Strictly Woodwork

[stuphoto]

Since the top hinge doesn't belong there I convinced Hardy to throw in 2 like this.

Put it into a bath of baking soda and water with a negative terminal going to a solar panel and a new nail hooked to the positive. With a small space between. This is the nail 2 minutes later.

After about 10 minutes

And the hinge with most of the finish gone.

[stuphoto]

Next comes the aging process.
I took a rusty bolt and placed it onto the negative side and the hinge on the positive side.

And it got a beautiful layer of rust within minutes.

[stuphoto]

For the most part I did the same thing with the Brass hinges

A lot more junk came off.

And the rust transfer had an unexpected result turning it green.

The water during the process.

I didn't like the look but a moment with the wire wheel helped.


Oh for the screws I used an old kitchen sink plug.

[stuphoto]

The finished project






I know it wasn't much of a change but in my opinion looks better.

My plans are to leave it alone and give it to one of the Castanet members with a garden to enjoy.

Oh this method is called Electrolysis and there is a fair amount of information online about it.
Although most people don't age things with it.

You can safely use it to remove most coatings off metal surfaces, however it does create Hydrogen so please preform it outside or in a well vented area.

[alanjh595]

That is so cool.

Thanks for sharing that with us.

[seewood]

freeking terrific. Thanks.

Have you aged boards? I used to leave fir out in the sun for several months/year and they developed a nice grey colour.
There are kits that one can mix things together and paint it on and in short order, supposedly turns grey. A contractor told me he uses water, vinegar and fine steel wool in a bucket and paint that on.

Any experience with this?

[stuphoto]

Thank you Alan, and Seawood,
And sort of Seawood,
This hatchet handle is about a week old.

And never been left outside.

I got the head from the same friend.

I sanded off the varnish ( Princess Auto handle )
I then aged it in this brine made up from mostly coffee. ( instant plus used grounds plus some fresh grinds I didn't like )

It also has some rusted steel wool and some rusty vinegar I had actually used to desolve the main rust off the head with mixed in.
Oh Vinegar is also an excellent rust remover, and you can find it in double strength in the cleaning isle.

It probably soaked for about 3 days.

I wouldn't try it, but you could probably drink the brine without getting sick.

It isn't finished yet, I plan on treating it with linseed oil.

I will be doing the same thing with 2 pickaxe handles soon and using them in a photo shoot in an abandoned mine shaft I recently explored.

[seewood]

Gnarly looking firewood.. bet it burns great though.

[stuphoto]

Use a bigger bit.
One that is the same width of the finished hole.
And use a Forstner bit. It makes a nice flat bottom.

Capture.JPG

When I was in K-town the other day my tool budget went into a friends cupboard when she had enough for her rent but not her food bill.
So when I got a cheque today I went to Oliver and Osoyoos.
Bought some 1/4" drillbits some linseed oil and then remembered about the Forstner bits before leaving town.
Bought one, and when I got home tried it.
I think the saying is Where have you been all my Life

Oh plus I added a liquid paper line to my chisel indicting the bottom of the hole.
I don't know why I never thought of it before

I looked everywhere for a Spoke shave, and it looks like I will need to stop at Lee Valley or KMS tools for that.
The Home Hardware website shows several stores have one from Footprint in stock but most store employees never even heard of them before.
I do like the old Made in England Footprint tools but heard their quality has slipped since those days.

However to be fair I never knew what they were a year ago when I was looking for any type of hand plane to make my paddles with.
On a related note, if you know someone parting with one soon, please let me know.

[alanjh595]

Get one of these.

Capture.JPG

I have 3 of them.

Extra blades are about $20 /set.

[stuphoto]

Thanks Alan,
For 99% of us I would agree with you, however I am that 1% that prefers nice quiet hand tools.
Partly because I worked around noisy tools, machines and trucks most of my life, and enjoy the break from them.

I drove to Grand Forks today and was surprised, Home Hardware did have a noname brand spokeshave for $19. So I bought it.
It's crude but after 15 minutes work sharpening the blade and flattening the base it works pretty good. Oddly enough the blade is forged and holds the edge pretty good.

[alanjh595]

[alanjh595]

I just received a load of the most beautiful VG Fir today. I was so excited, that I immediately started trimming the split ends off and making it all of a length that I could store.
I was so excited that I forgot to put on my work pants and shoes, and jumped right in wearing my "in house" track pants and open toe slippers.
I dusted myself off with the air compressor before going inside, had to change my socks that were fresh this morning, but my track pants are going to have to wait until I have enough laundry to make up a full load.
Most of you just can't understand the immense pleasure of having a beautiful, virgin, flat piece of lumber.
It is almost sexual in nature, because I have more interest in that than looking at a pretty woman. (At least, if a piece of lumber is rotten, it is easy to see). I hate it when what looks good on the outside is rotten on the inside.

When you get to my age, going to my local lumber yard is much more interesting than going to a stripper bar.

[stuphoto]

At least in the lumber yard we are allowed to look, smell and touch
I was gonna say it even costs less, but the way others are talking about lumber prices rising I may be wrong.

[alanjh595]

That is known as a "Wood On".

It never goes away.