Finally finished woodworking project.

[N80]

I posted some questions about this project a few years ago and got a lot of good advice in the thread below:

Wood working:Dry fitting?

I wouldn't say I am new to woodworking. I've made several nice looking but not fine built-in shelves for my house that turned out very well. All painted, not stained/finished. These were all using bought lumber. No serious joinery. I am currently making a set of shelves from white oak off of a...

www.tractorbynet.com

So here is a follow up.

I made these shelves from a white oak tree that blew down on my property. Cut it up with my saw mill and dried it in my basement. This is my first wood working project not using premilled factory lumber. There are lots of cracks and tiny worm holes which I did not fill. I wanted to make this project from this particular tree so I had to use what I had available. I did make some of the shelves out of red oak. It is 7' tall and almost 6' wide........which made planing on a bench top planer a challenge.

I have a bench top planer, a band saw and a circular saw and I that is what I used for the majority of this project. I recently got a bench top jointer that I used for the last couple of shelves. I do not have a table saw or router table.

I think it came out as well as could be expected with my limited skills and limited tools. There are a few perfect joints but not many. It is more-or-less square. Enough to be sturdy and stable and fit in the space its in anyway. (Which is a laundry room that doubles as my closet).

I have learned a ton from this project and am now kind of getting into woodworking. Expecting next projects to be better.

 

[BackRoad]

That finished out nicely! Very well done...

 

[EddieWalker]

Very nice. Looks like you hired a pro!!!

 

[N80]

Thanks guys.

I did forget to mention that I have a miter saw as well.

In any case, if nothing else I have learned how hard woodworking can be.

 

[BackRoad]

Hard might not be the right word...short-term challenge maybe, but the long-term results and the pure satisfaction are huge.

You can be properly proud of that piece, especially knowing you did it all from wood prep to finish...

 

[2manyrocks]

N80 may be too modest to say this, but it takes a lot of work to plane sawmill lumber to a uniform thickness and square up the edges. Generates a mountain of sawdust in the process from start to finish.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

That is gorgeous and amazing work for a novice without all the right tools. You should be very proud!! I have a little bit of closet envy now. We are just finishing up a reno/addition and our closets are still a mess. We need to figure out our storage in our closets, this post has inspired me!!!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

N80 may be too modest to say this, but it takes a lot of work to plane sawmill lumber to a uniform thickness and square up the edges. Generates a mountain of sawdust in the process from start to finish.

Yep!! I am in the same boat. Using sawmill lumber in my house right now, more work than I thought it would be. But it is very fulfilling in the end.

 

[2manyrocks]

So easy to underestimate how much work went into these shelves. That's what I was trying to say.

 

[BnRidge]

Thanks guys.

I did forget to mention that I have a miter saw as well.

In any case, if nothing else I have learned how hard woodworking can be.

The first 30yrs here I used a circular saw, jointer, router and a bunch of hand tools. What was it - spent so long doing so much with so little eventually you'll be able to do anything with nothing. Very nice project you have there. And locally sourced, nice job.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Great work! There is something to be said for this piece. It now qualifies as a family heirloom! Many family members treasure things made like this. My wife has a bedframe made by her great grandfather. We have walls made from the wood from this farm (cedar and oak) and her dad put them in. They will stay here as long as the house does. Our children treasure these things as much as we do.

My contribution is coming soon. Got some wood from the pecan/black walnut and cedar to start making things. Soon as I start my retirement phase later this year (hopefully).

Keep at it, the next pieces are going to go faster (economies of scale) and will too be treasured.

 

[N80]

One of the things I actually enjoy is figuring out how to do things without certain tools. In this piece that is why each tower has 4 corner posts and the sides are a single board with a space on either side of it. I knew that without a table saw or jointer I'd never be able to glue up solid panels that lined up right.

The whole thing also disassembles by removing the whole top which allows for easier moving.

My next project is going to be a small modern style bookshelf for my grandson that I'm making out of ash with a natural finish. This will be a little more challenging as the corners will be rounded, the shelves will sit in dados that I'll cut with an old hand-me-down Craftsman router with a jig (since I don't have a table saw) and angled legs. A fairly simple project for people who know what they're doing but for me there will be a lot of room for failure here. Having a jointer opens up the ability to attempt something like this.

I would love to see stuff that you all have made either here or in another thread.

 

[1Mech]

Years ago, I built all the cupboards for a kitchen remodel, using a skill saw and a borrowed router. In my current house, I built some and modified some of the cabinets, removing doors and replacing with drawers, adding new countertops, partially porcelain floor tiles and some of it wood flooring, all covered in hard epoxy. I used a cheap old table saw, a router and a sander. That first picture shows a before to the right and after to the left in the same photo. All done while still using the kitchen. Wife was glad when it was completed!

 

[mapper]

Been dabbling in woodworking for years. You will always see the mistakes and flaws in your own work that nobody else ever sees...
A few things I have done over the years, many happy hours spent in the fall and winter months out in the shop.
End tables for the family room
Our (my wifes) office
The front porch face lift
Dogs dining table and small shaker style table
Hall table
Fireplace mantle

 

[dodge man]

Nice projects everyone. I have a lot of life skills but woodworking isn’t one of them.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Been dabbling in woodworking for years. You will always see the mistakes and flaws in your own work that nobody else ever sees...
A few things I have done over the years, many happy hours spent in the fall and winter months out in the shop.
End tables for the family room
Our (my wifes) office
The front porch face lift
Dogs dining table and small shaker style table
Hall table
Fireplace mantle

Excellent skill. Nothing is prettier than natural finish wood, especially when built by a true craftsman - as proven that you are.

 

[2manyrocks]

Wife’s grandfather built many pieces for his family out of mahogeny that came from shipping crates for what I recall were Suzuki outboard engines.

 

[BnRidge]

This is the last circular saw, router, hand tools project I did. It was fun seeing what could be accomplished. But in 08 building the house changed all that. Once I got power tools all that hand work experience really helped.

 

[N80]

Been dabbling in woodworking for years. You will always see the mistakes and flaws in your own work that nobody else ever sees...
A few things I have done over the years, many happy hours spent in the fall and winter months out in the shop.
End tables for the family room
Our (my wifes) office
The front porch face lift
Dogs dining table and small shaker style table
Hall table
Fireplace mantle

That hall table is particularly nice!

 

[N80]

This is the last circular saw, router, hand tools project I did. It was fun seeing what could be accomplished. But in 08 building the house changed all that. Once I got power tools all that hand work experience really helped.View attachment 3495399

Wow!