Attic Drying, Handling Large Sheet Goods, Bench Flattening, & MUCH More!

Sean

1) Hey fellas. Hope this finds you well.
I’ve come into a work bench that needs some tlc. I’d like to rehab it if I can. It has a solid steel tube base (clearly store bought) with a butcher block style top  that is  2’x4’. It’s laminated strips of what I believe to be maple. (Sorry; my janka hardness test machine is on the fritz, but I can’t dent it with a fingernail). It’s got a significant bow from front to back (across the 24” dimension) of at least a 1/4”.   Whats the best approach to flatten it? I’d like to save the thickness as it’s about 1 1/2”.  It doesn’t need to be dead flat. It would be a secondary work area (aka a horizontal surface that collects all manners of various and assorted things. )

Thanks for all that you do and keep up the good work!
Mark

2) Hey guys. Don’t want you run out of questions, so here’s another one: When and how often do you sharpen your hand tools? I don’t really like sharpening and find myself going through chisels to find a sharp one and using that favorite plane although it’s not sharp anymore because I’m telling myself that it’s not worth it yet to get those stones wet. What’s your balance? Should I just buy new tools when they are not sharp anymore? Just kidding, although I would love to.
Jonas

 

Guy

1) Hello gentlemen, love the podcast and I took your last advice to heart and have been staining some of my projects with polyurethane with great results.  Thank you for the encouragement.

My question today is on handling full 3/4" plywood sheets from the store to the shop.  I have not built much carcass based projects as I've been a little too impatient to get everything square then find myself disappointed in the outcome.  As I approach 6 decades on earth I find myself slowing down and enjoying the craft a little more leisurely instead of a to do list and punching a task list as complete approach.  That being said I have built 2 projects now out of plywood starting with full 4 x 8 sheets and they have been fun challenges but I find myself not planning another project because of the challenges of getting a 4 x 8 sheet of 3/4 ply to my shop. It seems like plywood has gotten 1 pound heavier every year that I have aged. I enjoy solo working in the shop so it's not really easy to get somebody to help me go to the big box store and load a single sheet of plywood.

I was wondering what are some of the tricks and tips you guys use for handling big heavy sheets. I use the foam board insulation as a backer when breaking it down into panels and I use a cheap cordless circular saw with a homemade fence. It's cheap and slow but that part works fine.  I have one of the handle things that you hook under the plywood to carry it with a handle but that doesn't make the panel any lighter.  I do have a utility trailer so hauling it isn't a problem.

Any other other tips, tricks or tools you would recommend for heavy sheet goods? Thanks

2) Hey there, OK so this is a pretty simple question but you did say you need some so…

I have a Delta 14” bandsaw, pretty typical and I have had it for about 35 years (holy cow, I just realized how old I am!). Anyway, its pretty basic, and lacks any feature to keep the tires from gumming up as I am cutting. Do you have any advice on devices, brushes etc. that I can add to keep them cleaner as I use the saw? I do connect a shop vac to the dust port, that helps but I still find I have to scrape the wheels. Using you instead of google or Pinterest for this one ;)

 

Huy

1) Hi guys, I recently had a walnut tree taken down, brought the log to a sawyer and they cut into 4/4, 8/4, and 12/4 boards. I cannot air dry the boards on my property so I am planning on drying them in my basement. My basement is dry, and of course little to no air movement. After about a year, I am considering completing the drying process by putting the boards in the attic above my garage. There is Sheetrock under the rafters in the attic, so there will be very little air movement again. Should I be concerned with the heat in the attic adversely impacting the boards when they are not completely dry. I live in CT so the attic can get well over 100 degrees in the summer. Thanks for any word of wisdom you might have, Mike Gitberg

2) Hey guys I've got a door construction question for you. I've been tasked  with making an extra large sliding barn door for my house. The door will need to be 8' 10" tall by 48" wide by 1.75" thick. The kicker is my shop is in the basement and I can't fit that large of a piece up the stairs. I have an empty room on the 1st floor that I can assemble and possibly use a vacuum press.
My thoughts were to make an outer frame(walnut) with a torsion box interior made from 1/2" ply or possibly 1/4 ply and filling the void with rigid foam. I was going to skin each side with 1/4" MDF and then veneer each side with commercial 3/32 walnut veneer.
Some of the issues I think I will run into.

This would require a 6'x10' vacuum bag (which I would have to make), I'm not sure if my pump can pull a bag that large down and hold. I have a 3 cfm and according to Joe woodworker a max size for that pump is 4'x9'.   

After I've pressed the veneer down I have some clean up and and sanding to do, which I'm not fond of doing this on the 1st floor. Also there's finishing which my only option is a hard wax if I finish it inside. Or carry the damn thing outside and spray under a pop up tent.

 I've been thinking of instead of one large panel making a series of say 3  horizontal panels pressing and finishing them in the shop, sanding and pre-finishing then and then installing them to the frame with some sort of 1/16" shadow line or maybe a brass inlay between each panel.

Or do I just scrap the idea and find a garage to assemble, sand and finish in and bring it to the house for install. Granted this garage will not be climate controlled.

I'm concerned about weight, I have a 200# max on the door hardware. I'm open to other ideas for assembly. Also I can't spilt the door into two separate ones, the opening will not allow a door to rest on either side of the opening.

Thanks in advance for the advice and keep up the great work with the podcast!!

Jesse