Watcha Makin'?

[tule peak timber]

Beveling the bottom today for a flying saucer look.

 

[JRWoodchuck]

That's a pretty serious cutter for that router!

[Lko67]

I can only hope to be half that good. Very nice

[tule peak timber]

That's a pretty serious cutter for that router!

It is funny you mention that. A couple of years ago, I bought the biggest Festool router to swing a large cutter head, just for this job. While waiting for it to be delivered, I picked up a $99 Rigid at the big box store, so I could just keep going. The Rigid swings the big head just fine and does a lot of other jobs equally well! The secret to spinning and cutting a large bevel like this is that it is actually dozens of smaller bevels, blended together to look like one big 45 degree cut. Pretty easy to do by just changing the angle of the router box at the end of the trammel arm. A touch up with an orbital sander and all of these little micro bevels look like one!
Back to the giant expensive Festool router that I never ever used. I sold it this morning for what I paid for it, fresh in its systainer. A Dios to a tool that I never used.  

[Ljohnsaw]

Will the edge remain as plywood or will you layer on some more walnut?

[doc henderson]

are you able to provide more details and or pics of the router box, of which you speak?  How do you get any work done with us kids asking so many questions?  sorry another question!  

[tule peak timber]

So, the edge will remain plywood, but grain filled and polished out to a dull, flat look. The bottom the same. The choices for grain fill I don't like because they contain silica and I do a lot of sanding, not good for the lungs. My go to, as always, will be walnut wood flour and epoxy; much harder to sand, takes a lot longer, due to the set time, temperature, but when you're done, with a clear coat of epoxy and some scotchbrite and oil, the finish is really, really nice. Oh, and hard. The bottom at this point has been dyed dark brown, so as I am sanding and cleaning up, I am always hitting dark material. This bottom clean up will take probably more than a week.

The router box is just that; it is a box that I can put side wheels on and run on angle iron track for surfacing big slabs. But I find a big power hand planer is faster, so I don't use it in that application much. The box without the wheels mounts into the trammel arm with cheeks and I just choose an angle I want and zap a couple dry wall screws through the cheeks to temporarily seize. I change the angle a lot so there is no point in trying to have reference pins or adjustments. Note the pencil reference lines on the cheek inside. I just tap the box around, site the cutter head and go for it. The motto I follow here,,,,Keep it simple, stupid, KISS  :D

 

[Larry]

I saw a picture of a Shaker candle stand from 1830 and thought it would be an interesting and quick piece to make.  Did a little research and found dimensions in a Thomas Moser publication.  Been working on it in spare moments and just now finished it up. 

Its pretty true to the original except I machined a brass spider that fits on the bottom of the column and extends out into the legs for a couple of inches to add strength.

As I was working on the piece I researched the Shakers.  Interesting group, their religion died out but their furniture has a strong following by some folks.  The legs are attached with French dovetails, and it has a few subtle details that attract the eye and add interest.  I didn't think I would like it when I started but its growing on me.

The wood is black cherry with a little history.  The tree came down during a tornado on a PGA golf course.  I processed it along with many other trees that came down on the course.  I think that ought to add a few $$$$$'s to the price.......

[Dan_Shade]

That is one of my favorite table designs. 

That style table has been on my "to do" list for years. 

Nice execution of a classic shaker design. 

[firefighter ontheside]

Well, the last coat of finish I put on the table top was supposed to be the last.  It was a fail.  That day had become cold and rainy.  The coat of finish dried very cloudy, so this morning I sanded most of it off and reapplied gel stain, because I sanded thru a lot of that.  Still cool and rainy and I'm afraid the stain is gonna dry cloudy as well.  I can't win.  Was supposed to deliver the table today or tomorrow.  Didn't help I had a stomach bug for two days and got nothing done.

[doc henderson]

I think the stain will be ok.  can you finish in your kiln room.. warm and dry?  when do you expect your L53?

[firefighter ontheside]

The only reason I'm worried about the stain is that its gel stain and I had to paint it on and not wipe back which creates a glaze.  It has to dry for several days before I can coat with poly.  I have the shop upto 70 degrees or better, so that should have the RH way down from what it was.  I have considered doing finishing in the kiln shed before.  Right now theres too much stuff in there to do it.  I have not ordered the L53 yet.  I want to at least get some of the work going on the chamber before I order, plus I have been spending more money than I'm making in the last several months.  Tha'ts ok, but I will get a few jobs done and then spend the money I made.  Lol.  

[doc henderson]

I still wipe gel stain off, it is just thicker and does not run on a vertical surface as much.  It should be what soaks in that is left.  I worry more about the clear finish.

[firefighter ontheside]

I would prefer to wipe it off, but that did not leave the dark color that the customer wanted.  Before I try to make somehting this dark again, I am going to learn more about dyes.  Clearly I need to learn from Rob how he dyed the bottom of that table so dark.  Rob, how did you do that?  I just came in from moving the little DH into the shop that i bought last week for the kiln.  I'm going to make it very warm and dry in there and see if I can speed things up and prevent the foggy finish.

[tule peak timber]

I use water based General Finishes dye stains. They're not really a stain, because they are translucent, meaning that they are a dye. It's really hard to find translucent solvent based dyes, except for asphaltum, which I use a lot. So, if you want a deep, penetrating colour that will go in quite a ways, just paint on the GF dye stain and don't wipe it away. Another trick I use with this stuff, is I always add 15% fixer, that is Endurovar polyurethane and it prevents subsequent layering from moving the stain about; a trick I had to learn the hard way. Normally when I use dye stains, always with a fixer, I will lay down a base coat of clear sealer on rough wood to bounce the dye coating off of for an aged look. But in the case of this bottom I am looking for mostly solid colour. Another trick I used today was dried pigment in a coating and this is basically a paint at this point, not very thick, but on top of all the other translucent epoxy coatings, on top of the GF dye coating, I will have a nice looking finish after sanding and top coating. Finishing is an art that you learn through a GREAT many mistakes along the way! I'll run some pics of the bottom as I work up the final top coat, which will be rubbed to a 30% sheen. I'm trying to get the thing to look like a homogeneous coating with a little variation here and there that matches the colouration of the walnut rolling over the edge. Basically put, trying to trick the eye.

[firefighter ontheside]

I had ordered some GF dark brown dye stain to use and then cancelled the order when I decided that the GF java gel stain I had would work.  Should have kept the order coming.  It's interesting that the oil based stains are given names like "java" and the water based dye stains are given names like "brown".

[tule peak timber]

The Java is water based and an off brown at least the Javas I have. It is just a little thicker and more of a stain than a dye. The Java is also a little thinner than the glazing colours, but can be used just as well as a glaze when building up a finish. I wasn't aware that GF had a solvent based Java, but I may be out of touch.

[firefighter ontheside]

Here is the product I am using.
https://www.amazon.com/General-Finishes-JH-Base-Stain/dp/B001DT1IZS/ref=asc_df_B001DT1IZS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198071503086&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5471043537733709824&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1016367&hvtargid=pla-511352535992&psc=1

[tule peak timber]

That oil based line is new to me and I've not tried it. Most of my paint locker has older GF finishes !

[firefighter ontheside]

I just put what I hope is the last coat of poly on the table and I can deliver it tomorrow. 

[doc henderson]

If there are no pics, it did not happen.   8)     

[Tom K]

FF - I do encourage you to try some different types of stains & dyes. They all have somewhat different properties and act different in certain applications. I have leaned toward solvent based stains (not oil based) in the past due to quick coat times and ease of application, especially on kitchens or large project. I could spray the stain on & wipe down, and then switch guns & come back a couple hours later and top coat if I wanted. 

Mr. Tule's comment " Another trick I used today was dried pigment in a coating and this is basically a paint at this point" is what I mentioned the other day as a toner coat. As long as your finishes are compatible, adding a little stain/dye to your first top coat can let you shade and adjust your color as desired. I'd be willing to bet the factory color you were trying to match with your table had a toner, or full tinted top coat. Obviously this method works best with sprayed top coats, but with the right products you may be able to us it with brushed finishes as well. You will usually want to use a clear top coat over the toner coat to seal in the color. 

[firefighter ontheside]

This table is becoming my nemesis.  It dried cloudy again.  It was not the moisture or too cold in the shop.  It was warm and dry in there.  Its got to be the finish.  What I'm reading is that oil based poly getting a cloudy appearance is caused by the zinc thats in there to create the satin finish.  I'm going to have to remove the whole finish right down to the bare wood and start over.  I'm going to buy a new can of gloss and put the first coats on with that and then the last coat with a satin to get the sheen I want.  


 

[Ljohnsaw]

ALWAYS use gloss with the last coat or two with the desired finish. Otherwise I get a too foggy finish.

[tule peak timber]

Layering " R-US " ;D