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22 February 2021 at 5:37 pm #702319
This really depends on the wood you’re using and what result you’re looking for. If your looking for a smooth silky finish in woods like birch, beech or even pine you may just use linseed oil., if you want a mirror-finish you need to fill the pores, either with the varnish or a separate filler. Shellac is fast and rather durable, but 6-9 layers of varnish with intermediate waiting a couple of weeks for it to sink in and then sanding every third layer is a totally different finish. Here’s a short description of pros and cons https://www.popularwoodworking.com/finishing/30921/ . If you really want to dig in, there are several special books going in to all details
15 February 2021 at 9:40 pm #701403You should live with this top for many years, so it’s worth putting some effort to it – so I’d say rip it apart. If you try to reglue just the cracks you may have new delaminatings at other parts in some time. To avoid any moisture problems, use epoxi – it lasts at least 20-30 years in boats, and I hope your workshop is slightly less moist than a boat. It is also very forgiving towards unevenness and small gaps.
25 January 2021 at 11:15 am #698467You’ve learned the hard way. Wood moves with changing humidity… Only way to get it decently stable is to drench it with epoxy and this is rarely a practical solution. Though thinner stripes glued together are normally relativaly stable.
I recommend that you let the slab acklimatise for a while in the humidity you will mostly work in. It may reduce the twist a bit (or make it worse), then plane it again. Planing 1/4″ is quickly done with a scrub plane. If it keeps twisting I fear there is no other way than start over again nd be careful to choose stable wood (quarter-sawn)
19 December 2020 at 3:38 pm #690764Dear Alex,
Green wood is not a challenge. On the opposite, it is much simpler. Easy to split, easy to cut, easy to shape with a knife. For the final finish you may have to wait for it to dry, but thin stripes like yours will dry in a day.With the dimensions you are looking for you only need thin branches, or even twigs, so also if you live in the middle of a big city, there will be off-cuts and branches enough from the city managing the parks or people managing their gardens. Then you will also receive a large variety of both domestic and foreign species.
Being in Canada you also have so many morenative wood species to choose from, so I hope you’ll get some replies from woodworkers over there, with local knowledge. Hickory would possibly the optimal choice in North America – but then you should work it green. Dried hickory is hard.
Anyway – good luck and keep on wood working!
/J
19 December 2020 at 8:36 am #690717This is a common first project for young students in Sweden, when they start learning woodworking, It is also rather common to sell at markets – cheap enough for people to buy and fast to make. Birch is the normal wood to use – soft enough to work fast, doesn’t give taste to the food and still durable enough for manye years of use. Sometimes with details from apple or pear.
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If you want it to be really thin I would work with green wood and maybe use rowan (sorbus aucuparia) or ash which are springy with long fibers. Juniper could be a good choice as well.
Then you can easily split thin stripes wth the grain running the full length. Use the part close to the rim to get the highest strength. Maybe branches with a slight bend will get even more springiness. Fast and cheap to do so you can experiment a lot. Sharpen your knife and start whittling![attachment file=”690719″]
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You must be logged in to view attached files.3 October 2020 at 1:11 pm #680673I don’t want to bang my head against them so neither wall nor roof fastening is really an option. But assembling them with a pivoting rod in one corner seems like a plausible idea, this would space them vertically, though it would need some kind of reinforced corner – and a smart solution to be able to pick out an individual tray without the rest falling together. They still need to be totally packed up into one another into a minimal flatpack and stoved away for most of the year.
But thanks for bringing in new thoughts./J
3 October 2020 at 8:15 am #680656Thanks for your suggestion. Seems a bit too woobly and hard to empty only one tray, but one may make rigid post, similar to the ones I’ve made. Then I’m back at the problem to keep the posts at a correct distance from eachother. Again, hanging is also not a viable option for me as the roof is lined with sensitive material and cannot bear a hook. But thanks for trying.
/Jonas
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