I was in need for some shop therapy & it just so happens my wife has been asking for a shelf to dress up a wall in our kitchen. So I set out for an adventure, well more like some peace amongst the sawdust! I thought I'd share this work in progress.
Started with a simple Design. Had a nice piece of cherry and some oak boards lying around. I planed them down and cut them to size.
Then I cut some dado's. To give the shelf a little style and support, I decided to use a mortise and tenon style joint. Just purchasing some Mortise Chisels, I decided to cut these mortises mostly by hand (The drill press helped to make the process a little quicker).
I learned from my mistake, as I did the lower mortise first and you see here on the backside, I had a pretty big chip out. I didn't score anything on the backside, so lesson learned. The other mortise went much better and more smooth. Then I cut the shelves to fit.
In figuring out the best way to mount this project to the wall, I decided to make a cleat for the shelf to lock into. I routed the back of the cherry to allow for the cleat to fit nice and snug. After several passes with the router, I used a dovetail bit and some more chiseling to get a nice angle on the back of the main support. I cut the angle on the cleat for a nice locking finish.
Here's a picture of the shelf sitting on the wall. I surprised my wife with it sitting there when she got home (brownie points!) and I just need to sand, glue and finish. I'll get some pictures of that when it is all finished up.
I just thought I'd share my latest project. Any thoughts and critiques are appreciated. Thanks!
Started with a simple Design. Had a nice piece of cherry and some oak boards lying around. I planed them down and cut them to size.
Then I cut some dado's. To give the shelf a little style and support, I decided to use a mortise and tenon style joint. Just purchasing some Mortise Chisels, I decided to cut these mortises mostly by hand (The drill press helped to make the process a little quicker).
I learned from my mistake, as I did the lower mortise first and you see here on the backside, I had a pretty big chip out. I didn't score anything on the backside, so lesson learned. The other mortise went much better and more smooth. Then I cut the shelves to fit.
In figuring out the best way to mount this project to the wall, I decided to make a cleat for the shelf to lock into. I routed the back of the cherry to allow for the cleat to fit nice and snug. After several passes with the router, I used a dovetail bit and some more chiseling to get a nice angle on the back of the main support. I cut the angle on the cleat for a nice locking finish.
Here's a picture of the shelf sitting on the wall. I surprised my wife with it sitting there when she got home (brownie points!) and I just need to sand, glue and finish. I'll get some pictures of that when it is all finished up.
I just thought I'd share my latest project. Any thoughts and critiques are appreciated. Thanks!
