Anyone else going stir crazy? My mind is grappling with this unprecedented event that has shaken the entire world. I still have client work to keep me seated at my desk, but the stay inside order is nerve wracking. Thank goodness the weather is improving, to allow for legitimate outdoor work. I’ve already done my first grass cut and now I’m going to tackle painting the cement foundation that my fantastic handy-man Tom repaired last summer. I was going to pay him to do it last year, but temps dropped before he could get to me. It’s my project now.
As I’ve shared many times over the two year restoration HGTV provided their professional designers for the color scheme of my first floor and exterior. I copied everything, but the front door color (couldn’t do pink) from their 2017 Urban Oasis Giveaway home, my favorite house since I became a HGTV junkie. The exterior of my house will be Sea Serpent with the trim done in Incredible White, both Sherwin William colors. What I love about Sherwin William’s website is they offer coordinating color suggestions, so I have decided to paint the foundation and I’m torn between Uncertain Gray and Lullaby.
Let me know what you think? Voting window closes April 2. Got to catch a no rain window.
A jig‘s primary purpose is to provide repeatability, accuracy, and interchangeability in the manufacturing of products. It is a tool used to control the location and/or motion of parts or other tools. My father set up jigs throughout the restoration. We had a jig to cut insulation, I jig for all the wall and outlet switch heights. Having the right jig will make a task easier and faster to complete.
My vision for the top box of my headboard was a waterfall affect, the top corners joined at 45 degree angles. Kendall helped me accomplish the cuts, but he didn’t clearly explain the ramifications of that decision. Given the weight of the wood and the end grain glue up that would be needed, he felt some type of additional anchor support would be needed to hold the two sides together. Glue alone he felt would not be enough. What he didn’t provide was the clear cut method on how that would be done.
If he had explained in advance the difficulty of the waterfall I could have altered my vision and allowed the corner to overlap at 90 degrees and used my Kreg jig to create pocket holes that could have been plugged. I reached out to the Kreg company about this dilemma and they confirmed that their product could not be used. The angle produced by their jig would be too shallow of an angle not leaving enough wood for the threads of the screws to grab. I had to figure something out or start this portion of the project over. I have enough oak to create a new top and the original top could be cut to make the new sides at the lengths that would allow for anchoring at 90 degrees. Covid-19 isolation gives you time to think, so I pulled another MacGyver and developed my own jig.
First step was finding the angle that would allow the screw to enter the thickest part of the angle. That was accomplished with my angle tool. I transferred the angle to my miter saw and cut the block of wood that was my outlet jig. I thought about buying the Kreg micro drill bit, but for practice purpose used my existing 3/8″ Kreg bit. I drilled a small pilot hole, just deep enough for the tip of the Kreg bit to fit in. I took the depth collar off the Kreg bit and laid it flat against the angled side of the piece of wood I cut and carefully drilled a hole through the block of wood. The end result was a “jig” drilled to the angle I needed. From there it was trial and error as to where to place the block on the board being drilled and where to set the collar on the Kreg bit so that only the tip broke through the top piece of wood. I realized quickly I needed to clamp my jig in place, so I flattened out the top on my miter saw. Once I got a combination that worked I took a piece of 3/8″ oak dowel rod and practiced plugging the hole. That worked like a charm. The large Kreg bit also worked fine, so I decided to forgo buying the micro bit.
Now it was time to go live. Kendall felt that I only needed screws in the front because the insert for the back of the box would support the back angle. However now that I’m working solo I’m not building the box in the same order we did the dry run. The insert will be the last piece I install as I will do it as part of the final assembly in my bedroom. I need to keep the pieces as light as possible if I have any hope of carrying them upstairs by myself. For that reason I drilled four evenly dispersed holes on each side. Everything was working as practiced until I got to the last hole and the collar on the Kreg bit loosened and I drilled completely through the board, which meant there wouldn’t be a shelf for screw head to rest on. Not to be deterred I moved my jig over a bit, re-tightened the collar and drilled another hole.
Now I was ready to glue and screw the angles together. When I was trying to find an example on how to attach mitered corners I stumbled across a video from the Woodworkers Guild of America that showed how to make strong mitered corners by using a process called sizing. I followed the video precisely, diluting my Titebond III glue 50/50 with water. I brushed it on, let it dry 2-3 minutes as instructed.
Once dried enough I applied the full strength glue and inserted my biscuits, which were there just to help with alignment. Months ago I had bought Bessey angle clamps. I used one to hold the top corner together and then proceeded to put in the screws working my way up from the bottom. I used 3/4″ Kreg screws for hardwood. I was going to call it a day, let that side dry before tackling the opposite end, but it went so well that I did the other side immediately.
Once I had let it set a bit, I smeared glue in the holes, put more at the end of the piece of dowell and inserted them in each hole. I came back about an hour later and cut off the excess.
At that point I should have called it a day and let the glue up set over night, but I was on a roll and the bright light at the end of this project tunnel was starting to creep in so I decided to insert the bottom shelf. During the dry run, Kendall had me connect the bottom to the sides first, followed by the back, and then the top. It went in easily, so easily I forgot to snap a pic. I was going to let it go for the day, but at about 10 pm I returned to the basement and proceeded to sand and stain it. I am elated with how this is turning out. Having the box completed made me realize that I like the look of the polycrylic bottom shelf better than the sides and underside of the top that I treated with Danish oil, so I’ll now apply the polycrylic to the entire piece. I’m being optimistic that I can actually have the piece finished by the end of the weekend.
A very good friend of mine had a few floor tiles missing in their kitchen that their landlord had not gotten to, so they decided to make the repair themselves. I was oh so eager to lend a helping hand. They purchased this really cool tile. This project was done in two evenings, after she got home from work.
Step one was removing the tile and smoothing out the subfloor. For that I used a rasp, an attachment for my JobMax tool that I had never used. I actually didn’t know what it was and had to Google to make sure it was the appropriate device. 10 tiles were missing and I removed 6 more to accomplish the pattern. Years past someone repaired that same area, but they used an adhesive that obviously did not adhere to the tile, since they came up, but firmly attached to the subfloor. What I thought would take a couple of hours to lay the tile took about four because the areas with adhesive put up a strong fight. We actually had to send her nephew and son to Lowe’s to buy a second one. In the area where I removed tile the rasp worked great as thinset was used in that area. It was like grinding cement. DIYer lesson number one: use the right product. If you’re not sure, ask. I had thinset left from my master bath tile project, so I was happy to make it available.
Once we got the area relatively flat and cleaned up all the dust we laid the tile. I troweled the floor and my friend back buttered the tile. Honestly I don’t know if back buttering your tile is necessary, but all the shows I watch do it. I like to let my tile flop to the floor (I lay one side and let it drop). I believe that motion and the back buttering creates a strong suction. I think press the tile with my float to try and make sure their even. The floor had huge grout lines, so we eye balled the alignment instead of using spacers.
Tonight I went back and showed her how to apply the grout. I also had black grout left over from my 1st floor bath tile project. Black is a very messy grout, which I’d be reluctant to use on any future projects, so I was happy get it cleared out of my basement. I had just enough for them to use on theirs. This was done in less than two hours and I believe any other color grout, for an area that small, would have taken even less time. There is a lot of extra wiping involved with black. This little project didn’t involve cuts, so truly an easy DIY project. I was happy to lend a hand and share my little knowledge on the subject. Now they have a pretty area to stand while washing dishes.
No, I have not been infected nor am I paranoid to the extent that I’m wearing mask in public. However it did make me to remember to use my mask when I’m sanding, something I generally forget to do. I haven’t made a post in awhile, so this will be an update on the two projects I’ve been working on, my dining room table and headboard.
Filling the holes/cracks in my walnut boards of my dining room table is my new skill set. The first step was taping the underside anywhere epoxy to could seep through.
I used TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy Resin, Slow Hardener. This was a very easy product to use. I bought the quart size that came with metered pumps. One pump of resin dispensed the five parts to the one pump of hardener, 1 part. Mix for at least two minutes and then you have about 20 minutes to work with it. I was amazed how much epoxy went into small cracks or holes. I made three trips to the Manufactory before all the holes were filled. I definitely will have some clean up to do as I applied too much in some areas. I’ll do better on my next project.
The only other thing I accomplished on the table was rejoining a set of the boards I split when I first started this project. The center of the table will be the board I bought from Urban Edge Wood Works, but I wanted a wide board to rest on each side of it. Only one of my boards was left uncut, so I needed to rejoin at least one. I chose the one on the left.
No pics of the glue up process, but it didn’t come out very well. The board is barely over an inch thick and I’ll have to plane it more as the seam didn’t line up through the entire length. I’m hoping I won’t lose the board altogether as my target width of 38″ is dependent upon using it. The joined board has the tape measure next to it in the picture on the left. Shown there is approximately 50″ in width of boards. I don’t want sap (white of boards) in the center of the table, so once that is cut away I have about 42″ in width. The picture on the right were the worst of all my boards and still in their original state. Hopefully they will make the skirt for the table.
The Governor of Ohio has locked down the state, so today was the last day until further notice to work at the Manufactory. Just as well as it relates to the table as according to Kendall I’ve taken it as far as I can with him and the Manufactory’s equipment. I’ve brought my boards home where they will stay in my living room until Covid-19 has passed, I find a shop to complete it myself or pay someone to do it.
Most of the headboard project has been in my basement waiting for me to do the staining, so with the dining room table on hiatus the headboard has my full focus. My workbench was my first 100% solo build and it will be the perfect surface to assemble the top of the headboard. The Manufactory let me borrow their biscuit joiner, the only piece of equipment I didn’t have at home, but needed to complete the project.
With my slots made I turned to sanding the inside of all the pieces, so I could finally tackle the stain, hence the mask. I applied the same custom stain I used on the side shelves. The color looks perfect against my beadboard section.
I’ve decided to apply polycrylic to the bottom of the top shelf since it will be a surface that items will set on it, three coats.
The rest of the oak pieces will have Danish oil. I’ll let it rest overnight and the tomorrow I’ll tackle building the box, which brings me closer to the finish line of this project.
I used 
