Scratch Build – Complete [Scratch Build] - Victorian Desktop - Mosquito - Completed 2nd Jun. 2015 - Done!

nice work!
Love the vid ☺

 

Vid: -No lightspeed cat cameo.
-pee break.
-That stopping in the corner to figure out what the hell you were doing.
-Grinding on the wood so fast the table tries to escape.

Also, I move like that when I stub my toe.

 

Thanks guys!

Actually, at about 3:37, there was a cat cameo In the doorway while I was sweeping up. Came part way in, decided better of it, and then sat in the doorway until he decided I was boring lol

 

Looking good as usual dude.

 

With the top, front, and bottom all dovetailed together, I set the radiator in there on a little support block to test fit. There’s actually a little more clearance than I thought. This is good.




Just for size reference, this is a 120mm fan on the top.




This is for my more vintage woodworking inclined friends, a Stanley #4 plane




Next on the agenda are the side panels. There; done; that should do it. Nail it in place and call it good.




One of my favorite hand planes, a skewed plow plane; Stanley #46.




I use the #46 to cut a groove across the grain (dado) of the side panels. One on the top and bottom.




I cut rabbets on the outside of each top and bottom piece, to fit into these grooves. This will line everything up once assembled




I left the sides a little bit long, as I’m not quite sure what I’m going to be doing for the back panel just yet.







There’s a little less wiggle room side to side with the radiator than vertically, but it fits so we’re good




That’s it for now, quick update. Will have more when I get the side panels fastened to the case, hopefully later this week.

Thanks for checking it out; as always, questions and comments welcome

-Mos

​

Special thanks again to G.Skill

 

Hand cut dados and rabbets? Oh now you're just showing off. Nice work so far, and I love that you're using hand tools for most of the build.

 

Got wood?


I do...

 

Thanks! It's actually much faster for me to set up to do it this way than to set up the router table. That and it's around 0F (-18c) the last couple of days and the router table is in the garage

Hadn't really thought about it until now, but the aesthetic of many of my cast iron tools matches that of the cast iron pieces being used on the case lol

I've got remnants of my wood all over the shop. Erm, wait...

 

I don't know what any of those words mean, but that sure looks good!

 

haha Thanks!

 

Woo hoo, project juggling & looking good.

 

Thanks Waynio! Yeah... going to try to keep both going, but the NUC build has a hard end date, so that one will have to get a majority of the time for now. Hopefully what I've got in the pipe for updates will hold me for a few weeks lol

 

Next up, getting some hinges installed. This is how I did it. They’re small brass hinges, and I’ve chosen to flush mount them so only the hinge barrel and pin are visible when it’s closed.




I’ll be hinging the side panels so I can still open them to install and access the system.
There will be a divide down the middle of the case, so I’ll hinge both sides to get into the case.




I don’t want there to be a gap when the door is closed, so I’ve recessed the hinges.




Measure and mark the distance from the edge that I want the hinge to start. Mark across both pieces at the same time, while they’re assembled. This ensures that everything will be lined up once you’re done.




Line up the hinge with the mark, and use that to lay out the location for the hinge with a marking knife. To use the hinge to mark it out, open it all the way up, and then lay it on there backwards. This will make sure it stays square while you’re marking.




Now we’ve got a perfect marking of where the hinge will be recessed.




Set a marking gauge to the thickness of a hinge plate.




Mark the depth of the recess.




Now chop the waste with a chisel, being careful not to chop beyond the depth mark.




Come back with the chisel to clean out the waste. It’s easy to put too much force behind the chisel (especially if it isn’t sharp), and blow out the back of the recess.




There, recessed on one side.




Now move to the other panel (front), and mark out the hinge location the same way we did before.




The difference this time, is setting the depth gauge to the width of the pin and barrels on the hinge (to recess the rest of the hinge not recessed in the side panel).




I use an awl to mark the screw locations. The screws are small enough that I don’t drill in this instance. If the screws are larger, then I drill them. Especially with brass screws.




A little wax on the screws is a good idea. Especially with brass screws. I’ve broken a good number of them because they snapped off with too much force.




Do a little juggling to get the panels and hinges all attached, and we’re good to go.




Now I’ve got both side panels hinged to the case.


Next up will be a way to keep the side panels closed, that still allows me to get into it when I need to.

Thanks for checking it out.

-Mos

​

Special thanks again to G.Skill

 

It's always nice to see how tools are used correctly (so that's what a depth gauge does!). Very instructive.

 

haha, thanks Nexxo

 

This looks great, i love the hand tools being used and just woodwork systems in general, keep it up!

 

Nice work.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Now that the side panels are hinged, I need a way to keep them closed.
I’ll be using mortise locks, intended for small boxes.




I mark out the widths based off the lock itself. There’s two sections.
There is a thicker section for the lock mechanism, and side wings for mounting.




Once again I use my marking gauge set to the depth of the lock.




I mark out the depth of the lock, and bring the four lines over for the different depths.




I chisel down to depth on both sides. I chisel straight down on the line, then angle in.
This makes it a little easier to avoid blowing out the two sides later.




Next I chisel out the middle hump down to approximate depth.




I use a router plane to get the depth the same all the way across.




It’s not entirely necessary, since it’ll be hidden, but it’s a level of craftsmanship thing




I just use a chisel to take a little off the face, so the lock will sit flush with the edge.




Just had to mount it after that.




I had also drilled a hole, and cut it into a keyhole shape so I could still access the lock with the key.




The key even fits!




The other part of the lock is the latch that goes in the groove of the side panel.
These were actually kind of tricky to get installed so they line up.




I did the same on the other side as well, so now both sides can be held shut.



--------------------

So now I’ve got, effectively, a box with an open end, and a big hole in the front. I suppose some of the internal stuff will be up next then…

As always, thanks for watching.

-Mos

​

Special thanks again to G.Skill

 

Your abilities with woodtools are amazing. Watching your pictures I so miss working in a fully equiped workshop. Cudos to you, I bow!