Woodwork/carpentry advice

[KittyGremlin]

Is it true that replacing all your front door hinge screws with 3" will damage the frame, and you should only replace a few of them?

... I hope not, because I already did it.

Pre-drilling can help avoid the frame cracking. Say, if you use a 5mm woodscrew, you drill an approx. 2,5mm hole. The loss to holding strength is nearly non existent.

That's for next time, of course.

 

[Lord of the Large Pants]

Pre-drilling can help avoid the frame cracking. Say, if you use a 5mm woodscrew, you drill an approx. 2,5mm hole. The loss to holding strength is nearly non existent.

That's for next time, of course.

Good news is, I did do that. After the old screws came out I drilled with a 1/8 bit before putting in the 3". Drill bit wasn't long enough to cover the entire length of the screw, but hopefully it helped.

 

[KittyGremlin]

Good news is, I did do that. After the old screws came out I drilled with a 1/8 bit before putting in the 3". Drill bit wasn't long enough to cover the entire length of the screw, but hopefully it helped.

Should be good then.

 

[JamusActimus]

I recently purchased an easle as a gift for a family member made of what I think is pine wood or some other cheap wood, the wood was completely untreated so I decided to paint it with polyurethane clear protection in order to waterproof it a bit and make it so you can wipe any spilled paint off instead of having it soak into the wood.

So the issue is that I didn't sand it down first cause I felt like it was really smooth and didn't need sanding but now that I am applying the second coat I feel like the wood has a bit of an ugly rough texture. I painted it outside so idk if dust got stuck to it while it was drying or the paint just highlighted the little surface imperfections but it is pretty annoying that it isn't nice and smooth. What can be done to avoid this in the future? Sanding it with real fine sandpaper before painting?

For the wood, as a general rule if it's dark it's most likely hardwood /more expensive. If it's light it's not hard wood so less expensive.

You always always want to sand it down to make it smooth and remove impurities dust, paint, wax etc.
When you sand it down got for 240-450 something like no need for more. If you go higher it's useless and the "sand" goes into the wood's pores and makes it harder to coat.
Once it's sanded put some wax/oil ot coat it. Do it a few times and you're done.

I didn't know you could sand the paint, won't that remove the paint? I will try sanding it a bit before applying the next coat.

Yeah but since it's old you might want to remove it anyway. Also if the naked wood is pretty you don't even need to paint it tbh.

 

[hog cranking frog]

I lightly sand between coats of paint even, but only on nicer things. A light wet sand shouldn't take off much paint only knock down rough spots.

 

[Lidl Drip]

I lightly sand between coats of paint even, but only on nicer things. A light wet sand shouldn't take off much paint only knock down rough spots.

I sanded it real good and then applied two more coats of the clear protection and now it is very nice and smooth! Thanks!

 

[斯尼 德之王]

Just got my first fractal wood burning machine. Can't wait to use it

 

[Darkholme's Dungeon]

Folks,

I need some advice, I have a piece of furniture where the paint/varnish is falling off (Deep ebony color) because I spilled a bunch of alcohol on it. What's a good finish and paint that isn't highly toxic for someone who rarely does woodwork.
The color is staining my hands if they get sweaty on them and I rather not give myself cancer right now.

 

[LowlyPheasent]

Folks,

I need some advice, I have a piece of furniture where the paint/varnish is falling off (Deep ebony color) because I spilled a bunch of alcohol on it. What's a good finish and paint that isn't highly toxic for someone who rarely does woodwork.
The color is staining my hands if they get sweaty on them and I rather not give myself cancer right now.

Just checked this thread and I'm a long while late but sand the area of the spill down good, then just use cleaning gloves (like the yellow rubber ones) while re-applying a varnish.

 

[LowlyPheasent]

Any good beginner projects/books you guys would reccomend? Any particular things like specific joints to reccomend trying out? I'm interested in picking up some basic carpentry and wood turning skills.

 

[KateHikes14]

I didn't know you could sand the paint, won't that remove the paint? I will try sanding it a bit before applying the next coat.

For higher quality finishes you should lightly sand with a ~240 grit between coats (light pressure, 1-3 passes) and a final finish with a 400+ sandpaper (same as above, but not as vital to mind the amount you are sanding the higher the grit)

Good news is, I did do that. After the old screws came out I drilled with a 1/8 bit before putting in the 3". Drill bit wasn't long enough to cover the entire length of the screw, but hopefully it helped.

There's a lot of specifics at play, but generally you would want to drill close to the tip length if you are concerned about cracking/strength and frequently technique plays as much a part as what you are doing, but the fact that you did it and you know they are there should give you peace of mind, which is the entire reason to replace the screws.

Folks,

I need some advice, I have a piece of furniture where the paint/varnish is falling off (Deep ebony color) because I spilled a bunch of alcohol on it. What's a good finish and paint that isn't highly toxic for someone who rarely does woodwork.
The color is staining my hands if they get sweaty on them and I rather not give myself cancer right now.

A pretty iron law of Finish is durable = toxic to use, but as long as you are doing things outside where the chemicals can disperse, aren't getting your nose inches away to breath it in deeply, and not doing it a lot, it shouldn't be a concern. And once a polyurethane (yellows, but slightly, unless you are doing double digit coats, or coating white paint) or any other useful coating fully cures it's inert. The toxic chemicals are toxic partially because they off gas.

Any good beginner projects/books you guys would reccomend? Any particular things like specific joints to reccomend trying out? I'm interested in picking up some basic carpentry and wood turning skills.

Try to find a project that would either make your life easier/more beautiful and dive in. Woodworking is tricky and doing something that you want to do will give you experience you enjoy, which is more important and useful to start than the "right" project, and the experience gained will make it easier for you to understand any reading you do about the more technical parts and advancing techniques. Woodworking is largely not about doing things perfectly. The tiny details you mess up and learn from are as much a part of what will make some projects irreplaceable as the beauty/utility that results.

 

[MorallyGreyFrog]

I am making a red oak picture frame right now and want to do something that I've not done before; I want to paint some flutes black while having everything else finished with Danish oil.

I've worked with Danish oil before and I really liked the outcome, but I haven't used it in conjunction with paint and am concerned about how these two finishes might interact. In all honesty, I've not worked with paint much before at all and so I don't know the first thing about what I should do.

What type of paint should I use? what types of prepwork should I do? How does that change if I am also finishing areas of the same piece with Danish oil?

 

[MorallyGreyFrog]

Ah man, I wish I could have a shop—not just for woodworking but sculpting, airbrushing, metalwork, lapidary etc.. I've wanted to turn a burl bowl for a while.

If there is a Makerspace in your area, I highly recommend that you check it out.

 

[Le b0wski]

I am making a red oak picture frame right now and want to do something that I've not done before; I want to paint some flutes black while having everything else finished with Danish oil.

I've worked with Danish oil before and I really liked the outcome, but I haven't used it in conjunction with paint and am concerned about how these two finishes might interact. In all honesty, I've not worked with paint much before at all and so I don't know the first thing about what I should do.

What type of paint should I use? what types of prepwork should I do? How does that change if I am also finishing areas of the same piece with Danish oil?

It's maybe a bit easier with exacts of the project, if you are expecting to masking tape a line or if it's 2 parts you can finish and then assemble or paint then machine and oil the exposed areas.

Ebonizing might also work depending on the finish/style you want.

 

[MorallyGreyFrog]

It's maybe a bit easier with exacts of the project, if you are expecting to masking tape a line or if it's 2 parts you can finish and then assemble or paint then machine and oil the exposed areas.

Ebonizing might also work depending on the finish/style you want.

I painted the recesses with Rustoleum "Ultra-Cover" latex paint. The results were good /enough/, but I am not pleased. The white primer I used became exposed at the boundaries when I sanded down the face, which isn't the outcome I desired. The paint had no problem with the Danish oil, thankfully.

I think if I were to do this again, I will probably use masking tape and just do my best at getting the tape right on the boundaries of the recesses. I am worried that the tape would not be able to stop the paint from working its way out via the surface irregularities or grain of the wood, however.

Someone I talked to recommended using a viscous, colored epoxy in the grooves. I don't have much experience with that so I will decline to speculate on the benefits or detriments of that method.

 

[Le b0wski]

I painted the recesses with Rustoleum "Ultra-Cover" latex paint. The results were good /enough/, but I am not pleased. The white primer I used became exposed at the boundaries when I sanded down the face, which isn't the outcome I desired. The paint had no problem with the Danish oil, thankfully.

Would a bit more sanding before the paint to a finer grit and then using a black primer make it less visible?

My own current project I'm trying to figure out is making a small/portable tool box/tray design to take an ifixit style kit and a butane soldering iron so these merged together tho I'm wondering if I should just router+drill away at something thicker and then lid it with acrylic sheet or actually make a box then the inserts or a mix of the two.

 

[MorallyGreyFrog]

Would a bit more sanding before the paint to a finer grit and then using a black primer make it less visible?

My own current project I'm trying to figure out is making a small/portable tool box/tray design to take an ifixit style kit and a butane soldering iron so these merged together tho I'm wondering if I should just router+drill away at something thicker and then lid it with acrylic sheet or actually make a box then the inserts or a mix of the two.

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I don't think that varying the sanding method would change much as the visibility of the primer depends on the dried thickness of the primer coat. A black primer would be nice...if it was available when I went to the local Ace hardware.

I think routing out a box from a solid piece would be the simplest solution, but I'd be worried about the strength of the final product. Any orientation of the stock would create a weak axis due to the grain. Making an actual box would be the move.

I'd recommend making the bottom out of plywood so the cross-grain expansion/contraction don't cause any problems. You could cut a dado into the interior sides of the box, maybe 1/4" from the corner, and then capture the plywood as you assemble the sides. I like the idea of an acrylic lid; maybe you could similarly trap a sheet

A trick I've seen (but have never performed) is to make the box and lid in one piece before using a saw to cut the lid off. That avoids the trouble of making the lid and the box have the exact same dimensions. I think you could get the same effect by cutting the sides to dimension before ripping them into a box portion and a lid portion, then performing assembly.

How do you plan to join the sides?

I might be doing a similar project here in a bit; I want to make a storage box for my chisels.

 

[RunningWindInbound]

I spent 7 years teaching noobs, pros and DIYers how to woodwork. If anyone has any questions about it, I can answer them. Need tips or tricks? General suggestions? Just wanting to get started in an inexpensive fashion? I got you. Just let me know.

is my bandsaw a death machine or am I just retarded

 

[Le b0wski]

I think routing out a box from a solid piece would be the simplest solution, but I'd be worried about the strength of the final product. Any orientation of the stock would create a weak axis due to the grain. Making an actual box would be the move.

If I did that way I'd start by routing out the majority of the middle just leaving the shape for the soldering iron and then add back a holder for screw bits that could be lifted out.

I'd recommend making the bottom out of plywood so the cross-grain expansion/contraction don't cause any problems. You could cut a dado into the interior sides of the box, maybe 1/4" from the corner, and then capture the plywood as you assemble the sides. I like the idea of an acrylic lid; maybe you could similarly trap a sheet

A trick I've seen (but have never performed) is to make the box and lid in one piece before using a saw to cut the lid off. That avoids the trouble of making the lid and the box have the exact same dimensions. I think you could get the same effect by cutting the sides to dimension before ripping them into a box portion and a lid portion, then performing assembly.

How do you plan to join the sides?

Open to anything really. I was thinking one possible way is making the lid just slide from one side and using a cut mat as it can double as a work surface for taking apart electronics. But then acrylic and being able to see inside is always good too.

is my bandsaw a death machine or am I just retarded

If you think it's a scroll saw for cutting small stuff then expect to lose a finger. I'd spraypaint cut direction arrows and even comical "no hand zones" or reminders of good places you want your hands to be and setup with which side of the saw you want to stand on when using it in mind.

I'd also grab some scrap and build a few quick sleds you can clamp wood into and then push/feed the larger sled and what you are cutting into the blade together without hands as near the blade. Feels silly but if you train yourself to think of using sleds when using that machine then you will avoid even thinking about dangerous situations as the first idea you have is to reach for a sled.