My Journey in Writing, Ranting, and Woodworking

The table I want to build is still a fuzzy image in my head, but the legs are coming along nicely.  All the tools that need a sharp edge, were tuned up last night.  The chisels and the hand planes were all thrilled to be razor sharp again.  Sharpening, like hand sanding, is something which I can do while watching TV.  I needed to get caught up on the last few episodes of Leverage, so I gathered all the tools together and they watched too.

With a fresh edge on my Jack plane and the 4 1/2, I went to the basement, and tried them out.  They were wonderful.  The more I use my hand planes, the better I get at the skill.  The 4 x 4 of hard maple had been squared up and had the cut marks which Jeff had left.  I spent a glorious 90 minutes turning the rough edge on two of the sides, into a smooth, surface.  Then I was tired.

I imagine that if I were a professional woodworker and had cause to use a hand plane for several hours per day, I would be in excellent shape.  Many people have told me that adding wax to the sole of the plane makes it easier to use, but I didn’t have any.  Maybe I will try to pick up some bees wax this weekend?

Today I took the piece of hard maple and used Jeff to turn it into 4 pieces of hard maple.  The dimensions are just a shade over 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 inches and 33 inches long.  I don’t know how tall my tiny table is going to be yet.  The one in the book, titled, ‘Table’, which I am using as a guide is 28 1/2 inches tall.  I also have visions of applying a taper to the legs.  I might build a jig to do it on Jeff, or I might use my router.  I will have to ponder my options for a bit.

So tonight I will flip though a few magazines about woodworking and watch the rest of the TCU vs. SMU game.  Perhaps after the weekend of football, I may have a clear vision of where this table is going.

I am at Mom and Dad’s place tonight, so tomorrow’s post will likely be less about woodworking, and more about football.  I just thought you should know.