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1 July 2023 at 5:31 pm #806081
Yes, that was unpleasant. I managed to salvage it enough so that my daughter is happy to have it. Since this post, I have worked with a piece of genuine mahogany to make a Paul Sellers clock (gave to a local charity to auction). Nice wood to work with. A little softer than cherry but strong enough so that I do plan to make a keepsake box from it.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.30 September 2022 at 7:20 pm #775368I work along the walls of my garage and little by little I’ve built it up to this as shown in the photo. It is nicer than it needs to be but I spend more waking hours in the shop than any of the other rooms of the home. Hope the layout gives you some ideas. I do plan to get a bandsaw and jointer/planer as well and they will sit alongside the wood storage area.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.12 August 2022 at 4:39 am #770171I know the folks at Tools For Working Wood in New York like oil stones. They sell them (and like them) as well as other sharpening stuff. If you poke around their website you should find some useful info.
4 August 2022 at 2:53 am #769264I’ve spend a lot of time dissolving my own shellac flakes.
My preference is to use 190 proof drinkable alcohol. I think this solution of shellac dries the most quickly but they all dry fairly fast so this is relaly a minor point. Mostly drive by my thoughts if I could drink it, breathing some of it is likely better than breathing the alternatives. Can’t legally purchase it in California. As such, when I am in in Oregon, Washington State, or Nevada, I buy a few bottles ($20-$30 per bottle depending on the states sin tax). I use at most two bottles a year. If I couldn’t get it that way, I would try the 190 proof alcohol that they sell at around $100 a gallon on Amazon for making your own plant extracts. Spendy but would likely last me two years. Speaking of Amazon, I would NOT order the 200 proof ethanol for shellac. Due to the azeotrope ethanol forms with water, you can’t easily get past 190 proof from “simple” distillation. A way to go from 190 to 200 proof (I am a chemist so I speak from experience) is to add some benzene to the 190 proof ethanol and then distill. It removes the water. For chemistry, water often competes with ethanol in organic reactions. Trace benzene does not. However, benzene is a carcinogen and I wouldn’t want to breath it. Since I don’t know if the 200 proof ethanol on amazon contains trace benzene in it, I simply would stay away from it. There are other ways to remove the last little bits of water from 190 proof ethanol as well.
I have used 90 or 95% isopropanol and dissolved up 1.5 lb cut shellac flakes. It works. I ended up purchasing a bunch of this isopropanol in Jan 2020 just as I was hearing about the upcomming pandemic as a means to disinfect. Didn’t use much of for disinfecting so repurposing it. Mostly use it to clean shellac brush. Reasonably inexpensive.
Mohawak/Bektol make something I think called “Shellac Reducer” that I can get in CA at Woodcraft that is ethanol cut with isopropanol and n-butanol so it’s not drinkable. It works well and you can get many coats on in a day. It’s my second choice if I can’t get 190 proof drinkable ethanol. The only thing I don’t like and this is a very minor point, the n-butanol has a much higher boiling point relative to ethanol or isopropanol and if I want it to be really dry to denib I wait overnight. I can still apply coats every 30 minutes.
I no longer will use hardware store denature alcohol. I just don’t want to breath in methanol vapors. Plenty of folks are ok with this but we all have to draw our line somewhere. If I were to use denatured alcohol, I would probably do so outside.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by joeleonetti.
4 August 2022 at 2:33 am #769259I worry about dust with hand tools as well though I have had no medical issues form woodworking so far. I can offer some personal observations.
1. I bought one of those Dylos particulate laser devices and had it on prior to hand tool woodworking and then kept it on and did different types of hand tool woodworking operations. The particulates went up a little bit for chisel and hand plane work, more so for sawing, and much more so for using some 220 grit sandpaper by hand. My persona l conclusion was I was ok with common hand tool woodworking with maybe and exception for using sand paper. Mostly I don’t use sand paper. During nice months outside, I also keep the garage doors and side door open for a cross breeze. Mostly because I like the breeze in the shop but I figure it can’t hurt.
2. After a year of having a shop dedicated heating and air conditioning unit, I had it serviced. There was no dust to speak of on the filter for the unit.
3. I have a shop vac with a cyclone unit that I use daily in addition to a broom and dust pan. In the unit, I have a bad inside the shop vac to collect the shavings as well as a “HEPA” filter. After two years of use, I decided to change out the bag and filter (the 5 gallon bucket had been emptied frequently). As best I could tell, the bag had less than 5% of its volume taken up by shavings and the “HEPA” filter had no observable dust on it (I used sunlight like described in the original post) to look for it.
4. I’ve done deep cleans of the garage and really don’t see any fine dust strewn about anywhere.As such, I feel fairly comfortable about the relative risk factor of fine dust coming from hand tools. It’s not zero but I think it is very low.
I am in the process of saving for a machine tool. I will spend a significant sum of money to get a dust collection system that might seem like overkill but I want to protect my lungs. In the 1980s, I refused to change the brake pads on our family cars and my dad called me names for worrying about the asbestos dust. He didn’t use dust collection in has garage workshop. Now in his 80s, he wheezes a fair bit and is part of a class action law suit for asbestos. I am sure I am doing something unsafe in my life but I am trying to avoid know risks where I can (e.g., don’t drink, if I use sand paper I wear a dust mask and really air out the garage afterwards, etc,).
1 June 2022 at 7:49 pm #761771When I first started, I struggled as well. What really helped me was finding a local woodworkers club. Once I joined that I went from literally knowing a few places to having probably 50 to choose from (I live in a major USA city). The other advantage is joining a local woodworking club is that often you will have folks giving away good wood.
4 November 2021 at 2:38 pm #735274Dear All,
I finished the piece. After clear shellac as added to the inside, I initially couldn’t find where the repair work was. Once I recalled it’s location, I could see it, but it looks more like grain. No one will notice it. Thought you might want to see it finished and see the final outcome. Very happy with it. More importantly, my wife is very happy with it.
Sincerely,
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You must be logged in to view attached files.4 November 2021 at 2:29 pm #735273There are places that will ship lumber if you really can’t find any locally. FIne Woodworking 10ish years ago had an article that listed several places. Another approach would be to fine some sort of woodworking club in your area and joining it. That way you could ask local fellow woodworkers where they get their wood. Another perk of belonging to a local woodworking club is that often there is good free wood or wood being sold a very good prices. Hope this helps.
20 August 2021 at 5:34 pm #725648Dear All,
Just wanted to close the loop on this. Remove the clamps and tape and the surface looked significan’tly better and more flat. Used my hand plane for a few swipes and cleaned it up. It is much better. Not as good as if I hadn’t broken it. Given the location (lower cabinet in the back) and that there will be towels in there and that it is for my family, it really won’t be seen. Even if it is, I have a story of how not being sensitive when working (or assembling) can cause problems that can otherwise be avoided. Thank you for the suggestions as they helped.
Sincerely,
Joe[attachment file=”725649″]
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- This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by joeleonetti.
- This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by joeleonetti.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.19 August 2021 at 11:57 pm #725564I have refined the S&J cross cut panel saw’s handle by looking at Paul’s post and using a pencil to free hand draw the curves. It took an afternoon going slow and steady but it was relatively easy to do. I also sharpened it and converted it from cross cut to rip cut. That was fairly easy as well. Paul’s book on essential hand tools has an excellent section on how to sharpen saws (though the same info can be had in his blogs and YouTube posts). I left the handle on as well while doing it. For anyone who wants to do it and feel reluctant, just go for it. It’s not that difficult.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.19 August 2021 at 8:25 pm #725532Thanks All for the feedback. I prepared cauls to go both directions so that that break would close properly. Used lots of packing tape and the cauls. For the wood surface where glue shouldn’t end up, I put down some painters tape. Did a dry clamp up first. I used warm liquid hide glue and held the piece in a variety of directions to get glue everywhere it should go. It’s in the clamps and I will let it sit overnight. We shall see how it goes. I’ve also attached a photo of the carcass of this Shaker chimney cupboard. I’m close to finished. I’m following a design from Fine Woodworking. It appears quite popular as I’ve seen a few others make it on the monthly photos that get posted I will follow up after I remove it form the clamps and clean it up with my hand plane and wood filler.
I’ve decided to keep this piece rather than remake it mostly for two reasons: it’s for my household, it’s on the inside and likely won’t be seen. If I had done something similar on the front, I would have remade it. I would have preferred to not have made this mistake but I am certainly learning a lot. Unlikely I will do this again or get over forceful during glue up with clamps. If something is going together like the dry run, there is likely a reason other than swelling by the glue on the joints.
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- This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by joeleonetti.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.18 August 2021 at 9:42 pm #725410Thanks all. I have felt sick to my stomach all day today for doing this. The dry fit went together so well. The glue up had a me a bit stressed. I SHOULD have paused for a second when I needed much more pressure to try and close the joint. I would have figured it out and likely have avoided the whole thing. I am mostly angry at myself. Tomorrow I will give it a try to fix it the simplest way you’ve both mentioned. If all goes well, within 48 hours, this mistake will be in the past and it will be fixed.
18 August 2021 at 7:41 pm #725388Thanks. With hand pressure, I can get it to close up a fair bit. Not perfect. I will likely try gluing up the splits and then use a had plane to get things smooth. From there, will determine if wood filler or wax is needed to fill any gaps.
16 August 2020 at 9:19 pm #674265I put a wooden sole on my router. I don’t think it matters per se. If I had to guess I am likely 1″ to 2″ longer it both width and length. It was mostly dictated by the wood I had laying about. I am happy with the results. Even after honing the steel bottom and removing arris on the edges, I would still get scratches from the steel bottom router on my work pieces. I didn’t like this.
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