I'm participating in the March Guild Build over on The Wood Whisperer community. I've decided to build my Shaker side table from black walnut. It was an complicated decision, based totally on the fact that I had black walnut in the lumber rack and had been waiting for an excuse to build something with it.
I didn't have enough confidence in my woodworking ability to actually pull it down and start sawing. Well, that and I didn't have a working jointer, and all of the wood was rough sawn. I'm pretty sure that one particular board was a stave in a barrel at some point.
Anyway, with a small tabletop jointer that I just restored (yes, restored...) I was able to joint the leg stock. After creating a large pile of the most beautiful shavings you've ever seen, I had them planed down to the proper thickness.
It was finally time to mark and cut my first mortise. A deep breath. Careful measurement. Another deep breath, followed by the stroke of the marking gauge down the leg. Fast-forward a little and we have the mortise as you see in the photo above.
What I really want to know is this...did anybody else know that walnut machines so, so much better than pine? I had no idea, but I can't bear to think about going back.
I'm a walnut man now.
No comments:
Post a Comment