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  1. BillK

    Has anyone used this crystal clear shellac.

    You could ask the maker for the MSDS, that'd tell you what's in it - might have to decipher some chemical names, or the important bits might be obvious. Or might find it on some shop's website. Makers are (I think) supposed to supply an MSDS if a thing is 'dangerous' so solvents would fall under...
  2. BillK

    Exhaust refurb

    A strip & clean disc aka poly strip disc on an angle grinder or drill would take most off and quickly, brass wheel brush for the bits around the seams and suchlike that the fat discs can't get at. Strip discs are meant for the job without taking off lots of metal, but still go with a lighter...
  3. BillK

    Crisp glue lines in maple

    I just use Titebond Original, no issues with that. It can be a bit of job to find the join line to draw it with a pencil sometimes. With maple guitar tops a translucent paint shows up any line a good bit worse than the bare wood, all been good with the TB so far
  4. BillK

    Would you buy a grade 2 listed cottage?

    Just moved out of a Grade 2 listed house. We found the level of hassle was a roll of the dice, dependent on the quirks of the individual/s dealing with an issue. It was a great house full of character but no way are we ever going listed again.
  5. BillK

    Help me with my first ever mig welds, why do they look like Swiss cheese and will I ever improve (cry for help after being demolished on Reddit)

    Is it a new or s/h machine? If s/h is the tip & shroud new and if not, is it clear of crusty mess. Using an auto-darkening lid? Sometimes they include a cheapie not-convenient 'face shield' with new MIGs and you're far better off with an auto mask. Thinner steel might be better to start off...
  6. BillK

    Bobbin sanders

    I have some that are a bit of a loose fit. Not sure if moisture has got to them and they expanded a smidge, but not all sleeves in sets have been loose. I've wound 3M blue painter's tape around the rubber bobbins, in a spiral like on a drum sander. Trim after. Doesn't have to be 100%...
  7. BillK

    For Sale Withdrawn for now: Axminster AC250PT planer thicknesser (Cambs)

    *** withdrawn for now - workshop move soon *** Axi AC250PT for sale, little used, it's still on it's first set of knives. Was last used a 2-3 months ago, it's all good to go but might want a setting up in it's new home. It comes with an Axi wheeled base, has the digit depth readout added, and...
  8. BillK

    Coloured epoxy - Small amounts

    I do this quite often with wood dust or spirit-based stains sometimes. Wood dust gives an opaque solid look, with stains it's translucent. At least depending on thickness of fill, amount of tint and darkness of colour I suppose. Just don't add too much stain vs the epoxy amount, it shrinks a bit...
  9. BillK

    Homemade drum sander

    I have one, very useful to me (make guitars) and wouldn't be without one. Biggish blanks or sub-2mm plates, good with figured wood. Extraction is very effective, virtually nothing escapes (half-round section hood, quite close-fitting). Mine is manual push, didn't bother with power feed and...
  10. BillK

    2mm diameter drill bit bends?

    I use a solid carbide stub-type bit for exactly this. You only need to go in a few mm anyway, 3-4 is plenty, but my bit has about 15-20mm flute on it. Side dots have been punched from celluloid sheet back in the day, so very shallow, there's no real advantage to going more than a few mil. I...
  11. BillK

    Compressors and dust

    The inlet filters will probably stop wood dust or most of it, but they're not super-fine filters. Paint overspray can make it's way in and eventually clog the reed valves. When this happens the comp builds very slowly and probably doesn't reach cutout pressure, so runs & runs. This happened to...
  12. BillK

    Thicknessing small pieces of wood

    I've used a sled or baseboard to put small pieces through p/t or drum sander, also a mini self-contained router sled: make a base, add side rails screwed to the outer ends under the base. Pic below with luck.. D/s tape or hot glue the pieces to a flat surface and skim them with the router. I've...
  13. BillK

    An introduction to the Overhead Router

    The hoops structure is amazing Scotty. Everything I do is small, or small and fiddly both. Love to see that kind of thing, as well as everything that gets made around here. My good mate badgered me to get an overhead and so glad I did. I've seen some in the premises of well-known makers, they're...
  14. BillK

    An introduction to the Overhead Router

    That Wadkin looks great. I have an Elu overhead router, it had a MOF11 in with too much runout. Luckily found a Dewalt for it (627). I look out for them to have one for backup but they're rare as an honest politician. I use the pin with some fixtures but I do most of my template routing on it...
  15. BillK

    Danish oil / Superior Danish oil ?

    Superior as in the Liberon one? It's very clear is the main thing, not yellow/brown - keeps the wood colour well:
  16. BillK

    First mitre saw, EVO SMS255+ or Bosch GCM8?

    Dunno if that was particularly meant re my post but doesn't matter, sometimes you don't know what you got till you tried it. Sometimes you have to buy what you can afford instead of best of breed. Nowadays there's usually forum posts & feedback on everything under the sun so it's easier to get...
  17. BillK

    First mitre saw, EVO SMS255+ or Bosch GCM8?

    I had an Evo saw, while not top drawer quality it did a fair bit of work, but died recently. Wasn't super accurate but I didn't need that really. Felt like there was a small amount of play or maybe some flex. The back fence wasn't anything near straight but a fat rubber mallet sorted that out...
  18. BillK

    Cutting Aluminium sheet with track saw

    @Sideways I did chop the beams on an Evo sliding mitre saw, which has since died. It was very handy for years but beyond me to figure out what was wrong with it. The cuts were never that clean in ally though but was a pretty cheap saw I guess, some deflection or slop in it. Bandsaw on the blocks...
  19. BillK

    Cutting Aluminium sheet with track saw

    A bandsaw chops ally easily, I got an M42 blade but also a standard blade worked fine - it was wearing out anyway so didn't worry about damage or ally smearing on it's teeth. Only thing was it wasn't so good tracking straight through the thicker bar parts (15, 25, 30mm) - just going slow and a...
  20. BillK

    Invisible glue line

    I used pear for a guitar body once, with central laminations. Titebond original, all was good, no visible lines. The pear looked pretty boring dry but showed patches of flame & more character when wetted, also seemed to bruise very easily, like any slight dink showed dark under a finish.
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