OT: Wood Working Forums

[Button]

Hey guys I realize this is off topic but I was wondering if anyone knows of any forums similar to these that is about woodworking? I am making some cabinets and had a few questions. I have learned so much here, and am hopeful to find the wood working counterpart.

If this type of post is inappropriate I apologize and feel free to delete this post.

Thanks.

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[davem]

There are an incredible number of woodworkers here, I'd suggest starting a thread in the mudbox. CX will probably chime in and post pichers of his big wooden gate. :D

No problems asking for referrals for a ww forum either. :)

[Splinter]

I like www.woodnet.net and www.woodweb.com

Woodnet is a forum setup similar to this one, with more hobby woodworkers than pro's. Woodweb has a very different type of forum software and it seems to be more for professionals, yet they dont care if an amateur shows up. There's a section called the Knowledge Base on Woodweb that has answers to almost anything you can come up with.

Now since Dave said we can post some pics, here's a corner cabinet I recently made for a customer, and a small refrigerated 1500 bottle wine room I just put in someone else's basement.

[Westie]

try this one : http://sawmillcreek.org/

or just ask your questions in the mud box.

[Button]

Holy @%!&, that is some incredible work Alex!!! Really impressive!! Also thank you for the links I will go check those sites now. Would you mind if I PM
ed you later with my specific question, judging from your work I'm sure you could answer my question no problem?

Haa haa, I knew I would find some help here. Soon i'll be posting here asking for relationship advice, fashion tips, etc.

Ok maybe that would be pushing it. :lol2:

The cabinets that I am building are going to be tiled on top so it is sort of related to these forums. ;)

Again thanks for the help!

[Splinter]

Oh, yeah, I forgot sawmillcreek....

Feel free to PM or ask right here Chris... :)

[Button]

Thanks again. I'll post later tonight. When I get home I'll take pictures of the cabinets so my question will make more sense.

I was looking at your website Alex, did you make all the cabinets in those Kitchens? Did you do the tile work as well? Nice work indeed.

[Scooter]

Fine Woodworking has a very good site, with helpful people there. I am mainly a carpenter, and do rough and trim work, so I post over there.

Right now, I am working on a small set of drawers for a customer which acts as an end table too, in white oak. Just got through with glue up and first stain this weekend.

[chuck stevenson]

Scooter,

Nice work. I am also a member of Breaktime, at FH. That is how I found this great Forum. Knots is the woodworking side of FH.

As davem said, a bunch of woodworkers on this site.

Don't mean to date myself, but here is a thirty some year old job sign, rear view, the front of the same house we built replacement columns and trim, followed by some current work.

Button, many good WW sites out there.

[Hamilton]

Impressive work guys. :bow: Ive never been paid for woodworking
but dabble a little bit myself. I'll have to stick with the tile advice and
just watch and learn. :)

[Splinter]

Chuck, that last one looks like Heart Pine casings... I love that stuff, but not easy to find around southern NY. My own 150 year old house has that as the original flooring. I spent many many hours bringing it all back to it's original state. (or as good as I could possibly get it without pulling my hair out)

Here's 2 little things I threw together when getting the baby's room set up...

[chuck stevenson]

Alex,

Not Pine. Swamp Cyprus. Our 1920's floors are Heart Pine. We are fortunate to be the 3rd owners of this house. Nothing to undo. Here is the rest of the window above the tub.

I got it delivered from a Mill/Lumber Company in Ruston LA.

A shot of the trimmed window.

Button,

Here is a link to "Fine Woodworking". Click on "Knots" under the "Comunity" heading in the index.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/

[cx]

I moved us over here to the Mud Box where it's a better fit, I think.

Wood gate, Dave? Well, OK, I'll see if I can find the one of which you speak. You mean them way old doors I hung outside for a fella? That one?

But here's a little Ipe balcony while I search. :)

[Splinter]

didnt we have an Ipe battle a year or two ago? Im not starting that one again... I do love that stuff too though. I generally wont bother with an exterior deck project unless I get to do an Ipe deck.


Here's one last project and then Im off to bed. Gotta battle Long Island traffic in the early AM.

[Button]

Awesome work guys. There are some talented folks here.

[cx]

Doing some deck repair right now, Alex, and it's gotta be cedar to match the hatch, eh? Pretty crude work, but they wouldn't go for the Ipe. :)

What part of Ipe were we arguing about? I disremember that one. 'Cept that San Antonio boy who wanted to pewt it on his bathroom floor, which I thought would likely work. You on the other side of that one? :scratch:

I'll get a you a picher of fixing 6x6 balcony support posts on this job using Big Bertha. You'll like her. :D

[Westie]

Not a cabinet, just something I put together to hold one of my wife's many plants.

[cx]

Ol' Tonto Goldstein will like that, Westie. He likes bendin' that wood, too. :)

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Looking good, Westie!

:clap2: Yeah, Tonto loves bending wood. Especially steam bending wood. That pic of Westie's looks like a bent lamination. Not sure from the pic.

I'm gonna see if I can whup up a pic or two....

[Westie]

yes it's a bent laminate. Never tried it before so it was a bit of a learning experience.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

How thick are the laminations and what type of glue did you use?

:)

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Here's a couple steam-bent pieces. The first pic is 1 1/4" x 2" solid ash.

And the second is a piece of 3/4" x 1" solid hickory. Steam bending is a ton of fun because it opens up lots more possibilities with your projects. I've got a really unique end table I've started, but haven't had time to work on it. Never enough time, eh? :)

[Marge]

Bubba, way cool. :)

[Shooter]

I also dabble a bit. These pics are all in my home which I built or more correctly still building. I also do all of my own finish work. I do not work in the trades anymore, but as far as wood goes, I am mostly a framer and do trim work, but I have been known to do custom cabinets and such.

My Range hood in the process and almost done. In this first couple of pics my oven surround was also in the process. There is quite a bit of trim work in the kitchen that is still unfinished. I am a very big fan of stained woods.
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1063/9183/162047.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1063/9183/162046.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1063/9183/202639.jpg

My latest project that I finished over this past weekend. My wife needed her own space for scrapbooking so I built this Armoire for that purpose.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/IMG_07811.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/IMG_07941.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/IMG_07951.jpg

I started this bathroom months ago but it was put on hold for other more pressing projects. I have just started it back up once again and I should revive an old thread that I had going once I get to the tile work. I am just about ready to spray primer. The floors will be travertine with a roll in wheelchair shower. Wanes type coating tile work on the walls with tumbled marble and tile accents and tile chair rail. Shower will also be a host of travertines and tumbled marbles. Here is the wood work which will all be painted in this room.

http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1063/10902/202649.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1063/8511/202705.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1063/8511/202706.jpg

Let me take the opportunity to sneak in a pic of my GC. :)
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/IMG_08071.jpg

[Button]

After seeing all the great wood working in this thread I am little embarrassed to show pictures of one of my many on going projects but here it goes anyway. :)

These are hall way linen cabinets that I am in the process of building. I still need to do all of the trim work and seal them. I am going to be tiling the top in slate. All the wood is birch. I plan on just using a clear coat sealer then putting on some simple handles.

My question is what to do with the doors? I wanted a clean look so I was hoping to go with a slab style door. The 4 doors are 3/4 " birch ply, 25 inches wide by 31 1/2" tall. The problem is that the ply is not perfectly flat so they are bowing out and don't sit perfectly flat. You can see the lippage in the pictures below. I bought some magnetic latches that I am guessing might help a little bit but I doubt will be the ultimate solution.

I know I need to make new doors, any thoughts on what I can do? Maybe build the doors out of MDF then veneer them? Somehow join multiple pieces of birch hardwood to make the doors? Switch to a shaker style door for extra rigidity? None of the above?

I currently have limited woodworking tools but it's not hard to convince me to buy a new power tool. :dance:

Just because I am also attaching a pic of my first tile job. It's the entry way to our small condo.

Thanks for your help.

PS. Real nice work Shooter. Is that a computer sitting on your kitchen counter?

[chuck stevenson]

Chris,

3/4" veneer faced MDF core is my choice for slab doors. Big boxes don't carry it but a hardwoods dealer or a supplier to Cabinetmakers would have it.

[Westie]

How thick are the laminations and what type of glue did you use?

The laminations are about 3/32 thick. I used a high solids PVA glue to glue them up. The point where they come together has a small triangle with a dowel into each leg to add strenght.

[Marge]

Shooter, what's the wood on the kitchen cabs? Reminds me of Koa with that sheen (at least the sheen the pitcher makes it looks like it has). :)

[John Bridge]

Hunted around for some of the stuff I put on here before. Came up with this. :)

the bar top is all scraps scavenged on custom home jobs -- red oak, Honduran Mahogany, hard maple, white oak. The stools are made from scraps of 5/4 red oak stair treads. Got enough on one job to make both stools. The backs are 1/8 in. rippers laminated in a form. 18 ply.

Kurt, I'd like to see a pic of your steamer. :)

[Albert]

yep, i coodnt miss that cypress. you dont use real heart pine for trim unless you like tryin to nail into iron. i used to renovate old houses in new orleans and all of the trim was old cypress. i hate to think of all the cypress that was thrown away after katrina -- hell, cypress does better underwater than it does in the dry air. whata waste.

some of the reel olde howses by the river were made of barge boards -- literally boards that were used to build barges. after the barges floated downriver they took the barges apart and built howses out of em. (easier than pushin barges back up river) some of the barge boards were 24 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches thick and 20 feet long -- they builded ballon framed howses with those. much of it was cypress very nice wood.

albert

[cx]

I'm impressed, Albert. When I saw your name on here I figgered you was scratchin' on your head and was fixin' to talk about Bois D' Arc wood. :D

You ever fool with any Pecky Cyprus when you were down that way?

[Albert]

i added some pitchers to my last post-it.

a couple of bookcase pichers wiff cherry counters and a pitcher of a katrina house wiff the waterline on it.

i did fool around wiff pecker cypress, i mean pecky cypress. beeautiful wood. my parentes house in nawlins had a basement (ground floor) inished it wiff it. it was submerged in katrina and the cleanup crewe ripped it all out. the cypress was fine but they needed to dry the wall cavity and it has collected all sorrtes of crud in the little peckys.

nice stuff, it is.

albert

[cx]

I knew a fella 'bout 40 years ago down in Florida whose family had been makin' their living cutting that Pecky Cyprus for many years.

I've never had much opportunity to fool with it. Haven't actually seen any in recent memory. Wondered if the still mined the stuff much. I've seen some cyprus at my favorite lumber yard that was pretty raggedy lookin', but it wasn't actually being sold as pecky. Just a poor grade with a lotta holes in it, maybe?

[Shooter]

Button - It is a rice dispenser and not a puter. :)

Marge - The cabinets are all custom, built from solid Rosewood inside and out. My master bath also has his and hers vanities made of the same wood by the same maker but in a darker finish. I cannot take credit for the cabinets. I could never hope to build cabinets of such quality. They are some heavy suckers and the termites won't touch em.

My parents have a ton of Hawaiian Koa furniture and it is hard to tell the difference in these and actual Hawaiian Koa and the price is tens of thousands less than real Hawaiian Koa.

Really amazing craftsmanship and finish work.
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/1044/cabinets.03.1.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/1044/cabinets.04.1.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/1044/cabinets.06.1.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/1044/cabinets.10.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/1044/cabinets.01.1.jpg

[Albert]

in the olden days pecky cypress wuz the trash wood. then peeple figgered out that it looked good and has nice grain and the pricin went up. if there is too much pecky it looks like trash. probably yore lumberyard just has some bad quality boards wiff peckys in them.

pecky is best fore exposed beems and wall panelin.

you can still getit.

http://www.floridacypress.com/About%20Cypress.htm

http://www.jimmys-cypress.com/index.html

albert

[onereelbigfishy]

Neat to see a few people mention Koa here. Makes it easier for me to shamelessly plug my father's website.

Curlykoa.com (http://www.curlykoa.com)

We like to think we're the best supplier of Koa on the net. The site is designed and hosted by yours truly. :) Those rosewood cabinets are beautiful but I don't think they look quite like koa. If you go to our customer creations page you will see some pictures of guitars and ukuleles' made out of both koa and mango. Although I can't say that I made any of them myself.

Great looking work on here. I start to think I'm getting to be a descent wood worker and then I see threads like this that make me realize I'm a total novice. But I'm 26... So maybe if I'm lucky enough to make it as long as some of you old timers I'll be doing similar work someday. :bow:

[Shooter]

I appreciate the shameless plug, but you are preaching to the choir my friend. I still live in Hawaiian Koa capital of the world but not on the Big Island. No not all Rosewood resembles Koa, however many of the grains are a near spitting image of curly koa as can be seen on the front of the bar here.

http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1063/9183/162047.jpg

I am 40 years old now and grew up with nothing but Koa furniture in my home. I guess that is where my life long love for natural and stained woods come from. My mothers collection is astounding and older than I am. She also happens to live on the Big Island near where you left. You might even know her, except her collection does not include a lot of musical instruments, only 3 or 4 Ukes.

Nothing and I mean nothing looks as good as a nice Koa piece but some of this Rosewood grain and its finish looks amazingly similar and if you can easliy fool Hawaiians that is a fine testament to the wood itself. I never pass it off as Koa and love the Rosewood. I would never be able to afford true Koa in this quantity of cabinets. I am sure you would have a good idea of current pricing in the tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, so I am extremely happy with going my route. Like my mothers Koa, this wood and these cabinets will look just as good after I am long gone as they do today.

Perhaps when I inherit the Koa, my kids will inherit the Rosewood. Lets hope that neither comes too quickly. :lol2:

Good luck with the relocation. I lived in SW WA for many years. At least the East side is much drier but I couldn't stand all the rain on the western side of the state.

[Shooter]

Oh FWIW, here is my Koa! (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7755873480576139052&hl=en)


He doesn't really look just like Koa either. :)

[Button]

Continuing with my questions about my cabinet doors as asked above.

If i am to make slab doors out of veneered MDF what is the process? I have done edge banding but have never used veneer.

These are my asumtions on how to build them:

1) Cut the MDF to size minus about 1/16" ( or what ever the thickness of the edge banding is) in all directions to account for the thickness of the edge banding.

2) Cut the veneer down so it is about a 1/4" or so bigger in all directions then the MDF.

3) Glue the Veneer to the MDF. Is there veneer specific glue?

4) Trim the excess overhanging veneer with one of those little hand held routers. I am sure there is a name for these types of routers but I am not sure what it is. :bonk:

5) Iron on the edge banding then trim with an edge banding trimmer.

6) Sand and seal.

Is there a better/easier/quicker way to do this?

Is there a different method of building a flat door that I should consider?


Thanks for the help and keep the amazing wood working pics coming!

[chuck stevenson]

Chris,

If you cannot find MDF core veneered ply. Glue the whole sheet with contact cement, then cut it to size. Make sure you have a Plam D-handle or J-roller.

I use 1/2" solid wood edges rather than the iron on tape. The tape can be damaged easily.

I clamp it overnite, flush route it and sand it to 180.

The panels are glued up oversized, sealed then cut up and dadoed for the cabs.

[chuck stevenson]

Chris,

These are door and drawer fronts made from 3/4" red oak MDF with 1/2" solid oak edges.

[Marge]

I have a few pieces of Koa furniture, purchased on the Big Island and shipped to the mainland. If you can get some nice curly it is gorgeous...my fav wood. :)

[onereelbigfishy]

Where are you from Shooter?

Koa is really nice. But it's so expensive now that it is prohibitive to build anything but musical instruments out of it. That is a little bit of an exaggeration but just barely. My dad and I milled koa off and on all over the Big Island. Now there are only 3-4 people who even have access to any koa trees. It's one of those good 'ol boy deals where you have to be in the right circles to get any access at all.

Hold on to your koa pieces. They are just about priceless.

[Marge]

Marlin, I hear ya. I had admired Koa forever and never thought it realistic I could have anything other than a salad bowl that could be packed in a suitcase. On a trip to the high country on Hawaii I happened into a small, VERY unpretentious gallery and was admiring some Koa pieces. Started chatting with someone and one thing led to another. I was fortunate to have a rocking chair made by an awesome craftsman/artist (needing to make some money at the time) and he wanted me to pick out the wood. Didn't tell me anything about it or what to look for, just wanted to see what I would like. He told me it needed to be special and something I could appreciate by making the choices. Apparently I liked some certain things really well. :D Picked out some curly and some volcanic.

I cherish the craftsmanship and the thoughts behind it. I have always told Wiley that if the house burns down...save the rocker. Well, Shaka first, then the rocker. :)

This was 15 years ago...couldn't afford one of those now. The restrictions on harvesting the wood then were tight...can't imagine what it may be like now.

Still waiting for that salad bowl. :)