Thread: My first project

Originally Posted by ozwinner

Very nice indeed.

Pity you couldnt orinetate the table top grain with the floor boards.

Al

Hmmm, looks like Pete may have to tear up and relay his floor :eek: .

Pete,
if you sprayed it with lacquer and got water in the finish coat it's possible to get it out without stripping it all back. Too late now, but it may have saved you a lot of uneccesary sanding.

Mick

Hello Mick,

Would be keen to know how, even if its just for the intellectual benefit (as I do not plan on making the error again!).

Can you point me in the right direction re info please?

Congrats on a sucessful 1st project, very nice.

Pete,
if you've got moisture trapped in lacquer (milky white "bloom" or loss of gloss) it's a pretty simple fix. If you're in a cold area you will need to wait till it's nice and warm. You may need to put the surface under some warming lamps for a while, or warm it in some other way. Once the surface is warm spray it with thinners. The thinners will melt the lacquer and allow the trapped moisture to dissipate. In really bad cases you may need to repeat.

Also when applying any finsh it's important not to do it when you a have low temp/high humidity situation as you will get trapped moisture with resultant bloom or flattening of the gloss. This is especially important with fasr drying finishes like lacquer. Also when spraying a finish the expanding air will drop the temperature of the finish by several degrees.

If people are really interested I've got some tables somewhere for calculating dew points to enable safe spraying. This is vitally important when spraying steel or aluminium boats as the paint will literally fall off. You will need an accurate way of measuring temperature and relative humidity. We used to use a dry bulb thermometer but you can get digital thermometer/hygrometer combinations now that are relatively inexpensive (about $40) I'm not sure that the hygrometer that work on a hair (like the ones Carbatec et al sell for fit ups) are accurate enough, but I guess you could just allow a bigger margin.

Mick

Nice choice in timber and great job.

Very informative Mick, thanks.

Thanks Mick

Great first effort, good to see more people putting their work up for critique, and also the constructive comments that are posted. As BobR says, you now have a licence to buy more tools, wood etc. Look forward to seeing more of your work.

Originally Posted by journeyman Mick

I'm not sure that the hygrometer that work on a hair (like the ones Carbatec et al sell for fit ups) are accurate enough, but I guess you could just allow a bigger margin.

Mick

Human hair hygrometers are used in scientific applications, so can be accurate. Not sure about the CT ones, but they should be OK I think. Alternatively, you can buy a wet& dry bulb combination and a little slide rule to give you the relative humidity. Selby Scientific used to carry them.

We had a look at someTasmania Blackwood pieces at the Brisbane wood show from Wild Wood Gallery in Tasmania. It is nice to see what it looks like when finished in a nice piece of furniture. I was considering using Mebau but I think I prefer the colour of the blackwood now Ive seen it.

First woodworking project ???!!! Dovetails???!!!

You must be some kind of natural. Congratulations

borrowed a mates dovetailing jig, so not that special. Natural - no, just persistent!!!

Looks fantastic, the timber is very nice as is the construction.

The table seems quite big and I suspect the top may expand and contract with seasonal changes, how did you fit it to the frame ?

Originally Posted by amgsir

borrowed a mates dovetailing jig, so not that special. Natural - no, just persistent!!!

Aaahh, a jig: should've known. I await a pic of your first hand-cut dovetails. I'll show you mine if you show me yours .

That's a very nice piece for a first project. You seem to have incorporated a lot of different jointing processes and it must have been a challenge.
What are the dimensions?

Huh. This is my first project.