meatpimp posted:

I need some advice.

I bought that stack of 10/4x10x8' boards, about 40 of them, last fall. They ended up being something along the lines of cottonwood or buckeye.

I put them in a stack 4 deep, 10 high with stickers every 4 rows. I then covered it with a tarp put them on the tarp to start, on top of the concrete patio. I thought that would keep them dry, but I went to grab one today and got a strong mold smell and definite growth on the boards.

What should I do to a) dry them out, and b) set it up so that I can keep them more dry?

meatpimp posted:

This stuff had been sitting in a barn for decades, so before I got it wet, it was dry. I've got a piece in the garage now, I'll let it sit for a while, then plane it and get a moisture reading.

gregday posted:

I have questions about polishing a lacquer finish. I'm building a box that I want a mirror gloss finish on. It's all pine ply. I'm doing all my testing on a scrap board before touching the real piece. I've already put on all my coats of Minwax water-based stain.
In my tests, I've put about 7 coats of Minwax high gloss clear lacquer. I lightly sanded with 800 grit after the first 2 coats and did nothing between the subsequent coats. I let each coat dry for a day before putting on the next. 24 hours after the last coat, I'm trying hitting it with my 5" orbital polisher. I've never done any kind of buffing before so I'm not sure exactly what I need to do and for how long. I have 5 grades of buffing bads (Heavy, Medium, Light, Polish, Finish Polish).

I guess in order my questions are:

Should I have done more coats?

Do I need to use all the buffing pads? I assume whatever order needs to be heaviest to lightest.

How long should I expect to buff with each pad?

Should I do any final sanding after the last coat before moving to the polisher? I have sanding discs up to 2000 grit.

Should I use any sort of liquid polishing agent with the tool? I've seen some things about just throwing on some soapy water.

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

To get a high-gloss finish that looks good you have to do 2 things. First you have to level the finish. You do this by sanding the finish with sandpaper and a sanding block. Then you polish that level surface to the desired sheen.

For leveling, I usually use 320 grit Wet sandpaper that I lubricate with soapy water and back with a foam sanding block. You can get them at auto paint supply stores. It takes a long time, it's tedious, and you'll probably cut through all the finish in some places, depends alot on how thick the finish is and how flat/well sanded it was prior to finishing. You can do this with a power sander, but you are pretty much guaranteed to cut through the finish, especially on the edges. You can let it dry really well and spray more finish on. Depending on how heavy a coat you spray, 7 coats might be a whole lot or not very much, so that really doesn't tell me much. It will sand easier if you let the finish cure for a month or so, but nitrocellulose lacquer tends to clog sandpaper pretty badly no matter what.

You can also do much of the levelling between coats of finish when you scuff sand. Sand with a block and 320 dry paper between coats to really cut the finish back, recoat, repeat ad nauseum. If you're using pure nitrocellulose lacquer, you can build the finish basically as thick as you want.

After you have the finish level (look at it with raking light-it should all be evenly dull with no shiny parts), you can start polishing. First I'd use finer grits of paper up to 1000 or so grit, and then using some kind of rubbing compound to finish polishing it. There are commercial compounds for auto body work, but I've always used pumice and rottenstone. 4F pumice first, lubricated with a little oil and rub rub rub rub rub, and then do the same with rottenstone. It takes forever and your hands will hurt. Maybe your buffing pads will make all that easier-I don't have much experience with those.

You can get a real good looking finish with much less work by not aiming for a mirror finish. The shinier and smoother a finish is, the more it shows every single little imperfection. My normal finish is to wet sand basically level but with some wood pores still showing with 320, then rub out with 0000 steel wool and finish with a good paste wax. The steel wool scratches help hide all the little stuff that isn't level, and the wax on top brings back a nice shine.

gregday posted:

Sounds like I need to get a HVLP sprayer and thin down my lacquer and get some micro mesh pads too.

Meow Meow Meow posted:

Sounds like a bandsaw would be the way to go. Unfortunately anything smaller than a 14" is basically a toy and you will likely be frustrated. Lee Valley has a Rikon 14", Busybee has a Craftex 14" and CWI has a 14" that would all be decent, but all over $1k.

I recognize you from the Toronto thread, so if I see anything used come up in the area I'll send you a pm. Although the used market for bandsaws around here hasn't been great. I was looking for one, as I was waiting on a new one for 11 months, I figured if I could get something reasonable used I would cancel my order, but there's not much out there.

Update, I got the panel in. Still needs a bit more work to clean up but I am very happy that it turned out, I also got it to sit even with the frame which was what was concerning me the most with the build.

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Be careful and do your homework if you want to spray lacquer. Anything to do with spraying lacquer absolutely should be done outdoors. Nitrocellulose lacquer is basically gunpowder dissolved in gasoline and when you spray that into an aerosol, bad things can happen if there’s any sort of ignition source. If you’re brushing it still make sure you have great ventilation.

Leperflesh posted:

Fantastic! I love the little checkerboard edging, love the joinery, love the bookmatched centerpiece, love the proportions. Gosh.

Meow Meow Meow posted:

Update, finished the coffee table.

Mr. Mambold posted:

That's a bit alarmist and I'm gonna disagree with some of it. Outdoor spraying is going to invite crap floaties getting into your job before it cures. And that sucks. Ideally a ventilated shop with maybe one side open, shop fan venting out, low wind, low humidity, decent temp is pretty ideal. While yeah, nitrocellulose lacquer is flammable, it's not a bomb. Just be sensible about lit pilot flames, etc. like Kaiser mentions. Literally all new construction from the 60's onward into the oughts used it, so it's not quite that bad about blowing up.

However, it's the most toxic common application. Definitely wear a carbon filtered respirator, and if you're doing a lot of it indoors, consider a jumpsuit or disposable bunny suit.

The upside? Why do people use it so ubiquitously? Because it's still the most forgiving, quickest drying and curing application out there- although water-based has made giant strides, and I'd recommend it over lacquer all day long.

Ditto.

Meow Meow Meow posted:

Update, finished the coffee table.

Meow Meow Meow posted:

ColdPie posted:

Excellent work. You're the guy who does the crazy inlay designs, right? I bet it was nice working with just four big sheets, hahah.

meatpimp posted:

Beautiful. Is that curly maple perimeter of the top?

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

It is a bit alarmist, but I think some alarm is warranted when someone is talking about spraying lacquer for the first time. You can smoke in a spray room and not blow up-it's a terrible idea but I've seen it done! On the other hand, my old boss's first shop burned from a spray room fire that started with someone flicking the lights on in the morning after stuff had been drying and off-gassing overnight and apparently made just the right mix of solvent and air for a tiny spark to ignite. It's potentially pretty dangerous stuff.

Lacquer is great and I love it as a finish for all the reasons you mention, but it's not something I'd recommend anyone jump into.

Meow Meow Meow posted:

It's cherry, the top pieces definitely have a bit of curl to them.

Mr. Mambold posted:

You're on point re: a first-timer, and nothing like a traumatic experience like that to.....I think you've mentioned that before. I find it remarkable, tbf, that just turning on lighting could create a spark without there being a short somewhere. It's mind boggling. Even if it was knife fuses.

I'd completely recommend water-based lacquer in that case. Indoors, moderate temp, no worries about humidity even!

Looking at it again, that burl has Rorschach vibes. You could custom those for psychologists and make a bundle!

2nd edit- and, and.....goatse? drat, the market here, friend!

Just Winging It posted:

Explosion Proof lights are a thing for a reason.

Elysium posted:

I am thinking of building a large litter box out of some scrap plywood I have, and coating it with Spar Urethane. Will that hold up to cat pee? Is it toxic to pets after it's cured? I can't imagine them trying to eat or lick it.

Elysium posted:

I am thinking of building a large litter box out of some scrap plywood I have, and coating it with Spar Urethane. Will that hold up to cat pee? Is it toxic to pets after it's cured? I can't imagine them trying to eat or lick it.

Apollodorus posted:

Same question as a poster a couple days ago—I just got a $100 gift card to Klingspor’s, and my first thought is to get some Japanese saws…is that a good call?

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Anyone ever seen/tried 3d printing small hand planes? I'm really more thinking of like, scraper/scratch stock holders for moulding profiles, where the moulding curves along the work and the plane needs to be slightly rounded like a coachmaker's plane. The 3d-printed (or wood, tbh) part would be roughly the same profile as the finished molding and support the scratch stock or scraper to hold it at a consistent angle to keep the profile consistent.

Serenade posted:

It is technically 3/4 inches deep, but much more narrow than that. Do I need an epoxy rated for a depth of 3/4? I'm also assuming for something this small I won't need many of the extra tools like a heat gun.