21-06-2012, 10:11 AM
Hi,
Many thanks for the useful information David and for the Bob Chapman link.
I've just spent a while looking at Bob's highly informative and creative website. I find such sites to be fascinating and most rewarding as many tips can be picked up.
Bob goes into a lot of detail regarding assembling and setting up his vacuum chuck system and it is every bit as good as a commercial system but without the high cost. The Air Press vacuum bag press system (veneering) I feel is quite reasonably priced from £430 and includes a bag big enough for most cabinet panels.
I mentioned bag veneering in a number of my posts as this is one area of interest to me; I'm phasing out my radio restoration activities and heading towards more demanding projects which hopefully will provide the challenges I need to drive me on. I've very much enjoyed my “woody” cabinet restorations over the years but now that I can fully restore a basket case bringing it to a full French polished finish I feel there is little left to challenge me so I am looking to doing more bespoke items of woodwork such as this desk. I was interested to see the Air Press Pizzi glue spreader as it reminds me I must go to the trouble of resolving spreading contact cement after the problems encountered spreading the EvoStik on this desk. I have done limited research and the problem I have would appear to be the wrong kind of adhesive. I've always considered “Impact” and “Contact” adhesives as the same so now I need to research more because I've watched many “You tube” videos showing laminate adhesive being spread very easily using a roller in quite a laid back manner with no panic involved. When I applied the EvoStik onto the desk panels it drove me mad as it didn't want to be applied evenly becoming stringy extremely quickly; I tried serrated plastic spreader as supplied with the adhesive; two different types of 4” roller and paint brush and none of these were satisfactory; I even sent an enquiry to EvoStik asking for advice but to date haven't received a reply.
Bob's excellent home made vacuum chuck system at around £140 is within most peoples price range and can be considered a one off payment but once the chuck is sorted out then it would be very cheap and convenient to use the vacuum pump to operate a veneering bag as it is the pump which is the most expensive item.
I did wonder whether a bad dig in would eject the work from the vacuum chuck and Bob mentions this saying light cuts are best at first until experience of using such a chuck is gained; I've had a wooden leg blank securely mounted between centres become detached at speed disappearing over my shoulder due to a nasty dig in whilst practising using a skew chisel so care is needed whichever mounting system is used as none are perfect; even screwing securely to a faceplate the blank can shatter from a wrongly applied tool. I've seen such vacuum chuck systems previously and have always been most impressed by them.
The oak bowl shown is a good indication as to he exemplary quality of work produced by Bob; oak is a difficult timber to turn cleanly unless very sharp tools are employed together with light finishing cuts.
It's strange David that you also mention bagpipes as I was also interested in having a go at making a set a few years ago and at the time there were a number of websites offering kits and I thought Craft Supplies offered such a kit but a quick check on their site doesn't show a kit. Woodwind instruments can pose a serious health hazard as some woods are highly toxic; a novice wanting to make a simple flute and wishing to experiment with exotic timbers has to be careful; this also applies to children’s toys. I've never wood-turned using Spalted Beech which is commonly available because of possible long term health issues. Whilst researching for the best timber to use for exterior window frames and doors I found Western Red Cedar to be ideal but this timber poses serious health issues; it can become frightening to learn what damage we can do to ourselves without even realizing it and some of the damage might only become evident many years later. I don't want to put anyone off from their workshop activities but the risks are there and if known can be avoided by the use of personal safety protection and extraction. Because I work in a black hole as it is today and it's usually pouring with rain as it is today; for years I ran my big woodworking machines wearing a dust mask; when I retired I constructed a nice big extractor and what a tremendous difference this makes; no longer do I work in a dense fog; a good layer of dust inside spectacles also impairs vision. I'm no health and safety freak not scared of knocking a nail in without wearing a full suit of armour but I do believe in common sense and taking precautions to safeguard my health.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf
We've had a good couple of days weather so I've been making the most of it. Bron asked if I would remove some of the lower branches from the oak tree overhanging the patio as it was dropping rubbish which was staining the patio and the branches were getting too near the bungalow. Of course I was happy to oblige and was up the tree like a squirrel with my 24” bow-saw over my shoulder and the lower branches were soon removed leaving a lot of mess to clean up. The branches were cut into shorter lengths and dragged onto the drive; the leaves and twigs were trimmed off completely filling the car leaving the thicker sections. A couple of trips to the tip cleared all the small stuff then I set to with the 20” petrol chainsaw and cut the thicker sections into logs suitable for a wood burner storing these neatly until they can be collected by a guy who lives nearby who owns a wood burning stove.
Yesterday I actually placed some of the Myford lathe components onto the bench wanting to make a start on restoration and began scraping the paint from them but gave up as it was taking too long; during my next trip to Rufforth Auto Jumble I'll buy 5 litres of powerful paint stripper. I don't like paint stripper but it will speed up the work considerably. Today I'm on the computer as it is pouring with rain; extremely dark and cold in the workshop; if I pull the car out of the garage it will get soaked then I'll end up cleaning it to put it away otherwise the damp isn't good for all the cast iron work surfaces. This is supposed to be summer; what a joke.
Kind regards, Col.
Oak branches dropped onto patio.
Many thanks for the useful information David and for the Bob Chapman link.
I've just spent a while looking at Bob's highly informative and creative website. I find such sites to be fascinating and most rewarding as many tips can be picked up.
Bob goes into a lot of detail regarding assembling and setting up his vacuum chuck system and it is every bit as good as a commercial system but without the high cost. The Air Press vacuum bag press system (veneering) I feel is quite reasonably priced from £430 and includes a bag big enough for most cabinet panels.
I mentioned bag veneering in a number of my posts as this is one area of interest to me; I'm phasing out my radio restoration activities and heading towards more demanding projects which hopefully will provide the challenges I need to drive me on. I've very much enjoyed my “woody” cabinet restorations over the years but now that I can fully restore a basket case bringing it to a full French polished finish I feel there is little left to challenge me so I am looking to doing more bespoke items of woodwork such as this desk. I was interested to see the Air Press Pizzi glue spreader as it reminds me I must go to the trouble of resolving spreading contact cement after the problems encountered spreading the EvoStik on this desk. I have done limited research and the problem I have would appear to be the wrong kind of adhesive. I've always considered “Impact” and “Contact” adhesives as the same so now I need to research more because I've watched many “You tube” videos showing laminate adhesive being spread very easily using a roller in quite a laid back manner with no panic involved. When I applied the EvoStik onto the desk panels it drove me mad as it didn't want to be applied evenly becoming stringy extremely quickly; I tried serrated plastic spreader as supplied with the adhesive; two different types of 4” roller and paint brush and none of these were satisfactory; I even sent an enquiry to EvoStik asking for advice but to date haven't received a reply.
Bob's excellent home made vacuum chuck system at around £140 is within most peoples price range and can be considered a one off payment but once the chuck is sorted out then it would be very cheap and convenient to use the vacuum pump to operate a veneering bag as it is the pump which is the most expensive item.
I did wonder whether a bad dig in would eject the work from the vacuum chuck and Bob mentions this saying light cuts are best at first until experience of using such a chuck is gained; I've had a wooden leg blank securely mounted between centres become detached at speed disappearing over my shoulder due to a nasty dig in whilst practising using a skew chisel so care is needed whichever mounting system is used as none are perfect; even screwing securely to a faceplate the blank can shatter from a wrongly applied tool. I've seen such vacuum chuck systems previously and have always been most impressed by them.
The oak bowl shown is a good indication as to he exemplary quality of work produced by Bob; oak is a difficult timber to turn cleanly unless very sharp tools are employed together with light finishing cuts.
It's strange David that you also mention bagpipes as I was also interested in having a go at making a set a few years ago and at the time there were a number of websites offering kits and I thought Craft Supplies offered such a kit but a quick check on their site doesn't show a kit. Woodwind instruments can pose a serious health hazard as some woods are highly toxic; a novice wanting to make a simple flute and wishing to experiment with exotic timbers has to be careful; this also applies to children’s toys. I've never wood-turned using Spalted Beech which is commonly available because of possible long term health issues. Whilst researching for the best timber to use for exterior window frames and doors I found Western Red Cedar to be ideal but this timber poses serious health issues; it can become frightening to learn what damage we can do to ourselves without even realizing it and some of the damage might only become evident many years later. I don't want to put anyone off from their workshop activities but the risks are there and if known can be avoided by the use of personal safety protection and extraction. Because I work in a black hole as it is today and it's usually pouring with rain as it is today; for years I ran my big woodworking machines wearing a dust mask; when I retired I constructed a nice big extractor and what a tremendous difference this makes; no longer do I work in a dense fog; a good layer of dust inside spectacles also impairs vision. I'm no health and safety freak not scared of knocking a nail in without wearing a full suit of armour but I do believe in common sense and taking precautions to safeguard my health.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf
We've had a good couple of days weather so I've been making the most of it. Bron asked if I would remove some of the lower branches from the oak tree overhanging the patio as it was dropping rubbish which was staining the patio and the branches were getting too near the bungalow. Of course I was happy to oblige and was up the tree like a squirrel with my 24” bow-saw over my shoulder and the lower branches were soon removed leaving a lot of mess to clean up. The branches were cut into shorter lengths and dragged onto the drive; the leaves and twigs were trimmed off completely filling the car leaving the thicker sections. A couple of trips to the tip cleared all the small stuff then I set to with the 20” petrol chainsaw and cut the thicker sections into logs suitable for a wood burner storing these neatly until they can be collected by a guy who lives nearby who owns a wood burning stove.
Yesterday I actually placed some of the Myford lathe components onto the bench wanting to make a start on restoration and began scraping the paint from them but gave up as it was taking too long; during my next trip to Rufforth Auto Jumble I'll buy 5 litres of powerful paint stripper. I don't like paint stripper but it will speed up the work considerably. Today I'm on the computer as it is pouring with rain; extremely dark and cold in the workshop; if I pull the car out of the garage it will get soaked then I'll end up cleaning it to put it away otherwise the damp isn't good for all the cast iron work surfaces. This is supposed to be summer; what a joke.
Kind regards, Col.
Oak branches dropped onto patio.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
