November 10 Notes

In attendance: Jim Hiltz, Jim MacLean, Chris, Rick

Leo tip: use dividers to mark equal distances. You adjust them as necessary to achieve this. As well, it is a good idea to have an extra set with one of the legs bent inward . This makes it easier if you’re trying to divide a board in half.

Leo tip: if you’re cutting threads in wood—make your own tap by cutting a notch part way up the bolt. This helps clear the wood chips.

If shellac gets hard add methyl hydrate to it. A good mix for shellac is 3-1. If you are using a brush for shellac, you should soak it in methyl hydrate.

We brushed shellac on our bowls (inside and out) and then lightly sanded them using 400 grit. You then wipe them with a lint free painters cloth. 

Leo suggests not to use a tack cloth.When spraying a curved surface such as a bowl, use a circular motion. The spray pressure is 12lbs.

Tip:  I discovered by accident that lacquer thinner will partly dissolve and dull the finish on pens finished  with CA glue. Adding thinner into the pen makes it easier to dissemble the pen for correcting flaws.

Salad bowl finish seems to stick to shellac and vice versa

Wonders of Shellac

Attendance: Paul, Miles, Chris, Him Hiltz, Jim MacNeil, Rick macDonald

Everyone had a piece of wood and we practiced various methods of staining.

Various approaches can be used to get a good result:


Sanding the wood  to a fine finish is important regardless of methods used.

Coat with clear dewaxed shellac
Let dry: then begin to build layers of stain
Add a WATER based vinyl stain (Clear varnish) :  use a good brush
wait several minutes
wipe off gingerly and let dry
Coat this layer with an OIL based stain, wait a few minutes and wipe off and let dry
Repeat with the WATER based stain until the color is right

(The reason for alternating is because  adding  water based stain over a water based stained layer just results in dissolving the first layer: same for the oil based layer so alternating the Oil and Water based stains gives the best result)

Finally dry overnight and coat with clear shellac by spray gun using a low pressure

Alternatively:

Coat wood with Bond or the Vinyl first
Let dry
Coat with water-based stain;- wipe off after a few  minuted and let dry
Coat with Oil based stain;  wait a few minuted and wipe off- let dry
Re-coat with the water base stain until you get the right color

Finally spray on clear shellac after an overnight dry

Leo put  a piece of wood  immersed in water for 5 days that he had shellaced and the finish remains hard and dry!

For wood with voids:

Coat with Clear shellac
Use a shellac -cabosil mix brushed on to fill in the voids
Proceed to stain as above

Hint:  Adding a little Ammonia to a water stain  makes the stain eat into the wood better when the wood is pre-treated with the vinyl  or shellac layer: Otherwise the stain does not penetrate and will wipe off completely

Leo gave all hands a bottle of  Ammonia
Paul gave all hands a supply of Acupuncture needles.
We might find a use for them in the New year projects

Shellac

Attendees: Paul ,Jim MacNeil ,Jim Hiltz ,Chris, Miles


Leo continued on his discussion of finishes. Everyone  had a small bowl made for this.

Leo demonstrated a large bowl blank that had "funky" spalted wood with soft spots and lots of fuzz. Usually these are nearly impossible to turn.

Solution:

Coat the wood with Shellac
Then coat with a mix of Shellac and Cabosil--thoroughly ....and wet sand it all in to penetrate
Alternatively use Bond and Cabosil or Clear Acrylic and cabosil
Let Dry

Use a fine Particle carbide cutter to turn,  taking very light cuts
The carbide scraper blades work well for this.
They need to be mounted on a tool to work
(We decided to order 10 or 20 for the group. Leo can get them from England)

The result is spectacular--wood turns very smoothly
You can salvage very bad pieces using this technique

Sand off a shellac finish using Methyl Hydrate on the sand paper (wet sand )

Using  a clear Acrylic coat on bare wood (2 coats) before staining gives a very nice effect and avoids excess end grain uptake

Leo went over the dry brushing technique of applying stain

Leo showed us several home made scrapers he made using the carbide blades

Tip:  Paint can rims become clogged with the paint and as soon as you try  to get the cover back on, the groove in the rim of the can is filled with the paint.

Solution:  Turn a wooden rim with a lip that fits into the groove in the top of the can and  tapered downward towards the inside of the can so you can squeeze off the excess paint.
When you are finished, remove the wood lid and replace the metal one into the now clean groove

Next session we will be doing a spray on finish using the airbrush ( instead of using a brush to put the finish on)

spalted blank

scraper

stain sample

Staining applied to shellac,bond one coat, bond 2 coats, raw wood.The 2 coat bond seemed to give the best result 

Use rubber wine cork for the stop on the chuck accessory jaws (Jm Hiltz idea)

Wood lid in place while using the paint can

remove the wood lid and replace the metal one into the clean groove!

Shellac

Jim Hiltz, Jim MacLean, Chris, Paul, Miles, Rick

Leo went over the techniques or shellac for staining, filling, over-coating in some detail tonight.

We agreed to make a small bowl for next session and do a shellac finish on it.
To make the basic shellac mix 3;1 ( one volume flakes to 3 volumes Methylhydrate
Dilute this even more for spraying on your project and use very low spray pressure

Mixing shellac, wood dust and cabosil makes a great filling agent

Jim Hiltz finished his dovetail plane and it is a beauty indeed
Leo says he will stoke up the forge soon to treat the tool steel for the blades

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha, methyl hydrate, or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH₃OH (often abbreviated MeOH). Methanol acquired the name "wood alcohol" because it was once produced chiefly as a byproduct of the destructive distillation of wood. Modern-day methanol production occurs in a catalytic industrial process directly from carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen.

Methanol is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to that of ethanol (drinking alcohol).^[10] However, unlike ethanol, methanol is highly toxic and unfit for consumption. At room temperature, it is a polar liquid, and is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethanol. It is also used for producing biodiesel via transesterification reaction.

Methanol is produced naturally in the anaerobic metabolism of many varieties of bacteria, and is commonly present in small amounts in the environment. As a result, there is a small fraction of methanol vapor in the atmosphere. Over the course of several days, atmospheric methanol is oxidized with the help of sunlight to carbon dioxide and water.

Attendance: Jim Hiltz, Paul, Miles, Wilson, Trevor Pushie (New Member)

Leo mentioned a new invention: Use an electric toothbrush, cut the bristles off and glue on  a sandpaper to make a small rotatory tool

Leo discussed Shellac. He is studying modifications on the use of the age old finish.
Shellac comes from the secretions of insects;

Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.

Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick (broodlac) that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested.^[1] Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.

The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. Seedlac which still contains 3-5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction.

The leading producer of Lac is Jharkhand, followed by the Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra states of India. Lac production is also found in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, parts of China, and Mexico.

Shellac flakes can be dissolved in Methyl alcohol

They come in various colors: Orange, white, blond, and ultra blond: 

(Available at Wood Essence in Ontario) The flakes will deteriorate unless humidity is low.

Orange is the hardest to use as it colors up the grain too much

Use a ratio of:   1Flakes : 3 Methyl alcohol

This solution should be stable for a good while

This dilution is OK for spraying  use a low pressure or it will gum up on the surface of your wood.

One can make fillers by using a mixture of Cabosil, sanding dust of various colors and the shellac mix.

Store these in jars.

They will harden up in time and you have to add some methyl alcohol to soften it again.

Leo suggested spraying on black paint for the vase project

If brushing it on, brush lots until it is almost dry to avoid streaks. Lift the brush towards the end so that it just touches the surface.

Once done, a water based lacquer or clear acrylic can be used to do the final finish

Staining Cherry: this is hard to accomplish as the stain is taken up too deeply especially in the end grain

Solution: Use a mixture of Tannic acid ( a powder) and ammonia to coat the wood before adding the stain.

We decided to make some chuck jaws for holding large bowls as a next project.

Beech 5/8 thickness is the best wood to use (Hard maple alternatively)

We also decided to start to turn some of the acacia bowl blanks

Make a small bowl for the next sessions and we will practice with the shellac and stain and finish.

Leo's-  Cherry/Maple-Shellac finish

                                     Jim's plane

Dovetail Plane continure

Rick, J Hiltz, J MacLean, Miles and Chris and Paul

Previous session

(We spent time looking over each of the planes..... discussed what we did, what needs to be tweaked, where to make the next cuts and what should be done by next session. ( and the last session for this season) Leo seemed pleased with the progress. 

1. SPRAYING-- If using acrylic or metallic paint don't use gesso under it. It won't let the paint adhere and , as well, it shrinks
2. DURA BUILD - an acrylic primer sealer(used in the auto painting world). Leo is using this on his vase that's in the big lathe. If you have a scratch or dimple in the wood use Dura Build and/or spot puddy as a filler. It sands really well.
3. Leo Tip # 2389- Spraying - use Dollar Store spice bottles inside the spray cup to save yourself the aggravation of cleaning the cup after a spray job.
4. GOLD LEAFING - Instead of sizing use thinned out fish glue mixed with yellow paint (50/50 mix).When ready to use, brush with water and put gold leaf on when sticky. This method is good for real gold leaf, artificial gold leaf and transfer paper. The leaf gets very hard and can be burnished afterwards.)

Tonight:

Work continues on the Dovetail plane. Everyone  ( except Paul) has a lot of work already done.
Leo explained how to proceed with the wedge and the guide for the bottom.

He advised  making a prototype with scrap wood for a project like this
Leo advised us not to open up the throat of the plane too much. The upper part of the opening is to be made a little wider to allow for side to side adjustments. 

Some discussion on Lacquer stains vs paint for vase project
For the fall we decided on two projects: Jaws for the chucks and a round plate with a curved bottom

See photos

Lobster supper tentatively planned for June 27 weekend


plate project-round bottom
                               Wooden jaws
wooden jaws with rubber buttons

Plane

Chris, Paul, Jim MacLean, Jim Hiltz, Rick

We spent most of the evening discussing the dovetail plane project.
Need a block, which can be glues up: 8 "  x 1 5/8 "  x 3 "
Need a sole plate
Make the body block
Cut the bottom of it on a 14 degree angle

Use G2 epoxy for the glue-up

Epoxy should not be clamped too tight
One can use the side vice of the bench to clamp it up, using a wedge to keep it all aligned.

We will buy tool steel and can cut out enough pieces for us all
(Rick will buy this at Russel Metals in Dartmouth)

(We can make a small Rabbet plan as well while we are at this project.)

We will also need other pieces for the wedge and side piece and guide

We also discussed further the vase project;
Coat the vase with concrete bond first and let it soak in


One can use a mix of paint, bond, and whiting
Use this to surface the wood (fill in the recesses we made for the gold bonding)
Once dry apply  a coat of water with a brush
When this is stiff use old sanding disc to smear this surface around

Tips:

Use small flexible diamond files to sand whiting as sand paper quickly clogs up
Use the folded  and glues sand paper squares to get into the corners and edges.
(Let the glue get tacky before folding over the sand paper)

Tapered post

Rick, Chris, Jimmy MacLean, Miles, Paul

Paul had a dead blow hammer with a loose fitting of the handle.
To fix a hammer with a loose head, remove the handle, drill a few small holes in the wood of the part of the handle that fits inside the business end, apply Chair Doctor glue, which swells the wood, and drive the handle back in place.

Paul had a hexagonal tapered post for a hall tree (for hanging clothing) and needed to find the center of the top of the post so as to install the finial.

Leo demonstrated a way to line the post up and get the center and then use a square block with a predrilled hole lined up with the top of the post to drill down through the post.

Leo went through the process of Gold leafing again.

Gesso has to be applied in many layers followed by bole and then ochre and once dry, the surface is wet and the gold applied with a guilders brush and burnished in.

In former days mercury was used by guilders to handle gold. As well hatters used it.
Since it was poison, these trades had a short life expectancy.
Hence "Mad as a Hatter"

Sheetrock, the plaster used in drywalling, is very hard once dry.

In measuring substances for mixtures eg epoxies, tilting the container  sideways until the fluid level is at the bottom of one end and top of the other end gives you exactly half the volume.

Botttle tilted until fluid level is like in the picture.

Clothes Tree (Fine Woodworking)..a very pleasing project and of intermediate skill level..even I can do it!

This is a lovely project and very useful..make one one for every room in the house.

Plans are in Fine Woodworking Magazine

Start with a piece of wood about 72 inches tall..or shorter ..or taller!

It needs to be about 3.5 inches wide and 2 3/4 inches thick ,  so 12/4 stock would be needed.
or else laminate three or four boards to  make this.

Measure up and draw a hexagon with equal sides on the end of the stock.
(Helps to draw one on paper and transfer it to the end of the stock)
The angle of each corner would be 60 degrees for a uniform hexagon.

To draw out a hexagon; scribe a circle on paper using your compass
Take the radius length with a compass ( ie same setting that you did for the circle-don't change  the compass setting) and then scribe arcs of this distance around the circumference.; Should get a six sided results when you joint up all the points
Make sure all the sides are of equal width

Tilt the saw  table  to 30 degrees and raise the blade (Ripping blade)  to just over half the thickness of the stock
( Use a rip blade , as the cut is hefty)
It is a bit tricky at the end of the cut because of the length of the piece..an outfeed support would help

Run the stock through to cut the first facet
Flip it end for end and do the second cut.

Reverse the stock and do the same on the other side.

Properly done , carefully measured, you should have a uniform hexagonal shape.
(At this stage you could cut a section off one end to become the finial and drill the holes through the top and finial to accept a dowel so as to fit the finial on correctly at the end of the project. This  might be easier than trying to make the finial separately after you have tapered the post)

At the bottom, cut three dovetail grooves centered on  alternating facets to accommodate three arc legs. They need to be 1/2 inch or so deep : otherwise when you try to slide the legs into place, you might split the sides of these grooves. Use a 3/8 dovetail bit for this groove. A 3/4 groove ends up too much and splitting as you slide the legs into the grooves is possible.

Then taper the stock starting about 1/3 the way up from the bottom; do this on the jointer or with a hand plane: mark the tapers on the end of the stock so that the final width of each facet is about 13/16 or whatever you desire.

Then make three arc legs..draw a design on paper, glue it to your wood and band saw it out. Then refines the cut using a wooden spokeshave or sander or whatever works.

Cut the dovetail on the ends (same height /depth  as you used for the grooves)
I used a router table for this step
Slide them into the grooves...take a skim off one side of your dovetail to make it fit right.
Be careful as it is easy to take off too much and then the fit is sloppy.
If the fit is too tight you run a risk of splitting the stem as you tap the legs into the dovetail grooves

Now you need to make a finial for the top.
Shape  a piece of wood and glue it onto the top using a dowel to center it.

Finally drill a few holes for the hanger pegs wherever you wish:  near the top works!
Now you can assemble it, finish it and start to brag about your skill!

Drill out the slots with a forstner bit first

Drill out the grooves with a Forstner 1/2 inch bit before going to the router table for the dovetail groove

Use a dovetail bit on the router table to complete the grooves

Completed stand less the finial top and  hanger pegs 

Stand by for updates!

February 10/14

Rick, Miles, Paul, J Hiltz and J macLean

We continued to work on the vase project.
Leo has developed a sophisticated jig mechanism to use a die grinder to carve out the designs on the vases while they are mounted on the lathe.

We are practicing gold leafing
Using Fish glue and whiting to place multiple coats on a wood base, sanding every layer to build up a Flat and smooth surface for gold leaf application practice.

The fish glue and whiting  is uses because when the surface is wetted, the glue melts a bit and the gold leaf grabs the surface nicely.

Whiting is limestone (CaCo3)
Could use medusa cement as well

Target makes a water based acrylic lacquer
Bole is clay and water
Mix Bole with glue (Rabbit glue)
Gesso is whiting and concrete bond
Use 8-10 coats
Then add the bole in several coats
Sand to 2000
Apply gold leaf

Use a plastic cap with a foam plug..wetted..to cover your spray gun tip when spraying the acrylic
This prevents the acrylic from drying on the nozzle

Glueing tips

Tips:

Glueing up a large panel:

Lay 2 strips of flat, planed wood on the surface on which you are working
Level these using an accurate level
Place the finish planed strips which you are glueing on the boards
Glue up 3 to 5 pieces at a time
Place 5 or 6 more strips  on back of these (NO GLUE)
Clamp this assembly

Continue adding strips, glueing several and using several more  UNGLUED strips to do the clamp-up

This results in aa level surface with no  "wind ",  requiring less planing/sanding

Assembling a table, desk etc

Using fish or hide glue makes glue-up easier as it acts as a lubricant and is less likely to grab : you can adjust the members more easily and steaming the joint will let you correct a mistake in alignment.

Glue up one side /section of a large piece at a time
Dry assemble  the rest for clamping, keeping everything straight and aligned properly
Then glue up another section

Guilders use rabbit glue for gold leafing

Instant glue(Cyanoacrylates):  you can leave the cap off or set it loosely on the bottle: the glue doesn't harden in the bottle.

Definitions:

Bole- a smooth clay/water mixture: applied i n layers over a surface in preparation for gold leafing. Use this past mixture and mix it with Rabbit skin glue to get the best surface for gold leafing.

Whiting-Limestone (calcium carbonate) : mix with fish or hide glue and apply several layers to surface to create a hard sooth surface; sand between each application

Medussa cement can be used in stead of limestone

Gesso-a hard compound of plaster of Paris or whiting in glue(Rabbit)  used in sculpture or as a base for gilding or painting on wood.

Guilders brush-picks up gold leaf by static electricity

Target acrylic--a water based acrylic lacquer: excellent to spray on.
(Cover the nozzle of the spray gun with a plastic cap foam filled and dampened to prevent the nozzle from hardening over.)

Ochre-a coloured clay to make Bole

Agate-stone used to smooth on the gold leaf

Fibonacci numbers or Fibonacci sequence are the numbers in the following integer sequence:

or (often, in modern usage):

.

Link

By definition, the first two numbers in the Fibonacci sequence are either 1 and 1, or 0 and 1, depending on the chosen starting point of the sequence, and each subsequent number is the sum of the previous two.

Golden Ratio

In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0,

where the Greek letter phi ( or ) represents the golden ratio. Its value is: