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TooMuchAbstraction posted:My parents' 30-year-old Japanese Maple died, so I took a hunk of trunk home to play with. Cut some sections with my bandsaw into short/fat boards, more or less 2x4s. The base of the trunk is going to require the chainsaw though; it's far too wide to fit my bandsaw. I'm pretty interested in how that wood looks if you care to post any pics 
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Feb 3, 2019 02:49
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:My parents' 30-year-old Japanese Maple died, so I took a hunk of trunk home to play with. Cut some sections with my bandsaw into short/fat boards, more or less 2x4s. The base of the trunk is going to require the chainsaw though; it's far too wide to fit my bandsaw. Yo I wanna see some pictures of this.
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Feb 3, 2019 03:19
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:I'm pretty interested in how that wood looks if you care to post any pics ColdPie posted:Yo I wanna see some pictures of this. Well okay then! Here's what I started with:  Japanese maple doesn't grow very big, or at least this tree didn't. Most of the trunk diameter was less than 4". I cut it (by hand) just above the crotch so I had one long, bent, skinny piece and one short stubby piece. Then I cut the bent piece at the bend, so I had two mostly-straight bits. Freehanded them through the bandsaw to get a more-or-less flat face, then rested them on that face and went through the bandsaw again to make four "boards":  For a sense of scale, the longer pieces are 28" long and 3.5" wide. I erred on the side of making thick boards because I know there's going to be a ton of waste due to my cuts not being straight to begin with; if I'd tried to make a 4/4 board it'd probably have been under 1/2" thick by the time I got it jointed and smoothed. A close-up of some of the grain:  And this is the piece I still have to deal with:  It's big enough that I could probably get some serving platters or something out of it, if I can figure out how to cut it without wasting too much material. If I use the chainsaw I doubt I'll get more than two boards. This is pretty firmly in "too much effort for the return" territory for any serious amount of woodworking, but I want to make something out of this tree. It's been around as long as I can remember.
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Feb 3, 2019 04:00
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Bob Mundon posted:Without knowing the first place to start is this a decent choice? Also has a thicker model for a few bucks more and there are multi packs that are different shapes too. Seems too much like black magic that I could probably just cut up a cheap hand saw. That's fine. This is the set I got, but so far I've only used the square one and the burnisher: and you can use any very hard rounded steel as a burnisher, such as an old fairly large screwdriver haft.
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Feb 3, 2019 04:01
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:My parents' 30-year-old Japanese Maple died, so I took a hunk of trunk home to play with. Cut some sections with my bandsaw into short/fat boards, more or less 2x4s. The base of the trunk is going to require the chainsaw though; it's far too wide to fit my bandsaw. Got a compressor and an air chuck?
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Feb 3, 2019 04:04
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Mr. Mambold posted:Got a compressor and an air chuck? Yes to the first, no to the second, but I really ought to. Got a recommendation or should I just order whatever looks good from Amazon?
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Feb 3, 2019 04:11
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Leperflesh posted:That's fine. Did you have a link? Thinking a set of a couple would be handy in case things got too toasty with the first one. Also reading even something like the back of a chisel side bevel will work as a burnisher, but don't know enough to know if that's right or wrong. Do you need to sharpen it out of the box or just file it flat and then burnish the burrs? Bob Mundon fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Feb 3, 2019 |
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Feb 3, 2019 04:16
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Bob Mundon posted:Did you have a link? Thinking a set of a couple would be handy in case things got too toasty with the first one. poo poo! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EW6N9VA Sorry!
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Feb 3, 2019 04:18
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The definition of insanity: I estimate that 200 strokes gets me a bit under 1" with that lovely old pruning saw, and that piece is about two feet long. On a related note, I should probably get a new handsaw...except that this is the first case in years where I've wanted to hand-cut something and it was too big to use my joinery saws on. 
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Feb 3, 2019 05:21
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Bob Mundon posted:Did you have a link? Thinking a set of a couple would be handy in case things got too toasty with the first one. TooMuchAbstraction posted:The definition of insanity: Just blow the bearings off with a compressor or brush them off and hit them with a little WD40 and maybe some steel wool if you’re really worried about rust. They’re theoretically sealed for life, but they never seem to tell you how long ‘life’ is expected to be. I have no idea if Japanese maple is a hard maple or a soft maple? The leaves look more like sugar maple than red maple, but for some reason I doubt that leaf shape is a good indicator of wood hardness.
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Feb 3, 2019 05:44
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:I estimate that 200 strokes gets me a bit under 1" with that lovely old pruning saw, and that piece is about two feet long. On a related note, I should probably get a new handsaw...except that this is the first case in years where I've wanted to hand-cut something and it was too big to use my joinery saws on. Welcome to what I did last fall. It's insanity, but does it ever feel good to build something out of a tree you cut down.
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Feb 3, 2019 07:18
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My brother grabbed 2 pcs of 8/4 mahogany that he asked me to glue together (after jointing and planing them) for use as a vanity top. Should I put a biscuit in between or is just titebond 2 and clamping enough?
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Feb 3, 2019 13:05
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AFewBricksShy posted:My brother grabbed 2 pcs of 8/4 mahogany that he asked me to glue together (after jointing and planing them) for use as a vanity top. Titebond will give you a plenty-strong gluing surface, but doesn't do anything to make sure the two pieces are aligned. That's what the biscuits are for. So yeah, I'd recommend biscuits. It's either that or be prepared to plane things down to flatness again after gluing. Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Ripping isn’t much fun with a crosscut saw in any case! Are you just trying to get a flat surface to bandsaw off of? Hatchet might have been faster. I can never remember which way to cut a crotch so it looks prettiest. Don’t cut crotches too thin or they crack and warp like crazy, but it’s probably full of bark inclusions anyway. Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately my bandsaw lacks the height to cut this. So either I'm doing everything by hand, or I figure out some way to use the ~flat surface I'm cutting by hand as an offset for my small chainsaw. I'm aware of chainsaw mills, but mine doesn't have the holes in the bar to attach things to. Though it just occurred to me that I could probably drill some...playing around with a modified chainsaw sounds kinda scary. quote:I have no idea if Japanese maple is a hard maple or a soft maple? The leaves look more like sugar maple than red maple, but for some reason I doubt that leaf shape is a good indicator of wood hardness. Ha, I assume it's called a maple just because the leaves look like maple leaves and the wood is blonde. It's kind of hard to gauge hardness on green wood though, so I don't know how hard it is either! TooMuchAbstraction fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Feb 3, 2019 |
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Feb 3, 2019 16:08
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I have a live edge slab. I’ve hacked away with various hatchets and chisels and gotten the bark off but the under layer is a pest. I’ve read people having success with brass brush attachment on a drill. (Or something similar) Any suggestions on what kind of brush drill attachment to get?
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Feb 3, 2019 17:27
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately my bandsaw lacks the height to cut this. So either I'm doing everything by hand, or I figure out some way to use the ~flat surface I'm cutting by hand as an offset for my small chainsaw. I'm aware of chainsaw mills, but mine doesn't have the holes in the bar to attach things to. Though it just occurred to me that I could probably drill some...playing around with a modified chainsaw sounds kinda scary. If you have a lathe, that a great way to turn yard wood into neat stuff and you don't have to fart around with sawing/drying boards as much. Japanese maple is botanically a maple- Acer palmatum IIRC, but obviously not common in the timber trade. Looks like only the sugar maples are hard maples though. https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/differences-between-hard-maple-and-soft-maple/ Feenix posted:I have a live edge slab. I’ve hacked away with various hatchets and chisels and gotten the bark off but the under layer is a pest. I’ve read people having success with brass brush attachment on a drill. (Or something similar) AFewBricksShy posted:My brother grabbed 2 pcs of 8/4 mahogany that he asked me to glue together (after jointing and planing them) for use as a vanity top.
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Feb 3, 2019 18:18
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I don’t have an angle grinder.  [Edit] should I own an angle grinder?? It’s not a big live edge piece. I have a fairly good Dremel. Maybe that? Feenix fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Feb 3, 2019 |
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Feb 3, 2019 18:29
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Man get an angle grinder those things are AMAZING are you kidding me?! How big is your dremel or how small is the wood to even consider that Kaiser Schnitzel posted:I have no experience with it personally, but a buddy of mine with a chainsaw mill says it changed everything when he figured out how to sharpen the chain for a rip cut instead of a crosscut-might be something to look into. I have a few different chains depending on what I'm using them for. You change the angle you sharpen them at to do different things. You can take your rakers down but be very aware that its more dangerous with increased kickback doing that.
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Feb 3, 2019 18:39
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:
He’s putting a basin sink on top.
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Feb 3, 2019 18:50
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:Man get an angle grinder those things are AMAZING are you kidding me?! How big is your dremel or how small is the wood to even consider that It’s probably not the biggest dremels ever made but it’s a corded one that does like 35k? I think? The slab is like a cutting board size. Maybe 14 x 24 and 3/4 thick. But yo, I’m being genuine here: sell me on an angle grinder. What do they do for woodworking? Also: is there an attachment for them that wouldn’t mar the sapwood? I see flap sander attachments for a drill. Ps: this is the wood. I got the outer bark off already. 
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Feb 3, 2019 18:51
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Feenix posted:But yo, I’m being genuine here: sell me on an angle grinder. What do they do for woodworking? I use them all the time in work for metal (cutting) or stone (polishing, shaping, honing) and over the last year have been learning how to carve and shape wood with it. Its a helluva tool. So I guess the tldr would be if you really think you wouldn't use it for anything else maybe hold off for now but at the very least an abrasive flap disk or something would really help getting the bark off Expensive specific tool if its just that for you thoughrandom video showing some of the things you can do with it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdvPOQmQhfg
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Feb 3, 2019 19:08
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:I use them all the time in work for metal (cutting) or stone (polishing, shaping, honing) and over the last year have been learning how to carve and shape wood with it. Its a helluva tool. I would probably get one one day. But for now it’s probably limited to wood working apps. So maybe not today. I’ll try out a sanding flap.
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Feb 3, 2019 19:09
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I'm fairly comfortable with a chainsaw and have spent literally months of my life with an angle grinder in hand, but those angle grinder wheels with the chainsaw blade on them scare the poo poo out of me. They just seem like Kickback City. If you have a corded drill that really goes fast one of these might work: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-3-4-in-x-1-4-in-Knotted-End-Brush-KH281/202938787 If it's oak try and fine a stainless one. For that size I'd just work away at it with chisels or a spokeshave or something. Nobody will know if you take off a little wood too 
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Feb 3, 2019 20:52
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Maybe try a surform rasp. A little flexibility in the rasping surface, you can change out various sizes, not too expensive. They come in big and little sizes. A half-round hand-rasp might help too, for getting into the concave areas.
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Feb 3, 2019 21:14
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:I'm fairly comfortable with a chainsaw and have spent literally months of my life with an angle grinder in hand, but those angle grinder wheels with the chainsaw blade on them scare the poo poo out of me. They just seem like Kickback City. I've used the Lancelot chainsaw disc a fair bit and absolutely 100% gently caress that thing. Kutzall/Holey Galahad burr discs are great as well as Arbortech (although Arbortech wheels can get a little nasty if you don't approach things just right). This is experience from all green timber/log work though, despite tons of time using them I've never done power carving with them on actual dry lumber.
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Feb 3, 2019 21:21
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I finished hand-sawing a "flat" face in that stump, and of course the cut twisted midway through. Turns out a belt sander doesn't help much against wet wood, so I took my planer to it instead, and revealed this: I think I'm looking at a place where there used to be a branch, hence the circular rings. Pretty interesting grain in any case. I bet it's gonna warp like crazy as it dries.
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Feb 4, 2019 01:26
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Well, lost out on a few auctions for Stanley's and Miller's falls planes, so ended up settling in this Sargent. Hopefully it's not a bad first plane. https://www.ebay.com/itm/SARGENT-HE..._app-cvip-panel
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Feb 4, 2019 03:28
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I think my absolute favorite thing about woodworking is being able to solve very specific problems quickly and cheaply. My wife says on Friday, "I really wish we had a bookcase to keep the girls' library books separate. I want it to go between their rooms, but I don't want it to stick out past the door frame where they'll run into it." So you want a 4-inch deep bookshelf that's basically a giant spice rack? "YES." Well ... all right then. 
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Feb 4, 2019 16:09
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:I finished hand-sawing a "flat" face in that stump, and of course the cut twisted midway through. Turns out a belt sander doesn't help much against wet wood, so I took my planer to it instead, and revealed this: I have a chunk of wood I've been holding on to that looks exactly the same as that, I'm glad you're guinea pigging this for me
Harry Potter on Ice fucked around with this message at 16:28 on Feb 4, 2019 |
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Feb 4, 2019 16:22
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I ended up ordering the riser blocks for my bandsaw and a couple of 3/4" Wood Slicer blades, so that's how I plan to slice the thing into boards. There've been a couple of times when I wanted more resaw capacity than my stock bandsaw wanted, so this shouldn't be a complete waste of money, hopefully.
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Feb 4, 2019 16:25
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Huxley posted:I think my absolute favorite thing about woodworking is being able to solve very specific problems quickly and cheaply. My wife says on Friday, "I really wish we had a bookcase to keep the girls' library books separate. I want it to go between their rooms, but I don't want it to stick out past the door frame where they'll run into it." This has been the fun part for me as well. "We need a cabinet that has to fit exactly in this space." or "We need a piece here to hold this kinda stuff but it can't be as tall as the crap Ikea one we have and has to match height with the really nice antique dresser over here" etc. It's really satisfying to design something even if its fairly simple, and have it perfectly match the environment it's going to live in.
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Feb 4, 2019 16:28
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That Works posted:This has been the fun part for me as well. On the flip side when someone tells you they need 2 bookcases one 24in and one 25-26in. Great so now I need to make two identical yet different enough to not be able to batch it out as quickly. 
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Feb 4, 2019 17:04
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Huxley posted:I think my absolute favorite thing about woodworking is being able to solve very specific problems quickly and cheaply. My wife says on Friday, "I really wish we had a bookcase to keep the girls' library books separate. I want it to go between their rooms, but I don't want it to stick out past the door frame where they'll run into it." Trying to picture how you got that together and into the wall. Mind if you post a quick rundown? Could use something similar at our place.
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Feb 4, 2019 18:54
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Bob Mundon posted:Trying to picture how you got that together and into the wall. Mind if you post a quick rundown? Could use something similar at our place. The bottom and two shelves are glue+kreg jigged in. The bottom rail is glued and kreg-jigged in as well. The top rail is glued and held in place with a finish nail from the outside in. The original plan was to sink dowels about a quarter inch for the upper rails, and I thought I had enough scrap to make it happen but I misremembered my scrap pile and had to improvise. It's mounted with a French cleat. The top of the cleat is glued and jigged into the bottom of the top shelf and the bottom of the cleat is screwed into two studs. I went the cleat route with it so I could pull it back down easily in case one of my girls decides to try and climb it like a ladder and I have to repair it.
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Feb 4, 2019 19:07
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Gotta remember that one, definitely would go well in the kids room. Needing a coffee table, any recommendations on a type of wood? First real project.
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Feb 5, 2019 16:54
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Bob Mundon posted:Needing a coffee table, any recommendations on a type of wood? First real project. Cherry if you don't plan on painting it, poplar if you do. If those are too expensive, then pine or whatever 2x4s are made of in your area.
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Feb 5, 2019 17:04
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Bob Mundon posted:Gotta remember that one, definitely would go well in the kids room. Pine or spruce. Make a prototype, then get any type of commonly available hardwood(s) that you like the colour of for the real deal. You don't have to stick to one single type, personally I like to mix light and dark varieties to give (IMO) nicer contrasts and aesthetics. Examples: Walnut/Maple Slab Combo 
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Feb 5, 2019 19:32
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Cool, thanks for the recommendations. There does seem to be a pretty decent amount of cedar here, would that be a poor choice?
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Feb 6, 2019 01:03
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Bob Mundon posted:Cool, thanks for the recommendations. There does seem to be a pretty decent amount of cedar here, would that be a poor choice? Yeah. Also with kids, you might try to plan something with rounded corners because kids.
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Feb 6, 2019 01:41
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Tennessee red cedar (the only kind I've worked with) smells nice and looks cool but is soft and splinters easily. I don't think I'd want to use it for something structural or that sees any significant amount of handling/interaction.
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Feb 6, 2019 01:58
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Hey guys, so new idea for my Hi-Fi stand Shelves will be 13.5" wide, the widest board I can flatten through my planer. I'd love to make them wider but I just can't process anything wider, and even this is a stretch. Total height is 34", frame will be made from welded 1/4" x 2" aluminum flat bar, I already got a welder buddy lined up. Boards will be screwed through the metal frame from underneath. I would love any comment or thoughts on the design, flaws that standout, etc. Cable management will be spotty, I'd love any recommendations for that.
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Feb 6, 2019 02:05
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