Kyle Morrissey
Mechanical Engineer
Wood-works
Apart from designing and modeling mechanical systems, I have gained a love for design and creativity with woodwork. My experience both designing and crafting different woodwork's began in high school and my love for the hobby has continued. Over the years I have designed and created an end table, a dartboard cabinet and even a long-board skateboard. Unfortunately, I have been unable to craft any new woodwork's due to limited availability of shop tools and machinery, however my experiences with the tools is something I will never forget. From table saws, circular saws, to routers, belt sanders and a variety of different hand tools have helped me achieve the levels of craftsmanship I know today.
Latest Projects
Oak End Table
Objective:
Design and create an end table using a variety of woodwork machinery and hand tools.
Procedure:
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Drafting; Using graphing paper, I designed and made a sketch of the end table I had in mind. On the sketch, it was important to label dimensions and certain features of the design.
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Decided the type of wood that I wanted to use for the construction. I decided to pick oak as it is very strong, easy to work with and looks beautiful in the long run.
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After I bought a single plank of wood, it was time to make proper cuts using a variety of different saws based on the dimensions I proposed in the draft.
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Using wood glue and bar clamps, wood can be put together into proper shapes. After overnight gluing, I sanded away the remaining leaking glue.
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I then could shape each piece into the figures using more sanders, power saws, routers as well as other various machinery. These shapes included the legs, the framework and the tabletop.
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I created groove joints in the legs and framework pieces. This allowed for the side panels and legs to hold together. I used more wood glue in the joints to keep a strong frame.
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I added the table top to the frame by using some using pilot holes that entered the frame, which allowed the top to be screwed to the frame.
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Finally, the table was again sanded before adding a dark brown stain followed by a smooth gloss finish.
Challenges:
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1 3/4'' oak is not an easy piece of wood to cut. This thickness of wood creates a lot of pressure, heat and tension on the circular saws when cutting.
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When routing the edges of some of the legs, the wood began to split due to the direction of the grain. When the grain is parallel to the routing surface, the would tends to break off very easily causing sharp jagged corners instead of rounded.
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The original design implemented a drawer. Time was an issue with this build.
Actions:
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Due to the stress on the blades when cutting, I made sure to attack the cuts in small increments in stead of making one straight cut. I made sure to have some extra help by a friend to hold the piece of wood in place during the cut.
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The splitting of the wood due to the routing was something that I had to fix by hand. Unfortunately there is no way to use the router again to re-create the edge. Using a variety of files and hand sanders, I was able to make the corners and edges round to the way I wanted them.
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Unfortunately, the design for the drawer was taken out from the project. Although it would have been a nice touch to the piece, it would not have given me to finish the piece with the time I had in the workshop. The table alone was a time commitment; I was forced to work extra hours in the morning and at nights to finish the piece.
Equipment used:
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Circular saw, Band saw, Table saw, Jigsaw, Sawzall, Planer
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Mortiser, Drill Press, Shaper, Router, Hand drill
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Circular Sander, Reciprocating sander, Belt sander
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Bar Clamp, C-Clamp
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Chisels, Files, Mallet
1 2
3 4
Four
Groove
Joints
Routed
Edges
Side angle, placement of groove joints
Routing done on each leg
Final Result
Dartboard Cabinet
Design
Changes
Design Changes; bottom of each door and middle piece
Buttons
Buttons to cover pilot holes
Dartboard Cabinet with doors open
Final Result
Objective:
Design and craft a Dartboard Cabinet using a variety of woodwork machinery and hand tools.
Procedure:
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Drafting; Using graphing paper, I designed and made a sketch of the dartboard I had in mind. Using a ruler and straightedge, I drafted the design with dimensions.
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I decided to use oak wood and plywood for the piece. Oak is very strong and looks very nice with a stain. The plywood is for the backing, as it was likely to be filled with dart holes from bad shots.
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After I bought a single plank of wood, it was time to make proper cuts using a variety of different saws based on the dimensions I proposed in the draft.
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Using wood glue and bar clamps, wood can be put together into proper shapes. After overnight gluing, I sanded away the remaining leaking glue.
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I then could shape each piece into the figures using more sanders, power saws, routers as well as other various machinery. These shapes included the doors of the cabinet as well as the frame for the dartboard itself.
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I created lap joints on the edges of each frame piece and groove joints along the base of each piece for the plywood to slide into. Using wood glue, clamped the frame together. I also added pilot holes and screws for extra strength. Buttons were used to cover the holes in the frame.
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Dy drilling both pilot holes into the frame as well as the doors, I attached a piano hinge that allowed the doors to swing completely open.
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Finally, the cabinet was again sanded before adding a dark stain followed by a smooth gloss finish.
Challenges:
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The original design of the doors was supposed to be one solid piece (for each door). Unfortunately, I managed to cut the doors slightly too short as well as narrow. This created open space that showed the inside of the frame at the end of each door as well as in between them.
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Removing Glue stains
Actions:
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Because the doors were cut to short, pieces of oak wood were added to the bottom of each door. This in the long run created a very nice touch, and the opposing directions of the grains looks very nice.
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To cover the space in the middle, I created a think oak strip that is glued directly on the left door. This nicely covers up the gap and almost works as a handle and easier way to open the cabinet.
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Not easy to see by eye before staining, glue stains will appear a lighter color when a stain is put on then. I had to re-sand some glue marks and then re-stain
Equipment used:
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Circular saw, Band saw, Jigsaw, Sawzall
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Shaper, Router, Hand drill
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Circular Sander, Reciprocating sander, Belt sander
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Bar Clamp, C-Clamp
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Chisels, Files, Mallet
Longboard Skateboard
Top view
Side view
Trucks/Wheels added
Objective:
Draft and create a function longboard skateboard.
Procedure:
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I began by drafting a sketch of the longboard including its shape and dimensions.
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I decided to use mahogany as the primary wood type with two strips of oak going through the middle. The difference in color between the two types of wood create a good contrast.
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The wood was cut into rectangles and glued together using wood glue and bar clamps.
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I then sanded the board to give it a smooth, glue free surface.
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The shape was created by directly sketching on the wood and then using a jigsaw or sawzall to roughly cut out the shape.
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I used a reciprocating cylinder sander to smooth out the curved surfaces and give it the precises shape.
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I then used a router to give the edges a rounded shape, rather than a sharp edge.
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I drilled the holes at the top and bottom so that the trucks can be added.
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The board was finished with a light stain and given a glossy finish.
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Finally, the trucks and wheels were added.The holes were covered with plugs after the trucks were added and could finally be used to ride.
Challenges:
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I had to make sure that the two types of wood would hold together without splitting
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Warping of the wood is very known for people who make their own skateboards completely out of wood
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Obtaining perfect symmetry
Actions:
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Using a lot of wood glue and keeping the wood clamped for an extended period of time would help keep the two styles of wood together. Wood filling was used if any cracks/gaps were noticed
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Warping occurs from the wood gaining moisture. By adding a thick gloss coat towards the end, warping would be limited
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Symmetry was arguably the hardest part. All I could do is draw the shape using pencil and sand by eye. What I could have done differently was create a template to allow for perfect symmetry.
Equipment used:
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Circular saw,Jigsaw, Sawzall
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Router, Hand drill
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Circular Sander, Reciprocating sander, Belt sander
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Bar Clamp, C-Clamp
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Files, Mallet