Andrew Pritchard Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Tomorrow (or Friday maybe) I'm going to pick up some rough sawn reclaimed red oak. Below are pictures from the ad from the online auction site I'm getting them from. According to the ad the stack consists of: 18 pieces 3" X 5.5" X 40" 25 pieces 1.5" X 3.5" X 28" My reckoning is that's about 100 bf (please do correct me if I'm wrong. I'm still trying to get the hang of calculating that). So the question is - what do with it? I'd like to make a small side table/coffee table for my living room - probably 20"(w) x 20"(d) x 24"(h) or something like that. (Still very much in design stages) Probably with a small draw under it for putting TV remote controls etc in. I'd quite like to try out breadboard ends A small shelf at the bottom, with the legs taper slightly below the shelf. I could also do with a moxon vice on my bench. But what else? It has to be relatively simple - I'm not that good a wood worker yet. And to be honest the table will take me a long time as I'll probably have to master mortise and tenon joinery to do it. I may not end up getting the wood as I've not seen it, and don't know for sure what state it's in which is fine as I've not paid for it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 ==> So the question is - what do with it? well, if I send you a shipping address these look like nice thick sticks -- from you post, they are 6/4 and 12/4... So the moxon would be a no-brainer... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 I see a beefy base for a dining table. Or any type of table, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Having now picked up the wood, I have a feeling I'll end up building a proper workbench. After I've built my coffee table, and my moxon vice, and and and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 I managed to kick the tires a little with my new stack of red oak. I'd run out of things to do, finish was drying upstairs, I'd run out of clamps and I didn't have much else to do (besides hoover). I decided to mill up a few slabs and see what I've actually got. I figure I'm going to get round to it in the end, might as well do it now and help the wood acclimate. I've never worked with oak before, only cherry, birch and pine. The cherry and birch were 4/4 stock, and naturally had some cupping and twisting. I'm please to say, even the 6/4 stock I saw today didn't have much twist etc, and the 12/4 stock had very little which minimized the time at my jointer. Is that normal for oak? Or is it actually more because of the thicker and shorter length of the boards? (The cherry and birch were 4/4, 8ft boards). Or did I just luck out? I managed to joint a couple for the 6/4 stock, but didn't have time to do the plane them properly. I did get to do see some of the 12/4 stock on all four sides. One is looking great. The second has a split down it's length and the third looks like it had a branch coming through. I don't remember now if the split in the second one goes all the way through, but I might end up re-sawing that The third board is a quick narly looking. Is there much I can do with that? Again, I might be able to re-saw that out, but I don't know how deep it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPCV_Woodworker Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 i'd say that last one is too gnarly for anything but boxes or firewood... maybe you could get some good turning blanks out of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 That's what I'd figured. But it's 12/4 stock, and I might be able to get something out of the back half of it. I'd consider using as a turning blank, except I don't have a lathe. Nor am I intending on getting soon. I have enough to learn as it is without learning yet another set of techniques! (Besides, I'm saving up for a 14" bandsaw) Some of the pieces I've seen have very light shades of red, others almost no red and others still have red streaks through it. Does the redness in red oak fade out? I guess I'm going to have to joint and plane all the pieces to try and get a good colour match between the pieces. As I mentioned I've not worked with oak before, but I understand it's quite a porous wood. How does that affect the finishing process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPCV_Woodworker Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 Red oak is ring-porous, if I remember properly. What this means for finishing is that it needs a bit more time for stains/oils/pre-treatments to stabilize. I did a batch of red oak windowsills (1.675") and they took a ton of stain, then sweated out little beads over the next 24-48 hours as the denser grain expanded and contracted differently. Just give it an extra wipe down with a tack-rag before final finishing and it'll be fine. You might want to invest in some pore-filler, but I've never gone that far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted September 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 I really like the way natural wood looks, enhanced by shellac or similar sealer. I've got some amber and clear shellac, so I'm going to see which I like best. I was in the hardware store earlier today and saw some red oak stain, which I might try out too. I'll probably get some blotch control too. I've heard (and seen thanks to Marc's demo) really good things about Charles Neil's blotch control, but it doesn't appear to be available in Canada (yet - anyone care to comment?). But there are other blotch control formulas out there too, one by Minwax I saw recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 I've heard (and seen thanks to Marc's demo) really good things about Charles Neil's blotch control, but it doesn't appear to be available in Canada (yet - anyone care to comment?). But there are other blotch control formulas out there too, one by Minwax I saw recently. White wood glue and water = blotch control. Plain old clear stain base is another. Clear stain base namely mohawk's works better than the cn stuff and can be tinted to be used as an equalizer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 ==> Charles Neil's blotch control but it doesn't appear to be available in Canada (yet - anyone care to comment?) Think it's only available through his website... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Any stain base works that way, I use M L Campbell's WoodSong stains and use the stain base as a blotch control or to thin out a color that is too intense. Before I found better products I used Minwax Natural stain the same way. If you have nothing better wet the surface with mineral spirits before you stain with a spirit based stain, that will wet and fill the more absorbent areas before any color is applied. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPCV_Woodworker Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Any stain base works that way, I use M L Campbell's WoodSong stains and use the stain base as a blotch control or to thin out a color that is too intense. Before I found better products I used Minwax Natural stain the same way. If you have nothing better wet the surface with mineral spirits before you stain with a spirit based stain, that will wet and fill the more absorbent areas before any color is applied. I still use minwax for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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