Hello - the pest from Pembroke here - why I am here

[dewi]

Hi everyone - I thought I would introduce myself - what a great site this is for novices like me - I have over the years done a few woodworking projects but always with hand power tools rather than proper machines - as I am no longer able to work for medical reasons I need something to play with when I feel up to it - so as I have a big brick built slated roof workshop some 32 x 22 feet and 14 foot high at the end of the garden I built some 25 years ago ‘making sawdust and chippings' is ideal for me - they have taken my driving licence away until I ‘get better' so I am stuck on me own all day - the locals call my workshop the chalet because that's exactly what it looks like - it's even got PVC windows courtesy of a local company manufacturing them that employs people that cannot make frames to the spec they are given - thus they have hundreds of ‘unwanted' frames cheap - about a tenner a frame is average for any size window and all doors including twin patio ones about fifty pounds - they only need to be two or three mm out of spec for them to be scrappers - it's just a shame they do not glaze them as well for me

I was a machinist, lathes, milling machines, borers, surface and rotary grinders, shapers etc. so I am used too working to very high tolerances - the problem is I try for the same tolerances with wood thus it is always very time consuming

I already have a Fox 1 inch morticer that her who must be obeyed got for me a couple of years ago that's never been used - a DeWalt DW 8001 radial arm saw - again never been used since I rebuilt it for something to do more than ten years ago - nice cast iron track - I even purchased 2 Spear and Jackson blades for it a 60 and an 80 tooth - I have a steel router table (make unknown) but she is a beaut I have used (played with) a couple of times

I have a good selection of hand power tools nearly all Makita including - 3 and 4 inch belt sanders - ½ plunging router - palm and pad sanders - biscuit jointer, power plane - Wolf circular saw (whose foot-plate mounting failed the ‘drop-test' about a month ago ) when my Granddaughter decided to go through the shed on her little 50cc quad bike and out into the field rather than go around - I also just purchased from a neighbour a little used Freud FT2000E 1900W router - that I will leave mounted on the table - it's a one spanner job changing the cutter whereas with the Makita it was a pain in the bum a 2-spanner job - it also has a speed control that the Makita does not have

Now the reason I have ‘all of a sudden' taken up a keener interest in woodworking is for ‘health reasons' if I do not get this current project done and dusted reasonably soon the misses is going to murder me -

I started up a tropical marine aquarium - a 4 foot tank in our lounge - after a year or so I had a chance of a nine foot tank - 400 plus gallon - it took ten of us to lift it when it was empty - anyway I decided it should go at the end of ‘her' kitchen -she had a nice fitted kitchen with units all around but to achieve this I had to rip out a 12 foot run and 2 x 5 foot runs of her units - she now has an unfinished island of units in the middle of her kitchen floor - and I have four concrete block walls with four steel girders across them and a sheet and a bit of inch plywood with my tank on - it's been like this for over 12 months - the fish and corals look wonderful - her kitchen looks like the centre of Beirut after a bad days bombing -

This is a reasonably ‘scale' drawing of the tank and support that I have got to box in (done in Corel Draw)

Now what I had originally intended doing was jointing four pieces of one inch ply together and routing out the door/tank positions - then veneering the whole issue - I got some nice American Cherry Wood Veneer for £21 off ebay - 9.82m2 - 21 leaves - 180mm wide - 1.5mm Thick - 2800mm Long - Straight grain/ Quarter cut - Item number: 190154840590

Upon reading up on veneering I have now decided I would perhaps be better off making it from softwood - just using the plywood for the cupboard insides - I have some nice oak doors that would look nice -

Now I think that is plenty for now - there will undoubtedly be some questions soon from me

 

[woodbloke]

Dewi - welcome to the forum. Nice tank set up you have, I had a 4' tropical marine tank last year but drastically underestimated the amount of juice needed to run it, my 'leccy bill was up £65 each month :shock: so I sold it all - Rob

 

[motownmartin]

Welcome Nige, I am sure you'll get plenty of help from the members on here, not too sure about the fish tank though :wink:

 

[Woodmagnet]

Borren Da/Welcome to the forum Dewi, lovely part of the world you live in, i lived in Pembroke and Pemb. Dock a few years ago. We were neighbours butt.

:lol:

 

[promhandicam]

Hi Dewi and welcome. I completed an aquarium stand recently - not quite as big as yours at only 5 foot but big enough. Have a look here. I ended up using oak doors to box mine in and my SWMBO is very happy with it. The fish seem to like it too!

Let us see some photos when you get a chance - sometimes more helpful when making suggestions.

All the best,

Steve

 

[dewi]

thanks everyone for your comments - Steve that looks tidy - trouble is mines got to look as decent but 12 wide 8 foot odd high

the veneering is the most worrying for me to get my head around -

 

[promhandicam]

Hi again. Just a thought about boxing it in. The first aquarium set up that I did was a 3 foot - built into a unit. It looked nice but trying to clean it was a nightmare. I would think very carefully about what you will need to access when the tank is set up and how you will do water changes, clean the substrate etc. With the one I linked to at least you can lift the whole top off to clean it. Just a thought - Steve

 

[dewi]

Steve

I do not have to clean display tank out - it has an 80 gall sump and a big Schuran skimmer - I have 4 big pumps in the sump outlet that pump filtered water back into the display tank - tank water turns over every 20 mins - display tank has 3 big weirs built in - the only thing I need access inside the tank is adding/removing live rock and corals - and of course change the metal halide bulbs and tubes - 4 x 250 watt halides 8 x 4' tubes - but the panel above the tank will hinge up - the bottom also houses the RO units for top-up water - she looses about 5 gall every 2 days from evaporation

it sure keeps me busy

 

[Nick Gibbs]

Upon reading up on veneering I have now decided I would perhaps be better off making it from softwood

I'm not sure I completely understand your construction, but one point I'd make is that you don't really have to use softwood for veneering, though that would have been traditional. With all that water about you might be better veneering ply or MDF. However, do make sure you veneer both sides, to equal out the forces. Otherwise the gluing on of a layer of veneer could easily cup your board (unless is is held flat in place with a fixing or joint of some sort).

Hope that helps.

Nick

 

[dewi]

Nick

Thanks for the advice

I have been reading so many articles on the web regarding veneering that it seems impossible choosing the best - some say ply is the worst to veneer on and 'wood' is best - also the adhesives they recommend are different - I am in enough trouble with 'her who must be obeyed' now without boiling up foul smelling animal based glues in her kitchen - my health insurance would not cover me for that -

I got 4 sheets of 1" ply I was going to use - would that warp if I veneered one side only??

Also if I do make it out of the plywood vacuum would be almost impossible -


when I first considered veneer over staining I assumed that a contact adhesive would be all that was required - about 5 years ago I did the concrete floor of our cloakroom/hall 12' x 10' by fitting (sticking and masonry nailing ) 1/4 MDF and then hundreds of parquet (I think thats what it's called) hardwood tiles - they are about 8.5" x 3" and about -1/8" thick - I coated the MDF and cement floor and then later the tiles and MDF with Evostick 528 let them dry then fitted them and that is solid - no hollow bits - tap it and its like hitting a wall

Veneering - anyone that can advise me here please do so - and if I am talking rubbish tell me that as well

1) Is vacuuming really required ?

2) It does not seem to me that the vinyl they use does anything but seal the vacuum - it being so flexible that it in itself cannot put any real pressure on the veneer - just pull the air out between the substrate and veneer -

3) So if (2 above) is correct why cannot the same be done in a length of pipe? I need 8 foot lengths done - SVP 4" or 6" for instance - easy to seal with a stuck on end cap and a screwed one the other end - I would have thought a higher vacuum pressure would be achievable -

4) So now if (2 & 3) are true why does everyone use an expensive vacuum pump ? why not a simple Martinair type pneumatic the cylinder with an NRV fitted? a double acting one would be even quicker - these cylinders can be got cheaply - 4 and 6 inch diameter ones are plentiful - one with 2 or three feet of stroke would not take long evacuating a SVP loaded with timber - and leverage is a wonderful tool with a bar through the clevis I would expect a far higher vacuum pressure would be achievable and much quicker than with one of those little electric pumps

5) If vacuuming is best and I do use timber rather than ply or MDF would I be better off veneering all the faces required and then doing all the machining required - tenons & mortising etc ? or do all that then veneer?

believe it or not despite the large volume of water involved here I doubt the woodwork would ever get wet by spills etc - most of it would be a couple of inches away from the tank - the timber of the unit will not sit on the tiled floor but on feet

the mind boggles

 

[Nick Gibbs]

I think I'm going to have to give this some thought, and probably talk over the phone to discuss this. Could you email me your number? Thanks.

Nick