No Southern-fried Southern boy wants to be called a Yankee, but we share the characteristics of shrewdness and thrift. Thus, each month we include a money-saving tip from Sticks in the Mud woodworker, Jim Randolph. It’s OK if you call him “cheap.”
Too cheap to buy a chain to hang your project from? Follow me! When I’m hanging something lightweight, especially for painting and other finishes, I use a coat hanger.
Following an accident in our home, an occupational therapist recommended that all of our stairs have handrails on both sides. Being far too cheap to pay someone to install them, I purchased the correct length for both of the stairs in our home and finished them. Talk about unwieldy! Hanging, they wanted to move all around at the lightest touch. As Steven Johnson would say, I had to “noodle” on the problem for a little bit, then I came up with the idea that I could screw hooks into the rails where the attachment screws had been, and hang them to apply wipe-on poly. Coat hangers were ideal for the job. You can hold onto the screw hooks to keep the project still while you finish.
I’ve had several more opportunities to use this system since first using it on these handrails. You can adjust the height by bending the hanger the way you need it, or using multiples. Or, even put a short length of chain between hangers. #neverstopinnovating
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.
Welcome to “Tips From Sticks-In-The-Mud Woodshop.” I am a hobbyist who loves woodworking and writing for those who also love the craft. I have found some ways to accomplish tasks in the workshop that might be helpful to you, and I enjoy hearing your own problem-solving ideas. Please share them in the COMMENTS section of each tip. If, in the process, I can also make you laugh, I have achieved 100% of my goals.
“Chains, my baby’s got me locked up in chains, And they ain’t the kind, that you can see, Whoa, these chains of love got a hold on me, yeah.” That great old song was first done by The Cookies, then The Beatles and Carole King and untold numbers of garage bands.
Chains. I don’t want to break away from my chains because I use the heck out of them, and, if my chains did break, my woodworking projects would suffer.
I first got the idea to install chains in the TrusJoist McMillan wooden I-beams in the ceiling of our garage when I was building swings.
Hanging chains from chains. It just came naturally. I made a bunch of these swings when we first moved to the Bayou. One day I got home from work and Brenda said, “I saw one of our swings going up the Bayou in a johnboat today.” Yep, the rat stole it right out of our yard.
Once I had the frame made, it was the perfect way to access the seat and back to apply the slats. It’s great positioning for finishing, too; you can easily access every surface.
After the chains were installed, I found even more uses for them.
These wooden I-joists have knockouts in the webbing for passing pipes and wires. They worked perfectly for threading chains for hanging.
In last month’s column you saw that I hung our back door from those chains to do the finishing. There wasn’t a single spot on the door I couldn’t access, and the oversize hooks held the door securely.
I sanded this door lying flat on horses, but finish application was a cinch in this hanging orientation.
Chains have a natural adjustment system built right in. If something hangs down too low, move it up a notch. If it’s too far off the floor, go down one link or two.
Be sure you purchase substantial chain. Double-link chain (the most common type used on porch swings) is a good choice because it’s very strong, yet the wire is of a small gauge relative to the size of the openings. That can be a valuable characteristic because it maximizes your height-hanging options. It’s unlikely you will ever need more strength than that type of chain provides, and you want to use good judgment and not overload your home’s rafters. Don’t be pulling the engine out of your Datsun B-210 with your ceiling joists!
The length of your chain is important, too. Too short and your smallest projects may require you to stand on staging to work on them. If the chain hangs down too low you can always gather the excess and fasten it out of your way. The next project might need to take advantage of that length.
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.
Gee! Just about everything! It’s reasonably priced. There are a kazillion (sorry, Steve) manufacturers, so, if you have a favorite brand, you can choose it. It’s relatively non-toxic, and you can even purchase water-based wipe-on polyurethane, if you like. Equipment needs are minimal. No air compressor. No airless sprayer. No fancy brushes. All the gear you need is a metal spring binder clip and some old T-shirt material. If you’re not saving your old T-shirts, you should begin to. You can click this link to read about how I do it.
Does it get any simpler than this? A binder clip, make it BIG, a strip of soft cloth and a container with an impervious surface.
When I’m done, I unroll the fabric, lay it on the rim of the trash can to cure, and throw it out a few days later, once it is totally dry.
Now, I know there are advantages to other methods and other products, and this month we’d like to know what your favorites are. Give us your vote and leave us a comment, too.
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.
Welcome to “Tips From Sticks-In-The-Mud Woodshop.” I am a hobbyist who loves woodworking and writing for those who also love the craft. I have found some ways to accomplish tasks in the workshop that might be helpful to you, and I enjoy hearing your own problem-solving ideas. Please share them in the COMMENTS section of each tip. If, in the process, I can also make you laugh, I have achieved 100% of my goals.
Are you adventurous in finishing? Not me. I’m a wipe-on poly kind of guy, mostly.
I didn’t inquire of the boss before I finished these bedside tables (that wasn’t a tip, readers, you’re always wise to consult the significant other when a project impacts him or her). I wanted a natural-wood look and put coat after coat of wiping polyurethane on this project.
But, every once in a while, I decide to venture out.
Or, as in the case of this mantle, I get instructed to venture out. Brenda said, “I don’t want natural oak, and I don’t want it to match the floors, or any other wood in the living room.”
As you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m not prone to experimentation or boldness. But, I let my hair down and went to work. I had some scraps of this same oak from the same tree and began applying straight stains and mixed stain intensities, even applying more stain when the first coat dried.
I took the resulting samples up to the living room for Brenda’s analysis. She rated them, recognizing that their look could change when finish was applied, which I did next.
As long as I was being adventurous, I decided to switch finishes, too.
I went with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal, which, yes, I recognize, is a urethane finish, but sometimes branching out is about baby steps. I applied two coats of high gloss, followed by a final coat of satin to knock down the shine just a bit. Below, I’ve pictured the result.
I would probably be happy if I never stained anything, as I like the look of natural wood. When you’re married to an artist, you go with the artistic advice.
One time I got really brave and, for an outdoor piece, applied a penetrating epoxy finish. Now, that took courage. I knew if it wasn’t good it would be nearly impossible to remove. Fortunately, I liked it. I covered it with three coats of Arm-R-Seal high gloss and one coat of satin. OK, so I wasn’t being adventurous using something I’d used before.
These grandkids couldn’t care less what the finish is, they loved their new round picnic table with curved benches.
Then, there was the time I needed to refinish the back door to our house. It was literally beginning to rot away. I got in touch with Alan Noel and he said, after I sanded and cleaned thoroughly, to use a marine spar varnish on it. I did, and it came out great.
Following Alan Noel’s advice, the back door turned out great and it’s again resisting the weather on the north side of our home.
I’ve used the spar varnish on a couple of other outdoor projects since.
See? It’s not so hard to branch out. Take a deep breath and a big first step.
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.
“Honey, I’m feeling a little down. I think I’ll go buy a new dress.”
I believe it’s a universal cure. My grandfather on my father’s side loved to buy gadgets.
Because we lived out in the country, a trip to town was a big deal, and didn’t happen very often. If he came back with a little goodie for himself, he would slip in the back door and put it in his bedroom. I’m not sure my grandmother would have objected; maybe it was just a little game. I also don’t know that he was ever depressed, or even down, but again and again I saw the delight in his face when he got a new “toy.”
I have to admit to having inherited that gene. I, too, get a real pick-me-up when a new tool arrives.
Which is not the only reason I buy tools. After Katrina, I had to replace a lot of tools, almost everything in the shop. Power tools don’t even like water, much less the incredibly salty water that invaded our garage.
The Kapex is more than you ever thought a miter saw could be.
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.
No Southern-fried Southern boy wants to be called a Yankee, but we share the characteristics of shrewdness and thrift. Thus, each month we include a money-saving tip from Sticks in the Mud woodworker, Jim Randolph. It’s OK if you call him “cheap.”
How did I come to use Arm-R-Seal on the mantle project? Because I’m cheap, and I had it on hand.
How did I have it on hand and it not be ruined? Because I’m cheap, and I took great care when I put the can away.
First, I cleaned the rim really well so neither the lid nor the can would be deformed when opening and closing the container.
Then, using a displacer, Bloxygen is one, designed to displace oxygen in the air in the container with a non-reactive gas to prevent curing, I stored the can in a cool, dry place in my shop.
After I had used about 1/3 of what remained, I decanted to a smaller container, leaving even less space for cure-inducing oxygen to damage the material.
Also, Bloxygen says that one can provides about 75 two-second blasts. The smaller the space you need to evacuate, the less Bloxygen you use. But, at $11 per can, even a cheapskate like me doesn’t mind springing for it.
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.
No Southern-fried Southern boy wants to be called a Yankee, but we share the characteristics of shrewdness and thrift. Thus, each month we include a money-saving tip from Sticks in the Mud woodworker, Jim Randolph. It’s OK if you call him “cheap.”
There are a million uses for the zippered plastic bags that electric blankets and throws are packaged in.
Did you buy a new electric blanket this winter? The zippered bag can store the blanket when not in use. Unless, of course, you live near Steve Johnson, where it’s -38 Fahrenheit in the summertime and you need your electric blanket in July! Seriously, save the bag for a million uses.
We store infrequently-worn clothes in them, but they are also handy in the woodshop.
I caught blue jeans on sale in 2003 and must have thought they would never go on sale again. If this last pair were not protected, they’d be buried in dust by now.
Their greatest benefit is keeping their contents dust-free. A rag you need for finishing or polishing is useless, even damaging, if it isn’t clean. Pop it inside one of these pouches and, like Delta Airlines, it is ready when you are.
Some faraway day I might get to retire. When I do, I expect to be in the woodshop one-third of the week, fish one-third of the week, write one-third of the week, and bird every day. That will give me plenty of opportunity to use up all of these rags I’m stockpiling. Mostly old T-shirts, underwear (Hey! That cotton is soft! Don’t throw them away!) and washcloths.
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.
