iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Dog Bowl Holder

Started by lowpolyjoe, January 03, 2016, 06:54:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

lowpolyjoe

This is the second or third dog bowl holder I've worked on, but the first one using hardwood and joinery.  I'm using some butcherblock i found in the garbage recently.  I resawed the stretches on the tablesaw but it was messy work.  I would have liked to resaw the top a bit thinner than full thickness but i had no reasonable way to do it.

I cut a piece from the panel i found in the garbage using a circular saw that would give me all the components for the small table



Joint an edge before work on the tablesaw to cut my pieces



Mortise and tenon work done by hand.  I definitely need more practice - most of the joints are loose and they're all ugly looking.



Dry fit



The butcher block is beautiful after removing the finish (which i assume was poly - it was very thick and difficult to remove).



Small detail work on the bottom of the rails.  You can barely see it, but i put a small bead along the bottom edge using a Paul Sellers' technique - a sharpened screw in a piece of wood used like a marking gauge followed up with widening it with a saw kerf and then planning a small chamfer along the edge and sanding to a bit of a roundover.   Just a little accent.  I didn't think this project would come out very good so i used a few pieces of the garbage panel that had screw holes in them - a few are visible here and I'm wishing i had been more selective.  I was trying to maximize my use of the wood :)



I used a router and circle jig to cut the holes for the bowls and then round-over the edges.  But I'm adding a chamfer around the top by hand for practice.   





I'm in the midst of cleaning up the pieces (plane and sand to remove pencil marks and blood from chisel work :D) and soon i hope to glue up the frame.   I also made what i think are called 'turn-buttons' that will hold the table top down.  I'll snap a pic at some point.



cntryby

Grey haired riders didn't get that way from pure luck.

yukon cornelius

That is looking great! That top is fantastic! What finish are you going to use?
It seems I am a coarse thread bolt in a world of fine threaded nuts!

Making a living with a manual mill can be done!

Bark Beetle

That will be nice when you get it all the way done. Is that a veritas tenon saw?
You don't work wood, you work with wood.

Andy White

lpj,
A good looking job on the table. The blood comes naturally, and will help the finish. This forum has some lucky DOGS . They get all the good furniture.        Andy
Learning by day, aching by night, but loving every minute of it!! Running HM126 Woodland Mill, Stihl MS290, Homemade Log Arch, JD 5103/FEL and complete woodshop of American Delta tools.

sandhills

I guess I'm the only one having trouble finding any "ugly" pieces in this, and to think I thought our dogs were spoiled!  Very nice.

lowpolyjoe

Thanks everybody.

I believe the wood is indeed maple and definitely not cheap.  I almost fell over when i saw two large table-tops sitting at the curb on garbage day  :D.  Definitely my best find ever.  There are a lot of screw holes in the bottom, but the top is in pretty good shape after planning off the scuffs.

In general, I love shellac on everything - but my last two dog bowl holders showed me that even dewaxed shellac just don't hold up well to water.  I have heard people argue both ways (some say it's waterproof and some say it ain't) but my experience is that it definitely aint.  My mastiff drools A LOT so the top gets covered in water often.  This time I'm gonna use polyurethane and hope for the best. 

That is a Veritas saw in the pic.  I have a set of 3  - two rip and one crosscut.  I like them a lot.  They cut well, but are quite small and i believe only well suited to dovetail work or very small tenons.  Even on this tiny project i had to grab a larger tenon saw a few times.

Sandhills - if i zoom in on the joints the project looks much less impressive  :D.  But thank you  :)

21incher

Great job recycling the butcher block. I think a dogs drool will cut through any finish you use. I just sand down and recoat the ones that I made every couple of years. You are inspiring me to pull my dads old handtools out and try to learn to use them. :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

lowpolyjoe

21incher - my experience with hand tools so far has been a mix of frustration and reward.  Having a solid workbench with a vise or hold-fasts is a huge help.  If you pull out an old set of tools be sure to post some pics :)


I was hoping poly would hold up to to the water and drool for a good long while.   But I suppose the top will be easy to refinish since it will be removable.

Kbeitz

Try spray plastic coat sometime....
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

lowpolyjoe

Ugh.. the frustration.   I didn't even consider the fact that the dog bowl holes were so close to the edge of the top panel that placement of the turnbuttons would be restricted.  I just placed 4 evenly spaced mortises in the rails without any though.  Yesterday I realized my problem



Really a pain chopping mortises in the assembled frame



Finally got everything together in a test fit




I think I mentioned that I planned to use Poly for the finish.  This is the stuff I grabbed at home depot recently:




I expected it to stink, but it didn't.  Then I realized I grabbed water based.  That wasn't my plan, but might have been better bet because I can't stand waiting for finish to dry and cure.




I applied 2 coats, waited a day, sanded very lightly, applied another coat.  Directions say 3 coats are recommended.  48 hours to cure for moderate use, 7 days for total cure.

Can/should I sand and buff the final coat after it cures?  Or will that do more harm than good?  It looks fairly good as-is, by my standards.  I don't have a good pic at the moment

Darrel

You must have a happy dog!
1992 LT40HD

If I don't pick myself up by my own bootstraps, nobody else will.

plowboyswr

I have had good results with the varathane brand. Didn't do any sanding or buffing on final coat and came out very nice. Now granted the pieces didn't see the moisture that yours will. Just an example. 

 
That was after 4 coats.
Just an ole farm boy takin one day at a time.
Steve

lowpolyjoe

Darrel - my dog loves to eat, so anything that puts his food closer to his mouth will make him happy  :D


Thanks for the feedback plowboyswr. Is that TV console?  Looks good.

WDH

Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

lowpolyjoe

Quote from: WDH on January 12, 2016, 04:43:27 PM
Nice work bench !!

Thanks :).  A solid bench that effectively holds the workpieces really makes all the difference

plowboyswr

Quote from: lowpolyjoe on January 12, 2016, 09:21:04 AM
Thanks for the feedback plowboyswr. Is that TV console?  Looks good.
No, it's a shoe rack but could be used as one. :)


 
has built in seats for the kids.
Just an ole farm boy takin one day at a time.
Steve

lowpolyjoe

Quote from: plowboyswr on January 13, 2016, 08:12:06 AM
Quote from: lowpolyjoe on January 12, 2016, 09:21:04 AM
Thanks for the feedback plowboyswr. Is that TV console?  Looks good.
No, it's a shoe rack but could be used as one. :)


 
has built in seats for the kids.

DOH!   I think I remember that exact pic from a previous thread.   My memory - not so good.  lol.  Yeah, that's a great project.


lowpolyjoe

Yesterday I rubbed the finish with some 0000 steel wool and then assembled.   There are some fine lines in the finish, I think from the steel wool, although they could be brush marks.   Overall, the finish isn't too bad but I still prefer shellac.

A few things bug me.  There is a tiny bit of wobble to the table.  I have to sand one of the legs down a hair.  Worse still, either the top is warped or the frame is crooked, because it the top won't sit totally flush all the way around the frame.  I think the top warped at somet point because it didn't sit flat on my benchtop and i'm pretty sure my bench is flat via router-sled.  My turn-button holders were also a bit of a mess.  I will probably buy the corresponding metal fasteners in the future.   Also didn't count on the fact that the bowls are glass and you can see the frame below, including my unused turn button mortises and the side rails that intrude into the roundover of the bowl hole.

But with all those complains, I do still like the look of it  :)






Old plywood version in the background - it served us well, but has lots of water damage at this point.  Hope the poly holds up a little better.





69bronco


jueston

i have the exact dog food container you do.

think it turned out great and it looks like the end user likes it too.

lowpolyjoe

Quote from: 69bronco on January 15, 2016, 08:21:27 AM
Hey, that's my dog! ;D

Have you got a mastiff too?  :)


Quote from: jueston on January 15, 2016, 08:28:10 AM
i have the exact dog food container you do.

think it turned out great and it looks like the end user likes it too.

Thanks.  We just got that container recently.  I just saw a video online the other day of a dog who figured out how to unscrew the lid and get at the food lol.  I think it was a border collie.  Luckily, I don't think our mastiff will be able to figure it out.  ;)

Thank You Sponsors!