OT: Whatcha' DIYin'?

[MinJaBen]

Oops

Definitely a post fit for a DIY thread.

 

[Lempo]

Replaced today the swivel mechanism of the windshield wipers to my Opel Meriva. The old one broke down so that the right side wiper stopped moving.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

My latest “diy”. When my father passed away I wasn’t able to take anything from his home except for an old record player (talking machine) and two wash stands built by my great grandfather Mathias, in the late 1800s. They were pretty beat up and moldy as they were in my Dad’s basement.

We’re using them as night stands.. here’s the first before and after.

 

[MinJaBen]

My latest “diy”. When my father passed away I wasn’t able to take anything from his home except for an old record player (talking machine) and two wash stands built by my great grandfather Mathias, in the late 1800s. They were pretty beat up and moldy as they were in my Dad’s basement.

We’re using them as night stands.. here’s the first before and after.

Very nice.

 

[hockeynjune]

My latest “diy”. When my father passed away I wasn’t able to take anything from his home except for an old record player (talking machine) and two wash stands built by my great grandfather Mathias, in the late 1800s. They were pretty beat up and moldy as they were in my Dad’s basement.

We’re using them as night stands.. here’s the first before and after.

Thats some fine work there and a very nice tribute to your GGF. Well done sir.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Question for people into Audio equipment. I am planning on building a 60s/70s style mid century modern stereo console (you know, the old RCA record players in a wood cabinet. I want to use modern electronics though vs. trying to resurrect old equipment. Anyone have a recommendation for a turntable? Preferably a fully automatic one.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Latest DIY project. I came across two antique dressers sitting out in a driveway. They were so moldy that no thrift store would accept them and the owner (a friend of my son) was going to break them up for firewood so I took them off his hands. Here's the before and after pictures for the 1st dresser.

It had been sitting out in the rain for a couple weeks. Once I cleaned the mold off, then stripped and sanded the finish off, I found that the top and drawer fronts were walnut veneer, but the veneer was in bad shape. I had to repair the veneer in multiple spots which included adding new veneer in a couple spots and then using two different water dye stains to match the color of the existing veneer.

Two of the drawers were broken apart and had to be repaired, and the little plaque on the front of one drawer had to be removed (it had a painting of a flower on it that was mostly worn off). I created a new plaque out of walnut and tried to come up with a similar design using a CNC machine. The carcass was not walnut so I used an Ash/charcoal paint on it followed by a water based poly. The walnut got a light gel stain (General Finishes) and 3 coats of oil based varnish (also General. Finishes). Cleaned up the hardware using Brasso.

I'm giving it back to the original owner as it was his father's. First time I've really worked on repairing veneer and it was time consuming, but I enjoyed it.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Getting into woodworking. I bought some tools in the process of fixing floors, trim, etc. I want to try my hand at furniture building.

The only thing is that I don't have a truck. Anyone haul 4 x 8 plywood sheets by car? The 2 x 4 pre-cut panels are a rip off in comparison. I was thinking about taking a handheld saw and cutting it up in the parking lot of HD/Lowe's, but that would make a real mess.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Getting into woodworking. I bought some tools in the process of fixing floors, trim, etc. I want to try my hand at furniture building.

The only thing is that I don't have a truck. Anyone haul 4 x 8 plywood sheets by car? The 2 x 4 pre-cut panels are a rip off in comparison. I was thinking about taking a handheld saw and cutting it up in the parking lot of HD/Lowe's, but that would make a real mess.

Before I had a truck, my local HD would cut pieces of plywood (they have a panel saw in the back) to sizes that would fit in my vehicle. they did it for free back then.

Another option might be to find a local lumber supplier near you as they tend to be more flexible and have better products than HD/Lowes. Not sure where you live though.

 

[Lempo]

Anyone haul 4 x 8 plywood sheets by car?

Sounds like a doomed idea to me, and I'm no stranger to hauling 2x2 and suchlike lumber in an Opel Meriva after having it cut to ~7 feet pieces.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

A follow-on. I've found that if I'm going to paint the furniture I build, that HD/Lowes has good prices on plywood and it's hard to beat elsewhere. If I want hardwood plywood that isn't going to be painted, I can find better prices and better products elsewhere.

Still experiencing sticker shock from Covid though. I was buying cabinet grade plywood from HD for $27 a sheet (4x8) before covid. Even though prices have come down, that same sheet is still ~$50 today.

 

[Lempo]

Another option might be to find a local lumber supplier near you as they tend to be more flexible and have better products than HD/Lowes. Not sure where you live though.

I'm still angry at the world because my go-to lumbermonger shut their doors due to retirement. They would pre-cut my lumber per my order, with no whining and no questioning glances despite the orders occasionally being quite minutious.

 

[MinJaBen]

Getting into woodworking. I bought some tools in the process of fixing floors, trim, etc. I want to try my hand at furniture building.

The only thing is that I don't have a truck. Anyone haul 4 x 8 plywood sheets by car? The 2 x 4 pre-cut panels are a rip off in comparison. I was thinking about taking a handheld saw and cutting it up in the parking lot of HD/Lowe's, but that would make a real mess.

I can get two or three sheets onto my roof rack and then secure them with ratchet straps. I wouldn’t take them on the highway, but for city roads between home and the big box stores, it works.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I can get two or three sheets onto my roof rack and then secure them with ratchet straps. I wouldn’t take them on the highway, but for city roads between home and the big box stores, it works.

You're one of those guys that tries to take a mattress on top of his car, only to watch it drop in the middle of the highway, aren't you.

 

[MinJaBen]

You're one of those guys that tries to take a mattress on top of his car, only to watch it drop in the middle of the highway, aren't you.

Nope. Haven’t done that. Yet.

We used to have a minivan that I could take the seats out and transport full sheets lying down in the back. I miss having that car for that reason.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Nope. Haven’t done that. Yet.

We used to have a minivan that I could take the seats out and transport full sheets lying down in the back. I miss having that car for that reason.

Yeah, our Honda Odyssey could hold a 4x8 sheet of plywood without the seats. When that bit the dust, I had a truck, so hauling plywood hasn't been a problem.

When I only had a car, HD used to cut them on the panel saw for me.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Latest DIY project. I came across two antique dressers sitting out in a driveway. They were so moldy that no thrift store would accept them and the owner (a friend of my son) was going to break them up for firewood so I took them off his hands. Here's the before and after pictures for the 1st dresser.

It had been sitting out in the rain for a couple weeks. Once I cleaned the mold off, then stripped and sanded the finish off, I found that the top and drawer fronts were walnut veneer, but the veneer was in bad shape. I had to repair the veneer in multiple spots which included adding new veneer in a couple spots and then using two different water dye stains to match the color of the existing veneer.

Two of the drawers were broken apart and had to be repaired, and the little plaque on the front of one drawer had to be removed (it had a painting of a flower on it that was mostly worn off). I created a new plaque out of walnut and tried to come up with a similar design using a CNC machine. The carcass was not walnut so I used an Ash/charcoal paint on it followed by a water based poly. The walnut got a light gel stain (General Finishes) and 3 coats of oil based varnish (also General. Finishes). Cleaned up the hardware using Brasso.

I'm giving it back to the original owner as it was his father's. First time I've really worked on repairing veneer and it was time consuming, but I enjoyed it.

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This is really very lovely, what a cool surprise for the original owner!

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

This is really very lovely, what a cool surprise for the original owner!

thanks. After years of just building stuff, I've really gotten a kick out of refurbishing old stuff. I now split my time between building stuff from scratch and refurbishing stuff I find. The old stuff is so well built that I can't bear to see it tossed away. So far, I've only done stuff like this for my house, friends and family. Thinking about making it a retirement gig though.

 

[MinJaBen]

thanks. After years of just building stuff, I've really gotten a kick out of refurbishing old stuff. I now split my time between building stuff from scratch and refurbishing stuff I find. The old stuff is so well built that I can't bear to see it tossed away. So far, I've only done stuff like this for my house, friends and family. Thinking about making it a retirement gig though.

Flee Market Flip.

 

[raynman]

Latest DIY project. I came across two antique dressers sitting out in a driveway. They were so moldy that no thrift store would accept them and the owner (a friend of my son) was going to break them up for firewood so I took them off his hands. Here's the before and after pictures for the 1st dresser.

It had been sitting out in the rain for a couple weeks. Once I cleaned the mold off, then stripped and sanded the finish off, I found that the top and drawer fronts were walnut veneer, but the veneer was in bad shape. I had to repair the veneer in multiple spots which included adding new veneer in a couple spots and then using two different water dye stains to match the color of the existing veneer.

Two of the drawers were broken apart and had to be repaired, and the little plaque on the front of one drawer had to be removed (it had a painting of a flower on it that was mostly worn off). I created a new plaque out of walnut and tried to come up with a similar design using a CNC machine. The carcass was not walnut so I used an Ash/charcoal paint on it followed by a water based poly. The walnut got a light gel stain (General Finishes) and 3 coats of oil based varnish (also General. Finishes). Cleaned up the hardware using Brasso.

I'm giving it back to the original owner as it was his father's. First time I've really worked on repairing veneer and it was time consuming, but I enjoyed it.

View attachment 505108
View attachment 505109 View attachment 505110 View attachment 505111 View attachment 505112

Do you have your own cnc machine for doing things like the plaque?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Do you have your own cnc machine for doing things like the plaque?

I do now. My wife got me one for Christmas. Before that, I had access to one at a workshop I rent space in. The design side and determine which bits to use is the hard part (as you probably know). One of my kids went to college for digital media/design so he's done some of the designs for me, but I want to learn more on my own. I have access to Vcarve Pro software from the workshop I rent space in, but haven't had a chance to play around with it yet.

 

[Bub]

thanks. After years of just building stuff, I've really gotten a kick out of refurbishing old stuff. I now split my time between building stuff from scratch and refurbishing stuff I find. The old stuff is so well built that I can't bear to see it tossed away. So far, I've only done stuff like this for my house, friends and family. Thinking about making it a retirement gig though.

So by the time I'm ready to retire to NC you'll be up and running? Cool.

 

[raynman]

I do now. My wife got me one for Christmas. Before that, I had access to one at a workshop I rent space in. The design side and determine which bits to use is the hard part (as you probably know). One of my kids went to college for digital media/design so he's done some of the designs for me, but I want to learn more on my own. I have access to Vcarve Pro software from the workshop I rent space in, but haven't had a chance to play around with it yet.

That’s awesome, what kind of machine did you get? Fusion360 is free and I believe it has cam software as well but I haven’t played with it yet.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

That’s awesome, what kind of machine did you get? Fusion360 is free and I believe it has cam software as well but I haven’t played with it yet.

Shapeoko. Thanks for the tip on Fusion360. I’ll look into it.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Shapeoko. Thanks for the tip on Fusion360. I’ll look into it.

Shipoopi?