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Hi Petere,

I'm far from an expert, but I recently built a hall table out of WA Marri, which also had many voids and sap lines.

I filled the voids with Wests Systems epoxy which I tinted black....

That depends on your definition of a chemical.

From Wikipedia:


Toxicity

Borax, sodium tetraborate decahydrate, is not acutely toxic.[19] Its LD50 (median lethal dose) score is tested at...

As Master Splinter says - the + and - signs indicate what will and won't be installed. The defaults are often good enough for most users.

Office 2000 is quite an old software package now, and...

Do you have a photo?

Cheers,
John

I love online backup solutions, and use them for myself and many of my customers, but whether it's a viable solution for you, and if so which service, depends on a few things:

1/ How much data...

I don't know anything about building a pool table, but what you're describing sounds similar to a torsion box, which is often used to build a dead flat table for assembling furniture. I think it...

I've had a PC for nearly 20 years, and have worked in IT for 10 of those. About 4 years ago I bought my first Mac and am now a great fan and have converted many friends and customers, but there are...

Hi Neil,

What do you intend to use it for?

Converting to a Mac, although relatively straightforward for most people who mostly use a computer for web browsing, emails and the occasional...

I've never tried it, but I've heard that some guys use a high-lift jack to get them up - you just need to work out a way of attaching the jack to the post through one of the holes.

Cheers,
John

That is truly spectacular. You should be very proud!

Cheers,
John

I just found a great article about wipe on varnishes, that explains the differences between oils, varnishes and blends in a clear way (as clear as it can be with such a confusing topic!).

The...

What a great stash of timber Corey!

I'm not an expert either, but if you want to just buy something simple that will result in a nice finish with little chance of stuffing it up, you can get a...

I've never thought to try accentuating the grain on Blackwood. I doubt it's necessary and I'm not really sure it would work well.

For a dining table, I'd personally go for a wiping varnish - easy...

It is a very beautiful timber when finished. A couple of things I've learned about it - it burns easily on the table saw, and some glues tend to make it turn a little green. Both can be cleaned up...

Hi Corey,

It all looks like Blackwood to me. In my experience, Blackwood does vary quite a bit from light brown to a reddish colour, and all of your boards fit in with bits of wood that have been...

Thanks Cam and Nick for your very kind words.

The timber for the top was quite spectacular. I'll definitely try to get my hands on some more if the opportunity arises.

Cheers,
John

Thanks Trav.

I tinted the epoxy using a commercial black tint they sold at the marine shop where I bought the epoxy (Wests System). The tint is a liquid that comes in a little clear tube.

The...

I'm not an expert, but I have a fair bit of Blackwood and your board looks very similar.

Thanks Paul.

I'm sure my girlfriend will be pleased to know that I now have a reason to stick around for 5 years - to see how my hall table ages :D

The grain in that timber really is...

Thanks Pops. Yes I find the whole process quite addictive, including seeing the reaction on people's faces when you tell them you built it all yourself. I can't wait to get started on a new project!...

Thanks Steven, I'm really happy with it too. It's the first furniture piece I've ever completed on my own - I have a Blackwood TV cabinet that's 95% done too, which I built during a couple of...

G'day Kimc,

I'm sure you'll get lots of help on this forum.

I'm also in Melbourne, and a year or two ago I did a couple of semesters at the Victorian Woodworkers Association - VWA Home - The...

Thanks Christos. I'm happy with the result, and it gave me lots of pleasure to make.

I'm not really looking to sell anything. I was trying to imply that it took me a very, very long time to make...

Hi guys,

I thought I'd share some pics of a hall table I built a few weeks ago as a Christmas gift for my girlfriend.

The top is two boards of WA Marri edge joined using biscuits. I tried to...

Well I can understand not wanting to waste time setting up a tripod when you could be turning a beautiful pen instead! I think that model camera should be fine for most things - I'd suggest using the...

Great looking pen Eliza! :2tsup:

In regards to the photography, I think the light is perfect, so the light tent wouldn't really improve much, but the pics look slightly out of focus to me - what...

Yes it's a Baron kit which I purchased from Addictive Pens. Definitely a beatiful kit.

I can't picture what you mean by "a proper set of pin punches" - I'll do a bit of research next time I need...

Thanks Nick.

Here are both pens together in the gift box... definitely not my best photography, but I'm in a bit of a hurry :B

I just finished my first fountain pen - well, my first succesful one anyhow :doh: The one before turned out beautifully, except I didn't fully read the instructions and forgot to insert one of the...

Hi Wayne. I'm after a dust bag for a WC2k. Do you happen to have one available?
Thank,
John

They look great to me! I'd love to give it a try one day, and I've seen some resin at Bunnings, but how do you get it to turn that white "milky" colour?
Cheers,
John

That's stunning. I hope I can make something as nice one day.

Thanks for all the kind comments guys. Artme - i can see what you mean about the distracting stand, but i really like the contrast and haven't found a better option yet. I'd really appreciate...

Thanks John. I just happened to have a couple of old dial indicators on my desk, which I had stolen from my dad's garage last time I was over there (he doesn't know they're missing, so it's not...

Thanks Simomatra. I ordered one of these boxes yesterday, and David tells me it should be here tomorrow :)

I just checked, and I overestimated by 100% :doh: I can get about 20 blanks out of one of my pickets... still pretty good value for $1.98!

I just made another Elegant Beauty using Cypress Pine from a picket, this time with a slightly glossier finish and better photography. I think I'm getting the hang of this :U

I've just spent a while playing with my photo setup and thought I'd post this updated pic of my two pens. I hope I'm not boring everyone :B Comments about the picture are very welcome.

Thanks David. I'm busily filling my shopping cart at Addictive Pens :2tsup:

I'm not really sure, as I haven't finished cutting up the first one yet, but I'm guessing about 40 or so - not bad for $1.98 :2tsup::2tsup: Obviously the grain varies a lot even in the one picket, so...

Thanks guys. I do really like both of them, although the slimmer one looks more elegant. I'm now considering actually using these two as my gift for my friend's 40th birthday - she could use the...

Thanks Chris. I've only progressed quickly due to the masses of great information I've gleaned from these forums and a few other websites. Thanks to everyone who has contributed :2tsup:

I just finished another EB using my Cypress picket wood, this time taking the good advice to make the pen a little slimmer. I'm really pleased with the result. Here are a couple of pics, one of the...

Thanks Ciscokid. I picked the best couple of pickets from an ordinary looking pile - I don't think most fencing pickets have this sort of grain :) I'm still working on my photography - I just set up...

One more question. Does anybody know whether it's possible to convert these Elegant Beauty kits into pencils? If so, what do I need?

Thanks again.
John

I just had a go at my first elegant beauty kit, using a blank I cut from a Cyprus Pine picket I bought at Bunnings yesterday. I'm very happy with the result :U I'm not saitisfied enough with it to...

Thanks for the comments guys - I really appreciate the support I've received on this forum.

I didn't get a chance to turn another pen today, but I did pick up a couple of cycpress pine pickets...

The bad news first: I had a massive blowout in another pen - this time a black palm. :doh:

The good news: I had saved the good piece of Wenge from the other day, and the colours and grain almost...

I tried to turn a pen out of a Wenge blank today, but as you can see in the first picture it didn't turn out as expected :doh: It was my fourth attempt at a pen, so I'm surprised it took this long to...

Hi Martin,

If you're looking at spending $400 on steel, I'd suggest you go to a gun shop and have a look at their rifle safes - they usually have a good selection at the $350 to $500 range.
...