Woodworking

[jlmitch5]

also @toomanatees for the tried and true finishes…it looks like those all come in paint cans. Kinda dumb question, but is there some sort of vessel you’d recommend for applying? With the watco bottle, I was just using an old t-shirt and would turn the can over (which has a small cap) while holding the t-shirt over it to wet, and then apply to the wood.

[toomanatees]

I haven’t stumbled on the perfect solution for this. One shop I worked at used to fill up a handful of plastic finish syringes, which worked but they would get gummed up over time and we’d end up tossing them. I just dip a corner of a my finishing rag into the can. You don’t need much, so it works all right. The original recipe with the beeswax is so thick the rag technique works fine, but their danish oil is thin enough you could probably use effectively in a squeeze bottle.

[ElectricaNada]

I don’t use a mask or respirator, but I only work outdoors and my only power tool is my dad’s old Craftsman hand drill from ca 1970 or so. I hope I’m not breathing enough dust to cause problems. It doesn’t seem at all like I am.

[infovore]

First thing I’ve made in wood in yonks: a bench for shoes, and sitting on to put them on. My partner made the cushion out of foam and fabric. The rest is 18mm ply and dowel joints.

Lots of learning smile putting this together. I CADded it up in Fusion first, which let me play with layout a lot. Rough cutlist done by the timberyard I got the ply from; I then cut the backs and shelves myself. Primarily, using a tracksaw, and a replacement top for a Festool MFT suspended on sawhorses. Some benchdogs support the tracksaw rails. I’m not quite convinced I set the saw up right - I’m highly adept at getting things almost, but not quite, square.

There is some wonkiness around the back where some dowels were too long, but otherwise, it’s good: it works, the Osmo finish is nice, it does what we need, and we made it together. I’m particular proud of the half-lap slots for the shelves (made with the saw alone).

[jlmitch5]

Are the faces of the boards stained differently than the edges? There’s an interesting two tone look in the picture

[setfield]

Hobbyist woodworker here. Just posted pics of a 216hp 6U rack I built over here.

[raincity]

Working on building my next eurorack case at the moment. I’ll try to remember to post photos of the process.

If you don’t have tools (I don’t) look into your local tool libraries. We’re lucky there are many here in Seattle and it’s an incredible resource. I’ve made some steps, mantels, a coffee table, and my first eurorack case only with borrowed tools.

[karst]

it looks like plywood, so the edges will often have a darker appearance (and take finish differently) than the top/bottom layer.

[Ithacus]

Here’s my latest woodwork endeavor (using my very basic skills ).

It’s a stool/step for my daughters desk/shelf unit (Ikea Svalnas), built using some salvaged pine shelves (taken from a schools laboratory).

I built it using hand tools only, and it was a good chance to practice getting neat mortise and tenon joints.

Next woodwork job is my wife has requested some radiator covers for our bedroom and landing (can’t find nice modern ones anywhere).

[infovore]

nah, it’s just because it’s plywood - the edges have the visible laminated layers. I designed it as a box, and then added the rim at the top; this is primarily so the ‘seat’ pushes force down onto supports, rather than being ‘hung’ from the sides. Loadbearing, etc. I’d possibly have half-lapped the seat if I knew more.

[infovore]

it’s very beautiful - tidy mitring and screw caps, far better than I could do. I’m guessing you have access to a table saw?

[setfield]

Thank you! Yes, I have a table saw.

Also, those are dowels, not screw caps. Made the dowels myself from Ash stock using a Lie-Nielsen Dowel Plate.

[infovore]

mmmn, Lie-Nielsen in 20 characters

[ElectricaNada]

I’ve made all my euro cases on my library’s laser cutter. I have a sheet of nice 1/8” Baltic that I intend to turn into a laser cut mountain dulcimer soundbox.

[HateNames]

I made a lap steel from a big lump of teak. Probably not a good tonewood but it’s was such a nice piece I wanted to do something special with it.

[jlmitch5]

lovely color! what kind of staining/finishing process did you use?

Also, the + signs on the back, are they on the surface (like woodburning) or are they deep? Do they serve a purpose or are they decorative?

[karst]

Probably not a good tonewood

probably not, since I don’t think teak is going to be all that flexible, but it doesn’t really matter for a lap steel with pickups, since the body just needs to be rigid rather than amplify anything. it’s gorgeous work.

working with the resonant aspects of wood is really wonderful, some of my favorite parts of instrument building involve working with piano soundboards.

I’d possibly have half-lapped the seat if I knew more.

I’ve a big fan of woodworking that utilizes plywood in beautiful ways and doesn’t try to hide it. mildly obsessed with Lozi Designs lately.

[HateNames]

Thanks. I used a light coat of nitrocellulose to finish, just enough to sink in. The teak used be a bench in an old science lab so it already had lots of strange stains which I decided to keep. The + marks on the back were an attempt to make the back a little less slippery when having it on my lap whilst also being aesthetic, they’re pretty deep, nearly 1mm. I planned everything in illustrator and then etched the markings for all the cuts and hardware placements with a laser cutter.

[HateNames]

Thanks! Yes I’ve been working with more soundboards since making the lapsteel, it’s amazing how much you can get out of a small instrument. I’m definitely a big fan of plywood too, I’ve made some furniture using birch faced ply and scaffolding but by now it’s probably been overdone, it’s still a great efficient way to make modular and collapsible furniture though.

[slowsounds]

check out Katsuhito Nishikawa - he is both a visual artist and furniture designer. a lot of the furniture is very sharp angles, kinda Judd style, but much more light in appearance using thinner plates. I really like his chairs.