[OP]
Member
Cleaned up the planes. Not the best job, but certainly useable!
The use of "Krud Kutter" & then "Rust Free" removed most of the rust leaving a fair amount to sand off & left a dull stain throughout the surface. I sanded most of the remining rust & paint off, & then decided it was good enough. Compared to their original condition (reference first post) they've come a long way & for only $3 total for the two was/is a pleasant purchase!
Now onto another project!
Contributor
Nice job of cleanup...You brought them "back to life"..
Jerry
Originally Posted by Al Launier
Right, its a good thing in this context. Kinda like . . .
Bill Murray You Suck.jpg
. . . for getting such a good deal.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
[OP]
Member
Referencing item#1 on page 2 what do you think this wood really is? It's definitely not Walnut and I don't believe it's Hickory as I was originally told. The wood was so old & rough it was impossible for me to tell, so I took the guy's word for it.
Since then I've milled the planks down to useable(?) lumber & think it is probably NE Hemlock. It's very, very light, chips very easily when sawing or routing, is knotty, seems to split on its own without any influence from me that I know of, and the grain appears to match some images of NE Hemlock that I've Googled. It's not a wood I would want to work with in the future as I've had to really scramble to salvage enough useable wood to make the letter box that I've been working on for way too long.
What are your thoughts as to wood type?????
Contributor
Just based on the color and the hard/ soft differences in the rings, I'd say Hemlock or Douglas fir. I'd lean more towards DF because of the clear lengths - most Hemlock I've seen has been more knotty. Still nice-looking wood, although its age and dryness are probably what's causing you problems. It may not stain well, if that was your intent with the letter box, but some of the traditional Japanese finishing techniques were specifically developed to take advantage of softwood's characteristics. if interested, look up "uzukuri finish", charring, and/ or (lord help me) "polissoir" to see interesting effects of burnishing softwoods.
If you don't like those and want a flat surface, I'd build up the surface strength by starting with thinned BLO or tung oil for a few applications so it soaks as deeply as possible, then switch over to straight oil or varnish or shellac. Just my opinion... still very nice wood.
Karl
[OP]
Member
Finally, the finished product and I'll be giving it to my wife's nephew tomorrow. He asked if I would be willing to be "commissioned" to make a "Letter Box". I said no, knowing that he would pay me. So, I did this on the sly. Hopefully he'll find the "Portable Writing Desk", as I saw it called in one reference, to his satisfaction.
As this project turned out, the wood was definitely NOT Walnut or Hickory, I believe it is NE Hemlock based on the grain. It is a very frustrating wood to work with, at least for me. Having been stored in a barn for many, many years, it was extremely dry & light. While working it, it had a tendency to split frequently & chip/tear out more than normal, even with precautions taken. Several times the "finished " piece had to be made over again because of what I'm calling "spontaneous splitting, or bad chipping/tearout. Even after the lid was completed, but prior to staining, it split. You can see this in the picture(s). The yield from the (2) planks was just enough to provide barely enough wood to complete this project. So, I didn't have any more material & had to use Nexabond 2500 to glue it back together. Hopefully it doesn't show too much.
My nephew's stated he liked the appearance of wood "grain", so I guess he should have enough grain with this box. Also, I found out from his mother that he would place the "letter box" on his desk, which was dark with some red in it. So I used the following:
- Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner - (1 coat)
- Minwax Cherry stain - (2 coats not dark enough)
- Minwax Special Walnut- (2 coats not dark enough)
- Minwax Dark Walnut- (2 coats - close enough!)
- Minwax Polycrilic- (3 coats)
The drawer knob was made by gluing a 3/8" dowel into a 3/4" dowel & the shaping it on my drill press with rat-tail & half-round files & sanding.
The "partitions" are removable to allow setting the desired spacing for "accessories".
I lined it with velvet, except I couldn't do the sides of the drawer as it was too deep & narrow to position the velvet accurately.
On to the next project???
The box is just beautiful Al as is the gesture. A great thread about a fun journey triggered by "running into" an estate sale. Congrats.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Contributor
Very nice results!!!!
Jerry
[OP]
Member
Thanks for the nice words. After spending 2 months on/off & the frustrations involved, I'm glad this project is over. However I did learn a few things & that's always a plus. I just hope my nephew is happy with it.
Contributor
Wow Al,
Beautiful! From you post with the photos of the writing desk, it looks like you kind of had a battle with the lumber splitting, but the final results are really nice.
Good job, and I am glad your garage sale planks turned out to be a great buy in the end.
Reminds me of what a friend said about a sculpture he met. He carved different things, and a fellow asked him about a horse he had beautifully carved, and asked him how he did such a nice job carving the horse. The fellow answered and said he just starts, and carves off everything that doesn't look like a horse.
You started with old planks and cut off every thing that didn't look like a writing desk. Again, nice job!
Stew
[OP]
Member
Guess I'm going with Karl Andersson's thought that the wood is most likely Douglas Fir rather than NE Hemlock as his perception makes sense to me.
I gave the "Portable Writing Desk" to Michael (age 34) yesterday & he was absolutely floored! Frankly I didn't expect his reaction. It was a total surprise, which was great, but his emotional response is unforgettable. In any event, although it was a frustrating project due to the difficulty working with this very old wood, it was very satisfying in the end.
Time to start another project, perhaps get the Christmas gifts going, whatever they may be???
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