TrollSpiel

This is my kiln setup. thought i'd show mine as others have posted similar to draw inspiration from. There are 103 boards in there ( room is 15x8x8 ). Big chestnut that has sat out for a year - boards are 8ftx4ft, 2 & 3" thick. Lots of oak, american red oak, holm oak, cedar, a lot of very pretty Hornbeam and some other bits. Boards are 8,7,5 & 4 foot, from 100cm to 35. 2 circulating fans, a heat source, ebac dehumidifier, duct fan extraction on a humidistat, remote temp/humidity sensor. Startup temp (after wood getting to temperature) , 35 degrees @ 78% humidity. Pulling 10L of water a day from dehumidifer. Took 5 days to cut and transport - including clutch rebuild on the 880 - another 5 days to de-bark, treat with wykabor and then stack, which was a task in itself - not just fitting it all in well, but lifting boards my own bodyweight to the tops of the stacks, alone. (where's the neurofen, wifey?) I didn't take many pics during the stacking, showing off the timbers - and apologies for posting so many in this post, hogging the bandwidth, but if it helps others so see how other people may do it.... All cut with an ms880 48/36, and the power of Alaskan Mill / Granberg. Grrr.

very elegant !

Not sure if this post is still of interest to anyone - but after a day of looking into the science of borates... I didn't want to fork out a small fortune for the "reissued repackaged" (mozza) product from this [top] company, they're a bit cunning about how they advertise it. Great products (I hear) from Wykabor - again, at a cost for 5kg. So here are the two chems they use in their products, with a few minor tweaks amounting to little it seems... To prevent fungi and insects attacking structural timber, preservative chemicals are used. Boric acid (H3BO3) and borax (Na2B4O7.10H2O) are used to protect internal framing from attack by insects such as borer. Both supplied really quite cheaply from the lower link of this mans original post. After spending a grand on gear this week alone, I think I know the option im using! Hope that's of any use to anyone who wants to use borates in the future.

Infinitree - a few of us use water clear casting resin (lots of sellers on ebay) I also use 2 part epoxy laminating resin for loading with brass powder - takes a lot of experimenting to get it 'brassy' and not army green! - east coast marine supplies for the both. talk to slackbladder, he da man for that stuff.

Bob, I'd say as big as you can afford. Recently cutting some oak, which wasn't that big, But I needed about 10mm more than I could get out of a 36" bar + ,mill - luckily I had the 48" with me - woulda been a waste to lose that nice feature by buzzing it off cos my setup couldnt accomodate. big as you can afford mr!

I never knew i'd need a powered sharpener for them. and they cut the beautifully. Can I have some grinding stones please:blushing:

Having to eat a bit of humble pie can right suck. I did buy an electric sharpener - and the granberg came out better than factory sharp. rips it up!

Yowza! That's nice.

Thank Kev, for taking the time to offer. That wood gives a nice rich tone, but I would like something a little wilder looking.

Impressive. it certainly gives it the colour. I'll be trying the stuff myself. btw, nice n beefy.

Best treatment for it? Boron12? - or do any of you guys have any other ideas that aren't 30£ for 200grams!

well you know, with that 3 & a half grand bedroom cabinet I put in my customers house, in that 5mill conversion.... ok, i didnt mill the timber but yada yada - i guess they'd say I could chalk up as a furniture maker 'wink' & you know what son, just cos some might bash a few boards together, slap on a bit of muck, it makes them no less of a furniture maker than a man who knocks out flawless marquetry under a french polish that looks like god himself put it there - just in case that's you?! & that's my pennys' worth !

you might be right steve. had a look at their website, I'll be ordering a few products myself; & i'm not even slightly put off by the fact that, reading the bio, it was likely invented by yogurt weaving vegetarians who's children have an allergy to everything

I'm not so sure on the price thing ;-) I mill it, dry it, build & finish it - and to whatever style & spec you'd like. sounds like game on for a sale round here ;-)

This man is the holy grail on finishing - just listen to his words. & he puts out some class videos. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkUaVadnYR4]Charles Neil on Finishing - YouTube[/ame] My view on finishing.. I know some guys are just starting to make suff cos they started milling, but your piece you spent all that time & affection on, can be murdered by what you finish it with. Would you french polish a floor? No. You french polish a Louis 14th pedestal desk. On that 12mm european oak floor, you slap on a load of danish oil - cos that's all that stuff is good for (maybe even on a tucked away window sill). I probably wouldn't lacquer a yew top, I'd try and compliment the "butteriness" of the wood with something soft, like wax. Its not only the style of your piece, or its placement; but it's texture, feel, look, that should dictate its finish. Perhaps you don't want all that light wood at the edge, then 'tobacco burst' it (spray) and give that edge a nice dark look, fading in to lighter wood before you lacquer it - that is, using darker bursts to highlight the wilder grains further into the board. you know, the diy stores do a great dis-service to wood finishing, people rush out, pick the first tin of rubbish on the shelves & then slap it over the wood; and when it's dry they think, hmm, doesn't look like it did in my head. research your materials, theres some awesome gear out there. buy yourself an orbital, and some spraying gear, learn to rub out - then the only obstacle is your imagination. & stay away from diy stores! that's my lecturing views of finishing over :-)

cstellin how about something like this? Oak, 2" thick. that top is one of the smaller ones @ 1.8m x 101cm at its widest. legs, any timber style you like. ( i have a pal who bends inch perspex for table legs ) as with the finish. though my preference would be a wet looking water clear sprayed lacquer, very hard - not polished to a too high gloss or you'll see every scratch. I have 6 of those tops, plus many others, bigger, smaller, lots of different woods. You can come and pick your own board if you like & then wait 3 weeks for me to build & finish it. Just outside london, can deliver, or collect.

Rob. Lacquers outside? cars, yachts, my sea kayak are smothered in the stuff.But I don't know a product that isn't going to suffer some degradation over time - even a wax, in its various ways. Products have moved on since the cracking & yellowing problems of nitrocellulose; there are acryllics, PU, acid & pre-cat lacquers. The water based PU are the hardest, which is what goes on bar tops etc nowadays. You can spray or brush. For me, I want a water clear finish (if it is to stand water, mugs, kitchen worktops etc. There i'd use PU. For lesser durability but not inferior, for dining tables etc, an acid cat. Oils like danish etc, I'm no lover of. Brittle, flakey, yellowey sun-damanged in no time at all. It's all a bit B&Q diy wood finishing for my tastes. This week i'm going to spray a monster gnarly outside bench, of chestnut - I'll post pics. As far as spraying, that's no black art. There's some cheap enough gear out there (packs of compressors & guns <200). experiment on timber you dont want, with ghosting / & wet coats & rubbing out - a little reading will prevent you having mistakes like runs & ridges, orange peel; at the end of the day, it's all done with a fluid wrist & right arm - a technique I'm sure most men have mastered by now in their lives

Hi Wills - I was thinking of the QS plane, and I have a few big lumps - but I dont wanna wait two years! The yew, I cut some wild wild yew too, full of eyes and flames, purlpe streaks and all manner of forest beings souls imbued within it - it's that I made that saurons throne out of. I want something, silkier. something that makes you want to touch it.

possibly Rich, depends on what wood i get. I'm no lover of the PRS quilted bookmatch look, but if something as cool as this appeared, then yeah, I'd have to. It's not something that has to match like a custom shop PRS 50yr old bit of bookmatched wood, cos i'm just chucking an ibanez wizard two neck on it, I just want a FINE looking bit of timber - and I have nowt in my own collection.

I'm after a slab of wood. I could go to timberline and pick any exotic I like, but I thought i'd see what my milling peers might have on offer. It's for a guitar body, a new shreading axe I want to make for myself. Must be exceptional quality, totally dry and super stable. Older the better, too. 2" thick. I dont know what you guys might have tucked away, could be something fancy straight grained, or some wild maple, or something quilted / ripple. Hardwoods only. should look as nice as this bit of bubinga - hopefully 10 times nicer!

ask rob what he put on that big beech bench, cos that looks the nuts. if you do use the route of spray lacquering, dont put on thick 'wet' coats, but lots of misted 'ghost' coats - you'll get a duller finish.

I'm guessing it's for outdoors? If so, you've a toss up between natural weathered or protected / 'shiney' to bring out the colour. Waxes are no good outdoors, (dull but brings out colour). Some oils are ok outside, but they can have a bit of a glazed look. Personally, I would spray on a acid-cat lacquer, 10% matt finish, & rub it out with a 500 grit up to a 1000, and then wax it. or a 2 pack water based lacquer (real tuff) that you can brush or spray. Again, you can select what finish you want on ordering. Not all lacquers are 'gloss/shiney' finishes @ http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/categories/wood-finishes/lacquers.htm

Looks really good. you're the fella who turned me onto getting funky with my wood fillers. my current project is laying gold leaf into the cracks, pouring in laminating epoxy, lacquering and rubbing out to a 12-1500. on a 8ft by 110cm slab. Yowza!

oef ! that's stunning.

Guys, I use east coast marine supplies, south shields. brass powder 240 mesh. 2 part clear epoxy laminating resin Over that - you want a PU lacquer. If you don't have spraying gear, you can buy it in a tin, I think even halfords sell it. Words of advice though, experiment first! And definitely experiment with mixing up your epoxy - the measurements have to be bang on, or it will be soft and you'll never rub it down. Before filling (esp endgrain) - blast a couple of coats of lacquer on first before filling, or you'll have a mess. You can buzz the lacquer off when you're rubbing down the brass..