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Is there anything wrong with Minwax stains as opposed to General Finishes? Minwax is everywhere and easy to get so I can do sample runs, General is either drive an hour or go on Amazon and is more expensive than I want to just take a swing on.
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Oct 14, 2021 11:47
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Jhet posted:You need a marine varnish. I know Waterlox and Epifanes have one, but there are also probably others. Just make sure to get a marine/water contact one or you'll be refinishing it quickly. My grandfather's canoe has some sort of tung oil based finish on it, but I don't remember which exactly it was. I think there are resins or something they add to increase the UV rating and something or other. Either way, don't use a million coats, because you'll make the paddle heavier and that makes it a bummer to use for a long time. Mederlock posted:Plain ole spar urethane will work too Leperflesh posted:Optionally, you can epoxy the surface instead of or before using spar varnish. The varnish will protect the wood from water and sun, but not very much from damage, and in my experience canoe paddles are often driven into the gravel or rocks below the surface. A few coats of a durable epoxy, particularly along the edge, may give you some additional protection. Ah thanks! I was hoping I didn't have to buy anything  I might try out that Wax and Linseed oil method, I've got plenty of wax. This paddle is going to be used for rapids and stuff anyway so its going to be chewed up by the forces of entropy eventually.
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Oct 14, 2021 12:03
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Any suggestions what to do with this janky old piece of Oak? I might be able to split it into 4 along the cracks and come out with something that might be useful?  
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Oct 14, 2021 16:33
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Well I've got a bit of a problem I could use some advice on. I'm building a cabinet and the cabinet sides are going to be 18"x36". Ripping has gone pretty well for my first go, but I need to crosscut the panels to length. Problem is, my table saw is a Bosch 4100 - it has rip capacity of 31" but I am not sure how to cut the length down to 36". I have a crosscut sled but because the table saw top is relatively small, it can only handle crosscuts up to 16" wide - any more and I would have had tipping troubles since there just isn't enough table surface to balance on. I'm considering using the included miter gauge and adding a longer fence to it, but it has serious play issues in the slot - though I think with judicious application of painter's tape I can mostly eliminate that. Is supporting the panel and cutting on the left side my best option or is there another way?
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Oct 14, 2021 17:22
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Enderzero posted:Well I've got a bit of a problem I could use some advice on. I'm building a cabinet and the cabinet sides are going to be 18"x36". Ripping has gone pretty well for my first go, but I need to crosscut the panels to length. Problem is, my table saw is a Bosch 4100 - it has rip capacity of 31" but I am not sure how to cut the length down to 36". I have a crosscut sled but because the table saw top is relatively small, it can only handle crosscuts up to 16" wide - any more and I would have had tipping troubles since there just isn't enough table surface to balance on. I'm considering using the included miter gauge and adding a longer fence to it, but it has serious play issues in the slot - though I think with judicious application of painter's tape I can mostly eliminate that. Is supporting the panel and cutting on the left side my best option or is there another way? Circular or hand saw?
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Oct 14, 2021 17:25
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Stultus Maximus posted:Circular or hand saw? Definitely a possibility. I have a good Milwaukee CS but haven’t had occasion to use it and I’m not sure if the blades are quality, plus I have heavily invested in table saw jigs and setup but haven’t thought about how to go about doing circular cuts or any jigs. Might have to though.
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Oct 14, 2021 17:36
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Mr. Mambold posted:Hot pot hide glue is the go-to for antique restorers. He was real polite about using aliphatic glue for modern cabinets, etc but explained that for starters, hide glue being water (and probably alcohol too) soluble (or steamable, i don't recall) is easy to undo in a joint (or maybe even a veneer, idk) if you need to repair 300 yr old family heirloom. So using the same stuff woodworkers have used for time immemorial keeps the same glue tension in the piece.
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Oct 14, 2021 17:37
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KKKLIP ART posted:Is there anything wrong with Minwax stains as opposed to General Finishes? Minwax is everywhere and easy to get so I can do sample runs, General is either drive an hour or go on Amazon and is more expensive than I want to just take a swing on. Minwax stains are fine, if you can find the color you like, go for it. Vier posted:Any suggestions what to do with this janky old piece of Oak? Well! First, despite the severe checking, that would serve as an extremely strong vertical post, as-is. You could split it into four posts, each with very uneven surfaces, and then plane down those posts until they were square, if have a planer... or a lot of elbow grease, doing it by hand. Another idea would be to slice it across the grain, break it along the existing checks, cut back to square, and then use those endgrain chunks to make endgrain cutting boards. You've got a lot of wood there, so it's a lot of work but in the end it's enough to make a decent-sized "butcher block" type hunk, perhaps for a rolling kitchen island, or you could make several cutting boards. If you have a lathe, you could split it into four, cut chunks, and use the chunks as turning blanks. Enderzero posted:Well I've got a bit of a problem I could use some advice on. As Stultus said, you want to cut across grain with either a handheld circular saw with a guide (if you have one), or just go at it with a hand saw. A good sharp hand saw will crosscut quite handily, especially thinner material. The main challenge is making a straight cut, which is about using guides and using good technique. Paul Sellars has a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O8DIi2HfKM
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Oct 14, 2021 17:41
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Enderzero posted:Well I've got a bit of a problem I could use some advice on. https://youtu.be/ILVCdEOhYBc This video has a few techniques for using a circular saw accurately, and personally I have one of those metal clamping guides and cut over foam board which works great.
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Oct 14, 2021 17:57
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Vier posted:Any suggestions what to do with this janky old piece of Oak? I can't really tell how big it is, but if it's big enough you could add some legs or a cradle or something and make it a bench or small coffee table thing. Enderzero posted:Well I've got a bit of a problem I could use some advice on. I'm building a cabinet and the cabinet sides are going to be 18"x36". Ripping has gone pretty well for my first go, but I need to crosscut the panels to length. Problem is, my table saw is a Bosch 4100 - it has rip capacity of 31" but I am not sure how to cut the length down to 36". I have a crosscut sled but because the table saw top is relatively small, it can only handle crosscuts up to 16" wide - any more and I would have had tipping troubles since there just isn't enough table surface to balance on. I'm considering using the included miter gauge and adding a longer fence to it, but it has serious play issues in the slot - though I think with judicious application of painter's tape I can mostly eliminate that. Is supporting the panel and cutting on the left side my best option or is there another way?
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Oct 14, 2021 18:14
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IMO a crosscut saw should be designed with a block that prevents it from moving far enough that the saw blade comes out of the front of the sled. Mine is designed with a block of 4x4 at the front blade slot, and a stop on the left that ends sled movement just before the sawblade would cut through that block. It provides enough extension that I can cut flush about 3" thick without the blade coming out, and I haven't needed to cut higher than that yet (I'd generally do a really tall cut on the bandsaw anyway). Note that this is being referred to as a "stop block" even though that's a different thing, so I'm not really sure what to call it. I built mine more or less referencing this plan: https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/build-a-table-saw-sled/ see the "stop blocks" in Step 5. You do have to clamp or modify a piece to the table saw's table to give the sled's block something to hit up against to stop forward progress, which may or may not be easy for you to do. 
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Oct 14, 2021 18:26
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Leperflesh posted:IMO a crosscut saw should be designed with a block that prevents it from moving far enough that the saw blade comes out of the front of the sled. Mine is designed with a block of 4x4 at the front blade slot, and a stop on the left that ends sled movement just before the sawblade would cut through that block. It provides enough extension that I can cut flush about 3" thick without the blade coming out, and I haven't needed to cut higher than that yet (I'd generally do a really tall cut on the bandsaw anyway). Note that this is being referred to as a "stop block" even though that's a different thing, so I'm not really sure what to call it. Your post gave me a different idea that might work for the OP-could you make a track of sort on the underside of the sled that would capture the saw top on the edge so it couldn't tip? No idea if there is enough overhang on your saw and the saw fence might get in the way, but something like this:  If your miter slot is a T-slot using t-track instead of a rectangular runner would work too.
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Oct 14, 2021 18:58
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I'm not a table saw user and i also don't like this misogynist wacko, but would a crosscut sled like this work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSMLPQ3GNXg
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Oct 14, 2021 19:21
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Circular saw worked great! I only needed to cut less than an inch off, so support wasn't an issue this time, I clamped the panel on the workbench hanging off the front and used a plywood scrap to act as a fence. Took a while because I was carefully trying to measure where the blade actually touches the wood vs what the ruler at the front of the saw says, and thus where to clamp the fence. Cut came out about 1/32" long but that's ok - for the second panel I lined it up on top of the cut panel and marked it, then added a 32nd and clamped the fence. They are spot-on in terms of being the same length!Leperflesh posted:IMO a crosscut saw should be designed with a block that prevents it from moving far enough that the saw blade comes out of the front of the sled. Mine is designed with a block of 4x4 at the front blade slot, and a stop on the left that ends sled movement just before the sawblade would cut through that block. It provides enough extension that I can cut flush about 3" thick without the blade coming out, and I haven't needed to cut higher than that yet (I'd generally do a really tall cut on the bandsaw anyway). Note that this is being referred to as a "stop block" even though that's a different thing, so I'm not really sure what to call it. drat, that's a good idea. I have a block on the back of the sled to keep it from ever protruding, but that assumes I am being careful and never push it too far, which is just another thing to keep an eye on so it's obviously not ideal. Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Does your crosscut sled tip off the back of the saw? My crosscut sleds are about 30" wide and I haven't had any issue on the front side, but if I didn't have a runoff table I think they might tip off the back. I'm not sure how much space you have, but a runoff table is a huge tablesaw improvement in every way, safety certainly not least. Otherwise circ saw/track saw is probably your best bet. The Kreg Accucut track thing has worked well for me. Indeed, that's the problem I was avoiding by making it only 16" wide. I don't have a runoff table - I've been using 2 flip top stands and occasionally a second pair of hands to make do. I'd love to have/make one, but my shop space is limited. It's 7' by about 24' - and shelves and workbench runs along the wall so I really have a little over 4 feet side to side. this is my first go at a large panel project and things juuuust fit if I'm careful and think ahead. I planned my cuts ahead of time (and still almost blew it - I didn't think about making sure panels on each side have grain running the same way) and had Home Depot cut them into 4'x4' sheets because I'm not sure I could fit a full sheet in my car, and also I don't have a plan for the the first big cut of a sheet. So far I've always found a way around constraints! I really wish baltic birch didn't come standard in 5'x5', I can't fit that in my car! Nemico posted:I'm not a table saw user and i also don't like this misogynist wacko, but would a crosscut sled like this work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSMLPQ3GNXg Maybe! I'm not a huge fan of only using one slot though...
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Oct 14, 2021 20:11
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Oh and goddamn do I love combination squares. My blemished PEC 6” double square is the mvp.
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Oct 14, 2021 20:24
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My sled only uses one of the miter slots and it's fine. You do need a very tight fit into that slot, though, to prevent wobble. Mine is made of wood and when the wood is a bit more moist than usual, it can jam up, although waxing it up and then forcing it through a few times seems to have fixed that. If you make your rail out of aluminum or delrin or something, it should be dimensionally stable and work well.
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Oct 14, 2021 20:27
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I chased the dragon of the crosscut sled being dialed down to like 0.0000006" accuracy and tbh it doesn't loving matter when you can just hit something with a sander or file for 0.2 seconds and get it into square that way instead of obsessing over the perfect cut. This might be controversial but I felt as a new woodworker I obsessed far far too much over <1/16" differences in cuts / sizes than was necessary at all. Mind you, if you are building tiny hardwood boxes or something this becomes much much more important but for multi foot sized pieces, ie cabinets, shelves etc, not worth the effort in the end in my somewhat naive opinion.
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Oct 14, 2021 21:24
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That Works posted:I chased the dragon of the crosscut sled being dialed down to like 0.0000006" accuracy and tbh it doesn't loving matter when you can just hit something with a sander or file for 0.2 seconds and get it into square that way instead of obsessing over the perfect cut. I've found that accuracy comes with experience. Once I got some basic operations figured out, my brain automatically shifted to doing them more accurately. There's like a limit of how many details my brain can keep straight at once and precision is a luxury. Early on, just cutting a tenon that was in the right place for the mortise was an accomplishment. The first few rattled around a bit, but soon got better as I figured out what parts of the operation mattered most. And actually, I've learned a ton of stuff in the process of fixing my mistakes so they've been useful if embarrassing.
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Oct 14, 2021 21:35
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That Works posted:I chased the dragon of the crosscut sled being dialed down to like 0.0000006" accuracy and tbh it doesn't loving matter when you can just hit something with a sander or file for 0.2 seconds and get it into square that way instead of obsessing over the perfect cut. Yeah, I'm working on getting a feel for when it matters and when it doesn't - one of my recent internalizations is certain dimensions are not important to be exact but others do matter. Whether the length of a cabinet side is exactly 36" doesn't matter as long as both sides match. But the cabinet bottom and top support stretcher should probably be really close so that the cabinet is nice and square, that sort of thing. But until I feel like I can predict ahead of time what is going to be crucial and what's not, I'm taking it slow and methodical. I totally get your point though, but fixing mistakes also takes a lot of extra time to come up with something. Biggest accelerator so far has definitely been taking heed of people I've seen marking boards and such, it's so easy to get turned around and cut on the wrong side of the line or something. Really glad I made a numbered cut list for these plywood sheets ahead of time, I think I picked up a good workflow for that from The Essential Woodworker.
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Oct 14, 2021 21:43
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Leperflesh posted:The Woodworking Thread: It will take a lot more work, and be less resistant to weathering and fading, and require more maintenance
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Oct 15, 2021 01:46
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Any downside to stacking two pieces of of 1/4 inch plywood to make a half inch drawer bottom? It feels icky but I can't think of any difference it will make
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Oct 15, 2021 17:54
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bobua posted:Any downside to stacking two pieces of of 1/4 inch plywood to make a half inch drawer bottom? It feels icky but I can't think of any difference it will make It should be fine. Keep in mind that most 1/4" plywood is more like 7/32", and 1/2" plywood is usually more like 15/32", so your franken-ply will be more like 7/16".
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Oct 15, 2021 17:59
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I wish I’d learned sooner about thinning oil based polyurethane varnish. I’m doing it for the first time today and not only did the first coat go on smooth and even, I didn’t feel like I was fighting with it the entire time. Sure, it’s going to take 4 coats, but at this rate it’ll still be done today and be covered with a consistent thin layer over the entire thing. I’ll post pictures once it’s installed, but this is turning out better than I could have hoped.
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Oct 15, 2021 18:06
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bobua posted:Any downside to stacking two pieces of of 1/4 inch plywood to make a half inch drawer bottom? It feels icky but I can't think of any difference it will make Are you putting heavy stuff like tools in? Because for interior purposes like kitchen, 1/4" is pretty standard. If yes, I'd glue the sheets though, just dribble glue streaks on one or even just several spots, slap together. Clamps not required.
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Oct 15, 2021 18:16
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I need to finish some maple shelf boards, the color and wood appearance is very nice as-is, what do I do to put a durable clear finish on them? It should probably be matte since it's near a beeswax/mineral oil work surface. Just something easy, they're going to have equipment sitting on them for the rest of time (thus not wanting to use something requiring touch-ups).
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Oct 15, 2021 18:23
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I used big-box-store satin clear poly or acrylic water-based finish on all my rack shelves. They're just pine, they start out very white but gradually yellow a bit over a couple of years. After sanding and then wiping down the wood to remove dust, I do three coats which is probably one coat more than is necessary. The finish is extremely durable, even the shelf where my cat likes to climb on has no damage. Water-based makes brush cleanup easy and there's nothing toxic to worry about breathing while applying coats (which I still do outside on a nice day). Here is Billie Jean holding down my router, but you can see how the shelves look:  For the shelves, I've used this poly:  For other projects I've used this, too:  The second one is acrylic and I suspect it's not as durable as the poly. I'd favor the poly for shelves and the acrylic for furniture, as depicted, but I don't feel super strongly either way on that. I have also used a "one-coat" clear finish before too (this one is gloss, but it's available in satin and matte): I don't recommend it. It actually takes two coats anyway, and it's so thick that it's really easy to leave bubbles or apply unevenly. It's a fine product for some applications, but maybe it takes more finesse to use well than I have?  Still, if you wanted to just slap one coat of thick goo onto say, garage shelves or something, I bet this would work fine. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Oct 15, 2021 |
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Oct 15, 2021 18:45
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I really like wipe-on polyurethane. If I was smarter I'd mix it myself, since it's just polyurethane diluted with mineral spirits
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Oct 15, 2021 19:23
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Mr. Mambold posted:Are you putting heavy stuff like tools in? Because for interior purposes like kitchen, 1/4" is pretty standard. If yes, I'd glue the sheets though, just dribble glue streaks on one or even just several spots, slap together. Clamps not required. The bottom fell out of my silverware drawer awhile ago. In the process of fixing it, I realized I'd been storing an entire extra set of silverware (that I'd completely forgotten about) at the back, putting an awful lot of extra load at a relatively small part of the base. But yeah, 1/4" plywood, held up for years, would've been fine for years more if I hadn't put unwise loads on it. Fixed it up with some blocks to help support the plywood and I'm sure it'll be good for at least another decade.
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Oct 15, 2021 19:25
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more falafel please posted:I really like wipe-on polyurethane. If I was smarter I'd mix it myself, since it's just polyurethane diluted with mineral spirits This is exactly what I've done today. I wish I'd known to do this before finishing my coffee table. It would have turned out much nicer and without drip problems or bubble problems. I couldn't imagine doing 11' of 36" tall railing with that thick gloop.
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Oct 15, 2021 19:45
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Jhet posted:This is exactly what I've done today. I wish I'd known to do this before finishing my coffee table. It would have turned out much nicer and without drip problems or bubble problems. I'm poo poo with a paintbrush, and all my paintbrushes are probably crappy. I don't really know what people mean when they say "a good paintbrush" but I assume the ones in the paint aisle at Home Depot aren't it. So I either use disposable foam brushes or something that can be wiped on.
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Oct 15, 2021 19:48
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more falafel please posted:I'm poo poo with a paintbrush, and all my paintbrushes are probably crappy. I don't really know what people mean when they say "a good paintbrush" but I assume the ones in the paint aisle at Home Depot aren't it. So I either use disposable foam brushes or something that can be wiped on. You have to buy the really expensive all natural for oil brushes. I'm also garbage with them, so being able to wipe this one on is a project saver. I've never been this excited about a finish going on, nor as happy with how it's looking while doing it. I just dislike that this is something I had to stumble into instead of just being on a label or part of instructions somewhere. Finishes are a pain trying to learn and there's a ton of information out there that doesn't align with what it's called. So I'm going to call this one a win and remember it for the future.
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Oct 15, 2021 19:55
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Basically a "good paintbrush" is one with bristles that don't fall out, don't clump weird, keep a nice edge on each edge, and have just the right amount of flex to them. I suggest the cheapest brushes at an art supply store, or the best brushes at a proper paint store (not the giant home depot/lowes type, but an actual paint-only type store). BUT. Every brush will be terrible if you A) let paint get up into the ferrule, and/or B) don't thoroughly clean and dry it after each use. For A), despite what cartoons taught you, you only need paint on the very ends of the bristles. If you're dipping half the brush into the paint, you're doing it wrong. For B), wash with an appropriate substance after each use (water and soap for water-base, thinner or brush cleaner for oil-based), and ideally, hang by its hole to dry rather than laying flat or (especially bad) letting it sit on its bristles in a jar or something. If you're doing multiple coats of a non-water-base thing and you don't really want to clean the brush six times in one day, you can wrap it tightly in plastic wrap between coats to prevent it from drying. All that said, it's OK to use a cheap brush, if you're attentive about spotting and removing bristles that fall out into your coat, you overlap edges and don't need to get a fine edge along a flat surface somewhere, and you obey the A) bit about keeping stuff out of the ferrule.
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Oct 15, 2021 19:57
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Leperflesh posted:If you're doing multiple coats of a non-water-base thing and you don't really want to clean the brush six times in one day, you can wrap it tightly in plastic wrap between coats to prevent it from drying. This is all great, obviously, and I'll add on this point specifically I've always had good luck with pushing all the air out of the smallest ziploc bag that will hold the brush and close securely. Don't do either of these overnight, just clean up properly, but a good ziploc will last you all day and be basically zero mess.
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Oct 15, 2021 20:12
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Leperflesh posted:For A), despite what cartoons taught you, you only need paint on the very ends of the bristles.
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Oct 15, 2021 20:19
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more falafel please posted:I'm poo poo with a paintbrush, and all my paintbrushes are probably crappy. I don't really know what people mean when they say "a good paintbrush" but I assume the ones in the paint aisle at Home Depot aren't it. So I either use disposable foam brushes or something that can be wiped on. I think they've carried Purdy for a while. That's been the go-to for pro painters, afaik.
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Oct 15, 2021 21:29
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I think I'll try a wipe-on finish, I'm also terrible at painting because I've only ever had to do it in a huge hurry.
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Oct 15, 2021 21:30
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Anyone got a good video on using a router to round the edge of a tabletop?
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Oct 15, 2021 21:53
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KKKLIP ART posted:Anyone got a good video on using a router to round the edge of a tabletop? It should just be a matter of putting a roundover bit with a guide bearing into a handheld router, dialing in the depth, then running it along the edge. What are you having trouble with?
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Oct 15, 2021 22:16
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That piece of laminated stock I wanted to trim up on a router table: I forgot that I have a 3d printer that can just uh, make jig specifically for what I need. I also forgot that purpleheart is not fun to shape with a router! Got some tear out, undoing the surface I wanted to flatten. Scrap wood projects are always a learning project in one way or another. Back to the rasp.
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Oct 15, 2021 22:47
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:It should just be a matter of putting a roundover bit with a guide bearing into a handheld router, dialing in the depth, then running it along the edge. What are you having trouble with? Never owned a router in my life and want to make my table look like more than some boards glued together.
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Oct 15, 2021 22:52
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