More than a year ago I predicted that AI would create a huge new wave of programmers. Has it? Yes. But an unwelcome phenomenon came along with it: junior programmers jobs collapsed. What's the fix?
https://seldo.com/posts/ai-has-torched-the-market-for-junior-programmers/
I have a choice of what I'm going to work on next:
1. Top doors: there will be two that swing out and it will open to show shelving inside
2. Back panels: this will be cedar and I can use my super fun Lie-Nielsen tongue and groove plane
3. Bottom drawer: one large storage drawer. More walnut. I have to figure out heavy duty slides.
I kind of want to play with the t&g plane but I found this 12"+ walnut some time ago and it will be perfect for the drawer face. So I might just get started on that next.
I've also made the structural divider shelf that will demarcate the single large drawer at the bottom of the cabinet with the top doors. I'm installing it with just some simple dados. I can't be bothered to do any other fancy joinery.
And after the case was assembled, I realized that I couldn't move it very easily so I had to stop and build a cart to get it on and off my bench. This ugly thing is a blessing! I can just zip it on and off my bench and move it around without any effort.
It's been four months since my last update on this build. So sorry! Most of the work halted for some personal reasons but even if it's very slowly being worked on, it's still going forward.
I survived glue-up but didn't take any photos of that. Too damn big. Too damn stressful so here is the case united after clamps and cleanup.
One measurement, cut, and chop at a time. It all adds up. I’m finally getting close to assembling the case.
I need help from the #woodworking hivemind though…
How would you clamp something this size? Even my longest bar clamp won’t reach on the long ends. 🤔
I had to put this project on pause to refinish a chair over the last few weekends but I'm back chipping away at it.
Something that's been worrying me since drawing out the plans was how I was going to transfer the tails to the pin board because the case pieces are so big.
It took a little ingenuity but problem solved. This workbench is the gift that keeps on giving.
Big Bear energy
A little more progress with marking out joinery and starting to cut dovetails. I decided on tails facing up and corners mitered.
But it’s single digits in Chicago today so everything is stinking cold. I only managed to cut one set of tails before I retreated to a warmer upstairs.
That’s a wrap for this week. Work is starting back up tomorrow so things will be much slower now.
My goal was to get the case sections ready for joinery (thickness, dimension, joint, edge glue) and I’m close. I have one more panel that needs final flattening otherwise I’m calling the week a #woodworking success (not without a lot of aches and pains along the way though 🤪).
Y’all why do I fall in love with the most expensive gear!?
This is a Stabilo 8052 white pencil and it’s by far the best marking pencil for dark wood I’ve ever used. It’s clear, smooth, and erases easily.
I need another marking pencil (mine is nearly a nub) but these are $6+ EACH. 😭
Anyone have any other white #woodworking marking pencils they can recommend?
Hopefully this will be the last photo of “stacked wood” but the significance of this one is that I finally finished dimensioning and jointing all the case boards. 🎉
I’ve logged about 25 hours this week so that’s about 1.5 hrs per board. These fuckers are straight and true though.
Aiming for a glue-up this weekend.
Goodbye loud machines and hello to the zen state of hand plans.
It’s edge jointing day! Probably the first of many. I haven’t jointed by hand in over a year so kind of proud to see I still got it.
I was going to joint and glue-up each panel section one-by-one but I think I might do all the boards first and then have one big glue-up. Maybe that will cut down on warping if panels are sitting around for a long time?
Either way, I’m very slow. It’ll be a miracle if I finish this in 2026.
Pictured is the bottom panel of the carcas which is all I was able to get done today.
And my little helper today. Lucy has a keen eye for matching boards to panel sections.
The temps went from 50 F yesterday down to the teens today so it was chilly running the thickness planer in the garage. 🥶
But since I already had the face side work done, it didn’t take nearly as long as yesterday.
Except for a few bandsaw rips, this will be the last of the power tools for the build.
Tomorrow is edge jointing and hopefully I can get started on gluing up the panels! Exciting!
I leaned pretty heavily on a planer sled to establish a face side for all of them this time. I had two boards flat enough to run straight through the planer but all the others all needed shimming of some kind.
This was the worst of them (it’s a really pretty board though!)
16 boards took me most of the day using this method. Maybe I should have just done it with hand tools like I used to. 😂
I’ve been accumulating walnut boards all year and I have just enough to get started on the case.
I will still need to buy enough for the cabinet doors, drawer, and back. This thing is going to be really big and heavy. 😮💨
Hello #woodworking friends! 👋 I’m starting a new project this week. It’s a year behind schedule but oh well!
One year ago I made a half size cabinet as practice for a full size version: https://hachyderm.io/@jamigibbs/113755160063860236
With the next week off of work, I thought it would be a good time to get the full size started. This one will definitely take a while though.
Hey #woodworking fam! I haven’t been able to work in the shop much but I’m trying to carve out more time (I have a few boxes and an armoire I still want to build this year 🙀).
I’m also putting some more safeguards on my social media accounts (privacy settings etc) and pulling back from the socials in general. The psyche can only take so much of the world right now.
Anyway, here’s a box I started months ago that I’m finally getting back around to working on. This is the third iteration of a custom design.
I hope everyone is well! 💚
Timeline cleanse!
Happy gotcha day to Lucy! One year ago today she won the doggie lottery. From being a puppy mill mama to a princess extraordinaire with endless treats and snuggles. Love ya, goose!
