Watcha Makin'?

[Larry]

tule peak timber said we can't drill round holes so I drilled a hole bunch of square holes today.  Looks like my hollow chisel needs attention as the hole is looking a little ragged.



Making a quasi roubo bench out of some junk ash lumber.  Not sure yet what kind of vise, the Lee Valley twin screw looks interesting but lots of money.  Suggestions?

[tule peak timber]

How are you dressing your chisels? All of my ash is nothing but a powder post magnate.Lee Valley is nice !

[Old Greenhorn]

..............., so I'm going to mix up some blue tinted polyurethane and spray it.  I want the woodgrain to show thru, so I may do one coat of tinted poly and then following coats clear. ..................

That's a really neat idea Bill. I have never seen that, let alone tried it. What do you use for tinting and where do you get it?
 When you spray poly, do you thin it and with what? I gotta try that.

[tule peak timber]

Oval holes for me this week.

 

 

 

[Crusarius]

That sink cut out and top are fabulous Danny!

I actually did woodworking today, barely.  I cut out some plywood parts to build a bookcase in my bedroom.  Cindy wants it blue.  I do not want to paint, so I'm going to mix up some blue tinted polyurethane and spray it.  I want the woodgrain to show thru, so I may do one coat of tinted poly and then following coats clear.  I bought one sheet of 3/4 ply and one sheet of 1/4 and it cost me $120... sheesh.  I will be using some other trim and such that I have to try and save a little money.

I hope you take good pics and document well, I am really anxious to see how that is going to turn out.

[btulloh]

Tinting poly, lacquer, shellac, etc. Works great and is easy. You can even buy ready to use rattle cans of "toning spray".  Best thing is to keep a few pint bottles of a universal colorant in primary colors, and they will last most of us forever. I'll add a picture of the colorant I've been using shortly. 

[btulloh]

Colorants 



 



These bottles have served me well for 20 years and they're still fresh snd ready to use. I picked them up at a pro paint store when I lived in Los Angeles but I would think you could find similar anywhere. 


Another possibility is aniline dye. Can be used for subtle grain enhancement or dramatic color changes. A very good tool for woodwork finishing. Can even make your poplar a very deep purple, which I have learned is a popular color in the upstate NY area.

 

 

[Hilltop366]

Lee Valley twin screw looks interesting but lots of money.  Suggestions?

A DIY twin screw with wood screws and wood gears in between the screws?

I always thought a leg vise would be nice but I don't recall ever using one, I did have the idea of a leg vise with a cam on the bottom that is actuated by your foot leaving both your hands free. The vice would have a sliding top and bottom rail attached to the bench that had notches in it to adjust the vice width the cam doing the final closing, the cam would only have to move the outer jaw enough to make up the final difference between the notch spacing, some sort of adjustment to allow for wear and to get to the right spot on the cam to lock may be required. I had imagined it made mostly from hard wood (laminated at opposing angles for the rails so the notches don't shear off). In total there are 3 foot pedals, one for the cam, one for the cam release and one to release the pins that lock the rails in place.

[doc henderson]

Colorants
 Can even make your poplar a very deep purple, which I have learned is a popular color in the upstate NY area.

  

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Old Greenhorn]

You guys are like a dog with a bone, I swear.

And if anyone wants a consult on 'purple', please be advised it will look just like brown when it dries. ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

   Okay - more from us low tech wannabees.


I am going to a big trade show at a state park next weekend and taking a bunch of benches and birdhouses and such. I am also taking a bunch of my wife's pictures and decided I needed a better way to display the smaller ones which make up most of what she printed and what people buy. I built this stand out of rough poplar and spruce lumber. All I did was build a couple of uprights with stock spruce 2X4's, a couple of 3' long 1X4s for feet with some short cut-off 2X4s for braces then I ripped a 1X6 into 1X3s and cut a groove about an inch deep with the table saw for the horizontal pieces holding the pictures. Here is the first 2 shelves with some sample photos in the slots. I think it will work fine.

I found I can display about 10-12 photos per shelf depending on whether they are printed landscape or photo style/layout. I added the 45's at the top to keep it from ricking and after I took this picture I sawed off 14-16 inches off the top which just added weight but were not used. I broke it down and I'll re-assemble it with my cordless drill/screwdriver at the site.


I made this 4' long X 14" wide rough LE maple slab bench yesterday. Here it is on the mill ready to trim the legs.

After trimming - all legs same height and angle.  

Finished bench. I doubt I do any more to it as more work such as sanding or finish with tung oil (or purple paint) will probably not increase the sale value. I'll offer it as a rough  bargain bench.

[Old Greenhorn]

Oh I DO like your photo rack idea! In the future as you are wont to add expensive improvements, I think you could find ways to make it break down and re-assemble without tools and just some nifty through tenons and pegs. Also, keep in mind the wind with outdoor shows, so some weight on those feet will likely help, maybe sandbags. My wife uses those on her stuff. Once in a while she even sand bags me, but that's a different thread. ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

  Thanks for the suggestion on the pins. That is certainly an option. I don't do that many shows where I take her stuff along. I thought about putting a dado blade on and cutting a wider groove but that may be for later. Some of her pictures are on foam board and are too wide for the current groove. Also if I make the groove wider I can put 2-3 pictures in the same spot where there are duplicates of the same scene or I could display from both sides. I may add another lower shelf for some of her big pictures that are currently in a slanted box as shown below.


 

 

BTW - I had thought about the wind and the sandbags. Another option is to replace the 2- 3' 1X4s for the feet with 2- 4' long 1X4s for more stability.

[WDH]

You could also paint the whole thing purple Yankee Brown. 

[Old Greenhorn]

You could also paint the whole thing purple Yankee Brown.

No mercy whatsoever, eh?
OK,  you guys are why grumpy old men like me get even grumpier and scream at kids to get out of my field and waving a shotgun.

[Old Greenhorn]

You could also paint the whole thing purple Yankee Brown.

OTOH maybe "Yankee brown" as you guys like to call it should be added to the FF dictionary? You guys are gonna confuse the newer members. Still, no, I probably should not have mentioned that. I was just thinking on how long it took me to figure out what an SGU was a while back when I was much younger.

[firefighter ontheside]

I will likely use some Transtint blue dye.  I have used it before to color minwax polycrylic and it worked well.  I spray polycrylic with my HVLP without thinning.  Works great.

[21incher]

You guys are like a dog with a bone, I swear.

And if anyone wants a consult on 'purple', please be advised it will look just like brown when it dries. ;D

Maybe on your monitor :D or is that after 2 years of drying out in the sun fading? 

[doc henderson]

had a stickered stack of what I recalled was maple,  it has been airdrying for years, as i did not have a project for it.  I took the best ends in the shop to make a shoe shelf.  approx. 3 feet wide and tall.  it takes more wood than you would think esp. with short shoe height shelfs.  turns out this was elm.  turned out pretty despite being out in the wind and weather for years.  



 

 

 

turned out pretty and with some Danish oil finish.  i can better calculate the floor saving in square feet after getting it fully loaded.  that is at least 12 sq/ feet right there.  i am sure my wife will have opinions on that when she gets home.  she has been in Ia at a quilting show and classes for the past 5 days.  

the top live edge piece is a half inch wider, with a "Nailer" under it at the back.  I can put a screw through this into a stud along the window, unless my wife want to be able to move it.  there is a vent under there.  the wood trim base board is  1/2 inch thick so it fits tight against it at the bottom and makes it plumb with the wall with the half inch screw board at the top.

[tule peak timber]

Good looking! Are you out of that hardwax oil I sent you? Nice grain -too nice for shoes!

[doc henderson]

no, thanks Tule.  I treat it like gold.  I appreciated it.  I guess that would be a great choice as well.  would it be good for the next coat?  I was trying to use us a little of a gallon i had left of Danish oil and be able to install it before Georgia got home.  I was surprised.  I recalled it being maple but I have made simular mistakes before.  very dense.  my dadoes were half inch, and the wood "mic'd" at 1/64th over and I could barely get them in and had to chamfer the ends.  other than some movement due to grain and the fact that it is Elm, it planed out nice.  top is 36 inches wide, and the overall is 34 inches tall.  the bottom is 8 inches off the carpet, the rest are about 6 inches between shelves.  sides are 5/8th and the shelves are 1/2 inch.  the top is neat 1 inch thick.  the window not seen in the pic, is about 6 inches above the shelf.  

[doc henderson]

@tule peak timber I was going for "Yankee brown" to match some of my wife's running shoes, but it just turned out brown.  :(  @Old Greenhorn  

[doc henderson]

we have been using some Elm on the potting benches that sawdust Jimmy has been making.  @Cardiodoc could not believe how pretty and wondered why it was not sought after.  i told him since the box stores do not carry it, people have no idea.



 

top and bottom from Elm, legs and back shelves, ERC

this is bench number 5 for Jimmy @Jim Thomas 

[Old Greenhorn]

@tule peak timber I was going for "Yankee brown" to match some of my wife's running shoes, but it just turned out brown.  :(  @Old Greenhorn  

Funny, it's just plain brown for me too. Dogs with bones. ;D
 I do like that shoe rack and have been thinking about something like that for all my work shoes I stuff under the desk but the heights are different on everything so I can never decide on a design.
 I really like that potting bench design and execution. I just took the one I made in the spring and brought it back in the shop for a fresh coat of linseed oil before I store it for the winter. SO far it looks pretty good, but that ERC is loosing it's color and also turning plain brown.

[doc henderson]

plain Brown...  What ever that is!