The Happy Result

The Box & Door Frame Horizontals

Here's the box, the walls, ceiling and floor of the future cabinet. It's dimensions are approximately 46" by 34", I won't go into the sixteenths. After glueing and screwing I used wood-fill to "cheat" everything into looking as good as possible hiding minor flaws. It will be flipped 90 degrees when mounted making it longer than high.

I finished all the cutting and routing on the door frame verticals and horizontals and didn't like what I had. It was too complicated needing way too many tiny adjustments to properly marry the pieces and I started thinking that it might not be the strongest way to do it (Regret Stage II), hence, off to the lumber yard for more wood, all that routing and mess and cleaning up in vain.

The Ones I Didn't Like, aka Kindling

Remaking the Door Frames

The compound joints I attempted was a phenomenal waste of time though I did learn something from it.  KISS... Keep It Simple Stupid!  The experience did make my relationship with the table saw more intimate.  I keep thinking how much I could have learned if I'd spent a few days with Kay's Dad in his shop.  A lifetime opportunity missed.

I decided to go with lap joints, a very straight forward and strong joint, glued, then pinned with a dowel.  The wood is 5/4" thick (hardwood measure) so the structure should be very solid.  After cutting the horizontals to equal lengths I lined them up and taped them together four at a time so as to mass produce them and make them as near identical as possible.  I practiced with a waste piece of wood until the saw blade was exactly half the height of the lumber so that when one lap lay upon another it would equal an original piece.  That took some time, but when you've got it, you've got it and all the wood can be cut to fit.  Starting at the end of the wood I made a cut, moved the wood one blade width (the kerf) cut again and repeated 20 or so times until I had the length of lap needed.

Next was checking the fit and sanding the laps smooth so the glue wouldn't experience any voids however minuscule.

One by one I clamped each frame together,  measured, then drilled the holes for the dowels. I started with a fairly small bit, made the first hole, then used a larger bit and finally a larger bit, 21/64ths to accept a 5/16ths dowel without needing to force it with a hammer. Using graduating bits kept rip-out to a minimum.

Cutting Dowels to Length

The poplar is 5/4" lumber.  When milled it's 1 and 1/16th.  I cut the dowels just a hair longer so they could be sanded flush.

Lap Joint and Dowel Glued and In Place

 

Dry Time

The 65 Mile Router Bit

I've been working on the "hole in the wall" for a little while every day.  I finished sanding the fills on the second set of frames.  Next step is routing out insets for the glass (again!).  I want the inset or reveal to be 1/4".  My smallest rabbet bit with a guide bearing is 3/8ths and I felt that was too big last time.  I went to Bob's hardware here in Cutchogue to buy a 1/4" bit, he didn't have one, then Orlowski's in Mattituck, nope, then Hart's in Southold, uh-uh, then Riverhead Building Supply in Greenport, they have everything but NO, then White's in Greenport.  He didn't have one either but there I learned that some bits can get a different reveal profile by using a different size bearing.  Of course, he had no bearings but back at Riverhead Building Supply they did (why didn't they tell me about this when I was there the first tme saying I've got a 3/8ths and I need a 1/4 ???).  So, I picked up a bearing, $6 as opposed to $25 - $30 for a new bit, took it home to find that mine has a different spindle diameter.  Time for lunch.  

Driving west I stopped at Jamesport Hardware just in case, then continued to the Riverhead Building Supply main location in Riverhead.  At last...  they had a 3/8th rabbet bit which with the bearing I'd just bought would cut a 1/4" reveal.  Oh, bits have gone up since I last bought one...  $45 smackers not including fuel and depreciation!  Ka-ching! 

The Bit... As Elusive as a Yeti's Tooth

Back To Routing

Now that the door frames are mostly assembled I'll route them out for the glass panes. Once around with the router doesn't make a deep enough cut so I needed to reset the depth and take another pass. The test board will become a depth key as I'll need to use both depths for each door. The last two are still drying so they'll get done later. Once routed, a squaring angle is marked, then chiseled and carved out.

Key

Hinge Placement

Template

I made a template with a piece of 1/4" plywood in order to mass produce the hinging slots, 16 of them, with a large Dremel-type tool. This was hard to control and worked poorly for me so I reverted to chisel and carving tools and cut them by hand. As I got better at it, it took less time than I'd thought it would. After cutting, I drilled pilot holes to keep the screws from splitting the wood.

Pane Dividers

The two doors on the dining room side will have two panes of glass each so I needed a piece of frame with space for the glass on both sides. I couldn't make it from one piece of wood correctly sized because there wouldn't be enough surface to keep the router square to the work. To get around that I routed to the right depth on a wide piece of lumber, then ripped them on the table saw to half the width needed, cut to length then glued.

Adding the Cabinet Stiles

Time to add the cabinet stiles. These are vertical pieces attached to the cabinet to which the doors will eventually be connected by hinges. The doors will be heavy so I'm attaching each stile to the cabinet with five screws to the side and one each from the top and bottom. To avoid cracking I drilled a pilot hole then another the size I wanted and finally a countersink for the screw head. This for each of the twenty eight screws. The stiles had a slight bit of twist to them so I needed three clamps to force the stile the right way and repositioned them for each screw. I was worth it in the long run.

I used two drop plastics to seal off the small area that I would be sanding in to keep mess to a minimum. Once the screws were in I filled the countersink holes with Zar, a great latex wood fill, then sanded. It took three passes to make the sides perfectly smooth, so nice to feel, and when painted will be one uninterrupted flat surface. I wanted the same smoothness for the cabinet face so I filled the joins there as well. This all took a lot of time but with the radio tuned to NPR it wasn't boring.

Sanding Room

Stiles Drilled and Screwed

Filled and Sanded

Stile and Cabinet Face Join

Filling the Seam... see Evan, I use a lot of goo too!

Windowsills

The shape of this canning jar and the "bubbles" in the glass indicate that it is old. I think it belonged to my Aeschliman grandmother. I came across it carefully wrapped in a plastic bag in the basement at my Mother's farm house. I enjoy how the light filters through it on the kitchen windowsill.

It's now January 7, time to put the Christmas decorations away. I've enjoyed these small dishes with a green design, so I incorporated them in an admittedly stark Christmas display on our dining room window. The dishes are from Mother Kreider. The wreath is one made by an Italian/Canadian friend from grape vines. (photos by Evan)

Vancouver Snow

I had a very snowy holiday. First with the aftermath of an icestorm in Ohio (and 0F weather), followed by 35 inches of snow in Vancouver (for the month of December, though most of it was in the Christmas period).

Of the two roads that go by my parent's house, this is the "main" one:

There are more shots on my flickr photo stream.

Evan's Christmas tea ring

For years I have been making this tea ring for Christmas morning. There is something nice about having the family awaken to the smell of baking that special morning. I mix the dough on Christmas Eve, usually before going downtown to sing midnight Mass at St James Anglican, a wonderful service which gives my Mennonite heart all the 'smells and bells' it needs for another year.

The dough is Mother's recipe for cinnamon buns, a recipe I once made at Mark's and Amy's for the clan. I still remember Paul walking into the kitchen, exclaiming over and over, "I know that smell . . . what is it?" I suspect Mother's recipe came from the Betty Crocker cookbook Dad gave her for their first wedding anniversary (and had I known this fact earlier, the book would never have been donated to a used bookstore).

Since Aaron is vegan, I make suitable substitutions, but give the original recipe here. I would be hard-pressed to tell by taste which is/is not vegan.

Start:
--1 package of yeast in 1/4 c. lukewarm water
--with 1/4 c. sugar. Stir and let rest until the yeast is obviously active.

Meanwhile, mix the remaining wet ingrediants in another bowl:
--2 beaten eggs (or egg substitute)
--2 c. lukewarm milk (or water)
--3 teaspoons salt
--1/4 c. melted shortening (being lazy, I use canola oil)

Combine yeast water with mixed wet ingrediants

Add flour. Start with 3 c., stir thoroughly and then start kneeding, slowly adding up to 6-6.5 cups of flour total, depending on the humidity, temperature and patience.

Kneed thoroughly until dough is no longer willingly accepting new flour, the dough becomes stretchy and has that wonderful yeasty smell and taste.

Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, leaving lots of room for expansion. Let rise twice, punching down between times to force out the gas (which would otherwise prevent further rising). I punch it down when I return from Mass, and the forget it until I get up in the morning.

Get out of bed. Preheat oven to 375F.

Punch the dough and divide it into 2 parts. Take one part at a time and form it into a nice thick rope by squeezing it vertically, letting it fall downwards as the rope is formed, about the length you want for the first ring. Lightly flour the work space and form the rope into the shape you want, finishing with a rolling pin.

--Melt enough butter (margerine) to be spread over the entire surface of the first ring. Spread butter with spoon (finishing with fingers--nobody sees you, they're still asleep).
--Spread brown sugar over the buttered dough
--Spread chopped walnuts or almonds and raisins (add extra raisins just for Bruce) over dough
--Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon

Roll up the dough (sidways) into a new much thicker rope on the workspace, then form it into a ring, joining the ends. Place on buttered flat baking sheet.
With scissors, cut the top of the ring at 1" intervals so the dough can rise and expand gracefully.
Bake at c. 375F about 18-25 minutes (watch it carefully so it doesn't burn on the bottom as the sugar leaks out). I suppose some folks would let this rise again before baking, but by now I'm famished and want to get the show on the road, so I simply pop the first ring into the oven.

When done, frost with white frosting sugar, real vanilla (one never ever measures real vanilla) and milk (water). Spread. Start the coffee and get dressed . . . now it's Christmas.

Inspired by Evan

Evan's Christmas Tea Ring blog has inspired me to do two things. 1. Try making the recipe myself (it may not turn out to be good as I can never leave well-enough alone with any recipe and must experiment) and 2. Go through the photo files on an external hard drive to see if I can locate pictures of the cinnamon buns Evan made at our house when we boys and wives were having a reunion in 2004.

I've located the bun picture and decided to add a few more photos of food and family from that get-together. Amy reminds me to tell you that Evan made these buns on the sly while the rest of us were down at the beach. When we returned to the house the impact of the aroma was stunning, transporting me back in time to childhood days.

Cinnamon Buns 2004

Kay, Pie Goddess

Making Ice Cream

Evan's Blackberry Shortcake

Salmon Dinner

Syncronizing Watches by the Atlantic Ocean

Shoes

More snow in Vancouver

Enough already. We are to get 8 more inches of snow today. It is beginning to drop from trees, so I took a few shots after breakfast, from the inside warmth of the house. I hope Mother can move the picture to the left and see the old plant that is parked under the deck. That is the basket of plants she and Dad sent to Janice after her cancer operation in May of 1988. Janice kept some of the plants alive for a full decade, but they were waning this fall.

Thanksgiving in Cutchogue

Thanksgiving in Cutchogue is a four day affair beginning Wednesday evening and ending Sunday afternoon. The last four years, Kara, Katherine and Bernard have been a constant. We have our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday as a tradition which gives us plenty of time to make the pies and everything else that can be made ahead. We play lots of games the favorites being long-jump chinese checkers, scrabble and bocce ball in the backyard if weather permits and this year it was beautiful. Bernard and I have our annual chess tournament when the girls go shopping at the Tanger Mall, and yes, there is plenty of time. This year they left to shop at 10 am and got back at 4:30 pm. Don't know how they do it, just glad I'm not there! They all got neat stuff, the best being Kara's opera dress. So pretty. Saturday evening after the shopping we had a fondue dinner, the wine supplied by Bruce from afar. The wine was a most unusual wine, an elderberry wine from a Kansas vintner, not sweet, very dry with just a hint of berry. It paired perfectly with the fondue of which we all ate too much.

Saturday Fondue Dinner

28 Lbs. of Cinderella Pumpkin

Kara's New Opera Dress