There are also the vaccum , termoplastic method where a special plastic sheet become soft under ultraviolet light --- then sucked by vaccum around a mold piece producing a halve item. All it take is the special termoplastic , an special lamp and a vaccum pump plus a vaccum box.

SDR, here's an intro for the Hb.

The Hoverbar is a functional mobile artifice designed for and donated to the Cranbrook Museum of Art. It provides an efficient service platform from which to serve food and drinks during exhibitions and social functions. With the turn of a key and the flick of a switch, the Hoverbar lifts off of the ground and floats making it easily guidable to its destination.

Also, here's a link to a blog I was writing during its design/construction. The Thesis... entry is the first and an introduction into how the project began. You can also see some more images of the Hb's construction...

Thanks, John. I'll study this. Construction details previously shown were quite impressive, and the demonstration video a delight. I hope the museum is enjoying its use.

tool question: I have a chance to buy Ryobi or Kawaski (mostly to reno my house)

I'm not very familiar with Kawaski but Ryobi is pretty much a standard mid level tool manufacturer. I think they make some really decent stuff but can make a few lemon products as well. Sorry I can't offer much for the Kawaski brand.

thanks John - I will go with the Ryobi and let you know how it turns out

I'll second what John's said on Ryobi. They are typically the 'best value' (price to performance) winner when Fine Woodworker reviews tools.

i've had the same Ryobi drill, skill saw, palm sander, and compound miter saw for about 5 years now and never had an issue with any of them. for the value I think you get a pretty durable tool. I don't use them 40 hours a week though, so I don't know how they fare under constant strain.

oh yeah, with the Ryobi make sure you have an appropriate voltage tool for what you're doing. I can say from experience that if you try to make a Ryobi 9v drill do the work of a 14v you're going to ruin the gearbox.

no problem! I have a Ryobi palm sander that still does the job after three years of hard use.

I'm considering building a quick bench for our hallway. I'm wondering if the craftsmen around here can give me some pointers.


full size here.

The bench is basically 18"hx18"dx4'w worth of 3/4" plywood laminated together with overlapping joints at the end. I've got a couple of other details to work out for the ends but the first couple of questions are as follows..

First question. I'd like to do this out of Birch but I was thinking of Douglas fir. It's about half the cost. I just want to sand it up fairly smooth and finish it with some brush on lacquer or urethane. I'm open to other plywood suggestions so long as it's relatively inexpensive.

Second question. I'm planning on just using all thread rod and some nuts and washers (note holes) to help hold this thing together while it is gluing. I was planning on making a jig to drill the holes so they are in the same place for each piece. Anyone have a better solution (other than stacking them all together and drilling all the way through it -with an 19" drill bit that is...) I've got a nail gun. I thought I would just drop a couple in ever few layers between the bolt holes.

This is a quick and dirty project that I would otherwise just start building but since I've got a few days before I'll be able to get into the shop, I figured I'd tap into some obvious craft knowledge out there.

Thanks!

build a jig ..

i would first rip your sizes then jig up a drill press to drill the holes per piece....then make a platform with 2 dowel rods facing up..... you can slip each layer in place and have it all line up.....

also realize that a 1/2"dowel rod is a bit bigger than a 1/2"hole......etc....

make sure you have a backer/sacrific board under your drilling piece so you dont blow out the back side of the ply....


look into baltic birch if you can...... has 12/13 plys per 3/4"

make that corner connect tight also.... if not it will sway since you only have 1 rod going through it..... any gaps will cause a 'rocking'

b

Thanks b. Baltic Birch is somewhere around $100 a sheet for the good stuff - 11+ ply... I would prefer Baltic Birch but because I don't have $100 lying around I thought a lesser substitute would be the Douglas Fir.. and I haven't worked with DF...

just take note on the dougfir.... the thickness varies alot..from 1/32 to 1/16....if you have a planer, run them through there once just to even them out a bit...

b

cryzko is right on, which is no surprise.

1. baltic birch ply is the jam. you could use phenolic ply on the outside for some color and to make that surface last a bit longer - not sure how that would work out but I'm just thinking out loud.

2. always make a jig. I'm of the school of thought that the craft that goes into the jig is directly related to the finished craft of your project - make it beautiful. you did that angled jig for your router on the hover-bar, so you know what to do.

3. what if there was a slight return on the corner ends, a little "L" shape? this would allow you to bolt through all the pieces rather than every other (if I'm reading your sketch properly). it would make it a little more sturdy/lessen your sway.

Thanks b and PW.

b, you mean it varies that much along the plane (face) of a single piece of plywood? If so, that's crazy! I know the stuff is construction grade but if the shit isn't flat.. it's crap.. that's why I refuse to buy plywood from a homedepot or lowes type place...

PW, #1 comment. I definitely would prefer baltic birch but again, it's the money and this is sort of a test and a quick fix to some storage/seating issues in our apartment. The phenolic ply would be a nice finish on the end but it would probably not match the inner ply end grain... I love the end grain of plywood and thus would like to have it all exposed and preferably homogenous.

#2 man, I'm a jig freak. and yeah that router jig was a sweet fix for a simple set of cuts.. I wanted to keep it but it was rather unwieldy with the support ends that stuck out (I tried to pull them off but ended up breaking the jig - but it's ok, I still have the CAD file and it took about 30 minutes to cut it out and another 30 minutes to glue it together.. ain't the laser cutter nice!)

#3 comment. Do you mean extending the horizontal seating plane past the legs? If so, that's one of the details I'm considering for one side. I saw a bench today in ID mag. One side of the seating area of the bench extended about 12"-18" beyond the leg. There was a hole cut out of the seating plane and a potted plant was placed in the hole. I thought it was a nice touch...

just the overall thickness of the face...... i would find a lumber yard that carries the better plywoods and they should have a better grade of "typical ply" that would work better......

dont' get the chinese birch either..... the plys break apart easily...and it's cheap...about 35 bucks a 4x8 sheet

there's a ply referred to as cbx or cdx or something like that...that's like the builders/better stuff than depot/lowes......

b

CDX is fir with a C face and a D face (letters refer to quality of face veneer) -- X means exterior use (waterproof glue). CDX has lots of knots. . .

MDF is of very consistent thickness. OSB is another possibility. Baltic birch is an architectural classic by now; maybe a more modern material would be cool ?

Why not dispense with the holes and rods -- put the money into two Jorgenson 20" clamps (about $12). The corner joint will be more rigid than with any hardware solution. If you like the look of the bolts, they won't hurt. . .

(I'm assuming that the "panels" are slatted, rather than filled with extra rips of material. Is this correct ?)

Thanks again guys. SDR, The rods would hopefully help hold everything in place as I either nail it or clamp it. When laminating multiple layers of plywood together, I've found they really want to slide around because of the glue... it's hard to even keep them aligned to clamp.

The whole bench will be 3/4" plywood cut into 1 3/4" strips laminated together... The corner sketch above shows only 4 of the laminated pieces.

Hint -- small cut off copper nails will not harm planes or saw, don't know the english name but "copper tac" is a tiny pointed copper nail with a big flat head. These work perfect just set and then cut about a millimeter over the surface. Just a few will solve that problem, and is not seen.

I get it now. You're right. There are ways to cross-clamp pieces being glued so they don't slide -- but the through dowel is an elegant way to solve the problem. A drill press is the ideal way to drill a number of identical bores.

Perhaps a tube would be an interesting alternative to a solid rod. Conduit is cheap, as is PVC or ABS pipe. . .

only issue with rods/tubes.... is that they all vary in thickness......

so a 1/2" copper tube maybe be bigger than a 1/2" dowel rod/etc...

this will all come into play when trying to get a tight fit...

forestners bits/ paddle bit/ drill bits also have their "issues" when drilling

i like the forestner bits the best since they cut an outside groove first then remove the inner part.... help to control any splintering

best thing to do is get your bits..... drill the holes in some scrap ..then do to depot and size up your dowels/tubes and see what works best...

(maybe i'm being a little tedious on this...hahaha)

b

Well, you're right. Some materials will have consistent diameters. Take a caliper to the store ? A drill that's not bent, mounted in a drill press, should give consistent holes. As you say, fitting a cylinder to the nearest-siized drill "bit" is the tricky part.

Even a piece of wire -- try welding rod -- will perform the necessary function is this project, no ?

Ok, I need some advise on furniture making.

I am thinking of making an outdoor table. I'd like to use cedar because it's easy to find, and good outdoors, right? How well does it do if I don't stain it?

Also, should I use 1x or 2x boards for the top? I am thinking of holding them together with two 2" steel strap stock on each end - like a door. I know that 2x's would certainly stand up to weather and abuse, but they would also be very heavy. Would 1x's would sufficiently well?

I've never really done much in the outdoor furniture field.

Whoops, forgot to check the Notify box.

The cedar-slat bench I built is now almost three years old. I occasionally sand it to clean graffiti off and freshen it up. Lacking that, the wood is weathering to a soft grey-tan. Not bad -- not the nice silver of teak or mahogany. Must be red cedar. . .

How big is your table to be ? Is weight an issue ? Where are the steel "straps" applied -- under the ends of the boards ? One issue is fasteners; 1 1/2" material will give much better fastening, with 1 1/4" Grabbers or similar screws.

If you use 1x (which I like for weight), you could through-bolt with 1/4-20 flat-head machine screws (brass ? stainless ?) with the heads made flush on the top of the table. Ordinary zinc-plate is probably good enough -- could always be replaced if they rust.

That said, it would be cheaper and faster (and at least as long-lasting) to take a page from my book, and glue on a cross piece of 1x cedar as a cross-bamd, using poly glue. You'll only have to scrape and sand off the squeeze-out -- and you'll need some clamps that you might not have.

An alternate to clamps is to nail the crossboards in place from below, after spreading the glue. Screws would also work, of course. But it's the glue that will do all the work, once it's set. Be prepared for the glue to work as a lubricant, when wet ! Location of the wet pieces will be the challenge.

SDR, you are awesome. This is why I love Archinect.

Here is a quick sketch of what I'm thinking. I just came up with the idea last night, so I haven't really fleshed it out yet. Weight is only an issue in that I will be the one who has to move it all around the patio out back. The steel straps would sandwich the wood, and I may or may not leave them to rust; as I've said, I haven't really fleshed it all out yet.

Let me know what you think, though.

And I am thinking 8' long and wide enough so the proportions are pleasing.

Interesting, Sarah. Is that a Simpson piece that I don't recognize ? It might be nice to weld it to the strap ? And you show a pair of straps sandwiching the boards ? Something comforting about that -- but the table top surface is compromised ?

If 2x, the top strap could be let (routed, dadoed) into the wood, to recognize the desire for a flush surface on top only -- and the fasteners there would be flatheads, countersunk into the metal ? So, you get a 2D version on top, of what is a 3D construction, underneath ? (Sorry to turn designer on you. . .!)

I'm on the same page as Sarah, with a "build it with boards" dining table. This is the latest one, drawn last week and modeled in cardboard at 1:16 (3/4" scale) on Saturday.





This is a 42 x 124 table, able to seat 10. The top is from 1x12s, the base has 1x10 and 1x8 boards. The twin stretchers under the top support the 1x[3"] "joists" and are connected to them via all-thread dowels; the stretchers connect the three base verticals (addressing longitudinal shear) via more dowels. The leg verticals are aligned and connected at the floor with a let-in alloy T extrusion.

I don't know if there is a simpson piece like that, though I wouldn't doubt it. Lucky for me, my husband can fabricate anything, and I'd ask him to make me something like that.

I like the idea of recessing the straps; we do have a router, and we probably would weld the legs to the table.

I like your table as well. I wonder if you couldn't add some sort of storage in the space under the plynth, and between the twin stretchers. Sorry, I live in a small house, and space and storage are at a premium. Oh, wait, it looks like your plynth just sits on top; I thought it was open underneath.

If you mean the server on top, yes in this case its a removable "mini table" just sitting on the planks. But i've done a number of plans where this is a permanent feature, with a void below -- specifically to give views through the structure. (My motto is "A table top without voids is like a house without windows" !)

Storage is a swell idea, though. (You're thinking of something like the piano bench, I guess ?) A set of kitchen-sized tables I made have a void there, fitted to a Rubbermaid plastic 'window box' planter -- which could be used for a rock garden, herb planter, or ice bucket. There's a removable wood cover, which (minus the planter) would provide a storage nook, I suppose.

i worked in a museum woodshop for a while, and done some construction, but this is the only portfolio-worthy piece i've ever worked on woodworking-wise:



actually, there were two of them, an orange one and a green one. student lounges. michigan students should recognize them.

keith vandersys and myself and some other students worked on it when i worked for PEG OLA after graduating from michigan. they took forever.

Nifty. If you had no CNC, I could see them taking even longer ? What is the material ? The migrating pattern is cool. Upholstery to match ?


I hope Sarah will show us her table as soon as it's done --or before, if possible. (Maybe 3/4" boards are good, even at the sacrifice of a smooth top ? What do others think ?)

Another view of my table, explaining the construction (possibly):

we used a cnc and laser cutter. yeah, you could do it without a cnc if it were properly jigged. i didn't work on the design so i don't know what exactly determined the pattern, although they did use flash to generate the shapes. the upholstery was subbed out but we did make the little acrylic buttons.

That view definitely shows the under-structure better. I like it, but wonder if you could so something shallower on the end beams - they just seem a bit intrusive to me. I absolutely love the support structure. Very templesque.

And bossman, very swanky!

Thanks, Sarah. The depth of the beams is the result of my tendency to overkill on the shear issue -- lots of tables this size have only a four or five inch apron, the only connection (beam to leg) that provides shear resistance. And I thought it looked right, as a balance to the top and leg boards. The beams could reduce in depth outside of the leg, to carry the second-to-last joist with a narrower extension of that member; I wanted this table to be made only of rectangular pieces. Perhaps I could re-think that. . .


Is that 1/4" material, bossman, or a little thicker ? Metal, or wood product ?

Cool. I think red paint would be the default finish in my kingdom.

Are those handles on the right. . .or what ? Tell us about it.

it's gyp board, painted mdf, and latvian birch (stained ebony). it's all either half or 3/4". the coffee table is two half-inch sheets laminated together to make the wrapped surface.

Hey, I remember this thread. This was back when archinect didn't read like a depressing whinefest.

Sarah - a couple things about cedar - there are a few different species that are found around the country, some are more rot-resitent (when unfinished) than others. The two most common are Eastern Red and Western Red. WRC is an even light red-brown in color and is pretty good outdoors - it's what usually gets used for siding and such. ERC is very varied in color - heartwood is purple-red and sapwood is almost white. ERC has more knots (the trees are smaller) and while the heartwood is OK outdoors, the sapwood rots quickly. Usually used indoors - closets and chests to deter moths and mold.

I'd make sure to get WRC - I think it generally looks better and withstands weather better. It may be more expensive if you're on the east coast, where ERC is everywhere in the Appalachian hills.

Both are not very dense and move around a lot depending on humidity. Make sure your design allows for a healthy amount of expansion/contraction.

oh, it'll turn gray without a finish on it, but I think that's fine. There are options for finishing it to maintain the color but you'll have to re-do it every 5-7 years.

man i don't remember this thread but nice stuff. particularly the tk coffee table on wheels. It also looks like it had a hinged opening?

Only two things I have ever really made are

a bike rack bolted onto my front porch using 2-4 inch pipe...

and a platform bed...

I will try and take pictures later...

nice chicken tractor tumbles....

Awesome, bossman, I love those lounges.

I haven't made anything lately, though I've been sewing quite a bit.

Chicken tractor -- that's what it is ? A portable pen ? Explains the wheelbarrow-like handles. . .and the healthy truss construction. I know from nothing about farmin' and such. . .

i second the love of jump's pavers - i may have to steal that idea/technique for my driveway (if i ever get to it ..)

i'm pretty sure..

Yeah, those pavers are cool. I respond to crushed rock in conjunction with groundworks and masonry of any kind, with a deep longing. . .