GRINNING BEFORE GETTING UNDERWAY

I did a little grinning myself when I created the title for this page because I guarantee there will be some who will think of the smoking pot aka marijuana, weed, reefer, grass, herb, hemp and all the other generic names for cannabis!

However, I am talking about the cooking utensil pot and wanted to make a few pot holders for gifts and also for my own personal usage in the kitchen.  I am constantly placing pots n pans on regular insulated cloth type pot holders to protect the counter and island/work station from hot pots n pans.  We don't' have the granite counter and island tops, but old school Formica butcher-block maple 1950s stuff, therefore protection from hot pots n pans is necessary!

I originally wanted to make a pot holder using 8 inch square ceramic tile, however Lowe's in Rockingham, NC had only 6 inch square ceramic tiles and the standard 12 inch tile, therefore decided to go with the 6 inch square ceramic tile which will still work for a much larger diameter pot, pan, skillet, etc. 

I had already checked my inventory of scrap aka unallocated wood and found a couple 8/4 pieces of black walnut that was approximately 27 and 20 inches in length and would be ideal for making the picture type frame for the ceramic pot holders.

GETTING STARTED

I ripped the 8/4 (2 inches thickness) wood to a width of 3/4 inches and then ripped to 3/4 inches square without having to move the fence on the table saw.  I used a thin kerf rip saw blade which needs sharpening, but it made it through the 8/4 inch walnut ok.

There was enough material for fourteen (14) frames, however on the last frame, I got a little dyslexia and cut a miter reversed aka backwards and not able to get a completed frame from that piece.  Also, when I initially did the slot for the wood marquetry, I had it orientated wrong, however it was on the back of the frame, therefore still useable.  I will reserve that one for yours truly!

ROUTER TABLE SET UP

I used three (3) different router bits to make a rabbet groove for the ceramic tile to rest in; a stacked slotting cutter bit for the black/white herringbone wood purfling aka marquetry and a 3/8 inch round over router bit for the top outside edge of the frame.  All router bits are carbide tipped.

I set the router table for the rabbet groove for the ceramic tile being .321 inches in width and a depth of .175 inches which would have the ceramic tile proud of the frame, whereas the tile thickness is .325 inches in thickness.  The ceramic and wood pot holder is 6 11/16 inches square.

RABBET FOR THE CERAMIC TILE

I didn't do entire sequence pixs of the three router bit usage, but there are enough pixs to make it clear what I am doing.

I orientated the wood grain vertical and above pixs of the pieces with the rabbet aka groove where the ceramic tile will rest into.

I could have used the table saw with stacked dado blades to make the rabbet, but using the slotting cutter in the router table was the easiest set-up for me.

SLOT FOR THE WOOD PURFLING

I changed the router bit and used the stacked slotting cutter dedicated for the black/white herringbone wood purfling which matches the width of the black/white herringbone wood purfling which is .148 inches and set the router table fence for .108 inches where the wood purfling was slightly proud of the wood, which will be sanded flush later on the 6 inch wide belt sander.  I used scrap material to test out the router table settings.

I have used the black/white herringbone in musical instruments and for sale going back to 1969 when I had my musical instrument repair service and musical parts and custom inlay mail order business.

I have also used the black/white herringbone on my turkey box calls too, therefore already had the stacked slotting cutters for three different types of wood purflings aka wood marquetry.  For those familiar with prewar Gibson Mastertone banjos; they are for the Granada and RB4 Mastertone banjos.  I also have a dedicated slotting cutter for .205 width, but can't remember what I used it for.

NOTE:  I racked my brain trying to remember what that .205 stacked cutter was used for and finally figured out it was for some walnut veneer 2' x 4' that Home Depot advertised as .250 inches thick and when I received the shipment, the stock was .198 inches thick and the outside veneers was super thin.  I used it for a bottom on secretary boxes.  The stuff was totally junk....the first piece I took out of the shipping box was partially delaminated and the lightest shade of walnut to be had in my humble opinion.  They sent a link for me to do a review of the purchased product and I told them it was junk.  They replied that my review did not meet their standards, or something to that fact and for me to revise my review.  I told them, if you don't want the truth, don't ask for it!  So much for venting.....grin if you must!

Slotting cutter installed in the router with fence properly adjusted for the height and depth of cut.

The wood purfling is tighter than two coats of paint into the groove and tapped in place after a light application of wood glue.

Close up of the black/white herringbone wood purfling.  The above wood purfling was used on pre-war C. F. Martin D-28 rosewood guitars.  The wood purfling is manufactured in Germany for export and other various countries manufacturers various styles and types of wood purflings and marquetry for the musical instrument trade and other uses as well.  Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I was the first to have exact reproductions of the pre-war (WWII) wood purflings used by Gibson and C. F. Martin Guitars manufactured and available for sale via my mail order catalogue! 

Those wood purflings were available direct from Franz Dotzauer in Erlangen, Germany, however they have a minimum order of which I cannot remember the quantity.  Several vendors here in the USA have the wood purflings for sale also.

ROUND OVER BIT

The router bit was changed to a 3/8 inch radius round over bit and installed two feather boards to keep the wood tight against the fence because the bottom of the wood facing the router table has the rabbit already cut into it.

I use a pivoting fence on my router table which works best for me.

The Milwaukee cast/forged wrenches above, work much better than the standard stamped wrenches that came with the Porter Cable 3 1/4 HP router.

Below is an end view pix of the wood frame for the ceramic tile.

Notice the vertical grain orientation.

FRAME MAKING

I used the table saw with a crosscut blade and my custom made forty-five (45) degree miter sled to make the frame for the ceramic tile.

I made the first miter cut using the right side of the miter sled and then set the stop on the left side for the length of the frame which was 6 11/16 inches.  

I tested the frame and everything was right on the money so to speak and cut all the thirteen (13) pieces and messed up on the last piece (14th) as stated earlier, of which I ended up with 13 complete frames.

USING THE DOWELMAX JIG

As most woodworkers know, end grain wood such as the forty-five (45) degree miters do not make for a strong glue joint, even with the high tech glues we have today.  Many items made on production such as picture frames will have some type of nail and/or brad to hold the joint together.  I have not seen the corrugated fasteners used in many years and they were used in the furniture making industry way back when and also on picture frames which tended to fracture the pieces put together using them over time.

I have used biscuits in various types of end grain joints and inserted splines into the miter joints to add strength, however neither of the two just mentioned will work for the ceramic and wood pot holder frame since I have the wood purfling installed where the spline would normally be located and the smallest biscuit is too large.

I do not own a Kreg pocket screw jig and have no need for one at the present time.  Many cabinet makers are using that system, but it is not for me!

My option was to use 1/4 inch diameter wood dowels into the miter joints from the inside where they would not be seen.  You definitely have to use some type of dowel jig and Dowelmax is the Cadillac of the doweling jigs in my humble opinion. 

NOTE:  Beware of Chinese imported knock-off copy cats of Dowelmax jigs; they are junk!

Above is a pix of my Classic Dowelmax jig which includes the forty-five (45) degree jig for miter joints. 

There are several aluminum spacers for different thickness woods and the learning curve for the Dowelmax jig is not difficult at all!

Dowelmax has an aluminum forty-five (45) degree angle jig available, but their wood jig is working fine!

Once all the ends were drilled for the 1/4 inch diameter wood dowels, it was time to start cutting 1 inch length dowels in half.

I use to cut the dowels to length using my band saw with a jig, but the light bulb finally came on and used the above PVC cutter which works great!  Never to old to learn and "work smarter, not harder."

All thirteen (13) of the frames were dry fitted together using the 1/4 inch diameter wood dowels.

GLUE UP

I used what Titebond Ultimate III glue I had on hand and finished up using Gorilla wood glue that was gifted to me.  I normally use only Titebond glue for my woodworking projects.

The forty-five (45) degree picture frame Merle band clamps are perfect for gluing forty-five (45) degree miter joints together and have used them on various woodworking projects with great success!   

I normally let my woodworking projects glue overnight, but the Titebond III and Gorilla wood glue are fast setting and glued two units up in the early morning and two units in the late evening to hurry the project along, however there is no real hurry to have them done, but I get antsy sometimes....grin if you must!  Using the above two glues mentioned, you can release the clamps much sooner.

SANDING

Since this project will not require a musical instrument grade type finish, I plan to use a couple of my Porter Cable Speed bloc hand sanders with 150 and 320 grit and finish off with a green Scotchbrite pad.

FINISHING

I have several cans of Deft clear lacquer and sanding sealer on hand and will apply a coat of sanding sealer, wait 24 hours and buff the surface with a Scotchbrite pad.  I will then spray a couple coats of the Deft clear lacquer.

I will have to catch the humidity level below 65 percent, otherwise the lacquer will get a blush aka bluish haze or tint to it.  There is a spray on product that will remove the blush and also lacquer retarder you can add to lacquer if using a spray gun, however that will not be the case with the spray on lacquer.

These ceramic and wood pot holders will be SN 86 thru 98.

Web page created by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 10-31-2020.

SPRAYING LACQUER

The weather was excellent on 11-06-2020 and sprayed a couple coats of Deft lacquer on the wood frames.  I decided not to spray any sanding sealer since the pores of the walnut was not too open and sanded fairly smooth.

I used my rotary fixture that I use for about all my small projects come finishing time.  I bent a piece of wire and suspended the frame from it and sprayed the first coat on all the surfaces. 

I hung the frames under the deck to dry; pix below:

I then used the rotary fixture for the second and final coat; spraying finish only the top and side surfaces.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-06-2020.

MORE CERAMIC AND WOOD POT HOLDERS AKA TRIVETS

With the year 2021 behind me and recovering from the broken arm of April 19, 2021, I have been very antsy wanting to do a few woodworking projects and got 15 board feet each of black walnut and red cedar and have it acclimating to my basement woodworking shop humidity, etc.  The 4/4 rough boards were planed down at the mill where I purchased them from to 13/16".

After allowing the wood to rest for a while before processing.

TRIM FIXTURE

I trued up one edge on the table saw using a straight sled aka trim fixture I made that will handle boards a little over four (4) feet in length.  The sled aka trim fixture saves a bunch of time rather than using the jointer, of which many times you have to band saw the board for a straight cut before going to the jointer.

Above is the trim fixture aka sled trimming curly maple boards for my curly maple coffee table.  The carbide tipped rip saw blade leaves a good finish to the edge of the board which doesn't require using the jointer.

TABLE SAW CUTS

After each board had one good edge, I set the table saw up for a 13/16 inch wide cut and ripped what I wanted.  I didn't do the entire 15 board feet, since I will have to inventory the herringbone wood purfling I have on hand.

The above pix shows the black walnut cut to the proper width and also three (3) router operations beginning with the slot for the .148 inch width herringbone wood purfling that is about .100 inches in depth.

ROUTER TABLE OPERATIONS

The carbide tipped stacked slotting cutter works great leaving a smooth cut!

The adjustable feather boards on the router table top keeps the wood snug against the "pivoting aka stick fence."

I changed the slotting cutter bit to a 3/8 inch radius round over bit and rounded over one edge of all pieces.

After each piece had the slot for the herringbone wood purfling and round over, I changed router bits to a 1/4 inch width slotting cutter.

I used a piece of left over wood from the project from last year and got the table height and width of cut adjustments set.  This time I had the wood piece orientated with the flat side down for better stability and used the feather boards to keep the wood tight against the fence.  This orientation is a little more dangerous and you definitely have to use a push stick and know where your fingers are!  I would not recommend this type routing unless you have years of experience using a router/table.  The other method cutting the slot orientated with the cut on the bottom of the wood is the safest method!

This is about all I can do on this project until the Titebond Ultimate III glue arrives.  I had some gifted Gorilla glue, but it was two (2) years old and my Titebond III glue was used up.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 01-19-2022.

GLUED HERRINGBONE WOOD PURFLING

Today, I got antsy and wanted to glue the herringbone wood purfling in the place and rounded up some Fletchtite glue that I use for gluing vanes and feathers to arrow/bolt shafts which will work fine on wood/

I had only 35 full length pieces of the herringbone wood purfling and some left over short pieces from this same project in 2020 and was enough to finish this run of ceramic and wood pot holders aka trivets.

I will give the glue twenty-four (24) hours to cure, although it sets up within 30 minutes.  After the glue cures, it will be time to change the table saw blade to a crosscut and get my homemade forty-five degree miter sled ready to go.

I don't think I will post any sequence pixs of the procedures from here on out on this project since it would be redundant, however I might post a few pixs when this project is nearing completion.

Just for curiosity, I looked up the current retail price of the herringbone wood purfling and it is $ 9.00 per 31.5 inch length strip, whereas when I purchased it from Erlangen, West Germany in the 1970s. is was probably less than .50 cents per strip.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 01-20-2022.

GLUED UP POT HOLDERS AKA TRIVETS

I finished the glue up on twenty-five of the ceramic and wood pot holders aka trivets this morning.  I will start sanding the frames, but due to the weather conditions, it will probably be early Spring before I start spraying sanding sealer and then lacquer.

In the mean time, I plan to rip the cedar boards to about 4 inches in width and then rip them vertically on the bandsaw  and see what they will clean up on the planer.  I am hoping for 5/16 inch in thickness or more, depending on how accurate and clean the ripping on the band saw goes. 

I haven't used the Porter-Cable 12 inch 4216 Deluxe Dovetail Jig since 2016 +- and will have to get the instruction manual out and take some serious mental notes before tackling the napkin holders I want to make after the ceramic and wood pot holders.

I plan to get some white pine wood and do my practice cuts using the Porter Cable dovetail jig before committing to the red cedar wood.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 01-28-2022.

BACK TO THE POT HOLDERS AKA TRIVETS

Today is May 10, 2022 and finished spraying a coat of Deft sanding sealer and one coat of Deft high gloss lacquer on all 25 of the pot holders.  The weather was in the mid 70s and humidity was around 36% today +- and a good day for spraying the sanding sealer and the lacquer.

Next on the agenda is glue the ceramic tiles in place, sign and date and this project will be completed.  My bride wanted eight (8) of the ceramic and wood pot holders aka trivets to give to her siblings for Christmas gifts.  The balance I will probably sell to help defray some of the materials cost.  I might keep a couple more for our kitchen!

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-10-2022

COMPLETED CERAMIC AND WOOD POT HOLDERS

I signed and dated the completed ceramic and wood pot holders and also put small felt circular pads in each corner on 05-13-2022..  These pot holders are SN 103 through SN 127.

My friend Calvin Jones from West End, NC is coming by to pick up four (4) of them and I have eight (8) reserved for my bride.

I plan to start another batch of the napkin holders in the near future, our Lord willing of course.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-13-2022.

MORE CERAMIC AND WOOD POT HOLDERS

It has been over a year since I did any woodworking projects and decided to use up what Eastern Red Cedar that I had on hand which was left over from the last batch of turkey box calls that I made.  The cedar wasn't wide enough to use for other projects unless I glued a couple or more of the boards together and I wasn't in the mood to do that, therefore ripping the boards for the frame of pot holders aka trivets would be more to my liking, grin if you must.

I surface planed the boards down to 7/8 inch thickness and then trued up on side using a table saw sled instead of using the jointer which would require several passes and only one pass using the sled.

I started ripping the boards to width to 1 inch on 08-22-2023 and the next day set up the slotting cutter for the herringbone wood purfling that I had purchased a year or more ago from China, of which I couldn't get any from Germany due to my supplier no longer handling it.  I contacted the major manufacturer in Germany, but never heard back from him.  The Chinese stuff has some plastic fiber in it and I don't like it as the original stuff I received from Germany.  I purchased that wood purfling from a supplier (Franz Dotzauer) in the early to middle 1970s back then it was Erlangen, West Germany before the Berlin wall was torn down.

The wood purfling herringbone pattern from China was about  fourteen thousands (.014) of an inch narrower than the original stuff I used before which was around .156 inches in width and also the Chinese stuff was only .060 inches in thickness, whereas the German wood purfling was much thicker.  I had some difficulty getting the slotting cutter set to the proper width and took several attempts adding and/or reducing thin spacers until I got it right, practicing on scrap aka unallocated wood.

I will count and see how many strips I cut from the cedar wood.  I ruined one strip setting up a router bit for the slot for the ceramic tile.  I believe I counted forty-six (46) strips.

Test glued a few strips of the Chinese made herringbone wood purfling after slotting the entire lot of frame strips.

I set the router table up for cutting the slot for the ceramic tile.

Some of the strips of cedar wood cut had a bow in it (vertical and horizontal) and had to secure the wood tightly to the table and fence of the router table while routing the slot aka rabbit groove.

Once I finish cutting the rabbit aka slot for the tile on the entire lot, I will set the router table up and use a 3/8 inch round over bit for the top portion of the frame members.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 08-24-2023. 

WOOD FRAME MEMBERS CUT TO LENGTH

I ran out of the Fletch-tite glue that I was using to glue in the herringbone wood purfling and ordered more, however the Postal System sent my package to Marshville, NC 28103 instead of Wadesboro, NC and they had to re-route it back through Charlotte, NC and hopefully will get it delivered on Monday 08-28-2023.

I have about fifteen (15) lengths of the frame material to glue in the wood purfling and then cut to length.  Each piece of material is a little over 4 feet in length, +- and is 7/8 inch thickness and 1 inch in width with the cut frame member length being 7.062 inches in length.

I reset my Dowelmax dowel jig where the wood dowel is closer to the inside of the frame member allowing me to use a longer dowel without having to cut the dowel to length.  I could have set the drill bit depth for using a 1 inch length wood dowels, but have plenty of the 1.5 inch length dowels on hand and need to use them up.  Below is pix of the jig I used on the last batch of coasters before I changed the thickness spacer.

JIGGING THE JIG

I found a much better way to use the Dowelmax right angle jig for drilling the holes for the wood dowels and using two DeStaCo 225U type clamps to hold the wood against the Dowelmax jig. This jig is dedicated just for making the ceramic and wood pot holder frames and also the coaster frames.  This jig is using the original right angle jig made from composite wood material from Dowelmax and I have the Dowelmax aluminum right angle jig as needed for other applications.

With this jigging the jig, it is a much faster operation in my humble opinion not having to use an auxiliary clamping device.  Here I am using the much thicker aluminum spacer to position the drill bushings closer to the inside of the wood frame member.

I normally will drill the entire lot of frame members for the 1.5 inch length x 1/4 inch diameter wood dowels, but elected to drill each frame member as needed and will glue up six (6) frame member frames per day using two of the Merle band clamps.  The Titebond III glue sets up fairly fast, but like to give it plenty of set/drying time before removing the Merle band clamp.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 08-27-2023. 

FINISHED GLUING THE FRAME MEMBERS 09-08-2023

Today is September 8, 2023 and finished gluing up the frame members for the ceramic and wood pot holders aka trivets.

I counted a total of seventy-four (74) frames and I believe I scrapped at least 3 or 4 of the frame members because of improper fitting of the corners.  Either the frame member was drilled wrong for the 1/4 inch x 1 inch length dowels or the miter was not perfect enough.  Even with accurate jigs and fixtures, if you don't pay close attention to what you are doing, you can easily ruin a part and that was my bad for sure.

With the frame members glue up, I will start sanding a few of them along and apply a couple coast of lacquer to them and add the ceramic tile.  I also put small felt pads on the base of them.  I will start out with Serial Number 341 on this project.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 09-08-2023.

FINISHED 36 OF THE TRIVETS AKA POT HOLDERS

I finished 36 of the 74 frame members and will save the balance to finish after our annual big game hunting season is over.  SN 341 thru  SN 376.

THIRTY EIGHT (38) TRIVETS TO COMPLETE

I recently finished my serving trays with brass handle reinforcements on 03-07-2024 and decided to start on finishing the thirty-eight (38) trivet frames which requires mostly sanding and finishing, however there were a few frames that the ceramic tile would not fit, being too tight and had to get the chisel out to get them to fit properly.  I first sanded the trivet frames using my 6 x 48 sanding belt station which might be 100 grit and finished up with the two palm sanders using 150 and 220 grit sanding paper.

I finish sanded 12 of the 38 trivet frames and will spray lacquer on them when the weather permits.  There is too much humidity in the air today and rain possible.  

FINISHED THE TRIVETS

I finished the trivets 03-14-2024 and have plenty in stock for Christmas gifts and might sell a few.  These trivets are SN 396 thru SN 433.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 09-15-2023, 03-08-2024 and 03-15-2024.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please take this moment to accept him by Faith into your Life, whereby Salvation will be attained.   

Ephesians 2:8 - 2:9 8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Open this link about faith in the King James Bible.

IN GOD WE TRUST - GOD BLESS AMERICA - "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE"   JOHN 3:16 KJV