Sell me on the SS jointer

[chiroindixon]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... t=2&sim=11

Guys,

Sorry that I could not post a picture of what's really out there to work with. Hope the "attached" comes through. (I'll gladly admit to being a Luddite.)

Here in Iowa, I've always kept a lookout for old barns, etc. when they are scheduled to be torn down or worse, burned.
With my patients help, I've gotten "old growth" material to work with. Of note, is my first project off the SS520, a coffee table and end set. Incredible tight growth rings, all quarter sawn pine... taken when a corn crib was deemed unnecessary. Still sitting in the "man cave".

I could have cried for a week when another friend decided to burn the old barn at his place rather than allow me to grab what was there, or at least make arrangements with a broker to buy it. There were all sorts of planks that were better than 18'' wide and clearly "old growth". Another project I got material from, was from helping the dismantling a 150' tall wood grain elevator. Most of it was simply burned.

Lastly, my coveted stash, was cut with chain saw, to salvage quarter sawn oak from the pews of the University chapel . Built at the turn of the 20th century, estimated 1900'ish they were deemed "out of date" and were banished...sent to the wood burner.

So... we've got to work with what we have. Perhaps a little networking among the locals is in order. Especially the tree surgeons and others who dispose of "old trees".

What has largely not been discussed is the entirely separate skill set of "finishing". Granted my jointing boards and making the project are pretty good... but my finishing skills absolutely suck. I'm one of the reasons there is a "finishing/refinishing shop just down the road.

Doc

[RFGuy]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... t=2&sim=11

Guys,

Sorry that I could not post a picture of what's really out there to work with. Hope the "attached" comes through. (I'll gladly admit to being a Luddite.)

Here in Iowa, I've always kept a lookout for old barns, etc. when they are scheduled to be torn down or worse, burned.
With my patients help, I've gotten "old growth" material to work with. Of note, is my first project off the SS520, a coffee table and end set. Incredible tight growth rings, all quarter sawn pine... taken when a corn crib was deemed unnecessary. Still sitting in the "man cave".

I could have cried for a week when another friend decided to burn the old barn at his place rather than allow me to grab what was there, or at least make arrangements with a broker to buy it. There were all sorts of planks that were better than 18'' wide and clearly "old growth". Another project I got material from, was from helping the dismantling a 150' tall wood grain elevator. Most of it was simply burned.

Lastly, my coveted stash, was cut with chain saw, to salvage quarter sawn oak from the pews of the University chapel . Built at the turn of the 20th century, estimated 1900'ish they were deemed "out of date" and were banished...sent to the wood burner.

So... we've got to work with what we have. Perhaps a little networking among the locals is in order. Especially the tree surgeons and others who dispose of "old trees".

What has largely not been discussed is the entirely separate skill set of "finishing". Granted my jointing boards and making the project are pretty good... but my finishing skills absolutely suck. I'm one of the reasons there is a "finishing/refinishing shop just down the road.

Doc

Doc,

Really wish I had access to lumber like that. I am envious. I would need to move to make that happen. I would say that I am "okay" with woodfinishing and a large reason for that is by absorbing as much as I could from the book titled The Woodfinishing Book by Michael Dresdner. I believe you can still get that version, though I believe he has updated it with new info because the market has changed in woodfinishes since it was printed. The new book is titled The New Woodfinishing Book, but I have no experience with the new book. At a high level, you have to decide do you want the wood to be the star or the finish? Some start with the best quality wood, even looking for figured grain, etc., and then apply a light and protective finish that complements the wood without covering it up (beauty of the wood shines through). Others get the cheaper wood with less character and then cover it up and attempt to make it look like another more decorative wood, e.g. buying pine/poplar and making it look like cherry, mahogany, etc. Most of the new furniture on the market falls into that latter category where a finish is basically painted on. Another consideration is do you want the most durable finish to minimize damage from scratches, dents, but if so then these finishes are not easily repairable. More repairable finishes are more prone to easily being scratched, dented or stained. Woodfinishing, in my opinion, is both an art and a science. Not an easy nut to crack for any of us IMHO. IF there is a particular area you are interested in or question you have, perhaps post a question on it in a new thread and hopefully one of the experts on the forum will come through. IF not, I can impart any knowledge I have on the subject if I have any experience of value...

https://www.amazon.com/Woodfinishing-Bo ... 127&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/New-Wood-Finishi ... 704&sr=8-2

[adrianpglover]

Crazy to see how much this post blew up.

I ended up driving from the west side of Houston to somewhere just the other side of Austin and picked up a lightly used SS jointer for $200. For my uses, I don't plan on doing that much face jointing. This will mainly be used for edge jointing in preparation for panel glue ups.

In the project that I was getting all of the twisting cedar, this wasn't the type of cedar you'd get at a lumber yard. This was someone who my FIL knows has a portable sawmill and occasionally gets in a truck load of tree trunks from land clearing and makes some boards out of them. My FIL uses the larger pieces for his garden planters and greenhouse structure, and the "better" pieces for making cedar chests and the like. The boards that I was given (~80 board feet by my math) were highly figured, which meant that the grain was going to tear no matter which way you fed it. It also meant that there were all kinds of internal stresses in the boards and one would cup, another would be straight, and the last would twist. The router chewed up a few pieces, until I took a lot of small passes. Here are some pictures of them, 2 small window sets finished and installed, and the 2 large window sets glued up and ready for the finish:

20220801_082432_resized.jpg (56.97 KiB) Viewed 31312 times

20221108_140922_HDR_resized.jpg (90.06 KiB) Viewed 31312 times

My shop is actually an enclosed breezeway of 13'x24', with a door on each wall (2 leading outside, one to the garage, one to the kitchen) and I share the space with two upright full sized freezers (large family, so lots of food storage used). I also have a room just inside the garage of 8'x26', and this ends up being small tool and supply storage. In my breezeway shop, in the past year or so I've "downsized" my bandsaw from a '80s Craftsman that vibrated like crazy to the SS version, and sold off both my stand alone early '80s Jet shaper (missing a lot of parts) and the '60s RAS. I had collected all three of these items from relatives who no longer needed/used them and tried them out for a time, but either didn't have much use for them (in the case of the shaper) or the use of it annoyed me to the point that I wasn't enjoying my hobby (in the case of the other two).

As I have above described my space issues, either a benchtop or a SS jointer was all I was willing to fit into my shop. There's far too much foot traffic through it to block passages with another floor model (4 kids ages 4-10). I'm hoping that the SS jointer will be more stable than what I would think a benchtop variety would be. The thing is pretty heavy, like the SS planer, but I think with it attached to the M7 it'll no only be stable front to back but also side to side.

The other issue I have in my shop is one of humidity and thermal cycling. I said above that my breezeway is enclosed, but I use that term in the loosest sense. At some point, windows were installed on both ends of the breezeway, but the windows came from some previously demolished mobile home and installed by a prior owner. They "close", but they do not seal, leaving me with four 1/8-1/2" gaps on each window, that allows the air to blow through. Now I do live just outside Houston, so the air tends to stay humid year round. During the night, all of the tools, along with the brick floor and three brick walls, will all cool down. Then in the morning, the wind starts blowing a warmer, humid air through the shop. I do wax all of my large tool surfaces to keep them somewhat protected, but every black anodized screw/surface on every tool sitting out eventually succumbs to condensing moisture and starts to build up a small amount of surface rust. It only takes something sitting out on my bench a week for this to start. As such, I keep moving blankets over most of my tools, though the UV light that gets into my shop in the evenings is making some of them breakdown into fluffy dust. Now that I have 3 SPTs, I need to build some sturdy shelving to store them on, but I also need to protect them from the humid exchange. The immediate solution is to keep covering them in blankets and worn out t-shirts, but I'm thinking I may need to build a cabinet with doors on it to close them in. Anyone got any solutions for a humid environment, other than to coat every surface of every tool in wax or oil after every use?

[chiroindixon]

Anyone got any solutions for a humid environment, other than to coat every surface of every tool in wax or oil after every use?

Hmm. I believe that I saw "Bourbon Moth" (YT) when he restored a family heirloom bench, he finished the bolts (steel) with some Gun Bluing.

An idea to try? Bluing a firearm WAS the preferred way to preserve them from moisture. Fallen largely out of favor with the new "cool kids" but as a retired Army old fart, it was the way that we kept our weapons clean and rust free. Mostly. With a light
rubdown of oil, really no problems. Just keep your eyes open. (Inspections have their uses.)

IMO "a blued piece wearing walnut furniture" is the only thing. What always has amazed me is the "turning" involved with making a rifle stock.

BTW. That cedar is/will be stunning. My cedar planks from a tree I cut down 20 years ago should probably find a project.

Doc

[RFGuy]

An idea to try? Bluing a firearm WAS the preferred way to preserve them from moisture. Fallen largely out of favor with the new "cool kids" but as a retired Army old fart, it was the way that we kept our weapons clean and rust free. Mostly. With a light
rubdown of oil, really no problems. Just keep your eyes open. (Inspections have their uses.)

Definitely have to keep black oxide (blued) machine parts oiled. I learned that the hard way. Living in a relatively dry desert climate, I got lazy and didn't oil everything Shopsmith (black oxide parts), even though I religiously used paste wax on most parts. Some of the blued machine parts like for example the bandsaw circle cutter parts started to have light surface rust. I had to remove the rust and re-blue them - keeping them oiled now. Bluing is only a preventative, but gotta keep it oiled.

[JPG]

Then there is "Penetrol"

IIWM I would definitely try it.

[chiroindixon]

No argument here with me.

Bluing is only a preventative, but gotta keep it oiled. Amen to that. It was an idea for him to try and reduce rust with the steel components. START with the bluing, then watch and rub to maintain.

It's always been a tradition to check/clean and rub down with oil (and an adult beverage) the "blue/walnut" gang after a walk through the fields or sit in a deer stand.

Doc

[JPG]

No argument here with me.

Bluing is only a preventative, but gotta keep it oiled. Amen to that. It was an idea for him to try and reduce rust with the steel components. START with the bluing, then watch and rub to maintain.

It's always been a tradition to check/clean and rub down with oil (and an adult beverage) the "blue/walnut" gang after a walk through the fields or sit in a deer stand.

Doc

Did not the alcohol in the beverage dissolve the oil and make the effort pointless?


gang???



BTW if it IS a deer stand, why are thee "sitting'?

[HopefulSSer]

I've been using a mix of BLO, urethane and mineral spirits like discussed by Scott Markwood here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OvfKgNtxsR4

[BuckeyeDennis]

First of all, those cedar panels look fabulous!

The other issue I have in my shop is one of humidity and thermal cycling. I said above that my breezeway is enclosed, but I use that term in the loosest sense. At some point, windows were installed on both ends of the breezeway, but the windows came from some previously demolished mobile home and installed by a prior owner. They "close", but they do not seal, leaving me with four 1/8-1/2" gaps on each window, that allows the air to blow through. Now I do live just outside Houston, so the air tends to stay humid year round. During the night, all of the tools, along with the brick floor and three brick walls, will all cool down. Then in the morning, the wind starts blowing a warmer, humid air through the shop. I do wax all of my large tool surfaces to keep them somewhat protected, but every black anodized screw/surface on every tool sitting out eventually succumbs to condensing moisture and starts to build up a small amount of surface rust. It only takes something sitting out on my bench a week for this to start. As such, I keep moving blankets over most of my tools, though the UV light that gets into my shop in the evenings is making some of them breakdown into fluffy dust. Now that I have 3 SPTs, I need to build some sturdy shelving to store them on, but I also need to protect them from the humid exchange. The immediate solution is to keep covering them in blankets and worn out t-shirts, but I'm thinking I may need to build a cabinet with doors on it to close them in. Anyone got any solutions for a humid environment, other than to coat every surface of every tool in wax or oil after every use?

My shop is in my basement, which is nominally climate-controlled. But a few years ago, we replaced our original HVAC system with a "high-efficiency" one, and the new one doesn't dehumidify worth a darn. After a couple of humid Ohio summer months, things started molding and rusting in the basement.

The solution was a small stand-alone dehumidifier in the basement. When it's humid out, the thing will suck a couple gallons of water out of the air every day. And I went back to having zero rust problems in my shop.

Is it practical to seal up your shop reasonably tightly?