Decisions, Decisions & Woodshop Update

Okay, as you can all tell I haven't exactly been as busy as I should be in regard to the house. I have been working on it, but just not as much as I should. I think burn-out has been trying to set in and it didn't help that allergies hit bad this year.

Anyway, I have done some work on the kitchen, attic, and woodshop, just not a lot of stuff that makes for interesting reading.

In fact, today I spent the biggest part of the day applying a special wood putty/filler to all the tiny holes in the woodwork. Now the molding looks like it has a bad case of acne - not exactly the stuff of stellar posts.

So, I decided to involve you all in my nightmare. For the past several weeks I have been trying to decide on what type of stain to use - if in fact we do use stain!

I'm not good at making these kinds of decisions for some reason, at least not in regard to my own stuff. Funny, I was trained by the military to make decisions, in a split second, that could mean life or death to a team member, but I can't decide on a stain color!!

Well, it has now been dwindled down to 7 possibilities (out of almost 25). I have added some pics of them here.

Before you look at them let me point out a few details. The pieces of wood used in he sample came from that piece of back door trim that could not be salvaged. I did not sand the samples, or clean them up, as much as I have the stuff in the kitchen. Also, the wood is pine and was not sealed. Each sample has also had two coats applied but no topcoat. So, you will see plenty of blemishes. I just hope and pray the finished product is way better than these samples.

Enough of the excuses, on to the pics.

This first picture took a LOT of work to get. Since the stains all have shine to them the glare from the flash was bad. So, I ended up putting the samples on the woodshop floor and getting the pics. For some reason this helped.

I wish the pictures were more 'true' in color. This is a beautiful, deep, color in person, but not the best in pictures.


This stain is 'Brazilian Rosewood'. It is extremely rich in color and depth. I really like it, but am afraid it might be too dark.

The following couple of pics are of the same sample just in different locations and lighting.

This one was on top of the washer.










The next one was on top of the ledge of the built-in cabinet.

As you can see, none of them look the same color!!!









AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!

Those first three pics were just so you could get an idea of how hard of a time I'm having with this. I mean, the stain chosen here will be the one used through out the house! We've got to get it right.

The next several samples are of the other choices.

This one is 'Aged Oak' - I think.










The following is 'Early American'.

This is one of my favorite stains, but it doesn't look the same shade it has when I've used it on other pine items.



The last three are smaller samples. I was running out of board!

These sample are so similar that they almost look the same, and one of them looks nothing like the sample pic on the can!


The colors are 'Pecan', 'Old Maple' and 'Walnut'.

Now this last pic needs to be explained. This is a grouping of samples using two pieces of the old wood and one scrap left over from the plumbing chase.

The staine is 'Red Oak' and was our 1st choice from day one. However, for some reason it looks a little too 'red' and fake.

The main thing that needs to be pointed out with these is that one of the samples had been pre-treated with wood conditioner.

This conditioner is suppose to keep blotchiness to a minimum with soft wood - such as pine. To be honest, if I didn't know which piece was pre-treated I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Can you?

One other thing of note - the wood filler is more noticeable in the picture than in real life.

Now - as you might have guessed, the color differences have been driving me nuts and the stains are not looking the way they normally do. About the only thing I can figure is that the original stain on the wood might have somehow leached into the wood an is causing the colors to be 'off'. Another aspect that might be causing this could possibly be the airplane paint applied later. Perhaps the lead somehow reacted with the original stain and added something to the wood that stripping and sanding just can't get rid of.

All-in-all, I just hope the finished results look better than the samples.

As the title indicates, I have also been working on the wood shop.

My friend Bill (the one getting me into woodworking) gave me a metal work table and it, along with some additional tool aquisitions, forced me to re-think the shop layout.

Sorry for the quality but this pic was scanned in. For sme reason I didn't save it to the PC!!

As you can see, I now how three work tables. The one we found in the shed is now along the south wall and the metal one is on the north wall.

Under the window is the metal table.

The top is filled with hand tools.

I had no idea I had that many hand tools!

I'm sorting through them and weeding some out.

I was hoping to go get the bricks for the wood burner today but when I got to the place they are stored the ground was just too wet to get the Land Rover to them.

The new wooden work table is now on the east wall and it is also covered with miscellaneous tools to be gone through.

You can also see the new location of the original table and the table saw.

The book shelf is now in this corner. I hope to use this as storage for nails, screws, and such.




And again, as the next picture will show, I still have a lot of junk that needs to go 'bye-bye'.

If you look close, next to the piece of peg board, you can see the doors for the built-in cabinet. I have as yet to finish stripping them.

At some point, a dust collection system should be going in this corner.

In the last pic you can see the table saw and original work table.

If you look to the corner, under the pile of stuff, you can barely see the jointer I got from Bill.

Now, on the floor in front of the work table you can see a pile of wooden 2x2s. These are being ripped for use in the attic. These are what the ridged foam insulation will be attached to.

Well...I guess I've board you all with my restoration ramblings for now. Tomorrow I hope to finish the final wood filling and sanding. Now Friday, that should be an interesting day. That’s the day I’ve scheduled to take out the built-in cabinet!!

So, till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~