Lou's Blog at LumberJocks.com

Drying Out Wood #2

Lou — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 07:34:09 GMT

so i decided that im going to use the glycerin method on the four pieces of branch that i will be using for the table im making, and im going to use some extra pieces of branch to try some other methods that i was advised to try and see what exactly works the best for my future drying of wood, like melting wax on the ends (Dennis Mitchell), and soaking it in soapy water (BassBully). but today i went to the nearest albertsons, and i got some “Glycerin & Rosewater”, the rosewater part is the added perfume, so im hoping that the film that Thomas Porter mentioned wont cover the wood, but anyways, i got home with my 8 oz bottle of glycerin, and realized that i dont know how much glycerin i should use with how much water… i was going to just get a bucket filled with water, and put the whole 8 oz glycerin bottle in there, but decided to ask you guys how much glycerin, and how much water? does it even matter? do i have enough glycerin? im probably over reacting about all this, i just didn’t want to screw anything up… im a first timer… thanks guys!

drying out wood

Lou — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:32:35 GMT

yesterday i was pruning a tree and had to cut off a branch, when i did, i realized that i could use the wood for a table for my sisters dolls that she has been wanting me to make. the branch is about a 3 inch diameter. i cut them in about 16 inches. so i started wondering about how i can dry it out without a kiln? can i dry out the branch just over some of the summer? but then i was thinking about cracking that would happen if i did that… so is there any way to do this? any comments or suggestions would be greatly appriciated!

Sketchup

Lou — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:42:37 GMT

ive been getting some comments about sketchup and people wanting me to make a blog with some how to’s. i am a new user of sketchup, and it isn’t hard to use at all! the first thing i did on my credenza plans (that i posted in my projects list) was just make the 60×18’’ top that is 13/16’’ thick. i am a mac user, and i dont know if the pc version is any different, i assume it is the same though. on the top, there is a tool bar. you click the “rectangle” icon, and just pick a point and drag it to make a rectangle. to get the dimentions right, you type in the length and the width with a comma in between them. it should size it up to the size you type in. there is another icon “orbit” that you can click on to see your project at any angle you want, i use this constantly. to get the 13/16’’ thickness, you click on the “push, pull” icon, you click on the rectangle you already have, drag it the way you want it to go, and type in “13/16’’. now we have the top, to make the legs, i use the tapemeasure icon, and measure in 1’’ from each edge and it makes a dotted line that you can erase later. from the intersection of the dotted lines, i make a square with the rectangle icon, and click 2,2. that should make my legs two inches by two inches. i now use the push pull one to bring them out of the top 30’’. so now we have the top with four legs. i now just mostly use the rectangle, push pull, tapemeasure, and the orbit icons to do most of it. as you can see if your going along with me, that its easy. if you have any questions, comment me, or e-mail me, and i will answer them in a blog. thanks!

Sketchup

Lou — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:56:09 GMT

this is a new program that you can get from google called sketchup, its really great! you can do 3d models of your next project! it is to scale, and is really easy to work with! you just type in “sketchup” in google, and click on the free program. it comes with mac or pc, whatever you have. it makes it very easy to make a bill of materials, and you can print it out with dimentions. i heard about it from a podcast that i subscribe to called “the wood whisperer”. i am posting the plans that i made in sketchup on my projects page. go there to see what you can do with sketchup!