Thread: Long elm bench

Recut the mortices a tad larger, glue on contrasting veneers to the tennons

Depending on how badly the mortises are frayed, you could drive in cross-grained Elm wedges around the edges to take up any slack.

For locking purposes, it's usual to drive wedges (similar timber or contrasting) into the tennons to expand them.

Elm is good loking wood. Your joins look good at a distance anyway.

Thanks folks. I took another look today and it isn't nearly as bad as I may have made out. I think I may just chamfer the edges slightly and make sure the tenon blends into that as well.

Looks fantastic Afro.

I think two contracting (dark) wedges in each tenon would be a great finishing touch. About a quarter of the way in on each side, IMO.

Tex

I don't think that I can bear to look at it any more, it's dreadful!

Wish I had the courage to tackle something like that. What did you pay for the pack of slabs? You can pm me if you are shy.

Good effort Afro. Tapping in wedges is a woodworking pleasure in my humble opinion. It may not be so, but the end I see looks a bit unstable, some thought for the little kids (and big kids) may be required.

Thanks for the feedback folks.

springwater / TexB: I think I may just try my hand at wedging those tenons in (I can't miss out on a "woodworking pleasure"!) It's pretty secure as it is so I may need to widen the mortise slightly at the opening. Is it always the practice to drill a small hole at the bottom of the kerf in the tenon?

Prozac, the timber was reasonably priced although not all the slabs are that good. Most of the wider ones have surface checking and some have a nice bit split through the middle. Apparently they weren't dried very well which is really really unfortunate. There is still plenty of usable wood for the type of things I'm making though.

So ... I've applied two coats of minwax wipe-on poly today. I've never used this before so I started with the underside of the bench first. It's darkened the timber quite a lot! Is that normal?

Not too sure what to think of it. What do you folk think?




Should I apply a sanding sealer (diluted shelac?) to the top side before putting on the poly. Would that help to keep it a little lighter or does the darker colour work for you?

Thanks,
Af.

P.S. Springwater, no kids (little/big or otherwise) are going anywhere near this when it's finished. I'm going to lock it up in a cupboard so no-one can damage it!

springwater / TexB: I think I may just try my hand at wedging those tenons in (I can't miss out on a "woodworking pleasure"!) It's pretty secure as it is so I may need to widen the mortise slightly at the opening. Is it always the practice to drill a small hole at the bottom of the kerf in the tenon?

I think I'll leave the answer to those more qualified, while I like to think I can rely on a common sense reach sometimes I find myself tacking for some unknown reason. All I know is that everything takes time and most often the slowest gets there first as in the hare versus tortoise/patience is a virtue thing, you know?

P.S. Springwater, no kids (little/big or otherwise) are going anywhere near this when it's finished. I'm going to lock it up in a cupboard so no-one can damage it!

What, so your not going to do the Watusi on it first?

That is a super slab Afro and will look really great when finished.
On the subject of finishing I might make a couple of points:

# Sealer will probably end up making not a lot of difference to the colour either way when the piece is finally finished.

# I believe Sealer is a great idea to use anyway. Many of the products used to finish timber will soak into the grain, even after they have apparently set.
This makes for an uneven finish and the only "cure'" is to use several coats with sanding in between coats.

I have a small table here that I made while in high school nearly 50 years ago. It was finished with 2 pack Estapol, a reasonably new product then. The timber is Pacific Maple, which is fairly porous. Over the years the finish soaked into the grain and now it looks bloody awful.

At about the same time we made a couple of single beds at home. One of theses is still in use and the same thing has happened with the Estapol finish in that.

Originally Posted by springwater

What, so your not going to do the Watusi on it first?

I assume you mean the dance. If I do (the dance or otherwise ), I won't be posting a video here that's for sure!

I put on a third coat of the minwax poly tonight and I'm actually begining to like the look of it. I read recently that the satin finish has some "particles" in it that help reduce the glossy look. This can also make the finish a little darker and sometimes cloudy.

I am wondering what other people's experiences with this is?

Originally Posted by artme

That is a super slab Afro and will look really great when finished.

Thanks for the feedback Artme.

# I believe Sealer is a great idea to use anyway. Many of the products used to finish timber will soak into the grain, even after they have apparently set.
This makes for an uneven finish and the only "cure'" is to use several coats with sanding in between coats.

This is why I love this forum! Thanks for the advice. I made up a fresh batch of shelac on the weekend. Diluting that 1:1 with meth should create a good sealer right or should I dilute it further?

Cheers,
Af.

Originally Posted by Afro Boy

I assume you mean the dance. If I do (the dance or otherwise ), I won't be posting a video here that's for sure!

Yeah...the dance, just to test the stability. Here's a little tuition
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhKO4f784c&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube - wednesday watusi dance[/ame]

G'day again Afro. That should be good.