Crown molding: back to work

The jig. Here I am about to begin making a lap joint on the end of this board. I made a jig to act as a fence which my router can run against. Note the pencil line which indicates where the lap joint will end.

Enough already with the laying around the house. After dealing with the flu for eight days, I got back to work on the crown molding project for my dining room. I had cut four of the ceiling beams to final size the day before I got sick. These are the beams that run left to right across the room. The next step was to begin fabricating a lap joint on each end of these beams.

Making a cut. The jig enables me to precisely line up the cut with the pencil line. After the cut is made, I simply move the jig forward, nibbling away material until the lap joint is completed. UPDATE 4/17/11 - In this lap, it is actually better to start at the end and work back towards the pencil line.

In my last post, I was contemplating how best to make this lap joint. In the comments, Duane suggested a simple router jig, which I was not wanting to do because of all the repeated passes I would have to make. The largest straight bit I have is 1/2 inch and the width of the lap joint is six inches, so that meant 12 passes to complete the lap joint. Plus, as I began cutting away the material, I decided to make each pass with two cuts: one at 3/16 inch deep and a final pass at 3/8 inch. So, in total, making this lap joint took 24 passes and each board has a lap joint at each end - a lot of cutting. A radial arm saw with a dado blade would be the best way to do this, but I don't have such a saw, so the router is the next best tool. I made a simple jig as Duane suggested and made the lap joint.

Not pretty. Repeated passes yielded a mostly smooth lap joint, but at the very edge, my router was not supported as well, so that pass was a little deeper. The joint will still work fine and this cut will be totally out of view.

Evidence of a lot of cutting. A nice build-up of saw dust rests on my shop floor after making the lap joints.

My new sander. So much better than my old Porter Cable palm sander. This Makita is light and virtually vibration free - a real joy to use.

After a little sanding with my new Makita 5" sander (love this tool - just wish my old Porter Cable had worn out sooner) I painted on a coat of primer on the beams, then filled a few imperfections. Then it was time to attach them to the ceiling.

A lot of work. Over head work is tough. After a while, my drill gets heavy and my wife's willingness to help hold the beams in place begins to wear thin (although she was a very willing helper).

I reached my goal: these four beams are in place before supper. I still have to fill the screw holes and then do this all over again for the two beams that run front to back (see the SketchUp illustration of the beams by clicking here). I hope to have the whole simulated beam part of this project completed by this time next Sunday. Then it will be on to the actual crown molding. Yes!

This is post five in this series. To view the next post, click here. To view all the posts, click here. This is post five in this series.

________________________

Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com or you can contact me through Twitter or Facebook. Subscribe via email or RSS by clicking here.

My top three projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Scott Bookcase. 3. My foyer project.

Cool post over at the SketchUp blog

Not much going on here since I have had the flu for most of the week (I never get sick; as a matter of a fact, I can't even remember having the flu before). While lying on the couch with my laptop, I ran across a post on Google's SketchUp blog which caught my attention. Titled, "SketchUp Pro Case Study: Randy Wilkins", this post goes into detail how a professional movie and TV set designer uses SketchUp in his work The post also provides some beautifully executed illustrations. And since Randy has an interest in woodworking, he includes a nice drawing of Christopher Schwarz's The Schoolbox.

This is important for me because I gained more insight into SketchUp's capabilities. Due to the Randy Wilkins post, it has become clear to me that I will need to move up to SketchUp Pro with Layout. It looks like Layout is what I really need to move forward with project plans.

Anyway, the Google SketchUp post is a very good read; maybe you'll like it too.

UPDATE 3/19/11: I have been watching a lot of DIY Network and am dying to get back to my dinning room ceiling project. While DIY has some cheesy home improvement shows, there are a few that are pretty good.

I did a little work on the dining room on Monday cutting some of the beams to size and beginning to form the lap joints before I started to feel the effects of the flu. I have about six inches of material to remove to form these joints. I have been going back and forth on how best to cut this material away, starting with a router fitted with a 1/2" straight bit (the cut is 3/8" deep).

My initial cuts with the router did not go as planned. The bit moving across the width of the board, freehand, jumped around slightly which can lead to a messy cut (it's also a safety issue). I have decided the best way to cut this is with a radial arm saw, but I don't have one. I am thinking about repeated cross cuts 1/4" deep with my circular saw, knocking out the waste with a chisel, then clean-up with my router. That's my plan right now.

Distractions, distractions

In bloom. Usually the first sign of spring: purple blooms on one of my red bud trees.

Its a good thing that woodworking is still mostly a hobby for me. If it was a significant source of income, I wouldn't have done too well this week. I have a new distraction in my life – my yard. It is common to see woodworkers comment on Twitter how their day job is interfering with their love for woodworking. How about the yard? Spring has arrived early in Alabama. Various trees are in bloom and other plants are starting to emerge including the early weeds in my yard. So in addition to woodworking, I have had to spend time taking my yard from a state of total embarrassment to simply less embarrassing. Back when I made twice as much money as I do now, I had a lawn service that had whipped my yard into such good shape, I would get compliments from the neighbors. That ended and I am in charge of the weeds which is a full blown battle at this point – one which I shall soon gain the upper hand.

See more photos at Boston.com.

And while I fuss with my yard, I am grateful that my yard is my biggest frustration right now. I mean I could be dealing directly with the effects of a monster earthquake and the resulting tsunami. My we all do what we can to help the people of Japan. Lets be in prayer and may God Almighty bless them and comfort them.

Some progress. After careful thought, I bought some lumber on Thursday - the stuff to be used for the beams indicated in blue. I still have to pick up the lumber for the beams that run front to back.

I purchased some lumber this week. In the comments of my last post, there was some discussion about using MDF for the beams. I gave MDF great consideration, but settled on some so called “Top Choice” pine at Lowes. I think the brand name for this lumber is down right misleading. It would be different if the definition of Top Choice meant low quality, full of defects, warping lumber. But Top Choice implies it is a premium material which this wood just isn't.

The main reason I selected pine over MDF was the need to install these boards full length (one piece) at a time. I was able to get 10’ 1 x 10’s and I’ll go back later to get the remaining boards which will need to be twelve footers. The longest length of MDF I could find was eight feet – not long enough. My only concern with pine 1 x 10’s is that there will likely be significant expansion and contraction along their width, so I have been mulling over the best way to deal with that.

Snappy. Chalk lines have been snapped indicating a rafter location as well as the outer limit of the beams.

Today, with the help of my daughter, I located the ceiling rafters with a stud finder and got out my chalk line and snapped their location as well as marking the location of the beams. I will take a vacation day both Monday and Tuesday (it is Spring Break here) and I hope to make some more progress on this project then.

To see the next post in this series, click here. To view all the posts, click here. This is post four in this series.

________________________

Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com or you can contact me through Twitter or Facebook. Subscribe via email or RSS by clicking here.

My top three projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Scott Bookcase. 3. My foyer project.

Final design considerations for my crown molding

I'm glad the scraping is over. In this photo, all the popcorn texture has been removed, making me very happy.

There isn’t much to report on the ceiling project, or at least not much to report that is exciting in any way. I spent the first part of the week recovering from moderate back problems related to scraping the ceiling last weekend. I got back to work on the ceiling Wednesday and decided to break the remaining popcorn removal into smaller sections tackling one section before work and the next after work. By Friday morning I had all the scraping and most of the sanding and clean-up accomplished.

Let me say this about the mess that was created: I have never tackled a project in my home that made a bigger mess than removing this popcorn textured ceiling. And I have tackled some significant in-door projects (see some of them here and here). As my wife and I watched TV in our family room last night, I said, "Can you believe what it would be like to take down the popcorn in here?" She says, "I can’t wait." I replied, "But we live in this room – the mess would be a major problem." I don't see that happening any time soon.

Work this weekend
I had to do some touch up sanding on the ceiling yesterday and then I applied a primer coat of paint. I had intended to put a finish coat of paint on today, but I decided to postpone the paint to the end of the project. I still have a few minor blemishes I need to fix, so no need to paint the ceiling right now.

With painting completed for the time being, I was able to move into final planning for the project. I have been thinking of reducing the crown molding height from five inches to four. At four inches, the crown will still be taller than the typical crown from the home center, and the new height will be easier for me to find router bit profiles that work.

Dimensions. Note the height of the individual boards that will make up the crown. The lower two are roughly 7/8" thick and the upper two are basically 1 1/8" thick - easier to find router profiles for this height, but still a non-standard thickness.

I also visited Lowes today to finalize the material I will use. I have been thinking about poplar; a good paint grade lumber and what I will definitely use for the molding, but I am considering birch plywood for the beams. The only problem is an eight foot long sheet of plywood won’t span my 11’6” x 9’10” room. I would have to piece plywood together to cover both the length and width of the room – a real issue. So, I did not finalize the material – give me your thoughts if you have a solution to this. I know I can get 12 foot material, but that can get a little expensive.

Thanks for listening to me think out loud for this post. I should get down to some actual woodworking this week.

To see the next post in this series, click here. To view all the posts, click here. This is post three in this series.

________________________

Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com or you can contact me through Twitter or Facebook. Subscribe via email or RSS by clicking here.

My top three projects:

1. My coffered ceiling project. 2. The Scott Bookcase. 3. My foyer project.

It could happen...

Let's go racin' boys! My rendering of the JGR #20 woodfever.net Toyota Camary driven by Joey Logano. Note that I have bumped The Home Depot down to a secondary sponsor role.

Let's say that Joe Gibbs Racing has the #20 show car at my local Home Depot. I am there buying some lumber for a project and stop to get Joey Logano's autograph on a choice piece of red oak, which is Home Depot's premium lumber. Joey turns to me and says, "We have been thinking about taping into the woodworking community more directly. What would you suggest?" I say, "Well, I have this idea..."

Click the illustrations to enlarge.

While I was watching the Phoenix race this past Sunday, I saw repeated ads for Toyota Racing's site and their invitation to design your own race car. So, I did. I wonder how much it would actually cost to sponsor this car? Even for just a few races?

Also on Sunday - just about the second caution flag, the 10,000th visitor stopped by my blog, a minor milestone. The counter at the bottom of my site measures each visitor one time. Subsequent visits to my blog are not counted. So, since October, 2009, I have had more than 10,000 people (or IP addresses really) stop by woodfever.net.