Wood working

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are all out of sandwiches here in the Oldwolf Workshop, It is time to move past that course and on to the prime rib!

I refer of course to an odd kind of sandwich making where you laminate two-by boards together, face to face, in multiple stacks, bigger, and bigger, and bigger until you have one solid block of laminated board that will create a very effective and solid top for a workbench. This is the second time I have created such sandwiches. The first was for my full size workbench, a twisted genetic mutation combining the Nicholson Workbench and the 175 Dollar Workbench (both from the stylings of Christopher Schwarz, the god father of all modern made workbenches) This time I am doing it to build a smaller foot print, but taller Joinery Bench, after the stylings of Tim Williams at the Bench Vice Blog.

The sandwich making process can be kind of a slog to work through, but it gets more interesting as you move along. You start with boards roughly a 2x4 in size. Oh, please let me interject some advice here. Mr. Schwarz states that he prefers to use 2x8 and rip them in half to make his own 2x4s and I highly recommend the same. The first build I thought bull, I can just pick the best 2x4s in a pallet and Ill be ok, and I did get them to work well but it was more of a struggle. For this build I listened to the man and ripped the 2x8s in half. The boards I had were so much better and stable. I should have listened from the start.

Anyway, the 2x4s get cut to length and jointed. For the dimensions of my version of this bench I decided I wanted a work surface around 24 inches deep by 40 inches wide, so 16 2x4s cut at 40". Then you start the slow process of the build, First you glue up pairs, then the pair get glued into sections of four. I stop here and flatten the blanks again. Then stacks of four become stacks of eight. Which is where I was when I started this morning, and this is where it gets a little exciting.

Now dont get excited, this is not "hold on to your seats, were going over the waterfall" exciting. But in comparison to the rest of the glue up, this part gets top billing. See I have a pretty decent collection of clamps in shop. Enough to get me by on most occasions, but I do not have enough clamps to go crazy and get it all done at once, so the glue up goes in stages for me, The first pairs go two at a time. with at least a four hour cure time for the urethane glue Ive been using, that means in the beginning I get four pairs of glue ups a day, equaling 2 days spent on the start, Then moving to stacks of four, still I can get two at a time, so we are at a day there. Going from stacks of four to stacks of eight is one at a time . . . thus another day. So four days in the shop with a lot of down time, and that makes the balancing act that is gluing the fairly heavy stacks of eight together seems riveting to me.

And the time was finally here. Blanks set. Glue applied. and the lift was on. For all the problems I always anticipate doing this maneuver, so far in my career it has gone off smoothly. The anticipation of problems often renders such thing null and void so I managed to get things aligned and the clamps applied with relative ease. I pondered leaving the glue up vertical but decided I was probably already taxing the poor plastic saw horses enough as it was.

I used a couple of plastic Wal-Mart bags as a prophylactic to keep the squeeze out from attaching the glue up to the horses and laid the sucker down. Man shes got some weight, which is good for a bench but I do want this to be portable so I can travel with it for exhibitions, and I havent even added the hickory trimming and vise yet. Oh well, I still think heavier is better.

So all thats left now is the perpetual woodworkers question. "What trouble can I get into while Im waiting for this glue to dry?"

Cheers

Oldwolf

The box was built from red and white oak with pine for the bottom panels.

Ratione et Passionis
Oldwolf

Before you consider coloring your drywall, you have to remember that this is a fairly specialized task. However, if you have the proper equipments or tools and do the necessary preparations, you will find that it can be achieved by nearly everyone.

When coloring drywall, you have to know about the step-by-step process in doing it properly. If you neglect to do at least one of the processes, you will end up with a coloring job that looks quite amateurish.

The first step in coloring drywalls is by making sure that the weather is not too humid and it should be fairly warm. You also have to make sure that the surface or the drywall you are planning to pain is dry, free from oil and grease, and that it is completely clean.

You also have to apply 3 coats of joint compound on the drywall and the joints between the panels should be taped with fiberglass or paper mesh tape or drywall tape. By doing this, you will ensure that the joint gets surfaced over. You also have to make sure that you fill in any cracks or marks using the same method.

You also have to clean the walls and ceilings that you intend on coloring by wiping off the dust. Do this before priming. After the prime coat has dried, the next step is to sand the surface lightly with a fine grit sandpaper. This will enable you to smooth any imperfections, and raised fibers as well as rough chips. Alchoices keep in mind that you need to wear goggles and mask as the gypsum dust produced when sanding drywalls can be very irritating to the eyes and is known to cause breathing problems.

You should also take care in removing dust from the top of your doorchoice as well as in the window trims. You also have to use drop cloths in order to protect finished flooring as well as doors, windows, and other fixtures. It is highly recommended that you use a painter’s plastic to do this.

You need to keep in mind that after you taped the drywall and sanded it, you shouldn’t allow the drywall to sit too long. The sunlight can cause the drywall to yellow and fade. In fact, it can look uneven even after coloring it. Use a good quality latex stain-killing paint before you prime it in order to fight the yellowing process.

Two coats of paint should be enough. On the first coat, use a low sheen, latex flat wall paint. This should be tinted to match the color of the top coat. For the top coat, use two coatings of gloss paint, which includes eggshell and satin paint. This will leave you with a finish that is easy to wash and one that is not prone to smudges and marks. For the roof, flat paint is a good option.

Alchoices remember that with the proper equipments and preparation, you will be able to have a professional looking finish when coloring your drywall.

A Cabinetmakers Toolchest

Just a quick note to say that the new (and last?) issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine has an edited version of one of the chapters from my book. A Cabinetmakers Toolchest- project one. For anyone that doesnt yet have a copy of Made by Hand, this may be a nice way to get a good look at some of whats inside. The issue, #181, February 2010 also has the first instalment of George Walkers new column, Design Matters as well as a few other great articles. Watch for it at your local newsstands.
Cheers!

this is a close up of the original edge inlay on that table.  it had a triple band of ebony, a double band of birds eye maple, and an outside band of zebra wood.  the original table we made using about 30 detailed photos with measurements that our client took while he was visiting england.  he did a great job showing the details and we had everything we needed once we figured out how to do the many, many, individual steps.  so, since i didnt take many notes originally, this time i thought i would document the process, just in case there is a next time in another 20 years or so.  by that time, my memory will most likely be completely shot.  click the photos to enlarge them.
incredibly, i had the original jig i made to flatten the turnings where the legs join the turning and cut the dovetails for the joinery.  we even found all of the original (dull by now) bits we used.  having the jig was a great first step, but recollecting how exactly to use it fell mostly to trevor to figure out.





we had ordered a nice long and wide board (23" x 15) from our friends at irion lumber and it arrived flat as a pancake, with a modest, consistent grain, something the clients requested.  all good.



next, add the 1 and 5/8ths" wide, 1/6th" thick burl pieces, all about 3" wide, one at a time, taping and clamping as you go ... the burl and walnut radiused corner pieces trevor also cut on the cnc.  it gave him a good, humbling respect for the old 18th century guys working with hand tools by candlelight.