Sunday, March 10, 2013

Keyed mortise and tenon

The next project has keyed mortise and tenons, but before I ruin perfectly nice cherry pieces, I thought i should work out a few kinks. Here are the first few attempts. I'm trying to get a very slight 5 degree angle to the entry point, as the receiving mortise is a panel type leg for a bench, and has a slight tilt. I have already learned if you over tighten the key you will take a beautiful chunk out of the remaining mortise... So gentle taps only!




Friday, March 1, 2013

Poplar TV stand: 6 - Completed


Stained with Minwax "Red Mahogany", and Minwax Paste Wax.  We were going for a rustic, slightly "worn" look, which works well with my rustic, novice joinery.  The finish came out nicely.  We had read before that the poplar would take up the stain in a "blotchy" fashion, we did not use pre-finish, though we thought about it.  Looking back, it might have evened out the color, but it works nicely.  


The top being smooth-planed to reduce sanding.  We left a lot of the rough plane marks to enhance the desired appearance.   I had not accounted for the visibility of the wire-mess that emanates from my TV, so I might be adding some hideaway features shortly to hide the cables underneath.