Mock Up and First Look

First Look

     Kind of sounds like something you see while you're waiting for a show to start in the theater!  I imagine many of you feel like I do at times as you work on a project.  There are so many preliminary steps before you actually see something that looks like the vision in your head or the drawing on your plan you may lose sight of that.  Here are the two wine cupboards dry-fit together. The one on the right has the middle shelf slid into a sliding dovetail, the joint chosen to hold the center of the cupboards together.  This is my first time using African Mahogany and I'm finding it somewhat problematic to work with.  After rough cutting the parts there was a lot of movement, warping, and other nasty stuff!  Needed to get some more material because the boards I'd selected for the doors took a major twist which wouldn't work for door parts anymore.
     The wine bottles will be supported by the 5/8" square pieces laying in the foreground.  Assembly will be tricky -- there are six of these pieces that need to be fit into the holes on the side and the dovetails at the bottom of the case plus the top piece all have to be glued and clamped at the same time.  Looks like a job where I'll need to ask for an extra pair of hands from Diane.
   

Using Set Up Blocks to Measure Dovetail Bit

     For Christmas, I received a gift of the set up blocks sold through Lee Valley and made by Veritas.  They were demonstrated at a recent Sin City Woodworkers meeting and seemed like a good tool to have.  They are very nice!  Much easier to get the proper depth with them as opposed to using a scale or scrap of wood.

     Last of all, I'd like to share something with you, I was able to get into Ian Agrell's , five day carving class.  He is a renowned wood carver and known internationally.  If you're interested in seeing some of his work here's a LINK to his website.  You'll be amazed at his portfolio of work.  He's done carving for huge churches, the Pope, and other equally impressive clients.  Luckily, the studio is less than 10 miles from my sister so I'll be able to stay with her.  Really looking forward to that, it's towards the end of February.