Getting Some Freebies and Working on some UFO's

My wife is a quilter and in the quilting world they use the term UFO for "unfinished objects" or Projects. Well as things go I have several of those and I am trying my best to catch up.since my last post I did manage to do a local art show, sell a table, and meet some very nice folks.There was a couple that I was talking to and the gentleman ask me if I wanted some free wood that was cut 1/4" thick. He seen that I was doing marquetry and thought I could use it. It is not like I don't have enough odds and ends around but I said I would take it. He was a professional woodworker that works with slabs and has a lot of off cuts of some pretty nice wood. What he didn't mention was the thicker 3/4"to 1" mostly high figured and burls that he had . Below is what he gave me and I admit it was more than I expected.

Box of 1/4" thick wood pieces

  I normally work on one project at a time and then move on but since I have been working with the chevalet I end up with several marquetry projects also when I did the tea table I cut parts for two more. All this adds up to doing several of the same projects over again and getting the ambition up for that is like pulling teeth. I must admit though when I am working on them it is still enjoyable, I just want to start something totally new.

The first thing I began was refining the legs on the tea table. The finished table was fine but it just didn't look as light as the original .

I took the leg down to 5/8" from 13/16 " on the bottom and that may not seem like a lot but the difference is very noticeable I wanted one to be as close to the original as possible so I made a scratch stock and cut some flutes along the leg close to what were on the original. I'm not sure if I will add marquetry to the other one or not.











 I also started on the other three tiger pictures. This seems to be going a little better than the first one because I am assembling all three at the seem time instead of just one at a time. It is still a time consuming project but I will end up with three pictures in just a little more time than I spent doing one.

 I started with the head because its the hardest part and has most of the tiny pieces.

Another project that was started but never finished was the tenon jig. I had all the wood cut and even had a start on laying out the dovetails. 

After all the layout was done on the joints I cut the the dovetails on the table saw and chopped the pins by hand with chisels.

I made a mistake and didn't take into account the 1/2" I cut away on the inside of the tail sides and the pins stick out by that amount on both sides UGH! The only bad thing is I will lose about an inch of space on the inside of the jig for real large tenon's but I don't really work on that scale much so I don't think it will be much of an issue.I had to cut a recess on the inside of the front piece to accept the steal vise and give me a 1/2" more room.

I just glued it up as is and will cut the excess off when it is done.

The last little project was not something that was started but only took a hour or so to complete. It started when visiting my in-laws in upstate N.Y. They had a friend who lost her elderly parents recently and her father had a wood shop in the basement. She was selling the house and wanted it cleaned out . She told my father in law and me to take whatever we wanted and she didn't want anything for it. Although he had some power equipment I could have taken I didn't want to take something I didn't need just because it was free. What I did end up with was a few nice saws, one of which was a very nice backsaw, and some drill bits for a brace, and a oak shop stool.

 With all these new (old) saws I needed somewhere to store them, so along with a few I already owned I made a rack and mounted it to the wall next to my bench.

I already ordered the files to sharpen them so once sharpened I will be pretty set up for hand saws. I would like to get a 5tpi rip saw but that can wait as I do have a table saw that I don't see me getting rid of to go powerless in the near future. I will eventually have to make something for all the drill bits to keep them from being knocked around and getting dull, maybe a case for the braces and bits together.