That's awesome @Slidlow! I can't imagine anything I built returning home after decades. 
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What's On Your Workbench?
- Thread starter HaMMerHeD
- Start date
Yes 40 years and half a continentThat's awesome @Slidlow! I can't imagine anything I built returning home after decades.
. Hadn't had any contact or way to contact so it is a little amazing
. Someone from my home town started a "come from here" musician page on Facebook and that's where the connection was made. I expected it would have been scrapped but the gentleman kept it all these years
. It wasn't a prime build as I was testing some ideas and sold it cheap but on first tune-up it plays well and sounds fine
. There were a couple more from that era that I would like to find.
Now that Mother Nature decided to go all April Fool's on us here (snow and wind all day), I wasn't motivated to spend much time in the cold garage. Instead I did some cleanup on some hand files.
I have about 30, and they're nearly all in really decent shape. They're also all more than 50 years old. Those of you with old steel tools that regularly contact on wood, how do you address flash rusting? These files were just cleaned and pulled out of a vinegar bath. I can't bring myself to putting oil or wd-40 on anything that's going to be used for wood. Boeshield? I think that's paraffin though, and any residue is probably a bad idea. I suspect a brass brush to knock off the rust periodically is the best option.
Side note, Many of them are Nicholson files, and the N in my name is... take a guess. I always suspected a connection and I did a little research, and there's definitely a common ancestor. I have a distant great uncle that started an enormous tool company long ago that still exists today. Cool stuff!
I have about 30, and they're nearly all in really decent shape. They're also all more than 50 years old. Those of you with old steel tools that regularly contact on wood, how do you address flash rusting? These files were just cleaned and pulled out of a vinegar bath. I can't bring myself to putting oil or wd-40 on anything that's going to be used for wood. Boeshield? I think that's paraffin though, and any residue is probably a bad idea. I suspect a brass brush to knock off the rust periodically is the best option.
Side note, Many of them are Nicholson files, and the N in my name is... take a guess. I always suspected a connection and I did a little research, and there's definitely a common ancestor. I have a distant great uncle that started an enormous tool company long ago that still exists today. Cool stuff!
Same here, after hitting 60 and 70 and sun. If you don't like the weather here, wait 5 min.
I do the same, soak in vinegar and soft brush. Except for the shinto I just bought and an old 4-in-1, all my files are for metal. But I still don't oil.
The only way I've found to keep them from rusting is to keep them in a tool box, indoors. If you have to keep them in the garage, keep them in a toolbox with some desiccant packets.
I saved a box of them when we installed 170, 75" interactive panels at work. Each unit came with 3 poptart sized desiccant packs tapped inside.
I never use WD40 as a lubricant because it's a solvent and not really an oil. In fact, I have to constantly tell everyone at work to NOT use it as a lubricant. Especially on any kind of bearing. It will eat away any oil or grease and then evaporate, leaving nothing. I also discourage people from lubricating their locks with it because it just dissolves any lubricant that's in there and then evaporates. It is pretty decent at displacing water from inside a lock. But once it dries, you have to add actual lubricant. I use it as a penetrant, adhesive remover and degreaser. I clean tools with it all the time. A quick wipe down and any residue will eventually evaporate. So, I wouldn't hesitate to use it to clean the files, along with a brass brushing. Dap the excess off with a towel and just let them sit on a dry towel for a while and you should be good to go.
A very little oil isn't going to hurt your wood, and will help your tools no end!
Here's a traditional approach:
Thanks for that link. I love his videos, but never saw that one. I could watch him all day. He's my Bob Ross.
I started making a plug for lefty Steinberger pivot plate. When temperatures outside allows I'm going to make a batch of plates. They seem to sell 1-2 plates per month.
Got my hands on a slice of buckeye burl. It's more than 2" thick and 30+" long. Probably big enough for two bookmatched bass tops and two solid body uke tops. I'm going to have to fill some pretty significant voids with epoxy (this is the better side, the other side has some deep bark inclusions). I don't want plain clear or plain black fill, but I also don't want to do the currently-popular tinted neon vomit look. I'm thinking of either putting brass shavings in the epoxy, or maybe gilding the voids with copper leaf before filling them, or painting the voids with metallic paint - to create a sort of vein-of-metal look.
Getting the ziricote sisters shined up for their big day.
@Big B.
Beautiful! what is that finish, looks like poly? What are you doing for grain fill?
Beautiful! what is that finish, looks like poly? What are you doing for grain fill?
Hot off the bench 5 string telecaster conversion
Not that anyone needs (yet another) YouTube channel to binge on but if you’re a luthier, Davide Sora’s violin making channel is absolutely spectacular. I can’t quit watching these videos. Here’s a sample:
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Thanks man! I use a sprayed conversion varnish from sherwin williams called sher-wood. Its a two part finish which adds a bit of potential difficulty but otherwise it sprays easily and its got a high solids content so it builds quickly. It also stays clear instead of ambering over time, is very resistant to damage, and sands easily.
I do 3 coats 15 minutes apart to seal, wait a day and sand it back, 3 more coats will fill the grain, sand it back again and spray 3 final coats. It cures in a few days but I usually wait a and then wetsand 800 with a rubber sanding block to totally flatten the surface. Repeat with 1500 and 2000 grit and then I use a foam rotary pad and my hand drill to apply Meguiars cutting compound to remove all the fine scratches and then use another pad for swirl remover to get that mirror shine. Almost every thing I use for buffing and polishing is at any auto part store. Unfortunately the activator doesn't come in a very economical size so you'll probably buy more activator than you'll end up using but the finish itself is only 30-40$ bucks a gallon so the cost isn't bad if you plan on doing a few instruments.
I starting using conversion varnish because I found it hard to apply a laquer finish that wouldn't sink into the glue joints over time. All the nitro basses I did had at least a month of curing time before buffing and still the glue lines started to show after a year or so. Ive got conversion varnish finished basses from 6 years ago and not one has had a glue line sink. I'm not a fan of of poly for instruments at all. Good floor finish though.
Thanks man! I use a sprayed conversion varnish from sherwin williams called sher-wood. Its a two part finish which adds a bit of potential difficulty but otherwise it sprays easily and its got a high solids content so it builds quickly. It also stays clear instead of ambering over time, is very resistant to damage, and sands easily.
I do 3 coats 15 minutes apart to seal, wait a day and sand it back, 3 more coats will fill the grain, sand it back again and spray 3 final coats. It cures in a few days but I usually wait a and then wetsand 800 with a rubber sanding block to totally flatten the surface. Repeat with 1500 and 2000 grit and then I use a foam rotary pad and my hand drill to apply Meguiars cutting compound to remove all the fine scratches and then use another pad for swirl remover to get that mirror shine. Almost every thing I use for buffing and polishing is at any auto part store. Unfortunately the activator doesn't come in a very economical size so you'll probably buy more activator than you'll end up using but the finish itself is only 30-40$ bucks a gallon so the cost isn't bad if you plan on doing a few instruments.
I starting using conversion varnish because I found it hard to apply a laquer finish that wouldn't sink into the glue joints over time. All the nitro basses I did had at least a month of curing time before buffing and still the glue lines started to show after a year or so. Ive got conversion varnish finished basses from 6 years ago and not one has had a glue line sink. I'm not a fan of of poly for instruments at all. Good floor finish though.
Interesting. Does that finish require or at least recommend a respirator and space suit like a 2K automotive type finish? In other words, how toxic is it and what’s the cleanup like?
Oh I'm sure a suit and mask are recommended but I haven't found it to be worse than anything else I've sprayed. It thins and cleans up with xylene and you definitely can't leave it in the gun overnight. Once the activator is mixed in you get 24-48 hours of pot life before the finish needs to be thrown away so you can't keep it hanging around like laquer. It mixes at a ratio of one ounce of activator per one quart of conversion varnish so finding smaller batch sizes is fairly easy.
Man, I had some serious catching up to do! Been MIA for a bit, then the whole "server fire" thing happened. Wow, what a ride it's been!
As for my workbench, it's been quiet. Race season officially kicked off last weekend and my main focus has been the car. So woodworking and specifically the bass build are on hold. The car didn't go well, we have tons of work to do to try and make the next race in two weeks, so bass building will be on hold for a while here. Priorities I guess. But, keep up the great work everyone, love reading all your stuff!
As for my workbench, it's been quiet. Race season officially kicked off last weekend and my main focus has been the car. So woodworking and specifically the bass build are on hold. The car didn't go well, we have tons of work to do to try and make the next race in two weeks, so bass building will be on hold for a while here. Priorities I guess. But, keep up the great work everyone, love reading all your stuff!
