Belle City WW Posted August 3 Report Share Posted August 3 Very nicely done sir! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 3 Author Report Share Posted August 3 11 hours ago, Belle City WW said: Very nicely done sir! Just wait until it is actually finished! Assorted illnesses (mine and other family members), a week of extreme heat & humidity, followed by an extended period of much longer than usual hours at my 'day job', have prevented me from darkening the door of my shop for almost a month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 Hope all of you are feeling better. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 7 Author Report Share Posted August 7 After almost a full month, I finally got back in the shop today. Proof: Final sanding before finish. Like many, I scribble a pencil on the surface and sand until the lines are gone. Unlike many, I use carpenter pencils, almost exclusively. They are easy to hold, don't roll away, the lead makes a bold line, yet can be shaped to a fine point, and rarely breaks inside the wood when dropped. The thickess and width are convenient dimensions to gauge things with, and being flat, they are easy to clamp to a stick for use as a beam compass. Their width is great for gripping if you need to scribe along an irregular surface. All in all, I find them much more practical to keep in the shop, since all my joinery marking is done with a knife, anyway. Anyone have a marking instrument they prefer? Next step in the project is the ebony stain 'under layer'. Tune in tomorrow to see how THAT turns out! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 2 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said: have a marking instrument they prefer? Glad to hear you’re back in the shop Ross, I used to use mechanical pencils of different sizes but I switched to the Pica pencils from Woodcraft, I have one for regular lead and one with the white lead for dark wood, I really like them, built in sharpener, narrow barrel for getting into tight spaces is nice 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 Do these come with a GPS dealily where you can find them with an app on your smartphone? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 7 Report Share Posted August 7 On 8/6/2021 at 6:09 PM, wtnhighlander said: Anyone have a marking instrument they prefer? I use the same drafting lead holder I had in high school some fifty years ago. Also has a bold line but you can get it extremely sharp, I have the injuries to prove it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 7 Author Report Share Posted August 7 8 hours ago, Coop said: Do these come with a GPS dealily where you can find them with an app on your smartphone? Here ya go, @Coop: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/shop/gps-tracking-tags 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted August 7 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 7 So, I got an early start on the finishing process this morning. Here is a 'before' shot for reference: The formula for this step involves these ingredients: The bare wood soaks up too much of the ebony stain, so the pre-stain conditioner is applied liberally to each part, using a foam brush. While it is still quite wet, I use a cotton rag to wipe on the ebony stain. A circular application helps work it into the deep grain pores. As each side is covered, I immediately wipe it back with a dry rag or blue paper towel. The idea is to enhance the grain pores, but not darken the wood too much. This is my target shade: If there are smudges or heavy spots, a clean rag moistened slightly with mineral spirits can remove the excess, even as it starts to dry. Once each piece is coated, I carefully prop them in a corner to finish drying. Small shop space makes this a bit dicey. By late afternoon, I hope to proceed with assembly. The final color can be applied after, but I feared that it would be impossible to get the excess ebony out of all the corners, so chose to do this step first. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted August 8 Report Share Posted August 8 On 8/6/2021 at 8:09 PM, wtnhighlander said: Anyone have a marking instrument they prefer? Marking knives and wheel gauges are great. Call me a, "insert four letter word" millennial but i prefer a mechanical pencil. It's what I'm used to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted August 10 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 10 After a couple days away from the shop, celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary, I decided that I wasn't happy with how some of the long grain joints had set up. I suppose some alignment aids, dowels, biscuits, etc... would have prevented slippage, but I didn't use them because no strength would be gained. My bad. Anyway, the small misalignment on the back just looked a bit "unprofessional". Probably, no one else would notice, but I had to fix it anyway. Too large to rest in a stable fashion on my small workbech, I lay the piece on the floor and braced it against the wall. A few minutes of planing made all right with the world. The refreshed ebony undercoat is drying, so actual color may start tomorrow. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chet Posted August 10 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 10 On 8/9/2021 at 7:58 PM, wtnhighlander said: I decided that I wasn't happy with how some of the long grain joints had set up. The stuff that bugs us and no one else sees. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 11 Author Report Share Posted August 11 8 hours ago, Chet said: The stuff that bugs us and no one else sees. Tell me about it. The shift is absolutely unnoticable from the front, and the back is planned to go against a wall. But it bugged the crap out of me, so I fixed it. No shop today, the heat index was 107f, no way the tiny window A/C would ever catch up before bedtime... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted August 16 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 16 Well, I got some shop tome this weekend, but it was mostly wasted. I must have failed to note a step in the application process when I made the sample, and the stain was far too heavy So, all the surfaces I covered now need to be sanded back to start over. While sanding, I noticed an odd splintery flake start to develop in one side frame. Turned out to be an internal crack. Peeling it away left a big gouge. Filling that just wasn't an option. Trying to replace the frame now would risk damage to several other parts, so I decided to try a veneer fix instead. Reason #742 to keep your scraps until the project is done. I found an off-cut perfectly sized to let me rip off a thin piece for veneer. A few strokes of the plane smoothed it out nicely. I made a simple MDF platform to support the router while I nibbled away the surface of the damaged piece. A little chisel work on the ends, and a few passes with a small block plane made it ready for glue. I used many clamps, but probably would have better results using a clamping caul. Next step is to finish sanding an re-do the color. 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted August 16 Report Share Posted August 16 Good recovery with the veneer. Sorry to hear about the color redo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 16 Report Share Posted August 16 About all I can say is that just sucks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted August 16 Report Share Posted August 16 What Coop and Chet said. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted August 16 Report Share Posted August 16 Nice save, this has been a great project to follow. My scraps usually hang around until the project is done, and then the following 3 or 4 projects. Then I usually start drowning in scraps before i get frustrated and start a fire.... . So at my pace they last a couple days.... . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted August 17 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 17 Only had a few minutes to work this evening, but with some planing, sanding, and a judicious application of Timbermate, I think the patch came out pretty good. Looks better than the original surface, truth be told. Straighter grain. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 Wow Ross I wish all my saves were that good, well done sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 Ross, you said the stain was way too heavy as in color or application (too thick and didn’t dry, blotchy, etc.)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 17 Author Report Share Posted August 17 1 hour ago, Coop said: Ross, you said the stain was way too heavy as in color or application (too thick and didn’t dry, blotchy, etc.)? Yeah, I think in the month that passed between making the sample and coloring the piece, I forgot a step. I thought I recalled painting the stain blend on with a foam brush, so that's what I did, and the piece was very blue-ish / purple-ish when it dried. Subsequent experiments indicate I must have used a very light wipe-on application instead. That method looks very much like the sample. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted August 21 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 21 So, after hours of sanding, much of it by hand, I'm finally back to where I staterted. No pics because ... sanding. Perhaps I'll get back to the coloring stage tomorrow. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted August 22 Report Share Posted August 22 2 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: because ... sanding. Yeah. I've realized that every piece I make is 50% sanding and 50% design, planning, block prep, turning, carving and finishing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted August 29 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 29 Well, even with 7 hours of interruption (day job problem), I have finally managed to get a couple coats of topcoat on this thing. Anyone with GF High Performance experince have a suggestion on how long to wait before using the piece? I plan to scuff and coat once more tomorrow morning, hoping I can deliver tomorrow evening. Sorry for the distorted image. Maybe I can get a clear shot after I move it out of the tiny shop. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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