Eng Gdn Bench Day 02

Work day begins: 7:00 AM This morning I’m arguing with the new wireless network I installed yesterday afternoon to replace the Ethernet cable network we had in place before. This will allow much more flexibility as we expand my domain, for the notebook computer can now be taken anywhere in the facility and have access to the main file server and the internet without having to run cables first. Yesterday the thing was working flawlessly. This morning none of the computers will admit to being part of a network. After considerable counseling, however, I’ve got them all talking to one another again, and it’s time to go out to the shop and get started. Today we’ll be making patterns for this bench. Lunch Time Making progress. Because I’m working from what’s called “A Set of Measured Drawings”, there are no full size patterns, only scale drawings on a gridwork to help lay out curves. It’s up to me to translate the little drawings into full scale patterns. I use thin plywood, usually scraps of BBP left over from past projects, to make my patterns. I draw each part on the plywood, then cut them out – very carefully – and sand them smooth. I usually apply one coat of lacquer to the pattern, then draw in the lay-out details like mortise locations, tenons, screw hole locations, etc with an ink pen and label each part with a felt tip marker. If I did this with ink on bare wood, the grain in the wood would suck the ink into it and cause “fuzzy” lines. Sealing the wood with lacquer prevents this spreading. When the ink has had time to dry thoroughly, I give each part a couple of spritz coats of lacquer. Because lacquer thinner will dissolve most inks, a heavy coat would cause the ink to spread and bleed into a splotchy mess. But a couple of spritz coats, with a few minutes between to dry will fix the ink in place and avoid the mess. It just takes practice to get it right. Workshop closes: PM Because this item will be added to our standard offerings, we hope to be using this pattern set again and again. Therefore we will not be billing this customer for the time and materials used in making the patterns. Man Hours Billed: 0 Materials Billed: None To view the detailed construction article on this piece, click this entry’s title above. If you enjoy this Daily Shop Notes blog, you will also want to look at our Doug Bob blog, .which is available from my profile page.