Thread: I’m a convert!

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

NO, NO, NO, NO ... NO. You have totally got the wording wrong, Fletty; perhaps something like:

"... When quoting for this job I omitted to include a foot adjuster and, as everyone knows well, when a lectern rocks on an uneven floor the noise is amplified through the microphone and sounds like the drum corps of a marching band. So I drilled a couple of pilot holes for position, merged them into on larger hole, added brass inserts and voila - a nicely presented foot adjuster.

I just would not have felt right having a piece with a substandard feature leave my workshop, and I will not charge the client for this enhancement..."

Graeme, that marketing course you did is REALLY starting to pay off!
Im glad you didn’t do the politics module though. If you had done that, you would have said all of those wonderful things ...... but not install the leveller?

May I introduce to you THERMAL REACTIVATION OF PVA GLUE.
This is a technique I was first shown right here on the forum by ( I think) AlekS but apologies to whoever if not Alek?
the recesses on the tabletop are for leather covered ply inserts. To make these inserts I cut plywood panels 2mm less than the size of the recess. Cut a piece of leather at least 20mm bigger in each direction and then coated both with normal PVA wood glue.

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WHEN THE GLUE HAS FULLY DRIED ON BOTH PIECES centre the leather on to the ply panel with the glue faces together. As the glue is dry, the pieces are easy to align. Then lay a dry tea towel on top and with an iron set on HOT and DRY, start ironing from the centre moving to the outside edges to smooth the leather. The heat of the iron REACTIVATES the PVA glue and both pieces become firmly bonded when they cool which happens very quickly!

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Trim the corners with simple but accurate cuts in line with both edges..

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Stand the panel on edge (I use the vise) and with the tea towel in place, run iron across the face and then roll over and iron the leather on to the edges

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If height is critical, as it is here, trim off the excess in line with the back face or, if height not critical, iron the excess on to the back face as well

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On this piece, there are 2 timber strips that will support the fixed book stand so I heavily chamfered the bottom edge which allowed me to put the 3 leather covered panels in place and when I tapped in the 2 chamfered timber strips, that tightened them all up!

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Im pretty happy with today’s progress because I had thought I was going to have to drive to a leather supplier tomorrow but I remembered that I had this piece and was surprised that I had enough to do the job. There is a piece left for the inset panel in the book stand but it is a bit smaller than needed so I’m going to have to do something ‘clever’?

Originally Posted by fletty

Thanks Mick, yes it is beautiful timber but I’m not game to take a moisture reading because I don’t know what I would do if it was too green. The lectern has to be made from the timber from this tree and the lectern is already taking too long? I’ve designed it so that none of the FRG is restrained but only time will tell. I have developed a burning dislike however for the thug who milled it. IF he had milled it to 30 mm thick as requested it would definitely be dry by now!
PS, I’m happy to be the other pair of hands and I’ve been known to work for hearty food and fine wine?

14% so not too wet at all according to my moisture meter. Puzzling though on how it selectively develops cracks out of the same lump of timber when dressed. I haven't yet decided to use some epoxy or just ignore the cracks but Mrs P. does not seem to fussed and it is her chair. All work has now officially stopped due to the wet weather. I was bitten earlier in this project by a similar wet spell.

Fletty

That is an interesting technique. Do you have any concerns that your demonstrated prowess with that ironing machine ( now completely undeniable and out in the public arena) could lead to extra duties down the track and do you have a fallback position on that?

On a more sensible note, can the heat thing reactivate the glue down the track and allow re-positioning should it ever be necessary? I was not really thinking of this specific job, but more for different applications.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Fletty

That is an interesting technique. Do you have any concerns that your demonstrated prowess with that ironing machine ( now completely undeniable and out in the public arena) could lead to extra duties down the track and do you have a fallback position on that?

On a more sensible note, can the heat thing reactivate the glue down the track and allow re-positioning should it ever be necessary? I was not really thinking of this specific job, but more for different applications.

Regards
Paul

No Paul I really don’t have any concerns about ironing prowess now that I don’t have any more business shirts to iron BUT , if it is realised that the domestic iron has been used then I may have to rely on a few mates to remark that I have been “looking very well presented lately in my ironed work shirts”
I don’t know if there is a time limit on thermally reactivating PVA glue but I do know that the glue does age so maybe there is an upper limit?

In the final straight now. I’ve made the book stand whose height and slope replicate the lectern that this is to replace. In the attached photos the top itself is upside down but it will have another leather insert on the top and the dark stained face will point downwards so as not to distract the audience from the pearls of wisdom being delivered. I should be able to finish tomorrow for a possible Thursday delivery 🤞

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Alan, That looks so good sir!

Excellent work - as usual

How does the book stand attach to the top ?

Is the “open look” of the book rest a change in design?

Originally Posted by Lappa

Excellent work - as usual

How does the book stand attach to the top ?

Is the “open look” of the book rest a change in design?

I THINK that the top will be attached via screws through the lower of the 2 ply faces on the book stand and then the bottom fixing will be up through the timber strips between the leather panels on the table top. IF the book stand happily sits like that, I might make 2 more strips that can replace these 2 if they decide for some reason to remove the book stand?
Yes, it is a slight (?) change because the original design has a filler between the 2 uprights BUT, when I temporarily fitted 2 pieces of ply it closed off the centre panel of the table top too much? You might be able to see that the uprights have rebates machined in them to take the ply but now I’ll have to fill those rebates

Originally Posted by fletty

I’ve finally standardised on Bosch Blue cordless power tools, retired or given away all remaining non-Bosch cordless tools and chargers, and so I am NOT going to buy a cordless nailer from deWalt!

why do you "want" a cordless brad or pin nailer ??

you shed is fitted with a compressor? Get yourself a "proper" pneumatic nailer.
FRG is almost certainly too dense / too tough / too much of a bast@rd to accept either 23 ga or 21 ga pin nails anyways.


FWIW, my choice would be an 18 ga brad nailer

Originally Posted by fletty

In the final straight now. I’ve made the book stand whose height and slope replicate the lectern that this is to replace. In the attached photos the top itself is upside down but it will have another leather insert on the top and the dark stained face will point downwards so as not to distract the audience from the pearls of wisdom being delivered. I should be able to finish tomorrow for a possible Thursday delivery 爛

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curious
to stop any book or papers from sliding off the lectern, will you be relying on friction with the leather, or installing some 2 or 3 mm brass pins to to act as stops?

Originally Posted by ian

why do you "want" a cordless brad or pin nailer ??

you shed is fitted with a compressor? Get yourself a "proper" pneumatic nailer.
FRG is almost certainly too dense / too tough / too much of a bast@rd to accept either 23 ga or 21 ga pin nails anyways.


FWIW, my choice would be an 18 ga brad nailer

G’day Ian, I haven’t been following the Canadian COVID lockdown status but I do hope you are OK?
Nup, there’s no compressor in the shed! I love air tools but have never been prepared to put up with the din of a compressor to get air tool convenience and safety. I solved the pinning problem with the much more traditional tapered pin.

Originally Posted by ian

curious
to stop any book or papers from sliding off the lectern, will you be relying on friction with the leather, or installing some 2 or 3 mm brass pins to to act as stops?

Aha, watch this space!

Originally Posted by fletty

G’day Ian, I haven’t been following the Canadian COVID lockdown status but I do hope you are OK?

Canada's COVID "lockdown" is very much a situation of "live with Covid".
Locally, the Province of Alberta will later today decide whether to likely move to stage 3 of their reopening plan or remain in Stage 2.
FYI
Stage 1 is take-out only
Stage 2 is limited in-house dining, for people from the same family cohort.
Stage 3 is wider in-house dining, but no crowds at hockey matches, very limited numbers at gatherings, etc
Stage 4 and later Stages -- I'm not sure what the Stage 4 (and later) restrictions will look like and as of today who really cares.

Alberta's trigger to move up the Stage "ladder" is the number of cases hospitalised and the number of people in ICU.
Unfortunately for Alberta, while the numbers early last week looked promising to move to Stage 3 today (Monday), towards the end of the week the number of cases hospitalised has increased to very nearly the "designated capacity" of the health system. It has just been announced that the Province is NOT moving to Stage 3 today.


The "good news" is that Ontario and Quebec are much much worse, so in some sense Alberta is not too badly off.


The US-Canadian border remains closed, but of course US citizens can freely move through Canada to get to and from Alaska, and Canadian "snow birds" can fly to their vacation properties in the US and the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.
And as you might expect, the ability for US citizens to travel within Canada is abused and we still see at least one US registration plate most days.

BTW, while Canada's constitution has no s.92 "freedom to travel" provision, their Rights and Freedoms legislation prohibits the Canadian Federal Government imposing an interstate travel ban like that implemented in WA.