Ever Have Two of Those Days?!

Paul Douglass

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S E Washington State
Boy, Just trying to make four little legs for the stand for my kaleidoscope. Working at it for two days. I'm on attempt 10 now! Using the router and we are not getting along. Maybe this is a project I was not meant to do. No! I will not give up!

:bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang:
 
Paul, your pictures when making the wheels for your racing car were very helpful and we all learned from your efforts. OK, that said, specifically what problems are you having. I'm assuming uniform contact with the surface the kaleidoscope legs are resting on, but don't really know.
 
No, I am trying to make the shape I want the legs. This is a successful one, not finished as far as sanding, that I did with maple. Then I decided I wanted to use cherry instead of maple. So I started over. My problem has been me! I route the wrong side or let the piece of wood move at the wrong time for let the wood slip and get chewed up. The only problem with the router end is tear out. I control it as best I can with real shallow cuts. The cherry tears out much more than the maple did.

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The end result is a kaleidoscope something like this, but different.

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Paul, do you ever take on simple projects? Just a thought, and I may very well be simplifying this because of my limited experience, but are you making the feet "initially" as four individual pieces? If so, could you make them as two separate long pieces instead so that the routing is done cross grain initially on a double length piece. Then cut the two long pieces into the four pieces you want and then do the final routing with the grain to minimize tear out?
Gotta say Paul that you do take on some really nice projects. I love small work!
 
Oh, but Al, you are talking about the smart way of doing it! :whistling: I thought of that after I had the pieces cut for the last time. Note to self for next time. Today it went pretty darn good. The only thing that worries me is this is the easy part of the project, not a good way to start. This is my base, no finish applied. The knot I wanted because it is pretty grain around it and adds character. I'm just trying to decide if I should fill it with coffee ground/epoxy to keep the dust from settling in there. Any opinions?

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Paul, I hope you don't mind, but I really like the way the feet look on the base & would like to copy your design. The "slant" effect of the feet with the base, especially the reliefs, is perfect! I have a project going that would look much better with your feet (nothing personal) than what I originally had in mind.
 
paul Al beat me to the ide of making those feet,, and as for the coffee and epoxy part i would do that,, if you want the know hole filled.. Tod from arkansas use that mix all the time for knot repairs or on walnut as well.. hey you need more wood i got some cut offs that would work for your projects flat rate box full could be headed your way:) for shipping cost
 
paul Al beat me to the ide of making those feet,, and as for the coffee and epoxy part i would do that,, if you want the know hole filled.. Tod from arkansas use that mix all the time for knot repairs or on walnut as well.. hey you need more wood i got some cut offs that would work for your projects flat rate box full could be headed your way:) for shipping cost

THANK YOU!

pm sent

P.S. I have never used the coffee grounds before, do you grind them up finer or use them as they are? I have some drying from yesterdays coffee. Is Folgers okay?
 
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".............................. Just don't do such a fine job it makes mine look bad!......................." That could never happen Paut, I'm just a hacker at heart having fun hacking away.

I've never heard of using coffee grinds & epoxy as a method of repair. What a great idea! I'm assuming clear epoxy must be used to retain the color of the coffee??? I'm guessing this would make it look like a solid knot - nice!

Alternatively, would the following work?
Use a tool (Dremel?) to "gouge out the core of the knot hole to a depth of say only 1/16" & large enough to remove the dark color of the knot.
Then mix sawdust, or sanding fines, with clear glue or super glue, and
Then putty in the mixture to fill the hole & sand to blend with surrounding area.

Or "wood" this be too large a hole to fix like this?
 
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I have never had good success with wood dust as a filler. The epoxy, glue or what ever I used has changed the color of the dust enough that it accentuates (is that right?) the patch. I have even less success with the stuff you buy at the store. That has been my experience anyway. Plus, in this case I want the dark spot I just want to fill it so dust doesn't settle in it. I live in the desert, you live with dust!
 
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