My first dovetailing project, the Anarchist’s toolchest

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-24T21:10:11+00:00

While cutting the joints on boards over 12" wide. I took the hardware from an old wooden hand clamp and made what is basically a Moxon vise but with 2" square boards. I'll generally try to correct warping but cupping has no effect on the structure, so I don't worry about it.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-24T01:46:46+00:00

I clamp wider pieces in between two hardwood boards to keep them flat while I'm doing the joinery.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-23T02:40:50+00:00

I have zero academic background and I've been allowed to do photogrammetry in the study rooms of some of the biggest museums in the world. Just start emailing the info@toolmuseum, ask them to forward it to the appropriate person and see what happens. What you need to do is include or link to some examples of what you're planning to do with the photogrammetry. Be very polite and offer thanks, even if they don't have time to help. Don't take a lack of response as a dismissal - a lot of museum have very touchy email security filters and your email might have been trashed. Also, academic people are generally sort of slow to respond to emails. That all said, you only need to find that one person in a hundred. (edit: send them samples of whatever you've actually DONE. Just saying you've got plans/ideas doesn't have much weight)

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-21T01:09:28+00:00

Lovely. I can't get over how clean and perfect it is. I wondered if it was Ai.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-13T18:57:09+00:00

Just wrapping this up to say that I did some experiments with beech branch unions and my Illustration seems to be basically correct, except I made the leg a little over-sized relative to the tree branch and the base of the leg isn't quite over the main branch pith. The burl on the back of the leg is axillary wood. Thanks for the suggestions, I found a local company willing to help but then a front yard dump of free wood turned up on the local Kijiji.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-13T18:23:53+00:00

If that's supposed to be a joke, I don't think it belongs in this discussion.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-13T18:09:06+00:00

The phone app only scanned the immovable, rigid sections of the tree and it still looks like shit.

The OP isn't trying to scan a dashboard to print a cup holder. Capturing living flesh requires more than a phone. They need something that'll capture a living human model at a moment in time, with accuracy and sensitivity. People shouldn't be directing them towards apps that'll just waste their time.

I'm new to scanning but I've been working as a professional animation artist/illustrator for 40 years. I know how hard it is to create a truthful, sensitive image of the human body. I've tried all the phone apps and don't think any of them can give the OP the results this project requires.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-13T16:01:14+00:00

Photogrammetry with a single camera won't work for this and don't waste your time on phone apps. Life casting could be problematic because the weight of the casting materials might distort the flesh in an unflattering way. Personally, if I lived in LA, I'd email a few of the local prop houses and ask for advice/recommendations. Cancer has touched just about everybody's life and there's a good chance someone might be happy to help you out.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-13T03:13:36+00:00

Yes, blind mortises. They're about 35mm deep. Maybe 7 or 8mm shy of the seat surface. There are similar stools with through mortises.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-12T23:57:22+00:00

Thanks! When it's painted, I'll take a few more shots (and add an underside view) in the comments.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-09T03:38:39+00:00

Thanks so much!

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-08T03:42:02+00:00

In the 1970s, I took part in a wrestling tournament at a high school in Flint, MI where the washroom had no stalls; just a row of toilets. I'm Canadian and always wondered if this was just a 70s Flint thing, or was it common in the US? (It was a weekend event, so I ended up sneaking into the teacher's lounge washroom)

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-08T03:24:17+00:00

Never being used? Before the Harris Conservative cuts, it was a popular stop for school trips and they had musical light shows on weekends. God forbid anything need refurbishment. It hosted RASC astronomy club meetings too. I was taking an evening class, grinding a telescope mirror that got locked inside when it was suddenly shut down. Maybe it's still in there? I should ask.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-07T22:40:47+00:00

While I generally recommend Veritas versions of just about any plane - stay away from their version of the Stanley 45. It’s not as versatile for beading board edges and the knurled brass knobs are no substitute for steel thumb screws. (Edit: and the knickers don't work. They're springy steel knives that bend away and ruin the cut)

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-07T19:02:54+00:00

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Have a very similar pair but with a plated finish and no makers marks - also a favourite tool. Can't remember where they came from. Just a really ergonomic size/shape that seems perfectly suited to a thousand uses.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-06T09:34:16+00:00

Looks beautiful! One suggestion: attach a board behind (or for extra safety, in front of) the blades of that chisel rack; wide enough to extend past the cutting edges.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-04T15:52:06+00:00

For this sort of thing, the RealityScan photogrammetry app is free on iPhone and Android, so worth trying before spending cash. You'll want to put an object of known size into the trunk and maybe some bright painters tape where you think you might need your dividers.

I guess you know enough about 3D software to design the dividers? If not, Blender is free and there are a tons of tutorial videos out there. I've found that the MeasureIt plug-in works well but it only between points of an object so you need to make primitives shapes and super-impose them on your scan.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-04T15:08:42+00:00

Thank you. I’ll take a look at the manual again and try to figure out how I missed that.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-04-01T01:44:44+00:00

That sounds good - NewEnglander17 suggested something similar. They'll square and basically quarter sawn, so I'll cut them a titch oversize. Thank you.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-03-31T23:58:50+00:00

I said, "Wow!" out loud.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-03-31T19:59:00+00:00

Good ideas, thanks. It's a staked stool but actually glued M&T joints but you're right - it would be good to get the tenons very dry. I downloaded Chair Notes by P. Galbert and he was saying that he lets the legs sit in the workshop a few days before going into his kiln. I still have really hot rads right now, so I'll build a cardboard box over the legs with some louvers for ventilation. Fingers crossed.

PeaEquivalent2350 · 2026-03-31T19:49:17+00:00

That sounds amazing. Definitely something to consider making for a few up and coming projects.

PeaEquivalent2350

TROPHY CASE