A little project today...

[EBates]

Looking good greasegizzard

I made a juice rack back when I started mixing my own using scrap wood I had laying around from other projects.

I finished it with a few coats of satin urethane. juice has not affected it in three years. I didn't put anything on the bottom, but it just sits on a wood shelf and doesn't move around much. If I was worried about it I would probably glue a piece of canvas on the bottom.

The draw back to gluing something to your project is leaking tanks. The juice will eventually saturate the material and if it is on one of Momma-Bears tables there will be hell to pay. Been there dun that.

 

[ScottP]

The draw back to gluing something to your project is leaking tanks. The juice will eventually saturate the material and if it is on one of Momma-Bears tables there will be hell to pay. Been there dun that.

If the pad is on the bottom and the wood is coating with a good sealer, then there shouldn't be any saturation. Especially not enough to soak all the way through to the bottom.

 

[Ryedan]

I don't know how the clear will turn out. It's an aerosol clearcoat made for furniture, so we'll see... It's my first attempt at woodworking. After seeing what some sell for, I'm thinking I need to hone my skills a bit and make a few more.

The first coat of clearcoat will likely bring up some of the wood fibers on the surface making it rough. Put it on quite thin as most of it will be absorbed into the wood anyway, specially with pine or spruce. The can will say how long to let it dry between coats. I leave water based urethane for around four hours minimum. If the temperature is below around 45 deg it doesn't dry well, so I take it inside in the winter. Water based products don't have much odor so it doesn't stink up the house.

Lightly sand it with 200-300 grit paper after the first coat to get rid of the roughness and then give it a couple/few more coats. I typically sand with 400 grit between coats, but it's not a requirement. Thinner coats are better than thicker. I have put urethane on thick and it takes days instead of hours to fully harden and probably still isn't as tough.

I always use a brush for this. I would think it might be hard to control how much you get on the surfaces in the openings you cut. Having a small brush handy to use in those areas after spraying might be a good idea.

 

[Ryedan]

The draw back to gluing something to your project is leaking tanks. The juice will eventually saturate the material and if it is on one of Momma-Bears tables there will be hell to pay. Been there dun that.

Yup, there's always a downside to things

You could use only a few dabs of glue so you could easily peel the cloth off and replace it later. Or use stick on felt or rubber/silicone pads like what is used for cabinet door bumpers if you don't want it to slide.

 

[greasegizzard]

The first coat of clearcoat will likely bring up some of the wood fibers on the surface making it rough. Put it on quite thin as most of it will be absorbed into the wood anyway, specially with pine or spruce. The can will say how long to let it dry between coats. I leave water based urethane for around four hours minimum. If the temperature is below around 45 deg it doesn't dry well, so I take it inside in the winter. Water based products don't have much odor so it doesn't stink up the house.

Lightly sand it with 200-300 grit paper after the first coat to get rid of the roughness and then give it a couple/few more coats. I typically sand with 400 grit between coats, but it's not a requirement. Thinner coats are better than thicker. I have put urethane on thick and it takes days instead of hours to fully harden and probably still isn't as tough.

I always use a brush for this. I would think it might be hard to control how much you get on the surfaces in the openings you cut. Having a small brush handy to use in those areas after spraying might be a good idea.

Thanks for the tips. I think I would rather pick up some stuff you brush on. I really want to seal the wood up well and prevent the pine smell from coming out.

 

[zoiDman]

Something else you can do if you used Oil Based Stain.

And that is to rub out everything (but the End Grain) with a Damp piece of 00 Steel Wool. The Moister will raise the Grain and then the Steel Wool smooves it out.

You can also give the stain Highlight which mimic worn finish areas by rubbing harder where you want the Stain to be Lighter.

Best to Try Everything on Scrap Piece of Wood 1st though.

 

[greasegizzard]

I went ahead and put it together today. I decided not to waste time putting any clearcoat on it. This was just a trial run with some junk wood. Now I know what to do and what I want to do different when I get some nice lumber. I also cleaned up the coffee table and made me a little happy place. lol

 

[EBates]

Dun gud, Bud! All of the ones I've made are similar to your base section. Been threatening for a while to break out the router and cut one out that will accommodate my box mods. I got three now and 6 tube mods. Coming soon, maybe.
OBTW I'd suggect not taking pictures of

 

[greasegizzard]

You got cut off, but I assume you were talking about the Visa card in the picture. I think I turned the resolution down enough you can't make the number out. And it's just an empty gift card anyway. Good lookin' out, though!

Dun gud, Bud! All of the ones I've made are similar to your base section. Been threatening for a while to break out the router and cut one out that will accommodate my box mods. I got three now and 6 tube mods. Coming soon, maybe.
OBTW I'd suggect not taking pictures of

 

[greasegizzard]

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to do one like this again. I think the next one will be two levels, but done more like a step, a lot lower profile. And I will make the holes for the tanks big enough to put some cut down juice or prescription bottles in. I think that will be the best way to keep the wood smell from getting into them.

 

[EBates]

Thank goodness, too many problems with folks stealin' other folks CC's