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Custom Woodwork : Furniture : Cabinets : Millwork

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One of the mallets I made is a surprise gift. My problem is that I couldn't decide which one to give. I gave up, spoiled the surprise, and asked them which mallet they would like. They chose the biggest one, but we both lamented that it was the only one without an end cap on the handle. I had barely enough lignum vitae left for a cap. The other two mallet handles had tenons turned on the lathe. As this one was already glued up, I couldn't do that with this one. A floating tenon was the answer. Pretty thankful that my my new drill press has the capacity to drill the end of a 17" long handle. The tenon is maple, and the channels are to prevent hydrolic lock as it gets inserted (gives the epoxy an escape route). I'll show the results once it's all oiled and ready for a proper presentation. #floatingtenon #mallet #walnut #lignumvitae #malletmaking

Making tiny lignum vitae curls with a 12mm chisel. I wasn't happy with the shape of the end cap on one of the mallets, so I made it shorter, trued up one side, and added some chamfers. This would have been much easier (and less stressful) before being glued on. Sharp tools are a must with lignum vitae, as is properly reading grain direction. When you get it right, the glassy surface lets you know you did good. #mallet #alwaysrefining #lignumvitae #narex #narexchisels

Finally! Something of interest to post. 🤣 Got the wine rack installed. Maple with Osmo walnut and ebony Wood Wax finish, topped with a coat of Polyx. Almost wrapped on this project - just a few small pieces to tie up. #winerack #madewithosmo

Nothing too exciting happening in the shop (massive clean up, some painting, and box building), so here is a picture taken over the weekend. These are all the parts of the mallet, shaped and ready for assembly. The end cap is held on using a round tenon. The mortise in the head flares out by 4°, and the wedges are cut at 5°. Makes for a solid mechanical lock. Due to the oiliness of lignum vitae, all parts of the joints were freshly sanded then washed with denatured alcohol just prior to glue up. West System 105/207 epoxy was used, both for the ability to bond lignum vitae, but also for the extra slip (the joints were a tight fit). Everything was masked off with packing tape, and the epoxy was applied and allowed to soak in for 15 minutes. More epoxy was applied and everything was assembled. Now, back to cleaning and making boxes for me. #lignumvitae #mallet #lignumvitaemallet #malletmaking #westsystemepoxy #walnut #maple

I love woodworking. I love that I make a living working wood. However, I do need to work wood for just the simple pleasure and satisfaction it brings. This mallet is a fine example; no deadlines, no margins, just the finished item. This is how I recharge, how I reset, how I keep my love of woodworking. This is my "me time". How do you recharge your batteries? #mallet #lignumvitae #walnut #mondaythoughts #rechargingmybatteries

We had rather strong winds in Toronto just over a week ago. Today @mindfulmamatoronto went for a walk in one of our favorite city gardens, Rosetta MacLean, and were amazed at some of the trees which were downed. I believe this one is a fir, and the limb was at least 18" in diameter. The curves and how it split were quite interesting to me.

This is the first cleat system I made. Figured the best testing ground was in our own home. Red oak and railway spikes. Lettering by @samdubeau. #frontentrystorage #coathooks #coatrack

Finally chopped into the piece of lignum vitae I got at @amforloversofwood. I think it'll make a pretty hefty mallet with this black walnut handle. Edit: I weighed the head and it is a whopping 42 ounces. #walnut #mallet #lignumvitae #fridayprocratination #whilethepaintdries

Crown, new doors and hardware, side panels, new colour, and an additional cabinet (which is on the far left). The second picture shows what we started with. #kitchenrefacing #kitchenpantry #kitchenfacelift #customcabinetry #customkitchen

Throwing it back to an old project and some old pictures taken with an old camera. This is my heavily customized Mesa Boogie Rect-O-Verb combo. I bought the original combo locally through eBay about 16 years ago, and for far less than what it was worth. From there, I built a new cabinet from 5/8" Baltic birch plywood. The new speaker baffle holds a 10" Eminence (?) and a 12" Eminence Tonker. I've always liked the fullness of two different sized drivers. The lower cabinet is sealed and houses a pair of 12" Eminence Modeling 12s. I prefer the crunch of EL34 tubes, so the 6L6 tubes were changed out. I use the amp with the four cable method, allowing me to choose which effects are before or after the preamp, as well as being able to control channel switching from my effects processor. There is a custom break out box, mounted inside the cabinet, so that those four signals could be run down a single multi-pair cable. This makes setting up on stage much faster and simpler. In order to use the four cable method, the parallel effects loop had to be rewired to series. It's a great sounding amp, both live and in the studio. It hasn't been fired up in a few years, and I am seriously considering selling it. #mesaboogie #guitaramp #guitar #amplifier #customguitaramp #customamp #eminencespeakers #rectoverb #thisonedoesntneedtogobeyondthree

Wide angle views of the front entry storage unit. I'm really pleased with how this project turned out. Camera: Glendon Davis #madewithosmo #valspar #frontentrystorage #entrystorage #entrywayunit #entrywaycabinet #customstorage #customcabinetry

Told ya I was gonna post lots of Glendon Davis's pictures of the front entry storage unit. This is the storage bench. The top is a bookmatched piece of air dried black walnut, with an additional piece across the front (grain matched to the drawer faces). Cutting out the lid was a little nerve wracking. It was done on the tablesaw. First was the rip cut; the start and stop position were marked on the fence, then the blade was raised up through the piece, the piece was slid forward to the stop mark, and the saw was shut off and blade lowered. The crosscuts were done on the tablesaw sled. Moving the lid off the sled and over to the bench was even more nerve wracking than making the cuts, as there were just tiny pieces of wood holding it all together. The cuts were finished with a Japanese handsaw and cleaned up with a chisel and plane. The battens are fit into sliding dovetails, and fastened at the back of the lid with a screw. This allows for seasonal wood movement, while also helping to keep the lid flat. The bench box is maple frame and Baltic birch plywood panels, mitered with biscuits. The lid is finished with Osmo Polyx, the interior Lenmar Duralaq acrylic clear lacquer, and the exterior Valspar acrylic lacquer. We'll be upgrading the bottom of the box with an epoxy coating to protect it from wet footwear. Camera: Glendon Davis #frontentryunit #frontentrystorage #storagebench #walnut #madewithosmo #airdriedwalnut #entrywaystorage #shoestorage #customcabinetry #customcabinets

Here are some of the details of the drawers of the entryway storage unit. Cut from a single air dried black walnut board, the faces are grain matched (and matched to the lid of the bench, yeah, I'm ridiculous). They are attached to the maple sides using pinned rabbets. The bottoms are 6mm Baltic birch plywood, and they run on Blum Tandem soft-close slides. The faces are finished with Osmo Polyx, and the rest with shellac. Camera: Glendon Davis #frontentrystorage #frontentryunit #entrywaystorage #drawers #walnut #madewithosmo #osmopolyx #osmo #shellac #maple #pinnedrabbet #joinery #drawerjoinery

I really like these hooks; solid brass, heavy, and all three arms swivel. I gave the client a number of choices, and this was their pick. It was the most expensive option, but my philosophy is that you buy the good hardware only once, be it hinges, hooks, door knobs. Spend the money for something which will last, which elevates the piece, and looks and feels solid. Camera: Glendon Davis #coathook #entrywayunit #entrywaystorage #coathooks #walnut #madewithosmo

My second favorite place to buy lumber, Peacock Lumber in Oshawa. Great people and service. (My favorite place is from Ray, an arborist near my parents' - all the lumber there is sustainably harvested, so his selection varies widely.) #lumberrun #lumberyard #peacocklumber #woodworkersmecca

Back at the kitchen upgrade today. Reinstalled the crown mould and valance after painting them at the shop. We removed one cabinet and replaced it with a panel and shelves. Now I'm off to pick up task lighting and work on some other components in the shop. #kitchenupgrade #kitchenrefacing #cabinetrefacing #customcabinetry #kitchenfacelift #kitchencabinets

As I was finishing up the install on the front entry storage unit, the client took some pictures. He's a camera person, so he pulled out the good equipment. Over the next few days I'll share some of the beautiful pictures he took of my work. He captured all the details I futzed with. Thanks, Glen. Camera: Glendon Davis #frontentrystorage #entrywayunit #entrywaystorage #customcabinetry #customcabinet #walnut #madewithosmo

Alice In Chains' "Down In A Hole" comes to mind, although today has been rife with accomplishments. This is just a hole for a bolt on the backside of a panel to which shelves will be fastened. Carry on.

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