The second time around

As I had mentioned some time ago, I was debating about whether or not to start over on the drawer box sides of the +Tom Fidgen  designed bedside table that I am building for my wife.  I had just replaced a less than stellar $10.00 home center back saw with a pair of Veritas carcass saws.  These sides being wider than the upper rails, I figured the new saws would make a bigger difference here while I could still make use of the narrower upper rails I had previously cut.  And so, with the top and bottom now at the proper thickness, it was now or never.  I wanted to have both sets of rails done and dry fit so than I could take more precise measurements before cutting the top and bottom to length.  And so it began. I cut the lower rails again, to rough length and began the layout and cutting.  I set my marking gauges to the three different measurements required and struck my lines.  To ensure nice finish cuts, I then struck my lines with a chisel and relieved the cut on the waste side of the lines to give my crosscut saw a firm track.

Cut lines struck and relieved on the waste side.

With bench hook in place, I then picked up my crosscut saw and cut the shoulders of my tenons.  The new saws cut so nicely, I had to be careful not to over cut into my tenons.  I left both rails long, so I did the layout and cutting on one end of each, leaving plenty of room to correct any errors on the far end.  Two shoulders cut, time to move to the vise for the cheeks.

Cutting the shoulders.

Being a cautious man, and knowing my limitations, I always leave my tenons a bit thick, I can always fine tune them with a shoulder plane later.  As yet however, I have not found a way to put wood back, short of gluing shims on, which then leads to trimming anyway.

 

Cutting the cheeks.

Again, the new rip saw was a joy to use.  The tracking and accuracy of the cut was amazing.  In the future, as I get better, I am pretty sure I will be leaving less extra thickness on the tenons.  Perhaps it is true that you get what you pay for when it comes to tools (I know, a lesson that I should have committed to memory long ago).

At that point, it was time to clean up.  All of the planing and cutting had produced a decent sized pile of shavings and I had to safely stow all of the tools that remained on and around my bench.

Even clean up is easier in the hand tool shop.

The rest of the night was a blur.  By the time I finished in the shop, my wife and I had to rush to get ready.  Despite a little snow and freezing rain, we had a 30th birthday party to attend.

Happy 30th Steven!

It was a very full day, and we were certainly grateful for so productive and happy of a day.  But, we were also grateful to finally lay down for a good night's sleep.

Next up, some odds and ends and plans for the weekend.  Thank you for stopping by.