Post your woodwork here

[Pants Boy]

 

I’m busy building myself a dining room table.  Oregon top with rectangular steel tubing for the legs and frame.  I would like to keep the frame and legs raw steel with the little bit of rust that is on there, not paint it. 

Does anybody know what I can use on the steal to prevent it from further rusting.  I see some of the folks in USA use a product called Penetrol for this.  Anybody here that have used Penetrol for this application?

I would also like to get your recommendations on what oil you would use on the table top.  The top will not get a lot of abuse and I don’t want to seal it with varnish.

 

I've had good success with Marshall spray paint's matt lacquer over rusted mild steel. Make sure the steel is clean, then let it rust a bit, make sure it's dry and flake free, then spray it two light coats.

 

I get mine at Gelmar @R30 a can.

[DJR]

Fair points. 

 

What irks me is when I get charged artisan/craftsman rates but end up with a "skilled" labourer doing the work...

Heard a lovely story recently:

 

A Cape Town gunsmith, who is well known for the fantastic work that he does, especially his skill in inletting and making gunstocks, built a rifle for someone. A few months afterwards, he got a phone call from the new gun owner, who asked him to please come and talk to him at his home, as he needed advice in solving a problem. He assumed it was something to do with the rifle, or at least a firearm, but when he arrived there, he was in for a surprise. He was met by the owner as well as the cabinet maker / kitchen guy. The owner brought out his new rifle, showed the cabinet maker the magnificent and amazing fit of metal and wood, the finish and so on. Then he asked the gunsmith to explain to the cabinetmaker how he can achieve that sort of accuracy, because that was his aim for the whole kitchen.........I always wonder what happened after that, because I never heard the rest of the story.

[stefmeister]

Heard a lovely story recently:

 

A Cape Town gunsmith, who is well known for the fantastic work that he does, especially his skill in inletting and making gunstocks, built a rifle for someone. A few months afterwards, he got a phone call from the new gun owner, who asked him to please come and talk to him at his home, as he needed advice in solving a problem. He assumed it was something to do with the rifle, or at least a firearm, but when he arrived there, he was in for a surprise. He was met by the owner as well as the cabinet maker / kitchen guy. The owner brought out his new rifle, showed the cabinet maker the magnificent and amazing fit of metal and wood, the finish and so on. Then he asked the gunsmith to explain to the cabinetmaker how he can achieve that sort of accuracy, because that was his aim for the whole kitchen.........I always wonder what happened after that, because I never heard the rest of the story.

Probably crapped his pant when he heard the price of what just a blank stock piece of walnut goes for.

[Grebel]

It was mentioned here somewhere already.

 

The difference between good and outstanding has to do with the level of accuracy and the quality of the finish.

 

These are both coupled to a certain level of skill (which undoubtedly comes with experience) and passion for the work.

 

I can only hope that my projects will be good at very best (for now) until such time as my passion and my skill level come on par (That is going to take time and by time I mean hours spent on the job).

 

For now though I get great satisfaction from looking at something that gets used daily in my house but was made with my hands even though it may be a fair way below good (We'll just call it rustic for now   )

[Hairy]

It was mentioned here somewhere already.

 

The difference between good and outstanding has to do with the level of accuracy and the quality of the finish.

 

These are both coupled to a certain level of skill (which undoubtedly comes with experience) and passion for the work.

 

I can only hope that my projects will be good at very best (for now) until such time as my passion and my skill level come on par (That is going to take time and by time I mean hours spent on the job).

 

For now though I get great satisfaction from looking at something that gets used daily in my house but was made with my hands even though it may be a fair way below good (We'll just call it rustic for now   )

if you call it rustic, and you decide to sell it, that "word" would automatically push the price up by a couple of ZAR

[stefmeister]

It was mentioned here somewhere already.

 

The difference between good and outstanding has to do with the level of accuracy and the quality of the finish.

 

These are both coupled to a certain level of skill (which undoubtedly comes with experience) and passion for the work.

 

I can only hope that my projects will be good at very best (for now) until such time as my passion and my skill level come on par (That is going to take time and by time I mean hours spent on the job).

 

For now though I get great satisfaction from looking at something that gets used daily in my house but was made with my hands even though it may be a fair way below good (We'll just call it rustic for now   )

+patience.

The fun part of building anything is usually where you can see things take shape, but motivation can easily wane when it gets to the finishing which can take even longer than the whole build process.

[Pants Boy]

Drilled a couple of holes yesterday.

 

[Stretched@Birth]

It was mentioned here somewhere already.

 

The difference between good and outstanding has to do with the level of accuracy and the quality of the finish.

 

These are both coupled to a certain level of skill (which undoubtedly comes with experience) and passion for the work.

 

I can only hope that my projects will be good at very best (for now) until such time as my passion and my skill level come on par (That is going to take time and by time I mean hours spent on the job).

 

For now though I get great satisfaction from looking at something that gets used daily in my house but was made with my hands even though it may be a fair way below good (We'll just call it rustic for now )

The juice also needs to be worth the squeeze. I wasn't happy with some of the planks on the picnic benches I built the other day, they had some bow in them, causing unevenness in the ends, but when I reminded myself of where and how they will be used, I was ok with the imperfection. The customer is also very happy, and has ordered 2 more.

[eccc whippet]

Fair points. 

 

What irks me is when I get charged artisan/craftsman rates but end up with a "skilled" labourer doing the work...

If you are paying less than R800 per hour for an artisan...you get "skilled" labour or a technician...including alarm...cctv etc

 

if you paying R800 - R1200 per hour...you should get an experienced  artisan/craftsman who knows his stuff and been around a while.

 

anything over R1200 you should be getting a master craftsman.

 

So if you paying R450...the going rate in Durban for an electrical contractor...you should be happy with a skilled labourer collected outside builders and left on your property to do a task...what we call hit and run contracts...this is the norm when doing work with a builder...where the building using "his" electrician...you go in...dump staff and so long as the light switches on...you collect your money and run...make sure you dont leave a number ...the owner will eventually get his electrician to come an fix all the issues or when they try sell...end up with a R 20 000 repair bill.

 

say amen if you have been one of these suckers...who tried to sell a house and now sit with a massive repair bill.

Edited July 20, 2017 by isetech

[eccc whippet]

by the way...i have done a lot of kitchen remodels ( the electrical part) i am yet to see a kitchen "cabinet maker" there is a difference between a cabinet maker and a chipboard installer.

 

cabinet makers generally build solid wood units...not chip board solid wood "looking" units.

Edited July 21, 2017 by isetech

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

by the way...i have done a lot of kitchen remodels ( the electrical part) i am yet to see a kitchen "cabinet maker" there is a difference between a cabinet maker and a chipboard installer.

 

chipboard installers  fall in the same category as skilled labour/technicians ...only difference is no 1-2 week course is required. 

 

cabinet makers build solid wood units...not chip board solid wood "looking" units....mdf is not a solid wood.

Sadly, it mostly depends on the client's budget. Good mate of mine is a cabinet maker, and he HATES chip & MDF but has to use it for most of his builds as it is what the client can afford. Concentrates mostly on kitchens. 

 

For his proper projects, though...

 

Joh. 

Edited July 20, 2017 by Myles Mayhew

[Grebel]

If you are paying less than R800 per hour for an artisan...you get "skilled" labour or a technician...including alarm...cctv etc

 

if you paying R800 - R1200 per hour...you should get an experienced  artisan/craftsman who knows his stuff and been around a while.

 

anything over R1200 you should be getting a master craftsman.

 

So if you paying R450...the going rate in Durban for an electrical contractor...you should be happy with a skilled labourer collected outside builders and left on your property to do a task...what we call hit and run contracts...this is the norm when doing work with a builder...where the building using "his" electrician...you go in...dump staff and so long as the light switches on...you collect your money and run...make sure you dont leave a number ...the owner will eventually get his electrician to come an fix all the issues or when they try sell...end up with a R 20 000 repair bill.

 

say amen if you have been one of these suckers...who tried to sell a house and now sit with a massive repair bill.

 

At those rates you are either pricing yourself out of the market or you have a government tender contract.... 

 

I would like to meet the artisan/crafstman that is earning R800-R1200 an hour and have a chat to him as now might be the time to pack away the text books and the end goal of GCC, step away from the desk job, dust off the toolbox again and bring out the Olifants red seal trade papers because they are earning almost 4 times what I am currently on.... At those hourly wages you are knocking on the door of consulting engineers.

 

I have been on both sides of the fence (For being charged out as a service as well as paying for a service and on both occasions I have walked away with a bad taste in my mouth for being underpaid for the service I delivered and being over charged for the service I received)

 

My point being that I don't mind paying for a service at a reasonable price but what I do not appreciate is being over charged for a service at a specific rate and receiving an under qualified individual with limited skills. Which seems to be the norm in certain industries as you have already pointed out.

[Grebel]

Sadly, it mostly depends on the client's budget. Good mate of mine is a cabinet maker, and he HATES chip & MDF but has to use it for most of his builds as it is what the client can afford. Concentrates mostly on kitchens. 

 

For his proper projects, though...

 

Joh. 

 

A mate of mine is in the business of bespoke woodwork projects which include kitchens, cabinets, BIC's, balustrades, flooring or any other custom wood furniture or fittings that the rich and famous can come up with. He doesn't use MDF or chipboard. The lowest he'll go is Beech Ply which he uses for his kitchen carcasses. The rest of his work is done in solid wood. They obviously have a very different target marked to the 1998 KB250D brigade who peddle their chipboard wares to Joe Average and his neighbor Below Average.

 

He's not prepared to compete in that market.

 

He employs a cabinet maker who is a master at his craft along with a few other guys that are very good at what they do. 

 

Their work really is top drawer stuff. He was in the running for the Gold Medal Award at this years House and Garden Show.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

A mate of mine is in the business of bespoke woodwork projects which include kitchens, cabinets, BIC's, balustrades, flooring or any other custom wood furniture or fittings that the rich and famous can come up with. He doesn't use MDF or chipboard. The lowest he'll go is Beech Ply which he uses for his kitchen carcasses. The rest of his work is done in solid wood. They obviously have a very different target marked to the 1998 KB250D brigade who peddle their chipboard wares to Joe Average and his neighbor Below Average.

 

He's not prepared to compete in that market.

 

He employs a cabinet maker who is a master at his craft along with a few other guys that are very good at what they do. 

 

Their work really is top drawer stuff. He was in the running for the Gold Medal Award at this years House and Garden Show.

yeah, I'd love to be able to afford that sort of artistry. I HATE HATE HATE chipboard, and MDF comes a very, very close 2nd. 

[Grebel]

yeah, I'd love to be able to afford that sort of artistry. I HATE HATE HATE chipboard, and MDF comes a very, very close 2nd. 

 

As an example, their target market are the likes of residents in Zimbali etc. They recently did an installation at a new house in the estate that consisted of a kitchen, flooring and BIC;s as well as bathroom vanities. Their contract value was R1,7 Million.

 

They also did some alterations to a kitchen in an estate in Hillcrest. An unidentified kitchen company had just finished the kitchen but there were a few things that the owner wasn't entirely happy with. These included a wine rack and some cupboard changes. He approached my mate and after discussing the changes, the quote came to R125k to which the owner never batted an eyelid...

 

Different league.....

[DJR]

Re. some of the above posts about quality vs cost:

 

Slowly, over many years I have, through trial and error, steered towards using individuals rather than companies or larger businesses when I needed expert attention. This applies to my medical doctor, my Landrover magician, bicycle restorer, plasterer, electrician, plumber, welder, you name it. I tend to now mostly stick with one man businesses where the owner does the work himself, or at least work alongside his small permanent and longstanding team. For some reason, many of these tend to be older people, but there are some youngsters as well who do excellent work and with a great work ethic.

 

I stay away from big companies like car dealerships, because that is where I all too often found the unskilled, unsupervised and the uncaring combining with disastrous effects, and all that at a premium cost.