Shoji Style Japanese Floor Lamp (JFL Part 1)

The next build featured on this site is going to be a wedding gift.  I'll tell you right off due to some unforseen properties of Jatoba (covered in detail in my last post) that this project did not make its deadline!  The wood is Jatoba representing the bride's heritage and the paper screens will be mulberry rice paper.  The design is my own and is along the lines of a craftsman style take on a Japanese floor lamp.  The end product stands five feet tall with a one foot square footprint.

Supplied below are the the SketchUp plans for the project.



That should be enough to get us started!  I can't wait to share the 100+ pictures I took of this project in progress!

Cheers!
-G!

Jatoba...Brazilian Hardwood or Japanese Steel?

This is jatoba.  it's a hardwood from Brazil.  I was trying some different techniques to mitre a corner together.  The corners will have a square cut out of them to accept a tenon from a leg.

Here you can see layout marks for a biscuit that went into the sample on the right.

I traced the layout of the mortise with a sharpie so it would show up better here for you.

The boards on the left got cut out with a band saw before they were glued together.  The boards on the right were glued together first.

This is what happened as I hit the chisel with enough force to move the moon.  It was the only way to get them to cut the jatoba at all.

So after about 20 minutes with the chisel and the end of the corner blown out this is as far as I got, compared to the somewhat rough mortise from the bandsaw which took 5 minutes.

I sharpened my chisels before starting but they've turned pretty useless by now.  Beating on this jatoba is like smacking them on steel.  I'm off to Lee Valley Tools to buy a a honing guild.  I'll be thinking about some Japanese steel chisels if I ever make anything else out of this particular hardwood again.

Cheers!

-G

Entryway Bench Part 9 - The Finished Product

Here's the finished Entryway bench in its natural habitat!  The bench is a perfectly snug fit and was quickly accepted by local shoes, boots and sandals.

The lid will stay open at any angle thanks to torsion hinges from Rockler.  I had originally intended for cheapo piano hinges but realized that the back legs are mounted proud of the the back surface and would block the piano hinge from opening.

 And a pillow, because nothing is complete in our house without a pillow or 2 ...or 3.

What did I learn from this project:

1. Take your time.
2. Using templates is fun.
3. I need sharper chisels.
4. Take into account anything that sticks out when adding hinges.
5. Applying poly in a 2 inch gap is hard.
6. Sanding is a good way to relax after work.
7. Poplar isn't just for painting anymore.
8. I like little details like curves that match on the top and bottom of a bench.
9. Seven year olds think that polyurethane sanded to10,000 grit looks and feels "oily".

Cheers!

-G