Buck's random home-made things.

[daniel_buck]

I've not picked up any Lacquer thinner yet, maybe acetone would be better? if it dries quicker and cleaner, that would be better I think

[daniel_buck]

got the mahogany cut, sanded, and drying the first rub of stain. At this position you can see the soft almost pearly sheen on the wood, as it goes from darker to lighter. I think it should look good with the metal

I'll put some a few protective coats of rubbed-on polyurethane after the second coat of stain.

[daniel_buck]

complete! :-)

I'm going to start working on the credenza and coffee table this week. I'm thinking that instead of leaving the metal bright an clean, I'll polish it the same to get the texture, but then wipe it down with vinegar or something to start the oxidation to get some patina on it, then clean it off real good with water, dry it with a heat gun or torch, and THEN put the clear protective coat over it.

I think a patina look might be better suited. We'll see, if it looks good on the other tables, I could always go back and strip the clear coat off this table, and do the same patina process as the others. I guess acetone would take the clear coat right off, eh?

[Zoobi]

I used to know this guy growing up. Names Mark Benoiught. This guy was a fab genius. He started getting into desert racing pre runners. He was kind of a rich kid. Anyways this cat could weld. Id go over to his place and he'd have a 200,000.00 racer in his garage and his cages would look like pieces of wet spaghetti gorgeously welded together. Imagine the perfect TIG welds and the perfect bends. Now X it by 4. . That good.
It was true ART indeed.

Now this is a small world. Mark was a helper at my shop while he was going to school. We kept in touch until he got his shop. He had a gift for welding I wish I had.

[inVERt'D]

Looks nice!

[daniel_buck]

just got finished torching it, it looks alot better now, not all shiny and new :-D I tell you what, that's fun. painting with fire

I cleaned all the clear coat off with acetone, then smeared vinegar and mustard all over it for about 15 minutes until it started to oxidize, then washed it all off with water, and hit it with a torch. I think it looks alot better, will post up a photo as soon as the new clear coat dries, and I get the wood bolted back in.

Wonder if I should torch the wood.... LOL

[daniel_buck]

I absolutely love how the metal looks now! I think the wood looks a little out of place now, I may cut up some more wood, and try torching the wood before I put the protective polyurethane coating on it. Or just try a darker stain, I think the wood looks to light now, I think it would look great if it were a similar darkness as the metal, it would be similar color, but different texture. I'll see if I can come up with something

The clear coat on the metal actually works nicely. I was afraid it would be a real shiny clear coat like car paint, but even though it says "glossy", it really is more like a matte finish. I like it

[inVERt'D]

I made a rear bumper for a friend's jeep awhile back, and I love the way it looked unfinished with the welds and fishplates. Looks good painted black, but not near the same character.

Mustard, huh?

[daniel_buck]

Yea, mustard and vinegar seems to be a popular combo with people who are into giving knife blades a patina look to them. I remember someone mentioning it to me a while back, so I gave it a try. Vinegar works faster, but mustard (which usually has vinegar in it already?) helps keep the vinegar mix a little thicker, so that you can have streaks and patterns, instead of puddles and droplets Although puddles and droplets might not look bad either

[inVERt'D]

Cool tip, thanks.

I do think the table looks much better. What caused that light streakiness on the lower shelf?

[daniel_buck]

you know, I was trying to figure out that. And the only thing I can think of is that there was still a bit of the clear coat left on it, I softened it with acetone and steel wool, and wiped away everything with a paper towel. I had to wipe quickly, because it dries so darn fast! And my guess is that there were some streaks left over where I didn't wipe fast enough, and clear coat started to congeal again. So what little was left blocked the vinegar and mustard from getting to it, and probably also made the torch not as effective in those areas either.

Kind of cool. That that (I think) I know this, I may actually try that on the next table. I'm going to make the coffee table next, and the entire top will be steel (that will hold up better with condensation from drinks and hot food plates better than wood will, I think). And I'd love to get that same effect on the top of that, where it will be nice and visible. So I may actually do exactly what I did on this table, spray some clear coat, let it dry, desolve it with acetone and wipe away everything with a paper towel.

I cut the metal for the coffee table tonight, it will be 30"x30". I think I have enough sheet metal to cover that, I'll just have to butt weld several smaller pieces together. I'm going to do 1/8" on the top, instead of 1/16". 1/16" would need more support underneath it inbetween the legs in the middle of the table, and I got a bunch of 1/8" scrap sheet metal.

Dang this is fun, I wish I had more time at home, I'm going to hate going back to work next week :-\ lol

[Tumbleweed13]

Maybe try some old, repurposed wood, that is darkened with age. That would match.

[inVERt'D]

1/8" should be pretty solid and have a nice heft to to help keep it stable.

[daniel_buck]

Got most of the way done with the coffee table today. There's already some nice patterns on the top piece, so I'm going to do what I can to keep as much of that as possible.

This will be the only piece that has a full metal top, since drinks and stuff will be placed on it, and I often use the coffee table in the living room to work on small projects, projects, like an old 1930's type writer that I fixed up for a friend. The coffee table is kind of my inside work bench, haha :-D

Anyway, back to the coffee table. Same 1x1 1/16" square tubing, and the top is 1/8". In the interest of time (I've only got this week off) I just picked up a piece of steel for the top, instead of cutting and welding a bunch of smaller pieces together.

before grinding the welds down







after getting most of the welding done on the legs. Tomorrow I'll finish a few more of the welds and do the same feet that I did on the other table with 5/8" nuts and bolts.

[daniel_buck]

the completed coffee table