a panel saw or a hack saw.
After sketching about 10 different lay outs, I settled for two curves.
I flattened the back of the board for the supports, and then I marked the finished size out on the board regarding the length / height of the supports. And cross cut the pieces.
Next I used a divider to make some pleasing curves and I clamped the two supports together and tried my best to saw near the line.
The convex curve was fairly easy to do, I just had to remove the waste every once in a while, and then come back at another angle.
The concave curve was a bit more difficult, but a hacksaw can follow a curve if it isn't too tight, so it ended up OK.
A rasp would be great for cleaning up such curves, but I had to resort to a couple of files and some 60 grit emery paper.
After that I marked out for where I wanted the hole for the dowel to go. I sandwiched the supports between some sacrificial scraps of wood and clamped it all to the table of the drill press.
I found a 16 mm drill and drilled the holes in one motion.
I ripped a piece of wood some 3/4" square, to make a dowel. I tried to find a piece of wood with straight grain to make it easy for me during planing.
A sticker board was set up and I started by making an octagonal. After that I simply tried to turn the dowel for every stroke, and it quickly turned reasonably round.
The sticker board was not helping anymore, so I changed tactics and held the dowel in my hand. That worked for a while, but not very well.
Finally I clamped my plane upside down in the vice and used both hands to maneuver the dowel over the blade. That trick gave me a lot of control, and the dowel ended up very round.
Finally I sanded it to an even rounder shape and checked that it could enter the holes in the supports.
The biggest obstacle for me is to make nice curves with a panel saw or a hack saw.
After sketching about 10 different lay outs, I settled for two curves.
I flattened the back of the board for the supports, and then I marked the finished size out on the board regarding the length / height of the supports. And cross cut the pieces.
Next I used a divider to make some pleasing curves and I clamped the two supports together and tried my best to saw near the line.
The convex curve was fairly easy to do, I just had to remove the waste every once in a while, and then come back at another angle.
The concave curve was a bit more difficult, but a hacksaw can follow a curve if it isn't too tight, so it ended up OK.
A rasp would be great for cleaning up such curves, but I had to resort to a couple of files and some 60 grit emery paper.
After that I marked out for where I wanted the hole for the dowel to go. I sandwiched the supports between some sacrificial scraps of wood and clamped it all to the table of the drill press.
I found a 16 mm drill and drilled the holes in one motion.
I ripped a piece of wood some 3/4" square, to make a dowel. I tried to find a piece of wood with straight grain to make it easy for me during planing.
A sticker board was set up and I started by making an octagonal. After that I simply tried to turn the dowel for every stroke, and it quickly turned reasonably round.
The sticker board was not helping anymore, so I changed tactics and held the dowel in my hand. That worked for a while, but not very well.
Finally I clamped my plane upside down in the vice and used both hands to maneuver the dowel over the blade. That trick gave me a lot of control, and the dowel ended up very round.
Finally I sanded it to an even rounder shape and checked that it could enter the holes in the supports.
Trying to saw a curve.
Rough shape of the supports.
Getting ready for drilling.
Stock for the dowel.
Almost complete.
All pieces of wood ready for assembly.
WSBO 2, Assembling the back piece and making the shelf.
After a quick lunch and a cup of tea, I began making the half lapped joints for the back piece.
Since I had made mouldings on the sides of the strips to be used, a little more work than usual was involved.
Normally it is just a question of marking up some square lines and sawing and chiseling the waste out.
Here I had to make some miters too, in order for the moulding to flow around the corner.
A great tool for a task like that is a router plane, but it can also be done just using a chisel. So given my limited tool kit, that is how I did it.
I marked out the depth of the half lap from the front of the strips of wood. That way any inaccuracies will be on the back side where I can easily trim them away with a plane once the glue is dry.
The back piece was then glued together and left to dry.
For the shelf I wanted to make another moulding at the top of the front.
I changed the blade for a large beading, and the result was beyond my expectations. I immediately decided that I could make another beading on the front itself, so that the moulding would look like a 3/4 dowel.
This went OK, but not as good as the last. This is where proper grain orientation is important. the grain in the pallet sides are not completely consistent, so suddenly it was reversed and I had a little bit of tear out.
I then tried to make a smaller beading on the portion that was left, but that totally messed up for my. So I had to change the plane into a rabbet plane and make an attempt of cleaning the mess up.
I cut the shelf to length and managed to get the saw to jump out of the kerf and onto the part to keep. So I shifted the kerf and made the shelf 1/2" shorter.
Then I started thinking about if I could make something interesting for the ends of the shelf too. A beading always look nice, and perhaps this Stanley plane will work really fine going across the grain.
It doesn't work well across the grain, especially not on some softwood from a pallet. Again I had to resort to the solution of shortening the shelf to remove the remnants of the disaster.
Some people learn from mistakes, whether they are made by themselves or by others.
I generally fall into the group that people learn from..
Since I had made mouldings on the sides of the strips to be used, a little more work than usual was involved.
Normally it is just a question of marking up some square lines and sawing and chiseling the waste out.
Here I had to make some miters too, in order for the moulding to flow around the corner.
A great tool for a task like that is a router plane, but it can also be done just using a chisel. So given my limited tool kit, that is how I did it.
I marked out the depth of the half lap from the front of the strips of wood. That way any inaccuracies will be on the back side where I can easily trim them away with a plane once the glue is dry.
The back piece was then glued together and left to dry.
For the shelf I wanted to make another moulding at the top of the front.
I changed the blade for a large beading, and the result was beyond my expectations. I immediately decided that I could make another beading on the front itself, so that the moulding would look like a 3/4 dowel.
This went OK, but not as good as the last. This is where proper grain orientation is important. the grain in the pallet sides are not completely consistent, so suddenly it was reversed and I had a little bit of tear out.
I then tried to make a smaller beading on the portion that was left, but that totally messed up for my. So I had to change the plane into a rabbet plane and make an attempt of cleaning the mess up.
I cut the shelf to length and managed to get the saw to jump out of the kerf and onto the part to keep. So I shifted the kerf and made the shelf 1/2" shorter.
Then I started thinking about if I could make something interesting for the ends of the shelf too. A beading always look nice, and perhaps this Stanley plane will work really fine going across the grain.
It doesn't work well across the grain, especially not on some softwood from a pallet. Again I had to resort to the solution of shortening the shelf to remove the remnants of the disaster.
Some people learn from mistakes, whether they are made by themselves or by others.
I generally fall into the group that people learn from..
The glued up back piece.
The shortened shelf.
WSBO 1, stock preparation and making mouldings
It should come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog, that the stock for this build will come from a pallet frame.
Right now our ship is laid up and we haven't received new pallets for quite some time, but I found an old set of pallet sides that I could use.
The grain is not as straight as I would like it to be, but it will probably be OK.
First I sawed off the four hinges of the pallet frame, and then I decided on which piece was going to be the top and the supports and the back.
I ripped the stock and cut it to length with a bit extra.
Next I used my plane is a scrub set up, and dressed the boards to a bit over the final desired thickness. Once all of the boards had been scrub planed, I switched to the smoothing blade, and made the surface look nice.
My idea is to start with the back piece, then I can make the supports and the actual shelf while the glue of the back is drying.
So the next logical step was to plane down the sides and make sure that the 3 pieces for the back were of the same width.
They were then crosscut and I tried to establish how I wanted them to end up being oriented on the finished shelf.
I clamped up something like a sticker board, and using my Stanley No 50 combination plane I made mouldings on the edges of each boards.
The next task is to make the joinery for the back and assemble that.
Right now our ship is laid up and we haven't received new pallets for quite some time, but I found an old set of pallet sides that I could use.
The grain is not as straight as I would like it to be, but it will probably be OK.
First I sawed off the four hinges of the pallet frame, and then I decided on which piece was going to be the top and the supports and the back.
I ripped the stock and cut it to length with a bit extra.
Next I used my plane is a scrub set up, and dressed the boards to a bit over the final desired thickness. Once all of the boards had been scrub planed, I switched to the smoothing blade, and made the surface look nice.
My idea is to start with the back piece, then I can make the supports and the actual shelf while the glue of the back is drying.
So the next logical step was to plane down the sides and make sure that the 3 pieces for the back were of the same width.
They were then crosscut and I tried to establish how I wanted them to end up being oriented on the finished shelf.
I clamped up something like a sticker board, and using my Stanley No 50 combination plane I made mouldings on the edges of each boards.
The next task is to make the joinery for the back and assemble that.
My selection of materials.
Maximum length of material.
Cross cutting pieces for the back.
Sticker board set-up.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
WSBO, Wall shelf build-off 2017, considerations.
With just a week to go for the biggest event since the American presidential inauguration 2017 takes place, it might be a good idea to start making a few plans regarding the build.
I have decided that I want to replicate the shelf that I made for my 9th grade sloyd exam. It is a small shelf intended to be mounted in a kitchen, with a dowel beneath it for holding a towel or holding a set of hooks that can be used for hanging various utensils.
The overall dimensions of my shelf will be pretty much like the old one that I made. Back then we had 3 hours to complete the build as far as I remember, but we were supplied with processed stock, so basically we only had to do the joinery.
I quickly scribbled down the measurements of the original before going to sea, so I have those to go out from.
This time I have to do stock preparation too, and I figured that I could perhaps use my new Stanley combination plane to make some decorative moulding as well.
As a small challenge to myself I think I will try to see if I can complete the build without using any metal fasteners.
I might try to make a sliding dovetail for the corners to attach to the underside of the shelf.
The corners and the backside of the shelf will then be glued to the back piece. I can then add a few pegs to reinforce it.
The dowel will be wedged into place.
My overall plan of action is to find a decent set of pallet sides during the coming week for the stock.
Come Saturday the 28th, I'll start with crosscutting the shelf to the approximate length, and the set of corners. The dowel will probably be ripped from the shelf piece.
The parts of the back piece will be made from the same length of wood, and I'll rip it to the correct width.
Next there will be some planing to do. The shelf and the corners are approximately 5/8" thick, and the parts of the back piece are 3/8". The dowel too is 5/8".
I am toying with the idea of decorating the back piece with a moulding along all the edges. I'll probably have to make a bit of testing first though.
If I choose to make mouldings, the back piece will be a little more difficult to assemble.Instead of a regular half lap joint with square cuts, it will require the corners to be cut of in a 45 degree angle, so allow the moulding to follow the side around the corner.
If you haven't already signed up for participation it this event, there is still time to do so.
The requirements for entering are very accommodating:
-You have to build the piece in the weekend of January 28/29.
-You decide what you want to build.
-You decide how you want to build it (hand tools, power tools, genetically modifying a plant to grow into the shape of a shelf, carve a shelf out of a rock etc.)
-Share the process online via social media (#WSBO), blog, and/or forum.
- There is no registration fee, and the WSBO is open to all inhabitants on this planet. So whether you live in Andorra, Zimbabwe or in a place that starts with a letter in between - you can participate.
Please check in on the page of Chris Wong and see the full details.
I have decided that I want to replicate the shelf that I made for my 9th grade sloyd exam. It is a small shelf intended to be mounted in a kitchen, with a dowel beneath it for holding a towel or holding a set of hooks that can be used for hanging various utensils.
The overall dimensions of my shelf will be pretty much like the old one that I made. Back then we had 3 hours to complete the build as far as I remember, but we were supplied with processed stock, so basically we only had to do the joinery.
I quickly scribbled down the measurements of the original before going to sea, so I have those to go out from.
This time I have to do stock preparation too, and I figured that I could perhaps use my new Stanley combination plane to make some decorative moulding as well.
As a small challenge to myself I think I will try to see if I can complete the build without using any metal fasteners.
I might try to make a sliding dovetail for the corners to attach to the underside of the shelf.
The corners and the backside of the shelf will then be glued to the back piece. I can then add a few pegs to reinforce it.
The dowel will be wedged into place.
My overall plan of action is to find a decent set of pallet sides during the coming week for the stock.
Come Saturday the 28th, I'll start with crosscutting the shelf to the approximate length, and the set of corners. The dowel will probably be ripped from the shelf piece.
The parts of the back piece will be made from the same length of wood, and I'll rip it to the correct width.
Next there will be some planing to do. The shelf and the corners are approximately 5/8" thick, and the parts of the back piece are 3/8". The dowel too is 5/8".
I am toying with the idea of decorating the back piece with a moulding along all the edges. I'll probably have to make a bit of testing first though.
If I choose to make mouldings, the back piece will be a little more difficult to assemble.Instead of a regular half lap joint with square cuts, it will require the corners to be cut of in a 45 degree angle, so allow the moulding to follow the side around the corner.
If you haven't already signed up for participation it this event, there is still time to do so.
The requirements for entering are very accommodating:
-You have to build the piece in the weekend of January 28/29.
-You decide what you want to build.
-You decide how you want to build it (hand tools, power tools, genetically modifying a plant to grow into the shape of a shelf, carve a shelf out of a rock etc.)
-Share the process online via social media (#WSBO), blog, and/or forum.
- There is no registration fee, and the WSBO is open to all inhabitants on this planet. So whether you live in Andorra, Zimbabwe or in a place that starts with a letter in between - you can participate.
Please check in on the page of Chris Wong and see the full details.
Sketch of the shelf.
Sketch of mouldings.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
I am back at work and that also means that I manage to find some time to sit in front of a computer and do a bit of blogging.
This past home period saw a bit of woodworking, as I managed to complete the second traveling bookcase for my daughter. I also made 5 window frames for the small barn. I never got around to taking any pictures of all that, so you will just have to take my word for it..
I think it is fair to say that the single most important thing that happened this home period was getting a new dog.
We drove down to near Hannover in Germany and picked up the most adorable little Newfoundland puppy.
She has grown considerably since then, but she is just as sweet and cuddly.
It is probably impossible to not compare a new puppy with the old dog, and often the new dog will fall short in comparison due to the strong memories of the old dog and it setting te standards for good behavior.
In one respect the new puppy (Bertha) actually comes out in front of our old dog Fnug:
Fnug never really liked to stay in the workshop.
She would enter occasionally - take a look around and then leave again.
Bertha on the other hand seems to think that the shop is a great place to stay, and that is something that warms my heart.
She likes to sleep while I work at the bench, and when she is awake she helps by rearranging small pieces of scrap wood.
There are a few drawbacks too though. The major one being that she has the idea the the broom is meant as a toy, and subsequently attacks it as soon as I start sweeping the floor.
Sweeping is not very efficient with a 35 Lb puppy attached to the head end of a broom playing tug of war while you try to clean the floor.
But given her sweet nature I can easily live with that and I'll just sweep the floor while she is not in the shop.
Besides getting a new dog, we also had a really nice Christmas and New Years Eve.
This Sunday a friend called asking if we wanted to join her on a ride in the forest. Laura was at home and really wanted to participate. Mette suggested that I took her her horse, and then she would just walk besides us all. Since the ground was frozen, we were only going to let the horses walk, so Mette wouldn't have any problems in keeping up with us.
It was such a nice trip, and I actually think that I ought to do a bit more riding. What a fine way to experience nature.
Yesterday I checked my spam folder for my email address, and I found an invitation from Chris Wong to participate in the "Wall Shelf Build-Off"
Four years ago I participated in the SSBO (shop stool build off), and it was such a great thing to participate in.
Chris had manged to attract some incredibly fine sponsor prizes, and the entire build off couldn't have been organized any better.
I highly recommend you to register and participate in the build. If it is anything like the last event, there will be loads of prizes, for numerous categories, Since the design limits for the build are very wide, it is especially interesting to see what other people come up with. .
The skill level of the participants last time ranged as did the design. I think that the most interesting stool built last time was the innovative works of Alex Leslie. He rightfully won a prize for that entry.
Bertha resting in the shop.
Shavings from the planer stick incredibly well to a soft coat of fur.
Gustav and Bertha right after getting her home.
Jonas/ Bent, Lene/Marco, Laura/Fairy
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