Genkan Bench

I have glued up a few more panels, but right now we are working on getting all of our papers together to send our daughter to school on March 25th, that takes precedent over everything right now :D
 
Stu, you're as Canadian as I am... but I'm confused. What school starts in March in Canada!
(That's a long time away from September!)

School does not start in March, sorry, she leaves on March 25th, and will start school on April 5th, after the Easter break.

She will do that last three months of junior high school then the summer break (we will find her some kind of ESL summer study course) and then she will start high school in September.

Here in Japan, school will be over for her on March 19th, School resumes on April 1st here.

We are quite excited that she is going, and so is she, as well, my parents are really looking forward to having her around, but we are also sad. She will leave to do high school in Canada, and then hopefully university as well (there is a satellite campus for UBC in my home town now) so in many ways, this could very well be her leaving home for good. I know all parents go through this, but usually your kid is not 15, you have a few more years to get used to the idea :D

Sorry, very off topic here. :)
 
I did get the rest of the panels glued up......

panel_glue_up1.jpg panel_glue_up2.jpg

and then I got around to planing the ones I'd already glued up.....

panel_handplaning.jpg bookmarked_panel_planed.jpg
nothing too fancy, but I think they will look nice.

Cheers!
 
Yep, I've seen a lot of those calenders in shops, but I don't have the in my shop, personal choice :)

got a bit of work done today, working on the raised panels, trying to figure out how to cut the edges to make them raised.

I have one router bit for it, but it has an ogee on it and I don't want that, I want just a straight cut, so I build a tall fence for my tablesaw, and I'm trying it that way.

The panels are also thin, only about 1/2" thick, so that factors into it.

I first tried it with 10 degree slope....
panel_fit_1a.jpg panel_fit_1b.jpg
....... I did not like it.

I then tried it with a 7.5 degree slope.....
panel_fit_2a.jpg panel_fit_2b.jpg
this seemed better.

I don't think the panels should bottom out in the grooves, so I left a bit of space, plus I'll put them space ball things in there, just in case.

What do you think

Cheers!
 
I think it is looking excellent. Congratulations to your daughter, hope her high school career and living with Grandma and Grandpa is all and more than she has imagined. Within a couple of years, will both girls be living in Canada? And just out of curiousity, you don't have to answer and can tell me to shut up, do they have dual citizenship so your college costs are a little cheaper??
I know I have slept since you got the sawstop, but from what I could see, that bench idea is something I have kicked around and couldn't figure out, do you have a specific thread or you tube video on your build of it???
 
I think it is looking excellent. Congratulations to your daughter, hope her high school career and living with Grandma and Grandpa is all and more than she has imagined. Within a couple of years, will both girls be living in Canada? And just out of curiousity, you don't have to answer and can tell me to shut up, do they have dual citizenship so your college costs are a little cheaper??
I know I have slept since you got the sawstop, but from what I could see, that bench idea is something I have kicked around and couldn't figure out, do you have a specific thread or you tube video on your build of it???

Thanks Jonathan!

Yeah, Erika is getting really excited, a big step in her life.

Our younger daughter may go one year earlier, Erika is finishing up junior high school, but most likely Mizuki will do her third year of junior high in Canada, she will get a better jump on things, and she won't have to go through a tough year, 3rd year of junior high school like Erika did. You see, here in Japan, the last year of Jr High, you study your brains out to get into a good Sr High school, the pressure is substantial. Erika did not have to do that, as she is going to Canada for Sr High, but the resentment, and outright hostility that she got from classmates really stunned us. Basically this last six months, no one will talk to her at school, except the teachers, NO ONE, not even her friends that she has known from grade 1 :eek:

We hope to avoid that with Mizuki.

The girls both have dual citizenship, at the age o 22, the Japanese government makes them choose. I think 22 is way too young, if you do the whole university thing, then at 22, you will most likely have just finished your undergraduate degree, you won't have a job, or if you do, you will not have worked it long, so deciding at that age which to choose will not be easy, thankfully that will not be a choice I'll have to make :D

The Back Bench thread is >> HERE <<

It has worked out OK, but look for a change down the road...... :rolleyes: :D
 
Stu, not to hijack the thread but to follow up on Jonathan's question sort of. In the US grades generally go from Pre-K which are 4 and some 5 year olds to 5th grade. This is considered elementary school. Then 6th - 8th is middle school. 8th graders are usually 13-14 years old. 9-12 is senior high. How do the grades/ages go in Japan?

I've always heard that pressure in Japan to get into the "right" school was huge. I'm glad you have options for your girls. Why did Erika's friends ostracize her?:( If you don't mind me asking. Do they have a good technical/vocational education program there?
 
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Stu, not to hijack the thread but to follow up on Jonathan's question sort of. In the US grades generally go from Pre-K which are 4 and some 5 year olds to 5th grade. This is considered elementary school. Then 6th - 8th is middle school. 8th graders are usually 13-14 years old. 9-12 is senior high.

I've always heard that pressure in Japan to get into the "right" school was huge. I'm glad you have options for your girls. Why did Erika's friends ostracize her?:( If you don't mind me asking.


The school system is pretty much divided up the same way here in Japan.

Erika is having a hard time, because the other kids decided that she was taking the easy way out by moving to Canada. Most of the kids are under huge pressure to pass these tests, and any outlet that they can vent on seems to be fair game. Erika is also a very nice girl, she would never get in anyone's "Face". Her younger sister Mizuki, well we are not as worried about her, you mess with Mizuki and she will not put up with it for a moment, it helps that she is taller and stronger than most of the boys a grade ahead of her, but really it is the whole "Fight in the dog" thing with Mizuki. Still, she will get a head start on her English etc by going to Canada for the last year of Jr. High.

We will become empty nesters much sooner than most, I wonder what that will be like :huh: :dunno:

Cheers!
 
Getting back to the bench :D

I got all the panels cut to size today.........
panels_cut_2_size.jpg
..... that is four front, four back and two side panels.

I'm also working on the frame, to hold these panels, it is not as thick as I would like, but, I think it will be strong enough.

I was going to use mortise and tenon joints in the corners......
frame_mockup_joint_1.jpg

but there is precious little meat, if you will, to play with.......
frame_mockup_joint_2.jpg

I'm now thinking of using dowels.... :dunno:

frame_mockup_joint_3.jpg
:huh:

When I look at it, I could very easily get two or even four 1/4" (6mm) dowels in the space, and this should make a fairly decent joint, and be somewhat quick and easy to do as well....?

What do you think?

I have been looking at a couple of doweling jigs:

The Joint Genie

Alex has one, and I'm waiting for him to report back on it :D :wave:

What other doweling jigs are out there that you all like?

Cheers!
 
Just a thought, perhaps a pinned bridal joint? One of the built in cabinet doors at our old place used these. Rails and stiles were only 1.5" but worked well for the 12" x 42" glass door. Lots of mating surface for glue.
 
Just a thought, perhaps a pinned bridal joint? One of the built in cabinet doors at our old place used these. Rails and stiles were only 1.5" but worked well for the 12" x 42" glass door. Lots of mating surface for glue.
Yep, a pinned Bridle joint is very strong, but this is also a corner, so that won't work. :doh:

Thanks for the suggestion just the same! :thumb:
 
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