Thursday, July 20, 2006
Tree Butcher
Seems like no mater what I have been doing in the last few days it has involved slicing and dicing some poor tree. We didn’t really get to running the sawmill as the sub-floor work on the log home my father is working on took longer than we thought. Ran the mill mostly because it is fun to open logs and see what they are like in the inside. Here are some shots, when we cut the bigs ones I will try to get pictures of that too.
Other than that I have been working on the house exclusively. The floor has been stained and has 2 coats of sealer. I am much happier with it now. I have been working on trim but I didn’t make enough last time to do the hall and all the doorways in it so I had to make some more. I made a little photo montage because I find the process interesting even if you don’t. Jerk.
Started with some of the very best floor boards I got for the hall. Picked out and saved anything that was clear, no knots, splits or cracks. The one on the left is what we are shooting for, the one on the right is the starting point.
Trimming off either the tongue or the groove is the first step. It doesn't mater which side.
Now trim the other side and get the board to its final width, in this case 2 inches.
Plane the boards to the right thickness, 1/2 inch works for me. Thicker than that and the trim looks clunky, thinner and it doesn't seem to cover well.
The molding cutter. This is a 3 cutter set up, I love it, very smooth results, sort of like Tony Danza on a cruse ship full of single seniors. Oh baby, its that smooth.
Shaping the trim. The various boards you see clamped to the table are called finger boards. So named because they let you keep your fingers. They have little 'fingers' of wood that apply constant pressure down to the table and sidewise against the fence in a way that it would be unsafe for your wee digits. Not that you would try, the noise the cutter makes when it is spinning is hard to describe but it is between a huge vacuum and a turbine starting up. The sound alone lets your inner monkey know this is no a place to be poking around for a snack.
Changing the cutter from the three grooves to the wide dado. Always put this wide groove on the back of your trim. It makes it so the trim only touches the wall on the edges and greatly helps in keeping things flat and smooth. Irregularities in the wall can be eased by hand planing the back to match. It is how you play with the big boys.
Hooray! The final product. Shot of the front and a shot of the groove in the back. I mean I next had to sand the stuff then stain the stuff and then seal the stuff but that is all kind of normal and needs no explanation right? I mean c’on this is a dial up connection, what more do you want from me?
Other than that I have been working on the house exclusively. The floor has been stained and has 2 coats of sealer. I am much happier with it now. I have been working on trim but I didn’t make enough last time to do the hall and all the doorways in it so I had to make some more. I made a little photo montage because I find the process interesting even if you don’t. Jerk.
Started with some of the very best floor boards I got for the hall. Picked out and saved anything that was clear, no knots, splits or cracks. The one on the left is what we are shooting for, the one on the right is the starting point.
Trimming off either the tongue or the groove is the first step. It doesn't mater which side.
Now trim the other side and get the board to its final width, in this case 2 inches.
Plane the boards to the right thickness, 1/2 inch works for me. Thicker than that and the trim looks clunky, thinner and it doesn't seem to cover well.
The molding cutter. This is a 3 cutter set up, I love it, very smooth results, sort of like Tony Danza on a cruse ship full of single seniors. Oh baby, its that smooth.
Shaping the trim. The various boards you see clamped to the table are called finger boards. So named because they let you keep your fingers. They have little 'fingers' of wood that apply constant pressure down to the table and sidewise against the fence in a way that it would be unsafe for your wee digits. Not that you would try, the noise the cutter makes when it is spinning is hard to describe but it is between a huge vacuum and a turbine starting up. The sound alone lets your inner monkey know this is no a place to be poking around for a snack.
Changing the cutter from the three grooves to the wide dado. Always put this wide groove on the back of your trim. It makes it so the trim only touches the wall on the edges and greatly helps in keeping things flat and smooth. Irregularities in the wall can be eased by hand planing the back to match. It is how you play with the big boys.
Hooray! The final product. Shot of the front and a shot of the groove in the back. I mean I next had to sand the stuff then stain the stuff and then seal the stuff but that is all kind of normal and needs no explanation right? I mean c’on this is a dial up connection, what more do you want from me?
