Special Post #1 - DeWalt

Hello Everyone!!

Sorry for the long delay again but we have been VERY busy!! We are sooooooo close to having the main part of the house painted! We will finish it - primarily the north side - next Spring. Soon I will be posting pictures of the paint.

In the meantime, here's a special post.

Remember way back on December 17, 2009 when I posted about the DeWalt tools I was asked to test?

If not you can read it here - A Gift from DeWALT.

Well, it's about time I give you an update on how this puppy works.

One word - AWESOME!!!

Yup, you heard me - AWESOME!!!

I have been using the DeWalt IMPACT READY™ tools a lot; especially with all the little repairs that have needed to be made during paint prep.

These tools, and accessories, are definitely well worth getting. Perhaps the main test we put them through that impressed us was the repair of the fascia on the west side of the house.

To refresh your memory go here - Soffit Just About Done.

Keep in mind, the wood we were having to drill into is well over 100 years old, and we think it is cottonwood. Over time cottonwood, like some other woods out there, gets incredibly hard over time. We were having to drill pilot holes constantly and even broke three drill bits while doing it. Even though we broke drill bits I'm happy to say they were not the DeWalt bits that came with the set o I wasn't too bothered by it.

Also, we switched from the typical battery that came with the set and started using the DeWALT DC9096 XRP 18-Volt 2.4 Amp Hour NiCad Pod Style Battery.

WOW!!!

This battery really upped the ante!

With one charge we were able to work the entire three days it took to repair the eaves. This included drilling pilot hose as well as screwing 3.5" and 4" screws.

Once this project was finished we decide to see just how long we could use the bigger battery before it died.

Result - 8 days.

Yup, we got 8 days of use out of the battery once it was recharged. This wasn't 8 days of constant use but it was used several times a day during those days. If I were to boil it down to days of constant use I'd say it lasted at least 4 if not 5 days.

Here's the drill after the battery finally gave up.

The drill itself is a little worn now, but it keeps going strong.

In a nut shell - I'm definitely a DeWalt guy from now on. Anytime one of the power tools need to be replaced it will be with a DeWalt.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

The A-Bomb of Paint Scraping

Hey Everybody!!

I promised I would tell you about the 'Nuclear Warhead' that was on it's way as soon as possible. Well, the A-Bomb arrived Saturday morning!! Unfortunately it wasn't until Sunday before I could try it out.

What is this nuke that lays waste to paint you ask? Well let me tell you about it.

This bad-boy of the power tool world is called the Paint Shaver Pro. You can find all the info about it here.

Go to the page and you'll find three video links a little from the top - they are well worth the time to watch. Another excellent video is on YouTube and was made by Scevoli Painting, and can be found here.

This is a general picture of the Paint Shaver Pro I got from the web. It gives a better view of the business end than I could produce.

You should be able to see the round head with the cutting blades. The blades are three tiny carbide triangles with rounded angles.

Wicked, and vicious, looking sucker ain't it?



This is the one I got.

It came from a couple just north of us here in Kansas. They bought it from a guy off eBay but listed it on Craigslist when it became apparent they didn't have time to strip and paint their house.

We will not discuss they cost... Let's just say these things are so pricey that there is a thriving secondary market out there and even these are not cheap.

Let's see what this monster can do to our paint here at the Folly!!

Here is a section of wall on the east side of the porch, just south of the dining room's bay window.




Nice, grungy, and nasty!

And here is a section from the same spot after the Paint Shaver was used.

This took a little over 2 minutes!!


After using this tool you do have to sand the boards because the planning leaves it rough. You should do this anyway so that wasn't a big deal. Also, if you are not careful you can really mess-up a board or create deep gouges in it.

One does need to practice some before using the tool, which I did on some old painted doors, and adjust the cutting depth to what's needed. Due to the various thicknesses of paint on the house this will need to be done periodically.

Oh yeah - another cool thing is that the paint Shaver will remove the paint from the underside of the top lap at the same time. this takes practice, and adjusting as well.

One major, MAJOR, caveat is safety. One should play it safe when using any tool, especially power tools, but this one is different. Let's just say that if your not careful, and your fingers get in the way...well, do you remember that scene in 'Fargo' where the guy fed the other guy into the limb shredder?

SWMBO cringes at the thought.

All-n-all this bad-boy is well worth the investment. I can't wait to see how fast I can get a side knocked down. I'll keep you posted.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

The New Project

Hey Everyone!

So, no one out there has figured out what the new 'project' is or what clue #2 was in the previous post. One person came close - Kathy. She suggested the roof was the new project. Close - but no cigar. I guess I'll just have to tell you.

We are painting the house.

To be honest the house was slated to be painted this year anyway, but we were going to wait till late summer and into early fall. However, for reasons beyond our control we MUST get this place painted ASAP. We have till May 19th to paint the place (more about this later).

Because of this time constraint all of the plans made for this year have been tossed out the window.

So, for the past several weeks we have been researching exterior primer as well as house paint. We have also been scrounging for scaffolding as well. Do you have any idea what this stuff costs to rent let alone buy!!! Fortunately we lucked out. A family friend has a set of scaffolding he's willing to let us borrow. As far as we know it goes up to 15' so we might have to make a platform for the top.

For now we will be spending our time scraping paint.

As for the contraption pictured as part of clue #2 you will just have to wait.

Okay, let's get started.

Scraping...scraping is not the most fun job around. It is tedious and boring, but it does allow one time to think. The exterior paint on the house is in real bad shape. There's a lot of peeling paint all over but the biggest problem is the alligatoring paint. This stuff is extremely hard to get off and it MUST be removed for the new primer/paint to work properly.

Unfortunately this alligatoring is primarily located at the most visible parts of the house - the south and east facing bottom floor.

Yesterday we got started in earnest. Following are the pictures to prove it.

This is the section SWMBO worked on with the help of here father. The amount you see here is the brunt of what they got done in about 3 hours. Yup - 3 hours!! That's how hard this alligatoring paint it. Now, one reason it took so long were the tools they used - the traditional hand scraper.

This is SWMBO's uncle and the spot he worked on. It took him about the same amount of time to scrape this section that it took SWMBO and her father to do theirs using the same tools.

This picture shows where I worked.

SWMBO's father is removing paint from where the clapboards butt up against the molding.

The top board is the area where I experimented with various mechanical methods of scrapping.

The first tool I used was the Wagner Paint Eater. While this tool is a great paint removal tool it doesn't work on all paint problems. The alligatoring did budge, but it took about 5+ minutes to remove the paint from a section about 4"x4".

The next tool I used was my beloved Fein Multimaster. Now this tool has numerous heads that can be used for removing paint and I chose the two heaviest duty ones - including the carbide rasp attachment. The carbide rasp attachment is vicious looking, I thought that this would surely remove the alligatoring paint - NOPE!

The next tool up to the plate is an interesting device I made myself. It's also the one that was used to scrape the other three boards.

Here it is.

How many of you have heard of a device called the Silent Paint Remover? These puppies are pricey; starting at $395.00 and going to $525.00. True, you can sometimes find these for sale on eBay & Craig's List, but even these can be expensive.

Well, this is a homemade one and it cost no more than $50 or $60.

Let's back track a bit here.

Way back in 2007 we were trying to find a way to strip the woodwork in the kitchen faster and easier. In October of the same year I ran across a home restoration blog called Ocean Manor House.

This site provided the step-by-step instructions to make this nifty little sucker. Now there is even an updated version of it that can be found on this page.

This handy paint remover DOES work really well on the vast majority of paint. Unfortunately it didn't do well on the stuff in the kitchen. So, it sat on a shelf until now.

What I don't understand is I know I did a write up on this thing for our blog (I can even remember the pics used) but I can't find it at all. It's like it never happened. However, if you go back to this post, you can clearly see it sitting next to SWMBO.

Now I'm just going mad trying to figure out what happened to that post!

Basically, this tool uses infrared heat to soften paint, and other items, and makes it easier to scrape it off.

Here is the paint once it's removed.

It becomes hard and can be cleaned up easily using a broom or vacuum.


Now, remember, it took SWMBO, her father, and her uncle 3 hours to scrape the small amount they did.

With the infrared device I was able to remove all of this in less than an hour.

Isn't that cool?!

Even though this little gadget works great we had a problem with it on Tuesday. For some reason it just didn't want to work as well as it did on Monday. This could be due to the weather though. It was extremely windy on Tuesday, and chilly, and the wind just whips around the porch as if it were a wind tunnel! This might have been a big part of it.

But then again, it could be that the paint was a different type in the location we worked at on that day. BTW - we were working around the bay window that's part of the dining room.

Do you see that tan looking stuff under the white? We hadn't run into this stuff, this thick, until we got here. The same stuff has been under the paint in other areas but not like this.

What's really weird about it is that it has the consistency of putty. We assume it's the original paint, but why would it have the appearance, and consistency, of putty?

Now here is another weird thing about this area. One board might come clean with the first scrape but the one next to it just won't come clean at all. It doesn't happen every time but just enough to be a pain.

Can't anything be 'easy around here?






And here is a chunk of the stuff that did come off.

Reminds me of hardened putty or even an aged cheese. Like I mentioned before, most of the pieces that have been coming off in other areas are about as thick as a playing card, but the stuff here is as thick as several playing cards.

On another topic...

While working in this area I contemplated the molding above the windows as well as the sides of the moldings where the clapboards butt up against them. These areas do not do well with the infrared paint remover, the paint cools down too fast.

With this in mind we decided to try a new toy.

And here it is - the DeWalt 26950 Heat Gun.

We picked this toy up at Lowe's on Tuesday night.

Neither of us have ever used one but we are hoping it will keep the paint pliable in the tricky areas long enough to get it off.

To be honest, I'm a little hesitant to use it. I've heard horror stories about people getting burned, bad, using heat guns and all the warnings in the manual don't help. Wish us luck; hopefully this thing won't make the Boo-Boo meter go up!

In closing we really like the infrared paint remover, but we REALLY need this process to go faster. So, with this in mind, be sure to check back in a few days, we might have what some consider the 'nuclear warhead' of paint stripers here to help us.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Happy New Year!!!

Hello Everyone!

Well, I hope you all had a great holiday season.

As for us here at the Folly it went well. Now that we have had some down time it's time to put on our big boy britches and get started again.

First off, the fat man in the red velour pantsuit was real nice to me this year. I was fortunate to get several new toys to help me whip this place into shape.

Have you ever seen one of these things?

It's called Square Check for tape measures. I have no idea how I've gotten along without one of these. The fat man gave me two (I figure Percy will take one at some point).

This little puppy is going to come in handy when I go to install the crown molding.

It's an 18” True Angle Protractor made by CompoundMiter.

Anyone who is either putting in crown molding, or has an old house with weird angles, needs one of these.

Now, how many of you have ever tried to cut a razor straight line on a long piece of lumber only to find out you weren't as accurate as you though? I know I have.

This bad boy will definitely help keep the cuts straight.

It's an E. Emerson Tool Co. 50” All in One straight edge clamp. Now all I need to do is get the 99" version!!









Okay, you know the built-in cabinet I need to start working on? The next two toys are going to make it so much easier to build.

This is a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig w/Face Clamp.

This little doohickey makes it extremely easy to make pocket joins for cabinetry. Not only will it come in handy with the built-in, but it should make the rest of the kitchen cabinets come together easily.

In fact, just about anything you need to make a joint for, and don't want to make a fancy one, this is the jig for you.

Okay, this set of drill bits may not look like much but trust me, if you need to attach a hing to anything you've got to have some of these!

These are Insty-Drive Self-centering bits and can make the difference between a 'Joe Blow Handyman' job and professional finish. As the ad states "You’ll get perfectly centered pilot holes for accurate hinge and hardware installation every time"!

Now, you can either hunt all over for these, or you can do like the fat man did and visit the Rockler Woodworking & Hardware web site.

You know... I really should get a kick-back or something for these little endorsements.

Okay, now that the brag session is over, let's on with what's been happening here at the Folly.

To be honest...not much, other than stripping wainscoating.

However, I have been keeping busy with a few other projects and trying to figure out a few problems along the way.

I don't know how many of you look at Freecycle, but you need to. Go to the web site and look for your local site. One of my projects came to me via Freecycle.

I was able to pick up this Craftsman, 10", 3HP table saw and it does work. The gent it came from got rid off it because he is getting older and wanted something easier to move around. He was also having trouble with the arbor bearing (he forgot to replace the retaining rings and the woodruff key) and just didn't want to mess with it any more.

All I need too do is replace the arbor bearing (it's on order), put the motor back on, clean up the top, put the extensions back on and then "Bob's your uncle".

These are the side extensions.

The saw even came with the rip fence and miter gauge.




Can you believe I got this for free - yes - FREE!!! By joining your local Freecycle you can find treasures like this too!

Now, I do plan to restore this saw, not just throw it back together, so it will be an ongoing project. I know I'll eventually replace the rip fence, but not sure when. However, I do want to replace the pulley system ASAP with machined steel pulleys and a Power-Twist link-belt.

I'll post up-dates on this project as it goes along.

On a side note, I also repaired a drill that my parents gave me almost 20 years ago. The power cable was bad and just needed to be repaired.

The only other project of note is just a little one. Nothing much really, but it made SWMBO happy.

Several months ago we found an old porch light at an antique store and SWMBO wanted it. We already have a porch light next to the side door leading out of the basement, but we've never really been happy with it.

Unfortunately we did not think to get a good 'before' picture, but here is a picture of the parts after SWMBO cleaned them up.

The metal casting is brass. We thought about removing the paint all together, but it was intended to be black. Also, the little glass panes are frosted and the finial is brass.

It was going to be a simple job to restore but when I started to check the electrical connections one of the wires fell off and the whole socket assembly wasn't in the best shape. So, a trip to Lowe's was made to get the parts.

Here's the finished light.

Didn't turn out half bad did it?

If the weather is as nice this weekend as is being indicated we plan to go ahead and install it.









Other than this I have two problems to address.

Do you remember the crack that was forming in the wall of the kitchen way back last November? If not, go here.

Now this stupid crack looks like someone head-butted the wall!! So, I'm going to start poking around to see if I can figure out what is causing it. This wasn't a delay I was counting on.

The other issue I don't even want to talk about. It really ticks me off because I screwed something up by taking a shortcut. Now I have to re-do something I don't want to re-do.

maybe, once the embarrassment fades, I'll tell you what it is and show you some pictures.

I have also taken some additional pictures of some problem areas dealing with the second floor, but those will have to wait till later to get posted.

It's now getting late and it's been a busy day. I think I'll go ahead and call it a day.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Wainscoating Up-Date I

Hello again everyone!

Before I get to the wainscoating let me tell you about the new toy I picked up during our trip. Bill and I made a few trips to the DIY stores in his new area to get supplies. I couldn't believe it, there are three of these and they are LARGE! Within a 1/4 mile area there is a Lowe's, Home Depot (unfortunately they are going belly-up) & the biggest Sutherland's I've ever seen!

Anyway, while at Lowe's I picked up the following new toy.

It's a Swanson 48" Adjustable Aluminum Drywall Square.

Who ever came up with this deserves a medal. I can't believe something like this hasn't come about before - perhaps it has and I just missed it.

Speaking of Lowe's....

We went to all of these spots and the customer service was outstanding! In the amount of time I was in the stores I was waited on more than all the visits to my local ones combined! Get this...they came to me and asked if I needed help! They had a smile, was polite and showed a genuine interest in what I needed and in helpig me.

I miss that place already...

Okay - on to the wainscoating.....

Speaking of wainscoating - how many of you are aware that the item is spelt two different ways? You have 'wainscoating' and 'wainscoting'. Along with the different spellings you have three - yes THREE - ways to pronounce them!! You can say it with the ending sounding like 'coat' or 'cot' or even 'scoot'. CRIKEY - can't anything be simple any more.

Anyway....

Here is the first batch cleaned and ready for stipping.

Right now I'm only going to do enough to cover that small half wall.

After the application of the stripper it's bubbling nicely.








Look at that!

Not to bad for a first stripping. I will finish it up tomorrow. I wanted to try and do it tonight, but have ran out of time.

Speaking of time. What do you all do to help pass the time while you do stuff like this? Usually I listen to the radio but since the election I've switched to mix CDs.

I bet none of you have as an eclectic taste in music as I do. Let's see...while waiting for the stripper to do it's thing I piddled in the kitchen and basement while jamming to Grace Slick's 'White Rabbit'; Joan Baez's rendition of 'Lilly Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts'; Aqua's 'Barbie Girl'; Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'; Presidents of the United States 'Lump', Talking Heads 'Burning Down the House' as well as a smattering of other strange music that even included opera.

So, what all do you listen to?

Okay, while sorting through the pieces of the wainscoat I found problems. They are not bad, but will have to be dealt with.

If you look at the edges of the two pieces in the picture you will notice that some of the tongue is missing. Unfortunately most of the pieces of parts of the tongue missing as well as the wall side of the groves.

Since you do not cram the edges up against each other I will have to figure out a way to fix this problem. Right now I have a few ideas, but nothing set in stone.

Then, while scrapping the paint off I noticed the corner where the half wall met the main wall.

The gap is almost wide enough for me to move the moulding in order to install the wainscoating. However - it isn't wide enough to do this so the corner trim piece will have to be trimmed.

This I do not want to do.

Then it hit me between the eyes.

The next picture will help to explain the stone that hit me.

Take a close look at the picture again, but this time with the addition of a red line drawn on it.

Do you see that small amount of trim sticking out past the line?

This bit of moulding is not even with the window. If I trim it back to make it even it will allow enough room to move the moulding without needing to trim the corner piece!!

This will be a job for the Multi-Master.

Guess I'll leave you with this picture.

Once again Shalimar made a bed out of the laptop.




I decided to take a break and went to check my e-mail and found her this way. Unfortunately, right when I snapped the pic she woke up.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry ~

Bubble Bubble Toil & Trouble

Okay - admit it...there's a mad scientist in all of us. Some of us just embrace that side more often than most.

This week has been one of those times when I have embraced the cackling maniac inside.

While doing the finish sanding on the kitchen woodwork I've been doing a lot of thinking about washcoats and stains. So, I decided to go to the pros I talk to on the internet as well as cracking open a few books.

So, between all the sanding I've been doing a lot of research as well.

I know it would more than likely benefit us in the long run to precondition the woodwork, but I wasn't happy with the test results when I tried it with the pre-made conditioners. Well, after several e-mails to knowledgeable people it was suggested I make my own wood conditioner.

The recipe I decided on (the one that was recommended the most) is a simple one. You take some Zinsser SealCoat and thin it with denatured alcohol.

Here is a the reduction guide:

Desired cut Mix in a separate container
3-lb. to 2-lb. 2 parts alcohol + 5 parts shellac
3-lb. to 1-lb. 3 parts alcohol + 2 parts shellac
2-lb. to 1-lb. 1 part alcohol + 1 part shellac

I went with the 50/50 mix.

Here are the ingredients.

The Masson jar holds the results.

Kind of looks like yak pee don't it?






On Wednesday I removed a piece of the mop board from inside the pantry closet. After sanding it, and prepping it, I applied the washcoat to two different spots.

Now before you sit there and question my madness let me explain.

I have been given a 'secret' recipe for stain that will theoretically make the woodwork look as though it has aged gracefully with a coat of orange shellac. I have seen photos of this recipe being used on woodwork like ours and it turned out great! We'll see what happens - that's what the test board/control sample is for.

Anyway, back to the control sample.

I have only placed the wash on two areas of the board. The reason I did this is so that I can test my two stain samples (there are two variations to the secret recipe) with and without a wash coat.

This will also help determine how many coats of stain I'll need. However, per the gent who gave me the recipe, he only applied one coat of stain (without a washcoat) and then applied four very thin layers of top coat.

Take a look at this.

You are seeing a closeup of the washcoat by itself.

Too bad we aren't wanting this color - it looks great!

I also noticed that this homemade washcoat has a different hue, and feel, compared to the commercial washcoats available. It'll be interesting to see what happens tomorrow when I mix the recipes and test them.

On another related area....

I got a couple new toys to help in this endeavor.

The first is a set of scraper blades that interchange with each other.

Kind of reminds me of a pimped out shaving razor!

This little thing has done wonders when scraping little spots and weird shapes.










This last one is so simple, so basic, it's one of those tools that make you say 'cool'.

All it is is a razor scraper for windows. It's a very sleek, almost retro, design that fits comfortably in the hand.

Yeah, I know I could have just used a plain ol' razor blade but I like my gadgets and toys!




Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Toys Toys Toys

As most of you know SWMBO and I have been busy the past couple of months doing all sorts of stuff.

Some of what we’ve been doing is hitting various auctions and going to eastern Kansas to visit SWMBO’s family.

As part of these expeditions we have been able to pick up some new toys. I thought you’d find some of them of interest.

First up are some more power tools for the woodshop.

Finally got a little, 5-speed, ½” chuck, bench top drill press.

I’ve never heard of the ‘Collins Quality Tool’ brand, but this is a sweet little bugger - works great.

All that really needs done is cleaning and some surface rust removal in some areas. For the price I got it for it can’t be beat and I can’t go wrong.

At the same auction I managed to get this Craftsman 12” Band Saw - Sander.

Like the drill press this only needs to be cleaned up and have some surface rust taken care of (mainly on the legs). Like the drill press, the price was too good to let it go.

They guy who previously owned these tools was a woodworker as well. From what I can tell he had to hang-up his apron over 10 years ago due to illness. Since his illness the tools have just been sitting in his woodshop gathering dust. The family decided to have the auction because the guy is now needing to go into a care facility.

Makes me wonder what will happen to all my junk when I’m no longer around.

The only bad thing about this band saw are the spiders that came with it. I knew there were some webs/nests under it, and I thought I got them. Guess I didn’t. When I went into the woodshop yesterday there were dozens of spider webs going all over from the saw. We sprayed for spiders, and other bugs, about a month ago in the shop. I might have to do some more spraying.

While back in south eastern Kansas I managed to pick up a couple new vintage hand tools.

The hand drill came from the wife’s second cousin (he has an absolutely spectacular woodshop utilizing primarily vintage antique hand tools) , the Bailey #3 came from a junk shop.

The Brace isn’t exactly an old one, maybe 40 years, but it came form the wife’s second cousin as well.

The awesome, razor sharp, spoke shave was an auction find my friend Bill got for me.

The next two items I picked up just the other day and intend to hang them in the shop.

This is a two man tree saw.

What's really neat about it is that it's about 1" taller than me!



Once cleaned up it should look nice hanging from the rafters.

Here is a HUGE, one man, Keen Kutter saw. The extra handle can be moved to the other end of the blade.



This one is 4-½’. I think what one gent at the auction said about it sums it up best - “I’d hate to cross the guy big enough to use it”.

Llike the other one it will hang from the rafters of the shop too.

This is a better view of the two handles and the Keen Kutter button.







Now these last few pics are of THE prize from the auction the saw came from.

We have wanted a matched set of metal twin beds for one of beds rooms. When we found these we knew we had to have them.

They do have a ‘Simmons’ label on them, but we can not find a date. They are metal, and the foot boards has a brass piece. They also came with both sets of rails.

What we liked the best about them is that they look like something that would have been on the Titanic.

One of the head boards...

One of the foot boards...

Head board finial detail.

Foot board brass 'do-hickey' detail.

The other one has a small dent, about the size of a dime on it.



Once cleaned up they should look great. I’m going to have to do some digging and see what color they should be. I think they were originally black as there is no sign of any other color.

All-n-all, not bad for $10 each!

Well, till next time....

Cheers!
Larry