Thursday, May 2, 2013

A Great Cause and Working At New Heights



Allow me tell you about a very good thing I was made aware of the other day.  It is a project being put together by woodworker and blogger Sam Cappo.  Sam is putting together a user set of tools, building a tool chest and then giving it all away to a deserving woodworker.  If you have any extra tools, please consider donating.  To view a list of sought after tools and all the details of this project go to Sam's blog, PlaneDetails.com



Yes this is a first, building furniture from a ladder.  I needed to let in the bed rail hardware and this was the easiest way to accomplish said task.  These rails are 82 1/2" long and there was just no other good way, that I could think of, to balance my palm router. Thank goodness it is hidden.


Because the first coat of the stain is a water based dye stain and I had done some sanding, I needed to raise the grain prior to dying/staining.  After the wood had dried I discovered these little spots.  They looked like rust spots.  I can only assume they are the result of water mixing with some type of mineral in the wood.

After I knocked the fuzz off with 320 grit paper they disappeared, and did not reappear with the first coat of dye stain.

  

Here is a look after the first coat.  I used General Finishes Light Brown Dye Stain for the first coat.  I will follow that with GF Brown Mahogany pigment stain.  This will obscure the grain to some degree but it will allow me to even out the color and hide some of the mineral stains that are within the wood.

Due to my schedule it will be a couple of weeks before I will be able to apply the second coat and top coat to finish this project.  Before I move this monster into our bedroom I will get some studio pics taken of it along with the Continuous Arm Windsor.

My next project and blog subject is going to be a bit different so stay tuned.

~ Ray Schwanenberger

4 comments:

  1. Looks good, Ray. That'll be a nice looking bed.

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  2. Your stain job looks AWESOME! You have to be pleased.

    I had a similar issue as seen in your second photo with oil stain on red oak. It was as if the stain was being rejected by the wood. :) Someone on twitter said the stain was reacting with the wood tannin or some such thing as that.

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  3. Jeff water caused that reaction. Hopefully the dye stain will not. I will see when I get home in two weeks.

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