Elegant Step Stools
Not every woodworking project needs to be a multi-week adventure. Sometimes something simple is needed. In this case it is some step stools. We now have 7 grandchildren ranging form newborn to 6 years. We have them over on a regular basis (3 days / week minimum during the school year). With the kids running […]
Doll Cribs
Our grand-daughters are at the age where they love to play with dolls. They are infatuated with the American Girl style 20″ dolls, now adding the American Girl Bitty Baby 15″ dolls. To go with them, they want additional “furnishings” beyond the cases I built last year. A couple of them have their hearts set […]
Isla’s Bed – Completion
After staining, I waited a couple of weeks to let the stain fully dry. The reason being that the gel stain used is oil based and with the winter weather, I needed to use a water based finish. My favorite for spraying in the winter is General Finishes Endurovar. It generally flows out well and […]
Isla’s Bed – Staining
This is another project where I am finishing first and assembling the completely finished pieces. This avoids issues with glue squeeze out and having to sand inside corners (which I hate to do). By finishing first, I can also spray the finish coats on while the pieces are horizontal , which mitigates my uneven spray […]
Isla’s Bed – Tenons and End Panels
With the mortises complete, it is time to start on the tenons. Now is the time that careful stock prep and thickness planing will start to pay off. The cross rails for the head and foot boards require tenons to fit into the legs. When making tenons on long pieces such as these, my favorite […]
Isla’s Bed Stock Prep and Joinery
The seemingly boring part of the project is preparing the stock. This includes cutting to rough length, jointing the faces, planing both sides, jointing a clean edge. Finally, ripping to width and cutting to length. Some of the steps desire more attention than they are commonly given. With rough sawn lumber, you need to surface […]
Isla’s Bed Design Features
I have made a number of beds. The design and construction techniques have evolved along the way to simplify the joinery, minimize fit-up trimming as well as sanding of the finished joints. This is while retaining the strength of mortise and tenon as well as frame and panel construction techniques. One of the key design […]
Isla’s New Bed
I had made a convertible crib / bed for my grand-daughter Isla a almost 4 years ago, see: https://bronkalla.com/blog/2018/03/04/crib-construction-start/. It had been successfully converted from crib to bed. However, Isla as a little sister Aubrey who now needs a crib. Rather than build another convertible crib / bed, and end up with yet more left […]
Dining Table – Completion
Final assembly of the dining table was done in the dining area. It is too big and heavy for Teal and I to move on our own. Assembly “in situ” worked out very well. It is nicer to work on the hardwood floor than on the shop floor and there is more room. The top […]
Dining Table – Frame and Slides
Some of you may be wondering why there was such a delay in getting to the end. Besides other projects getting in the way, the finishing takes a long time and fills the shop. Finishing schedule: Sand to 220 grit with random orbit and then hand sand 220 grit with the grain to remove any […]
