Wednesday, March 7, 2012

BIG homemade clamp - no problem

© 2012 Joshua Stark

Thanks to the note I left myself in the previous post, I measured out my adjustable sawhorse to adjust to the height of my Workmate bench, so I can postpone a second sawhorse for the time.  Today, then, the little guy and I went to a local hardware store to pick up some carriage bolts and wingnuts.  He fell asleep on the drive home, so I gingerly placed him on the bed, then ran outside and cut two 2x2 pieces to five-foot lengths and drilled twenty-two holes into them (eleven in each one).  Now I just need to cut two triangles from a piece of oak I've got lying around, and I've got a five-foot clamp for edge gluing wide pieces.  For about ten bucks.

All this is in preparation for my first major project:  A sturdy, utilitarian tilt-top table/bench combo.  Of course, I got too squirrely-excited about it and showed my wife what I was aiming to build.  It's from a library book, and when I showed her the cover picture of my proposed project she then asked, pointing to a chimney cabinet with raised panel doors, "Why don't you make that one, instead?  Where are you going to put a table?"  I suppose I should thank my lucky stars she didn't ask how much the materials will cost, but nevertheless, it was a blow.  I picked the table because it looks super-easy and useful for my workshop (maybe I can even take down my packed-away fly-tying materials and put them on it), and hopefully continues to help my confidence. 

It is nice that she thinks I can cut raised panels and mortise-and-tenon them by hand (no router; no table saw).  Heck, it's nice that she thinks I can cut wood both square and true.  However, neither of these are yet within my skill level to the degree that I could make anything approaching a pretty cabinet for my wife. 

But you can believe that's what I'm working toward.

(Pics of the clamps later, when they are holding something worth photographing.)

No comments: