Splinters

 

November 1996

Vol.11 /Issue 11           Tennessee Valley Woodworkers            Editor, Richard Gullev

 

Apologies

It seems like a long time since the last edition of Splinters. October was a bad month for this newsletter. As much as I would like to blame the mail for late delivery, I’m afraid it was me that delivered late. I had the letter ready to mail Wednesday nite before the meeting but, if my wife had not asked me Saturday morning when I was going to mail it, you probably would still be waiting for it.

And then there’s the matter of the ‘updated’ membership list. Even I don’t know what happened that led to that jumble of data gone bad. Probably the results of an ill fated sort (of sorts).

At any rate, the best I can do is to try to do better. This month’s newsletter features another attempt at the membership list, minutes from meeting last, and hopefully, on-time delivery. That last one is going to be the hardest because, according to my computer it’s November 12, 1996 at 9:37 PM. Let’s get crackin’.

 

Then and There

Thank’s to Ross for these highlights of the October meeting.

Attendance was somewhat smaller than usual though we have a new visitor, Jeremy Dunn. A note was read from Lloyd Ackerman thanking the club for the gift to the American Cancer Society in the name of Jean Ackerman.

The Christmas party was scheduled for December the 7”’ with the 14”’ as an alternate.

Nominations for next year’s officers include:

Doyle McConnell, President; Harold Hewgley, Vice-President; Henry Davis, Treasurer; Richard GulIey, Secretary &Splinters editor; and Jack Townsend, Publicity. Nominations will be accepted and elections held at the November meeting.

Extended discussion was held regarding the proposed furniture building project. (There will be more about this new project later in this issue.)

Skip Baker presented an outstanding program about his construction methods for five different stringed musical instruments. He discussed a variety of learning experiences and experimental approaches to solving the structural, design, finishing, and tonal quality problems. His mandolin, mandola, dulcimer were beautiful instruments in visual and tonal quality.

By Ross Roepke

 

Here and Now

This month Tom Bailey will be with us to discuss his work with the Tennessee Valley Aerospace Region. Recently retired, one of Mr. Bailey’s last projects dealt with helping the wood products industries in our region deal with their waste materials problem. Through networking and the use of new technologies, the goal was to reduce waste products and or turn them into marketable products.

Come and join in the discussion and maybe we can put some of these ideas into practice on a smaller scale to better utilize our waste materials.

 

Long Ago and Far Away

It seems like ten years ago that I started the ‘Ten Years Ago This Month’ article but, with just two more to go, I think I’ll make it to the end.

November of 1986 was abuzz with Toys for Tots. Of great interest was a tool survey among the club membership. What tools are your favorites and what tools wouldn’t be yours if you had it to do over. I think I’d be interested in hearing those replies again.

Only one to go now!

An Update From Ross

At last month’s meeting we discussed a club project where each member would build a piece to be included in a club sponsored show at selected locations in our area. The project committee met October the 29”’ to discuss guidelines and make plans. The goals are to encourage member participation, to improve member’s woodworking skills, and to gain club recognition in the communities represented. A broad range of woodworking types are to be shown that reflect the club’s diverse range of talent and to encourage member participation. New pieces are encouraged but recently completed projects are acceptable. Multiple pieces may be submitted. Showings will be planned for next May.

For planning purposes, members that are interested in participating should fill out the form included in this month’s newsletter. Please submit the form as soon as you can to:

Tom Cowan

4085 Williams Cove Road

Winchester, TN 37398

We also need your ideas for a project name for this club project.

By Ross Roepke

 

News from the Net

I haven’t had a chance to do a lot of surfing this past month (in fact the ol’ surfboard’s suffering from severe neglect). I do have.a few unpublished goodies I’ve been holding back for just such an occasion. Enjoy!

 

For you folks that enjoyed Skip’s program you might want to visit this site:

http://www.connix.corn/~sjguitar. The Guitar Building and The Rec.Music.Makers.Builders FAQs

are online. (For those new to the net, I will de­code that if you’‘re interested)

 

The Ways of Wax Paper

It used to be whenever you took a brown bag lunch to school or work, your sandwiches were

wrapped in wax paper. Then came along the baggies and wax paper is no longer in favor.

Well, there are still some great uses for wax paper. You can use it to shine up your countertops. If you rub a piece of wax paper inside a skillet or iron pot it will leave a thin film around them to keep them from rusting. If you have ice cube trays sticking to your freezer, put down a piece of wax paper under them and they will no longer stick. If you wrap a piece of it on your mop with a rubber band and rub it on your floor, it will leave a nice shine.

There are also some workshop uses for wax paper. Put down a piece under furniture while finishing them and the paint won’t stick to them. Use the wax paper to lubricate your auto antennae. It is also great to use it on your table saw bench. Wood will just glide over the table easier.

 

(Hope it ‘s not too early to pass along this holiday tip)

Picking a Fresh Christmas Tree

During the joyous Yuletide season, it would be a shame to suffer a house fire.. .especially if you brought the fire hazard into your house. A dry Christmas tree is a fire waiting to happen.

First, you want to pick out a fresh tree. After all, the trees on a lot could have been cut weeks before and sitting outside or in a warehouse for a while. They could be pretty well dried out.

There are several ways to test the tree for freshness. The “flex-test” involves grabbing a small branch in your hand and bending it back and forth. The too-dry tree will not have flexible branches and might break off in your hand. Don’t grab a very large branch or the owner of the tree lot may want to break your arm for breaking the tree.

The “whole-test” involves picking the tree up by the main trunk and then whacking it sharply down against the ground. If a shower of needles fall off the tree, move on to another one.

My favorite test is the “scratch-test”. It requires no breaking or lifting. You just reach into the main trunk and scratch the bark with your thumbnail. The fresh tree will expose a green area that is moist under the bark.

When you get the tree home, saw off about a quarter inch from the bottom of the trunk. This removes any caked over sap and opens fresh pores. Put the trunk into a container of water. The tree will drink so you most refill the container regularly.

When it’s time to bring the tree in, here’s a magic formula to help keep the tree fresh. Into a gallon of hot water, add 4 tbs. of horticultural iron powder, available at nursery stores. Then put in 4 tsp. of liquid laundry bleach. Next, pour in 2 cups of Karo crystal clear corn syrup. After installing the tree in the stand, pour this stuff into the stand reservoir. If you have any left over, use it daily as the tree drinks the mix.

After the formula is all gone, keep the stand filled with warm water. Don’t set the tree up where it’s near any source of fire. Also, avoid putting it in the path of hot air from the heating system as this speeds the drying out process. Decorate with the tiny lights that don’t heat up very much.

Maybe that will keep the tree fresh until Valentine’s Day.. .but the sooner the tree is removed after Christmas, the better.

-MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

Making Your Own Oil Stain

By Sal Marino

 

Step By Step Instructions For Making Your Own Quality Oil Stain

 

Sometimes it is impossible to find a stain that is the exact color you need. This is especially true if you are building a piece of furniture and want to match the color to an existing piece. No matter how many colors stain manufactures offer, these companies will never be able to supply us with the infinite number of color combinations needed to suit every job. When I ran into this problem, I always remember saying to myself, “If I only knew what was in this stain, I could make it myself’. Over the years through research and a lot of experimentation, I have come up with an excellent home brewed pigmented oil stain which I would like to share with you.

Most commercial pigmented oil stains contain a few basic ingredients. First I will list each of these ingredients and give you a brief description of what purpose each serves in the

make up of the stain.

 

1 .Pigment (Color) The pigment is what actually gives the stain its particular color. Toady most pigments are synthetic finely ground powders. Years ago artists and cabinet makers made their own pigments by drying and then grinding natural materials. For example: to make a red pigment, an artist would take red rose petals, let them dry out completely and then grind the petals to a fine red powder.

2.Vehicle. Something needs to be added to the pigment in order to carry it onto the workpiece and distribute it evenly across the surface. If you were to apply a dry powder, it would be impossible to evenly apply it. The vehicle most commonly used in an oil stain is some type of petroleum based solvent. In many cases this is a mineral spirits.

3 .Binder. If the stain just consisted of pigment and vehicle, it will not work very well. You see because the vehicle is a solvent it will evaporate shortly after the stain has been applied to the surface. When that happens, the pigment will return to its powered form and just blow off the surface. Therefore, we need to add something to the stain formula to hold the pigment in the pores and on the surface of the wood after the vehicle has evaporated. An oil is usually used to accomplish this task. Most commercial manufactures use linseed oil, however some use tung oil and market their stain as a tung oil stain. Linseed oil will never evaporate, thus it will hold the powdered pigment in place. Also, because linseed oil is thicker than a solvent, it will add more body to the stain.

4.Drier. Last, stain manufactures add a drying agent to the formula to help it dry quicker. Usually this is some type of metallic drier like cobalt. This is sold commercially under the name Japan drier. It can be purchased in art supply stores, some paint stores and some mail order woodworking supply houses.

 

The following formula should yield about 1 quart of oil stain. You do not need to add Japan drier to this formula because the Japan color and boiled linseed oil contain drier. If you want the stain to dry a little quicker, you can add some

additional Japan drier, but no more than ½ounce. If you add too much drier, the stain will not work properly.

 

FORMULA

1.Vehicle. Quart of mineral spirits or pure gum turpentine. This will be your vehicle that will carry the pigment onto the surface. Either of the two solvents will work well, but if you want to reduce the odor of the stain, use mineral spirits. 2.Binder. 7 Ounces of boiled linseed oil. Boiled linseed oil will be your binder to help keep the pigment in the pores and on the surface of the wood and also add body to the stain. Use boiled linseed not raw linseed oil. Boiled linseed oil has Japan drier added to it and will help the stain dry quicker. Raw linseed oil will never dry. 3.Pigment Max. of 4 ounces of Japan color(s). Japan colors are very similar to the oil paints that artists use to paint pictures (the type that are sold in tubes in art supply stores). The main difference between artists oil paints and Japan colors is that Japan colors have driers added to it. Japan colors are also finely ground pigments suspended in a linseed oil base. However, Japan colors are too thick to use as a stain directly out of the can. They are available in many colors including earth tones that will match the natural colors of many woods, and are also available in brilliant colors like reds, greens, yellows and more. Any of these colors can be intermixed, but you should not use more than a total of 4 ounces of Japan colors to the formula. Adding more Japan color will start to make the stain too thick and it will be hard to apply.

Remember, the Japan color and boiled linseed oil already contain driers, therefore you do not need to add any Japan drier. However, if the stain is not drying properly, or not quick enough, you can add some Japan drier, but NO MORE THAN ‘A Ounce.

Sal Marino is a woodworker and a finishing expert from New York. He works for Constantine’s. He teaches woodworking classes at Constantine’s,  offers private instruction, lectures around the United States and is a finishing consultant to many woodworking and restoration companies. He is also the author of numerous woodworking articles.

Sand Our Sawdust Power sanding is a fast way to get any

sanding done. Be careful because it could chew up your work due to it’s belt speed. There are three basic types of power sanders that are easily available. A circular sander is ideal for removing paint or sanding off edges. You don’t want to use this one for sanding a large surface because it will cause swirl marks on the surface. The belt sander is great for fast sanding on a larger surface. It can get a wall done in no time at all. You need to be extra careful when using it because of its sanding speed. The third type of power sander is called a palm or finishing sander. This sander is the best for fine sanding or finishing up any project. With the right sander and the right grit of sandpaper, you can end up with a great looking job and not just a bunch of sawdust.

 

Sweeping Up

It’s time to wrap up another Splinters. This issue has been put together rather rapidly so I hope the errors aren’t gross (more than 144).

Don’t forget third Tuesday at Duck River Electric. The Tennessee Valley Woodworkers will be getting together for another great meeting. ‘Til the I’ll leave you with this:

My doctor would never operate unless it was absolutely necessary. No, really, he’s just that kind of guy. If he doesn’t need the money, he won’t lay a hand on you.

Watch out for SPLINTER’S.

 

 

Tennessee Valley Woodworkers

 

Name:

 

Address:

 

City/Post Office:

 

Phone Number:

 

Number of items you plan to exhibit: ______________

 

Please provide a brief description of your project(s): (You are asked for this information so that the committee can plan the physical arrangements for the exhibit. You may choose at any time to change your mind. If you do, please turn in a replacement form. If you plan more than one item, please describe each.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated completion date:

 

Special display needs:

 

Exhibit support: We hope- to have someone from the dub present at the exhibit at times to answer questions about the exhibit and the club. It will be an excellent opportunity to meet people in your community, to help recruit people for the club, and to add your personal touch to the exhibit. Put a check mark here if you are willing to participate in this way.

 

 

Name for the exhibit: We are looking for a good name to use in advertising and publications. It needs to capture and keep a listener’s attention. If you have an idea for a name, please write it here.

 

 

 

 

Extra forms are available from the committee. Please turn in your completed forms as soon as possible to Tom Cowan.