Fit & Finish

I started the day by applying the second round of shellac to Mark’s cremation urn. It turned out well, a nice matte finish, nothing glitzy since Mark’s mother (Anthony’s Grandmother) would prefer something simple. I gave that a couple of hours to harden up well, rubbed it out to get the matte finish (shellac is a glossy finish) then packaged it up and sent it off to Massachusetts.

Then, finally, I get busy fitting the steamer trunk case rails into the corner posts. The first step in this is to plough a groove on the inside face of the lower rails that perfectly mates up with the dado on the lower ends of the corner posts. This will house the trunks bottom plate. I set up the stacked dado head and make a test cut in some scrap wood. Perfect the first time!

Then I can start fitting rails to posts. I work with one panel at a time, then put the panels together into the box for the trunks. The splined miter joints in the corner posts have not been glued yet – none of this has been glued yet, we’re just fitting.

That done, I take measurements and trim the filler panels to size. Next time we will sand them smooth and fit them into the rail construction.

But that is for next time. Tomorrow is my every-other Friday that is spent at Treasures, so I’ll see you Monday.

Doug