October 20, 20187 yr Author Popular Post In my defense for the cleanliness of the “shop”, I’m sure the married, or were married, woodworkers will understand, my WIFE walks through the “shop” to get to the washer/dryer/storage area. Nuff said? The main lesson I learned was that trying to proceed with minor mistakes, leads to them multiplying the lack of quality, further down the road. The manger will be solid (unless there is more to screwing and gluing than I’m aware of), it will be recognizable for what it is, I can say that it was primitive construction for a representative of a 2000 year old structure. It was fun, and I did learn from it. I didn’t expect to be good right from the get-go, just hoping to get there some day. I do EXPECT to be better on the second one, and hopefully the mistakes are new ones, because I hate repeating my mistakes (kinda a sign of a learning disability LOL). On the clean shop thing, I am kinda wired to try to be somewhat organized, but am definitely not a Felix Unger/ Sheldon Cooper type. (Hopefully everyone will get the reference to at least one of the names). I still spend way too much time looking for my glasses/pencil/rule/etc that I just had. I’m sure no-one else suffers from this LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.
October 20, 20187 yr 8 minutes ago, Artie said: Hopefully everyone will get the reference to at least one of the names not a clue...
October 20, 20187 yr Author Felix Unger was the clean freak room mate in The Odd Couple, A television show in the 70’s, maybe late 60’s. Sheldon Cooper is a genius neat freak on the television show Big Bang Theory.
October 20, 20187 yr 2 minutes ago, Artie said: Felix Unger was the clean freak room mate in The Odd Couple, A television show in the 70’s, maybe late 60’s. Sheldon Cooper is a genius neat freak on the television show Big Bang Theory. oh well.. more casualties of not watching TV...
October 20, 20187 yr Author OK, after doing some online reading it appears that staining the manger is/will be, more difficult than I foresaw. Apparently Baltic Birch doesn’t do well with stains? You gotta use a dye, and mix it with water or alcohol? I have a gas burner in my basement, can I safely mix and use denatured alcohol ? The mangers grandpa made were all stained, kinda dark, I’m trying to match it in looks. Any thoughts/advice/ suggestions/ or feed back is/are welcome. Thank you, Artie
October 20, 20187 yr Artie, I'm no finishing expert by any means, but you might try some Pre-Stain conditioner. Min-Wax & Varathane both make it as do others, then an oil based stain (I'd stay away from water based to minimize raising the grain especially on the ply) Wipe on the oil base stain versus scrubbing in with a brush. Let dry and re-apply stain to obtain the color/look you want. With this being a relatively small project I'd pass on the alcohol/dye approach unless you plan to spray it which wouldn't be recommended in closed quarters with a standing pilot. Assume you have some scraps you can experiment on? Min-Wax makes small/hobby sized product containers too. You can experiment with 2 or 3 &/or mix some together to get your desired look. My $.02 counting 3 cents tax. Edited October 20, 20187 yr by Grandpadave52
October 20, 20187 yr Well, if you use dye it might be best to use a water soluble one. there is a downside to this, it will raise the grain (even on BB). That's not as big a problem as you might think....put on the first coat of finish and then sand it smooth (it will be quick). the finish locks the fibers in and once smoothed you are ready for whatever is next, normally a second coat. As for using alcohol that may be more of a personal comfort thing, but I don't think there is any danger. I have a gas burner in my shop and use shellac all the time with no problem (padding it on, not spraying). The fumes would have to be much more concentrated to cause a problem; but like I said pick your comfort level. You could pre stain like Dave mentioned. This stuff is also sold as sanding sealer, or you could use Zinsser Seal Coat (shellac). Any of these are simply very thin finishes that seal the surface and prevent blotching..which I think is the problem you are trying to avoid. If you haven't used dyes before it will be best to experiment with them some on a piece of scrap.
October 20, 20187 yr 1 hour ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said: there is a downside to this, it will raise the grain (even on BB) maybe not... raised grain may give the wood an ''older'' look... appearance wise, old/aged barn wood, IMO, would be 1st choice suitable for a manger... so soak the BB, raise/lift the grain and loose the perfections...
October 20, 20187 yr 9 hours ago, Artie said: woodworkers will understand, my WIFE walks through the “shop” to get to the washer/dryer/storage area........ why isn't the washer and dryer upstairs??? that'd make it so much easier on your wife... oh the brownie points from being so helpful and considerate... and why haven't you annexed the found space to your shop???... more shop space... how great is that... as a last resort, make the machines off limits while the shop is in operation... creativity interference won't be tolerated... dilemmas solved here.. just ask...
October 20, 20187 yr Popular Post 6 hours ago, Stick486 said: "make the machines off limits while the shop is in operation... creativity interference won't be tolerated" dilemmas solved here.. just ask... Stick, are you going to step in as the peace maker?
October 20, 20187 yr 1 hour ago, It Was Al B said: Stick, are you going to step in as the peace maker? sure..that and crime scene clean up...
October 20, 20187 yr Author 2 hours ago, Stick486 said: sure..that and crime scene clean up... Some comments deserve more than just a single smiley face LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!
October 21, 20187 yr Author Popular Post Okay, I’m not really a high tech kinda guy, but I need an egg on the face meme right now. Got home from the friends addition (ready for the final inspection. Now just have to wire the two car garage with a second floor), and decided to get a little done on my son’s manger. I needed to rip a piece with an angle for the angled roof. When you put the sawblade on backwards, it is pretty immediately apparent! Dunno how common this is, I’m guessing I may not be the only one here to ever do this, but I will remember this for a while I think.
October 21, 20187 yr On 10/20/2018 at 4:49 PM, Artie said: Some comments deserve more than just a single smiley face LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!
October 21, 20187 yr 6 minutes ago, Artie said: Dunno how common this is, hen's teeth rare... 6 minutes ago, Artie said: I’m guessing I may not be the only one here to ever do this, most likely...
October 21, 20187 yr 22 hours ago, Stick486 said: pick one or several.. Edited October 21, 20187 yr by Larry Buskirk
October 21, 20187 yr 42 minutes ago, Artie said: but I need an egg on the face meme right now. Here to help whenever you need it.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.