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Author Topic: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)  (Read 11398 times)

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AtomSmasher

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Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« on: April 24, 2006, 09:31:50 pm »
I'm going to be building a bed soon, I've already planned out exactly how I'm going to make it, including every cut I'll need to make and what sizes of wood to buy.  I just want to get some confirmation on a few things since the only wood work I've done is with MDF.

After looking over the wood at home depot, I've decided to make the bed out of Pine (along with a few hidden 2x4s for support made out of Douglas Fur).  I'm just looking on any insight of whether Pine should work well for a bed.  I think it's a strong enough wood and I'm hoping it will look good stained.  I want to stain it pretty dark, but I've never stained wood before I'm just assuming that you can stain a light wood dark.  Also, is there anything I should be aware of when working with real wood instead of MDF?  Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm pretty sure I won't have a problem, but I figured I should ask you guys anyways since I've never done a project like this before.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2006, 10:29:26 pm »
It should be fine to make it out of pine.  You can use a dark stain to make it dark but it might takea a few coats.
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2006, 11:44:15 pm »
The few tips I'd give are:

1) Make sure that you get STRAIGHT pieces of wood.
If you don't START with straight wood, you won't end up with straight wood.
Real wood can warp after the fact as well, which is something to keep in mind.

2) You need to use a sealer/primer on pine before you stain it.
If you don't, the stain will be very uneven, as parts of the wood are denser than other parts, so they accept the stain differently.
I had to learn that one the hard way.

3) Dark stain will cover up alot of the character in the wood.
Not a real warning, just something to keep in mind again.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2006, 12:09:53 am »
The few tips I'd give are:

1) Make sure that you get STRAIGHT pieces of wood.
If you don't START with straight wood, you won't end up with straight wood.
Real wood can warp after the fact as well, which is something to keep in mind.

2) You need to use a sealer/primer on pine before you stain it.
If you don't, the stain will be very uneven, as parts of the wood are denser than other parts, so they accept the stain differently.
I had to learn that one the hard way.

3) Dark stain will cover up alot of the character in the wood.
Not a real warning, just something to keep in mind again.

About number one I have had the happen to me.  I was in a rush and it was my fault  but I got luck, I only need small peaces so it worked out.
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2006, 12:21:41 am »
The few tips I'd give are:

1) Make sure that you get STRAIGHT pieces of wood.
If you don't START with straight wood, you won't end up with straight wood.
Real wood can warp after the fact as well, which is something to keep in mind.

2) You need to use a sealer/primer on pine before you stain it.
If you don't, the stain will be very uneven, as parts of the wood are denser than other parts, so they accept the stain differently.
I had to learn that one the hard way.

3) Dark stain will cover up alot of the character in the wood.
Not a real warning, just something to keep in mind again.
Excellent info, thanks.  The reason I'm thinking of going with a dark stain is just because I think it'll look better, but I may change my mind before I buy the stain.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2006, 11:18:39 am »
The few tips I'd give are:

1) Make sure that you get STRAIGHT pieces of wood.
If you don't START with straight wood, you won't end up with straight wood.
Real wood can warp after the fact as well, which is something to keep in mind.

2) You need to use a sealer/primer on pine before you stain it.
If you don't, the stain will be very uneven, as parts of the wood are denser than other parts, so they accept the stain differently.
I had to learn that one the hard way.

3) Dark stain will cover up alot of the character in the wood.
Not a real warning, just something to keep in mind again.

 #1  is a great tip, if you get this wrong the whole project gets difficult.  Just wanted to throw my $.02 in - When you select your boards make sure you look at them from the end...looking down the piece of wood.  This will help you see whether the board bows either up and down or side to side.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2006, 03:34:09 pm »
A few more things about working with pine:

1. Pine is a soft wood; it will dent if tools or other items fall on it. This may be the look you are going for a "distressed" look but it will effect the way the stain is absorbed.

2. Make sure you acclimate the wood to your home. Bring it home, lay it flat, then let it sit a day or two. Wood (especially from Home Depot) can be high in moisture content and even if the board was flat when you bought it when it dries it can warp.

3. Stain both sides of the wood even though it may not show. Pine is very pourous and if you don't seal both sides of the wood it will dryout faster on one side than the other and potientally warp.

4. Give the boards a light sanding with 220 grit paper before you stain. Pine has a natural tendancy to "yellow" over time and having a fresh surface for the sealer to absorb into will give your stain a more even look.

5. All wood will contract and expand over time; depending on the joints you are using you will want to leave some room for the wood to move.

I'm also curious why you chose pine? Is it costs or does that match the style you are looking for? I love to work with maple - it is a much harder wood and the grain patterns are outstanding. Don't take that the wrong way- just wanted to share some options - I've made many pine projects (the headboard on my bed is made of pine).

If you don't have access to other woods locally here is a place that I get mine from: http://woodworkerssource.net/

Good luck!!

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2006, 03:48:37 pm »
I'm also curious why you chose pine? Is it costs or does that match the style you are looking for? I love to work with maple - it is a much harder wood and the grain patterns are outstanding. Don't take that the wrong way- just wanted to share some options - I've made many pine projects (the headboard on my bed is made of pine).
Thanks for the advice.  I chose pine because at home depot they had a choice of pine or oak, and oak was at least 5x more expensive then pine.  Do you think I should get my wood from a local lumber yard and get Maple or something else?  As I said earlier, I'm fairly new to wood working and really have no idea which woods are better for what. 

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2006, 04:16:57 pm »
Don't use a stain.

Use a DYE.

You buy it in concentrated powder or liquid and add to denatured alcohol to get the color you want.

This will even out the grain color and get a unified, non-splotchy look.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2006, 07:01:50 pm »
Thanks for the advice.  I chose pine because at home depot they had a choice of pine or oak, and oak was at least 5x more expensive then pine.  Do you think I should get my wood from a local lumber yard and get Maple or something else?  As I said earlier, I'm fairly new to wood working and really have no idea which woods are better for what. 

As for the wood preference - that is a personal choice. I noticed you said you where building a bed; with a stronger wood you might be able to eliminate some bracing.
I like to go to the lumber yard as they have better selection of wood - prices are usually better as well. To help determine what wood you would like to use; go to the lumber yard and ask for some scraps of different kinds you like, then try some different stains/dyes on them to see what you like.
As for your plans maybe you could share them with us and we could give you some feedback on the design. I'm sure this board is not the place for this type of project so PM me if you want I'd be happy to give some feedback.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2006, 08:57:35 pm »
If you do end up using Pine and decide to stain it instead of dye it (as was mentioned earlier in the thread) you might want to consider using a wood conditioner on the lumber before staining it. Staining pine directly can produce a "splotchy" appearance. The use of a conditioner helps relieve that problem.

I would recommend not using a softwood for a bed for a couple reasons. One is that any joints you make may eventually "wear out" due to the softness of the wood. Another reason is that it dents and scratches easily. Someone mentioned earlier in the thread something about a "distressed" look. If that is something you are considering, then maybe a softwood would be suitable for your project.

One major consideration is how you plan on fastening the rails to the headboard and footboard. Beds get a lot of use and abuse (No need to elaborate here  ;) )and strong joints will help you keep your bed around for a long time. There are a few different ways to make these joints.... some are mechanical such as brackets or bolts & plates, and some are joints you cut directly into/on the wood such as mortise and tenon joints.

Good luck with the project,

Pyro

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2006, 10:37:09 pm »
Alright, you guys have talked me out of using pine, what is a good wood to use that isn't too expensive?  Maple, as mentioned earlier? 

As for the plans for my bed, well, what I have scribbled down probably won't make sense to anyone but me.  Its basically some crude drawings of my design and a list of every piece of wood I'll need to cut out, with the exception of a few small pieces I can cut out of scrap wood.  How all the pieces will fit together isn't on paper though, its just in my head.  I went ahead and posted my drawing of the "headboard", which will actually be a bookcase style headboard. It'll have 2 drawers and 4 shelf type areas.  I also attached a bookcase headboard picture I found online so you can see what I'm going for.

Warning: The rest of this post is a description of how I'm building my bed, so feel free to ignore it.  It probably won't make much sense anyways.  I'm pretty I've thought the design through pretty throughly, so my plans should work well and be easy enough to build.

The reason theres 5 legs is because this bed is actually going to be convertable from a full size bed to a queen size bed.  The reason for that is right now I have a full size mattress and box spring and don't really have a reason to buy a queen size.  But if I'm going to build a bed, I might as well make it as useful as possible since I'm sure I'll eventually get a queen sized bed.  So, the 2 outside legs will be used when its a queen size bed, and the 2 inner ones will be used when its a full sized bed.  The 5th leg there to hold two support railings that will go down the center of the bed. 

As for how the railings will be attached to the legs, I'm going with an extremely simple method.  At the top of the bed (the side with the headboard) they will just be bolted to the legs on the bookcase headboard.  For the legs on the bottom, I'm going to use a 1''x3'' and a 1'x4'' and attach them together in an L shape, making it 4'' on each side.  I will then bolt the railings to that.  I'm also going to have two railings going from the center leg of the headboard to the footboard.  There will also be some railings attached to the footboard and I'm planning on putting supports underneath each of the railings at the legs which will go from the bottom of the railing to the floor, so it should be very rock solid.  I should probably also mention that the railings will be 2''x4'' boards attached so the 4'' is vertical, making it unlikely to bend.  I know I'm going a bit overkill on the supports, but I figure its better to make it too strong then not strong enough.

The sides and the footboard will be 1''x12'' boards, with the 4'' railings attached on the lower insides, the extra 8'' will be covering up the boxspring.  I'm attaching a picture of the type of look I'm going for, except it'll have a bookcase headboard instead of that one.  I'm also going to make 2 footboards, one at queen bed width and one at full size bed width, I figure I can keep the unused footboard inside the lower section of the bookcase, just behind the mattress.

Oh, one more thing, you'll notice on my sketch theres a 16'' tall section, thats the part where the mattress will be and 8'' above the mattress, which I will use two 1''x8'' boards to cover.  I'm thinking of making the top 8'' board hinged with some sort of trick release system because it will just be wasted space behind there and might as well add something kind of cool to it.

If any of that makes sense, then theres probably something wrong with you, but let me know what you think.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2006, 10:39:14 pm »
I should probably also mention this website which helped a lot when coming up with my plans
http://www.freeww.com/index.html

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #13 on: April 25, 2006, 11:03:19 pm »
Looks like quite a project and it seems as though you have thought out things fairly well. One suggestion might be to use oak/maple plywood for the longer and wider pieces - you could rip a couple of 4x8 sheets into the larger/longer pieces; then you would just front them with a small strip of matching hardwood to hide the edges of the ply [or use t-molding on the edges - a nice green would look good ;)]. This would cut the costs of using hardwood for the whole project (it also may be hard to find hardwood in the width that you need). This technique is used in many pieces of furniture - the plywood is more stable than striaght hardwood which also makes for less problems with warping.

Good Luck!

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2006, 11:41:33 pm »
I say you make an arcade bed using t-molding and translucent buttons all over the headboard and joysticks on the corner posts.  Use some Galaga bedsheets too that would be sweet.  BYOACBed :laugh2:

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #15 on: April 27, 2006, 11:10:05 pm »
One suggestion might be to use oak/maple plywood for the longer and wider pieces - you could rip a couple of 4x8 sheets into the larger/longer pieces; then you would just front them with a small strip of matching hardwood to hide the edges of the ply [or use t-molding on the edges - a nice green would look good ;)]. This would cut the costs of using hardwood for the whole project (it also may be hard to find hardwood in the width that you need). This technique is used in many pieces of furniture - the plywood is more stable than striaght hardwood which also makes for less problems with warping.
I like this idea, and it would allow me to use oak and save money.  I haven't done the calculations, but I think I'd only need two 4x8 sheets for the whole project.  Each sheet is around $40, plus the cost of the 2x4s and trim it would probably total about $100 for the wood, which is $50 less then my original calculations of using pine.  What do you think?  Is going with oak plywood a good idea?  You guys obviously know more about wood then me :)

Looking online, it looks like home depot only carries 3/4 inch thick oak plywood, which would mean I'd need to redo my calculations since they were done assuming 1'' thick wood was used.  I know plywood is stronger then regular wood so 3/4'' should be strong enough, or do you think I should check out the local lumber yard and see if they have it 1'' thick?  I should probably just buy from the lumber yard anyways since it'll probably be cheaper.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #16 on: April 27, 2006, 11:38:30 pm »
3/4" thickness is standard for what is commonly called 1x in the lumber industry. 3/4" is plenty strong to do what you need. The net thickness of lumber these days is less than the nominal size... ie: 2x4 is actually 1 1/2" x 3 1/2", 1x12 is actually 3/4" (sometimes even 5/8" or 11/16") x 11 1/2", etc.

Pyro

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #17 on: April 28, 2006, 11:24:37 pm »
Poplar is a good strong hardwood that is not too expensive.

I made my sister-in-law some tables from poplar and a dye finish (as I suggested above).

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #18 on: April 29, 2006, 03:00:28 am »
I had some free time today so I went and got 2 sheets of oak plywood and a couple 2x4s.  I haven't decided how I'm going to stain (or dye) it, but I figure I can at least start cutting.  Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm sure it'll be a lot better with oak plywood then it would have been with pine (which is what I originally was going to use), plus it's cheaper to build, which is always a plus.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #19 on: April 29, 2006, 09:42:59 pm »
Good luck with your project! Maybe we'll see some pics in Project Announcements  :)

Pyro

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #20 on: April 29, 2006, 10:11:32 pm »
Good luck with your project! Maybe we'll see some pics in Project Announcements  :)

Pyro
Thanks, its not arcade related so I wont be making a thread in the Project Announcements section, but I'll definately put some pics here.  I didn't get started on it today, but I definately will tommorrow.  I did creat a checklist of every piece I'll need to cut out and adjusted my measurements to the 3/4'' thickness of wood.  Hopefully everything will go as easily and all my calculations are plans are correct.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #21 on: April 29, 2006, 11:13:10 pm »
A couple more things to remember when before you start cutting. Allow for the kerf of the saw blade  that you are using - a typical blade is 1/8" thick, so this will add up to 1/2" in four cuts. Also when cutting laminate plywood it is reccomended that you get a blade designed for rip cutting (a minimum of 40 teeth), if you use a regular blade there is a high chance that you will get alot of tearing on the edges of the ply. I have had good results minimizing splintering by putting masking tape the length of the board where the blade will cut. I have talked to others who have scored the board with a utility knife to minimize splintering(this can be difficult to predict where the blade will cut). You should aslo cut with a very minimum of the blade passing through the backside of the wood - this will also help minimize tearing.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #22 on: May 16, 2006, 09:02:11 pm »
Just thought I'd give an update.  I haven't had a lot of time to work on this lately, but I had the day off today so I decided to make some real progress.  I now have all the major peices cut out and have the headboard pretty much together.  The info you guys gave was a lot of help and things are turning out pretty good so far.  Its always cool to see something go from a thought in your head into reality.  Heres the crappy drawing I did of the headboard which I posted earlier:


and heres what I've gotten done so far:

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #23 on: May 16, 2006, 10:29:24 pm »
Very very cool, keep us updated.
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #24 on: May 17, 2006, 12:39:41 am »
It looks like you nabbed some nice pieces of oak.  The grain looks great.  It'll really pop once you stain it.

 I need to check my garage, there are many types of clear polyeurethane that claim to be "quick dry" but I was given a can of this stuff that really does dry in about an hour.  Its helpfull for doing lots and lots of coats for a smooth durable finish.

( if you have to do 5 coats and wait 4 hours between coats, you'll never finish and end up quitting at like 2 coats or something.)

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #25 on: May 18, 2006, 09:27:25 am »
Poplar is a good strong hardwood that is not too expensive.

I made my sister-in-law some tables from poplar and a dye finish (as I suggested above).

The challenge with poplar is that it can have a yellowish to greenish tone to parts of it that can really affect your stain. It is often suggested that poplar be used for stuff that will be painted and not stained.

In my basement the cabinets are oak, with a slightly reddish tone to the finish.  I think they called it "Honey Oak".  Oak trim was much too expensive, so I used pine for the, doors, casements,  baseboards and chair rails.  I did some experimenting and came up with a combination of Cherry and Golden Oak stains that gave me an almost perfect match to the color of the cabinets.  When it came time to buy the stair railings, I found that they came in Oak and Poplar.  Again the oak was too much.  I went with the poplar, but I had to go to 4 different stores to find all the spindles, newell posts and rails with little or no green in them.  I used a slightly different combination of stains to get the best match to the rest of the wood work.
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #26 on: May 22, 2006, 03:04:47 pm »
I didn't get too much done this weekend, but as you can see the headboard is basically done, I just need to build two drawers and put the molding on, which brings me to why I'm here.  Whats the best way to put the molding on the edges of the wood?  I'm guessing small nails would work well, but I just want to get confirmation on this.  The molding is just 1/4'' thick oak molding, nothing fancy.

As for the rest of the bed, its pretty much done.  Both footboards are finished and the sideboards are cut out, but I'm short one 2x4 so I wasn't able to finish it.  Its pretty close to being done, mainly just a lot of sanding and staining left to do.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2006, 03:07:23 pm by AtomSmasher »

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #27 on: May 23, 2006, 10:30:38 am »
One option is to get the iron on siding that is designed for this. It is a very thin strip of wood with some heat activated glue on the end. You just heat up the iron (cover the bottom in aluminum foil to protect it) and then run it along the trim. It will stick to the board and you just need to trim it with a razor blade, real easy stuff.

If you have molding, the best way is to glue it and hold it still with clamps. If you don't have the time or the clamps for that, then you can glue them and use small finishing nails or brads to nail it down. You will probably need to get a set of punches to keep from hammering the trim itself and I've found holding the brads with needle-nose pliers saves your fingers a royal beating.

The headboard looks great, btw.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #28 on: May 23, 2006, 10:37:23 am »
The headboard looks great!

In addition to the comments that Aryk made, I would like to add that if you don't have clamps to glue up the trim, sometimes you can get away with just a few brads to line things up (the brads don't really do much other than hold proper alignment, it is the glue that does the gripping) and then use the weight of your project to apply pressure to the trim. Basically, tack the trim in place with a few brads and then flop the project onto that side, on a concrete floor or other sturdy surface, and allow it to dry.

Keep up the good work!

Pyro

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #29 on: May 23, 2006, 12:27:56 pm »
One option is to get the iron on siding that is designed for this. It is a very thin strip of wood with some heat activated glue on the end. You just heat up the iron (cover the bottom in aluminum foil to protect it) and then run it along the trim. It will stick to the board and you just need to trim it with a razor blade, real easy stuff.

Do this, this stuff works great!  You can get it at Home Depot too.  I've used this for multiple projects on oak plywood.

Looking good, looking really good.
Next I'll be on fries, and that's when the big money starts rolling in.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #30 on: May 23, 2006, 06:39:35 pm »
One option is to get the iron on siding that is designed for this. It is a very thin strip of wood with some heat activated glue on the end. You just heat up the iron (cover the bottom in aluminum foil to protect it) and then run it along the trim. It will stick to the board and you just need to trim it with a razor blade, real easy stuff.

Do this, this stuff works great!  You can get it at Home Depot too.  I've used this for multiple projects on oak plywood.

Looking good, looking really good.
Hmm, well I already bought a bunch of oak molding for it so I'll probably just use what I have and use glue with a couple finishing nails to attach it.  I'll take a look at the trim your talking about the next time I'm at home depot and if its not expensive and looks good, then I may pick some up too.  That stuff is probably easier to work with, and I could use the thick molding I have for along the top and on the sides, but use the stuff your talking about elsewhere.  It could add a bit more character to it, not having the same molding everywhere.

Thanks again for the help everyone.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #31 on: May 24, 2006, 05:42:28 pm »
If you already got it, use it.  It will most likely be more durable anyway being thicker.
Next I'll be on fries, and that's when the big money starts rolling in.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #32 on: May 28, 2006, 03:38:29 pm »
Haven't gotten much work done on it so far this weekend, but I did stop by homedepot and pickup a few things.  I found that trim you were talking about, $10 for 80ft so I went ahead and picked up a roll.  There were a few spots where I thought the thick molding I had would be a problem, so this will definately be handy.  Also, I picked out a stain.  I just got a little can so I can test it out and decide if its what I want, but I think I like it.  And don't worry, I won't stain anything but scrap wood until I get a big can and I'll mix the little can with the big can so the stain will be exactly the same. 

Heres a picture of the scrap wood I stained, since its hard to tell how the stain looks from a picture I included a piece of non-stained wood for comparision.  Any thoughts or comments before I decide to go with this stain?

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #33 on: May 28, 2006, 06:12:52 pm »
it looks good and consistent.  But sorta mild.

That might be the color you are going for but I might stain it one to three more times before sealing it to give it a real rich tone.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #34 on: May 29, 2006, 04:32:34 pm »
Buy a small can of poly to see what it'll look like after that.  Just because it looks nice now, you might think differently after poly.
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #35 on: May 29, 2006, 08:02:48 pm »
Buy a small can of poly to see what it'll look like after that.  Just because it looks nice now, you might think differently after poly.

Good idea, I'll try putting on a second coat stain and then a coat or two of poly since thats what I'll be doing with the final product.  Best to see exactly what it looks like now then find out I hate it later.

The problem with the stain is I want it to be fairly dark, but I also want to easily see the grain of the wood, so I think 2 coats of this stain is about as dark as I can go (its actually a bit darker then the picture makes it look to be).  If anyone has any better ideas, feel free to let me know.

I worked on the bed a bit more today and its looks like it just about done.  The next step will be sanding, then install the molding, and then stain it.  Pretty soon this will be done and I'll be onto my next project :)

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #36 on: May 29, 2006, 10:25:53 pm »
Try this.  Get a small can of "Natural", and in a separate container, mix about half and half of the color you already have.  Test that out.

A couple of other things you can try out are:

Grab a piece of scrap (or several pieces, if need be). Sand one piece with 60 grit.  Sand another piece with first 60, then 100 grit.  Sand another with 60, 100, and 200.  If you wish, sand yet another piece with 60, 100, 200, and 400 grit. 

Apply your stain to each piece, then poly.  Trust me, there WILL be a difference in the shades between each piece.  The higher your grit, the less the stain will absorb, and you MAY need a second coat, but you may like the results even better than starting with a darker piece.

Natch, a R/O sander will help out with this step. 

Another thing that may darken it just a tad is to use a shellac or an amber varnish (I think Varathane is a common supplier who sells it, but I dunno about your area).  The amber coloring will darken it just a tad more for you, but since it's in the varnish, it will kinda "clear" out the color for you.
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #37 on: June 25, 2006, 09:09:54 pm »
I worked on it again today for the first time in a while, but I'm pretty close to being done now.  I just need to put on a bit more molding, then sand and stain it.  Hopefully I'll have time nextweekend to finish it.  Heres the pics of it put together:

I brought the boxspring and mattress out to make sure everything was done correctly.


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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #38 on: June 26, 2006, 10:42:45 am »
Awesome!

I really like the design you came up with. Nice clean lines, a little storage, and yet stylish as well.

Keep up the good work!

Pyro

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #39 on: July 04, 2006, 03:03:17 pm »
Heres the finished product:






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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #40 on: July 04, 2006, 03:03:52 pm »
Thanks a lot for the help everyone, couldn't have done it without it.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #41 on: July 04, 2006, 03:12:47 pm »
You're gonna wanna do something to the insides too.  Leaving them unfinished will cause you problems down the road.
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #42 on: July 04, 2006, 03:29:13 pm »
You're gonna wanna do something to the insides too.  Leaving them unfinished will cause you problems down the road.
I was thinking about that too, would a couple coats of polyurethane be good to seal it?  It would be easy enough to put on.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #43 on: July 04, 2006, 03:42:27 pm »
I'm also talking about the very real possibility that you'll end up with warping or checking of the wood due to the stuff drying on only one side, pulling the wood in one direction. 

I'd throw as many coats of poly on the backside as you did on the front.  You don't have to take all the steps you did for the frontside, so that'll save you some time.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2006, 03:44:57 pm by DrewKaree »
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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #44 on: July 04, 2006, 07:19:35 pm »
I'm also talking about the very real possibility that you'll end up with warping or checking of the wood due to the stuff drying on only one side, pulling the wood in one direction. 

I'd throw as many coats of poly on the backside as you did on the front.  You don't have to take all the steps you did for the frontside, so that'll save you some time.

its already been over 24 hours since I put the poly on the front side, so if it was going to warp, it already would of.  I think the 2x4's being screwed and glued on probably helped keep it from warping.  I'll definately keep that in mind for my next project though.

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Re: Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
« Reply #45 on: July 04, 2006, 09:41:14 pm »
I'm pretty sure he means the wood itself drying out over time. As a general rule, wood continues to dry out more and more as time passes (I have this old wooden bed frame that I swear weighs like 2 pounds because it's so old all the water content is completely gone). By putting the same amount of poly on both sides, you ensure that one side doesn't dry out significantly faster than the other.
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