Advice needed for woodworking project

[thankgod4rkids]

I would agree with Jeff on the poplar. I edged my counter tops with it 20 yrs ago. It can take a beating and still look good.

I guess if I do any woodworking, I'll go with poplar and almost certainly avoid pallets. I've seen way too many awful-looking pallets; they tend to get treated pretty poorly. For those who have worked with reclaimed pallets, how many would be required to to complete a medium to large project?

It can vary a lot. Some of the newer pallets are assembled with ring shank nails. Made disassembly awful with more waste. Older pallets have better wood but often have broken slats. The heavy cross bars are generally better quality wood. These planters for my sons wedding were all pallet wood. The legs were the heavier crossbar wood. The bar was a last minute pallet project for the wedding also. We used steel wool aged in a jar of vinegar to stain them.
Bill

[Dan In MI]

Those ring shank nails are a real pain. But those planters sure did come out looking nice!

[TPK]

I would agree with Jeff on the poplar. I edged my counter tops with it 20 yrs ago. It can take a beating and still look good.

I guess if I do any woodworking, I'll go with poplar and almost certainly avoid pallets. I've seen way too many awful-looking pallets; they tend to get treated pretty poorly. For those who have worked with reclaimed pallets, how many would be required to to complete a medium to large project?

It can vary a lot. Some of the newer pallets are assembled with ring shank nails. Made disassembly awful with more waste. Older pallets have better wood but often have broken slats. The heavy cross bars are generally better quality wood. These planters for my sons wedding were all pallet wood. The legs were the heavier crossbar wood. The bar was a last minute pallet project for the wedding also. We used steel wool aged in a jar of vinegar to stain them.
Bill

Man! Those turned out great! Could you run that by me once more & with some more details. I'd like to know how to make my own wood stain like that. That's pretty cool!
Thanks!

Old farmers used to paint stuff with used motor oil over here but that's no longer allowed for good reasons. The wood held forever though.

[thankgod4rkids]

Man! Those turned out great! Could you run that by me once more & with some more details. I'd like to know how to make my own wood stain like that. That's pretty cool!
Thanks!

Old farmers used to paint stuff with used motor oil over here but that's no longer allowed for good reasons. The wood held forever though.

Tom,
My wife found this years ago. Just put regular white vinegar in a glass jar with a couple balls of steel wool. It takes some experimentation. The steel wool wil deteriorate over time. About a week to ten days gives that grey aged wood look like the planters. A month or more and it will become a rust red like the serving bar.
Bill

[TPK]

Man! Those turned out great! Could you run that by me once more & with some more details. I'd like to know how to make my own wood stain like that. That's pretty cool!
Thanks!

Old farmers used to paint stuff with used motor oil over here but that's no longer allowed for good reasons. The wood held forever though.

Tom,
My wife found this years ago. Just put regular white vinegar in a glass jar with a couple balls of steel wool. It takes some experimentation. The steel wool wil deteriorate over time. About a week to ten days gives that grey aged wood look like the planters. A month or more and it will become a rust red like the serving bar.
Bill

Thanks Bill! I'll have to try this out just for fun.

[Dan In MI]

Bill, I'm going to give that a try. All I need are some Swiss Army knives with busted scales and wood replacements.

[thankgod4rkids]

Bill, I'm going to give that a try. All I need are some Swiss Army knives with busted scales and wood replacements.

The heavier wood that makes up the support rails is often pretty good wood if you have the means to mill it down. It's alot of work but at current lumber prices reclaiming is worth it. I have a lot of very beautiful cherry and plum wood I use for smoking meat but haven't tried my hand at stabilizing it for scales yet. Might be a few years...the project list and wish list are outgrowing my free time
Bill

[Dan In MI]

Bill, I'd have to have someone make the new scales for me. I might be able to afford the necessary equipment, but at present time I definitely lack a good place to store it.

[glennbad]

We've got a bit of paint touch-up to do, but it's basically done. Here it is with the pallet wood backing. Turned out pretty decent. my coworker wanted to put some of that LED tape light in it, so we did that as well. Looks like I'll get my garage bay back soon!

[glennbad]

I really couldn't have made this project without this saw.

This saw belonged to my dad. He gave it to me a few years before his passing. At the time, he thought it was broken, as it had thrown the drive belt and wouldn't run. When I was getting ready to start the project, I pulled this saw out. It was a mess...in pieces, parts missing, etc. Thank goodness for ebay, I was able to find used parts. The saw, motor, and side wings were original. I had to buy a set of legs, the rollers, on/off switch assembly, miter gauge and rip fence system.

The reason it wasn't running was because the belt pulley on the blade shaft had loosened and worked its' way over to the housing and was hitting that side. Once I got it tapped back into place and locked down on the arbor, she purred like a kitten. The base top also had to be refinished, as it had sat in my basement for over 3 years. I suppose I could have put my money into just buying a new saw, but I think most of you understand why rebuilding it was important to me. I'm not sure why it sat for so long, but I'm glad it is back in one piece and running again.

[thankgod4rkids]

I really couldn't have made this project without this saw.


Saw1.jpg


This saw belonged to my dad. He gave it to me a few years before his passing. At the time, he thought it was broken, as it had thrown the drive belt and wouldn't run. When I was getting ready to start the project, I pulled this saw out. It was a mess...in pieces, parts missing, etc. Thank goodness for ebay, I was able to find used parts. The saw, motor, and side wings were original. I had to buy a set of legs, the rollers, on/off switch assembly, miter gauge and rip fence system.

The reason it wasn't running was because the belt pulley on the blade shaft had loosened and worked its' way over to the housing and was hitting that side. Once I got it tapped back into place and locked down on the arbor, she purred like a kitten. The base top also had to be refinished, as it had sat in my basement for over 3 years. I suppose I could have put my money into just buying a new saw, but I think most of you understand why rebuilding it was important to me. I'm not sure why it sat for so long, but I'm glad it is back in one piece and running again.

Awesome project and restoration of a great saw. I've had an arbor drive Delta for 25 years. I recently picked up a Craftsman that looks similar vintage as your saw. It needs some TLC. I'm hoping to use them both and be able to leave the dado head in one.
Bill

[glennbad]

Thanks! Must be nice to have room for 2 setups. I still have my Delta contractors saw. It's cheap but works great for down and dirty cuts. This Craftsman is a whole other level. Initially I didn't try to rebuild it because it is a bit of a beast and takes up a fair amount of room which I don't have, but I made the room for it in my garage. She's ready for more work now!