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

Thanks guys!

 

Really nice woodworking and idea. Looking forward for the next steps

 

The nearly complete cat warmer looks nice. (Everyone else was using 'nice.' -Was it subliminal messaging, or peer pressure?)


Crazy joins: I've wanted to do some kind of milled dogbone dovetails to make a curve.

 

Thanks! Going to have to get some stuff painted here, which hopefully the weather warms up enough to allow that...

I noticed that too, wasn't sure what was going on

crazy joinery... probably about like making those wooden puzzles that only come apart one way

 

Last few pictures before I have to get to some painting and finishing work. Was too cold last week to do much spray painting outside, but this week is looking good on that front.




Next up was tackling the little vent I cut out on the scroll saw.
It’s going to go in the side panel where the power supply intake is.




Holding it on the workbench, I cross cut it down to length.




Clean up the endgrain with a plane.




Then go back and rip to width.




Used my vintage Stanley #46 to cut a rabbet all the way around the inside.




That came out pretty well.




Next up I marked out where I’d bevel to edges to.




Then used my Stanley #101 to plane the bevels.
This plane is perfect for the task.




And beveled all the way around.




Marked and cut out the hole in the side panel on the scroll saw.




And it fits great! Glue it in place.




Now… time for a power button, and some USB ports. The power button was just a hole to drill with a counter bore on the back. No pictures of that.




For the USB ports, I hand chopped through mortises for those.




Then on the inside, I had to chop out a little more, so the USB ports would sit flush.
(There was a bump in the USB housing)




And there we go.






And a couple of teaser shots of where we’re at. This is basically done except for some painting and finishing.








Special thanks again to G.Skill

 

Nice.

 

I'm liking this one. Using proper tools not all CNC which seems to be the way most of the time these days.

 

That diddy plane.

Nice progress & looking good.

 

Oh man, that is just so sweeeeeeet!

 

Thanks guys!

Thanks! That was one of the planes I got from my grandfather

Thanks Jeff . And I agree; CNCs have become readily accessible to many people, which is kind of neat because anyone with a the ability to make a 3D model can make a case. This is good for the hobby, in that more people are getting involved I think. However, it also seems to carry with it a large downturn in people who actually make with their own hands and abilities, which isn't such a good thing... I take great pride in my hand tools, and my woodworking, in that it feels like a connection to past generations that were truly artisans in their craft.

 

Awesome!!! Love that tiny little plane.

 

True... true... Although CNC is a good way of making complex shapes precisely, and like any tool requires a lot of skill to operate (it's not just a matter of knocking out a pretty shape in AutoCAD and telling the CNC to get to it. You have to know the inherent limitations, work out the C-code, select the right milling bits and run it at the right speed for the alloy, with or without the right cutting fluid/coolant... it's a craft too).

Nevertheless I get great satisfaction from manual work on the lathe and mill, and still use cast iron hand drill (greater control and precision) and piercing saws. Victorian tools for Victorian craftsmanship.

 

You have hit the nail on the head. CNC makes it all quite easy. What I like to see is some one using tools and their hands and skill. Also a bit of blood and swearing always make for a good project log.

There's usually quite a lot of both in my builds.

I am a carpenter/builder so I know what goes into what I call proper builds.

 

CNC is not easy. Try it sometime.

 

I mean the end product. Clean as a whistle and ready to fit it all together.

How many hours have you spent filing something down so it's just right.. I find satisfaction in that.

I find looking at builds like this one, yours, Waynio and Atilla keep me interested. I see CNC and think yeah very nice, but it just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's an age thing.

 

The clean fit is all in the drawing up. And measuring. And calculation. And drawing up some more... Think of engineering blueprints: drawing those is a whole craft of its own taking years of training.

But I admit that there is a visceral joy in manual hands-on metal work, where you feel the metal. Brass is my favourite. I love brass. It's much nicer to work with than aluminium. And woodwork is an advanced skill in my book, because it is not a uniform material; it has grain and it moves in all sorts of ways.

 

I think it depends on whether it's a home-CNC operation, or a matter of "I've got a buddy who works at XYZ Inc and can get this CNC'd for me, here's my CAD file". Being that there' less intricate knowledge of running a CNC in the latter. I'm not against CNC made pieces or cases, when the designs are intrinsically complex, interwoven and artistic. That's where CNCs get me interested the most. (Like Nexxo's scratch build).

What I don't like, are things like a case that's got 6 outside pieces, a window, and some holes for fans being done on a CNC/Laser. Where's the challenge in that?

That said, the repeat-ability and precision that a CNC offers is still attractive, and I would be surprised if I didn't end up buying or building one for use in at least one of my hobbies at some point down the road. Collecting and using vintage tools is something that I don't see myself getting too far away from anytime soon, though

 

Thanks! It's honestly one of my most used planes. It's great for knocking off corners and really thin pieces

 

This does look really good, and the woodworking skill, particularly in the joints, is lovely to see (as it's completely foreign to me). One question - is it the photo, or is there a small notch to the side of one of the main teardrop-shaped cutouts in the decorative panel?