Milling for New Projects: Friday Update
Last week I put a pause on my entry table and cleared the shop for two new projects, a coffee and sofa table.
I don’t like switching gears mid project, but I’m on a deadline for these two client builds and don’t have much time to waste. I’m just hoping I can finish my project by the end of the year so I can submit it to the Rockler challenge over on Instagram.
But on to the activities of the week. Last week I ended by flattening all the lumber for the two new tables. This always takes longer than I want it too and makes a tremendous amount of dust, so I decided to use the good weather to my advantage and did it outside, completely filling my yard waste bin in the process.
With those boards acclimating over the weekend I could start fresh on Monday by jointing boards with my hand planes, where I struggled. I was having a hard time with these boards, partially because of their length, but partially the width. It was frustrating to work so hard and make no progress, so I stopped.
I realized part of the frustration was the dust. Everything in the shop was dirty, there was garbage on the floor, tools were everywhere. The problem was I usually do a deep clean in between projects, but my last project I paused, so I didn’t stop to clean, to put away tools I was using to cut joinery so I could bring out tools for milling. My messy shop was weighing on my subconscious so I took half an hour to vacuum and put everything away and finished milling the next day.
It always surprises me how long things take when working with solid wood and is a reminder why modern furniture is so often made with plywood and pressboard. It’s so much easier to manipulate, especially in a factory setting where uniformity is required for processes to work.
Luckily I am the machine and my processes are dictated by making the right choices to use the material how it wants to be used, not how I want to use it.
Anyway, more next week when I dive into the actual build!
