The Little Wood Shop 2019

[Bartman44]

Your gizmo is cool. The video was like watching a slow motion guillotine. 

[rgfixit]

You should have seen it with the first wheel I turned for the motor. It was about 3/4” dia. I had to put my combination square next to the elevator to see if it was really moving.

Dipped several concoctions this morning. Trying to get a good base coat on which to build. Tried several paints in several dilutions. Found that the thinner the coating the better the coverage. The best coating was a matte black acrylic thinned by about 40%.

Decided to remake the lathe platform to accommodate the thread carriage and a hand rest for painting. The first model was clumsy. A day or so and I’ll have it under control.

Another few days of tinkering and I’ll be into building.

Preparation is everything.

Rg

[rgfixit]

Well, I’m still in practice mode. Trying to get the right paint and finish is proving to be very fussy. All the machines are built for now.
The final lathe



The “Big Dipper”



The drying wheel



I’ve figured out how to place the feathers on the cork body.



Polyurethane sanding sealer seems to work very well. For preserving the color and holding the feathers in place. There’s enough working time to move and adjust the feather while still keeping it where I want it. I’m going to continue coating with spar varnish for probably 3 coats of the thinned material and then apply a couple coats of full strength varnish. Hopefully it will build up enough to create the finished surface I want. I might try a 2 part top coat like Flex Coat if it doesn’t work. Trying to stay away from that if I can. It’s expensive to use in the quantities I’ll need. It’s also a pain to use on large areas and I’d need to build a heated drying box with a different revolving drying setup. Flex coat likes a center driven dryer. Moving the piece to the outer edges of a larger wheel like I have now would cause it to build up on one side as it dries.

I’m going to continue working with the cork for now, but eventually I’ll get around to either balsa or basswood for the bodies.

Paint is still an issue. I haven’t come up with the right dilution as yet to get a thin but solid coat. I’ll have to keep working on that. I’m probably going to try a couple sample containers of a satin latex paint that I have

Anyway, it’s a really fun project in a safe warm place. So far I’ve only invested about $40......if I don’t count all the stuff I already had in the shop.

I’ve got a special one in the works for you Dom. Feathers from birds you know very well Hope it turns out ok.

Rg

[iceman260]

Nice job on all the machines.

[Bartman44]

The feather one isn't a bobber, it's a work of art. Nice work.   

[rgfixit]

Thanks Bart. It’s getting there. Started wrapping a few this morning. Had to make a few changes from my rod wrapping techniques, but I’m slowly figuring it out. Need to improve my dryer some. Did some first coats of final finish this morning and realized I had no easy way to transfer the piece from the “Big Dipper” to the drying wheel. I improvised for the moment. But I have to fix that.

Sure would stink to drop one and mess up the finish at that stage. It’s kind of like putting the final coats of epoxy on the rod you’ve spent 20 or so hours wrapping perfectly and having it fall out of the drying jig.......been there and done that.

Makes you take a deep breath and try not to throw something. The wrapping went pretty well although some special feathers I used had thicker stems and show through the wraps a bit.

I’m going to turn a few more and apply a black base then several coats of varnish and then try applying the feathers. I think I might be able to set them  with fast drying polyurethane then top coat them.

A fun learning process.

Rg

[rgfixit]

My Bride finally got her Christmas gift.

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She loves it.....and me.

Rg

[Raquettedacker]

Just beautiful...   

[MILLERMANKT]

Beautiful work.

[rgfixit]

Sure was a fun project. So simple yet so ....I don’t know. The girls sure like them.

More crafty stuff than I’ve ever done. Tedious, but I didn’t seem to mind. I guess because it was a true labor of love. I love my Bride and Daughter so much it made it easy to do.

I’m very lucky to have the resources todo this stuff.

Anyway....merry Christmas everyone.

Rg

[iceman260]

Very nice work.

[rgfixit]

Bobbers are progressing.







One in the works.


I’m getting close to what I want to see for a finished piece.

Rg

[rgfixit]

With time on my hands for a couple weeks ( Lowe’s cut hours big time) I turned to the wood shop for entertainment. I’ve been wanting to replace the seed catchers on our bird feeders.




They worked out pretty well. The birds were on them getting seed within 10 minutes.

Rg

[MILLERMANKT]

looks great

[rgfixit]

I’m done! I’ve refurbished all the bird feeders and built a couple more.
The latest to replace the open tray.





It’ll take the birds a bit to get accustomed to the changes. Probably a very little bit. It’s all for my Bride really. She’s kind of house bound during these difficult times. She has some health issues and we need her to be perfectly safe.

Anyway, the birds are a real joy for both of us. I still think I should be able to claim them as dependents on my taxes.

Rg