invisible bed bolts

I’m making two double beds out of ash. I need to be able to take them apart to deliver them. Here’s a photo of one of the back legs with the side rail attached.I’m using my Festool Domino jointer to dowel joint the legs and side rails.The dominos guide the rails into the correct position on the leg, and also provide support strength. I’m going to pull the joint together with a nut and bolt, but I don’t want it seen from the front. Firstly I drilled a hole into the end of the rail for the bolt to go into. It’s important that this is perpendicular to the end face. I use this little drill jig to make the hole as accurately as I can.I can then transfer the position of the hole to the leg using this centre marker. It’s diameter is the same as the hole I’ve just drilled.Here it is in place. I just push the leg against it to get the centre mark I need,
Once I’ve drilled the corresponding hole in the leg I screw in the bolt head using a hex key.I then screw in the bolt, which is actually a threaded bar, into the bolt head and push the joint together. I’ve drilled a larger hole part of the way through the inside of the rail to reveal the hold I drilled earlier that the bolt sits in. You can see the half-moon washer inside the larger hole with a nut to pull the whole joint together.www.danieltomlinson.co.uk

the dresser is finished

I’ve finished the oak dresser, and here it is looking handsome in its new home. )www.danieltomlinson.co.uk

dresser progress

Here are photos of the dresser in it’s current state. I’ve dovetailed the drawers and started on the door frames.Here is a close-up of a dovetail drawer carcass. The dovetails are stopped so that the ends of the tails don’t show on the drawer front.And here are the components of the drawer laid out before I glued them together.

www.danieltomlinson.co.uk

time for a glue-up

Time to get the carcass of the dresser glued up. The glue-up is always stressful, and it pays to prepare for it well, especially when the carcass is this big. I’ve used my Festool Domino jointer to keep the sides attached to the base.Once I’ve applied the glue thoroughly to each edge and surface I fit it all together before cramping each joint. I’m glueing up the the lower section first. Because the carcass is quite deep I’ve made up some cauls to spread the cramping pressure across the whole width of the upright panels. They are slightly curved so that pressure can be focussed in the middle, even though they are cramped at the edge. Here are 2 that I made. You can see the bevel along the lower face edge.

Here is the lower carcass held tightly by sash cramps whilst the glue goes off. You can see the cauls along the top.

When the glue was dry I glued up the top section. The finished piece will be in two sections to allow it to be transported more easily than if it was one large dresser. I’ve used the lower section here as a guide to make sure the top will be a good fit.

www.danieltomlinson.co.uk

oak kitchen dresser

I’m making a kitchen dresser out of solid oak. Here’s a sketch of it… and here’s the oak…I’ve written about planing, thicknessing and rough dimensioning in previous posts, so here is the carcass put together without glue. (dry fit)Once I’ve sanded all the panels I’m going to coat them with a shellac-based sanding sealer before glueing. I’ll then make all the door frames and dovetail the drawers. Stay tuned…

www.danieltomlinson.co.uk

cabinet for retro hi-fi equipment

Here are some photos of a hi-fi cabinet I’ve just completed. It’s over 2 metres long and made of MDF, with cut-outs for cables in each cupboard.Here it is in the spray booth…And here it is in it’s new home, with castors on the bottom for easy access to the wiring.MDF can flex very easily, so I re-inforced the cupboard under the amplifier with 2 oak battens. The cabinet has a minimalist look, so the doors are set back into the cupboards to give a bit of interest to the design.www.danieltomlinson.co.uk

commissioning a jewellery box

I’m going to describe an up-coming project so that I can blog about the design and commissioning process.

The client is a good friend of mine, but it is none-the-less a genuine project that needs to be…

1. fit for purpose
2. aesthetically pleasing
3. within a budget (yet to be decided).

Mark collects a specific type of Omega ‘Contsellation’ watch and would like me to make a box to keep them in. I thought I’d start by looking at the design features of this type of watch. They all have a distinctive square/round face, and the metal wrist band is integrated into the watch itself. Here’s an example of one…

There is also the Omega Ω symbol. Another design feature is etched into the back…

With all this in mind, here is a sketch of my initial idea…I’ve copied and pasted the emails we sent to each other below.

Hi Mark What do you think to this? No idea how your watches would sit inside yet, but just getting the ball rolling… Love this, Dan!  The shape is fantastic and I really like the dark detailing of the rounded square, the classic light burl wood and the constellation logo is a brilliant idea. I think internally it will have to include the traditionally compartments and cushions, simply to keep the watches from dinging and scratching each other. I think the logo would look brilliant on a lid. On top or maybe as you open it on the upper inside? Again the overall shape really works for me and is something I’ve not seen before. I like the chunky look. What are your thoughts? I’ll keep our progress updated on this blog. I hope it will be an interesting example of what goes into a piece of work before the actual making starts. www.danieltomlinson.co.uk