Do it yourself

April 6th, 2015 at 3:59:39 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Fleastiff
Hi folks, I just want y'all to know that as I sit here slurping my morning coffee and trying to attain a functional state, I'm enjoying this DIY chatter.


Glad you're enjoying it. Makes it a bit more fun / easier to tolerate having an audience =)

Carried on today getting it fully framed. This was a bit of a bitch as the boards making up the table weren't all level with each other, but a bit of sanding got them Good Enough.



It was about this time I realized my frame wasn't a frame at all, as none of the sides were connected to each other. I obviously couldn't dowel them together the way they were, so I moved on, figuring I would find inspiration later =p

While those pieces dried, I cut some bases for the legs. Mostly this was to get a bit more height out of the legs, but they also sort of tied the frame together a bit and act as bracing. A few dowels and a bit of wood glue, and I banged them all home.



All that was left of construction was the legs, but I didn't / couldn't do that. Right now it's just a plank. I can grab it and drag it upstairs. Once the legs go on it's a table, and I can't get it out of my basement =p So I flopped it over and began the final prep of the surface.

What a faff! My god, but this is beyond the largest time sink. I started with a 1/4 palm sander using 60 grit. It works well, but to make what is basically a picnic table dining-room-table smooth, it was too small and too slow. I wound up breaking out the DA. And a choking cloud of dust later, it was still going too slow, on account of the 220 grit I was using. To the hardware store for 80 grit I went and I was back in business. All of the edges are now flush with each other and all the flaws are sanded smooth. Now it's just an issue with making it "flat". It'll take several hours, which my back would no longer allow today, but I'm pretty confident I can turn this into something good with a little time.

I cleaned up from that and still had some time to kill, so I began prepping the legs. They had stud ends and were octagonal, so due to their shape and my framing, there was no way to screw them in. So I pulled the studs and made some dowels for them. I measured and drilled for fitment and got them mocked up the way I wanted them.



So... I figure I'll bang those in place, then drill clean through the framing on both sides into the leg itself. From there, I'll knock dowels through and sand them flush with the outside. That should serve to not only brace the leg, but tie all the framing together. On the inside, I'll cut a bit of 1"x 4" and make additional bracing that will tie the legs and each side of the frame together from the inside. And then I'll just pray that it works and all holds together =p

And that should finish the construction. Then I've just gotta "smoothify" the surface, and I'll likely angle cut and sand the edges of the table to give it a bit of flair and lose the raw look. Boom. Done.

But now, I'm off to hockey. Wonder if they sell Vicodin OTC nowadays... ><
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 6th, 2015 at 4:51:26 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Face
Amen. As do the ladies ;)


If I could get one to put up with me for more than 20 minutes perhaps I will find out? :-)

The downside to all this manliness is that what a normal guy would leave at a cleaning of the basement is approaching $500+!

How did it all happen?

Cleaning it is more or less free. But painting the walls with Dry-Lock and the floor with a decent floor paint is five gallons, over $100. I did get to use the last of my Kilz primer on part of the floor not so much to seal it but to be rid of the stuff that would otherwise sit. Before I did all this I had to rip out some caddywampus plumbing that was done god knows when and replace it with PVC pipe, a few valves, and some cast iron fittings to make a faucet. Total there was probably $50 or so. Ripped out some crap wood they had under the steps, cost free and it looks way better. Not going to replace it as cleaning was difficult.

Soon I will add some shelves. Need 2 sheets of plywood and probably 20 2x4s. Plus a box of drywall screws and some carriage bolts, nuts, and washers to make them real nice. I figure another $125-150 there.

But then there is the workbench. Already built so no lumber, but I have a plug and switch for power tools and I put it in wrong before, will redo it. Only $15 or so there, most parts in stock. BUT, always a but, I really need a new vice. Using my grandfather's one probably he had it since Truman admin. Then a bench grinder/cleaner combo. Harbor Freight junk will suffice for the light use both will get. $75 or so total I guess. To top it all off I will scour CL for a drill press, $40 or so should buy something used, but that is low on the wish list.

Throw in some shop lights for a garden project on the shelves, $25-60 depending on how fancy I get. Then hope the cops don't show with a warrant thinking I am growing dope instead of trying my hand at microgreens and mushrooms just because I have the desire to learn how and try to make a few eBay bucks.

I could just do as the "kids" these days do and take all the stuff to the dump and call in a pro when crap breaks then spend my nights at the bar or playing video games. But in the end I will finally have a decent shop, at least for what I need.

Of course no normal lady will listen to me at near the length I described here, though I will be proud enough I will want to talk about it. So she will leave my vicinity, and the struggle continues.
The President is a fink.
April 7th, 2015 at 6:24:01 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Alrighty. Post city-hockey pain or no, I've a table to do.

Today was legs. I had a 7/16's dowel in the end. I decided I would do two more 7/16's, one into each side that touched the frame. That would support the legs, as well as tie the frame together. That went off pretty much without a hitch.

Thinking about this thing being dragged or suffering any other lateral forces, I really wanted those legs braced. So I cut up the remaining 1"x 4" for just that. The first was kind of a bitch, hunchin' and figgering my way into a rhombus that fit. Lots of hand sanding for that. Once done, I though to check that piece in the other four corners, and since I've built this pretty true, it fit every one. Boom. Template =D

I got the other three cut, hand sanded into shape, and then came the connections. The mechanically inclined can imagine I couldn't dowel exactly as I have been. With three dowels (one into one side of frame, another into the other, then one into the leg) the angle is all wrong. There's no way to bang it in place, as the length of the dowel doesn't line up with the holes. So what I settled on doing is doweling two holes, the inside frame and the leg. Once I banged it home, I then ran a dowel clean through the entire frame into the brace. This way, at least 2 of the 3 of the bracing dowels remain hidden.



So, the build is complete. I managed to do it with no screws, bolts, or metal brackets, and have hidden all but three dowels per corner. I'll let it sit overnight so the glue can cure, and all the dowels will be sanded flush with the frame, leaving just a small, clean circle. Then it's angle cutting the edge of the entire table and sanding everything flat and smooth. A cloud of dust later and I should have an all wood, hand made, quality table =)

Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 3:28:50 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18631
Looks pretty good. Smart choice going for actual table legs. For some reason, I might not have even thought of that.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
April 8th, 2015 at 8:46:59 AM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: rxwine
Looks pretty good.


Thanks!

Quote: rxwine
Smart choice going for actual table legs. For some reason, I might not have even thought of that.


Ha! You know, funny thing... I didn't think of it either. I totally planned on just using square stock. I went to get the dowel rods and these legs happened to be sitting right next to them. I wasn't even aware they sold legs like that =p

Found 4 that matched and fit my size needs. Now I have real legs lol
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 11:23:44 AM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Is it level and solid when sitting on a flat
surface. Amateurs usually build a table
that rocks because it wasn't square when
they built it. Ever hang a door or build a
pole barn? Lots of room for error if you've
never done it before.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
April 8th, 2015 at 11:37:40 AM permalink
petroglyph
Member since: Aug 3, 2014
Threads: 25
Posts: 6227
Quote: Evenbob
Is it level and solid when sitting on a flat
surface. Amateurs usually build a table
that rocks because it wasn't square when
they built it. Ever hang a door or build a
pole barn? Lots of room for error if you've
never done it before.


Or a box?
The last official act of any government is to loot the treasury. GW
April 8th, 2015 at 2:10:37 PM permalink
Face
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 61
Posts: 3941
Quote: Evenbob
Is it level and solid when sitting on a flat
surface. Amateurs usually build a table
that rocks because it wasn't square when
they built it.


Of course not lol. I knew from the jump that it was beyond my ability to get it square in that sense straight away. Even if I had the engineering skills and the proper tools, 2x8 is never straight. The warp alone would have ruined me.

My floor down here is a little out of true, but close enough to see that I'm about 3/8's off. That's no problem at all. I can sand a bit to even them out, I can put some adjustable feet on it, whatever. It's off, yes. But it's positively elementary to fix.
Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it.
April 8th, 2015 at 3:26:15 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Face
Of course not lol. .


When we built our poll barn 25 years ago,
we hired some jackoff cheapo guy who's
done 'lots of them'. When it was obvious
he had no idea how to get the skeleton square
before putting on the siding, we had to tear
it all down and my brother had a friend
who was a retired engineer and he got it
right. An amazing amount of work to get
it on the nose square, I was surprised.

Passed the inspection every step of the way.
You get what you pay for when you hire
cheap labor.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
April 8th, 2015 at 3:28:25 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: petroglyph
Or a box?


Yup. Try and build a birdhouse sometime that's
a replica of a regular house. You'll pull your
out..
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.