A Second Stool

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
After the comment about trying to fill the voids in the plywood end grain, I thought I would try a second stool with a different finishing technique. I also reworked the top on the first stool with yet another technique to see what happened.
Both stools had visible voids of various sizes in the plys. For stool two, I used Crystal lac grain filler and re-sanded before finishing. The top was very much smoother, but the larger voids were still visible. Some of the smaller voids were adequately filled. Sanding after the Crystal lac was a real pain however as it clogged sandpaper rapidly and was quite tough to get through. The sanding difficulties led to differential finish penetration as well. So I re-sanded after the oil had dried to correct that issue.
Stool one I then used miniwax wood putty the color of the finished plywood to fill the voids, I left it overnight and then of course sanded the entire top. This time the top was much more smooth (slick in fact), but I believe that is due to the finish and not the putty. All of the putty came out in the sanding process, so for this effort that is not an option to pursue.
Other than epoxy, which certainly would work but would completely impede oil penetration into the wood fibers, I'm not sure what to try. Maybe hot hide glue with sawdust? I'm open to ideas. Thanks!
IMG_0142.JPGIMG_0143.JPGIMG_0144.JPGIMG_0148.JPG In order: Stool 1, Stool 2 , Stool 2 has cherry legs
 

kserdar

Ken
Senior User
Quit using cheap plywood - Baltic Birch should have 13 layers.
I have routed and sanded the edge of real Baltic Birch plywood.
 

cobraguy

Clay
Corporate Member
I stopped using MinWax filler once I discovered Timbermate. Water based, accepts stains, doesn't shrink, sands well, many colors. And it doesn't go bad. Just add a little water to freshen it up. You can use straight from the container, but I always add water to get about like sour cream and then apply. Whatever you mixed and don't use, put it back in the container for next time.

Stools look amazing! Neat idea.
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
I stopped using MinWax filler once I discovered Timbermate. Water based, accepts stains, doesn't shrink, sands well, many colors. And it doesn't go bad. Just add a little water to freshen it up. You can use straight from the container, but I always add water to get about like sour cream and then apply. Whatever you mixed and don't use, put it back in the container for next time.

Stools look amazing! Neat idea.
Thanks, I'll give that a try.
 

Mark Johnson

Mark
Corporate Member
Quit using cheap plywood - Baltic Birch should have 13 layers.
I have routed and sanded the edge of real Baltic Birch plywood.
I'm certain that would make a big difference; however, part of this was to use scrap plywood left over from cabinet builds. So, the expense was just glue. It would be interesting to see the difference, and I'm sure it would be huge. Thanks.
 

kserdar

Ken
Senior User
I'm certain that would make a big difference; however, part of this was to use scrap plywood left over from cabinet builds. So, the expense was just glue. It would be interesting to see the difference, and I'm sure it would be huge. Thanks.
Sorry, I didn't understand that this was a recycle project.
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Mark, the stools look great! Also, I couldn't help but notice bench vise in the background...that has to be one of the most elegant faces I have ever seen on a vise, really nice!
 

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