I should have clarified! It's not a desk, it's a woodworking bench. It'll be living in the basement and taking a heck of a beating in the service of making other (hopefully nicer) projects. I'll probably figure a way to get those cords out of the way and maybe add some pegboard to the back for tools.
I'm debating whether or not to stain it... I'm sure it'd make for good practice, but it'd most likely end up ruined after working other projects on the surface
Sometimes projects like this are quick and dirty, and there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoy making beautiful tools, why make ugly ones? But sometimes, there is no reason to spend a ton of time on such a utilitarian object, especially one that is going to be used to build more beautiful things. Sometimes building things in cheap, readily available material is the best way to go, especially if you aren't confident in what you need or what you are doing. These are some things I ask myself when I build: Does it serve its purpose? Does it do it well? Did I learn anything? That last one is important. Probably the most important.
If it were me, I would round the edges so you don't catch a burr or splinter, and start using it to build beautiful things.
What type of woodworking are you going to be doing? Small scale stuff I assume?
Sometimes projects like this are quick and dirty, and there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoy making beautiful tools, why make ugly ones? But sometimes, there is no reason to spend a ton of time on such a utilitarian object, especially one that is going to be used to build more beautiful things. Sometimes building things in cheap, readily available material is the best way to go, especially if you aren't confident in what you need or what you are doing. These are some things I ask myself when I build: Does it serve its purpose? Does it do it well? Did I learn anything? That last one is important. Probably the most important.
If it were me, I would round the edges so you don't catch a burr or splinter, and start using it to build beautiful things.
What type of woodworking are you going to be doing? Small scale stuff I assume?
edit:
I made some things!
Concave earrings: .925 silver, 24k Keum-Boo
Thank you Forbe, that's great advice! I definitely learned a lot in building it, and hope to apply that knowledge to more polished projects.
I plan to start small on things like toys and small wooden boxes until I get the basics of joinery down. Then I hope to move on to eventually getting good enough to build furniture for my family-- my ultimate goal is a morris chair, but I realize that's probably way down the line.
At home all I've got is a jigsaw, miter saw, power drill and hand tools. That's good for small stuff. Once I get to big stuff there's a maker space nearby with tablesaws, jointers and planers to make things square. Then I could probably do the joint making at home by hand.
Edit: When I have more experience I actually plan to build a nicer workbench with proper joinery, a la Paul Seller's basic design. For now though, I'll definitely at least sand the sharp corners.
Didgeridoo on
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EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
Grab a sanding block and some varieties of paper to make sure you at least smooth it down. Worst case you can always just leave it raw or spraypaint it for utilitarian coloring. One of our cabinet makers back when I worked in interior design would typically make rough pieces like this, sand them down, and do a crackle finish (usually off-white and some bright primary color) for that old antique look (which performed well in our market). Probably not great for a work bench, though.
Definitely round the corners and give it a good sanding though. Slpinters suck.
Late to the party. @Didgeridoo If you are wood gluing on top of the surface I would at least have some wax paper under what I am working on. I built a melamine top work table which is great for easy clean up and wood glue comes rather easily.
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Thanks, CC! That's a good idea. I would like to make sure the surface stays relatively workable, so the wax paper idea would be perfect for preventing any glue mishaps.
I'm currently working on a little side table with actual proper joinery instead of screws. It's slow going, but I'm learning a lot! My first tenon was a bit of a mess, but I'm learning to cut straighter and more cleanly. I'll post it once it's all done and finished! Trying to decide on a stain, actually. It's going to be made of red oak.
I don't think I'm an artist by any means but I can get pretty creative with metal or mechanics so I decided to put up some photos of my current project to get some input and ideas from everyone. I also make gates, chandeliers, decreative lamps and other things, but since I'm living in an apartment right now I have no where to setup my forge and anvil so they have to stay in storage until I transfer.
So this is what I started with. (Bike in photo is not mine, just used to show what the stock bike looks like)
I wasn't happy with that so I started cutting and ended up with this (the rest of the photos are of my bike)
If you can't tell, the color scheme for the bike is based on Boba Fetts Slave 1.
I also didn't like the way the speedometer sat on top of the handlebars. I wanted a cleaner look so I've decided to relocate the speedometer to the left side on the frame below the tank. I wanted to keep the dummy lights somewhere I could easily see them though so I had to build a bracket to mount them to the triple tree. I picked up a piece of 6061 aluminum and started cutting, milling, and engraving. I ended up with this.
It'll mount to the underside of the triple tree and keep the dummy lights just above the triple tree like this.
All it needs now is two holes drilled for the bolts and some paint to match the bike.
I just noticed you can see the orange from the fruit fucker figure I keep on my desk at work in that bottom photo.
Boba Fett has some type of digital display on his left chest that thought would look cool on the bike. I found a guy who makes working copies of it and bought one. I'm going to mount it onto a cover that will bolt onto the air cleaner cover on the right side of the bike. I'm using 1/4 20 cap screws so the bolts will stick out a little and give it a little more industrial look.
I'm heading out on another deployment so I'll have to wait until I get back to get some photos of that.
@MilitaryMisfit This stuff more likely belongs in this thread, where your more likely to get some eyes/comments. Also, try and keep your image sizes reasonable!
For anyone who digs motorcycles. Finally got the photos from the photographer. He is a huge fan of Star Wars so when he found out I was building a Boba Fett Inspired bike he wanted to take some photos.
The square in the air filter cover is a working digital display like the one Fett has on his chest.
Not yet. I found a guy that can paint helmets, including the visor, to look like Fett's. He charges 400 bucks to do it though and if I'm gonna spend that kind of money to paint a helmet I want it to be an awesome helmet that will last. So now I'm saving up for a new helmet.
My sister is getting closer to her due date, so I decided to make her some keepsakes:
The material is spalted maple, squared down methodically on a sanding wheel to approximately 2" cubes. Each was then laser engraved with its design, then filled with fine glass frit as an inlay fixed in place with CA glue. Once that was sanded flush, I rounded the corners on a belt sander, smoothed everything out, and added a number of layers of shellac. (My brother in law's block is still in progress, these were hurried out first.)
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I'm debating whether or not to stain it... I'm sure it'd make for good practice, but it'd most likely end up ruined after working other projects on the surface
Any suggestions for good stains for pine from you woodworking folk?
If it were me, I would round the edges so you don't catch a burr or splinter, and start using it to build beautiful things.
What type of woodworking are you going to be doing? Small scale stuff I assume?
edit:
I made some things!
Concave earrings: .925 silver, 24k Keum-Boo
Thank you Forbe, that's great advice! I definitely learned a lot in building it, and hope to apply that knowledge to more polished projects.
I plan to start small on things like toys and small wooden boxes until I get the basics of joinery down. Then I hope to move on to eventually getting good enough to build furniture for my family-- my ultimate goal is a morris chair, but I realize that's probably way down the line.
At home all I've got is a jigsaw, miter saw, power drill and hand tools. That's good for small stuff. Once I get to big stuff there's a maker space nearby with tablesaws, jointers and planers to make things square. Then I could probably do the joint making at home by hand.
Edit: When I have more experience I actually plan to build a nicer workbench with proper joinery, a la Paul Seller's basic design. For now though, I'll definitely at least sand the sharp corners.
Definitely round the corners and give it a good sanding though. Slpinters suck.
I'm currently working on a little side table with actual proper joinery instead of screws. It's slow going, but I'm learning a lot! My first tenon was a bit of a mess, but I'm learning to cut straighter and more cleanly. I'll post it once it's all done and finished! Trying to decide on a stain, actually. It's going to be made of red oak.
So this is what I started with. (Bike in photo is not mine, just used to show what the stock bike looks like)
I wasn't happy with that so I started cutting and ended up with this (the rest of the photos are of my bike)
I still wasn't happy so then I did this.
After some new paint I ended up with this.
X1 - Mothugly
I also didn't like the way the speedometer sat on top of the handlebars. I wanted a cleaner look so I've decided to relocate the speedometer to the left side on the frame below the tank. I wanted to keep the dummy lights somewhere I could easily see them though so I had to build a bracket to mount them to the triple tree. I picked up a piece of 6061 aluminum and started cutting, milling, and engraving. I ended up with this.
It'll mount to the underside of the triple tree and keep the dummy lights just above the triple tree like this.
All it needs now is two holes drilled for the bolts and some paint to match the bike.
I just noticed you can see the orange from the fruit fucker figure I keep on my desk at work in that bottom photo.
X1 - Mothugly
I'm heading out on another deployment so I'll have to wait until I get back to get some photos of that.
X1 - Mothugly
X1 - Mothugly
The square in the air filter cover is a working digital display like the one Fett has on his chest.
X1 - Mothugly
X1 - Mothugly
The material is spalted maple, squared down methodically on a sanding wheel to approximately 2" cubes. Each was then laser engraved with its design, then filled with fine glass frit as an inlay fixed in place with CA glue. Once that was sanded flush, I rounded the corners on a belt sander, smoothed everything out, and added a number of layers of shellac. (My brother in law's block is still in progress, these were hurried out first.)