What Obi Wan brundallNavy Taught Me...

[Timbo]

Voted 'Boy Most Likely to Nail His Hand to the Bench' whilst at secondary school. In my thirties my three year old daughter rewrote the lyrics of Bob the Builder to 'Dad the Builder, Can he fix it no he can't'. Now over the last autumn and spring Obi Wan Doug k'brundallNavy has been teaching me some of the very basics of woodwork.

 

As the sun was shining today, the other half was at work, and taking a break from Uncle Albert this afternoon I decided I would try out some of the skills Doug has taught me. First of all let me say 'titter ye not' I'm still bloody rubbish ar woodwork, however my first proper 'project' turned out far better than I anticipated!

 

So here is the project.

 

A very, very, simple wall mounted cabinet.

 

First step, I made a rough design using SketchUp on the computer. I measured up the components, made a cut list and toddled off to B & Q.

 

That was my first mistake. I'm so used to buying quality timber for the boat, and Doug running timber through the big sander until it is straight I was unprepared for the twisted pigs tails B & Q sell.

 

Back at home I cut the components and drilled the pocket holes (this is fun) to join everything together. What an eyesore. The timber twisted in all directions and I was having trouble finding anything anywhere near straight. Still I soldiered on, growing ever more despondent. 

 

With the carcass now put together it looked a right dogs dinner. So a quick rethink and redesign and back down to B and Q to spend some more money, but this time I took a square with me to try and get some better timber to make a frame, top and a bottom.

 

With straight timber, the fascia frame was cut and fastened both square and quickly. I cheated like hell by unscrewing my bottom shelf and popping the whole cabinet into the cross cut saw to level off the sides before putting the shelf back in and fixing the fascia.

 

Time ran out on me and I had to finish making noise for the day. I still have to fit the back, the top and the shelf edges but it's the closest I've ever come to actually making something on my own from timber that is structurally sound and useful.

 

As I say...try not to laugh,its a bit wonky...ish, but I'm chuffed to bits with it. I can't thank Doug enough for having the patience to drum some teaching into me. I thoroughly enjoyed making sawdust today!

[BroadScot]

Tim,

 

Well done matey   The next time go to IKEA and buy a flat pack, you would have more drinking time then! 

 

Seriously its looking good, I am sure all the members will wish to see it completed and in situ!

 

 

Iain.

[ExMemberBobdog]

  The next time go to IKEA and buy a flat pack, you would have more drinking time then! 

 

 

My thoughts exactly.  When I met Mrs. Bobdog I warned her, "I don't do manly stuff like putting up shelves, I'm not useful, just ornamental."  She looked me up and down and said "You're not much good at that either!"  

[grendel]

better still go to Ikea, go to the sin bin (usually off to one side just before the tills) and look for some timber of the sizes you want there, usually it is a composite where smaller pieces are joined to make larger pieces, using special finger joints (like saw teeth but longer) the timber is good quality strong and most usually square, and costs a fraction of what B&Q charge for planed timber.

One of my friends bought a bed frame (no slats) and rebuilt it into a huge sofa for two of them plus the wolfhound (the headboard as the back and the footboard as the arms).

Don't worry, that looks great, even though I have good carpentry knowledge I am only good at making strong functional stuff, its rarely very pretty, even though I do know the correct joint to use.

Grendel

[MauriceMynah]

I'm very good at joints, spliffing one might say!

[DemeraraBorn]

Wish I could get my joints to look as neat, Tim.  Let me know when you start giving classes.  As Iain says, it will be good to see the unit finally moored to the wall. Well done so far. 

[Polly]

Awesome Tim. Well done!

[Timbo]

Time to put the skills into practice on something important...THE BOAT! 

 

With the new deck and bulkhead fitted it was time to tackle the cockpit canopy. So the youngest lad Matty and I loaded up the car with our new woodworking tools and headed for Wayford. Definitely a case of all the gear and no idea!

 

For the last year or so the cockpit canopy has been propped up with a number of different lengths of timber which have been screwed together, lashed together with rope and always in a state of near or total collapse. Royal Tudor's canopy is a simple affair. A three fold windscreen, two swinging canopy sides that when all three are raised are bridged by four spars which support a canvas top.

 

It all sounds very simple, but in reality Royal Tudor's canopy is a real pig to operate! The cabin sides are hinged and fastened to the windscreen by two cabin hooks. The roof spars fit into wooden notches. The cabin sides bow out at the back, which cause the roof spars to rotate in their slots and eventually drop...giving you a headache literally! To complicate matters the port cockpit side had some serious rot issues and sections of timber needed replacing...and Obi Wan Doug would not be on hand for help and advice!

 

A dash to the boatyard, a quick measure up of the timber thickness, and we headed to Tim Collins at Wroxham to buy new timber for the job. If Doug were doing the job we would have had enough timber already, but as I was likely to end up with a pile of sawdust...better buy some extra! First job the next day was to remove the port cockpit side, assess the damage and start measuring while Matty got on with apply a third coat of varnish to the starboard side of Royal Tudor.

 

We gingerly removed the cockpit side, in case it disintegrated en route, and laid it on the bank where Dyllan the Beagle gave it the once over.

His pawfessional opinion? 'It's knackered that!' And it was too! The forward joint had completely rotted through and I was going to have to replace two of the timbers.

What was more, the frame was made up of a complicated arrangement of angles on the joints and bevels on the edges of the timber. A spot of advice was needed on how to get the right angles...time to track down Jon! Advice given and a quick trip into Wroxham to buy a miter bevel. You could hear the Yorkshire anthem of 'How bloody much?' quite clearly when I was told the price of said device which comprised of two bits of metal with a wooden handle.

 

Back at the yard and it was time to use the first new tool. Out with the table saw, a quick read of the instructions, throw away the wobbly fence make by own fence with a straight edge and two clamps...then 'rip' some timber to width. Did you notice the use of the technical term there? It was at this point that I noticed the new timber was not planed to the correct thickness. Time to track down Matt at the yard for some more advice.

 

Half an hour later and Matt had kindly planed down my timber to the correct thickness. So onward and upward! Well at a bit of an angle as I tilted the table saw blade and cut the bevel on my timber...after measuring the angle with twelve quids worth of miter bevel! To save on the new timber I decided to make the second section I needed out of the good timber left from the now replaced bottom section...if you follow me?

 

So with all the pieces cut, it was time to move onto the next new bit of kit we had brought with us...the router! A quick read of the instructions... written by a dyslexic Hungarian in Chinese it was time to pester Matt again. With some router tution under my belt it was now time to cut those half lap joints! With the odd mistake here and there I managed it! Using a square to set everything up and then clamps to hold everything in place in place, a quick application of Gorilla Glue and I screwed everything together. Now can anyone spot the mistake?

 

 

Yes indeed I had fastened everything together with the power cable running through the frame! You do know I'm an idiot...right? I now ran the panel saw down each edge to tidy up the corners of the joints to get the right angles on the bevelled edges and to tidy everything up. Out with the filler and by this time the beagles needed a walk and Matty and I were hungry...plus it was raining.

 

Sunday I got on, with Matty's help, cleaning up the frame with the sander and staining it. I also set about cutting the small beads to hold the window in place with the table saw. 

 

I mitered the beads and fitted the window back into place with copious amounts of silicone. Finally the frame was completed and the next day we set about fixing it back onto the boat. Once the frame was back on its hinges I fitted, at Doug's suggestion, two 12" cabin hooks to the rear of each of the cockpit sides. This held the sides in square, so we could now cut the roof spars to the correct length. And yes the rear pane of glass is cracked but this will replaced when the money allows, apart from which I needed to get the boat water tight first...my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

 

It was now Matty's turn to shine as once we had fitted the curved roof spars he carefully rounded off the edges to match the profile Doug has cut onto two of them. The spars too were stained.

 

Meanwhile I spent several hours on the roof of the boat stitching the canopy, repairing damage to the seams using a locking stitch, wax thread and a candle stub (this is one job, as a scout leader for 18 years I know how to do). I replaced the elastic that held the canopy in place and finally we fastened down the cockpit canopy...just in time to protect us from a heavy downpour of rain.

In the meantime Matty had done an excellent job on the third coat of varnish on the starboard side of the boat...together with her top back on...RT is starting to come together.

We may have some gear and no idea but...we are getting there, very slowly, but we are getting there!

[BroadScot]

Well done Timbo!       Now start practicing with your new band "The Cartoonists!" 

 

Seeing RT reminds me so much of my hires on Grande and Glitter Girls at Summercraft. With those sides down, one was able to wheech through yon arch at PH! Nae bother at awe

 

Onwards now with RT you've done the UPWARD bit!

 

 

Iain.

[BroadAmbition]

Cracking Post, Cracking write up, ditto with the phots,

 

Well done, well done indeed.

 

You should be proper proud of theesens

 

BZ

 

 

Griff

[Hockham Admiral]

Ditto Iain's and Griff's comments, Tim. I'd certainly let you loose on Friday Girl!   :clap

[CaptinDread]

[MauriceMynah]

I thought I said more than that

[grendel]

must have been edited to remove swearwords and facetious comments.

Grendel

[MauriceMynah]

Blimey, if they removed the facetious comments from my posts I doubt there'd be enough left for me to qualify for full membership!

[BroadScot]

If it had been removed, which I don't think it has, we show at the bottom who edited it out. Hope that helps .

 

 

Iain.

[Hockham Admiral]

If it had been removed, which I don't think it has, we show at the bottom who edited it out. Hope that helps .

 

 

Iain.

And the reason why. 

[MauriceMynah]

Ahh haa, Is Capt. Dread not doing it right?

I'm not sure I remember how to quote people either.

[grendel]

I know I cant quote on this forum from work (internet explorer) or paste either, but at home on chrome it works fine.

Grendel

[CaptinDread]

Ahh haa, Is Capt. Dread not doing it right?

I'm not sure I remember how to quote people either.

 

Shenanigans i tell yee... Arrr!

[Timbo]

Talking of quotations...

 

My other half asked me how the Timbo idiot filter worked the other day.

"Why is it you only answer to certain things people say?" she asked.

"I have a filter which automatically works out whether what a person says is correct or not." I replied.

"Yes but how do you know?" she persisted.

"They start their sentence with 'Timbo says'." I answered.

Well, she did ask!