Vol.12 / Issue 1                          Tennessee Valley Woodworkers                             Editor, Richard Gulley                                     January 1997

I hope the new year is treating you well. If the year is only two weeks old why does it seem I’m at least two months behind. Must have something to do with carry-over.

I’ve got a feeling that the new year has great things in store for all you woodchuckers. We have a new set of officers eager to prove themselves worthy and a host of talent to draw from. How can we fail!

The exhibit project is well underway. Loyd sent me an article (which you’ll be seeing later)from a recent magazine telling of a club’s experience with a similar project.

This might be a good time to thank the people who contribute to the newsletter. This month Tom Gillard sent me two articles, one of which will probably be a series. Doyle also sent me news of an upcoming Powermatic tour that we’ve been invited to attend. It sure makes my job easier when folks sent me articles ready to put into Splinters. If you don’t have the means to send stuff by e-mail or on a disk, send it anyway ( handwritten or typed) and I’ll type it up. I still type mostly by the Bible method - Seek and ye shall find - so keep it short. I can also get pictures or cartoon type stuff scanned.

I’m not sure what this month’s program is about but if I find out before this is sent to the printer you’ll read about it in the box right below.

An article appeared in the January 97 issue of Woodshop News that relates somewhat to our club’s efforts to have an exhibit featuring projects from members of our club. The following are some excerpts from the article some of which were quoted at the December 17 club meeting:

Several of us came up with an idea: "Let’s put on a show! It would be easy. We would just rent a hall, put in our stuff and tell people to come see it." Though the idea drew a lot of blank stares at the time, it did indeed grow into a regular exhibition held every other year. More than 60 local woodworkers have provided pieces and the shows have drawn over 1,000 people. I’ve lost count of how many times an attendee said: "I had no idea that kind of work was being done right here in town!"

A lot of good contacts were made at these shows, a lot of good lessons were learned, and some of us even sold a few items …

Were these shows worth doing, were they all that easy to do, and will we continue to do them yet again? The answers are: Yes, they are worth doing; no, they aren’t that easy; and yes, we will definitely continue to do them.

In our experience, of all the reasons to put on an exhibition of woodworking items, making sales would be last on the list. We would be surprised, frankly, if more than a couple pieces of furniture found a new home by the end of the show. The only stuff that seems to sell with regularity are little woodcrafty item under $20. … Instead, we exhibit our work to expose the people of our community to what we are doing and how we do it. We are creating and opportunity for them to meet us, and to establish a foundation for future interactions.

The following guidelines evolved: The item must not be made from a kit, must be built primarily from wood, must have been made locally, and should be work for which excuses wouldn’t be necessary.

We include these excerpts in Splinters to point out the value that others have seen in the exhibition process.

by Tom Gillard Jr.

Happy New Year to everyone! Richard wanted me to give a report of my travels last month that kept me from the December meeting.

This is all hard to explain and can get confusing if I let it, but I’ll try not to. Last January a friend of ours, Matt, opened a storefront called ‘Knowhere’, on Hilton Head Island, SC. In order to support the remodeling work around the store and to support other projects that were planned, the ‘Knowhere Shop’ was opened about three month later. John is the keeper of the shop and has been astounded by the volume of work that has come through the shop. He has someone there to help him, Damian, when the workload gets to be to great, but this time the size of the project and the time frame for completion was to much for the two of them. This is where I come in. They for some reason thought of me. I got a call on Sunday from John wanting me to come to Hilton Head to help them. After a few questions I found out what the project would be.

One of the items that Matt had been using in the store as a room divider and a storage unit was a simple idea from John called the cube. They are 12"x24"x24",having an open side with a shelf in it, made from Russian Birch plywood. John has been able to keep up with the demand for these cubes up to now. His largest production run, to this point, has been 50.

Matt is preparing to open another "Knowhere Store" in Boston the second week of January, and part of the floor plan included cubes. There were to be 205 cubes incorporated into the layout of this space. John didn’t get the official word about the numbers until the week of December 8^th. The panic started, as he had to start buying the materials for this large order. I arrived there on December 17^th ready to make cubes.

The shop is a 3000 sq. ft. building with about 1800 sq. ft. being the actual shop. The shop had the usual equipment in it, Sears 10" table saw, DeWalt chop saw, routers of all makes and horsepower, but the most dominate tool in the shop was the main production table saw. I have never seen a saw like this. It is a Mini Max, SCMI Machinery Division, S 300 W Sliding Table Saw with Scoring. There was nothing mini about this saw. It has a 6.6 hp 3 Phase 230 volt motor with a ½ hp scoring motor. The slide moves 100", which means you can rip a full sheet of 8 foot plywood with no problem. The key to this saw was in getting the fence system square to the blade, as it is with all saws. The whole saw takes up a space, with room to move around it, of 20’ x 20’.

John received the ‘units’ of plywood on the Monday before I got there and started cutting pieces. A ‘unit’ of Russian Birch plywood is 1525mmX1525mmX18mm, or 60"x 60"x 3/4". It comes 22 sheets to a unit, $30 per sheet, and weighs around 1500 pounds. He buys the plywood from McEwen Lumber which has an outlet in Nashville.

I got to the shop early afternoon on Tuesday. John cut pieces for the cubes until Friday night, then he was able to help Damian and I with the routing, drilling and sanding on all the pieces. By Sunday the assembly process had started and after another 12 hour day there were 94 cubes assembled in the storage room. John was hoping to start spraying by Monday afternoon and to be finished with this by late Tuesday.

I left on an early flight Monday morning tired and amazed what a blur the week had been. Now that that is over John and Damian can look forward to their next challenge, 400+ cubes that will be going to Palo Alto, Ca. In about four months.

I’ll try to be at the next meeting and bring a sample of the plywood for all to look at. See you then. Tom

Oak

The Greeks and Romans used oak to construct their seagoing vessels because of its strength, toughness, and durability. The Saxons in England fattened their hogs with acorns, and ground the acorn for use as a seasoning. During this same period, landowners used the acorn as part of their daughters’ dowries. In Europe, many great halls and castles were paneled with oak wainscoting and almost all furniture there was made of oak.

Today, the oak provides food, tanbark for tanning leather, dyes, ink, even commercial cork.

Though there are 14 oak species of commercial importance grown in the U.S., they’re marketed either as red oak (Quercus rubra) or white oak (Quercus alba).

Red oak has a pinkish red cast to it, large pores (you can blow smoke through one end of piece of red oak and it will come out the other), and is quite hard.

White oak, on the other hank, is a tannish brown wood, has smaller pores, and is somewhat harder than red oak.

Both red and white oak are moderately stable before and after working, and both work well with hand and power tools. Because white oak contains an abundance of tylosis (a membrane that seals cells), it is waterproof.

Oak accepts finishes well. With built-up finishes, you may want to use a paste filler to fill the pores. This isn’t necessary with oil finishes.

With these woods, the list goes on and on. You can use them for furniture, flooring, interior trim, paneling, turning, carving, and woodenware. White oak has two other important applications. It’s highly prized as a material for making barrels and other watertight vessels, and it’s one of the best woods for steam-bending wooden furniture parts.

one of the most commonly available of all woods, oak falls into the medium price category, with white oak somewhat higher than red. You can purchase oak in several different forms: lumber, plywood, interior trim, flooring, turning blanks, and veneer.

Over 50 percent of the oak logged annually comes from the southern states. However, if you can get hold of some that’s been grown in the Appalachians or the northern states (it’s sold as northern oak), buy it. Because it grows more slowly than southern oak, it has a finer texture, more uniform color, and it works better.

I’ve been doing a little Internet Grazing lately and here’s one of the goodies I’ve found. The article will finish up this issue of Splinters so I’ll take this opportunity to say "See you third Tuesday night" and on behalf of our new treasurer "The reason they call them dues is because they are!" See Henry Davis with cash or good check. ;-)

$10.00 Individual - $15.00 Family

By Sal Marino

Cherry has been one of the most popular furniture woods for the past two hundred years. It is one of the easiest hardwoods to work with either hand, machine or power tools and has a nice smell when cut. Another reason for its popularity is that it darkens and develops a beautiful deep red patina over time.

When cherry is freshly cut, milled into boards and dried, it has a very light pinkish color. The color also varies, sometimes even within the same board. It is only after a number of years that it starts to develop its deep red color. Years ago, furniture makers sometimes tried to stain cherry to achieve the aged color immediately, but the majority was left unstained to darken naturally.

Then, about 50 years ago, cherry furniture became very popular and manufactures were building a great deal of it. One of the first problems the manufactures discovered was that when they tried to stain the cherry, it did not take stain very evenly. Instead of staining, they applied a toned finish. They found out that adding color to the lacquer or varnish instead of directly staining the cherry would somewhat eliminate the problem of an uneven color.

Regardless of the materials or technique used, staining cherry is still difficult. The highly figured swirl grain often seen in cherry is what makes it difficult to accept stain evenly. The grain density in this swirl figure varies from soft to hard, therefore the soft areas will soak up a stain while the hard areas will not make the stain penetrate well. The end result is a blotchy, uneven color. Even if you are successful in achieving a uniform deep red color, it will not last. As the cherry naturally ages, it will become darker and eventually, the color may be too dark due to the stain you applied and the natural darkening. This will happen more quickly especially if you use dye satins. The safest way to achieve a deep red natural cherry color without any chance of blotching or the wood becoming too dark is to let mother nature do her work. However, like many of us today, often I do not want to, or cannot wait for this to happen. Therefore, I have a couple of suggestions and finishing techniques you can try out.

Pigmented Stain With Polyurethane Finish.

When staining a wood like cherry that does not take stain evenly, it's best to use a stain that is heavy in pigment. Pigmented stains are more resistant to ultra violet light than dyes are and it is UV light from the sun that causes the cherry to darken with age. Therefore, the chance of the wood becoming too dark over time (due to the stain and the natural darkening process) is reduced. Also, if you use a pigmented stain, you will not have to worry about the hard and soft areas of the cherry accepting stain evenly, because a pigmented stain sits on the surface as opposed to penetrating like a dye, therefore it will give you more of a uniform color. The best type of pigmented stain for woods that don't take stain evenly is a gel stain. There are several good gel stains on the market, check your local supplier.

* Sand wood with 80 (coarse), 120 (medium) and 220 (fine) sandpaper.

* Apply gel stain by wiping it onto surface. Remove excess before stain starts to set up and become too hard to wipe down. Then, leave at least 12 hours to dry.

* Sealer Coat. Take some polyurethane and thin it down 50 percent with paint thinner or gum turpentine. This is a 1 to 1 ratio. Use this as a sealer and apply two coats letting each coat dry 6 to 8 hours between coats.

* Sand the sealer coats. After the second coat of sealer has dried thoroughly at least 12 hours, sand it very lightly using 320 grit sandpaper. Make sure you remove all the dust after you sand.

* Apply 2 to 3 coats of full strength polyurethane making sure to let each coat dry overnight and sanding lightly with 320 grit paper in between coats. If after applying 3 coats, the sheen does not look even, apply additional coats.

Satin Toned Lacquer Finish For Cherry Wood.

Applying a tinted topcoat or toned lacquer.

Adding color to the topcoat finish you are going to apply is another way to decrease the amount of sploching in cherry. In addition to adding color, you can also use a satin topcoat and rub it out after the last coat has cured. This will produce a finish that is not only more uniform in color but also in sheen. Use this method only if you do not wish to have a gloss finish.

There are a number of topcoats you can use.

If you want to use oil based varnish or polyurethane, you can tint any oil based finish with Japan Colors. Japan Colors can be purchased at any local art supply store or through mail order woodworking companies.

If you prefer spraying finishes, you can use nitrocellulose spraying lacquer and also tint with Japan Colors. When finishing small projects like boxes, clocks or musical instruments, you can purchase nitrocellulose spraying lacquer already tinted in aerosol cans. These are called toners and are available in many colors. You can purchase toners through wood finishing supply companies or from mail order woodworking supply companies.

* Sand wood with 80 (coarse), 120 (medium) and 220 (fine) sandpaper.

* Apply Sealer. If you are going to use an oil based varnish or polyurethane tinted with Japan Colors, take some of the un_tinted finish and reduce it 50 percent with mineral spirits or gum turpentine. Use this as a sealer and apply one coat. Let dry overnight. If you are going to use spraying lacquers, (either toner in aerosol cans or tinted lacquer), apply one coat of lacquer sanding sealer. Let dry two hours. Sanding sealer is also available from woodworking supply companies.

* Sand Sealer. After the sealer has dried, sand lightly with 320 grit paper and wipe off dust.

* Apply several coats of tinted finish One or two coats of tinted finish or toner should be enough to give you the color you need. Sand lightly between coats with 320 paper.

* Apply Satin Topcoats. Apply two to three coats of clear satin finish. If you are using varnish or polyurethane, make sure it is a good quality satin finish and that you stir the finish before applying. Spraying lacquers are also available in clear satin even the aerosol type. Make sure you sand lightly with 320 grit paper in between coats.

* Rub Out Finish. After applying the last coat of clear satin, let the finish dry completely depending on temperature, humidity, the amount of coats you have applied and how thick each coat was. This may take up to a few weeks, but usually 3 days to one week is good. It's always good to wait as long as you can before rubbing out the finish. Rubbing out the finish removes any little dust nibs trapped in the finish and also gives you a super smooth and fine surface. Use 600 grit silicon carbide wet or dry sandpaper (this is the black colored paper used for auto body repair) with rubbing oil or mineral oil to rub the finish. Apply some oil to the surface and sand with the grain. Periodically wipe off the surface to inspect the sheen. Low areas appear as shiny spots. Apply more oil and continue to sand until you achieve a uniform sheen. When you are done, clean the surface with a cloth LIGHTLY DAMPENED with some mineral spirits or turpentine.

* Apply a coat of high quality paste wax and buff it out after it has hazed over. I use Briwax. It is available in clear, light brown, dark brown, antique mahogany and other colors. If you are satisfied with the color after you are done, use the clear, if you wish to make the color a little darker, use one of the colored ones. Briwax and other products listed in this article can be purchased through:

Constantine's

2050 Eastchester Rd.

Bronx, New York 10461

Phone: 1 800 223 8087.

Fax: 1 800 253 WOOD

E_Mail: grd99@msn.com