TS-3650 review...

I just published my 1 year TS-3650 review. You can read it by following the link in the "Reviews" section to the right.

Porter Cable router

I got to use my new Porter Cable 690 router. I cut a stop dado in the sides of the cabinet to hold the bottom. My dad gave me a Skil router a year or so ago. He said he didn't need it anymore. It works for what I had used it for in the past, but it was time to upgrade. It's true that my PC router is fixed base, but I plan on getting a plunge base soon enough. The difference between the two routers is amazing. After I had made the dado with the PC I looked at the Skil and literally thought, "FAIL". Hence the pic.

Krenov style cabinet...

I've gotten a couple of questions about my "Krenov style cabinet". Mainly, "what is a Krenov style cabinet?" I was introduced to James Krenov through an episode of "Wood Works". David Marks' interview with Krenov was interesting. Mr. Krenov's cabinets are, in my opinion, artistic yet functional. The cabinets seemed to have a simplistic quality to them, although they aren't simplistic at all. Krenov pays very close attention to detail. Now, I'm sure my poplar cabinet won't come close to comparison with Krenov's, but this is a training exercise. I want to have a few more pieces under my belt before I tackle a project for someone else. Anyway, the walnut for my workbench legs hasn't come in yet, so I have time.


A little more about Krenov:
I've read "A Cabinetmaker's Notebook". I was able to ignore Krenov's grumpiness and enjoy the book. He has an interesting way of approaching his work. I loaned the book to a friend and he couldn't finish it. He disliked Krenov's "old man attitude", even though Krenov wasn't that old of a man when he wrote the book. Some folks on the woodworking and luthier forums I frequent have a deep dislike of Krenov. Not his work, just his attitude. He does have the grumpy old man attitude, but he also produces some gorgeous work. Not only is he known for his cabinets, but also his hand planes. Do some Google searches for Krenov. I think you'll find his work appealing.

... and then I notced the mistake.

Here's some pics of the dovetails. Each side... if you look closely at the pics of the dovetails you'll see the problem. Just in case you didn't notice, I put an annotated pic up. Seems that somewhere between cutting the dovetails on the first side and starting the second I lost track of which side was which. Oh well. At least you can't tell from looking at the front.

Finished up the dovetails...

I finished up the half-blind portion of the dovetails this morning. They didn't turn out great. But hey, I'm new at this. Here's a pic of the dry fit.

Started the Krenov cabinet...

I finally felt industrious enough to start the Krenov cabinet.



I decided to use poplar since I had gotten 1/2" stock. The only power tool I have used so far is the table saw.

I used it to cut the boards to final dimension. I joined the boards by hand using my #7.








After joining the edges I face planed the boards. Apparently, I finally got my plane tuned up right. I was able to make some almost transparent shavings.


















I glued up a 3/4" piece for the top of the cabinet. I plan on having a gradual ra We'll see how that goes. While my panel was gluing, I cut the dovetails in the topWhen I finished dimensioning all of the stock, Idius. of the sides. They didn't turn out as good as I wanted, but oh well. By the time I had the talis cut and cleaned up it the panel was ready to come out of the clamps. I decided to go with half blind dovetails for the top. I started cutting them and got one side done before stopping for the day. You can see in one pic on the top where I had a knot blow-out while chiseling. I knew the knot was there but I took a chance and failed miserably. Hopefully, if I can get up early enough tomorrow I can cut the other side of the half-blind and do a test
fit of top & sides.