Woodworking

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Do you use biscuits or dowels when merging the stock? I bought a dowel jig and use three spaced evenly and it seems to do the trick. I bought some pretty good long clamps, two 24s and two 36s that have been great. Believe it or not, Walmart has a pretty good little clamp for the small stuff for about three dollars and I have about a dozen of those. I will end up with 10 or so clamps on a piece once it is glued up. Here is a picture with a few clamps on but many more were put on.

My planer is a Dewalt and it says the blades can be reversed. I haven't had to do it yet but the white oak is sure making me think about it.

Dowels but I don't have a jig or anything; I put them on the press and put a stop in there for depth.

I should just spend a few bucks on a biscuit joiner; I've used one a handful of times and have always been impressed by the results.

Your clamp pattern is useful there, as is the idea of using scrap to form an 'edge' on the ends. I try to do something similar but it's more scattershot. I should probably just get more pipe clamps so I can get a better hold. I don't have a good reason not to; my new bench has a 4x6 work surface so I have plenty of room to operate, especially as my table saw has a nice extension table and my assembly table is my outfeed table so I can 'borrow' space from the cast-iron top on the saw or even the extension table as needed.

I have far more shop/tool than I have the skill for is the bottom line and all I can do to address that is keep failing forward. I was looking to make some mobile tool tables (want to build a new rolling table with folding sides for my slider, for instance) and my buddy just looks at me like I'm an idiot and says "guys with 800 sq foot workshops don't need mobile tools; design your space better".

Oh.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by bogey

Love this thread. Thanks for starting it! I had a nice little wood shop for several years. Used to make furniture as a hobby. Love thewoodwhisperer website!

Do you have any pictures of the furniture you made? I will check out that site, thanks.

Originally Posted by notorious

You basically water popped the grain.

150 grit is more than enough for most woods. If you want to get Maple or Hickory to stain dark, a mixture of 50/50 denatured alcohol and water will do the trick. Mix it, spray it on (after sanding), and it should be dry in 1/2 hour and ready for stain.

Water popping before stain will allow it to penetrate across the entire board instead of just the grain. Put a heavy sealer and a couple coats of good finish (I use only floor finish, obviously) and you will have a perfectly smooth finished piece that is well protected.

I usually don't like to pop oak too hard because the grain is so open. I usually mix more alcohol in to minimize opening up the grain too much. If you open the grain too much you will get what's called bleedback and the product will look like shit.

I am confused as to what you mean about water popping the wood? The quote you quoted of me I had already put the polyurethane on and had used the 400.600 then 1000 prior to buffing it out. Kind of like color sanding and buffing out the paint on a car.

The white oak I bought is hard as heck and very tight compared to the cedar. The last real woodwork I have done was over 50 years ago in school and it was all mahogany.

Thanks for your input.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Dowels but I don't have a jig or anything; I put them on the press and put a stop in there for depth.

I should just spend a few bucks on a biscuit joiner; I've used one a handful of times and have always been impressed by the results.

Your clamp pattern is useful there, as is the idea of using scrap to form an 'edge' on the ends. I try to do something similar but it's more scattershot. I should probably just get more pipe clamps so I can get a better hold. I don't have a good reason not to; my new bench has a 4x6 work surface so I have plenty of room to operate, especially as my table saw has a nice extension table and my assembly table is my outfeed table so I can 'borrow' space from the cast-iron top on the saw or even the extension table as needed.

I have far more shop/tool than I have the skill for is the bottom line and all I can do to address that is keep failing forward. I was looking to make some mobile tool tables (want to build a new rolling table with folding sides for my slider, for instance) and my buddy just looks at me like I'm an idiot and says "guys with 800 sq foot workshops don't need mobile tools; design your space better".

Oh.

You can work on your bench? WTF? Mine is always cluttered with the stuff I am working with.

What is the advantage of a biscuit over a dowel? They seem to have a following. The dowel jig I bought was only about $20 and is complete with bits/collars/adaptors for 1/4-5/16 and 3/8 dowels. I have used a bunch of 3/8.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

You can work on your bench? WTF? Mine is always cluttered with the stuff I am working with.

What is the advantage of a biscuit over a dowel? They seem to have a following. The dowel jig I bought was only about $20 and is complete with bits/collars/adaptors for 1/4-5/16 and 3/8 dowels. I have used a bunch of 3/8.

My bench is in the center(ish) of the shop; pure assembly table. I have a conventional 3x14ish workbench run along the back wall where I have my cabinets, pegboards, etc.... That's what tends to turn into a cluster.

The assembly table stays fairly clean, especially with the drawers and cabinets I built into it; lots of storage space so I can just toss things in a drawer to keep them out of the way.

I don't know what the advantage would be but I suspect there's a little more give there; biscuits don't have to be razor precise to provide solid alignment; the taper and roundness allows for a little play there.

Probably just a margin for error thing. And a 'jig vs. joiner' thing; the joiners really are quick; line the tab in the center of the fence with your mark, push in once, move onto the next mark.

EDIT: Rockler's take on it -- http://www.rockler.com/how-to/doweli...iscuit-joints/

[HemiEd]

That is an interesting article. I am mainly using the dowels for alignment and they seem to be pretty good at that. Like they said, the initial investment is less.

When gluing five boards up it can take a while! It is brutal on that white oak compared to the cedar.

Oh and I was just kidding on the bench thing, but it is a constant battle for sure. Sounds like you are set up well.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

That is an interesting article. I am mainly using the dowels for alignment and they seem to be pretty good at that. Like they said, the initial investment is less.

When gluing five boards up it can take a while! It is brutal on that white oak compared to the cedar.

I figure a $70 harbor freight special will do the job in the near term if I get a joiner. A solid jig is in the 20-30 range and the joiner is another power tool so that's always fun. For just a few bucks more, it seems like you'd make back some of the expense in raw efficiency.

I'm going to build a little kitchen helper for the 3 year old in the near future (yeah, right) and I'm going to use knock down joinery with dowels for added stability against twisting. Shouldn't be terribly complicated when all is said and done.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I figure a $70 harbor freight special will do the job in the near term if I get a joiner. A solid jig is in the 20-30 range and the joiner is another power tool so that's always fun. For just a few bucks more, it seems like you'd make back some of the expense in raw efficiency.

When you say joiner are you talking biscuit joiner?

I have the Porter cable 557 and while it's very nice, I'm not sure it's the type of tool where spending more gets you more. If I had it to do over, I might go with the cheapest one (something I rarely do with tools).

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by jspchief

When you say joiner are you talking biscuit joiner?

I have the Porter cable 557 and while it's very nice, I'm not sure it's the type of tool where spending more gets you more. If I had it to do over, I might go with the cheapest one (something I rarely do with tools).

Yeah.

That's why I'd just get the cheap-o from Harbor Freight. My $30 angle grinder from there grinds as well as the nicer ones I've used. My drill press and my dust collector work great as well (though the dust collector has been disassembled and re-engineered).

For certain things, they do just fine and at 1/2 to 1/3 the price in many cases.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Do you have any pictures of the furniture you made? I will check out that site, thanks.

I am confused as to what you mean about water popping the wood? The quote you quoted of me I had already put the polyurethane on and had used the 400.600 then 1000 prior to buffing it out. Kind of like color sanding and buffing out the paint on a car.

The white oak I bought is hard as heck and very tight compared to the cedar. The last real woodwork I have done was over 50 years ago in school and it was all mahogany.

Thanks for your input.



You can work on your bench? WTF? Mine is always cluttered with the stuff I am working with.

What is the advantage of a biscuit over a dowel? They seem to have a following. The dowel jig I bought was only about $20 and is complete with bits/collars/adaptors for 1/4-5/16 and 3/8 dowels. I have used a bunch of 3/8.

Oh, the way I read it is that you were wetsanding the wood before stain, which wouldn't make any sense but I didn't want to be an asshole.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by notorious

Oh, the way I read it is that you were wetsanding the wood before stain, which wouldn't make any sense but I didn't want to be an asshole.

Yeah, that would be kind of silly, sorry for being so unclear. I even give the thinner wipe extra time to dry before finish.

I actually don't really like to use stain at all and prefer the natural color.

I am going to play around with some staining on this white oak though just to see how it comes out.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Yeah, that would be kind of silly, sorry for being so unclear. I even give the thinner wipe extra time to dry before finish.

I actually don't really like to use stain at all and prefer the natural color.

I am going to play around with some staining on this white oak though just to see how it comes out.

I just finished 2 white oak floors today! One has Special Walnut stain and the other is Early American.

I like white oak better than red. For one, the grain is usually a little tighter, two, the color is is more of a neutral brown instead of a redish color to start.


Little known fact: Most prefinished oak floor is white oak, not red even though red is a lot more popular for everything else.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I like to build things out of wood, but I'm a shit finish carpenter. I've built some pine log beds with my brothers and build things out of old stuff more than the fine quality finished things I've seen from some of you over the years.

My power tools for woodwork are old and sad. I don't have half of what I need to do things the right way for finishing wood.

The coolest thing I've worked on was a project for a mentor...I helped him build a wooden canoe made of 1" strips of wood.

My next two planned projects are barn wood related. I plan to build a chandelier for our table and I'm debating between a design using old barn wood, making a shadow box with a flat, rough piece with wires hanging old jars over LED lights or one made with barn trolleys and a couple of old lanterns. Wiring them right is my biggest concern because I'm worse with electricity than fine cut corners.

I also am planning a "railroad cart" style table. I cut some large cat iron wheels off an old safe and want to built a barn wood coffee table out of that.

Additional projects I'd like to do include a free hanging mantle for a large bland wall made out of rough cut beams or old barn beams. I'm also planning to fire up the welder and do some shitty welding to make some 2-3' dinosaurs out of a big pile of old rust wrenches I've picked up along the way.


Maybe I'm just better at these projects because they're supposed to look like hell on the corners.

That barn wood stuff is hot! I ****ed up when I gave a bunch of it away just wanting it gone and out of my way! It was true old Nebraska barn 1 inch thick material. I bet you have access to a lot of it up there, right?

I am 100% convinced that your finished product is going to be related to your tool capability multiplied by how much time you have.

Originally Posted by notorious

I just finished 2 white oak floors today! One has Special Walnut stain and the other is Early American.

I like white oak better than red. For one, the grain is usually a little tighter, two, the color is is more of a neutral brown instead of a redish color to start.


Little known fact: Most prefinished oak floor is white oak, not red even though red is a lot more popular for everything else.

That has to be quite a challenge doing those natural floors. Do you buy it from places like lumber liquidators?
I wish we hadn't have gone with laminate in 2012 when we built this place, but that was all we could swing. It isn't holding up for shit here on the lake.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

That has to be quite a challenge doing those natural floors. Do you buy it from places like lumber liquidators?
I wish we hadn't have gone with laminate in 2012 when we built this place, but that was all we could swing. It isn't holding up for shit here on the lake.

I have been doing it so long it's like breathing.

I use the best equipment made. Lagler Hummel Belt Sanders, Lagler Trios, Clarke 7R edgers, etc.


I purchase all my product from distributors in KC, Springfield, OKC, Seattle, and Denver. I get Acacia product out of Atlanta.


Check your PM.