Friday, February 16, 2007
Photos!
I just got my cable to connect my cell phone to my computer. Below are the pics of what I've done so far. Click on any image to see the full-sized version.
Photos VIII
The result so far! Something to be said for full-scale plans. Completed in this photo are the two dovetail joints in the back, and the three pairs of sliding dovetails for the lower frame members. (clamp on bentside is to temporarily straighten out some cupping caused by the steam)
Photos IV
More shop: two drill presses, 12" bandsaw, not shown: radial arm saw and miter saw to the right. I fit the entire bending form into the bandsaw to cut out notches to clamp in!
Photos II
2. Bending form. Pain to make every the same -- I cut roughly to size with a bandsaw, then used a router and sanders. With Hayami's help, I got the bend into the wood within 60 second or so. First time bending the wood split.
Photos I
1. Steam bending 1x12 poplar. The hose goes to a wallpaper steamer. I just used a few layers of plastic bags as the steam chamber.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Dovetailing
I've spent the last week or so making the three corner joints and cutting the sliding dovetails for the braces.
Each of the three corner joints has five pins, and each is at some funky angle, such as 131 degrees, 59 degrees, and in the worst case, about 90 degrees but in the curve of the bentside. I've finished the two that are straight (that join to the tail), and am saving the curve for last. I've been doing the cutting with a Japanese back saw and Marples chisles. Each set of pins and tails takes about five hours.
The sliding dovetails were much easier and more fun. I did them all on a milling machine with digital X, Y tracking. I cut the matching tails in fir beams that span the width of the case on a router table. The beams were somewhat of a pain to cut, as they too are at such angles as 53 and 56 degrees.
Once I finish cutting all of the beams (they get tails in both ends, and a curve cut out of the middle), I'll do the final fitting of the tail corner dovetails, and glue it all together. Then comes the stringing (thin poplar that the soundboard rests on), the smaller crosspieces, the wrestplank and the bottom, and then I'm near done with the skeleton.
Each of the three corner joints has five pins, and each is at some funky angle, such as 131 degrees, 59 degrees, and in the worst case, about 90 degrees but in the curve of the bentside. I've finished the two that are straight (that join to the tail), and am saving the curve for last. I've been doing the cutting with a Japanese back saw and Marples chisles. Each set of pins and tails takes about five hours.
The sliding dovetails were much easier and more fun. I did them all on a milling machine with digital X, Y tracking. I cut the matching tails in fir beams that span the width of the case on a router table. The beams were somewhat of a pain to cut, as they too are at such angles as 53 and 56 degrees.
Once I finish cutting all of the beams (they get tails in both ends, and a curve cut out of the middle), I'll do the final fitting of the tail corner dovetails, and glue it all together. Then comes the stringing (thin poplar that the soundboard rests on), the smaller crosspieces, the wrestplank and the bottom, and then I'm near done with the skeleton.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
