Retro project...

Here's another one from the way back machine. This is, pretty much, my first true woodworking project. I needed a place to hang up my guitars. They're not the finest instruments in the world, but I still take care of them. The boards are cherry, that Dad picked up from a co-worker. I sanded them smooth and used a router to round over the edges. Then I made the noobie woodworker mistake and tried to stain the cherry. Not only that, I stained it with "American Cherry" colored stain. Hey that was over a year ago, I wouldn't do that now. You can see in some of the pictures the classic "blotchy" stained cherry. From a distance though it still looks good. And yes, that's wood "stickered" on the guitar hangers. It seemed like as good a place as any. I used wood screws to attach the boards to the wall. Those boards are going nowhere. Then I attached the Herculese guitar hangers to the cherry. At least I was smart enough to drill pilot holes as not to split the cherry.

 
 
 
 

Cabinet legs...

I got all of the leg blanks glued up for the cabinet too. In the first pic you can see 2 leg glue-ups after they were sanded. The second pic shows one leg that just came out of the clamps and the second one clamped up.

Visit to the sawmill...

I went to the local sawyer this morning too. He hasn't been able to saw because it's been so cold lately. Water is used to cool the saw blade as it cuts, ans since it's been so cold the water freezes and the blade can't be cooled. Ironic isn't it? So, I still don't have my workbench legs, but I did pick up some very nice poplar for the legs of the cabinet.

Lesson learned...

The stain job on the back of my cabinet didn't come out quite as well as I had hoped. It seems my sanding job was, well... it sucked. Notice all the scratches down the center line of the board? (The center line runs left to right). Apparently, in my haste I bore down on the ROS and gouged it the wood. So, now I'm making a "distressed" Krenov Cabinet.

Drying.

I made a drying table so the finish could cure. The fist pic is my drying table. In the second picture you can see the contrast between the stained poplar, on the left, and the natural shellac'd, on the right. The last pic is all of the pieces drying.

A lot done.

I hand sanded the last coat of shellac with 220 grit. Then I popped the top on a can of walnut gel stain. The staining process was a little easier than I thought it would be. It took a about 45 minutes to stain all the inside pieces.

Forcast looks good...

So far, the forecast for this weekend looks good for woodworking. The highs are supposed to be in the mid 50s. I hope I'll finally be able to get the stain on the inside pieces of the cabinet. If not, I can at least work on the legs and base some more. I may have to go to the local lumber guy and pick up some clear poplar for the legs. I have about 30 bdft, but it's knotted pretty good and I would like clear legs at least.

Not only that, I can check on the legs for my workbench. He never called to tell me the walnut was done. Maybe he just hasn't gotten to it yet, but we'll see tomorrow.