Fireplace box

Very nice!

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond,CA

>A job well done. I like the name on it too!

Who you tryin' to kid?

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>First attempt at letter carving, my foot!

Very very nice fireplace box Tom. If this is the worst of the lot I'd sure like to see the other two! Bet it really makes for a nice focal point beside the fireplace eh?

Todd O.

who a few weeks ago made a down and dirty tv stand out of construction grade 2x4's and enjoys looking at the stand more than the tv, except when wrassalin' or St. Roy is on that is.

Todd's 2x4 TV stand... Hey, I made one too!

Jonathan Kaplan (OR)

>Hey, I made one of those myself a few weeks ago. Some friends are having a baby, and my wife and I helped them re-organize their house, etc., and in the process noticed that their TV was being held up by a couple of plastic milk-crates. So I grabed some old 2x4's I had around, and threw together a little TV stand w/ a shelf for the VCR and everything... Looks sort of OK -- but I forgot to get a picture of it before bringing it over. Used the neaderbuddy to rip the wood into 1x2ish strips, but handtools for the rest. I'll have to do that next time I'm over there...

jk

Re: Who you tryin' to kid?

Tom Scott

>No Foolin' ya. Well, I took one practice run on scrap, and then went to it. It would take me weeks to go through all of the practice lessons in Pye's book. I was running short on time as usual, so just jumped in.

I'm probably more partial to the others since they are cherry and no dying was involved. The letters seem to stand out a little better.

BTW: great work, Tom! 

Jonathan Kaplan (OR)

>

Great carving and dovetailing, Tom.

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Now this is funny...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond,CA

>I used an old futon frame to make my TV/Stereo stand about 10 years. Some doug fir 2x and the slats for the top and bottom shelf. All held together with carrage bolts and sheet rock screws. So overbuilt I could probably park my truck on it.

Scott, Who now has some nice mahogony and is working on a plan for G&G styled sideboard of types to replace it.

Re: Fireplace box

Mike in Mystic

>Great job and I really like the finish. I've dyed maple in the past myself, but yours has a different tone than what I've done. Can you give details (techniques and materials used) for your finish?

Thanks,

Mike

Re: Finish

Tom Scott (Midlothian, TX)

>This was my first time to try dye. I used the Transtint light brown dye in alcohol. No measuring, just poured out some alcohol and dropped in the dye until it looked about right. I tried on scrap using a rag, but it was a little too dark so just thinned out a bit more. What I found is that the alcohol evaporates so fast you have to do multiple coats to feather out the edges. For this reason, I think it might have been easier to use the dye in a water base instead of alcohol.

After drying for a few hours, it was lightly sanded since the grain was raised slightly. The first coat of BLO was flooded on, wiped off, and allowed to dry for a day. The second coat of BLO was flooded on and and rubbed in with steel wool. The final finish (not shown) was paste wax rubbed in with steel wool to give it that silky feel.