My First Kreg Jig Project

[Steve Gronsky]

I received my K3 system a week or two ago and finally got to start my first project.  It is the small bookcase.  Mrs. wanted one for the kitchen for her cookbooks, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to use my new tool.

I used 3/4" Birch hardwood plywood for the body and 1/4" for the back.  And I used Maple for the face frame and similar parts.  e.g. back rails.

I took several pictures while assembling the case.  It seems many folks like to see "before & after" type pictures.

At this point it is assembled (minus the back and the finished top).  I want to sand, pre-stain, and stain before doing the "final" assembly.

I was going to include the pictures "within" this note, but they appear to be too large for viewing.  I will attach them as files below.

[Steve Gronsky]

OK, here are the last photos I took while working. I'll add more as the additional work gets completed.

[Steve Gronsky]

Thank you Phil. I am going to stain it with the same color stain that is on all our woodwork in our home. It was recommended that I pre-stain to avoid blotches. I tested some prior to starting the case using what I knew would be left over material. I did some with pre-treat and some without. I think I will pre-treat everything just to play safe. I agree, the wood does show some nice grain. I tried to use the "best of the best" when I selected my pieces.

As for sending your shipping address ........ Be my guest. But, beware, the bill may be very large! And thanks again for the compliment.


Phillip said:

That is looking real nice. Are you going to stain or leave it natural with a clear coat? Nice pattern to the wood, should finish up very well.

I'll send you my shipping address when you are done with it. :-)

Phil

[Kerry Drake]

Looks real nice.

[Tom Cook]

Awesome! Your work has inspired me!

After the birdhouse project, I think I'll do a bookcase!

[Nathan H]

Steve,

Looks great and familiar! Here's a couple that I have just finished assembling. Well the one in the first picture still eeds the back fitting, but its almost finished! Now to the part I dislike the most, finishing!

[Steve Gronsky]

I just purchased the "Poly" today to put on as the final touch. Once that's done, hopefully tomorrow, I will put on the top and the back 1/4" plywood. I'm very pleased with the way mine turned out. Once finally assembled I will post another photo or two.


Nathan H said:

Steve,

Looks great and familiar! Here's a couple that I have just finished assembling. Well the one in the first picture still eeds the back fitting, but its almost finished! Now to the part I dislike the most, finishing!

[Steve Gronsky]

A couple more photos to add. This one has the bookcase pre-stained.

And this one has it stained.

[Russ Scheer]

Hey Steve; its always a pain to finish the assembly of a project, only to have a finish product go funny on you. If I could make a suggestion......Most of us will pick a wood type for personal reasons, existing furniture, remembering Grannies old oak table or just an appeal of the colour and texture. For whatever reason we seem to gravitate to a particular wood group, so heres my solution for working your finishes......Pick your wood type first(hardwood-softwood), now your pedigree(Oak, walnut, alder ect.)
Now if you go to a wood supplier most will allow you to purchase half or quarter sheets of specilty plywoods or use leftovers. Take a piece home, cut into 4-6 inch wide panel strips ands mask-off 4 inch sections. Now make a sample stain or paint swatch in that 4 inch section. You can create a larger sample if you want but at 4 inches a 4 ft. panel will let you make 10-12 samplers also you can divide your samples into smaller sections and aplly finishes(No-finish, matt, gloss).....ahhhhh now you get it, its just like the samplers they have at the paint or hardware store. So why do it on your own? Well the sampler in the store was possibly made in Texas and I'm in British Columbia, factors enter into the formula like moisture, humidity, temperature and wood condition. Also you can mix wood types with wood type stains, one example is we found for that "Honey Oak" look the manufactured honey oak stains were too yellow but a "Dark Walnut Stain" created a richer and deeper colour and was more appealling. Basicly what I'm saying is - "Make your mistakes off the project rather then on it". You will find some amazing combinations and mixes that you'll want to repeat. Good Luck

Russ

[Steve Gronsky]

Well, I had some "family" type things to do for a few days. I finally got back to my project today. It is stained, polyurethaned, assembled, and has moved into our home. This was my first pocket hole joinery project and the second will start in a couple days. I must get to the lumber yard to pick up material for the "face frame". I have enough left over plywood from this one to complete another. I plan to modify the dimensions on the new one just a bit so that it will fit into a "nook" in the kitchen.

To the veterans out there -- Do you recommend staining, sanding, and poly BEFORE or after assembling? I think it will be easier to sand and stain while in small pieces, rather than after putting it together. This would be especially true for the corners. And I think one can eliminate "runs" in the poly by doing everything while flat.

Suggestions and comments are more than welcome, please.

[Shawn Walsh]

That is a very nice looking piece. I am starting a pair of tall narrow bookcases today and I plan to sand and stain before I assemble it, I think it will help me get a more uniform finish with less stress.