Lemme give you a hint: Add a tablespoon of mineral spirits to 8 ounces of polyurethane to get it to strike into the wood instead of floating on top of the wood. It makes the grain show up more.

I mix Minwax Wood Finish (comes in a myriad of different colors and is basically a wood stain) and poly in a 50/50 mix and use it as a wiping finish. If I don't want to add color, I just use a 50/50 mineral spirits - poly mix. It takes a little longer to build up a finish, but the finished product is almost flawless. I wasn't going to spend all that time on the construction of a project just to screw it up with the finish.

 

I just use a 50/50 mineral spirits - poly mix.

I'm missing your idea. You are using a lot more mineral spirits than I recommended to strantor and therefore taking a lot more time to build up a thickness. What goal are you achieving that the tablespoon method doesn't do?

 

One Customer I did some work for brought in sheets of steel, the stacks of which were separated by some rough looking 5"x 5" 'logs'.
The guys there would saw it up for fire wood, I decided to take a couple of lengths and when it was planed down, it showed some nice grained, seasoned Red Oak.
One of the projects used it on was a fire place surround.
Max.

I get similar stuff here as well in red and white oak plus other hardwoods ! Most see it as little more the rough cut cribbing material that good for firewood (I did) but every piece I have cleaned up so fare had came out looking like what you have!

 

I'm missing your idea. You are using a lot more mineral spirits than I recommended to strantor and therefore taking a lot more time to build up a thickness. What goal are you achieving that the tablespoon method doesn't do?

It allows you to wipe on the finish using a cotton cloth. It leaves no brush marks or drips.

 

It leaves no brush marks or drips.

Um...yeah...I do have a few drool marks on my projects.
But I had a lot of practice!
Spar varnish is the worst for drooling!
It's so thick!
But I have also messed up straight polyurethane.
Still, I think I'm doing OK at 3 or 4 runs after using up 3 or 4 gallons of polyurethane.

 

I've gone to the water-based polyurethane. It costs only a buck or two more but I find it infinitely easier to use. Cleanup is a breeze. Much less 'saggy', but you can still get drips and fat spots easily enough.

 

Once again I revive the woodworking thread. I am working on the next piece of the custom matching furniture set that I promised my wife a few years ago. I'm averaging 0.5 pieces of furniture per year, and at this pace I should have the set complete in about 35 years and I can retire and focus on my own projects, not having to worry about furniture. I dug this thread up because I forgot the details of the custom dark wood filler witch's brew that I used on my bench and whether I had been using lacquer, varnish, or urethane. I got the answer on the urethane but I'm left to further scour the internet for my filler recipe. I swear I posted it somewhere. I thought it was here. Are some posts missing from this thread? I was just skimming but it seems some of the posts are disconnected, like they're in reply to posts that are no longer here.

Anyway, here's the current progress on the coffee table. I was going to do the legs the same way as the ON-TRAY table; two rectangular sections linked by a bar, but I didn't have enough square tube scraps in the correct dimensions in the correct lengths. So this one will be a bit different. I won't try to explain; you'll just have to see when I put it together. The square tube has been sitting outside since I made the last furniture and that rusty patina that I was going for, has turned into deep pits that hopefully won't be of concern structurally. Stay tuned for more aesthetically pleasing welds and less grinding, as the old craftsman metal blob depositor has been retired and replaced with a TIG welder and a nice new (old) commercial grade Lincoln MIG machine.

That cheap router table I bought, broke. As expected. The threaded inserts that hold the router in, ripped out and took big chunks of particle board with them. There is no hope to salvage it. I'm only holding onto it as a pattern to make a new one out of better material (like metal, maybe). But in its place (to square the edges of wood for seamless joints) I have acquired a wood shaper. It was given to me by my BIL's father; he's 72 and the machine was passed down to him from his father. The machine is probably from the 40's or 50's. He gave it to me as a restoration project because I'm the only "young person" he knows with an interest in such things who wouldn't haul it off to the scrap yard. I didn't think it would operate in its current state but decided to give it a try, and it worked flawlessly after probably 20+ years of dormancy. The dry rotted belt threatened to fly apart and the motor melted the plug on my extension cord, but it got the job done.

 

That cheap router table I bought, broke. As expected. The threaded inserts that hold the router in, ripped out and took big chunks of particle board with them. There is no hope to salvage it. I'm only holding onto it as a pattern to make a new one out of better material (like metal, maybe).

One of my first projects after getting a router was to build my own table. I had some 3/4" plywood with a nice finish leftover from a desk I built my daughter years ago so I didn't have to buy anything except the aluminum rails to hold my feather boards. I begged a piece of white formica counter top from a local shop to cover the table. I've used this table quite a bit since building it and have been really happy with it. So far I wouldn't change anything if I had to build another. I'd be happy to share plans and photos if you're interested.

I'm interested in your coffee table project - what kind of wood is that? - because I need to build a couple myself. We added a 3-season room to the house and have furnished it in a "beach house" theme. We held off buying coffee or end tables on the assumption I can build something. So I'm shopping for plans and for wood ideas.

 

But in its place (to square the edges of wood for seamless joints) I have acquired a wood shaper.

That's called a "jointer", not a shaper.

 

That's called a "jointer", not a shaper.

Agreed, that does look more like a jointer. A shaper has a vertical spindle. Some people mount a router upside down in a table and call it a shaper. In fact, that has become so common with variable speed high power (1/2" bits) routers that finding shaper cutters is becoming more difficult/expensive.

The largest cutter I have used on my shaper was about 4" diameter with replaceable blades in the cutter head. It is a very old, cabinet model rescued from a VA Hospital that was closing its vo-tech woodworking shop. I used it to make new rails and stiles for a replacement section in my paneled garage door.

 

I've used this table quite a bit since building it and have been really happy with it. So far I wouldn't change anything if I had to build another. I'd be happy to share plans and photos if you're interested.

Sure, if you have plans already drawn up I'd be happy to have them; thanks! If you don't have them drawn up already, don't worry about it.

I'm interested in your coffee table project - what kind of wood is that? - because I need to build a couple myself. We added a 3-season room to the house and have furnished it in a "beach house" theme. We held off buying coffee or end tables on the assumption I can build something. So I'm shopping for plans and for wood ideas.

I used the same wood from post #20 in this thread. It's from a huge pallet/shipping skid that I brought home from the place I used to work. It came with a machine we imported from Holland. I have no idea what kind of wood it is, but whatever wood is abundant for the Dutch to use as shipping dunnage, it's probably that. Maybe @bertus has a clue. Seems soft, light color. Maybe white pine.

I was going to do the legs the same way as the ON-TRAY table; two rectangular sections linked by a bar, but I didn't have enough square tube scraps in the correct dimensions in the correct lengths. So this one will be a bit different. I won't try to explain; you'll just have to see when I put it together.

See attachment

 

That's called a "jointer", not a shaper.

Correction accepted, thank you. I started calling it a shaper for come reason after I got confused about terminology between joiner/jointer. It's definitely not a shaper though.

 

Seems soft, light color. Maybe white pine.

I would also opt for some kind of white pine, not quite dark enough for fir.
Max.

 

Hello,

When it is harder as white pine it could be spruce wood.
In holland we talk about "grenen" (soft kind of wood) and "vurenhout" (harder kind of wood).

Bertus

 

I would also opt for some kind of white pine, not quite dark enough for fir.
Max.

Hello,

When it is harder as white pine it could be spruce wood.
In holland we talk about "grenen" (soft kind of wood) and "vurenhout" (harder kind of wood).

Bertus

I am looking at online pictures of white pine vs. spruce and I don't know my woods well enough to tell them apart. I have a shore hardness tester and maybe I could use that to make a determination but according to the internet, the harness values for spruces and pines are probably too close.

 

I used to be able to buy Sitka Spruce here at one time, the optimum wood for sailboat spars etc, strong and light and they were renown for no knot holes, nice wood to work with.
Max.

 

Hello,

The dutch wiki has images of both.
Grenen, white pine : https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenen_(hout)
Vuren hout, spruce wood : https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuren_(hout)

Bertus

 

Hello,

The dutch wiki has images of both.
Grenen, white pine : https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenen_(hout)
Vuren hout, spruce wood : https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuren_(hout)

Bertus

I'm leaning more toward spruce now. From the 2nd link: "There is no noticeable resin smell as with pine" .. this wood has very little odor, and very little resin. As opposed to the pine I am used to, which gives off a noticeable smell when cut and often oozes sticky resin. This does not. Also, when I google "weathered spruce" and "weathered white pine," more of the weathered spruce images look like what I have. Therefore, I think it's spruce.

 

Sure, if you have plans already drawn up I'd be happy to have them; thanks! If you don't have them drawn up already, don't worry about it.

Do you use drawing programs at all? I could try sending a file you could open. Otherwise I’ll just print to a pdf or similar.

 

Do you use drawing programs at all? I could try sending a file you could open. Otherwise I’ll just print to a pdf or similar.

I have Draftsight, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, and SketchUp