2019-02-11T12-38-32

While the finish cures on the tissue box, it is time to start a new project. This is my spin on Lost Art Press’s The Other Roubo Bookstand, in turn, their spin on a bookstand depicted in André Roubo’s L’Art du Menuisier. I am building mine out of a board of 4/4 Sapele and ripping it so the grain runs parallel to my pieces; also, I am dimensioning the project to work as a stand for standard-size sheet music. #RouboBookstand #Boostand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-14T11-55-57

It’s been a plane fest! All the straight parts for the Roubo bookstand are dimensioned S4S. It is the first time I work with Sapele and found that despite having grain reversal in every single piece, it planes super easily in either direction and no tearing (mind you, my bench planes have a pitch angle of 52.5° when I work with hardwood). To speed things up, I used an edge jointing board and miter plane to take the last couple of shavings on the edges and quickly get them to 90°. #RouboBookstand #Boostand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #Sapele #SapeleMahogany #Woodworking

2019-02-14T15-32-12

I thought that shaping the straight sides and connecting them to the beginning of the curved edge on the shaped pieces of the Roubo bookstand might be tricky. In the end, I found that using a shoulder plane and finishing each pass with a cabinetmaker’s plane (I do not have a bullnose plane) worked really well. #RouboBookstand #Boostand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #Sapele #SapeleMahogany #Woodworking

2019-02-14T16-39-28

I thought that shaping the straight sides and connecting them to the beginning of the curved edge on the shaped pieces of the Roubo bookstand might be tricky. In the end, I found that using a shoulder plane and finishing each pass with a cabinetmaker’s plane (I do not have a bullnose plane) worked really well. #RouboBookstand #Boostand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #Sapele #SapeleMahogany #Woodworking

2019-02-21T15-19-34

Tackling the eight bridle joints for the Roubo bookstand a.k.a. music stand. I have chosen to cut the males first and to go at it leaving a horn and removing the waste with a paring chisel and router plane. The idea is to then cut off the horn with a piece of the tenon and use it as a guide to saw the female pieces (à la Paul Sellers). I have never done bridle joints this way and am finding it very accurate, but a bit slow going. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-25T12-36-15

Chain production or procrastination? I have eight bridle joints started and none of them finished. In the process, I am discovering a few preferences: I like leaving a horn on the male parts and finishing them with a router plane, really accurate; I do not like using the horn piece as a guide to cut the female part; I like sawing next to the line and leaving a tiny bit to pare off later; I like to chop the waste starting right in the knife line, start really gently and there will be no receding line; I like to remove the waste by pushing a chisel into the end grain, but I only do that on the second side of the chopping; doing it on the first side, ends up with crushed fibres inside the joint, so on the first side, I go in a 45°. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-25T13-50-57

Chain production or procrastination? I have eight bridle joints started and none of them finished. In the process, I am discovering a few preferences: I like leaving a horn on the male parts and finishing them with a router plane, really accurate; I do not like using the horn piece as a guide to cut the female part; I like sawing next to the line and leaving a tiny bit to pare off later; I like to chop the waste starting right in the knife line, start really gently and there will be no receding line; I like to remove the waste by pushing a chisel into the end grain, but I only do that on the second side of the chopping; doing it on the first side, ends up with crushed fibres inside the joint, so on the first side, I go in a 45°. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-25T16-11-17

Chain production or procrastination? I have eight bridle joints started and none of them finished. In the process, I am discovering a few preferences: I like leaving a horn on the male parts and finishing them with a router plane, really accurate; I do not like using the horn piece as a guide to cut the female part; I like sawing next to the line and leaving a tiny bit to pare off later; I like to chop the waste starting right in the knife line, start really gently and there will be no receding line; I like to remove the waste by pushing a chisel into the end grain, but I only do that on the second side of the chopping; doing it on the first side, ends up with crushed fibres inside the joint, so on the first side, I go in a 45°. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-25T16-26-24

Chain production or procrastination? I have eight bridle joints started and none of them finished. In the process, I am discovering a few preferences: I like leaving a horn on the male parts and finishing them with a router plane, really accurate; I do not like using the horn piece as a guide to cut the female part; I like sawing next to the line and leaving a tiny bit to pare off later; I like to chop the waste starting right in the knife line, start really gently and there will be no receding line; I like to remove the waste by pushing a chisel into the end grain, but I only do that on the second side of the chopping; doing it on the first side, ends up with crushed fibres inside the joint, so on the first side, I go in a 45°. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-27T13-08-38

The bridle joinery for the Roubo (music) bookstand is done; gently tapping the large chisel in the knife line, made it easier to pare the female joints with the 3/4” chisel. I think I will leave the horns on the stiles until the very end as they may help protect the tenons from accidental bumps. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-28T15-42-08

I finished all the mortise and tenons for the inner pieces of the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand and could not resist glueing them all up. The fit at the shoulders of the joints is really good, but I will have to wait until I trim the horns and get the exterior surfaces all flush before I can be sure everything is good. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-28T15-46-16

I finished all the mortise and tenons for the inner pieces of the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand and could not resist glueing them all up. The fit at the shoulders of the joints is really good, but I will have to wait until I trim the horns and get the exterior surfaces all flush before I can be sure everything is good. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-28T15-50-23

I finished all the mortise and tenons for the inner pieces of the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand and could not resist glueing them all up. The fit at the shoulders of the joints is really good, but I will have to wait until I trim the horns and get the exterior surfaces all flush before I can be sure everything is good. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-02-28T15-53-46

I finished all the mortise and tenons for the inner pieces of the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand and could not resist glueing them all up. The fit at the shoulders of the joints is really good, but I will have to wait until I trim the horns and get the exterior surfaces all flush before I can be sure everything is good. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-01T15-11-04

This time it is the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand that is in the clamps. I chopped the mortise and tenon joinery for the middle piece, cleaned up the inner surfaces and glued everything up. The tenon at the bottom of the middle piece is quite large, so I decided to put glue only on the middle two inches, in case the piece swells up this Summer. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-01T15-33-58

This time it is the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand that is in the clamps. I chopped the mortise and tenon joinery for the middle piece, cleaned up the inner surfaces and glued everything up. The tenon at the bottom of the middle piece is quite large, so I decided to put glue only on the middle two inches, in case the piece swells up this Summer. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-12T16-42-29

Slowly back to the Roubo bookstand after a bout of tendinitis. I spent some time installing the hinges that hold the two frames together; just some patient chisel and router plane work. I am very happy with the fit of the hinges, but when I close the two frames together, they are slightly misaligned; I’ll have to move one side of the hinge slightly in to compensate. BTW, I really like the Horton Brasses hinges; they were even kind enough to include shorter screws that fit the thickness of my stock. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele

2019-03-12T16-43-43

Slowly back to the Roubo bookstand after a bout of tendinitis. I spent some time installing the hinges that hold the two frames together; just some patient chisel and router plane work. I am very happy with the fit of the hinges, but when I close the two frames together, they are slightly misaligned; I’ll have to move one side of the hinge slightly in to compensate. BTW, I really like the Horton Brasses hinges; they were even kind enough to include shorter screws that fit the thickness of my stock. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele

2019-03-13T13-08-14

Cut the mortises for the last hinge of the Roubo bookstand and tapered the end of the hinged piece; getting really close to the end line… #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-13T13-29-26

Cut the mortises for the last hinge of the Roubo bookstand and tapered the end of the hinged piece; getting really close to the end line… #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-14T11-32-13

To attach the pair of ledges to the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand I considered a number of possibilities: glue-only, screws from the back, mortises and loose tenons, but in the end I opted for 1/4” dowels, quick and simple, and still guaranteeing nothing is going to move around at glue-up time. To make sure the holes would line up, I started with the ledges and then used dowel centers to mark the corresponding holes on the frame. I clamped a straight piece of wood to the frame and a spacer between the ledges to make sure I would push the ledges and dowel centres down at the right spot. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-14T11-59-27

To attach the pair of ledges to the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand I considered a number of possibilities: glue-only, screws from the back, mortises and loose tenons, but in the end I opted for 1/4” dowels, quick and simple, and still guaranteeing nothing is going to move around at glue-up time. To make sure the holes would line up, I started with the ledges and then used dowel centers to mark the corresponding holes on the frame. I clamped a straight piece of wood to the frame and a spacer between the ledges to make sure I would push the ledges and dowel centres down at the right spot. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-14T12-59-14

To attach the pair of ledges to the upper frame of the Roubo bookstand I considered a number of possibilities: glue-only, screws from the back, mortises and loose tenons, but in the end I opted for 1/4” dowels, quick and simple, and still guaranteeing nothing is going to move around at glue-up time. To make sure the holes would line up, I started with the ledges and then used dowel centers to mark the corresponding holes on the frame. I clamped a straight piece of wood to the frame and a spacer between the ledges to make sure I would push the ledges and dowel centres down at the right spot. #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking

2019-03-17T16-44-57

Sometimes I forget, but my pair of Japanese small horses are often really useful to lift a piece off the workbench for clamping and glue-ups; this time I used them to glue up the ledges of the Roubo bookstand to the upper frame and I had to waste no time hunting for scrap pieces of similar thickness to use as spacers. #JapaneseSmallHorses #RouboBookstand #Bookstand #MusicStand #HandToolsOnly #SapeleMahogany #Sapele #Woodworking