September 24, 20187 yr Okay, so I’m building this manger for my brother (the saga is on the woodworking page), it’s being made with 3/8 Baltic Birch, and 3/4 x 1 1/8 Poplar. I’m planning on staining the exterior with Cherry gel stain, and a gel finish. I think the bare interior looks most manger like. Do I want to clear finish the interior for protective/sealing the wood reasons? Or is Baltic Birch stable enough that finishing the exterior, and not the interior, won’t affect the long term health of the manger? Any ideas, comments, tips, most welcome. Thank you Artie
September 24, 20187 yr I'd spray the interior with clear. As long as the sheep and donkeys don't get too rambunctious, you should be good.
September 25, 20187 yr BB is very stable and as far as stability is concerned one side will work . However as the vote stands I agree clear it to make cleaning easier and to keep it looking pristine.
September 25, 20187 yr 27 minutes ago, Gerald said: However as the vote stands I agree clear it to make cleaning easier and to keep it looking pristine. Agreed...will help prevent dust particles from collecting on the wood and finger smudges from handling over the years...
September 25, 20187 yr It has to do with realitve humidity and if kept in a humidity controlled and temp controlled enviroment the sealing is not necessary. But put this in a non conditioned space and it may suprise you with failures in the popular due to humidity swings. The Baltic plywood has cross grain and lots of glue to supress swelling and shrinking. But enentually even the venineer top layer may start to crack. It is always best to seal the interior project. Not that sealing it stops RH changes but it does slow down the rate of RH changes in the wood giving it more time to slowly expand and contract. You should also avoid cross grain connections or manage them appropaitley. Wood grows with humidinty increases across the grain. Not with the grain. So your board if 3/4 x 5 x 25 may become 7/8 x 5 1/8 x 25.025.
September 25, 20187 yr As the others indicated I agree with the finishing stuff, you should do it. Since you're in Mass, you may not have a choice...but I would choose some kind of waterborne, or a lacquer, or maybe shellac. Any oil based finish will have a slight odor for a while, besides it won't be as clear as some of the others.
September 25, 20187 yr I guessed that is an indoor piece and wouldn't need UV protection, which is usually why the untinted paint is recommended. But an acrylic untinted paint base would work just as well the other waterborne finishes.
September 25, 20187 yr Author The manger is designed to be an indoor piece, but with my brother......... So the verdict seems to be unanimous, sealed it will be. I thank everyone for taking the time to help me, Thank you!
October 19, 20187 yr Author Popular Post I managed to find enough spare time to finish the construction of the manger (Well when the glue dries). Now I get to learn how to finish it. There probably won’t be any close ups of it, I made far too many mistakes. The good news is I did learn from most of them. My son and his fiancée are also interested in one, so I’m gonna try to jump right in on it, and see if I can get it done for Christmas. I wanted it built to fine furniture standards, but wound up settling for 8’th grade shop class. It is good enough for what it was made for, and it is also stronger than my Grandfather’s one, I would stand on it with no worries about it falling apart on me, but I would grade it at a C-. So since we like pictures I’m gonna post some. Most are just what the shop looked like 10 minutes ago, one will be the two mangers side by side. The one I built isn’t that much larger than my Grandfathers’, it’s just closer to the camera, so I could clamp it.
October 19, 20187 yr It looks great Artie. Don't forget to sign & date it on the bottom or back...very important! You're beginning a legacy just as your grandfather did.
October 19, 20187 yr It looks great Artie. Man can I tell that I need new glasses or cataract surgery. I could have sworn that the title to this post stated Manager.
October 19, 20187 yr Author 1 hour ago, Grandpadave52 said: It looks great Artie. Don't forget to sign & date it on the bottom or back...very important! You're beginning a legacy just as your grandfather did. That’s a great idea! My grandfathers’ has Boston Stove Foundry stamped on the bottom. That’s where he worked, so I think I can guess where he got the lumber from them LOL.
October 19, 20187 yr Artie, good job, I see you problem tho, your shop is far too clean, it has the look of the School Shop. Herb
October 20, 20187 yr The manger looks great Artie, but as Herb hinted, the shop looks more like a show room. Gotta leave a few tools laying around. Nothing wrong with learning from your mistakes. The next one will be easier and likely take less time to build. You might even wan't to experiment with different joinery, just for the fun and experience.
October 20, 20187 yr Popular Post 35 minutes ago, It Was Al B said: the shop looks more like a show room quit bugging the guy... he'll get over his analliticism soon enough...
October 20, 20187 yr Looking good there Artie, but you know its no fair cleaning up before taking pics
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