OldTools Archive
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259928 | Mark Pfeifer <markpfeifer@i...> | 2016‑08‑25 | powderpost beetles |
Esteemed Galoots, I welcome your ideas on how to treat a wooden work surface to repair beetle damage. The backstory . . . When I started out I built my bench huge, not just for the weight, but because I have 4 sons and 3 daughters and was hopeful that they’d join in. That bench was originally 37”. I’m 5’10” and it made me miserable for planing (carpal tunnel, neck strain, and a tendency to make the near-side of any given board about 3/64” thinner than the far). I cut it down to 35” which was well enough for a while. But an odd thing happened, when I discovered wooden planes. Every time I use one, my bench grows about 3”. But I don’t want to cut it lower because it shrinks back to the right height when I get out a chisel, or a dovetail saw, or my carving tools. Last weekend I decided to build a dedicated planing bench that stands at the “classic” wrist height while standing arms loose. I have some enormous oak slabs, with annual rings literally 1/4” apart, that will someday become bench tops. But they’re only a year old and still not stable. So I decided to do a quick job laminating up some 100 year old SYP flooring that I got from a salvor. I’m quite pleased with the top, which after all the trimming is about 4” thick, square to 3 sides (don’t crawl under it and judge the underside) and extremely heavy for its size. It would probably be 15% heavier if the powder post beetles hadn’t gotten to the stock about 80 years ago. Since I treated all the wood with mineral spirits before starting, and since it’s laminated, I’m not too worried. Even if the spirits left some survivors, they’ll hit glue which will contain the damage. Just like the bulkheads on the Titanic. (!) But the work surface itself has some crawly-holes. I’m of the “laying it on its side is worse than letting the blade touch the bench” school. I could just call it patina and not worry about it . . . but I suspect the beetle tracks become grit-sinks over time. Most of the time my planes don’t sit on the bench, but on a carpet scrap stapled to a piece of fiberboard and soaked with oil. But I’m reluctant to use the Titebond-and-sawdust trick because the glue itself and the grit it attracts are not what I want the irons sitting on. Hence the question . . . anyone have ideas for a plane-friendly surface treatment to fill in beetle tracks? Maybe mineral oil or paraffin…. Mark. |
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259930 | Don Schwartz <dks@t...> | 2016‑08‑25 | Re: powderpost beetles |
On 2016-08-24 9:54 PM, Mark Pfeifer wrote: > Hence the question . . . anyone have ideas for a plane-friendly surface treatment to fill in beetle tracks? How about POF* epoxy? Don * plane old-fashioned -- Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. ~ Winston Churchill |
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259931 | "yorkshireman@y..." <yorkshireman@y...> | 2016‑08‑25 | Re: powderpost beetles |
shellac stick melted in with a soldering iron, blend in the colour (color, Paddy) with Van Dyke solution, shellac coats to seal the entire top and beautify it. R |
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259932 | "John M Johnston (jmjhnstn)" <jmjhnstn@m...> | 2016‑08‑25 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Is this what you speak of, and what carrier is used to make the solution, or do you purchase the paste in a tube? The process you describe is not familiar to me. Van Dyke brown, also known as Cassel earth and Cologne earth, is a brown earth containing iron and manganese oxides and lignites, which are organic substances from peat or coal. It was first used in European painting in the 17th century and is still in use today. Thanks, John "P.S. If you do not receive this, of course it must have been miscarried; therefore I beg you to write and let me know." - Sir Boyle Roche, M.P. On Aug 25, 2016, at 6:15 AM, "yorkshireman@y...<mailto:yorkshireman@y...">mailto:yorkshireman@y...>" |
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259933 | Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> | 2016‑08‑25 | Re: powderpost beetles |
On Thursday, August 25, 2016, John M Johnston (jmjhnstn) < jmjhnstn@m...> wrote: > Is this what you speak of, and what carrier is used to make the solution, > or do you purchase the paste in a tube? The process you describe is not > familiar to me. > > Van Dyke brown, also known as Cassel earth and Cologne earth, is a brown > earth containing iron and manganese oxides and lignites, which are organic > substances from peat or coal. It was first used in European painting in the > 17th century and is still in use today. > > > I think he is talking about these http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=20071&cat=1,190,42997,42999 Which come in colors, so you may not need the Van Dykes to color match. Kirk, in the humidity belt -- Sent from my iPad, apologies for the Auto Correct errors. Kirk |
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259934 | Cliff <rohrabacher@e...> | 2016‑08‑25 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Nowhere did i see how you managed to kill the beetles. If t not; they are probably still there. Treat with Borax and water. You could use ethylene glycol too but Borax does a fine job |
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259949 | Thomas Conroy | 2016‑08‑26 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Mark Pfeifer wrote: " . . . anyone have ideas for a plane-friendly surface treatment to fill in beetle tracks?" Sawdust and glue, BLO, or shellac. Mix up as a putty. Or stuff the hole with dry sawdust and drip the liquid on. Might have to repeat a couple of times, it may shrink down into the hole as it dries. Level when dry with a sharp chisel. Tom ConroyBerkeley |
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259950 | Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> | 2016‑08‑26 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Excellent advice Tom. One step further, Luthiers take scraps of the various woods they use and make sawdust and store it in envelopes. Knowing that the color always darkens when adding the various liquids, they pick a lighter colored sawdust that will match the work piece. A rasp or course file gets you there in a hurry. Also a fine line magic marker (.05 mm or less) in the right color can make convincing grain pattern across a small defect. Ed Minch |
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259951 | "yorkshireman@y..." <yorkshireman@y...> | 2016‑08‑27 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Ah, no Van Dyke in my lexicon is a preparation of dried concentrated walnut extract which is made up with water and applied with a brush. It’s particularly useful in old work, as it can be washed onto almost anything, and can be made more or less concentrated to colour (color new work, or you can recoat. It also comes mostly off with water, and being a water base, can be overcoated with a thin shellac layer to even out the underlying colour of finishes. When applied on top of an initial thin coat of pale shellac it can be splashed around until you’re happy, and removed if necessary to restart. In the present case, where the work had been planed down beforehand, I suggested some colour as a way of bringing the overall appearance to a a homogenous colour, and making any filled worm holes and exposed tunnels less prominent. Mark’s view of what he wants is probably different though. Anyway - Van Dyke crystals http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/vandyke-crystals eco friendly. pleasantly old fashioned, and very adaptable. Enjoy! R |
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259952 | Mark Pfeifer <markpfeifer@i...> | 2016‑08‑27 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Hmmmmmm Having seen some pix on the intersphere I may just have to give Van Dyke a try . . . . . I like that it’s “gradable” but having seen some projects that were “ebonized” with Mann’s VD crystals, I may just go for that look. Not trying to pull of an ebony workbench of course, but making it look like the ones at Old Town Salem’s workbench museum, i.e. 200+ years of oxidation, sweat, and work, where the whole bench looks like an old wooden plane black with mutton tallow . . . . . |
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259953 | "yorkshireman@y..." <yorkshireman@y...> | 2016‑08‑28 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Yep >> making it look like the ones at Old Town Salem’s workbench museum, i.e. 200+ years of oxidation, sweat, and work, That’s *exactly* what I’m aiming for on my bench top. After being dinged a bit, I may plane flat (takes off the colour) and I wash over a thin layer, it gathers nicely in the dings to add age, and I can blend the new looking wood into the old, a spit coat of shellac to seal it all together and no one knows it was made yesterday. I used some on a brand new, softwood pole lathe I made a few years back, and discovered that a light drizzle before it was dry brought out a speckled appearance, but repeated outdoors exposure just toned it all together. Ebonising and VanDyke will never work. No way to get a walnut shell extract to black. and there seems to be a limit to how deep a colour (color) you can get, at least on side grain. R |
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259954 | Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> | 2016‑08‑28 | Re: powderpost beetles |
Here is a technique used on guitar repair parts to age them to match original parts http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Trade_Secrets/Mamie_Minch_on_guitar_oxida tion_instant_aging.html">http://www.stewmac.com/How- To/Trade_Secrets/Mamie_Minch_on_guitar_oxidation_instant_aging.html Ed Minch |
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