REAL MAN TRUCKWORKS & SURVIVAL
TOOLS, CONSTRUCTION, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY => What are you building? => Topic started by: Flyin6 on December 08, 2021, 07:57:07 PM
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I mentioned in a couple of other threads that I was using my saw mill to cut some of that Oak into boards.
I decided to build a simple desk for my 8 year old grand daughter
She wants to write and loves art and has no where to work
So, taking those boards I glued up into a panel in the thread where I discuss those new panel clamps, I began
Here is the top made from many separate pieces all glued and clamped. The end pieces are held on with glue and a wood spline also made of oak
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Because the wood has a lot of cracks in it, I have to sometimes cut it into narrow strips, then glue all those into a panel. This piece will be one of the sides
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For the shelves, I chose to just glue a piece of the Oak onto a piece of 3/4 furniture grade plywood
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Its a slow go, just figuring it out as I go. Here a bunch of pieces are glued up and will form the basis to add to tomorrow:
For now, she gets a top, two shelves for a Tupperware like tray, two sides and four legs
Later on I can build proper shelves, but if the truth be known, my saw mill spit out a bearing and is dead-lined and will not be repaired in time for me to finish before Christmas
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Looks like the start of an heirloom piece! Sucks about the deadlined mill. Proper PMCS might have prevented a failed bearing. SMH. This is why before, during, and after PMCS is important. I'd bet you haven't submitted a 2404/5988E in quite some time... :wink:
Report to the 1SG and XO for counseling! :laugh:
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Looks like the start of an heirloom piece! Sucks about the deadlined mill. Proper PMCS might have prevented a failed bearing. SMH. This is why before, during, and after PMCS is important. I'd bet you haven't submitted a 2404/5988E in quite some time... :wink:
Report to the 1SG and XO for counseling! :laugh:
Be careful...
Wouldn't want to fire ya just before coming over to visit with ya...
;-)
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Looks like the start of an heirloom piece! Sucks about the deadlined mill. Proper PMCS might have prevented a failed bearing. SMH. This is why before, during, and after PMCS is important. I'd bet you haven't submitted a 2404/5988E in quite some time... :wink:
Report to the 1SG and XO for counseling! :laugh:
Be careful...
Wouldn't want to fire ya just before coming over to visit with ya...
;-)
Haven't fired in a while. Figured I was due! LOL!
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Looks like the start of an heirloom piece! Sucks about the deadlined mill. Proper PMCS might have prevented a failed bearing. SMH. This is why before, during, and after PMCS is important. I'd bet you haven't submitted a 2404/5988E in quite some time... :wink:
Report to the 1SG and XO for counseling! :laugh:
Be careful...
Wouldn't want to fire ya just before coming over to visit with ya...
;-)
Haven't fired in a while. Figured I was due! LOL!
Well, as long as it happens here and not at your real job, we're good!
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Remember the phrase, "I cut it twice and its still too short?"
Yea.
So I mismeasured and trimmed off too much from one side, so I ended up having to glue it all back up again. That put me behind because I had planned to have the drawer section all clamped and glued up by COB...
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So not to waste any time, I poured fiberglass resin into all the imperfections, i.e. worm holes on the underside. This all will, of course, be sanded flat
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And just to give it a different sort of look, I used regular auto body filler in those same imperfections on the side pieces. It took several applications to get it all level and looking right.
So far, in addition to planning all the stock, I have belt sanded once with #40 grit, and once again with #80 grit. Next will be an orbital with 120, and a final with 220 grit prior to the first finish coat.
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I tossed the excess onto the low areas of the not completely dry resin. It should bond together quite nicely
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The bottom is cut out to accept the sides. The actual sides will be cut with a channel to accept the upper divider, then all of it will be glued and clamped up all at once.
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I checked the grain out with a quick test coat of Spar urethane.
Plenty of grain popping. It won't need any stain at all
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You left pink bondo on this desk?
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You left pink bondo on this desk?
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Sure did
The patches haven't been sanded off yet, not much shows
Interesting contrast though when sanded
See all the wooden tables with blue and turquoise inlays??
She's a girl
Pink is her fav
And if you really look at Oak it has pink/red elements in it.
But this is my creation. I believe I can make it any darn way I want to
No apologies
If I made it black and white, green and blue, she would love it, its from her poppy!
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I have seen and done a few
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211210/70db460c8bdbc6e07ffa1162fe1d2ac4.jpg)
They make a tint you can add to bondo and I’m trying to find the product we used
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211210/5a79a50fc0b9df043ef822b517e8688c.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211210/68b019cb1dd48a2c940b03b962d20af6.jpg)
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Nice work Don, to bad it won't be finished.
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Nice work Don, to bad it won't be finished.
Why not JR
It will be finished
No drawers...No wood left!
But it will be done aside from that
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Prior to assembly I had to sand all the interior surfaces with #120 grit.
I'm hoping that will do it because I didn't have any #150
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Then all that got glued and clamped up
So far no screws or nails
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Then I sanded the bottom until it was smooth. There is quite a bit of channeling in the wood from worms and who knows what
Here it is filled with a variety of materials. I am not going for a finished look you would expect to find in a furniture store, but something unique. I think it is interesting so far. At least it provided a level surface to glue to
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Next the legs were created by gluing pieces of 2 1/2" wide material together. These will be cut down to their final dimensions later on.
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And then the shelf section was glued to the underside of the desk top.
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Looking good.
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The back piece anf the front stiffener pieces being glued into place
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And then comes the cipherin'
Get this step wrong and the legs will not be the correct length
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The short legs overlap the sides for strength. I did not feel that a butt joint would be strong enough considering My grand baby has smaller sisters and brothers
The connector piece adds strength and is cut into the legs. The fit was so percise, I needed to lube the joint with glue then use the C-Clamps to pull it into place
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Then the other legs were glued into place. With all the glue and the multi surfaces, there is very little wiggle at all. It seems to be square and stout.
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I wanted to tell the story, so I wrote something about it on the underside. Perhaps some future generation will read it and be amazed...or not.
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:likebutton: :likebutton:
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Thanks Fred!
So the way I built it, there is room to add a long drawer above the seat area. I can also add another shelf if I want to later on. Since the mill broke down on me, I had just enough wood to build what you see and nothing else. Jo-Jo will be able to draw away on what she has here and I can add that drawer later on.
Now on to the finishing work which will be extensive.
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I picked up the clear Epoxy top seal. I plan to pour it 1/8"-1/4" thick in high gloss, and I was thinking of doing the rest is plain satin with 20 coats
Today I started filling the imperfections in the top. Although there appears to be a bunch of mess there, 90% of it sands off
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I sanded the whole thing again.
FIrst the top with #60 and a belt sander to level the plastic filler
Next the whole thing got a good smoothing with #150 again, and a couple small spots retouched
The final sanding, shown here was with an orbital and #220 grit which gave me the final smoothness
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Then I washed it with mineral spirits, allowed that to dry, then wiped it down again with a wet cloth of rubbing alcohol
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I taped the areas off from the top, as I decided to see what the epoxy pour would look like. If it goes OK, I'll invert and finish it with 20 odd coats or urethane.
After taping the areas off, I built a "Dam" of sorts with aluminum tape to contain the estimates 1/18"-1/8" of Epoxy
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I am using a two part glossy. clear epoxy that is a one and done product that cleans with alcohol
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I mixed the whole gallon and stirred it forever with a drill attachment, then poured the product in stripes onto the desk top. I rolled it into corners with a fiberglass resin roller tool which was perfect for this task
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As the product works into crevaces everywhere, the wood releases tiny little air bubbles which has the surface of the epoxy looking like bumpy sandpaper
But fear not. If you just wave a butane torch over the surface, the bubbles all burst like magic and you are left with a flippin' mirror!
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And here it is after an hour:
Still bubble free and flattening nicely.
Next step is to remove the tape forming the "Dam" so that a little bit flows over the sides...
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I figured out that one of those logs I sawed up was Chestnut, not Oak. The other was Oak, so I have a blend of the woods in this piece. All the worm tracks throughout some pieces are a dead giveaway!
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If thats the final look, you done good Don.
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If thats the final look, you done good Don.
I think it's the final for the top piece, however the sides still need to be finished
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That should last for a few generations. Looks great.
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Good work Don. Looks nice. Heirloom for sure.
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Good work Don. Looks nice. Heirloom for sure.
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Not done, but soon will be