Any woodworking experts got any tips for Elf?

Well the thinness of the coats does mean that it’ll be easy to sand, plus easier to get a nice even coat on. It’s looking good so far. The only things I’ve varnished in’t past have bin a door (yachting varnish ftw) and a couple of picture frames I’ve knocked up. That was with ‘thicker’ spirit-based varnish and tricky, tbh. This stuff is easier to apply, for sure.

The brush I’ve used is not the best I have to say. Bit too stiff really, need something softer. Learning learning learning…

It’s slowly dawning on me that I’m proper winging it with this idea. I’ve no experience of doing anything like this, and it’s a bit of a gamble to say the least. 😆 But I have confidence in my designs, the prototype works very well, and it’s all looking very positive. Plus this thread has helped me immensely.

Waiting to hear back from CNC place…. 🙂

Elf..

MrsBouy’s looking for some small lockup/studio space in/near Canary Wharf.. (shes into sculpture too) She’s found something over Hackney way but it’s a teeny bit too far IHO..

Don’t s’pose you know of anywhere local like?

Just askin.

She’s better off in Hackney. CW is way too spensive mate.

Might she consider sharing a space? I’m considering it but can’t afford my own entire space atm.

Final production drawings now with cutters. Awaiting quotes and any other info.

I have proper struggled with the production layout. Multiple layers according to different CNC tools, carefully coded names for layers, all in absolutely perfect register, exactly according to requirements of the CNC software. Never produced such files before; everything else I’ve done has bin in 2-D. Very nervous.

Nearly there. Bin a fascinating journey so far, still some way to go. Success comes after the sale of every single piece.

And this is just the beginning….

You still chiseling away then!

I have a water based varnish you can try
It does not dry with a white base like all other water based varnishes
Also produces a sprayed finish too which we use as a last resort
when on site
You will have to sand between each coat with the finest wet and dry paper

I can give your a low down on hand finishing too.

Elf shall I bring my camera around for a photoshoot? 🙂

Cheers Elf.. Yes she would consider sharing. She’s into wood and stone, just finished off some carvings but would like to expand and do some bigger stuff (3-4ft ish)

One of her clients (a painter’ist) has just taken a lock up (serviced with only electricity and sercured mind) over there, she’s off to see her the week after next.. I’ll poke her in the ribs to see whats over there, properslike.

Cheers.

UPDATE (For anyone even remotely still inertested):

We’re in production. 😐

Payment made, all drawings submitted and approved, all systems go. Should have components ready by end of next week, first items for sale from the following Monday. Visiting the workshop on Monday to run over final details. Just the small matter of a website to be built, and an assembly line to be designed and constructed. 😀

I have rarely bin so nervous about any project! Not slept at times, for thinking about it all.

I feel like I’m on the cusp of a New Beginning, and it’s very exciting.

Ah well; from initial daydream to actually hitting the button. Feels quite weird actually!

Now begins Stage Two: Actually marketing and selling the bloody things! 😮

No electric shock yet then? 😀

I’ve not used it yet Dez! 😯

Wear wellys… 😯

UPDATE: The Fullness of Time is almost upon us…

Initial production stage complete, first units rolling off production line. Slightly behind schedule, but not by much. Just preparing production samples now for product photography, first units for sale will be ready for despatch in a couple of days.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for sanding round the edges of holes. Currently using a fingertip and a bit of fine sandpaper, but a dome-shaped fine sanding thingy would be great, but they don’t seem to exist. Any ideas?

There is a local hardware shop close to work that we use for fasteners and stuff.

Last time I was in there, they had sanding attachments for dremel style rotary tool. They were in a variety of shapes, and included:

– cylindrical
– conical
– domed

I suspect these would do the trick in a jiffy!

These kind of things…(American site)
http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2004626/PROXXON-Drum-Sanders-And-Accessories.aspx
that I suspect would work in a normal variable speed drill.
Another site:
http://www.ramprodinc.com/c-23-sanding-caps-and-holders.aspx although these ones seem to be for doing your nails….!

A site in the UK. Slough, no less:
http://www.sloughrc.com/default.asp?itemid=28987

Stumpy this is exactly what I need. I just coon’t find owt like that where I’ve looked!

Now where it is I can get this from in UK?

first units for sale will be ready for despatch in a couple of days.

So do we get to know what it is, you have created yet?

Rich, only when they are ready for despatch will all be revealed….

Elf, the dremmel section of B&Q should have those things.

I’ll try and take a detour at lunch & make some enquiries at the shop I mentioned…..
….depends if the bloke I normally wander up the road with minds going a bit out of our way….otherwise it’ll be another day.

I’ll get some prices and a piccy if they don’t mind me taking one.

I’ll update after lunch. Can always pop one in the post for you to try or something……

You’ll get a much neater finish if you follow route a chamfer or roundover rather than sanding. The holes look a bit small for a bearing guided router bit but a dremel one should fit. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005LEXR/dremel300-20

Ideally use a dremel mounted in one of these:
amazon link

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for sanding round the edges of holes. Currently using a fingertip and a bit of fine sandpaper, but a dome-shaped fine sanding thingy would be great, but they don’t seem to exist. Any ideas?

First things first, When you drill, drill from both sides to meet midway or put another bit of ply underneath as a sacrificial piece. This should reduce the breakout you have there.
Easiest way to deal with those holes if the edges of them to not need to be flat is whip round them with a router fitted with a pencil-round, just to take the edges and some breakout away.

If you sand too much with your fingers you’ll go through the top ply most likely, exposing a dark one beneath and it’ll look awful.
Only way really is to ensure you don’t get any breakout in the first place.

B+Q is bloody rubbish. They’ve right cut back on their tool range, no longer do their proper decent little Dremel type thing, and have about 3 accessories for them.

They also don’t do simple woodworking things like 8ft lengths of 6mm dowel. TBH it seems to be going towards pre-fabricated cheap shite than actual DIY stuff.

Going to have fun trying out some beeswax in a bit. Goes on very nice, polishes up well. Does it harden up, or stay as a softish finish? Not for this project, but for future reference.

Also bought some boiled linseed oil, but I’m too scared to actually use it. 🙁 Apparently it can ‘spontaneously combust’ with vigorous rubbing. 😯

Oh, and Evostick wood glue is for the win. Fantastic stuff; only need a little bit, lasts ages and is proper strong, as I discovered once after making a mistake. Just 20 mins and the bugger was rock solid. 😳

DOn’t screwfix do them??

MrsBouy uses a few of those thingies and gets them from various “fixings” peoples in and around your way, one she uses is in Greenwich.. Dunno the name though..

So do we get to know what it is, you have created yet?

mint sauce key rings?

Find out asap please Bikebouy!!!

I hope you’re not going to try and pass anything off as handmade, if you’re using power tools that is.

mint sauce key rings?

Don’t be daft. I’ll have my stuff ready before Xmas, MSKRs take a lot longer… 😉

Don; I’m marketing them as ‘hand finished’, which they will be. A combination of traditional techniques and up-to-the-minute technology…

Anyway’s I best crack on. Tea break over! 😆

Rubbish. Might have messed up!

They are by Faithfull tools and are grinding bits for sharpening blades & such like……

Not sure they would work particularly well. Bum.

Elf get to a decent B&Q – mine has all those things.

Elfinsafety – Member
B+Q is bloody rubbish. They’ve right cut back on their tool range, no longer do their proper decent little Dremel type thing, and have about 3 accessories for them.

They also don’t do simple woodworking things like 8ft lengths of 6mm dowel. TBH it seems to be going towards pre-fabricated cheap shite than actual DIY stuff.

Going to have fun trying out some beeswax in a bit. Goes on very nice, polishes up well. Does it harden up, or stay as a softish finish? Not for this project, but for future reference.

Also bought some boiled linseed oil, but I’m too scared to actually use it. Apparently it can ‘spontaneously combust’ with vigorous rubbing.

Oh, and Evostick wood glue is for the win. Fantastic stuff; only need a little bit, lasts ages and is proper strong, as I discovered once after making a mistake. Just 20 mins and the bugger was rock solid.

God Effin I have offered several times and see you have NO finishing skills and don’t want to see
you falling at the first hurdle. Furniture is a touch and feel product and nothing worse having a
lovely product with a shit finish and then trying to describe what it is actually going to feel like!
when you don’t know how to achieve one to be able to speak about one.

Try Toucan tools for tools and you’ll be in a professional tool shop
Toucan Tools[/url]

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for sanding round the edges of holes. Currently using a fingertip and a bit of fine sandpaper, but a dome-shaped fine sanding thingy would be great, but they don’t seem to exist. Any ideas?

Just buy one of these I use and use a 1mm radius cutter on a guide bearing to run along the
radius of the hole times money and a minute is 100% so hand sanding will take to long
and will eat into your profit.

Makita Trimming Tool

Other than that I would have a pillar drill set up and have a drill bit made
with a pre radius shape.
I use these guys for all my bespoke and off the shelf tooling.

NLS Tooling

Talking of woodworking. One of the projects the first years do at the college I teach at is a small table which includes a veneered top of their own design. I had to make one this year as a demo and so decided to do something a bit different in terms of Marquetry… Thought I’d share with the folk here…

Was a little bit of a mission to do, but it actually turned out ok..

Apologies for the lateness of my ‘Machine list’. Been rather busy over here. Anyhow, finally got it together. This is the large machines – we also have a load of smaller stuff like compressors etc but I’ll need to catalougue that when I return home.

Here ye go:

1 Abarboga Maskiner Pedestal Grinder
1 Allday plate
1 Ararboga plate
1 Axminster 240V Long Bed Wood Lathe
1 BEC Shaping Machine
1 Boxfrod Centre Lathe (reserved)
2 Centauro Bandsaw
6 Colchester Bantam 1
4 Colchester Bantam Centre Lathe 1
1 Conect CNC
1 Conect CNC Lathe
1 DCS Plate
1 DCS Sticker
2 DCS Unimaster Dust Extraction
6 Elliot Pillar Drill
1 Elliot Shaping Machine
1 Fell Machine Horizontal Drill
1 Fell Plate
1 FJ Edwards Foot Guillotine
1 Flamefast Crucible
3 Flamefast Gas Forge
1 Gabro Folder
1 Harrison 600 Milling Machnie
1 Ingersoll Rand Compressor
1 Laser Pro cutting machine
1 Monoflex welder
1 Morso Mitre Machine
1 Multico Bandsaw
1 Multico Morticer
1 Multico Morticer Plate
1 Pedal Guillotine
5 Progress Pillar Drill
1 Purex Extracter for laser machine
1 Q&S hacksaw plate
3 Qualters & Smith Machine Hacksaw
1 Rapidor Machine Hacksaw
1 RJH Gryphon Pedestal Polisher
1 RJM Linisher
1 Sander dust kit
2 Sedgwick Thicknesser Planer
1 Spencer & Halstead Dust Extraction Kit
1 Spencer & Halstead Dust Extraction Plate
1 Spenstead Dust Kit
1 Spenstead plate
1 Union Bandfacer
4 Union Graduate Woodlathe
3 Viceroy Centre Lathe 1
4 Viceroy Dolly Mop Polisher
2 Viceroy Grinder
5 Viceroy Pedestal Drill 1
2 Viceroy Pedestal Grinder
1 Viceroy Pillar drill
1 Viceroy Pillar Sharp Edge
2 Viceroy Sharpedge
8 Viceroy Short bed Wood Lathe 1
1 Wadkins Bursgreeen Orbital Sander
4 Wadkins Bursgreen Bandsaw
4 Wadkins Bursgreen Dimension Saw
2 Wadkins Bursgreen Long Bed Wood Lathe
5 Wadkins Bursgreen Mortice Machine
1 Wadkins Bursgreen Orbital Sander
3 Wadkins Bursgreen Orbital Sander with dust extraction
2 Wadkins Bursgreen Thicknesser Planer
2 Wadkins Bursgreen orbital Sander with Airmaster dust kit
2 Willian Allday Gas Forge

Very cool, kayak23.

Ok so here we are!

First design now on sale. Got in just a teeny bit too late for the Xmas market really, but then it was always going to be a struggle. Not to worry; it’s an all-year round product. 🙂

Bin a fascinating journey, and I’m really quite chuffed that I’ve bin able to come up with a concept, then see it through every stage to actual production and selling it. I liken the process to a tree; starts out as a seed, then grows, branches out in all different directions with the various different aspects of the design, manufacturing and marketing processes, to become a fully grown thing.

In order to get started, I had to come up with a simple idea which was realisable; no good coming up with something too complex that I coon’t actually deliver.

So this is the beginning, and hopefully the start of the next chapter. Got a good few designs to refune and discuss with my workshop people in the New Year, hope to have a small range of products out by Spring.

I’ve learned stupid amounts. Developed new skills, knowledge and techniques. Bin so much fun, really exciting the whole thing. Sleepless nights, anxieties, worries. I don’t expect to make any significant profits for at least a couple of years really; it’s all about establishing myself in the marketplace, learning where I fit in, developing my brand.

I’m afraid I am forbidden by Forum Rules from advertising on here, and rightly so, but if anyone is even remotely interested, then email me for details. Don’t expect much though; I suspect people will be a bit ‘is that it?’ really. 😆

Happy Festivities to all those who’ve contributed such positive vibes to this great thread. Peace and Happiness to all.

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