The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Workshops and Garages Tinkering on Other Things in our Garages/Shops

Finally finished up a serving table for the back porch. Hardest part was cutting all those pipe threads, even with a power threader was a lot of work.

Outstanding work,John and Harold. Perhaps a Stovebolt get together just to mill up some nice cherry, walnut and maple for the Stovebolt woodworkers to take home with them! Forget the bolts, rings, and bearings for a couple hours and let’s dig into a couple hardwood logs! Very nice!

Tom -- Don't forget Hambone! He's pretty handy around that sort of thing.

About 3 years ago, I rescued two giant wild cherry burls from a job site before they went to a burn pile. We could figure out what to do with them ... I might try taking a chunk out of one and turning it into my interpretation of the Holy Grail ... And *finally* putting the Grizzly lathe to real use ...

Hambone is unforgettable.

Just a while back I helped a friend fix some peeling paint on his aluminum boat. The paint in area around the hole in the picture was completely gone and corrosion had crept underneath the paint all the way to the edge to the right. It was painted with speckle paint, and I needed to get a pressure cup setup for my paint gun. Shot it with epoxy primer after cleaning up to bare metal, and then the speckle paint (Zolatone.) I was really surprised how well it came out. It was almost invisible where we did the repair.

Just to let you know, I did get John Lucas' Moderator status fixed in here so he's able to edit and repair away. Big thing, in keeping with the Brain Trust that started this idea: images are a must for a post. So, if you don't have an image to go with a post you start, your post may end up back in the old Greasy Spoon. Just saying. John's not the bad guy here. Like the BT said (something to this affect) who just wants to HEAR about what you're doing. As we say:




John L may pull you aside to give you some lessons on putting a caption on your images. I did all those in the first page with captions and after that, I left them blank but at least removed the captions that carried over.

Okay fellas. Have fun and keep things tidy.


Mommy Dearest

I turned it back over and built a support for the front seat backs.
I then primed and painted the upper deck seafoam green.
The seats and steering were put in.
I had to reshape the windshield because it came off a different boat.
The motor got new coils, wires, fuel lines, bottom resealed, carb rebuilt. I learned more about it than I wanted to.
Two weeks ago it went out for a test and tune ride.
And it has a name!

Let's try this again:
Here's pics of the CVS rack and the Corvette, Camaro, and '63 Chevy added to my collection. In keeping with the spirit of the thread, a couple Indy car kits I "shop tinkered" into completion.

For Mark (MNSmith) -- Here's what I've been doing with that mortising attachment you gave me. A shoe rack and a kitchen shelf for Miss Peggy. Next up is a larger version of the shelf for the living room.

The shelves are red oak from a tree Hambone and I harvested from our farm about 10-15 years ago. The verticals are hickory from a tree I dropped on a job site about 3 years ago that my boss had milled and we air dried in an old school bus he bought at auction for engine and tranny parts for one of our dump trucks.

Jerry (Hotrod Lincoln) made me a collar to fit your mortising tool to my drill press.

Nice job.

John, maybe I need to send you the dovetail joint jig next!!

Mark -- Maybe so!

If I do that, it might come with some project requests!!!! Maybe a bunch of drawer making.

Drawers are next Do you have a router bit (with the right collar) for that jig?

I believe all my router bits are 1/2" shank. I should have collars buried somewhere.

Lemme think on it.

My 30 year old son was cleaning out some boxes of childhood mementos in the pole barn on a recent trip to Michigan. He found this treasure and was excited to share it with me! Who would have thought way back when that the real McCoy would become part of the family?

Nice!

Speaking of, found this out in my shop sitting on top of the compressor……Totally forgot about it until this thread surfaced.

Folks, Since we have an existing thread in The Tool Shed - Workshops and Garages forum that includes truck miniatures and models, I have moved this over to join that thread.

Love seeing the mini's and models! Keep them coming.

And here is another from Danbury Mint that was gifted to me. It is not perfect, but still pretty cool. This is the same color as my '48 Chevy 1/2 ton truck

Trucks aren’t supposed to be perfect. I like it.👍

John

Danbury Mint, Hmmmm.
Been looking for an 1/18 scale like that. I want to set up like my truck in a Jr model.
Very Kool.

For Mark ...

Making progress on the next project for Peggy. The mortising tool is getting a real workout on this one. 1st real project for the old Rockwell lathe and the new Laguna table saw It's a shaker-style "Occasional Table."

Beautiful work Boss! Peggy's going to love that table!

Very nice! What finish are you going with?

I believe, that tool has now done more work while in your hands, than it ever did in mine.

Thanks all.
Wayne -- Probably go with my go to -- linseed oil.


John

Very nice work, John!
And using your own harvested oak must be extra satisfying.
I, too have discovered the joys of a mortising machine!
I’m about to make seven interior doors for our new house, from wide Western Hemlock boards.
I’ll be mortising the vertical styles the same way.
Have you tried adding Japan dryer to the linseed oil?
I’ve had good results from it, with fast curing.

Charley -- No -- this is the first I've heard of that (Japan dryer). Tell me more!

And yes, using our own wood from our christmas tree farm (that we loved) is special. Lots of memories. For the drawer faces, I'm thinking of using redwood that I saved from our old "Farm Dawg" -- the '85 Ferd F-350 flatbed -- to complete the memory and complete the journey to our new farm here in NE Alabama.

I'd love to see how you do those doors. Take pics as you go -- help me learn something!

Thanks,
John

Nice work John! The personal touch of using wood with sentimental value will surely make it a cherished family heirloom. I'm certain Peggy will absolutely adore it.

I also share your love for woodworking as it's deeply ingrained in my family history. Both my father and grandfather were carpenters, and my Dad was an excellent cabinetmaker, building and installing all sorts of kitchen and bathroom cabinetry. Being of Finnish descent, it's truly in my blood, as the Finns are renowned for being excellent woodworkers. With my AD truck project currently consuming most of my free time, my woodworking has, unfortunately, taken a very low priority.

Reading about your project reminds me of a farm table with matching benches I built a few years ago. I sourced some beautiful rough-sawn white pine from a local sawmill. I ran it through the planer, but deliberately stopped short of removing the saw marks, which I really wanted to preserve for character. Many of the joints are mortise and tenon, held together with pegs, which I love for their strength and traditional look. For the top I used modern biscuits and glue to edge join them together. I completed it with breadboards on both ends, knowing it was going to live outdoors 24/7 on our porch. For the joinery, I used my table saw with a dado blade to make the tenons and a mortising jig for my drill press. The rabbeted joints, I opted to do by hand.

My wife Karen was instrumental in the finishing process. She first applied a base coat of brown, then followed it up with white. She then lightly sanded it to achieve that perfect antique, distressed look. Finally, we applied several coats of clear polyurethane to protect it from the elements. The finished table is quite robust and comfortably seats about 14 people, which is great for our big family gatherings.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your project! It's always great to hear about fellow woodworkers.

Hey, John. The Japan dryer I have primarily used to get slow curing varnish to harden more promptly.
Especially in high humidity like we had those many years in Hawaii.
I tried it in linseed oil and found it to speed that up, as well.
Boiled linseed oil has dryers in it already, but adding a few drops of Japan dryer helps accelerate it.
I think you want to only treat the amount of oil you will use in the short term.
I experimented with it. You can too.
Online I see there are a number of brands.
And on the subject of sentimental wood. Boy do I have a lot of it.
From Hawaii, Robusta Eucalyptus( red gum), Mango wood slabs 3 ft by 10 ft milled up by my old friend about
25 years ago. It will soon be a large kitchen Island (but not ten feet). Wood is my go to souvenir. Koa planks salvaged from the Parker Ranch “Mana House”, hand sawn from logs by Chinese workers in the mid 1800’s.I have a piece of Douglas Fir branch I got from the site of the death
of Dr. David Douglas on Hawaii island. A place called the Doctor’s Pit, where the great botanist was trapped with a wild
bull in a bull pit and found dead later. The trees were planted about 90 years ago in memory the 100th anniversary of his death.
I have Ohia wood from the birthplace of my son, on Hawaii Island. Oh, it goes on.
Don’t get me started! Whoops, too late.
Let us know how the nice table turns out,C

John, another option for a finish might be Tung oil. The real 100% stuff, not the type with solvent mixed in. It's been my "go to" finish for custom gunstocks for about 25 years.

www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/pure-tung-chinawood/

Jerry

Fully agree on the tung oil.
Jerry, are you machining Walnut into
rifle stocks in the shop?

Charley -- Yeah, I wish I had brought some Koa home with me when we left Hawai'i. We have a plaque Peggy got for her work chairing the MCB Hawai'i Base Action Committee. Its too pretty to repurpose.

As for the table, I'm working on the drawers now.

I like that table, Phil. Looks like you could park a truck on it.

In the meantime, I did a "frame off restoration" of my "Big Bolt" wheelbarrow (replaced all the rusty bolts, replaced the rotten handles, and repainted the metal pieces). Being retired opens lots of possibilities for stuff you never had time for before ... I also got the Farmall out to clean all the barn swallow droppings off it and then took it for a spin around the farm.

What happened to the Farmall's grill? That's stout metal.

Otto,
.... um .... no habla englais ...

Haha!

I usually buy a "semi-inletted" stock blank (which usually looks like it was hacked out of a log with a dull hatchet by Ray Charles) and fit it to whatever action I'm working with. I bought a bunch of Turkish Mausers about 40 years ago when they were dirt cheap, and made a lot of pretty nice sporters out of most of them. I've still got a few originals stashed away that are getting too valuable to whittle on.
Jerry

While woodworking is on topic, I made a sign for my house. I used these oaks as inspiration. They layed over in 2004 after having 4 hurricanes come through the area. Next is the wood sign I made with my router.

Speaking of "parking a truck on it" ... I tested my current project today. I parked a semi truck on it.