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Cart Wheels 2
Picked up the cart wheels for the bar cart and they look great! Some discussion continues about which wheels to use for the first one so I’m still in limbo about the plans… 
I’m a little curious about the screw heads and how they played a role in construction. I didn’t notice them when I picked them up at the sandblasters, can’t play with them now that the paint is on. The inscription is W&P M14. The curves of the second set capture my eye and even include grease nipples, although I’m sure they will need to be replaced after being blasted and painted. 
Shadow Box
The cart wheels were dropped off and then picked up from a local sand blaster. Next they went to a friends auto shop for a paint job. While waiting for their return I began to make a shadow box for my wife.
Beginning with visions of using some left over Sapele and imagining the beautiful look of the dovetailed corners I quickly had to reverse direction when the word paint was spoken. Nothing wrong with paint except I’m not a great painter and I have no intention of using a beautiful wood which will be hidden from view. Fortunately I found some pine in the corner and pressed on.
No dovetails have been cut since the small tool chest project so I warmed up with a couple pieces of scrap. After marking the tails I set to work sawing and then chopping out the waste.
You will notice in the pictures that I used a piece of scrap wood on the first cut, then used it as a guide for the other dovetails. This ensured they were all similar and made the layout process much quicker. Paul Sellers showed me this trick when I attended his foundations class.
I was also greatly helped by a freshly sharpened Bad Axe Saw. When I was at the saw sharpening seminar, Mark Harrell took the saw and gave it a little personal service. It’s cutting great. Although I sharpen most of my own saws there is nothing like have a pro do it for you.
With the tails cut I chopped out the pins and within the space of three hours I went from some boards to a dovetailed frame.
Next step is to cut the grooves for the glass. I used a couple of tricks to get this done. The first is to secure the boards using a clamp into my bench vise. this gives me all of the security I need and access for the plow plane. The plow works great everywhere except those ends where I can’t break through and expose the groove. I could fix this with some blocks inserted at the end of the process or switch tools. In this case I grabbed my router plane and using the guide finished up the grooves with little fuss.The final piece of construction is making the rabbit (rebate) for the back panel.
Cart Wheels
What do you do when it is below zero and the shop heater has no chance raising the temperature above freezing? Thinking, drafting, and planning! My wife spends a tremendous amount of time and energy volunteering and one of her favorite gigs is preparing for a hospice auction. This year I have been roped in to provide a cart that can be used as a bar. I have the picture below to work from.
Last weekend we picked up two sets of wheels and axles (I already sense a second cart). The wheels come from old factory carts and are heavy cast iron with a light coating of rust.
After a little bit of searching we found someone to sandblast them and another friend to give them a coat of paint. Before sending them off I took some measurements so I could move forward with the cart design. If these things were easy anyone could do it! It didn’t take long before the challenges started to add up. The first set of wheels didn’t fit one of the axles at all. May need some bushings to make them work. The second axle only fits on one of the other wheels the second wheel is 5/32 off ! My quick test fitting when we bought them involved one axle turned end for end into one wheel. Thank goodness for McMaster Carr. After a few hours of measuring and drawing and I’m ready to order bushings, washers and an axle that should put one set right. Didn’t have much else to do today with the cold so didn’t mind searching the recesses of my brain for what’s left of my engineering degree.
Catapult
Over the last month little time has been spent woodworking although requests from my family continue to poor in. There’s a tool chest, bar cart, two desks, table, picture frame and others already forgotten. So what do I do? Build a catapult!
Taking scraps from the small tool chest, parts are measured, dimensioned and planed. Working with Sapele is really nice and the swirls of wood and vibrant smell tickle all of the senses. The sides are rough cut with a saw then I chisel in the curves finishing with a spoke shave and #3 plane. Placing them in the vise they get a final smoothing to ensure they match.
The upright is shaped in the same way. The swirls of wood in this piece really catch my eye. Can’t wait to get some finish on it. With these components complete the base can be made and mortises cut to accept the sides and upright.
With everything assembled and holes drilled for the pins. Only the finish and something to hold the ball left. I used a couple of coats of shellac which brought out the color of the wood. I have yet to determine how to hold the ball so I used a dixie cup temporarily. I don’t have a lathe so may seek some help at my next woodworking guild meeting.
This catapult was designed by others to be used when teaching statistics and data collection. It was a great project especially when made with hand tools and My son and I spent a couple of hours testing the various settings and results.
orepass 