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Posts posted by Bmac
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A little goes a long way, I think it has a "softer" feel to it after just 2 coats than you get with 3 coats of varnish/oil and 3 coats oil/wax.
Agree, the product line is confusing, looks like Woodcraft trimmed it down to what is good for woodworkers. I'm using the Polyx Oil with high solids, no coloring. Also use the Top Oil, which is food safe and great for cutting boards and spurtles.
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Dave, thanks for posting!!!
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As you guys know I'm in the shop a lot, and as a result I generate a lot of scraps, mostly designated for the woodstove. That has always bothered me because some of the wood I burn is really nice stuff, it's just odd shaped or too small to do much with. Lately I've donated alot of my scraps to a few young budding woodworkers. This gets rid of a good amt of stuff and they are so happy to have it. But I still have that pile of wood, I'm sure we all have it, that pile of some nice pieces we hope we will find a use for in the future. Well my pile just seems to keep on growing despite my efforts to off load stuff. So a few months ago I started in earnest to look for some small projects to use some of my scraps. Since the ever popular reindeer seem to catch so much attention, I started by focusing on other animals I could make with my bandsaw or lathe. Some searches on Etsy, and I found some neat little projects. I want to make clear these are copies of things I saw that were thought of by smarter people than myself. I have no intention on selling and I hope if any of those people see this post that they will consider the quote from Oscar Wilde, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness".
So here's what I've been playing with;
Pengiuns, a nice addition to my reindeer herd. These were done on the lathe after a simple glue up of any dark wood and light wood. The "beak" is a 1/8th" brass rod cut and shaped;
Spring Chickens, again done on the lathe, the "comb" on the top of the head is turned, cut to rough shape on the bandsaw, spindle sander to get to final shape, small vertical cuts then rasp work to make the spikes, and finally some red flocking. The "beaks" are either shaped 1/8th" kabob skewers or the shaped brass rod. These samples are turned from cherry, walnut, maple and pear;
Finally, a few simple but elegant birds, cut out using a bandsaw, spindle sander to shape, and handsanding to finish. The "eyes" are nothing more than an 1/8th" hole.
I'm hoping some of you out there have some simple fun projects like this to share as my "pile" is still a pile, altough slightly smaller. I've gotten into the habit of always having a few of these little projects in the works that I can play with during glueup or on finishing days.
Hope this was interesting to some of you out there.
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That should turn out to be a very nice piece, I'm not an A & C guy, but that has a classic and attractive A & C look too it. Solid joinery should apply well to this design and you'll have some nice options for finish.
Hope to see this turn into a journal!
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4 minutes ago, rainjer said:
Well that would work well then. I was using your initial drawing of the space and it must not be drawn to scale, the sides of the couches in that diagram are shorter than the angled back wall section which you have labeled as 30" long. The sketch up of the table had the sides of the end table at 32", that's why I was concerned about the corner sticking out.
The above pic also has the couches much closer together, which makes your design a perfect fit for that spot, as long as the width of the couches correspond to the length of the table sides. Also in the pics above the sides of the couches are longer than the 30" section of the angled back wall, at a different scale than the original diagram.
Now with the above pic, I'm not sure I'd do a lower shelf on the table since it won't be accessible.
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The above designs are looking good and have the desired Arts and Crafts look. Also the thought process of a table you can use in this angled corner or you can turn around and use in a square corner is a good one.
What I think could be a problem with your design though is that sharp corner you are going to have sticking out between the sofas. I think if you put that shape into the first picture of the space you showed you would see what I mean. If I'm understanding the dimensions correctly, you are going to have two 32" sides coming to a point, I think that will jut out quite a ways into the room between the two sofas.
Now, if you want that same shape, which is nice, then make the two sides that go into the front corner about the same length as the sides of the sofas and move the sofas closer together, then the point will not stick out. Or if you can't move the sofas then look again at my hand drawn sketch, that was why I put the radius on the outer "corner" of the table. Now instead of a radius you could just cut off the corner and make that cut off edge parallel to the back angled edge. It would likely be much shorter in length to the back edge, and if it's not too long it probably still could be flipped around and not look too bad in a 90 degree corner.
Just my 2 cents
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Or think outside the box with a top shaped like this;
Maybe 4 legs in the "corners"? Not sure what I'd do below but the shape of this top could end up as a different and cool table.
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I'd be looking into something that is oval, that would fit in the space well.
Here's a link that could give you a good starting point;
https://www.steinhafels.com/merchandise/product/details/arts-and-crafts-end-table-849184130
I really like this design, I think this could be made into an oval;
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1 hour ago, Coop said:
I was so impressed with this that I went to my office today and brought home another 8/4 walnut slab. I shan’t wait on @JohnG‘s combo table!
With @Bmac‘s permission to use his design as an inspiration?
Permission granted, enthusiastically.
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Very nice MCM piece, like the leg design also.
Had to chuckle about the change of heart with your new bride wanting maple used now. I think in the past I've heard you have some distaste, or at least a lack of love for it. Good news for you with your mill it's probably easier to nab some silver maple logs where you live.
I'm so fortunate with my wife, I make what I want and she loves it, very few requests. The biggest problem is talking her into throwing out or giving away old furniture to make room for the new stuff. She'll ask what are you going to put there instead, I tell her to trust me, and she usually does.
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Very Nice Coop, great job. Love the look with the frosted glass (I'm guessing). Thanks for sharing.
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1 hour ago, Mark J said:
One could enlarge the hexagon without also enlarging the leg mounting faces. The hexagon need not be equilateral (6 identical sides). Keep the leg faces fixed at 1 inch or so, but make the non-leg faces much longer until you have the size you want. This will create a 6 sided figure that looks like a triangle with the 3 points nipped off.
As an alternative to keeping the long sides of the hexagon flat that might look better one could make these surfaces concave. In which case I might cut that curve the same radius of curvature as table top.
Just a couple of ideas.
Very viable options that I had not thought out.
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57 minutes ago, Mark J said:
For anyone like me that has never heard of an L fence:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/project-guides/shop-projects/versatile-tablesaw-l-fence
Didn't see your post before I posted the exact same thought!
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OK, why have I never run across this thing, I think it's pretty darn useful.
I got the Morley Lounge Chair project from Marc and hadn't looked at it yet. But yesterday when @jussi posted about the L-fence and the technique Morley was using I went and watched him using it. Then I went online and found a few articles about this fence, and man this is useful. I'm making one this weekend!
Here's a neat article;
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2 hours ago, Coop said:
@Bmac, the hexagonal “post”, you mentioned was left over from the “original table”. Is the original table the journal on the “The Story of A Log”? I re-read that journal and don’t see the post being used.
The reason for asking is, I was wondering if the width of the “post” was proportional to the width of the table top on this Afterthought Table?
Yes in theory the size of the post would be a factor. Both table tops were close to being the same width/size. But there is some room to play with, the leg could have a bigger sweep or curve to meet up with the table top bevel. This is as good as an alternative as changing the size of the hexagonal post.
As for how I came up with the original size for the hexagonal post, that was purely just to make the glue surfaces of the hexagon to be around the same width I wanted the legs to be, which was a little bigger than an inch. If you make the hexagonal post bigger than you either have wider legs or a wierd leg post interface.
If I went with a bigger top I think I'd keep the size of the post the same and alter the sweep of the legs, I think that would be the nicest looking solution.
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21 hours ago, Chestnut said:
A sawzall is the one tool i don't have. For some reason i just never ran into the need to buy one.
Fished with a guy that used his sawzall to clean fish. Granted these where fish that are notoriously hard to clean, large black drum. It worked well going thru their thick scales, but it was alittle messy in the end.
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10 hours ago, Mark J said:
I'm continually amazed at how you (and others) can just whip something like this up. A long weekend project! It would take me a long weekend just to think the thing up, let alone do drawings.
Well you are right, the idea took awhile to figure out. When I realized I needed a smaller table in the other thread I started playing around with some ideas. I was struggling with how to do the leg structure and attach it to the top. Thinking to use the hexagonal post started me toward this design, and it wasn't until I realized since the top was going to be thicker that I could use a decent sized dowel to hold the top to the leg column that I figured this design out. And the first table took a little longer to build. But once that was taken care of, this second table really was a long weekend project.
8 hours ago, Coop said:Bmac, have you ever been to any professional Woodworking schools?
No schools, but I will say that doing some of Marc's projects with his instruction are like schools. I've also done other projects with plans and video instruction. Picking projects that get you out of your comfort zone is also helpful. The Sculptured Lecterns project was really a project I picked because it was a challenge and there were certain techniques I wanted to tackle. In the end I gave those lecterns away but retained the lessons from the making of them. To me that was the real purpose of that project.
My profession as a dentist helps too, I work in a 3-D world making and building things all day long. I am also a voracious reader of woodworking books.
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Yes, dated and signed, I'm pretty good with that.
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I wanted to share this build, it really goes quickly and it's a design that I came up with while posting the story on the log, the slab and the table. The joinery is simple and by varying the size of the legs it can serve as an end table, a plant stand, or (fill in the blank). I like how there is a certain flow that develops from the underside of the table down into the legs. This area is refined and sculpted after the table is put together. @Mark J noted in my previous build post that he liked this small table better than the table the post was about. I tend to agree with him. I'll take you thru the thought process, the build and the final piece all in one post. This really is a long weekend project for me and the build I show here will end up being a plant stand instead of a table, so it is only 14" tall instead of 22" like the original table was.
Here's the original "afterthought table" from the other post;
So to start on this table I made a pattern for my leg. This leg is much shorter than the leg I developed for the table above. Also I used a "leftover" section of the hexagonal "post" I made for the original table. Since there are three legs, you need the six sided post. I also like the three leg design because the table always sits flat without rocking, even on an uneven floor;
The leg can really be any shape, as long as you have a square inside corner. This corner is the key to this project;
NOTE: You can accomplish the below operation also by starting with a wider board that has a straight edge and has a corresponding 90 degree cut. You can place the pattern in the corner and just cut out the leg from there. But I do it the way shown below to develop a grain that follows the curve of the leg more, resulting in a more attractive look and stronger grain orientation.
So I milled up some stock that is pretty close to the thickness of one of the sides of the hexagon. Working out the three legs on this stock;
You'll notice in the above pic and the below pic I draw an extended straight line that is part of the key right angle at the top of the leg;
I cut along this line with the bandsaw first;
Next I true up this line on the jointer;
Now I can cut my 90 degree angle on the table saw;
After that it's simply cutting out the rest of the leg with the bandsaw. But it is important to save these top cut off pieces for glue up, you will see me use these later;
Here's how the leg structure fits together, the legs will be glued to the hexagonal post and it will be a nice long grain to relatively long grain glue joint;
On to the top, a hunk of figured wood in rough form;
Milled to thickness, around two inches wide and cut freehand on the bandsaw to 11" round. Showing each surface;
I picked the surface in the second pic for the top side of the table. I then found the center point and tried on the legs;
Some critical landmarks; an outline of the hexagonal post, the center point, and the end point of each leg;
Center 1/2" dowel hole and a circle representing the circle the legs "make", basically a circle that falls on the line where the legs end;
Beveling the underside starts at the bandsaw;
Then to the bench where I use a Festool RAS to develop the rough bevel;
Corresponding 1/2" hole in the hexagonal post (both holes drilled on drill press) and the 1/2" dowel ready to be glued;
Gluing post to top;
Some shaping of the post on the faces the legs will not be glued to;
Shaping the legs, done with rasps;
Gluing first leg. Need to glue one leg at a time and the cut off pieces from the legs are put to use now for the glue up. I also glue the top part of the leg to the underside of the table. That's a weak end grain to long grain glue joint, but it doesn't hurt to do it anyway;
All three legs glued on, now to the final shaping;
Goal is to blend the bevel into the legs;
Like this, and then making the bevel uniform all the way around the top;
A little cleanup at the post/leg joint, do this with a sharp chisel;
And finished, sanded to 320 and Osmo finish;
Hope this was helpful post. This shows a pretty straight forward construction without elaborate joints. It's a versatile table that can be made at different heights and for different uses.
I'll be making more of these in the future, it also is a good use of figured chunks of wood and doesn't use much wood in the construction. I do think the 2" thick top is a little excessive with this table and I'm going to make the next one with a 6/4 top. The first table's top was about that thick, 6/4. I also think the longer legs with the taller table look more elegant than the shorter planter sized table.
I'm wondering if I could use this design for a lamp build, a lamp table combo, how's that sound @JohnG?
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Thank you @JohnG and the others who enjoyed this "story" for the kind words. Having a forum to show your ideas and your work inspires not just those observing but can inspire those doing the work. This forum has inspired me in my woodworking journey both ways, when I post a project and when others post projects.
I am in an unique place with my woodworking as I create not for a living or even need, but for the joy of it. I realize how fortunate of a place that is.
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Well we've reached the final chapter and after a few coats of Osmo, which I'm using a lot more and really liking, the story of the log that became a table is over. If you've followed up to this point you are probably interested in how the table turned out, well I'd say I'm very pleased. I know @RichardA has enjoyed this story, but I am beginning to wonder where his mind goes sometimes!
Here's the table with the chairs in a MCM sitting area. Great place to read or enjoy a cigar and scotch, if you are in to those things and your wife lets you smoke in the house. The table fits perfectly and the little end table between the two chairs was something I put together while building the V table;
So in this pic you can see what I've been working on for the past few months. First the chairs, then they went to the upholstery shop. Then the bookcase to go with the chairs. After that it was supposed to be just one table but that turned into two, and now I've got a complete set of what I consider to be nice MCM pieces after I purchased the lamp.
Here's a money shot of the figure on the table top, control yourself @RichardA;
And finally a pic of the small end table between the chairs. I really should post a build on this one. I plan to make more, as I found the design I came up with to have a nice flow and look to it, but it also was not a very hard project and used a minimal amount of wood. I also think you could change the size rather easily;
To me this is the essence of what I love so much about woodworking. It's not just finding the right plan/project or buying the right tool, it's so much more than that. It's going out into the woods and harvesting what God has created. The process from tree to log to board and finally to project is a special process that I enjoy as each part unfolds (unless I buy from Spanky). It makes the pieces more meaningful and special. A lot of work goes into just getting the lumber in the shop. The piece I used for the top of the table was a piece that from the time I saw it 3 years ago to the time I finished the table was a piece that I knew would yield a unique and beautiful result. The wood God created here is the real treasure and I just feel blessed to be part of the process.
Well I didn't mean to get sentimental, but this is a story and I wanted a proper ending.
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Dave, interested very much in that post about the Spurtles too. I really do need to find ways to use up scraps for small simple priojects.
Thanks for sharing and don't forget to do that Spurtles post!
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2 hours ago, Chet said:
It's kind of hard t tell but I am guessing the "feet" end of the legs are under the edge or drip line of the table top.
Exactly, the legs are at the drip line of the table, perfect way to put it.
4 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:@Bmac, I like the curved legs you chose, and the structure works well. You didn't mention using a pedestal, though. Just wondering if you considered that option, and if so, what factored against it?
So the way Chet put it is what I was shooting for, gives the table a lot of stability. It's a coffee table so you don't want it to be tippy.
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Hard Wax Oil Finishes
in Finishing
Posted
I've been using Top Oil both ways, I'll put it on top of PolX-Oil for a table top, not sure if necessary though. I'll also use Top Oil for kitchen items (cutting boards, bowls etc). But again you could probably get away with just PolyX. Top Oil claims are that it is food safe, I'm not sure if PolyX is food safe.
I agree Mark, this product line (and many others) is so confusing. Just the name PolyX is confusing in that it sounds like it has polyurethane as a component. Then they have what seem to be different PolyX lines or types (high solid, low solids, coloring, satin, clear, gloss, intensive finish, original, new improved, floor wax, furniture wax, 3031, 3043, raw, pure, wood wax.....