Just a small project to use up the rest of the walnut left over from the TV table.
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 (clicking photos takes you to Flickr page)
Well it’s been a long time coming, but the long-awaited TV stand is finally a reality… much as it pains me to use “reality” and “TV” in the same sentence. It’s posing here under the living-room window to show off its shiny finish, but obviously this is not its final home. It needs to go into the corner, but not until I dismantle all the existing devices and make room for it… which I’m avoiding doing even as I type this. The piece is made from walnut-veneered material, with solid walnut base, trim, and accents. It’s a pretty straightforward case design, employing biscuit joinery for the flat pieces, and just glue for the edge trim. The base is attached with pocket screws. During the design process, I decided that providing a shelf was not going to be necessary, based on our components that are going in here, it will be better to just stack them. If I change my mind again, it should be simple enough to add a shelf.
The piece had some walnut stain applied… long story… I noticed too late that there was some funky stuff going on with one of the side pieces, where the veneer was allowing the underlying particle board to show through. I attempted to fix this with stain, but this was not successful at hiding the problem. So what I came up with was to apply a flat panel of solid walnut to each side, left unstained to let it stand out as an accent piece. Looks okay, I think. I’m still worried that wood movement may cause the accent panels to become unstuck from the sides, but I’ll deal with that when and if… I made the base with a pretty standard arched cutout to form “feet” at the corners. The base pieces are solid walnut, mitered at the corners, with the arch feature on all four pieces. When considering the back of the case, which is just 1/4″ hardboard painted black, I wanted to leave holes for ventilation at the top, and wires at the bottom. Rather than just drill the usual holes for this, I elected to repeat the arch detail of the base. I made four cutouts, two top and two bottom, to allow for feeding wires to both sides, and for air movement. You can only see the bottom ones in the photos.
I’m just glad it’s done…
Twitter is like Star Trek More specifically, Twitter is like episode 15 of the original Star Trek series. In this episode, entitled Shore Leave, the crew encounters strange goings-on on a planet in the Omicron Delta system. They encounter a large white rabbit in a great hurry, an old classmate, a medieval knight, and a katana-wielding samurai. Turns out the planet is a giant amusement park which creates its attractions on-the-fly, based on the thoughts and memories and expectations of its visitors. McCoy was thinking about Alice in Wonderland (paging Dr. Freud), Sulu was still mentally weilding a foil from epidode 4 The Naked Time, and tight-ass Kirk just can’t let go of schoolyard rivalries.
They all got back what was in their own minds and hearts. Twitter is like that. Sort of. If you think Twitter is going to suck, then most assuredly it will suck. If you think Twitter is an exciting opportunity to be ignored by celebrities, then you will be excited. And ignored. If you think Twitter can provide an easy-to-use platform for a network of like-minded individuals to casually share tips, links, and other of-the-moment factoids, then that is how you will perceive it, and that is how you will use it. The genius of Twitter is that it’s only as interesting as you make it. Kinda like life.
Why yes, I AM ignoring you. I just didn’t think “Farty McPiss-Bag” was a name I should respond to. –signed, the dog. Thanks, but I don’t need the whole bed, just the part where your legs are… –signed, the dog. “Walk this way”? If I could walk THAT way I wouldn’t NEED the other two legs. –signed, the dog. What d’ya mean “if you were a font, you’d be Dingbat”? What a thing to say. I resemble that remark. –signed, the dog. Rabbit poop? I don’t know… tastes a little like chicken… –signed, the dog
It’s called “Making Flippy Floppy”, not “Give Your Head a Shake” –signed, the dog, a Talking Heads fan apparently. http://tinysong.com/8Is2 Okay, can I kill him AFTER he’s finished installing new outlets in the garage? –signed, the dog I don’t care if there’s downstairs water… I’m thirsty for UPSTAIRS water. –signed, the dog. Stay for how long, exactly? The trouble with “stay” is there’s very little wiggle room. I’m all about the wiggle room. –signed, the dog. What, I should not do that now, too? I thought you meant I should not do that, just at that moment… –signed, the dog.
Hey, it’s MY tennis ball hanging from the garage ceiling: my first thought was not “parking aid”, it was “YAY, NEW GAME” –signed, the dog. Dude, just open the door. You can stay here. I’ll take mySELF for a walk. No big deal. –signed, the dog. (umm, no) Who you callin’ a son-of-a-bitch? Oh yeah. Never mind. –signed, the dog. Thanks for putting down that freshly laundered rug… for me to poop on! –signed, the dog (who thinks he’s “Triumph the Insult Comic Dog”) Where’s the Smell Key on this thing? Trust a human to design a keyboard with no Smell Key. How do I type smells? Jeez… –signed, the dog. Come ON, let me post something, I promise it won’t be about you, kibble boy. Trust me, you’re not that interesting. –signed, the dog.
My Indian name is Buttsniffer. –signed, the dog. PLEASE don’t pave the gravel zone! There’s a reason they call it PEE gravel. They don’t call it “pee cement” now do they? –signed, the dog. I’m licking your elbow ’cause I can’t reach your face… now get down here and gimme a big kiss! –signed, the dog. [um, no, but thanks] How do I know? I just KNOW, that’s how I know. It’s noon, so make with the lunch already! –signed, the dog. I vant to leeek your face. Leeek. Leeek. –signed, the dog, in his best Boris Karloff voice. Because nice things are boring. THAT’S why I wreck everything. –signed, the dog. Ruth, Ruth, Ruth Ruth. –signed, the dog. Boundaries? Personal space? Sorry, not familiar. –signed, the dog. As a matter of fact, I DID enjoy my dinner. Life’s too short to slow down for CHEWING, is all. –signed, the dog. I got chunks of guys like you in my STOOL. –signed, the dog. (Also Phil Hartman as Frank Sinatra on SNL) Er, no, I don’t think I WOULD like it if I stepped in YOUR poop for once… but thanks for asking. –signed, the dog.
No, I do NOT find it ironic that I’m standing guard while sitting in a chair. –signed, the dog Stop me if you’ve heard this one: I’m not deaf, I’m ignoring you. –signed, the dog. Don’t even TRY to figure me out… I poop, therefore I am. –signed, the dog. Strange people poking and prodding, shining lights at you… today I got my eyeball swabbed. I love going to the vet. — signed, the dog. If I could “walk that way” I wouldn’t _need_ the extra two legs… badda-boom… signed, the dog (who thinks he’s a comedian). I’m NOT afraid of thunder! I’m playing the “stick to your leg” game.Wait, don’t leave!! –signed, the dog. She rang the doorbell!! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her! — signed, the dog. No, it’s not a political statement, I’m just clearing my throat: barack…barack… –signed, the dog.
I’m not drooling, I’m dribbling… there IS a difference you know… –signed, the dog. I lean against you, you shift over, I slide down to the warm spot where your butt just was… works every time! –signed, the dog. Okay, maybe I DON’T know my ass from your elbow… that’s why I need to lick them BOTH… signed, the dog. Well maybe your knee SHOULD bend that way. Anyway, it’s not MY fault you have a low pain threshold. –signed, the dog. Look, MY job is to push the couch cushions onto the floor, and YOUR job is to put them back. I’ve done MY part. –signed, the dog. But WHY can’t I put my butt on your pillow? It’s so COMFY! — signed the dog. I just want to smell your face. No tongue, I promise. I’m not lying this time. — signed, the dog.
That’s a nice carpet. For me to poop on. — signed, the dog. I didn’t say I wanted to go out for a pee. I just said I wanted to go out. I’ll pee next time. — signed, the dog. You were outside without me? What were you doing? I’m gonna need to smell your shoes and your butt. –signed, the dog. Just give me the damn treat already and stop asking me who’s a good dog! — signed, the dog.
With dawning horror, I realize I have made a probably fatal mistake, total rookie move, in the construction of my TV stand… in order to disguise some ugly defects in the walnut veneer of one of the side pieces (which I should have picked up on earlier in the process, another rookie move) I decided to cover it with a nice little panel of solid walnut.  Bob's Folly? The problem is, it never even dawned on me to consider wood movement. I’m afraid the panel will expand across its width when summer humidity hits, and one day I’ll just find it on the floor, the glue bond broken. Or worse, damage will be done to the particle board making a repair impossible. So my question is, should I just kill myself now, or wait for it to actually break. Or maybe even, is there something I can actually do about it…?? Any insights or public humiliations are welcome. (I’ve also posted this to the Sawmill Creek and Wood Whisperer Community forums, so I’m sure I’ll get told…) 
Two Carbara Pens, originally uploaded by rgdaniel. Two new pens in a new format I’m trying, called “Carbara”. One is the coffee beans in white acrylic seen earlier in a standard slimline, and the other — just in time for Christmas — is my Halloween pen… orange acrylic with black chrome fittings… These pens are a little shorter in overall length than the previous styles, but with lots of heft in the hand. Nice balance overall, not too heavy. 
Cat House Moon, originally uploaded by rgdaniel. I just received a request from the good folks at Fluttery Records (www.flutteryrecords.com – site not working at time of writing) to use my image Cat House Moon as the cover of a forthcoming release by indie band Phoenix and the Turtle. Their EP is called “Swallow Up The Moon”. Fluttery Records described themselves as “a very small independent label”, “more like an artists-helping-artists collective”. Which reminded me of our own Great Lakes Musician’s Collective, of which I was a member for a while. I guess you’d say I’m an alumnus these days, having hung up the “sticks and tricks” for a while. Anyway, I said “sure”. So if everyone buys their record, I get… well, nothing… but still… it seemed like a good idea… I get requests to use photos fairly often. Mostly nobody wants to pay. Mostly I say “no” in that case. This felt more like a “yes” opportunity…
The idea of the miter sled is to allow the cutting of these trim pieces with sufficient accuracy that they will not show any gaps at the 45-degree joints at the corners. This is difficult using the standard table-saw miter guage.
The eagle-eyed will have noticed that my outfeed table is actually my wife’s Honda Fit. It’s at a bit of an awkward angle, but in its defense it does get great gas mileage…
Yay! Looks like it worked! Okay, no excuses, gotta get that trim glued on… Well, after I mill it to final profile…  Two Pens – African Spalted Stinkwood and Coffee Beans in White Acrylic, originally uploaded by rgdaniel. The stinkwood is quite subtle, but rewards deep gazing… like a burl almost… not sure how much actual spalting made it into the finished pen here… The coffee bean pen is anything but subtle… actual coffee beans embedded in white acrylic… it’s actually not bad to work, compared to pure acrylic… the coffee beans just turn to powder, or to coffee grounds I guess… smells like Starbucks when you’re working it… but it leaves a lot of little voids, which need filling with crazy glue and the coffee powder… I missed a few here, but still, not too bad… The centre band is purpleheart. I had two blanks, and cut them to length in preparation for a larger one-piece pen style I’ll be trying out next. The resulting two offcuts were just the right size to combine for this pen. Waste not, want not… |
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