No Comment #2 - Dem Legs

I admit it, I nearly forgot to get back to the remaining build videos of the Tim Burton table! mea culpa...

This episode goes over the legs; not going to go over the actual shaping process as that's just rasping, but do cover how they were designed and laid out and something useful for anyone making a table: how to easily level it.

Next episode will cover the finish as I did that before assembly. Since I'm going to the shop after this post to work on finishing Angle Madness, it shouldn't take forever for the next episode :)

No Comment #2 - Table Top

Normally a panel for a table is pretty trivial to put together: surface, joint, glue, done!  While that's not always the case, it would be the Cliff Notes version.

The table top for the Tim Burton table is another story with all the shaping on the underside, scalloped edges, and that it is a demi-lune pattern fanning out from a center.  In this build video, I'll talk about why Dominos were used (not actually needed on a Cliff Note panel), how the ramp for the router works, and some of the aspects of laying out where the wedges come from.

This episode doesn't cover the finishing as that will be covered in another episode.

As always, thanks for watching...

No Comment #2 - The Full Build

Finally!  There, thought I'd say it for you since I've been saying it all week :)

I had a lot of fun with No Comment #1.  Enough that I'd thought to continue the series with a small but fun build aptly named No Comment #2 (clever, no?).  Like No Comment #1, I won't tell you what I'm building.  This video is a full project build from start to finish in high-speed sections and multi-cams to keep you busy watching instead of snoozing!  Guess as you watch it what I'm making.  Some clues have appeared on this blog to, you know, build intrigue.  My version of foreshadowing!

Unlike No Comment #1, I'll be following up this initial build video with videos detailing different aspects of the build.  There were some interesting techniques used in this build that can be applied to many of your projects.

If you write a comment on this video here or on YouTube (which I'd appreciate!), please don't put a spoiler in there as to what the project was.  Latest comments appear on the homepage so someone not trying to see the comments may see "hey, nice grain elevator!" and it'll just ruin the effect :)

The video is an hour long although my test victims who previewed many early versions never thought it too long; hopefully it'll be as interesting for you.  Maybe go pee before you hit play!


There are two versions of the video!  It wasn't enough to drive myself batty with all this video editing that I mixed two soundtracks.  One uses the songs you've heard many times on previous podcasts.  The second uses new music!  It's all progressive guitar and rock instrumentals.  It is very much what you'd hear in my shop, especially the newly-found favorite Daniel Bautista.

Since the video is all music between a short introduction and final conclusion, you could always hit mute and play your favorite hair bands if you prefer.

I shook the dust off the walls listening to the guitar edition after rendering it tonight; the middle three songs might be a bit much if you're not into the guitar as much but fear not as the songs after those three are very melodic; modulate with the volume control!

Here's the version with the sounds you've often heard on this podcast:



Here's the guitar version: version 11.0!




While sometimes the scene is messy in the video, what's behind the camera is usually piles of whatever I wanted out of the scene.  Here's a panorama of the shop during some of the shooting (the project was in the house so no spoiler here):

A secondary goal of this video was to get better at video editing, lighting, etc.  The biggest thing I learned is that for the total time of this project, easily 9/10th (or more!) of it was video work, whether it was setting up cameras, correcting clips, editing clips, or figuring out some silly thing I wanted in the video for no other reason than I didn't know how (at the time!) to do it!  This really wasn't that long of a build if you don't have red record lights pointing at you :)

For the curious, here's the info for my dedicated video drives:

Crazy that two 4Tb drives are full of the raw and optimized footage for this thing.  As I render the build videos to follow this one, I'll get to delete some footage.  At one point, I found myself drooling over an 18Tb raid stack.  Someday... (no, Friday! :)

Angle Madness, my other project in process, will continue, too, while I put out detail videos for No Comment #2, as I've recorded a lot of the content for those videos already.  The slow pace of Angle Madness needed an intervention for myself and for you.  Now you know why I was in the dark for so long :)

Review of the Festool RAS-115 Rotary-Action Sander

If you saw my Sculpted Mahogany Vanity series, I used the RAS-115 a lot for shaping the surfaces into very tactile undulating waves.  That's not a normal thing to do, but shows how the RAS combines rapid stock removal, excellent control, and (most important!) dust collection!

As the name suggests, the RAS is a rotary-action sander with no eccentricity (other than any caffeine-induced shakes from the operator trying to finish the vanity late at night).

What makes this Festool different than the others is this is the only one I own that is a go-to tool when you don't expect it; if you have it around, you'll find it in your hands an awful lot.

In this review, I talk about the parts and an optional FiberFix pad used for fiber wheels and polishing heads (for stone, not your car). We'll take it apart so you see the components because not all of them are needed when you use the RAS: you can remove the dust shroud for polishing (this time, your car).

At the end, I'll do a demo of dust collection and shaping similar to what I did to the vanity surfaces; while you won't be doing projects like that, it demonstrates much of the dust collection concepts explained earlier.  Some close-up slo-mo clearly shows how even with the dust shroud in the wrong position, the RAS collects a lot of dust.

In the video, I list some uses; here they are listed in case you didn't have a pencil handy:

• Paint and varnish stripping; use Cristal papers for durability, no loading, and speed
• Shaping wood; use Rubin or Cristal papers.
• Coping; to me this is shaping, but in case you skipped that item
• Honing natural stone tile edges nearly dust free; needs FiberFix pad
• Scuffing or leveling concrete/thin-set; use Saphir paper.
• Cleaning metal including for priming; use Vlies pads (an abrasive pad).
• Coarse sanding of metal; use Saphir
• Smoothing cut metal edges; use fiber disc with FiberFix pad and optional metal dust collection brushes and a spark trap on your dust extractor.
• Polishing using Shinex pads.

There are no polishing heads specifically made for the RAS-115, but the now available Shinex has a number of larger 150mm (6") pads.  They also have an M14 arbor like the RAS pads.  Now the RAS runs from 1,400-4,000 rpm whereas the Shinex runs from 400-2,100 rpm; that means the RAS speeds 1-3 will somewhat match the Shinex speeds 3-6.  Is it as good as having a separate Shinex?  Likely not.  But if you have a RAS-115, you have the option of popping a Shinex pad on it for some polishing situations.  Note that this isn't outlined in the RAS manual as it predates the Shinex and Festool would likely only recommend polishing with the Shinex, not the RAS.  So, your mileage will vary.

Just as a reminder, the RAS-115 comes with a normal power cable (very long one at that!) and not a Plug-It tail like I have; I got that from one of my moles in the UK :) (thanks, mole!)  

Okay, popcorn is ready by now... cue up techno music...

Sculpted Mahogany Vanity - Sculpting!

Finally getting to the sculpting! In this episode, we transfer a pattern I drew to the panels then mark them for pre-sculpting. The pre-sculpting is done with a router so I took the opportunity to give you a side-by-side view of the OF-1400 vs the OF-2200 each working a panel. The dust collection on both is fantastic.

Then comes the sculpting of each panel. In real-time, each panel took close to an hour depending on the complexity.  I won't put you through watching an hour of sanding :)  The clip is about 4 minutes to highlight certain aspects of the shaping process. I have a couple tips to share about using the RAS-115 and RO-90 at the end that get demonstrated.

Lastly, you get to see the three panels side-by-side in a fairly rough state; the embossing will be lowered considerably, but I talk about some effects I can use while they are still pronounced.

This week, I'll work on removing the old vanity as I need to get any plumbing changes done first before planning the depth of the drawers.  My neighbor (my plumber) has been out for a week so I'm behind on this!  Once the drawer sizes are decided, we'll go through doing those.  In spare time (!!) I'll complete the shaping of the panels as they won't be needed until after the drawers are built.

In the video, I mention using Iwasaki rasps and plane files.  I got some of mine through Highland Woodworking. D'oh! I shouldn't have gone there to get the link... there are so many more I'm interested in for other projects :)  Even if you don't plan on shaping anything, I'd recommend getting a set of the very fine files.  With the flat one, you can adjust tenons very quickly, clean mortise sides, and any number of other 'flat' corrections.  You'll be impressed by how they cut.

So scratch-n-sniff an offcut of Mahogany for that right-in-the-action sensation! Cue it up...

Now earlier this week, someone on the FOG had some questions about handling the RO-90 especially in rotary mode.  They wanted to see some raw footage basically so I took the raw footage of sculpting, removed the RAS-115, and sped it up.  Are you an insomniac? This is the cure!  Again, it is raw footage so just me sanding with the RO-90 for 8 minutes... the tune is good, though!

Sculpted Mahogany Vanity - The Start

In looking around the house, I had to ask myself, "self, why is there a granite vanity top in the living room?"  I decided that installing it needs to be the next project.

Now, building the vanity base is no big deal; installing it will be as it means removing the existing builder's vanity, fixing the drywall behind it, chipping away 6 half-tiles that surround the existing vanity so I can put down more to finish the field.  Good grief, reading that is talking me out of it :)

Anyway, today's video is the start of the vanity project.  Building a box and topping it with granite wouldn't be interesting so I decided to sculpt the drawer fronts and sides carrying over the relief to the backsplash.

I'll leave you with the video as I go down to the shop to get the structure dimensioned and assembled :)  wahoo!

UPDATE: this video is about the design and how I plan on shaping the vanity.  Once you've watched this video, head over to a photo update after the sculpting portion is nearly done so you can get a better visual of what that part is about.  It's a contemporary project, but I like those.  If contemporary isn't your thing, check the show-notes for each in the series as I try to cover things that are useful in any project.  Or just play some Angry Birds! :)