Smitty
JULY/AUG
2003
Volume 46/Issue 4
IN
THIS ISSUE
Project
Articles
•
Knock-Down & Store-Away Table
• Home Shop Workbench
• Rolling Pin & Dried Flower Vase
DEPARTMENTS
•
Ask Smitty
• Owner’s Gallery
• Letters from Owners
Academy Notes
Clean
Cuts - Pt. 1
Service Pointers
Bandsaw
Service Pointers
Safety Tips
Hoirzontal Boring Safety
What's
New
Shopsmith
and Lowe's Team Up
EDUCATION
• Find
A Shopsmith Woodworking Academy Near You
• National
Woodworking Academy in Dayton, OH
ONLINE
CATALOGS
• Online Accessory Catalog
• Request
Printed Accessory Catalog
• Online
Replacement Parts Catalog
MARK
V INFORMATION
• Find
A Shopsmith
MARK V Demo Near You
• Request
MARK V Information Package
LINKS
•
Links Worth Visiting
•
Free Woodworking
Tips
FEEDBACK
Contacting
Shopsmith
Copyright
2003.
Shopsmith, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
ASK
SMITTY!
Here
are the questions . . .
and SMITTY’S answers for this issue!
Removing
stain from commercially-made furniture
From Krysta Lownsberry, via e-mail:
Greetings! I am trying to remove the last of stain from a set of
end tables I am refinishing. The tables are Ethan Allen and only 10 years
old. I am having a real bugger of a time getting all the stain out of
the grain. I have removed a layer of thick varnish from the top of the
tables and a thin layer of stain and a what I think is a polyurethane
topcoat from the rest of the pieces.
Most of what I removed was ultimately from sanding. I used a stripper which took off the polyurethane and the varnish but not the stain. I had to sand that. It is made of pine and the color is the typical Ethan Allen color- DARK. I even tried doing a test spot on one of the legs of a two part wood bleach to get the final stain out of the grain but it only seemed to lighten the already sanded and stripped wood. It left the remaining stain. The biggest problem areas are on the doweled curved legs.... UGH!!!! HELP!
If Ethan Allen used a penetrating oil stain on this project (which they probably did)...and if the wood bleach didn't work...you're probably out of luck. On a soft wood such as pine, a penetrating stain can conceivably go 1/4" or deeper into the wood. As a result, getting it out will be close to impossible. You could try taking it to a local "tank stripper", who will dip it into a tank of heated chemicals. However, be aware that such dipping can destroy joinery, so you're better off disassembling the table and taking only the parts you can't strip yourself. Wish I had a better answer for you.
Slot
vs. Hollow Chisel Mortising
From Bruce Chalmers, via e-mail:
Slot mortising versus hollow chisel--which do you recommend? I'm
making Morris chairs out of white oak with my Model 510 MARK V and there
seems to be quite a bit of controversy as to which is the best. So, I
thought I'd ask the expert--what speed does the hollow chisel system require
(speed reducer needed?)?
The answer depends on what size your finished mortises are to be. If they're small (1/4" to 3/8"), the hollow chisel set-up is probably the best because of the difficulty in squaring the ends of the mortise (made by a router) on such narrow slots. The best MARK V speed is "G" or "H". If they're 1/2" or wider, router slot-mortising is OK, too....since the mortise slot is wide enough to accommodate your wood chisel for squaring-up the ends of your cuts. With hollow chisel work, it is extremely important that your mortising chisel and bit are as sharp as you can get them. Be sure to provide support under the worktable (telescoping extension table leg or 2" x 4"), as you'll have to exert a LOT of pressure to mortise white oak.
