i'm getting to the point where the list of jobs i've got left to do has gotten pretty small. so small, that i need to do what i've been putting off. glass and pulls. since last time, i got the hinges installed in the doors and the pressure buttons and levelers done. these are the things that hold the door in the closed position. a little button in the bottom and a spring loaded button in the top which acts as both a catch and a stop. after that i started working on the glass portion of the cabinet. the posts were planed to have the appropriate angle on either side of them, and then they were grooved on the shaper. after the grooves were run, the post needed to be fit into the glass rabbet height wise. this was achieved by scribing with a knife and then a little chopping to get the shoulder cut. they still need to be shaped and finished. after that, i guess i'll have to cut the glass and fit and shape the holders that keep everything in there.
i'm still undecided as to what to do for pulls. i've only got about 3/16" worth of space in between the doors and the drawers front. i mocked a little block up, and it was a little shallow for someone with larger fingers. the solutions appears to lie within the drawer fronts themselves. i think that i may opt for the 'hole through the front' kind of pull on this cabinet. the door has got me thinking of doing a little lip that would protrude from the bottom of the door past the edge of the cabinet. just a small little pull that does not detract too much from the lines of the cabinet. i'm thinking of using dark imbuya for this.
i also got the wall hangers done and installed. i had to make them so that they would get screwed into the top and bottom of the carcass as opposed to the typical side mounting. the side post had a little too much going on in them to have the hangers as well. i used machine screws for this application, and i must say that i'm very impressed with their holding power. in the above photo, the two top screws are full length, but the bottom ones are directly into the back panel, which is only 3/8" thick. as such, the screws only have about 3/16" worth of thread in the wood. it's surprising how much hold so little thread will give you. i opted for four hangers, because this cabinet is getting pretty heavy. i think that it will be sturdy enough on the wall.
on a different subject... has anyone ever used a bandsaw with only one thrust bearing? my 26" silver just really has a top guide. the bottom is simply two angled pieces of wood for lateral support of the blade. i guess i'm just looking for thoughts on running a saw with this setup. it can't be all that bad if that's how they were doing it back then, but i guess i'll have to try it out and see what happens.
i started having a more serious look at the saw, and now i can see why i got it so cheap. ha. both wheel bearings need some work. the bottom wheel runs on a babbit bearing, and the top on a bronze bushing. both show significant wear. whoever was running the saw for the last little while, didn't have oilers to lubricate the bearings, but instead had grease fittings. the problem with grease is that it's not thin enough to make it's way into the bearing. the bottom wheel shaft developed some significant wear. the solution for this, i imagine is either to get the shaft built up again, or to turn it down and repour the bearing. the bearing still has some shim left, so i think i would rather get the shaft back up to it's original diameter and refit it to the bearing, add some oilers and that one should be good to go.
the top wheel is the one that runs on a bushing. the wheel was so loose that it came off quite easily by hand. both the inside bore of the wheel and the bushing show some wear. i think what needs to happen here is for the wheel hub to get bored to a bigger diameter and a replacement bushing made up for the shaft. i'm uncertain whether the wheel spins on the bushing or if the bushing spins on the shaft.
