Tom & Shelly's build

[pchast]

Tom,

If your mechanic has trouble with odd fittings........

I've bought parts from HF technical support and gotten fast shipping..........
800-444-3353

[Tom&Shelly]

Tom,

If your mechanic has trouble with odd fittings........

I've bought parts from HF technical support and gotten fast shipping..........
800-444-3353

Well, the flexible hose fits fine, except I installed it and filled the system with hydraulic fluid, and the log splitter head now won't budge. Tried bleeding the system of air, but the head still doesn't move. So maybe I fixed it so it can't be fixed! Might be I need to rebuild the pump, but that'll have to wait until I get the tear drop (and a few other projects) finished first--maybe a few years down the road.

I abused it for 12 years, so I guess I got my money's worth. The 7 ton splitter worked fine on my own pinion and juniper, but when friends' offered wood from their yards down in Albuquerque, the splitter sometimes wouldn't handle the logs (and I may have damaged the splitter trying). Assuming I want to take care of my own fire wood for another 25 years or so, I suppose I should invest in a bigger, gas driven splitter.

But enough of that frustration! On with the teardrop...

Tom

[tony.latham]

I suppose I should invest in a bigger, gas driven splitter.

We bought a 6.5 ton Wen electric splitter last fall for $270.

SHABANG! Part of my reaction to using it on one cord of fir was why buy a gas splitter? (Maybe oak?)

Tony

[Tom&Shelly]

Part of my reaction to using it on one cord of fir was why buy a gas splitter? (Maybe oak?)

Tony

My problems are with ash and cottonwood. Some over 18 inches in diameter. The pinon and juniper (and a few ponderosa) grow at our altitude, but our friends in the Rio Grand valley get the hardwood. (I think the ash was planted when the house was built in the 1940s or 50s. Cottonwood grows naturally down there.)

When new, the HF splitter worked great on my juniper and pinion. But it wore down. Hopefully, a heavier duty splitter, used on the same wood, wouldn't wear out as quickly, though I don't really understand hydraulic systems that well, so I'm not sure.

BTW, I commend the wood working properties of (naturally cured) pinon. It grows slowly and so has many properties of a hard wood, but still works like other pine. I've cut some polls in early Fall, peeled them with a draw knife leaving some inner bark to get a two tone, and was able to work them over the Christmas holidays. Makes great looking rustic furniture, curtain rods, etc., but it's not commercially viable because the trees are too small and don't grow straight.

I usually take dead trees out for firewood, and so that's what gets fed to the splitter. Perhaps they've been dead for a hundred years: it's so dry here wood often doesn't rot. (It's destiny is to burn. Better in our wood stove than in a wild fire!)

Tom

[tony.latham]

My problems are with ash and cottonwood.

T

[Tom&Shelly]

My problems are with ash and cottonwood.

T

Of course I mean they are a "problem" for splitting, but, once split, the hardwood burns cleaner, and there's a lot of heat energy per stick. And, we do our part to "help" global warming by releasing sequestered carbon! (Albeit, this carbon has been in there for much shorter periods than that from coal or petroleum.)

But, back to the build! When we left for vacation, I left the dresser frame clamped with the dowel joints gluing. Since coming home, I sanded the frame smooth (didn't take much), rounded over the edges with a 1/8 inch router bit, cleaned up the 1/4 inch channels that fit into the tabs in the front of the shelves, and fit the thing:



Overall, I'm satisfied with the results. The frame itself is square (pretty much), but the gaps between it and the sides at the bottom are about 1/8 inch, while at the top they are nil:



Of course, I designed it that way, since sloping sides will be stronger!

Oh well, at least it's symmetrical. We'll definitely need some trim there. We have a roll of rubber trim that goes on with peal and stick, that may work. I'll not wax the oak until we know where we want things to stick.

The frame is attached to the shelves with 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch pine cleats:



one on each corner and one in the middle, under the shelves. The frame is thick enough that I don't think the top will flex.

I also cut the door blanks from scrap 1/8 inch Baltic birch:



They slide fine, and come out easily enough, though I don't think they'll jump out while traveling. Shelly was wondering about latching them, but I don't think they'll tend to slide open while we are traveling either. Since I used scrap wood, the grain doesn't generally match, but we're still thinking about having some maps printed that we can glue on with spray on adhesive, then cover with spray on varnish. I've done that sort of thing before, and like the results.

After we cover them, I'll use a Forstner bit to drill finger holes.

With the 1/4 inch tab across each shelf, we have a tight fit to the frame, and the frame keeps the shelves from sagging. Before calling the dresser finished, I have to design and build a slide out computer table under the lower shelf, so we can--sigh--watch DVDs on cold/wet evenings. If we have internet at the campsite, we can also plan our next activities.

The shelves are deep; we chose to make the galley bulkhead one piece all the way to the top. We will store the clothing, etc. we use most often in the front, while storing the things we want but seldom use while camping (swim suits, rain gear, change of underwear) in the back.

Tom

[noseoil]

Tom, it's looking good! You could make some 1/4" X 1/4" trim on the table saw, or just use some "fender welting" as a molding if there's room to slide it in next to the wall. It's handy stuff to have on hand for those small areas that need help from time to time, easy to make or you can buy rolls of it online in different colors.

[Tom&Shelly]

Tom, it's looking good! You could make some 1/4" X 1/4" trim on the table saw, or just use some "fender welting" as a molding if there's room to slide it in next to the wall. It's handy stuff to have on hand for those small areas that need help from time to time, easy to make or you can buy rolls of it online in different colors.

Thanks Tim, that's a good idea worth considering. I didn't know what "fender welting" is (at least by that name), but Shelly knew.

Tom

[Tom&Shelly]

We like to go low tech while camping and take books (as opposed to using the interwebs), and so we built a bookcase above our headboard



to carry some local guides and nature books (rotated for specific trips), cook books, and light reading for rainy evenings.

The trick, of course, is how to keep the books from falling all over the place while traveling. Remains to be seen whether this will accomplish that



The first idea was to have the pole in front (in this case, a 1 inch pine dowel), to keep the books from falling onto the bed. This is similar to book cases we've seen in sailboats and ships. The pole is held in place by oak boards, strategically placed to hide an imperfect fit between the top of the headboard and the sides of the teardrop. The boards are also aligned with the corner of the headboard so that later molding trim will be easier.

The bookends slide along the front pole. Right now we are using Shelly's hair clips to keep them in place. Options included drilling holes in the bookend and pole and using pins--but that prevents a tight fit to the books, McMaster Carr spring sanitary clamps (at $32 a piece a non-starter!), or towel clips that come in bright primary colors (attractive to very young children and managers). If the hair clips don't work, I think I'll take some clothes pin springs and scrap wood and make some larger clothes pins.

Not sure the back pole is necessary, but the idea is to keep the books from sliding forward and crushing against the ceiling liner. As the pictures show, I made them adjustable, with two inch increments. No backer in that part of the teardrop sides, and so I used dowel joints to hold the supports together



I'm happy with the tight fit. I think the trick with my doweling jig is to have the screw side to the back. I suspect the hole is at an extremely slight angle. That would be doubled and would show the very slight gap between the pieces. Or, it could be my imagination.

Looking closely at this picture, maybe I need to work a little more at cleaning up the round-over at the corners. Never noticed the sanding scratches in the actual piece.

Plenty of room between the books for items from our pockets, and the USB ports are close for cell phone charging. We may someday get some bins to fit between the poles to take larger items.

Next, a few more small things to do before putting in the ceiling!

Tom

[tony.latham]

That's pretty cooooool! Books are good. We sure got a bunch of reading on our April 20-nighter.

Tony

[Tom&Shelly]

That's pretty cooooool! Books are good. We sure got a bunch of reading on our April 20-nighter.

Tony

Thanks Tony! It was a fun little project.

Tom

[swoody126]

that little shelf will be jam handy ;-)

sw

[S. Heisley]

We like to go low tech while camping and take books (as opposed to using the interwebs), and so we built a bookcase above our headboard
to carry some local guides and nature books (rotated for specific trips), cook books, and light reading for rainy evenings.

...The bookends slide along the front pole. Right now we are using Shelly's hair clips to keep them in place. Options included drilling holes in the bookend and pole and using pins--but that prevents a tight fit to the books, McMaster Carr spring sanitary clamps (at $32 a piece a non-starter!), or towel clips that come in bright primary colors (attractive to very young children and managers). If the hair clips don't work, I think I'll take some clothes pin springs and scrap wood and make some larger clothes pins.

Tom

You might be able to use large metal binder clips. Have you tried them? If not, you can get them in various sizes and colors at Walmart or many other places.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Universal-Bi ... 2/14929439

[fishboat]

Right now we are using Shelly's hair clips to keep them in place. Options included drilling holes in the bookend and pole and using pins--but that prevents a tight fit to the books,... If the hair clips don't work, I think I'll take some clothes pin springs and scrap wood and make some larger clothes pins...


Tom

Just a thought..you'll want to clamp the dowel to keep the bookend in place..and do so without damaging the dowel.

Cut out the section above the red line and make a clamp out of a small screw anchor and wing nut. Anther option would be to use a threaded insert in the lower bookend section and tighten the top clamp block on the dowel with a thumbscrew.

[Tom&Shelly]

Thank you both for the suggestions.

Sharon, maybe I can use the binder clips as springs to make "oversized clothes pins".

Tom