Free hard wood

[White House Workshop]

Just a point on finishes - I couldn't get hold of any danish oil in a hurry so I'm using tung oil (component of danish oil anyway). I use a 50-50 thinned mix for the first coat, dry 24 hrs, second thin coat of neat oil, dry 24 hours, rub out with 0000 wool, another coat of oil, leave a week to dry, buff up. that gives a nice satin finish. Higher gloss can be achieved with more coats and rubbing - but it's going in the kitchen!

Looks really great... In the picture below the one on the left had its second coat of oil this morning and will be buffed tomorrow, the one on the right has been sanded and rubbed with 0000 wool - waiting for first coat of oil. They're 'acclimatising' now.

 

[Lark]

wow not to bad at all
i don't drive lol would been good wood for me to practice and learn
win some lose some

 

[rjrl101]

We've had lots of info about these now, those pictures really show the potential of these benches once cleaned up, but I don't think anyone's mentioned the working height of the tops when they're on the stands. Any chance you could stick a tape on for me RJ?

We found two different heights of table when we visited. The legs we brought home were either 775 mm or 825 mm long. The table top adds about another 25 mm to the height. I wish there had been more time to cut down the legs when we were there so we could have fitted more into the van.

 

[LocalOak]

Those worktops look great, thanks for the pics. I've got a practical question though :?:

I'm going to pick up about a dozen next week (don't worry, I checked with [Edit due to finger trouble] Sarah and there are about 300 left) and I wonder what size van I'd need.

I gather the tops come off but do the legs break down at all? If not, can they stack more easily with the tops off?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Toby

 

[digitalbot]

Hi rjrl101.

Those tops look real good.
What did you take the tops down with? Being a newbie at this ...maybe a belt sander? Or would that be too aggressive/coarse?

 

[wizer]

I wish there had been more time

What restricted your time? Are they keen to get you out or did you need to be elsewhere?

 

[rjrl101]

Those worktops look great, thanks for the pics. I've got a practical question though :?:

I'm going to pick up about a dozen next week (don't worry, I checked with [Edit due to finger trouble] Sarah and there are about 300 left) and I wonder what size van I'd need.

I gather the tops come off but do the legs break down at all? If not, can they stack more easily with the tops off?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Toby

The tops are affixed to the 'bottoms' with a number of small metal brackets and screws. With a cordless drill and some pozi and slot bits and it's easy to separate them.

I don't think it's possible to dismantle the legs without damaging them in a way that would impair their reassembly - though we didn't have time to try and haven't broken any down since we got them home. We encountered at least three different types of legs but the common factor was that they all had an 'I' of bracing pieces near the floor and that their overall volume with tops removed is 1080 x 500 x 775/825 mm. Joints on the ones we brought home were mortice and tenon, some with with dowels through them too. You can see their construction in this pic and maybe get some ideas for how to most efficiently stack them.

How they were stacked in the warehouse (whole, with tops) was pretty good as it put three tables in just a little over the volume that two take up. Also when you go - have a look around first. There are several large herds of these tables of varying pedigree in different locations!

We took a LWB high roof Transit as the hire cost was only £12 more expensive than that for a small Transit.

 

[rjrl101]

Hi rjrl101.

Those tops look real good.
What did you take the tops down with? Being a newbie at this ...maybe a belt sander? Or would that be too aggressive/coarse?

Scraper thingy to attack the chewing gum, then heat-gun and different scraper thingy to remove the coating of general gunk, stickiness and some of the existing finish. White House Workshop, I think, said he used a plane for this stage. After this, a belt sander with 80, 100 and 120 grits was used to remove carved graffiti, scratches and to work up to a decent finish. Yes, it's quite aggressive - piles of gingery dust everywhere - but that was what was needed to get through all the damage. Finally a buzz with 180 grit on the orbital sander.

I wish there had been more time

What restricted your time? Are they keen to get you out or did you need to be elsewhere?

Trying to get into Hereford to collect the van in the morning delayed us by nearly an hour due to utterly awful traffic! We then had limits on the time we needed to be back home for. In the warehouse we were pretty much left to our own devices. No pressure to quickly load the van and leave or anything.

 

[LocalOak]

thanks rjrl101, thats a great help. The irony is that I'm getting a van from Hereford too... Maybe we should have got an artic :lol:

And the pics are great, you did a really good job on them. Dealing with the ones I've got to do will take a while....


Toby

 

[White House Workshop]

Hi rjrl101.

Those tops look real good.
What did you take the tops down with? Being a newbie at this ...maybe a belt sander? Or would that be too aggressive/coarse?

Scraper thingy to attack the chewing gum, then heat-gun and different scraper thingy to remove the coating of general gunk, stickiness and some of the existing finish. White House Workshop, I think, said he used a plane for this stage.

I did use a plane - to keep the dust down. Started off with a #4 but on the second one I switched to rough cleaning with a #3 then finished with a #5. That left the surface good enough to only need an orbital sanding with 150 grit to take out any minor marks. Final sanding was by hand along the grain with 320 grit for a smooth finish. I cleaned up the edges only with sanding and I ran 60 grit over the undersides for a quick clean-up.

 

[beech1948]

Hi All,

I am going to Corby to get some of this ex-school worktops this Friday. I have already got an order from one member so I have a little free space for another request.

I live close to Reading and will be travelling from Reading to Corby via Northants and will be returning via M1....possibly Potters Bar...and M25/M4 to Reading area.

Gary S earlier requested a bench but has not replied to my PMs ( he's in Potters Bar I believe) so if there is no reply from him by lunchtime Thursday I have room for an extra :-
1xbenches
20 more tops and bases. Provided the bases are sawn through to separate the legs and rails. Damn I just realised that that was a committment of energy..

Let me know by PM asap if interested and within reasonable travelling distance of Reading - Corby - Reading.

I would like to have any petrol costs covered but this will not be much and is unlikely to exceed £5 unless you live somewhere that is miles away from my route...and I am feeling overly generous.

best regards
alan

 

[Shultzy]

Went to see this "Alladin's Cave" of wood only to find its really a woodworker's wonderland of timber. Thanks to Bobscarle who took me and LocalOak, who had hired a van and filled it to the brim, for their help. I'm sure that an artic wouldn't have been big enough for what we wanted.

The bench frames are only dowelled together so after drilling out they came apart pretty easily. Be aware that one of my bench tops had some "planer friendly" staples embedded in the wood.

There plenty still there even after many forum member have already gorged themselves on this extravaganza

PS I also found a nice 53E, could have had two but didn't want to be greedy

 

[LocalOak]

Yup, a good day, if a long one, filling a Luton with all sorts of things with Shultzy and Bobscarle.

What I would say is keep your eyes open for other things, there are hundreds of desks and all sorts of cupboards, one or two really long workshop type cupboards that would be fantastic down the side of a workshop, and we came away with a 4'x5' 12 cubbyhole cupboard that they have in schools, perfect for toys and stuff in a kids room.

May well head back when the next phase of the kitchen renovation project requires more wood, the legs of the famous science benches themselves contain large amounts of excellent beech, if there are any beech turners out there they could be very interesting.

An excellent day, but be aware that you could well end up with more than you bargained for

Toby

 

[Digit]

Oooh! I'm beginning to hate you lot! :lol:

Roy.

 

[LocalOak]

Roy, that is a perfectly reasonable and rational response.


But a luton [edit] you really do want one with a tail lift [/edit] isn't that expensive to hire and it was a fun, if exhausting, day out...

Toby

 

[Digit]

Yep, but thanks to Gordon wanting to save the planet by putting us all off the road I can't afford the hire and the fuel.
I shall just have to keep the hate thing going! :lol:

Roy.

 

[9fingers]

I spoke to Sarah today as I was considering a visit but she only has very few benches left now. So it looks like one way or another we have cleaned her out of stock.

Maybe there will be more coming later??

Bob

 

[wizer]

ooops

 

[9fingers]

ooops

Not a problem really - I did get a few tops and frames in January. It is now that I've had a chance to think about projects, I could have used some more.

Bob

 

[wizer]

tis for those of us who didn't get a chance to go up yet :wink: