Can't believe that I am on time this year!!!!!!!!!!:eusa_clap
Have been busy with the Christmas gifts since just before Thanksgiving and finally got ‘em finished and wrapped.
In the family tradition, Rudolf has been standing guard beside our Christmas tree for a few years.
Had some leftover cypress so I put together some brothers to stand the same duty at my daughters homes. (Used a walnut stain with clear shellac to seal and a couple of coats of clear poly.)
One of our daughters wanted Dad to build a small table for her babysitting employer. She wanted a shaker style, small enough for an entry hall and a very dark stain.
I had enough rift sawn red oak from my last run to Scott Smith’s so here is what I came up with.
Tried General Finishes Java gel stain for the first time. I found it to be pretty forgiving to use but very messy – at least for me. I laid down two coats of the java stain followed by 2 coats of clear shellac and four coats of wiping varnish. She wanted dark. Dark she got!
In the past, if I was adding a stain to drawer fronts, I seemed to always have trouble keeping the stain off of the dovetail pins on the sides of the drawer. This time before assembly I stuffed the sockets of the drawer fronts with round pieces of foam insulation, put blue tape on the inside drawer faces, stained the drawer front, finished the drawer bottom and drawer box with clear shellac, then assembled the drawer. Much cleaner looking with this method. (Thanks to Joe Scharle for the tip!:icon_thum)
Have built several end tables, coffee tables for the girls and wanted to see if the finish could be extended so I made them some coaster sets from a recent plan in Wood magazine. (Cherry and ash finished with two coats of clear shellac and a topcoat of clear rattle can lacquer.)
Next up was a xylophone for our 2 year old grand daughter. Made from a kit sold at Lee Valley and a chunk of a walnut cutoff. (Finished with 3 coats of amber shellac and 5 coats of wiping varnish.)
The back…
(I drilled 3/4" thru holes and added four rubber feet to get it up off of a hard surface. Resonates a little better.)
Turned a Wall Street II pen and finished with CA and Mylands friction polish.
The last of the Xmas projects were a set of razors and brushes from Penn State Industries. Managed to complete them just today. Made from cocobola blanks with 6 coats of CA and three coats of Mylands Friction Polish. (Gotta keep the peach fuzz off of my son-in-laws faces so they don't mar the finish on my beautiful daughters!!)
I did manage a catch on the last brush blank and ended up with an emergency trip to Raleigh Woodcraft today and John Lord looked after exactly the right blank.
So…………..I am all done and ready for the New Year projects.
(Sorry about the bad photography but I am trying to concentrate my efforts in woodworking these days.:gar-La
Time to clean up the shop!!!!:wsmile:
Thanks for looking.
Wayne
Have been busy with the Christmas gifts since just before Thanksgiving and finally got ‘em finished and wrapped.
In the family tradition, Rudolf has been standing guard beside our Christmas tree for a few years.
Had some leftover cypress so I put together some brothers to stand the same duty at my daughters homes. (Used a walnut stain with clear shellac to seal and a couple of coats of clear poly.)
One of our daughters wanted Dad to build a small table for her babysitting employer. She wanted a shaker style, small enough for an entry hall and a very dark stain.
I had enough rift sawn red oak from my last run to Scott Smith’s so here is what I came up with.
Tried General Finishes Java gel stain for the first time. I found it to be pretty forgiving to use but very messy – at least for me. I laid down two coats of the java stain followed by 2 coats of clear shellac and four coats of wiping varnish. She wanted dark. Dark she got!
In the past, if I was adding a stain to drawer fronts, I seemed to always have trouble keeping the stain off of the dovetail pins on the sides of the drawer. This time before assembly I stuffed the sockets of the drawer fronts with round pieces of foam insulation, put blue tape on the inside drawer faces, stained the drawer front, finished the drawer bottom and drawer box with clear shellac, then assembled the drawer. Much cleaner looking with this method. (Thanks to Joe Scharle for the tip!:icon_thum)
Have built several end tables, coffee tables for the girls and wanted to see if the finish could be extended so I made them some coaster sets from a recent plan in Wood magazine. (Cherry and ash finished with two coats of clear shellac and a topcoat of clear rattle can lacquer.)
Next up was a xylophone for our 2 year old grand daughter. Made from a kit sold at Lee Valley and a chunk of a walnut cutoff. (Finished with 3 coats of amber shellac and 5 coats of wiping varnish.)
The back…
(I drilled 3/4" thru holes and added four rubber feet to get it up off of a hard surface. Resonates a little better.)
Turned a Wall Street II pen and finished with CA and Mylands friction polish.
The last of the Xmas projects were a set of razors and brushes from Penn State Industries. Managed to complete them just today. Made from cocobola blanks with 6 coats of CA and three coats of Mylands Friction Polish. (Gotta keep the peach fuzz off of my son-in-laws faces so they don't mar the finish on my beautiful daughters!!)
I did manage a catch on the last brush blank and ended up with an emergency trip to Raleigh Woodcraft today and John Lord looked after exactly the right blank.
So…………..I am all done and ready for the New Year projects.
(Sorry about the bad photography but I am trying to concentrate my efforts in woodworking these days.:gar-La
Time to clean up the shop!!!!:wsmile:
Thanks for looking.
Wayne
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