Finishing a set of shelves

[sniks7]

Eek. I have sort of vaguely made a set of shelves with two uprights and six biscuit jointed shevles. And now I have lots of questions.

1. Should I glue them up with Cascamite?

2. Should they be sanded and finished before or after glueing?

3. I live in a very wonky 300 year old house. Should I glue (and screw) the shelves so that everything is at a right angle and then fix the house to the shelves, or should I bodge the shelves to fit the house?

4. Point three wasn't entirely serious: I shall probably stick wedges under one side so that they are straightish.

5. I have no sash cramps. My aim was to use metal brackets to fix the shelves to the wall and straighten them that way. I was going to ask if that would work, but even while typing that in I realised how stupid that would be.

6. Where's a good place to get sash cramps?

7. Has anyone heard of a de-natured screw? I would tend to call that a nail, but I was recommended to get these. I'm using them to pull the very slightly bowed sides straight. Holes are already drilled and countersunk, with little bits ready to go over the top. Where can I get de-natured screws? They are not denatured, they are passivated. My mistake. My house is a war-zone. I bet they won't work.

8. I have no workshop, but I was thinking that the spare room the baby was going to go in could be used. Do you think my wife would mind?

8. A simple set of olive ash shelves have been 18 months in the planning and making. Should I stick to my day job?

Sigh.

 

[MikeG.]

1/ Cascamite would be fine, or PU, or Titebond. You are relying on the strength of the biscuit for all the structural strength in these shelves.........don't put an aquarium on the top shelf!! Next time, house out (cut a slot) the uprights so that the shelves when loaded are pushing down onto timber, rather than trying to snap a biscuit in half.

2/ Partly. Sand and seal (with sanding sealer) prior to gluing........it makes the cleaning up of glue squeeze-out and spillage so much easier. Then a final clean-up and sand prior to finishing. Later, we'll persuade you away from sand-paper altogether!

3/ Yep, make the shelves right angles, then use cover strips or scribing to get rid of the gaps. The shelves should be horizontal and the uprights plumb......and don't forget, we'll be checking the photos!!!

4/ 5/ 6/ If you don't have sash cramps you can still do this. Nylon ratchet straps, available from motorist shops, DIY shops etc for holding loads down....make great alternatives, and are cheap. Three or 4 of those should be plenty.....but be warned, they are so strong that they will crush the edges of your furniture unless you place off cuts or battens in strategic places.

7/ Passivated is only a type of finish to a screw. It doesn't really enhance its performance, only stops it corroding. There is no need for that with ash.....use any old screw (now that you've drilled the holes.......there is no need for screws at all if you house-out as I described earlier). BTW, countersunk isn't a great shape for filling......you really should have parallel-sided holes (ie, a hole!) and a straight sided tight fitting plug, or a slightly tapered (cork-shaped) plug.

8/ No, she won't mind.

8/! Yep, but have this as a hobby.....it's great! So are we here on the forum, so stick with woodwork, stick with us, and post plenty of photos!

You haven't mentioned what sort of finish you are planning for this ash. My standard advice.......avoid Danish Oil and Linseed oil on ash. It looks great for a few weeks, then starts to turn a yukky pee-yellow/ orange colour. You choice of finish will possibly alter the advice in 2/ above.

HTH

Cheers

Mike

 

[sniks7]

Many thanks for the advice! I feel another couple of months, give or take a year, should see this project finished.

The screw rebates are cylindrical (I assume that's not countersunk) and I have lots of little plugs to fill them with. And a nice sharp Granfors to trim them with..

I was going to finish with shellac, because in two books-worth of Charlesworth advice, that's about the only bit I understand. However, I'm still trying to work out how to buy shellac.

Glad to know that passivated screws aren't essential. I like my screws savage and moody.

 

[sniks7]

how do I finish without using sandpaper?! Does anyone know a good place to get shellac and decent sandpaper?

 

[AndyT]

It's a well-known tip but worth repeating - an easy and cheap alternative to sash cramps:

Find a bit of reasonable strongish wood (an old floorboard is ideal). At each end, screw a batten across at right angles. Make the gap between the battens two or three inches longer than the total width of the timber you need to clamp.

Cut a pair of 'folding wedges' - two matching wedges of the same slope.

Put your glued-up boards in between the battens and knock the wedges in opposite directions with a hammer in each hand.

There's probably a picture on line somewhere that will make that clearer!

Enjoy.