A Follow Along Project - Part 1

Carol Reed

In Memoriam
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Coolidge, AZ
I have been wanting to do a tutorial on a basic project. The teaching bug in me was bugging me!

The idea is to take you through the thought process as well as the construction process. So I have broken this project into several parts and will post them with their pics as I have time. It sure slows things down when you stop to take pictures!

So fill your cup and hopefully enjoy.

This Powermatic mortiser followed me home from Missouri last month. Paul Gallian had put it up on the classifieds here and I was lucky enough to grab it. I visited him and his very talented wife on my way home from North Carolina. Melissa does beautiful weaving, and you have all seen Paul’s talents elsewhere on this forum.

1 PM Mortiser.JPG

It is setting on one of my benches and in the way of the next installment of book shelves. It needs a home ASAP.

So, first the planning criteria. Its permanent home needs to be a roll around cabinet with at least one drawer. The wheels need to lock. It would be good to build it out of what is on hand as even the borg is a 40 mile round trip. It needs to be big enough to be stable but small enough as to not take up lots of floor real estate.

My first rule of woodworking is to get the hardware first. One has to design around hardware, so know its limitations and requirements first - and don't wait for it to become manufacturer discontinued! Get it now.

Off to the spare wheel box. I collect them as the opportunity presents itself. And I had four perfect wheels for this project. These lovelies are 5" in diameter. Better to ride over the bumps! A 3" wheel is my personal minimum. Each wheel has a brake and swivels. The overall height of this assembly is 6", so now I know how high off the floor the cabinet will be.

2 5 inch casters with brakes.JPG

I really did not want bolt head protrusions in the floor of the cabinet, so I found some tee nuts, machine screws and washers.

3 Wheel hardware.jpg

I have just eliminated the need to build a base just for the wheels to attach to the cabinet. I like simple.

I have a box of drawer slides and I found four sets of 18" slides. Now I know the minimum depth of the cabinet.

For cabinet material I want something nice. This is a permanent home for this machine. I have some 3/4" and 1/4" left over Baltic Birch plywood from the first set of book shelves. Here is a nice piece plenty big enough.

4 19mm scrap Baltic Birch plywood.JPG

A word on material. Crappy material to just save a couple of bucks is shortsightedness of the highest order in my world. It unnecessarily complicates the build and leads to frustration and mistakes. This is not to be woodWORKing. This is to be woodFUNning! Not to mention the final project is less than it could be and it sours me on making another. I want to be happy with the outcome. Life is too short for less. Projects are more than the final outcome. They are also a journey. So enjoy already!

Let's review. I have an overall concept, the materials, and a few necessary dimensions. I need a few more. The machine is setting on the bench. It seems to be at a good operational height. I have a very fragile back from a car wreck. I cannot work even a little bit bent over. So operational heights are very important to me.

The height of the bench is 34" off the floor; minus the 6" wheel assemblies, the cabinet box can be 28" high. I already know the depth will be at least 18" and I can't think of a reason why I would want it deeper. That means the width will be at least 18" as well. Don't want it tippy. So be it; 18" wide, 18" deep, and 28" high.

Off to the computer. It is time to boot up SketchUp.

I have an old laptop for the shop. I keep it under a dust towel until I need it. It is much handier to have it right there on the benchtop as I draw. I can go measure things right at hand, without running upstairs to my office. Cardiac exercise must be tempered with arthritic knees!

5 Booting Up SketchUp.JPG

Drawing in SketchUp gives me a record of what I plan to do and automatically calculates dimensions for me. I make it a point to draw in the joinery because that often determines the cut size of pieces.

The joinery will be chosen for strength, not beauty. The weight of the machine is significant and the operational motion is downward, adding to the need for a strong box. I chose a ½” deep rabbet, wide enough to accommodate the thickness of the ends.

This way the top is resting on a ½” ledge created by the rabbet. The sides then transfer the weight to the bottom with a ½” ledge resting on the bottom. The sides will be glued and screwed to the ends, and a back will be inset to add structural integrity to the entire cabinet.

I do not draw anything more than I need at the moment. Right now I need the final cut dimensions of the ends (top and bottom) and the sides. As you can see on the drawing I added the necessary dimensions, so I am ready to cut material.

6 Cabinet drawing.jpg

A word on not drawing ahead. "Stuff" happens when building and final cut dimensions may not exactly match what is drawn. And the discrepancies usually are not critical, but often affect things further along in the project.

If I draw only as much as I need, I don't have much to change in the drawing for the next phase of drawing. The idea is to keep the drawing matching what I am building, not so much keeping the project perfect to the drawing!

More later if you want to follow along.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 2 - Update

Part 3a

Part 3b

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6
 
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Looks good Carol. To put the drawing in the text once you have uploaded them place your cursor where you want it then click on the paper clip at the top of the edit box, select the picture you want and it will appear where the cursor was placed. Repeat as often as necessary. If you would like I can edit your first one and place the pictures for you. Or you can do it yourself if you'd like to practice. Go to edit then click on advanced edit and you'll be able to use the paper clip.
 
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Thanks, Don. Post edited.

Welcome along for the ride, guys and gals. Comments are welcome with regard to thinking and procedure. I am always open to new ideas.

And if you have questions about things you see in the photos but that I don't comment on, just ask.

Ain't that the point of a tutorial? ;)
 
This will be very beneficial to follow along. I've been wanting to reorganize part of the shop due to some new tool purchases and this you present your thought process will help me work thru it. :wave:
 
Carol you may not realize it but your style of approach and writing besides the content is what makes your book so great, this tutorial follows that theme too. I will definitely be following along. Thank you very much for sharing. :thumb:

As a rookie i would have thought that the rabbet on its own resting on 1/2 inch would have been insufficient to handle the force experienced when pressing down on the mortiser handle. So i would probably have put a block of wood underneath the corners inside to add to supporting the top.

I really like to watch someone like you do this cause its like counter propaganda to the marketing mumbo jumbo we get fed by the magazines. They always use the most expensive wheels and gadgets that make a beginner feel if you aint got one of those dont build it, or if you do and use something else, your project is going to be less than correct.

+1 on using decent wood for the project. Learnt that the hard way dealing with voids in plywood.:D
 
Two comments, Rob. One to your private post but the answer may be well be appropriate here also.

First, with regard to strength. The joint is not only mechanical in nature with the 1/2" rabbet resting on the bottom, but the joint is also glued and screwed. The is pretty close to "welding" the joint.

At 3/4" thick the sides will not bow. And with a 1/4" back let into a 3/8" wide rabbet, any thought of twisting is eliminated.

In other words, all of those things have a cumulative effect of the strength of the cabinet. Joinery and material is chosen for the application, not to save a few bucks, or to use the easier method.

Second, with regard to drawing with SketchUp, or any other drafting program. It calculates dimensions for me. It becomes the second half of measure twice. If there is a discrepancy it is either my drawing or my math. I have little confidence on my math!

I do use story pole methodology as well, and that too, is a confirming measurement.

Some thoughts on measuring twice. It is not simply a matter of using the same tool, the same method, and the same reference points from which to measure a second time. The point is to make a confirming measurement. A computer drawing can do that for you.

On the front side of a project, the drawing will tell you what the measurements were planned to be. Your tape will tell you what they are. If there are differences, figure out why and adjust one or the other as necessary. That's why I don't draw ahead.

There are other confirming measurements. Checking the width of the cabinet top and bottom for parallel sides. Or the length from side to side for parallel ends. And then diagonally for squareness.

We mostly get into trouble and compromise the success of our projects by assuming things. Check and then recheck with a confirming check of the first check. It is a mindset.

We also get into trouble with trying to remember things. Few of us head for the shop and work on the project until it is done. Life gets in the way for that. There is a lot to be said for keeping a record. Later you can read about what you "planned" to do, so you can pick up at a logical place and continue on as you planned.

When I post about making the drawers you will get a full length novel on the record of measurements and procedures. :D
 
Carol.....I for one will be for sure following along with great interest. I have found that procedure is the key for having a project come out well. I however have not had very good luck with sketchup ... But I do make drawings the old way with board & T square, 30/60/90* triangles. I know I am in the dark ages. I just get so frustraited trying to learn a new way of drawing. I always make a sketch isometric of the project with dementions included. I really enjoy following along with your way of explaining. Even I can understand.:thumb:Thanks so much for sharing.
 
Thank you Carol for the compliment ! My wife Melissa is very creative and she is also a much better person than I am even though I wear the Collar she keeps me in line. She follows a rule of life that I only hope to follow..

Paul
 
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