Working with wood is a process, the more we learn the better we become and the more satisfaction we get which is why "weekend builds" are popular, the often require less wood and less time to make something and in turn we experience the joy of creating.
This weeks video has a bit of everything, a few techniques, some popular jigs I use and lovely functional piece of furniture that will get years of use and can be used in many different environments ...
Who would have thought something like a luggage rack could be so useful? I made mine taller than most because anything built too low to the floor is makes it difficult to get things in and out of because you are stooping all the time and stressing your back muscles.
I started off with a 7 foot piece ofrough Garry Oak, and yes it had acquired some warp in drying over the years. Warped wood is part of woodworking and the quicker we learn to deal with it the better. First of all long pieces of wood need to be cut down into shorter, more workable pieces. The best tool for this is a circular saw. When done, you will normally have much less warpage to deal with. Since the first machine is a jointer, the best way to get a semi flat plank is to shave off the high points with a hand or electric plane. This can also save you a ton of wood rather than trying to rely on the jointer to flatten boards.
At the jointer we need to make a flat face surface first, then use the flat face against the fence of the jointer a make one edge flat. At this point you can use either a table saw or a thickness planer to start carving your wood into the desired shape. In my case I often choose the planer first.
Once you have your wood to the desired flatness and thickness, you can begin to cut the wood to the desired dimensions. At this point you may still want to cut the wood a bit thicker if your table saw blades make rough work, then you can trim thickness down on your thickness planer to precise dimensions.
Now comes the fun of joinery and making those pieces fit together.
The router bit I used to make the half rounds on the 3.4" wood is a 3/8" quarter round bit like this one on my Amazon Page you can find here - Freud Bit
In the case of a luggage stand there is an outside frame which needs to fit somewhat closely over and inside frame so the 2 can cross smoothly and not bind. Making the outside cross members or stretchers is the first task, as these can then be used to figure out he exact size of the inner stretchers.
Once you have all the parts cut to size and length, the next thing is joinery. The perfect joinery for a luggage rack is dowels. They are super strong, easy to use and you don't have to try and compensate for tenons when you cut the length. In my case I used 3/8" dowels and was able to configure my doweling jig so I could cut all the dowels precisely where I needed them.
Next is dry fit to make sure none of the dowels are too long or the holes are not deep enough. Test EVERY dowel and dowel hole.
For me, the next step is pre finishing. I have done this for years for a few reasons ...
It is much easier to finish wood that is laying flat on your workbench and get ALL the sides and edges
You don't have to worry that you might get some glue on the raw wood, which then prevents the finish from sticking properly when you do finish
You can choose to put only 1 coat on then a final coat later
The only con, is it does take a few minutes to cover every dowel hole with masking tape because you don't want to get finish into a hole as it may affect how well the glue bonds.
Once the finish is dry (usually over night) the gluing and assembly can begin. For this (and MANY) other builds I use my squaring jig. This is the flat MDF with 90 degree sides that I can align and even clamp wood to as I assemble. This ensures as perfect 90 degree assembly. You can see more about this here Make a Squaring Jig
The nice thing now, if you do get a bit of glue on your finished project, it wipes off quick and easy and will not affect the final finish.
When the project is glued and the glue has been allowed to harden sufficiently you can start attaching the webbing. In my case I used 3" nylon webbing and cut to length. I used some masking tape markers on both sides stretcher sides to make sure I aligned the webbing on both the front and the back evenly.
I wanted the length of the webbing to be 16 inches between the upper stretchers then had to add a bit more to compensate for the wrap around the stretchers. I folded over the very top or the webbing about half an inch and tucked the cut side in the back, then stapled the middle to hold it in place, next I used some flat head screws to attach the webbing to the stretcher.
And that's it done ... a great luggage rack that can be used for MUCH more, easily stored and something that people will use for many years to come.
Something you made by hand, had fun and made a functional, valued piece of furniture, what woodworking is all about ...
Copyright Colin Knecht
- - Taylor Tools Affiliate Store - https://lddy.no/18zkg
