Creeker’s past week’s accomplishments

[Rod Sheridan]

Hello everyone, I haven’t done much woodworking last week except for making a windowsill for the kitchen and starting on a new Fritz and Franz jig for the shop.

What have you been up to?

Regards, Rod.

[Jim Becker]

Another week of the same-old-same-old, but I did start to do the CAD/CAM work for some CNC cutting a friend needs done. Most of that time was updating the dang instance of Windows I run in a VM, but hadn't accessed it awhile. I should get that stuff cut this week. Made corn beef for yesterday's "holiday" meal and it was delicious.

[Daniel O'Neill]

Nice weather this past weekend. Wife was in the garden just behind the woodshop and kids were playing in the yard. I took apart a pallet rack shelf and moved it to it's final resting location as the worlds slowest shop build out continues. Picked up a wood sorting & storage cart. 3'x8' and filled it with lots of wood "scraps" and pieces. It is a huge improvement in space and organization. Lot's of the last 6 years living at this place has been very busy with 2 new kiddos and lots of dreaming about shop time. It was nice to get a whole day and get some organization in. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I continue to wrestle with the complexities of the butterfly extension table I am building. Last week after arriving home on Monday, my wife and I just collapsed on Tuesday and Wednesday. I did get the final edge jointing and thickness planing on the tabletop parts. I have wrestled with how I am going to handle some issues with the rack and pinion gear extension devices and what measures to use to minimize/prevent any warpage on the tabletop especially with the butterfly extension portion. Yesterday I layed out the parts for the 2 end sections, the extending/retracting portions. Sharon, my wife, came out, inspected the layout and loved it. While I would have been happier if the walnut, I was able to buy had all the same grain and coloration, it just wasn't available. She, on the other hand, loves extreme contrast and colors. When we were still downhill skiing, we often did so independently but I never worried about her getting lost. I would have told the ski patrol "Just look for the glow!" This from the guy who wanted to blend into the crowd. She celebrates the contrasting walnut and loves it!

I need to find some steel to inset to reinforce the cut ends of the butterfly extension pieces to minimize warpage. The outside edges will have breadboard ends just like the rest of the tabletop, but the inside portions will be hinged and pivot on a steel rod.

The weight of this table will be massive so I am mounting the 3 portions of the tabletop with threaded inserts so I can remove the 3 sections of the tabletop, move the frame to the house from the shop, then carry each portion of the tabletop in one at a time.

Today, it's time to use biscuits and glue up two of the tabletop portions. Maybe, time allowing I will go to one of the local metal suppliers to see what they have in stock or can order that will satisfy my need on the butterfly wing portions.

[Paul F Franklin]

Mostly finished building two short elevated beds for Mary's garden. They will join the higher beds I built a few years ago and are lower to make it easier to harvest tomatoes while still being high enough for easy tending and weeding. I still need to line them with geotextile fabric and cap off the tops of the legs, but otherwise ready to go. They are roughly 3' x 6'.

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[Patrick Varley]

Finished my first cabinetry project. Built-in vanity for a bathroom renovation. The renovation was specifically done to look inspired by the original bathroom in our MCM home, and the built-in was almost a repro of the original with some upgrades. It was a project where I learned a lot, and tried a few new things. First try using the Sommerfeld method for cabinet construction, and largest veneering project to date. Birch face frame, partial overlay, figured Birch veneer for the doors/drawer fronts, stained to match existing woodwork in the house. Struggled a bit with the finishing, and need continued work on that. Still thought it was passable, though.

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