Woodworking: Thank you for showing me the weird saw

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Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Feenix posted:

So it�s been drum-sanded to good flatness and even-ness. I�m just going to use the belt sander for cosmetic removal of burns and grooving from the drum. I hear you on letting the machine�s weight do the work. What�s that cooling graphite thing? Does Home Depot have it?

End grain you probably wont have any problems, but its helpful on big wide surfaces. It goes between the belt and the metal platen on the bottom of the sander and sort of cushions everything. Just cut it to fit and punch some holes for the the little screws that hold the metal platen on. It sheds graphite flakes like crazy at first but they don't seem to hurt anything.
This stuff https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-3601010509-Graphite-24-Inch-Sanders/dp/B000A8ST64 Woodworker's Supply also sells it by the yard if you want to make a dress with it or something. I doubt you'd find it locally.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Jul 25, 2018

# ¿ Jul 25, 2018 01:43

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 08:34

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Feenix posted:

I mean it�s ok as is, it�s just that the Purpleheart squares are fairly black in many of the squares, so, kind of a shame..

[Ed] should I be concerned about throwing it really uneven /out of wack with a belt sander?

I think you would have to really really try to get it out of flat with a 120 belt (or probably even 100) on an endgrain cutting board

# ¿ Jul 25, 2018 04:09

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Anyone know where to buy breakaway nails? They are small pin nails about 3/4" long made of hardened steel that you hammer in, then hit sideways and they snap below the surface and just leave a tiny hole. Very useful for repairs. My old boss used to have some but I can't seem to find anywhere that sells them.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2018 19:13

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

They are about the same diameter but instead of being wire and flexible, they are very hard and snap when you hit them sideways. The broken off bit goes flying off and invariably hits you in the eye, so I'm sure OSHA has banned them. They are for moulding etc. Googling just gets me a million results about fingernails.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2018 19:38

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Thanks! That's exactly what I needed.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2018 20:01

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

go for a stroll posted:

Thanks for this idea. I spent a little more on the router and used a loving $33 bit, but it worked really well!

I wish there were more contrast between the maple and cherry, or the maple were more consistent, since the pattern in the middle is hard to make out. But otherwise I'm happy with how it turned out.

e: Now to get a shop vac.

I don't know if you've oiled it yet or not, but that will definitely give more contrast between the cherry and maple, and age definitely will darken the cherry. A few hours in the sun will darken cherry a bit-it changes color very very quickly compared to most woods.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2018 02:58

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

go for a stroll posted:

i might have overdone the sun a bit lol

Flip it over and it'll hopefully flatten out. Being endgrain I guess water moves in/out extra fast!

# ¿ Jul 27, 2018 04:20

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Taking shallower cuts and a slower travel speed will help some, especially in hard-rear end wood like purple heart. Good quality bits help too-Freud makes very good ones and Home Depot carries them. Make sure you're moving the router in the correct direction with relation to the rotation of the bit.

One of the many complications with end grain cutting boards is that you're always going to be routing cross grain, and that makes life difficult.

I'm not sure I'd use it on cutting boards, and the colors aren't always perfect, but Famowood is good putty/filler. Glue and sawdust also works, superglue dripped in a hole filled with sawdust works too, and makes a very hard filler.

Edit:do what Jarvis said, not so much because of food safety stuff as it will just be easier and cleaner in the long run.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Jul 27, 2018

# ¿ Jul 27, 2018 21:22

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

extra stout posted:

Probably another longshot but does anyone here carve wood with a magnifying glass and if so what are your thoughts on wearing the visor vs. desk mount? I've been carving a few years but never tried anything detailed or small enough to need them, seems like there aren't a lot of people left making prayer nuts. Also looking for advice on the smallest possible chisels and knives if anyone has any experience. Thinking of practicing on basswood to get the technique down, any other ideas are appreciated!

Seconding visors. I've not used them much for carving, but a lot for inlay-it's amazing how much finer work you can do when everything looks twice as large. Maybe if you were working on something small and stationary a desk mount would be fine, but visors are cheap and go where you go.

Pfeil makes some nice palm sized carving tools that occasionally Woodcraft has on sale as a set but I don't know how tiny you need.

dupersaurus posted:

What�s a good sharpening stone grit for routine maintenance? I have a 1000 grit wet stone and after using it a few times, it seems like it�s a bit aggressive. This is for small gouges, if it makes a difference.

I'm rather partial to Oil stones in general, but especially just for maintenance/honing. A soft Arkansas stone will get you a nice polish and is a good general purpose stone. A hard/black Arkansas will get a mirror polish. Norton I think makes a curved India stone that is good for getting the wire edge off the inside of gouges too.

For carving tools/gouges I mostly use a buffing wheel to keep them nice and sharp. Harbor freight makes a cheap one with two wheels and I keep red rouge on one wheel and green that gives a mirror polish on the other. Find some thicker spiral sewn wheels than what comes with the machine though. V chisels and gouges etc. are a pain to grind correctly, so I try to just keep them buffed to a sharp edge instead of having to put them to a stone.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Jul 28, 2018

# ¿ Jul 28, 2018 05:07

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Feenix posted:

I�ve sanded to 220. I�m reading different things on what to do next. Some people sand higher, but that�ll close pores. Some people flood it with water to raise the grain and then hit it with 300+. Some folks start in on various 300-and-up wet-sandings with mineral oil.

What do you guys like? After the mineral oil soaks do you guys do a board-butter (beeswax blend)?

You will do no harm sanding higher than 220 if you're not staining it, but it becomes a game of diminishing marginal returns. My sanding process is belt sand with 80 and 100, orbital sand with 80, 100, 120 wet to raise the grain (just a wet rag is all you need! I cant imagine hosing a piece down or soaking it) and then anything I have to sand by hand gets 150 and anything I can use an orbital sander on gets 220, and then it gets blown off to get the dust off/out of the pores and goes into the finishing room for staining. I have to make furniture at a certain price point and so I stop at 150/220 because A) I've done samples and under lacquer I really cannot tell the difference (even the lacquer I do not generally sand finer that 320 and 0000 steel wool, but I don't like a mirror finish in most cases) B) I don't really like sanding very much and my time is better spent elsewhere and C) I use water based dye stains and sanding to too high a grit can cause them not to take well. Under oil, sanding to higher grits will get things feeling a bit smoother/slicker to the hand, but even then I don't think I'd bother going past 320. If you really enjoy sanding and want to get it super smooth for fun, have a party and go wild. You can't go wrong making some test pieces with different processes/finishes and seeing what you like best.

Super Waffle posted:

Has anyone ever experimented with vacuum sealing wood in an oil bath to get maximum penetration?

I have not personally, but I know it is done with epoxy and thin CA glue when stability/moisture resistance is very important like pistol grips and stuff. Can't see why it wouldn't work with oil too, though viscosity might matter.

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

The first cutting board I ever made, I was following a guide that said to use thinned Salad Bowl Finish to soak through. It seems to have worked fine (the board is still in use and looks good), but later I read the can more carefully and it said specifically "do not thin" and "do not use for surfaces that are used for chopping". I'm guessing the concern is that you could get a film on top, like you said, which would get somewhat shredded by knifework and create vacancies for microbes to live in. So if you're dead-set on using it, I guess I'd just recommend sanding the hell out of the top after you're done applying finish.

Almost all finishes say 'Do not thin' and it is usually just so then can comply with VOC regulations. They can say the product only has X VOC's when everyone in the world thins it by half to spray it, hugely increasing the VOC's. In my experience, thinning oil-based finishes is not usually a bad idea, and often ends with a better finish. Minwax stains all say 'Do Not Thin' and they look like diarrhea full strength, but if you cut them 1:10 with mineral spirits you can actually get some nice, subtle colors.

Hypnolobster posted:

Got my finger sucked in between the belt and roller on my stationary sander last night. I have a patch of nerve damage on one side of that finger, and doing some work at the bottom side of the outer roller, I didn't feel the belt touching my finger and one slight movement sucked it in.

Didn't break anything, but I almost completely ripped off the nail and I mangled the border/tip and part of the nailbed.

Don't work tired and always think through the implications of every process, kids.

I once sanded off most of two of my fingernails and the nailbed in an instant on a big edge sander. We often mistakenly think of sanders as relatively safe because they don't have sharp scary blades. but that dog will bite and bite fast. Glad it wasn't anything more serious-it took mine forever to really heal.

I'll second that about not working tired or in a hurry. Every injury I've had has been at the end of a long day when I was trying to do more than I should have. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is stop and start fresh in the morning.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2018 18:38

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

MaliciousOnion posted:

I'm trying to think up a screwless desk design, and I'm having trouble thinking of ways to affix the tabletop. Here's one design I've thought of, do you think this would have sufficient strength if it's just glued together?

Measurements are in mm. Essentially, the legs would be 60x60 posts, with a cross shape cut out of the tops. Into the cross would slide the aprons with a halved joint. The four "prongs" of the legs would then protrude above the aprons just far enough to slot through four holes in the top. My concern is that the legs in particular may be too weak to support any lateral impact. The front legs in particular will be susceptible, since there won't be an apron piece at the front of the desk.

A simpler and more tried and true way would be to do a traditional mortise and tenon for the apron-leg joints and then make your leg still stick up with some dowels/tenons through the top. I would worry about the little ends of your half laps breaking off-unsupported long grain like that could very easily split off. I would also want some sort of shoulder where the apron meets the leg to give the leg more mechanical support against lateral forces. Wider aprons would also really help strength wise, as would a stretcher lower down the leg.

You might want to check out some Classical Chinese/Ming furniture joinery. Much of it uses no metal fasteners and even no glue-just well constructed, interlocking mechanical joints. Often times stub tenons from the top of the leg into the top is what holds the entire piece together.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2018 15:50

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Feenix posted:

My board, my rules. :p

Good points all. It's been like 2+ months, I think, at this point? I just didn't know what to consider normal for offgassing. (Not that anything about what I did to that board is normal...)

in other news, my end grain cutting board is great, just.. really, REALLY dark (the black walnut, when oiled, got really dark, and the purpleheart was already a rich dark color.)

Is there way to fade it or something, in the sun? Is that a thing? Is it safe? (other than to the color, that is...)

It is called black walnut for a reason. Purple Heart will go more brown than purple over time, and walnut also does lighten somewhat with age. Some sunlight would probably accelerate that process somewhat. End grain is also always darker too. Kiln dried/steamed walnut tends to be a little lighter, but also kind of grey and boring. Peruvian/South American walnut is even darker than black walnut!

# ¿ Aug 4, 2018 01:11

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Thrasophius posted:

K I'll take a look at some stuff and practice on some old kitchen knives I don't use anymore.

You can do a ton with just a plain Sloyd knife or similar.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2018 03:53

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Putrid Grin posted:

Quick and possibly silly question for you guys and gals.
I am making a circular black walnut table, and am planning on using a router to cut the circle out of my glued up boards. I want to give the edges a nice roman ogee profile, and was wondering if I can use that bit for cutting the circle out or will the profile somehow lack the cutting power and need to do the cutting with the straight bit and then do the edging?

Best is to cut to within 1/8" or so of your circle with a bandsaw/jigsaw, then use a straight bit to get it to size. Saws cut wood much more efficiently than routers, but if all you've got is a router you could do it all with a straight bit in a few passes. I don't think your ogee bit would do the job of cutting out the circle. Also, with a circular table top you are going to cutting against the grain a good bit, so take light passes and keep your travel speed slow (but not so slow it burns) to minimize tearout.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2018 08:34

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Hypnolobster posted:

Made a smaller moxon vise, because big ones are dumb. I made a 26" capacity moxon like 2 years ago and I never ever use the thing because it's enormous. This one is just some ash I had sitting around and $30 in hardware from eBay. I didn't even measure, but it's somewhere around 17" between the screws. I just made it to what felt comfortable/what I had material to make.

Knobs out of black locust because it's heavy as hell, and now it does the Benchcrafted spin all the way in deal.

That looks great. Pretty curl in the Ash. Ash is one of my very favorite woods to work with, but not always to look at and yours is gorgeous. What wood is your bench? Almost looks like walnut. How�d you make your knobs? Something with the toolmarks in the last picture doesn�t look like it was turned on a lathe.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2018 21:46

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Huxley posted:

I'm replacing a table top on a Wayfare cheapo table with slightly less-cheapo pine and I'm not sure the best way to finish it.

It needs to be black, which means paint, but there has to be something better for this than interior latex from Lowe's that's been sitting in my garage for 2 years.

Also, I know pine is soft and is going to dent all to hell, which is fine, but is there anything I can do to make it stand up to little people a bit better? Just poly over the paint or is there something better?

Sherwin Williams ProClassic is a good water based alkyd enamel that should hold up well.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2018 18:19

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Huxley posted:

I told my wife about our options, and she was much more enthusiastic about the option where I buy a $20 quart of paint than the one where I buy a $40 propane torch.

Though she did finally say, "you do what you gotta do."

She sounds like she might be a witch and you should buy the torch anyway to burn her.

She might also be shocked at the cost of good paint.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2018 22:25

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Looks great. Nice surface finish and a neat simple design. The buffing compound could be getting on the work, especially if you use a buffing wheel. Wiping your knife down with paint thinner/naphtha/kerosene/lighter fluid/whatever the equivalent Japanese volatile petroleum distillate is should clean it off.

Edit: Looking closer, the buffing compound might be what is turning them black, but they are tool marks that are going to catch whatever grime is around. I don�t mind them at all-to me they show the hand of the maker-but if they bother you, you could sand them out before you oiled it. You�d probably lose some of that nice smooth, straight off the tool surface finish if you did sand it all though.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 04:09 on Aug 9, 2018

# ¿ Aug 9, 2018 03:36

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

I assume with 9" wheels that this a smallish three wheel bandsaw? I'm confused by the 'rear idle wheel,' but either way I would try and find a new tire for the one that needs replacing. It's a pain in the rear end to change tires anyway, and I doubt you would get the old one off in one piece-they're usually glued to the wheel with some sort of adhesive. At least here in the US you can get new urethane tires made to about any size fairly cheaply.

You really can't just put a wider blade on it either. Blade capacity has more to do with the stiffness of the saw frame and the wheel diameter than just the width of the tire. Wider blades take a lot more force to tension properly, and the small frame of your saw probably can't handle that. In addition, trying to get a wide blade to make the sharp turn around a 9" wheel, even if your saw frame could handle it, is going to cause dramatically shorter blade life and probably weld failure. Bandsaw blades are constantly bending, and the welds are not as flexible as the rest of the blade. A larger blade needs a larger diameter wheel to be able to make that bend without too much stress on the blade.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2018 00:09

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

That really looks great again. Love the way it perches and your clean, simple shapes let the wood do its thing too. What wood are you using? Looks kind of like pine or maybe ash? I love the wood grain in the finished work- for ease of carving you might play around with a wood with a more consistent texture (less distinct growth rings). It will keep you from having to quite worry as much about little bits splitting off, but even in mahogany I lose chunks.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2018 04:14

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Meow Meow Meow posted:

This looks very nice, do you have any plans to finish it or are you going to let it grey naturally?

I got the frame for my entrance cabinet ready for finish/glue up. I think I'm going to finish it, glue it up then build the drawers/doors. I always bounce back between finishing pre-assembly and post assembly, what do you guys usually do?

I pretty much always finish post assembly, but I spray lacquer or rub on oil. If you�re brushing or padding then prefinishing definitely makes life easier, but I still prefer finishing after assembly. Don�t have to worry about finish on your glue joints or glue on your finish, and if you incorporate any glazing or anything into your finishing process it pretty much has to be done post-assembly to do what it�s supposed to do.

Handsome piece for sure. How were you going to finish it? I�ve become rather partial to oil on cherry.

Edit: Actually reminds me of a piece I�d did a few years. I always love a big bevel like yours on the top and a touch of inlay.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Aug 14, 2018

# ¿ Aug 14, 2018 20:21

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Thrasophius posted:

Thanks I'm glad you like it. I do like the simple shapes too, all nice and smooth and clean looking. I'm going to try something a bit more rough looking that doesn't involve sanding just to experiment.

I'm not actually sure what wood it is. I just picked up a bag of scrap wood from a home store, about 25 blocks for �300 so I actually have no idea what I'm working with haha.

I have no idea what to look for when it comes to wood, what kinds of wood have a consistent texture like you described?

Beautiful table by the way. How long did it take you to get to that level?

Unfigured, dense mahogany is great to carve, as is basswood (limewood in Europe). Pear (and to a lesser extent, cherry) is excellent carving wood if you can find it. In general, you want a wood that is easy to cut (not too hard) but hard and dense enough to hold detail. Basswood is fairly soft but still dense enough to hold detail and very easy to work-mahogany is often the same. I think what you�ve been using is a pine-you�ve probably noticed the dark growth rings are much harder than the lighter part and that difference in texture makes the carving tough. The flip side is your birds look really cool because they have a very striking wood grain that wouldn�t show up in a wood with more consistent grain. The other benefit is that if you learn on wood that�s really tough to carve well you�ll be a pro when you get some pleasant wood to work with.

I think I built that table a bit less than a year after I started woodworking but I was doing it 40 hours a week and had the benefit of having an excellent teacher in my old boss.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2018 02:30

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

I've yet to figure out how to apply shellac without it blotching somewhere.

Scuff sanding between every coat with 320 will help, but shellac really clogs sandpaper in a hurry. Stearated/blue-white paper helps some, but even it clogs. More lighter/thinner coats will usually help keep things even.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2018 18:06

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Rubbing it out with #0000 steel wool or a maroon or grey scotchbrite pad will knock it down too. If you want to recoat it with satin, that will work too-generally you build up with gloss and then the last coat or two are what control the sheen anyway. Usually satin or semi gloss or whatever just have added particles that break up the light so it doesn�t reflect as much. You do have to be careful if you use satin from the start as layers and layers of those particles can wind up giving you a much flatter finish that if you�d put them over gloss.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2018 23:46

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Thrasophius posted:

Thanks for the advice. I'll look into the sort of woods I can get in this area. That explains why for some parts of the wood it goes through like butter whilst other parts are difficult, it must be the grain, I never even thought of that. The wood has been difficult to work with because its splits incredibly easy along the grain making stuff like the beak a real pain but I feel I'm learning so much more from this wood than if it was nice and easy to cut so hopefully I'll improve a lot faster this way.

I think for now I'll continue with the nice smooth shapes just to practice the different cuts before attempting more detailed stuff. I'm also avoiding a saw for now because the more wood i have to remove by knife the more opportunity to practice said cuts rather than the saw doing 90% of the shaping for me.

What are some good generic finishes for wood? I'm just using a bit of oil at the moment but what other stuff can i use and how would it affect the finish?

For finishing carvings, less is generally more. A few coats of boiled linseed oil with some paste or beeswax on top is great and simple and makes a nice satin finish. Danish oil is an oil/varnish blend that is easy to use and offers a bit more protection, but may not give you as smooth a feel in the hand as linseed oil. I would stay away from film finishes like polyurethane or lacquer or shellac for now. Too much gloss can make glare and sparkles on the carving and make it look off-what�s supposed to be a deep cut and in shadow catches the light and looks like it�s raised instead of recessed etc. If you get into relief carving (designs cut into a surface) some sort of glaze or stain or wax that sits down in those deep lines really helps make the carving stand out.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2018 15:17

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Putrid Grin posted:

This might be a really stupid question, but where do I go to buy furniture grade plywood in hardwood flavors like walnut? I live north of Philadelphia, and while I found a charming sawmill where I can get lumber I have no clue where to start looking for sheet goods.

You need a real lumberyard or cabinet supplier-where the local cabinet/millwork shops buy their lumber. W�rth Wood Group is a national chain that may be in your area and has more flavors of plywood than you knew existed. Most are wholesale only and not open to the public, but there�s probably someplace that would sell you a few sheets. If you have trouble, you might try a cabinet shop and see if they could get you what you need.

Be prepared to pay $75+/sheet for walnut veneer plywood and be aware that the face veneers have already been sanded and are SUPER thin. If you sand through them you�ve got a real mess.

If you need smaller pieces, veneering it yourself may be a good option, but veneering comes with its own set of challenges and usually doesn�t wind up being much cheaper than solid lumber if you get real veneer. I would not try and veneer a whole sheet yourself without a press.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2018 13:36

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Huxley posted:

Is hand cutting well-fitting rabbets into pine for box sides actually pretty difficult with a dovetail saw, or do I just need much more practice?

I would put it in in the �definitely not easy� category, especially if you�re using a yellow pine. Those funny side rabbet planes or a moving filister would help if I�m understanding what you�re doing. Scribing a line and cutting just to the waste side and then chopping exactly to the line with a chisel might work too. A bigger saw might help as well if you�ve got one. Otherwise a power router with a straight bit and a fence will make short work of it if you don�t mind using power tools.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2018 21:57

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Salvor_Hardin posted:

I just finished staining this end table I made and am preparing to apply polyurethane. Do I need to poly the whole unit or can I just do the horizontal surfaces?

Thanks in advance.

You should put poly on anything you want to be protected and shiny. Stain will not protect the wood, and without a coating over the stain it may rub off.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2018 03:52

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Koth posted:

Do the saw blades get sharpened after they come off the waterjet or are they just sent out? Is it even necessary to sharpen them after the waterjet?

I had a chance to stop by their shop a few years ago when I was in Maine and as I recall they use some ancient machine to punch out the teeth-it may also set them in that process. I can�t remember how the teeth were actually sharpened after that. I�m not enough of a gear head to remember all the details, but they run about a dozen big Bridgeports and a bunch of surface grinders, among other things. I think their castings are all done off site as well and then they do all the machining and finishing in house.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2018 21:07

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Ben Nerevarine posted:

I bought a couple old plywood glulam beams off craigslist that I want to join to make a woodworking bench top. They're 6' long, 14" wide, and 3.5" high each. The grain runs length-wise and they're heavy as gently caress (80? lbs each, pure guess) so I don't think just glue would do it. I'm thinking of using 3/4" dowels to join them. How many dowels should I consider using, and how deep into each beam should they go?

I think I'm going to have to make my own dowel centers.

As others have pointed out, you're going to have a very hard time getting a good glue line (and anybody who likes their joiner knives isn't going to let you run gluelam over it), so why not just put a cross piece or two in the frame under the top and screw them all to the bench frame instead of trying to join them to each other?

If you were determined to try and get a glued joint, you could run a router with a big straight bit as deep as you can from one side using the factory edge of a piece of good plywood as a guide/fence. Then cut off most of the waste with your circ saw and use an equally large flush trim from the other side to ride against the flat made by the straight bit. You need a big ole router and light passes and some good bits that are probably going to get trashed by all that glue. Are they actually plywood where the grain alternates by 90 degrees every layer?

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

I admit I've never worked with LVL, nor tried to run plywood through my thickness planer, which is the closest analogue I can think of to trying to joint it (I don't own a jointer). Does the glue gum things up?

It depends on the the glue. Yellow glue can gum things up but its not a big deal, but industrial glues can be very hard on blades and dulls them very quickly. Its a big part of why MDF is so hard on blades.

Edit: Harry Potter on Ice is right. You might be able to find a millwork shop or lumberyard with a huge straight line rip saw that can cut 3.5" thick that is glue-line capable and there is actually a small chance they will do it and won't laugh at you.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Aug 21, 2018

# ¿ Aug 21, 2018 01:21

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

That Works posted:

You all got a recommendation for a corded random orbital sander? Looking for one in the $100 or less range, I am not gonna be using it constantly or anything, low volume work, so am fine with going with a slightly cheaper one as long as its not crap. Mostly am just using this for wood prep prior to finishing / painting, not doing any stripping or refurb work with it.

We�ve worn out a few Ridgid�s from overwork at work but I like them-very smooth sander that seems to float across the work for finishing nice wood and pretty good dust collection even without a vacuum. I have a Dewalt that is tough as nails and great for paint and stuff, but it jerks all over the place and I don�t love it for woodworking. We used to have a Milwaukee at work that was great but I haven�t seen the same model for sale again. We also had a Ryobi that was literally $30 and was a very smooth nice sander for as long as it lasted. Didn�t last all that long, but for occasional home use it would probably last a lifetime. Good paper is as important as a good sander-3M stuff is good and widely available.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2018 01:34

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Annath posted:

Hi!

I know almost nothing about woodworking.

I acquired a piece of dried Ironwood (American Hornbeam) with a rubber foot for use as a walking/hiking stick. It is unfinished, so I wanted to do 2 things:

1. Apply a polish/varnish/coating to bring out the grain as well as make it more resilient to outdoor conditions. However, I'm not a big fan of the, I don't know exactly what its called, the coatings that are almost like plastic? I've seen it on walking sticks sold in stores, its the stuff that completely masks the feel of the wood. I am hoping for something that will retain at least some texture. One (ancient) forum I found suggested the following for a walking stick coating:

2. Apply a leather wrap/grip, as well as a loop of leather or rope for a handle. I have a drill press I can use to drill a hole through the head for the loop to go through.

Bonus points if there's something I can put on the bottom that isn't the rubber tip of a cane, because it looks kinda lame

1. For better or worse, hornbeam doesn�t have much grain for you bring out. The mix you describe is very similar to Danish Oil which is an oil/varnish blend and readily available at big box stores. To avoid the plasticy look it would be good option, or just a few coats of plain boiled linseed oil. Let it dry a day or two between coats, and rubbing between coats with 0000 steel wool or a maroon scotchbrite pad is good too.

For the bottom, the brass part of a 12ga shotgun shell makes a nice foot, or just leave it wood.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2018 01:39

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Annath posted:

Thanks for the tips!

This is what it looks like, I guess it isn't the grainiest () but its alright:

I think the darker streaks you are seeing there are actually the innermost layer of the bark. You can finish it like wood-it�s a bit softer and may wear off over time but it gives a nice texture to the stick.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2018 03:01

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

This is a faaaaaantastic book with lots about all those funny joints and their use in furniture.

https://www.amazon.com/Domestic-Fur...G1CHJ7TTD7TK2VE

# ¿ Aug 24, 2018 19:53

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

There are some equally complicated big scarf joints for beams in Roubo-I guess in a world of cheap labor where 1/4� steel plate was unheard of and each nut and bolt had to be forged, tapped and filed by hand complicated joinery in timber made economic sense.

I had to make a Chinese-ish stand for a red lacquer Chinese box a few years ago and played around with some of the joinery involved. The three way mitered mortise and tenon joint where the legs and aprons connect is a bit of a doozy but looks great when done right and is a fun joint to make. I think I figured out how to do parts of it by machine but it was mostly hand work. The mitred through tenons got wedged, the mitered mortise and tenons on the legs get pegged from the back, and the dovetailed aprons help hold it all together as well. Dovetails don�t have to be pretty to be strong. Hide glue doesn�t hold up well in hot humid climates like east Asia (or here on the Gulf Coast) so alot of the old furniture there was built with joints that didn�t rely on glue for strength. Rough mock up in sapele and finished piece in African padouk.

# ¿ Aug 25, 2018 05:24

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

I think I�d glue up each row across individually with cauls clamped to the top and bottom to keep them from sliding out of line. Once the rows are glued up, glue them all together in a stack, though keeping everything lined up will be tricky. If you�ve got a little extra meat on it, run them all through the planer to get the panels really flat before you glue them in a stack. Then you can use plain bar clamps for all of it and you�re dealing with mostly flat surfaces and working with a few small glue ups instead of a monster glue up. It would help to make a an extra half triangle caul for each side end of the rows so you have two parallel faces to clamp to.

Edit: Once you had the rows glue up, a strap clamp would definitely help keep things lined up and give you some clamping force as well.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Aug 27, 2018

# ¿ Aug 27, 2018 02:36

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Are the blue/grey pieces dyed? I haven�t glued up much stuff that was already dyed, but you might want to make sure your glue doesn�t make the dye bleed. Water based yellow glue and water based dye might?

# ¿ Aug 28, 2018 14:53

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

djfooboo posted:

I'm looking into starting buying some basic hand tools (saws/planers/chisels). I remember seeing some beginner recommendations that didn't break the bank but cannot find them now. I remebr something about USA Irwin chisels

Halp

Narex makes great chisels that have the added bonus of being really cheap. You don't need a bunch of them-1/4," 1/2," and a 3/4" or 1" will do basically everything.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GPC74ZQ/ref=psdc_553148_t4_B0000224EV

This is the most saw per dollar that money can buy. I've got some fancy saws that are absolutely wonderful, but this is the saw I reach for 75% of the time. I mostly just use the fine teeth because the bigger teeth kind of suck and it's harder to keep straight than a backsaw, but for $20 it's amazing and cuts wood very fast and its not going to ruin your day if you accidentally hit a nail.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-Marples-Double-Edge-Pull-Saw/1000236029

I would look for an old Sargent or Stanley in good condition on ebay or somewhere for just a plain bench plane.

Whatever plane or chisels you get you are going to need some way to sharpen them sooner or later. This thing is a great value too with a leather strop or a black arkansas stone or buffing wheel for a final polish.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Smith-s-6-in-Tri-Hone-Knife-and-Tool-Sharpening-System/1266429

I absolutely love old tools and use a bunch of them daily and they can be an incredible bargain, but in my opinion they're not the best place for a beginner to start until you have some idea what you're doing. Without knowing how a tool is supposed to work and feel, its pretty hard to do the set up/sharpening that old tools usually require. Most new stuff is going to require a little tuning and honing to do it's best, but I think that's more easily handled than trying to sharpen an old saw or figure out why a plane does nothing but chatter. Start cutting some wood and you'll figure out pretty quickly what you need.

Edit: Do definitely read Coldpie's blog post because it is great and you're going to need to know that stuff sooner or later. Roy Underhill's book "The Woodwright's Guide" is very old fashioned and pretends it is still 1830 but covers an awful lot of stuff in a very practical way.

Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Aug 29, 2018

# ¿ Aug 29, 2018 01:21

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Yeah did you mortise and tenon the miter�s or what? That�s a real bitch to do well-whatever you did looks good and tight.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2018 04:07

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 08:34

Kaiser Schnitzel: Mar 29, 2006; Schnitzel mit uns

Feenix posted:

I�m going to be making a headboard. We�ve wanted one for a long time. I�m trying to do a variation of a very simple design. Imagine 2 �legs� (The posts) and 3 or 4 slats across the front. And a mantel-like top. Ok? Got that image in your head? It�s pretty basic.
Now imagine that top slat is mounted on the back of the legs while the rest are in the front. And between the front and the back is a horizontal board, making an inlaid �shelf.�

Does this sound viable? Any issues with the design that anyone can think of?

I would notch the legs and have the boards flush to the face of the posts, but that�s mostly just a personal aesthetic thing. If you�re just attaching it to a metal bedframe, I would plan to screw it to the wall and screw the frame to it.

Huxley posted:

The time you spend learning CAD you could build like, 5 more headboards. I'd probably bother learning it for paid work, but even then just to show clients before work began. If I'm doing something halfway complicated, sometimes I'll draw it up on a piece of graph paper, do my math and buy/cut list then sit it aside. The next day do the same thing on a new sheet of paper and see if my numbers match. Then just get to work.

This x100. I fooled around with SketchUp for a while a few years ago (I�m sure it is much better now) and couldn�t love it. If you want to do CNC/robot programming instead of woodworking, you absolutely should take the time to learn CAD. If you don�t, just draw by hand. When it comes to making changes, I do wish I did CAD instead of starting a whole new drawing.

A drafting triangle and a scale rule are all you need to make good, accurate drawings, and I personally think/design much better with a pencil in my hand vs. staring at a computer. I usually make fancy pencil shaded drawings for a client when I�m really trying to sell something, but working drawings are just a quick, waaaay not to scale sketch with dimensions on a notepad.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2018 17:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Woodworking: Thank you for showing me the weird saw

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