Strictly Woodwork

[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.

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.

[alanjh595]

I just tried my 1st Welsh Cake.......and......provided by seewood.

Drum roll, please.....

They taste fantastic! Great texture, nice sugar coating, the perfect size.......


I give them a /5

NOW, please send me the recipe.

Did you like the Cheese stix?

[Queen K]

cooking in the woodworking shop?

[stuphoto]

I just tried my 1st Welsh Cake.......and......provided by seewood.

I am wondering how this fits into woodworking.
Are you saying it has a woody texture

I might just be jealous

Back to the main topic.

I guess I must have repurposed my old steambox.
It was bigger than I needed for most things and never well thought out anyway.
I guess it was my first, so a learning experience.

So I made a new one today out of scraps.

Since my future plans for it include a induction hotplate and a different pot than what I have today I just drilled holes in the bottom to allow for the steam to enter.


This hole is so I can remove the boards without lifting the lid.


Since the boards I plan on working with are 36 inches or shorter that is how long I made it.

I have 4 future kayak ribs laid out as an example.

Plus those are dowls underneath the ribs about an inch up to allow the steam around.

And the lid is 3 strips of cedar.


At this time it's just on a Coleman propane camp stove with a rusty pot underneath.
I will be using some 1x2 legs to keep it safe.

When I use it tomorrow? I will be covering it with a towel to retain some heat plus seal the opening a little.
I don't want to seal it right up, for fear of re-inventing the steam engine or more likely a bomb