That's Hard Stuff!

Solvent 17 is not exactly exotic, but is a great stripper nonetheless. But there's still something on these spindles that it just wouldn't dissolve. Whatever those spots are made of it's hard stuff that I had to scrape and chip off with my scrappers. Then follow up with more scrubbing with the wire brush. I wouldn't be as worried about the appearance if it was not visible, but this is on a stair case and so it's visible as one looks up into the staircase.

Ray Ladouceur
www.dogwoodtales.com

Need Some Tool Organizamajiggers

It's no secret. I am a slob. But in my defense, when it comes to working on things at a job site and not in my own workshop it's difficult for me to keep things neat and organized when I don't have better tool boxes, bags and other organizers...

Who am I trying to kid. I'm a slob in my workshop too.

I guess I need some better organizing stuff in my shop too - lol.

Honestly, though, I am looking for ideas/suggestions.

Ray Ladouceur
www.dogwoodtales.com
www.floorrefinishingcincinnati.com

Solvent 17

Solvent 17

I was having trouble getting all this old finish off the spindles to the staircase I'm refinishing. The more generic stuff from the home center wasn't cutting it well. Sanding and scrapping alone works okay, but still is not sufficient or efficient. There must be at least three layers of stuff on these spindles evidenced by the various colors I see as I cut through to the bare wood.

So I called Cincinnati Color Co. and asked for their advise. They recommended a product they carry called Solvent 17. So I tried an internet search for "Solvent 17 stripper" which brought up a few, how should I say? ... unintended results.

I picked up this Solvent 17 from Cincinnati Color Co. yesterday and I must say this is the best, um, stripper I've ever seen or worked with. There is still something under the finish that does not respond well to even this solvent 17 and small specs of it are left behind to be scrapped off. I think it may be some kind of compound or maybe even a heavily leaded paint. Outside of that little nuisance I can gladly say that Solvent 17 is so good it will take the old off your grandma.

A Delectible Find - for a woodworker

Today I started refinishing a set of steps and the handrail in the rectory of an old German Catholic Parish.
I started with the post. I tried using lacquer thinner and stripper to remove the old finish and stain.
Whatever is there is tough stuff as it didn't respond well to either one. Although the lacquer thinner proved to be more effective.
Here is the post as it was when I started.

I think that there may be more than one type of finish involved. This is very likely as there was probably three different layers of stuff I could see as I was stripping off the old finish. When it comes to the how of how to strip off an old finish there is typically some sort of a solvent involved. But in the end it comes down to good ol' elbow grease - especially when you have something like this and you want to preserve the original detail of the moldings.

At any rate, take a look at this! I stripped off the old finish with a plan to simply refinish with a gel stain and look what I found!

I believe this is a type of figured maple, such as birds eye maple. It's not exactly like the birds eye maple I've seen before, but very close to it.

And here is a slightly closer look at the figured grain.

It seems to me that the original intent was that this figured grain was to be shown off because it's on all eight sides of the post. Over time and improper refinishing it somehow ended up be covered and forgotten. Pity - but a sweet find for me today! I am making changes to my refinishing plan now. This post will soon be the woodworking highlight of the hallway.


Ray Ladouceur
www.dogwoodtales.com

Refinishing An Old Banister

Soon I will be refinishing some steps in the rectory of a very old German parish. Refinishing the steps is just par for course in floor refinishing, but along with those steps I will be refinishing the banister/hand rail and the spindles.
I'm really looking forward to that part of the project. It will be a tedious job involving some power sanding, hand sanding and the use of chemical strippers to get the old finish out of the moldings, but I'm looking forward to accomplishing the end product.
I strongly suspect that there are various species of wood involved, so a gel stain will be required for uniformity in color.
In addition to that I may even apply a dye first to obtain a more uniform base too.
I'll have to see what's what before I make a final decision on that though.
I will post pictures of the project, so stay tuned!


wwww.dogwoodtales.com

Top Rack of Dishwasher Does Not Come Out Clean!

It's really annoying when the dishwasher does not clean properly. In my case the bottom rack of the dishwasher was cleaning well, but the top rack of the dishwasher was not coming out clean at all. In fact, the top rack was barely getting wet.

When this happens the wash water is not being cycled correctly or completely.
The possible causes are either there is a clog somewhere in the system, or there is a problem with the pump. Fortunately in my case the problem was a clog - easier and cheaper to correct.

The clog can be anywhere in the system path from the pump up to the sprayer at the top of the dishwasher. In my case the clog was at the food chopper down near the pump. It's relatively easy to get to, with a little patience:-) But it helps a lot to know what to expect.

This video features a Kitchen Aid dishwasher Model # KUDS03STWH3.
Even if you have a different model dishwasher this video should help give you an idea of what to expect and how to do things.




While you are going through this process it's a good time to give the dishwasher a good cleaning. A clean dishwasher produces cleaner dishes. Using vinegar in the dishwasher will help to clean out the systems in general, but vinegar alone will not give it the dishwasher the cleaning it may need from time to time. A dishwasher can accumulate a lot of build up grime and just plain gunk from food and hard water. The only way to really clean the dishwasher well is to give the dishwasher a good scrub down. This video shows you how to do that too.

Here is a picture of some of the crud I cleaned out of my dishwasher just today (March 16, 2014). Yes, that is a pick for things like nuts. The rest is pieces of broken plastic from the dishwasher silverware rack, pieces of wrapper, bone fragments from meals, a tooth pick and just junk. I have kids. Do I need to elaborate?

I hope that you find this video helpful.
Please let me know if helped you with your dishwasher.
Please subscribe! - There are many other helpful videos posted and yet to come.

This is what a good power assisted flush toilet can do for you - not to mention some good laxatives!

This is a funny video of a baby and what she does with her oatmeal.
I think I might pass on seconds myself!