VENEER glueing part 1 of 4

Im repeating the veneer series for those new to my blog,

and for those needing a refresher ...

 

 

I have many tricks for dealing with veneer issues before painting furniture.

With vintage furniture, veneer refers to thin slices of quality wood, usually

thinner than 1/8 inch, that are glued onto panels of a lesser grade woods.

Veneering is an ancient art, dating back to the Egyptians who

used veneers on their furniture and sarcophagi.

The first step in any DIY veneer repair is to establish how bad the damage is

and what route to take. I will go over edge gluing this time and eventually

share how to glue bubbles, fill missing areas, and the dreaded removal of veneer.

It is actually very simple but youll just have to wait and see.

Many pieces of vintage veneered furniture have some edge lifting,

usually along the bottom.

Its a simple matter of using wood glue to secure the veneer back into place

and using masking tape to hold it down while it dries.

Use gravity!

Turn your piece of furniture over to get the glue run down in behind the lifting veneer.

I use a wet sponge to clean up any access glue before taping the edges.

Lay your tape on the veneered surface first and pull it tight over the edge.

Your drying time will vary with climate and temperature,

but a decent wait time would be 4 hours under normal circumstances.

Now go forth and Do it Yourself!
and for the SHOWROOM I have a few additions today that include ...
 two aqua blue over green chairs and

a vintage tool box repurposed into a coffee table / storage trunk

 

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Tea box part 1

Good Morning All,
Ive begun working on shaping and hollowing out this first in a series of three tea boxes.  This box will be given to a wonderful friend who has been very kind to me and this is a way of saying thank you. And as she is very much addicted to chocolate, I suspect this box will never hold any tea but will become a chocolate stash in her office!
These first two photos show the box mounted on the lathe with some preliminary shaping in the second photo:

This second photo shows the foot of the box and Ive cut it down substantially from its original size. I  think it looks better and lowers the center of gravity of the box so it doesnt tip over.  Ive also left a rough section that will become the rim of the bowl. Im shortly going to put the top on the box and turn it together as a unit for a few minutes to true up both pieces and make the diameters match up.
Lets get the top on the lather and turn a tenon in the underside and flatten out the surface of the lid:

Here are the two parts jammed together on the lathe ready to be turned together as a single unit:

And here we are several minutes later:

I wanted to give the box kind of a pot-bellied shape and so I rounded off both pieces. The top still has a considerable amount of shaping left to do.
Truing up the bottom portion has also given me a sense of were the outside surface of the box will be and also that will allow me to establish the thickness of the wall and thus the inside diameter of the box;

And here we are about 30 minutes later:

The box portion has turned very well. The sides and bottom are a little less that 1/2 thick and this gives the box a heavy, substantial feel. It will also help to keep it from breaking should it ever be dropped.
Here is a photo of the side:

Ive left a broad, flat bead on the side of the box. This provides a transition to the lid.
This portion of the box will be sanded completely and then taken off the lathe. The lid remains to be turned and since this is a very visible portion of the box, well take this slowly.
Im going to stop for about and hour and come back to the shop later this morning. Stop by for more photos and explanation.
VW

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FURNITURE MAKE OVERS before and after 1

Sabtu, 09 April 2016

 

 

All the wonderful BEFORE & AFTERS you are about to see look so amazing in person,

and the students that preformed the work were outstanding.

 

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?How many of you would like to attend a furniture makeover weekend?

Well the PR Guy here and the LNT Group in Merritt coordinated that exact thing,

and I was the chosen teacher.?

we added drawer stops, learned some bled blocking tips, and added a graphic transfer on this dresser

 

18 students, some with multiple projects, 2 days, almost every tool I own,

and with years of experience we gotter done!

 

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it was stripped, cleaned, painted grey, clear waxed, then dark waxed. It is off to the upholster soon!

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The week before the class, students started to email photos and ideas of that they would like to do.

When this chairs BEFORE pic showed up George started to panic, but I wasnt worried in the least.?

vintage high chair painted in a cherry red was heading back to Prince George to be a display piece in a floral shop

 We traveled over 2 hours to get to our destination but some ladies traveled much farther to join us.

simple vintage chair given a new life with a light turquoise spray, sanding, and waxing.

 

We did lots of color mixing and I showed students how to thin and strain paint for spraying.

Any one who wanted to try their hand at using the paint gun could also try it out. 

coordinating wallpaper was added in the back and you can see more of the detail of this cabinet now that it is lighter

We wallpapered and waxed, we stripped some pieces, we stained a few pieces,

we painted and polyed, but best of all ...

?

 I had a blast running non stop repairing things, adding things, making suggestions,
and simply helping everyone leave with a beautiful new pieces of furniture they would be
proud to display in their homes.

 

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The New Shop! Pt 1

Jumat, 25 Maret 2016

I am loading up my shop and moving it to a new home! Well, not yet, but I am getting close!
I have decided to move my shop to my home, since I have had a break-in and having a shop at home would be so nice (having to drive 20 minutes to my shop makes me spend less time there). The plan is to moving into a bay of our "boat barn", it is a larger garage if you will that is approximately 30x60 and has a two boats, fourwheelers, a golf cart and a bunch of my step fathers junk, yes, most of it is junk. Sadly I couldnt convince him to give me the whole thing, so I settled with one bay of it a 13.5x25 section.
As you can see, it is pretty full. Most of the barn is this way, I think my stepdad is a mild hoarder..... alot of the stuff is... well I wont go there. I got him in there with me Sunday afternoon and consolidated all of the things into the other parts of the barn. Our agreement was that I could get 100% of his stuff out of that bay and have only my things over there. It took us probably a good hour to move it all, when we were done it was looking good.
My plans are to close it off completely from the rest of the barn with a nice wall. I want to insulate it, hang 1/2" plywood all along the walls, paint it white, then move all my tools in and build something! More to come!
Feel free to "Follow" along with me, this should be exciting! Look in the right column for "followers" and click follow.

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Homemade DIY Dust Deputy Part 1

Senin, 14 Maret 2016

I have decided to make my own dust collector for my shop vac, something very similar to the Dust Deputy just cheaper and hopefully just as efficient. I got the idea from a member of Lumberjocks, jcoulam . He built one himself and put a couple of photos on the Internet and basic drawing which gave me inspiration in making my own. I figured I would create basically the same thing and I would provide more photos and descriptions of how it was done.
I went to Lowes and bought a few supplies that I would need.
-1 8"x24" piece of galvanized pipe that is split down the length
-1 new 5 gallon bucket and a lid that fit securely
-1 2 piece of 2" PVC
-2 2" plumbing couplings
-1 8x2 1/2" Shop Vac hose
-1 syringe of 1 min epoxy
-A small amount of self tapping metal screws
-1 tube of caulk
The first thing that I wanted to accomplish was to get the funnel made. I tried it without cutting the piece of pipe hoping to just trim it when I had the final shape and it held securely. This proved to be pretty difficult so I went for a little professional help, my mothers engineer at the truss company who is brilliant at this sort of thing.
We sat down and he came up with pattern that I could lay out on my piece of sheet metal and just cut out my funnel. To do this he used all sorts of math from college that I have forgotten and some odd formulas. In a few minutes we were drawing the cut pattern onto the sheet metal. When I put the cut piece of metal to the test and fastened it together it came out perfect! No cutting necessary. When you screw the funnel together its best to predrill holes in the overlapping piece so that the screws will pull the underside piece tight.
(I will come back and post the dimensions and figures at a later date so that everyone can do this the easy way.)
The next thing I did was cut a circle out of a piece of 1/2" plywood that was a little bit smaller than top of the funnel so that it could sit down in the funnel just a grunt. This ended up being about a 7 7/8" diameter circle with a 2" hole cut in the middle of it to allow for the PVC to pass though.
Next I had to cut a whole in the funnel so that a piece of 2" PVC could be inserted at an angle. This wasnt very difficult, I just held the piece of pipe above the funnel and drew what looked like the correct cut on the pipe then whacked it off on the band saw. It really doesnt have to be perfect I dont think, just close. Then I took that piece of PVC with the angle cut and placed against the funnel where it would go through at and traced around the sides of it to give me a hole to cut. Cutting this with my jig saw was pretty easy with a fine tool metal blade.
Next I cut another piece of plywood that was a bit smaller than the size of the 5 gallon bucket lid and cut a hole in the center of it large enough to allow about an inch or so if the funnel to pass through it, I think the hole was about 3". Then I cut slits in the part of the funnel that was sticking out and folded them back and screwed it to the plywood. Since I was using wood screws to get a bite in the ply wood I predrilled all the holes in the metal flanges first.
Next I cut a hole in the lid of the 5 gallon bucket and fastened it to the bottom piece of plywood.
Now it was time to start gluing a caulking things. I first used the 1 minute epoxy to secure the piece of PVC in the side of the funnel. Dont put the plywood in the top before doing this because it helps to apply some epoxy on the inside of the funnel here.
Then I caulked around the base of the funnel, the seam in the funnel, and in between the bucket top and the piece of plywood. I loosened the screws between the bucket top and plywood so that I could get a good bit of caulk in here. I sat the funnel upright for the night to let it dry before tightening the screws. The weight of the funnel is pretty good at this point and keeps the joint there decently tight. Now when I tighten the screws in the morning the caulk will act as a gasket (learned that from sailboats although most of you reading probably already know that).
That is all I had time for today and I hope to finish it tomorrow and see how well it works! As you can tell in the above picture I didnt have the top piece of plywood fastened or caulked in place.

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Computer Desk From 1 Sheet of Plywood

Senin, 15 Februari 2016

This attractive and functional computer desk is built using only one sheet of plywood and 14 cuts which makes it an easy and affordable desk that can be built with a few tools.

You can stain and finish it to reveal the the natural wood grain, paint it any color youd like or mix painting and staining as in the black and maple desk example shown right.
The desk provides ample space for your computer and accessories as well as storage space for books, paper and other items youll want to have handy while working on your computer. All this from just a single sheet of plywood!

Dimensions

48"W x 33 1/2"H x 23 15/16"D

What Youll Need

Materials

• (1) 4 x 8 Sheet of 3/4" Plywood (or 4 sheets of 2 x 4 3/4" Plywood)
• (50) of Preglued Veneer Edgebanding
• (4) T-Nut Cabinet/Furniture Levelers
• (6) 1/2" flat head wood screws
• (6) 1/4" Shelf Pins
• Wood Glue
• 220 and 120 grit sandpaper
• Painting and/or finishing supplies

Tools

• Kreg Pocket Hole Jig
• Drill
• Circular Saw with Guide, Track Saw or Table Saw for cutting plywood.
• Miter box or power miter saw
• Kreg KHC-90DCC 90-degree Corner Clamp
• (2) 26-1/8" x 23-15/16" Sides (24" x 26-1/4")
• (1) 46-1/2" x 12" Apron (46-1/2" x 12-1/4")
• (2) 46-1/2" x 1-11/16" Front (46-1/2" x 1-1/2")
• (1) 48" x 10" Shelf
• (1) 21-5/8" x 12" Storage Side
• (2) 21-5/8" x 11-7/8" Storage Bottom and Storage Shelf
• (2)10" x 5-7/8" Shelf Sides (10" x 5-15/16")
• (1) 10" x 11-7/8" Paper Tray (11.5" x 10")
• (4) 1-3/8" x 5-7/8" Paper Tray Supports (2 will be 7/8" x 5-7/8")

Cut Plan

You can either cut the desk out of one full 4 x 8 sheet of plywood or 4 2 x 4 quarter sheets of plywood. If youre using quarter sheets Id recommend the formaldehyde free PureBond 3/4 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft. Maple Plywood which can be shipped directly to your home from HomeDepot.com and is eligible for free shipping.
For either full or quarter sheets the cut plans assume a maximum kerf (cut width) of 1/8" so its important to use a thin kerf saw blade. The Freud Ultimate Plywood Saw Blade is a good choice for a thin kerf blade that will minimize tearout and splintering when cutting plywood.

Full Sheet

If using a full sheet of plywood, break down the sheet into three smaller sections by making the 2 cross cuts highlighted in red. First make the 48" cut, followed by the 26-1/8" cut. You can also break down the three sections further. The 48" and 26-1/8" section can be cut exactly in half (23-15/16 accounting for the 1/8" kerf) but the last section is not exactly in half (24")

Quarter Sheet

You save a little bit of money by buying one full sheet but it might be more convenient to purchase 4 quarter sheets instead. The smaller sheets are easier to transport and you can even have them delivered to you for free. If youre picking up the plywood you could have the store make some convenience cuts for you but the quality and accuracy of the cuts will depend greatly on the condition of the blade and how good the person operating the panel saw is at making accurate cuts. These convenience cuts are not guaranteed to be accurate.

General Instructions

Its important to know how to use all your tools and follow all the safety recommendations. This project consists of simple cuts but its important to make sure to measure and cut each piece carefully. Square cuts in the plywood will make for a stronger desk. Its not necessary to glue the desk together as the pocket screws will provide sufficient strength and allow you to disassemble the desk at a later point if necessary. You will need to cut and assemble the desk first, then it is highly recommended to break it down again for finishing.

Step 1

Cut out the Desk Top, Sides, Storage Side, Storage Shelf, Storage Bottom, Apron and Front. Apply veneer edgebanding to all edges of the Desk Top, the 2 long edges of each Side and the front edges of the Storage Shelf, Bottom and Side.

Decide which side youd like the storage to be on, the left or right, then choose that Side piece and the Storage side and drill a series of holes part way into the insides of the plywood for the shelf pins using either a piece of peg board or a shelf pin jig.

Step 2

Arrange the desk top and legs on the floor with the good faces facing out. Drill 5 pocket holes on the inside tops of each leg. The first hole towards the front should be about 1" in while the one towards the back should be about 1/2" in to accommodate the front strip and modesty panel (apron).

Align and secure each leg to the bottom of the desk top using 1-1/4" pocket hole screws. Make sure the sides are attached square to the top. Using the right angle clamp helps a lot.

Step 3

Attach the front strip flush to the front of the desk using 4 pocket holes with 1-1/4" screws on the back to attach to the sides and 3 3/4" corner braces with 1/2" flat head wood screws to attach to the top as shown below.

Step 4

Drill holes for pocket screws in the Storage Side and Apron (modesty panel) as shown. There is also a pocket hole going from the inside of the Storage Side into the Front which is not visible. First attach the Storage Side. Use the Storage Bottom as a guide to determine how far away it needs to be from the Side of the desk. Note that the Storage Side will butt up against the Front piece but will not extend all the way to the back of the desk.

Once youve attached the Storage Side, attach the Apron using pocket screws into the Sides and Top and from the Storage Side into the Apron. The Storage Bottom and Storage Side have the same depth, use the Storage Bottom as a guide on the opposite side of the Storage Side to press the Apron against so you screw it in straight.

Remember, the Apron will not sit flush with the back of the desk. Heres a rear view.

Step 5

Attach the Storage Bottom using 1-1/4" pocket holes as shown. If youre installing the optional leveler feet do so now.

The main part of the desk is now complete.

Step 6

Cut out the components for the Shelf. These include the Shelf, 2 Shelf Sides, Paper Tray and Tray Supports.  Apply veneer edging all the way around the Shelf, on 3 edges of the Papery Try (not the edge touching the side), on the 2 short edges of each Side and on the 2 long edges of each of the Tray Supports.

Begin shelf assembly by attaching the two Shelf Sides to the Shelf Top using 1-1/4" pocket hole screws as shown.

Step 7

Drill 1 pocket hole in each of the tray supports to attach it to the top. The pocket holes should be on the inside of the support. Use the Paper Tray butted up against the side where youd like to install as a guide to determine how far away the Supports should be. The tray supports should be evenly spaced 1.5" apart with the two end pieces flush with the edges of the Shelf Top.

Step 8

Now attach the paper tray at the midpoint of the sides and supports to split the space evenly using 1-1/4" pocket hole screws as shown. 3 into the Shelf Side and 1 into each Tray Support.

Step 9

To prevent the shelf from sliding around on the desk but still be able to easily remove the shelf at a later point if desired well be using 2 shelf pins to anchor the shelf to the desk.

Begin by placing the shelf on top of the desk and aligning it flush with the sides and the back of the desk top. Using a pencil, mark a vertical like halfway into the shelf side extending down into the side of the desk top as shown.