The cedar plank had a crack in it that I had to super-glue beforehand and I should have sanded a bit more carefully and repaired the tiny divots, etc… but overall the “fit” seems pretty good.
I’m also gonna start using wood glue again. I was too impatient while testing to wait overnight for each glue-up to dry so resorted to CA glue. Now that I’ve got things reasonably dialed in I don’t mind the waiting. For some reason the big globs of CA glue in the glue-up puts out some really nasty fumes when sanding on the belt sander.
My grand-daughter is quite the artist… and did a line-drawing caricature of my dog, Mac, and me. I’m satisfied I can get good detail with the method now… used the Titebond III I bought this morning. It’s definitely the way to go…
That’s a really fun project and a neat drawing. With all due respect (literally). I mean this is a positive way.
You should make that using some nice hard wood. The results are cool as is. But it seems like it could be a really special project and it deserves that little bit extra. It means more to you than Betty Boop, I’m sure.
Either way: You’ve got a talented grand-daughter and a great method to show off her work.
Jeff, thanks for the kind words. Now that I know I can do pretty fine detail with these inlays, I’ve “commisioned” my grand-daughter (who constantly “doodles”) to do some black and white drawings of her choice, with characteristics suitable for inlay… similar to the caricatures she did of me and the dog.
I’ve also been trying to find a “knick-knack” box design that looks reasonably impressive and is quick to do… and that allows me to utilize all those test inlay pieces I’ve already been generating. I’ve been using odd scraps, of course, so starting with the box generator at Boxes.py, I’ve used it to dimension a basic box, altered it to suit, and incorporated the existing inlay as a lid. I can make joints which are relatively quick to assemble and yet tight enough to not require glue (which is where I would make a mess of everything!). I’m not sure whether that’s really a good thing but, these being decorative items, maybe it will suffice? Maybe the application of a suitable finish (lacquer/polyurethane/etc?) might actually “seal” those joints and make them longer-lasting?
I really don’t have it in me to go too crazy making heirloom quality projects to showcase the inlays I can do. I’m too lazy, too unskilled, too impatient… all of the above. I like using wood as I find it (or scraps from a woodworking buddy) and the ease and speed with which these inlays and boxes can be made seems to be what I’m drawn to. The greatest value to me is developing a method that works for me and my tools and skillset, shows some possibilities, and maybe motivates somebody else to start making those heirlooms…
I’m still playing around with my bandsaw, boxes, and inlays. I’ve also been looking for a simple box design that looks good and is quick and easy to make… and that requires little, or no, fiddly hand-work for my shaky old hands.
I started with a ratty-looking chunk of walnut that has lurked in my woodpile for many decades…
and turned it into a rather “manly”, rustic-looking, box for my son-in-law. His logo (pine… probably should have been pecan) is inlaid into the walnut lid…
The wormy, imperfect, pecan wood is still a little wet and moving a bit (I’m trying my hand at microwave-drying the small planks…) and has streaks and inclusions that don’t cut cleanly but the result is a box that looks less laser-cut and precise and more rustic and hand-crafted… with lots of “character” and a look I rather like. It may explode or fall apart tomorrow… but IMO it looks pretty good today.
Now that the triple-digit Texas heat is starting to subside, I’m able to get back out in my shop a bit more and for longer periods of time. It’s been a long time since I last actually “wood-worked” and I’m really starting to enjoy it again.
Thank you, Jeff. I had my doubts midway through, with the pecan that was still cupping slightly and didn’t want to cut cleanly through streaks and inclusions … but I stuck with it and am very pleased with the result. Was trying to avoid just another precision laser-cut box…
You’ve certainly done that! You are also not doing my “I really don’t need a laser” campaign any good at all.
Shaky hands which aren’t as strong as perhaps they once were combined with questionable vision are not a perfect match for a table saw, and I love what I see here.
Thank you, Peter. My hands are indeed very shaky and I wear tri-focals… and what have I been doing over the last hour or so? Cleaning off my table saw that’s been buried under wood scraps and tools for the past 2 years…
Hehe… and with similar physical traits I’ve been ripping ply! I’m not saying it’s dangerous, but I certainly don’t enjoy it any more. It’s a means to an end,
If you’ve still got both hands at your age maybe it’s okay to finally lose one.
Isn’t there a medicine for shaking hands though? Like, spirits? Because being drunk around a table saw is probably a looot safer than having shaking hands.
“Three solid fingers(+)” of JD, Maker’s Mark, or Wild Turkey 101 serve nicely as “relax and wind down in the evening” fare but, by that time of day, I’ve already shut down the workshop and all its sharp tools. My browser and laser machines are still fair game though, so I can still be reasonably productive, even while imbibing, and run little risk of losing appendages… especially fingers. Without those, how would I measure out my whis… er, medicine?
Many of my older male relatives are self diagnosed as having “essential tremor”. I’m not sure if there is any treatment. But they seem happier to know it has a name. And the name is a good one to immediately communicate what it is like.
I don’t think mine is “essential tremor” but just a general “nervousness”… shakiness, with a touch of jerkiness, in my hands and fingers when I try to do something like sign my name, draw/write with pencil and paper, or engage a screw head with the tip of my screwdriver. It’s more a fine motor skills thing and when I brace myself somehow, I do better. My hands/arms don’t noticeably tremble when just hanging to my side or resting in my lap.
I have a golfing buddy (we’re 4 days apart in age…) who exhibits a much lower frequency, higher amplitude, tremor in his right hand/wrist/arm… it shakes when at rest, just hanging from his side, or even when gripping the steering wheel. I think his probably is the “essential tremor” you mention and I have seen it in a lot of older folks as well, often their hands or head. His doesn’t seem particularly debilitating or painful… he’s lived with it so long he seems mostly unaware when it’s happening and yet he still hits a golf ball quite well.
