Dresser Chapter 2

The pile of wood is virtually gone and the dresser has moved into a stage where Marlys is getting involved.

The carcase, face frame, top and ends are done. The next step involves making all of the drawers and there will be many (14). So far no mechanical fasteners have been used, only Titebond glue, but I think figure-eights will be used to fasten the top to allow for wood movement.

The drawers will be made individually (i.e. not production mode) to account for any differences (i.e. mistakes) there may be in the build. Of course, since I have done such a great job there are none (ya, you betcha). At least none that I haven't been able to either fix or hide, so far.

The drawers will have dovetailed fronts with plywood sides and bottoms. As I mentioned before they will slide on UHMW tapes in all four corners.

I have been thinking of putting a sign on the stump, where the tree came from being used in the dresser, saying what happened to it. I sometimes wonder when I am walking through the trees and come across a cut stump what happened to the tree.

The Dresser Begins

Let me start by answering a question posed by two folks from, I believe, last week.

What is a slash pile?

What you see pictured is a slash pile. It is made up of the branches and shrubs cut down during the summer, mainly for fire mitigation.

There are at least five piles around the property that will be burned during the winter.

This week the dresser started to take form. The carcase pieces were sawn and the glue up began.

As you can see the need for clamps is extensive.

This glue up took me between 2-3 hours (I work pretty slow) with clean up from the squeeze out. The carcase is made of 3/4" cabinet grade Maple plywood. It will be faced in beetle kill Ponderosa Pine, more on that later.

While waiting on the glue to dry, the drawer fronts where cut to rough size and the grains matched for compliment.

The entire front edging and drawer fronts are coming out of one fitch of wood for consistency.

I won't start the drawers until the carcase is completed, with sides, legs and top.

I am planning to dovetail the fronts to the drawer sides and use UHMW for slide facing in the carcase.

The drawer pulls will be something dark probably Padute, as there is still some around the shop.

The larger glue up panels, for the sides and the top, will also come out of one fitch, which is the next section down from this one on the same tree.

What I mean is that the fitch for the front came from the top of the tree and this one will be from the log just below it. There should be consistency, but we will need to see.

The fitch for the top and sides came off the mill much more usable form, as it was cut after I put on new belts which virtually eliminated the vibration I was getting in the mill head.

Those of you with mills remember to de-tension the saw blade when not in use so as not to flat spot the belts.

The wood stickered under the sawhorses is the fitch for the top and sides.

BTW, the dresser will be slightly over 7 feet long and 42" high. When done it could weight 150-200#.

Yes it is a big one.

Next step is cutting and gluing on the front edge of Ponderosa to each piece of plywood.

This will also exercise the complete inventory of clamps.

Most everything is cut, but there will be fine tuning as the pieces of the puzzle are glued and clamped into place.

I hope to finish this up on Sunday.

Marlys has also been in the shop most of the week making some items, and refurbishing the ten year old wood bear statue we have on the patio. I especially like what she did with the eyes and lips.

Military Flyovers

I think I mentioned this in a previous post about nighttime helicopter flyovers up here, and yesterday afternoon I had a couple of herky bird's flyover the shop at about 500', it now looks like these may become more widespread.
Here is a picture from the Wall Street Journal. We are 28 miles southwest of the Pikes Peak (west of Colorado Springs), which looks like it puts us in the north central area of the proposed area.

These flyovers are not that often, nor disruptive, being a hanger rat I find them interesting in that some of the aircraft are not seen that often, especially making low altitude flybys.

So far the most unusual were the Osprey's making touch and goes at the Gunnison Airport a couple of years ago.

It does make you think about the area we live in, when the military says it is a good stand in for Afghanistan.

Trip and Hike Plans for 2011

OK, OK, OK, I received a couple of notices that I haven't written anything in a couple of weeks wondering what gives...

Well, we have been busy with the mundane, which I am sure you don't want to hear about, e.g. putting things away for winter (good thing since a week ago Monday was the first snow fall), looking through the slash pile for shop stove wood and getting the dresser project and Molesworth chair project lumber ready to go. Along with our daily hikes and horse duties (which have come to an end, for now, since "Puff the Magic Flashlight" is now back home.

We have during the course of these tasks had conversations about trips for 2011, Hawaii in January is already locked and loaded, and a southwestern camper excursion is on the slate for late February.

But we have started planning for the actual trip for which the truck camper was envisioned... which would be to Alaska. At this point it is looking like a mid-May launch and will last 6-8 weeks.

The Gypsy Camp-in is on the docket for September, which we missed this year.

Oktober Fest is also tentatively scheduled for September 2012.

On another note the list of mountains for 2011 seems to be growing. Right now Massive and La Plata are tentatively scheduled, but Pikes (which would complete all of the Front Range 14ers for me) is also creeping on to the list.

Also from a county "high pointing" perspective I would like to go up Bushnell Peak in the Sangre De Cristo range, as it is the highest point in Fremont County (where we are located) at 13,105'. Although not a 14ers it looks like a challenge from the trip reports I have read. It is part of a complex of peaks that folks seem to hit all at once to include the Two Sisters and Red mountain.

Right now my feet hurt, but there is nothing like an objective to work them back into shape.