Thread: I need some opinions please

Originally Posted by avengers63

In accordance with popular opinion, I decided to go with the redwood. It's very convenient that I wanted to use the redwood anyway, but this legitimizes it. I glued up the two halves, planed it down, sanded it up to 220, and hit it with sanding sealer.

Aaaaaaaannnnd...... WOW did that figure and color explode! The piece as it is now is 21"/53.3cm long by 7 7/8"/20cm wide.





So here's the plan:

I'll be making two boxes from this at the same time. We all know that the time spent setting up the jigs and tools is WAY longer than the time spent using them. I can easily knock out two just as fast as I can one. The redwood will be split down the middle, and each box will have one half as an inset panel lid.

One carcass will be white limba, the other will be longhi. The olive-white limba and earthy yellow longhi will both provide a striking contrast with the redwood without a competing grain pattern to distract from it. Both will be 5/16"/8mm thick.

The corners will be dovetailed. I'm really itching to put that jig to good use. Due to the lack of thickness of the sides, mitering the corners would prove difficult. Then again, a rabbit groove in a butt joint would be a LOT easier. I'll have to think about this for a bit. It's a good thing I won't get to that point until the weekend. Hmmmmm...

It will have a plywood bottom. Since I HATE the looks of what's available to me, it'll be getting a veneer - probably a neutral maple. I'm considering lining the inside with a matching veneer, but I'm not all the way there yet. I don't need to have yet another wood tone, but the bottom would look a bit out of place if it were the only place the maple were seen. I suppose I could always line the bottom (not the sides) with velvet or some similar item.

The lid will be held in place with 4 small "posts" that will be in the corners. They'll be made from catcass cutoffs. If I veneer the inside, these will help hide any imperfections in the corners. Camoflague is a good thing.

The redwood panels will be getting a brush-on poly finish buffed out shiny. I'm thinking about an oil for the remainder, or maybe a light rub-on poly buffed matte with steel wool. I have a bit to finalize that one as well.

It's sure to be a beauty. Will the second box be the same as the first, or different?

With the exception of the wood selection, they'll be exactly the same. Almost like companion pieces or variation on a theme.

On a side note... DANG redwood is thirsty! It absolutely drank the sanding sealer. When I brushed it on, by the time I got to the other end of the piece, the frst end had been completely absorbed. That probably took all of 10 seconds! I immediately put on a second coat. Then a third. I finally saw some moisture left on the surface after that, so I stopped with three. Still... wow.

Mate, that looks sensational. I'm not surprised by hows thirsty it is - wood with wild grain pattern like that ends up showing a lot of what is effectively end grain on the surface. The similarly figured piece I used for my box took a lot of effort to get a consistent finish, because some areas absorbed the finish faster than others, giving a sort of blotchy look with some patches matt and others satin. Just keep feeding it!

Cheers

Tony

I got the longhi all cut & planed. I ran the limba through the planer again, just to be sure that they're all the exact same. Both got sanded up to 150. The redwood got a taste of some 220 and was hit with a second coat of sanding sealer. If I get into the shop tonight, I'll be routing the grooves for the lid & bottom.

I reallywant to dovetail the corners. But... with the grooves necessary, I'm not sure if I want to chisel out the corners to square it all up. Then again, I gotta learn it all sometime.

Alright, now I have an issue. The sanding sealer has been applied to the redwood, let dry for +/- 20 hours, sanded with 220 grit, and had the residue/dust wiped clean with mineral spirits. A full day later I find tacky wet lines along some of the grain and along all four edges. I think I have sap.

If that's what it is, how will this effect the finish? My only two options right now are lacquer and poly.

If it isn't sap, what would be your best guess as to what it is, and what to do about it?

I want to put a finish on everything before assembly, just to make things easier. I'd rather use poly on the lid just because it dries to a usable hardness a LOT faster than lacquer. But, if lacquer is better with sap (or whatever else it might be), lacquer it is.

Tell me what to do, folks.