I will add new vids to this as the project progresse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-c8-1DoO4w

Cheers,

Gary

Hi Gary

I think this new project of yours is great for two reasons: First, it is of a rather long duration, giving you something you can get involved in, and giving you pleasure along the way. Secondly, this burl is a real beauty, and will a magnificent piece. This a just one more aspect of your very diverse abilities. I am looking forward to viewing the finished product.

Bernie

A real renaissance man, for sure. In my VERY BRIEF time in a shop class, I had the best student build two small benches (basically three pieces of wood nailed together).

He kept the best one for his project: I bought the "B" one.Best shop grade I ever had.

One of the very best things about Gary is, he's as good a friend as you'll ever have.

I appreciate you, Friend!


Russ

Thanks guys, I truly appreciate your friendship over the years.

Gary

Here's the progress to the test piece of red oak using the same procedure I intend to use on the larger project. Playing it safe by doing some small, test pieces of wood that I can afford to mess up.



Gary

Hi guys! Very cool, Gary, make it purty! I have been selling firewood and all that acquiring and processing firewood entails for several years as a hobby. Not any money in it, just something to keep me active and also puts me in the woods, which I like. And like dealing with various woods. And love running a chainsaw, lol. There is an oak tree on some of my land that has the largest burl on it I have ever seen. Would be measured in feet, not inches. Is on the side of the trunk but it's over my head. I keep waiting for the tree to get toppled by a big wind. Which happens. If not, someday, I might take it down. Big trees like that die anyway. They die all the time. Various things get them. Around here, the large oaks are dying. Plus, the winds get them. Anyway, it would make a heckuva table. Cheers!

Bill, give it a shot - I know you will love the end results.

Good luck,

Gary

Glad you’re back at it, Gary. I was never much of a handy man, so I envy your skills!

Thanks Paul. Today, I will be staining the sides of the oak board, which will need at least two more days to dry before applying the epoxy finish. Thus far, it is really looking like it will come out incredible. I hope to have a finished product on this piece by the end of the week.

All the best,

Gary

Just caught the video. Very cool project. Great to see !

Just finished touching up the edges of the oak slab, and I will likely wait another day or two before applying the epoxy finish. It will likely take two coats, which will be applied 3 days apart, then just a bit of compound buffing and an application of clear coat and attaching the legs. Gonna make a neat end table if everything turns out right.

As soon as the oak end table is finished, I'll start on the mappa burl table, which will probably take a month or more to finish. My wife thinks I'm crazy for getting into this at my age - she's probably right.

Cheers,

Gary

Congrats Gary on your enthusiasm. Can't wait to see the final results!

Thanks Jim. Still have several days of work to do, then I have to wait for the legs to arrive that I ordered. The legs are custom made by Flowey Line Design

All the best,

Gary

I finally applied the finish coat of epoxy to the oak, end table, and now it is a 2 week wait for the legs to arrive from California, which will complete the assembly. Keep in mind this is just a test piece of wood, and the next step will be to make an electric guitar body for my son, who is an avid guitar player. I will be using a piece of Matta Burl, which is what the larger slab is made of and the final project. The guitar body will be a real challenge for this crippled up old codger. But, I ain't dead yet!

Getting there! Looking forward to the finished product. Glad you survived the chemicals and sanding dust! Good luck on the guitar next. Admire your ambition. Jim

Jim, thanks for the encouragement. No problems with the epoxy, no fumes or chemical odor, and it is food safe. As for the sanding dust, I solved that problem my purchasing a special vacuum hose that connects to my sanders and sends the dust directly to my shop vac. I don't think my lungs could handle sanding dust.

More to come,

Gary

Update: I finally finished the slab of oak to make an end table - however, the gel stain rejected the epoxy finish, therefore, I had to sand it all off down to bare wood and begin anew. I re-stained the slab with a water based stain, switched to a new, table top epoxy, and the results were incredible. Here's a video of the finished project, minus the legs which are due to arrive in about a week from New South Wales.



I just started the guitar project, using a small slab of mappa burl, which is an incredibly expensive wood from a poplar tree found in western Europe. I sanded it down to 5,000 grit, rounded the edges a bit, then wiped the slab with a tack cloth, which removes the tiniest particle of dust or debris. I then applied a coat of water based, black dye with a sponge brush to the top side of the guitar body, which I must allow a few hours of drying time before applying the same stain to the back of the slab. Then it's a 2 day wait until everything is completely dry before applying the epoxy finish. After the epoxy finish dries, it will be a three week wait until the neck arrives from China, at which time I will rout out the neck attachment area, then begin working on inserting the two pickups and basic electronic controls. Keeping my fingers crossed on this one. I hope to give the guitar to my son for a birthday present.



I'll update this link in the next few days, when I apply the epoxy finish. I think this will be a very unique and beautiful, electric guitar.

Gary :Cool:

I just applied the first coat of epoxy to the guitar body, and despite the fact that I cleaned it with a tack cloth, there were still some spots/dust bubbles that appeared. I'll sand it again down to 5,000 grit, clean it with alcohol and a tack cloth and apply a second coat, which should solve the tiny bubble problem.



Gary

Quite a project, Gary, but not totally non music related :-) had you been my neighbor, I'd be bugging you all the time... well, now I see why you chose a house with no neighbors :-)

I have neighbors, but the nearest neighbor is more than 300 feet away. They stop by once in a while, and one of them hunts deer and wild turkey on the wooded area of my land. The projects are coming along and today, I will be working on the back side of the guitar body. The real challenge will be placement of the neck, which is a Gibson stratosphere copy that bolts in place. Keeping my fingers crossed.

All the best, my Russian friend,

Gary

I put the finishing touches on the red oak end table, attached the legs and it tips the scale at about 50 pounds. The legs of made of welded steel and finished with flat-black crackle paint.

As it turns out, the guitar project didn't go as planned. While the slab I finished for the body looks fantastic, it's, unfortunately, not thick enough to allow the Fender guitar neck to be fit in place and also the electronics were project too high above the face of the body. Therefore, I will order some table legs and turn it into a beautiful, end table. Not a total loss. What is really neat is when you look at the wood from different anglers, it changes the appearance of the grain pattern, somewhat like a hologram.

Another fun day in Paradise,

Gary