[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by NPV

Since I plan to use the stump as a garden seat (it's open to sun/sky) and not under a gazebo or shelter, the wood finish options may not be a great idea, correct (or will the PU/Varnish hold up against the weather) ?

Instead I should go with paint is what I'm thinking now.

If you use oil/solvent based outdoor varnish, it will protect the wood from termites, and also expand and contract with exposure to weather. It will also look like wood, as opposed to a painted block. Its just what look you are going for.

Here is an outdoor varnish from Asian paints that I think you can use.
https://www.asianpaintscauseway.com/...r-varnish.html

[NPV]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

If you use oil/solvent based outdoor varnish, it will protect the wood from termites, and also expand and contract with exposure to weather. It will also look like wood, as opposed to a painted block. Its just what look you are going for.

I'd definitely prefer the rustic look of wood, couple more questions:
1. How to ensure the cracks are treated/filled ? Wood filler or some other product ? (Then followed by sanding)
2. Varnish (the Asian paints product is what I'm thinking of using) - How many coats ?

*Even before #1, will a coat of turpentine help in protecting the stump better ? This was suggested by a friend.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by NPV

I'd definitely prefer the rustic look of wood, couple more questions:
1. How to ensure the cracks are treated/filled ? Wood filler or some other product ? (Then followed by sanding)
2. Varnish (the Asian paints product is what I'm thinking of using) - How many coats ?

*Even before #1, will a coat of turpentine help in protecting the stump better ? This was suggested by a friend.

Sand it to your hearts content. For filler, I use wood glue like fevicol, and mix it with the sawdust I get by sanding that wood, add a couple drops of water if needed. This way the color of the filler will match the wood perfectly. Matching wood color is important for clear varnish. After filler dries sand it again for a smooth surface. I dont have experience with coconut palms, this is what I do with hardwood like redwood, walnut, etc. Anything you do, try it on a small surface first, so that it's easy to undo.

Apply varnish to the bottom portion let it dry overnight. Then apply varnish to the rest of the area. Or, you can make a few triangular prisms and lay the workpiece on it, so that the surface that comes into contact with the ground is minimum. I get tired after 2 coats. I have not used turpentine, but I use other mineral oil thinners to make the varnish be glossy. Patience is key to get a great finish vs a good finish.

[GutsyGibbon]

I had made a side table for the sofa. I decided to add a secret phone charger to it. Me and my wife have Samsung phones, and kids have iPhones, we can all charge without looking for a cable. We just need to know the secret location on the table. I used a router to carve out enough of the surface to let the charges through.

[d.w.w.]

Made myself a river clock from some rot teak wood slab I picked up from a saw mill , epoxy resin and pigment. I was lucky to pick this wooden slab for free from a local saw mill in Kerala, such wood was being used as firewood before resin wood projects started picking up, now they are sold at premium rates for use in resin projects.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

Made myself a river clock from some rot teak wood slab I picked up from a saw mill , epoxy resin and pigment. I was lucky to pick this wooden slab for free from a local saw mill in Kerala, such wood was being used as firewood before resin wood projects started picking up, now they are sold at premium rates for use in resin projects.

Awesome project, looks great! I really like the amount of character in this piece of wood.

[One]

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

Made myself a river clock from some rot teak wood slab I picked up from a saw mill , epoxy resin and pigment.

Attachment 2423758

Very nice grains.

Had a slightly related question - have been thinking of getting such a clock made for a long time BUT with wooden hands.

Wanted to know if it is possible to shape such hands which can also link with a clock mechanism or if they will end up being too heavy to properly keep time?

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by One

Very nice grains.

Had a slightly related question - have been thinking of getting such a clock made for a long time BUT with wooden hands.

Wanted to know if it is possible to shape such hands which can also link with a clock mechanism or if they will end up being too heavy to properly keep time?

I am not sure about availability or shipping to India, but there are high torque clock movements available for large clocks with heavy/huge hands.
https://www.bearwood.com/high-torque...-made-5-8.html

Red Cedar is the lightest wood that is easily available for me. I would make tiny light hands use hot glue to fix them, and see how it works out. If you are set on the type of wood to use, then I would look for a clock movement that can support that weight. It may be a lot of work for something that is not clearly visible. The easier path would be what dww has done, make a fancy wooden clock face plate, and paint the hands to be whatever color you want.

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

Awesome project, looks great! I really like the amount of character in this piece of wood.

Thanks. The knot adds some interesting grain patterns on this.

Originally Posted by One

Very nice grains.

Had a slightly related question - have been thinking of getting such a clock made for a long time BUT with wooden hands.

Wanted to know if it is possible to shape such hands which can also link with a clock mechanism or if they will end up being too heavy to properly keep time?

I've made 4 of such pieces since 2020. Sharing pics below. Couple of them are above 1ft in diameter, so the hands are long. I was also concerned about the amount of torque the mechanism can produce, so I weighed the wooden hands and compared it to other hands. On the smaller clock the hands weighed 0.4gm and 0.2gm and was comparable to normal clock hands. The clocks are working perfectly for a few years now.

I always pick a harder wood to make hands. The segmented clock below has Ebony hands and the other 3 are Indian rosewood. I cut the hands on my scroll saw and use a hand plane/block plane to level it and bring to desired thickness (less than 1mm). In case you don't own a scroll saw, please PM and I can make a pair of hands for you.

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

I would make tiny light hands use hot glue to fix them, and see how it works out.

The holes on the clock hands are exactly 5mm and 3.2mm. If you have the right drill bits, there is no need for hot glue, you can fix it just like the normal hands.

PS: The numbers on the clocks are also wood, I cut then on my scroll saw.

[s4ch]

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

Made myself a river clock from some rot teak wood slab I picked up from a saw mill , epoxy resin and pigment. I was lucky to pick this wooden slab for free from a local saw mill in Kerala, such wood was being used as firewood before resin wood projects started picking up, now they are sold at premium rates for use in resin projects.

This looks absolutely stunning. Love your other clocks too with wooden hands.

Please could you provide some details about the steps taken to make this, especially with regards to the resin process and how the clock mechanism is made?

Thanks!

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by s4ch

This looks absolutely stunning. Love your other clocks too with wooden hands.

Thank you!

Please could you provide some details about the steps taken to make this, especially with regards to the resin process and how the clock mechanism is made?

Thanks!

Roughly the process involves making a leakproof mould for the pour, fixing the wood inside the mould, mixing resin and pigments and making the pour. Once the epoxy cures, the piece is removed from the mould and levelled using a CNC/router planar. It is then cut to shape, sanded and polished. There are many youtube videos already available, you can refer those to see how it is done. Please search for river table/ river clock.

In case you are not aware of what a router planar is please refer to this (The Woodworking Thread)post

The clock mechanism is available for purchase in clock repair shops/online. Cheap ones start from 70rs and go up to a few hundreds.

[Ashtoncastelino]

Hello Guys, Newbie Woodworker here found wood that was bought for safe transportation of marble slabs for my aunt's new house. Thought of building a ramp from the wood to work under the car for minor jobs.

Loaded the wood in my uncle's trusty WagonR and took it straight home. Dad, Grandpa and me started brainstorming ideas for building the ramp and work with the wood we got.

Length of the ramp was decided to be 1.5metres long and the final height at 25cms. Took the wood to my carpenter who cut the entry point at an angle which I drew, Free of charge I made sure the ramp was in a steps Design and with stoppers at the end of the ramp.

Strength test was done by taking my uncle's 407 with load. It didnt even creak

The weight of each ramp is about 12-13kgs. Total cost involved was just ₹40 for the nails. Storing the ramps is easy since it becomes like a box when a ramp is flipped and kept upon the other.

Do lemme know your thoughts on the above project.

Regards
Ashton Castelino

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

...

I would do away with the piece of wood that is connecting the legs in the middle, and seal this hole in the legs with a tenon/plug for strength. Connect the legs with a new pieces of wood that you can afford, way down at the bottom of the legs. The connecting pieces can form the letter H at the bottom. The joins for the letter H can be a simple lap joint. The top of the table legs can be glued to the glass. This will give the table enough strength, and keep these connectors out of the way of your legs. As you only have one bar/connecting piece in the middle, you will be able to slide the chairs in/under the table easily.

If I lived in Bengaluru, I would stop by with my cordless saw and make this in a few hours, and accept a nice lunch as payment. ...

Thank you. We ended up getting two planks of teak wood and replacing the existing two long pieces that went length wise. Took about 5.5k to get it done.

[d.w.w.]

Not the regular woodworking one would expect, but this counts as woodworking too . Based on an image I found on the internet, individual pieces were cut in different species of wood and glued together to produce the complete picture.

[condor]

I am trying to cut a few small pieces of Veneer (the one that is used as a top layer on a plywood sheet).

How to cut along the grain ?

Cutting across the grain is easy. But with just a hand saw, it is difficult !

Originally Posted by Ashtoncastelino

[b]Strength test was done by taking my uncle's 407 with load. It didnt even creak

Ashton, nice idea. One suggestion: Add a cross support point at the bottom, below where the centre point of the wheel is.