Mike's ext'n & renovation (Doors finished-ish)

[AJB Temple]

PS. One of the National Trust restorers I used to know (he's shifted to the US now) told me that in past times, where oak was left bare but had cracks, the old boys (his words) would fill the cracks with melted bees wax from local hives, using the dark wax from discarded bee frames a few years old. He reckoned it worked as a preservative and the summer sun would cause it to soak in. I'd never heard of this before or since, but it does sound plausible.

 

[duke]

What do you call the panelling for the inside of the door? We would call it a bevelled edge shiplap. Looking good!

 

[GaryR]

I'm after opinions. I plan to leave all of the joinery I am making at the moment (2 doors, 3 windows) unfinished. It will be fitting in the oak framing of the sunroom, which is unfinished. I can't see a good reason to set myself up with continuous maintenance issues by applying finish, which would anyway make the joinery look completely different from the oak frames. I expect it all to just weather down to a silvery grey in a few years.

Does anyone have a strong counterargument? A good reason for applying a finish?

Not a strong counterargument since I generally agree that unfinished wood is fine or preferable. That's what I'm doing on my shed. The only exception might be at places like handles and pulls that get a lot of hand prints. Those spaces can get get grimy quickly and are hard to clean on unfinished wood.

 

[Mike G]

Good point Gary. I'll have a think about the ironmongery to try to reduce the impact of that issue.

 

[GaryR]

Another option is a linseed oil based finish with no pigments. We have one made right here in Corvallis, Oregon, by Heritage Natural Finishes. It is the go-to finish for timber framers here in the US. The advantages are that it is not film forming so doesn't trap water and can easily be renewed with additional coats rather than having to be scraped off first. Available online. It is probably too expensive to ship but it would not be difficult to make your own version. The components are fairly readily available (tung oil, linseed oil, beeswax, pine rosin, citrus solvent). It does have a UV blocker which retards silvering but the UV blocker wears out after a few years. Or you can buy/make it without the UV blocker for more rapid aging.

(Sorry to sound like an advertisement. I happen to know the owner, a lovely woman. She is happy to share recipes for her finishes if you have questions).

 

[Mike G]

Another option is a linseed oil based finish with no pigments. .....

I've done linseed oil on oak, Gary, and I learnt a lesson. I won't do that experiment again. Timber frames were traditionally unfinished, or were limewashed. Mine here are all unfinished, and I am going to leave the joinery unfinished too.

 

[Mike G]

Planing the slope without destroying the flat exercised my mind for a while. I came up with a solution, which involved a cove cutter:

I did a lot of planing;

....including a final clean up of the "flat" with a rebate plane:

The final cleaning up was done with a scraper, and, unusually for me, some sandpaper:

I'd left the panels a bit thick:

So I planed off the fields to bring them level with the door stiles and rails:

As I said, I did a lot of planing, considering it was only 4 small boards:

The next task was to fit them, and this was to be with applied beads. The bottom "bead" is more of a cill. Here's a quick mock up so that I could design the final pieces:

.......getting near the image limit, so I'll continue in another post.

 

[Mike G]

The other three sides will be more orthodox beads, ex 10mm x 10mm. I would have liked a small roundover, but I don't have a suitable cutter and had to make do with what I'd got. Unfortunately it ended up looking like a quadrant:

Here's my other router table, for those who haven't seen it before:

Before fitting the panels, I cleaned up the doors. For those into their planing minutiae, this was done with a very sharp number 4 with a tightly set cap iron, because I didn't have the luxury of always planing with the grain:

These panels aren't entirely orthodox. I decided to fit them using expanding foam tape, which is entirely watertight when properly compressed. Unfortunately, you have to work very quickly indeed as the stuff starts expanding as soon as you take it off the roll. This was the only photo I could grab:

The beads were pre-drilled and with the pins inserted. They'd all been cut and planed to final dimensions, and set carefully to hand so they could be fitted speedily:

The positive is that the panel should remain watertight, and is free to move with the moisture levels etc. The downside is that there is a bit of an unfortunate shadow-line behind the beading, which looks a little jarring.

Finally for the day I planed up a bit of 2" oak and started on some weather bars:

I got this far in setting up the top cut, when I realised I needed a little rebate on the back edge, and would need the face I was about to remove as a reference on the router table:

 

[AJB Temple]

Really outstanding job on those panels. I really like them.

 

[AndyT]

Me too. An interesting blend of trad construction and fresh thinking for maximum performance. Look good too!

 

[duke]

Amazing work Mike !

 

[GaryR]

Very thoughtful construction, Mike. I like it. And I may steal the foam tape idea. Something similar is sold here as a "glazing gasket" made of EPDM rubber. Is this about the same as what you used?

Glazing Gaskets

 

[Mike G]

No, Gary, that's standard glazing seal, AKA glazing gasket, as you say. Expanding foam tape is also known by the trade name Compriband over here......

..........and is gap-filling. It's compressed on the roll, but when you take it off the roll it starts expanding, and 2mm tape can end up 15mm or more thick. I use it with oak frame construction because the timber is used green, and shrinks and twists as it dries. If you glazed directly to it with orthodox glazing gasket the glass would break, or gaps would appear.

 

[Phil]

Mike, your second router table - can you post a pic of your adjusting mechanism?

 

[Mike G]

Mike, your second router table - can you post a pic of your adjusting mechanism?

I'll take one this morning, Phil.

 

[Phil]

I'll take one this morning, Phil.

Thanks, appreciated.

 

[Mike G]

Here you are Phil. Firstly, you release the catch to allow you to swing the table up:

Swing it up 180 degrees or more:



Note the position of the steel frame. You then swing this into position under the router, having fitted the right cutter:



Then drop the table into its horizontal position with the legs inserted. You now just turn the handle to raise or lower the cutter:

 

[Phil]

Here you are Phil. Firstly, you release the catch to allow you to swing the table up:

Swing it up 180 degrees or more:



Note the position of the steel frame. You then swing this into position under the router, having fitted the right cutter:



Then drop the table into its horizontal position with the legs inserted. You now just turn the handle to raise or lower the cutter:

Mike, thank you very much, appreciated.

My router table top was built to accommodate the Ryobi and Makita routers. Same size base plate.
Burnt out the Makita. I was about owner number 5.
Ryobi not running well.
Bought a Bosch to replace Ryobi.
Ryobi has a threaded rod with nuts to adjust the height, the Bosch does not hence the interest in your setup.
Slight problem - the base plate on the Bosch is twice the size of the Ryobi, which would probably entail an entirely new top.
A new top = new dust extraction holes, new fence slots, new swivel hinges to lift up top for bit installation, new insert plate.
I now regret rushing in and buying the Bosch instead of taking my time and run the Ryobi till it dies.
It is still in the box next to the router table.

End of hi-jack.
Phil

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Phil, for what it is worth, I have the modern version of Mike's router. You can use a threaded rod (supplied with it) to adjust 'height' from above the table and one Forumite has done exactly that; can't find the reference to it just now.

Edit: was it you Dr.B?

 

[Dr.Al]

Phil, for what it is worth, I have the modern version of Mike's router. You can use a threaded rod (supplied with it) to adjust 'height' from above the table and one Forumite has done exactly that; can't find the reference to it just now.

Edit: was it you Dr.B?

Yes, 'twas I.

https://www.cgtk.co.uk/woodwork/powertools/routertable

Can't remember the last time I used it though: I try to avoid the electric router when possible. The router table is stored at the back of the shed at the mo.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Thanks Al.

 

[Mike G]

When I made that table probably15 years ago, I clamped the switch in the "on" position with a zip tie, temporarily, until I could find the time to bypass it. I'm sure I'll get around to it one of these days.

 

[Phil]

Yes, 'twas I.

https://www.cgtk.co.uk/woodwork/powertools/routertable

Can't remember the last time I used it though: I try to avoid the electric router when possible. The router table is stored at the back of the shed at the mo.

Phil, for what it is worth, I have the modern version of Mike's router. You can use a threaded rod (supplied with it) to adjust 'height' from above the table and one Forumite has done exactly that; can't find the reference to it just now.

Edit: was it you Dr.B?

Thanks Sam and Al.

I have added this to my project list which will only happen when I have finished all the brood boxes and additional roofs (bees) as there are rebates to rout and biscuit slots.

I am not under any pressure this time as the bees are starting to hibernate for the winter.
(Autumn? Winter? 30c today )

 

[Mike G]

I've not had a good run of time at these doors for a while, but they're now done, apart from the glass and fitting. I have fitted the doors to the frame (and taken them out again), so it should just be a question of fitting the frame into place and the doors should drop in without a fuss. We'll see.....

I long ago took the decision that there wouldn't be rebated meeting stiles, and that I would plant on a cover strip to the outside of the slave leaf. Co-ordinating the cover strip with the weather bars meant that I had to make both before fitting either. You've seen the weather bars, so here is the cover strip. It's entirely a router-table item, I'm afraid:

Then because I didn't want to be trying to chisel into the edge of the doors after the cover strip was fitted and sticking out, I fitted the mortice lock. This is keyed alike with 7 other mortice locks around the house, which is why I have decided not to have rebated stiles. The big deal with this mortice is the depth. The square shows its depth conmpared to the thickness of the stile:

I drilled out the waste with a spade bit, but because of the point had to stop 15mm short of the final depth. I got so frustrated trying to get the waste out of the mortice that I grabbed an airline, and in conjunction with the vaccum hose I blew it out regularly. It did a great job:

I swapped to a forstner bit for the last 15mm because as you could see I'd only 6 or 8mm spare under the bottom of the lock. The rest of the latch fitting was plain sailing:

I fitted the hinges to the door, and then tackled the door frame:

Note the arrangement of clamps and off-cut hanging off the joist:

What could possibly go wrong with that lot hanging above my head?

And of course, go wrong it did. One of the clamps let go, and clonked me on the head. That was me done for the day. When work resumed, this is what I was doing:

At this point I fitted the doors into the frame, adjusting the hinges slightly as necessary, and achieved a nice fit. I could then move on to fitting the weather bars and the cover strip. Here is the back of the weatherbars:

And one end, somewhat out of square:

I was going to screw the weatherboards in place with slotted holes to allow for movement, but in thinking about it again I realised that most of the length would be long-grain to long-grain so it could just be glued. With the magic expanding foam there to keep it weathertight, where there was cross-graining across the stiles it wouldn't matter if it wasn't actually fixed. I grabbed a very quick photo mid-glue-up. Obviously the unglued sections are where the weatherbar crossed the stiles:

Having glued the weatherbar in place I could then glue the cover strip on:

Here it is de-clamped the next day:

This is the back of the coverstrip where it meets the weatherbar, and showing the seal:

Finally, I offered the doors up together, adjusted the other weatherbar, and glued it in place:

.

The reason for the angled join between the weather bars is now obvious, I hope.

 

[AJB Temple]

Nice. I like the bottom weather bars. Not fully in love with the quadrant beads, but they will never be noticed again as the doors start to weather and age. I like the idea of the tape fixing the panels. Would that also work with glass?

 

[Mike G]

..... I like the idea of the tape fixing the panels. Would that also work with glass?

Yes, it does. The whole of my sunroom is glazed like that, and these doors (and the windows I'm about to make) will be the same. I also did all of the greenhouse with the expanding foam tape too. It's a brilliant product.

 

[AJB Temple]

Thanks. A