Kinetic River Cinema - Page 18

I finally got my additional router fence done today. Im using 1" Laminated MDF. Material has been mortised out to fit a miter rail on each side. I then took it to the drill press along with the original fence to ensure the holes are exactly lined up. Then used a counter-sink bit so the bolt can sit flush.





Got home and put one side on, fit perfectly.



The feather boards that I have fit as well.



A few more shots with my chair rail bit. The whole reason behind this was to get a fence that would fit bits up to 3".









Not too exciting, but updates nonetheless. It's a bit painful waiting for my Walnut to be dried.

The tall fence definitely comes in handy.

And I FINALLY found my favorite Shellac that I have been unable to track down for weeks......

I started messing around with finishing the Maple Burl. The first batch of Ferrous Sulfate was made maybe a tad too strong, but we'll see.

Just a little of the FS goes a long way, the danger is that too much will turn the wood gray. I need to find that sweet spot. Once I do that i will probably add some dye to the solution, instead of going forward with a separate step.

Not sure if you can tell in the picture, but there is a bit of gray in the figure. I need to cut the FS with some more Distilled water. It's just trial and error. Once I get the color and the 3D like appearance then i will finish with a true French Polishing using my blonde shellac flakes. I'll post everything as i go along. Thanks for following.

The shellac is way more than I need. To answer your question, it will be a finish. I will be doing a "French Polishing" finish with the shellac. The shellac will be mixed with a 1/2 lb. cut, which means I will use 8oz. of shellac for every gallon of denatured alcohol. Depending on how my test pieces turn out, I may actually take my Tung oil finished walnut and do the same finish. I have some time to mess around with it while all of my Walnut drys.

Here is a quick article on French Polishing that will explain it better for those interested. I do mine a little different but this is the idea...

http://woodworking.about.com/od/finishing/p/FrenchPolishing.htm

It's actually not going to be all. It will be for the insets of the wainscoting and I will do a "pseudo" french polishing on everything else. The reason being is that I dont want the room to have a mirror like finish. i just want that deep rich color of the Walnut to really stand out.

Round 1

Started mixing dyes to find the right color to achieve this type of finish for the Burl.



I dont want to use the little bit of flat sawn maple that I have so I used Oak, I know they are completely different but I just want to get in the ballpark before I actually test on Maple, and then Maple Burl

(Sample 1): 1 part each - Blue, Red, Yellow. 4 ounces of Distilled Water (DW) per .25 teaspoon.



(Sample 2): 1 part Blue, 2 parts each Red and Yellow. Same dye to DW ratio as Sample 1



(Sample 3): 1 part Blue, 2 parts Red, 3 parts Yellow. 6 ounces of DW per .25 teaspoon



Here are all three samples together





The following pictures are Sample 3 on the Maple Burl sheet that was washed with Ferrous Sulfate (FS)











Conclusion:

Not satisfied with any of the above, but I feel like I have a good baseline. Sample 3 was a good starting point IMO. Obviously this is going to be a tedious process. I do like the contrast once I applied the dye to the Maple Burl, its just not the right hue. I'll continue to post results.

Thoughts are welcome please

Fred-

No flash. And yes, Sample 3 is just a baseline to start from. To get the 3D effect of the piece above I really have to zero in on the FS, that is my best bet to make this work.

That piece is something that I found in the Lumberjock forum. I tried to contact the gentleman that built it, but no response. So the best I can do is trial and error. I do think he is using a more yellow toned dye or shellac. Tomorrow I am going to make another base with less blue. That may give me a better mix to start from than the one from today.

I started fresh with the dyes, taking out a lot of the blue.

Sample 4: 2 pts Yellow, 1 pt Red, and 1/8th pts Blue.

Im getting closer, but not there yet....



Sample 5: 3 pts Yellow, 1 pt Red - Twice the Distilled Water

This one I really like...







I do have the ratio of FS down, and I am done tinkering with that part.

This next sample is with 100% Tung Oil, another one that I really like







And now a few pics with a scrap piece of Walnut







Keep in mind that these have no finish whatsoever, it is strictly coloring. It will really pop once the French Polishing takes shape. It's also a pain in the butt to tape down these pieces of veneer, of course they will be vacuum pressed when I do the real thing.

Testing will continue...

Im really zeroing in on the color/hue now.

Step 1: Applied the FS to get the depth

Step 2: Dye - 2 pts. Yellow, 1/8 pts. Red





Step 3: Dye - 1.5 pts Red, 1/8 pt Yellow, 1/32 Blue







Im so close to nailing it, A little bit more tweaking and I'll have it I hope.

Here are some pics with the contrasting Walnut. Please remember this is done without a top coat(s). So it will be enhanced.









And here are some with some mock panels that I routed. Not the best finish on this walnut as it was a rush job. I just wanted to get a visual of how it would look recessed.









Would love to hear some feedback, thanks.

Edit:

The only paint in the room will be between the coffers in the ceiling, and here is the faux finish I will be doing...


Edited by fax6202 - 11/5/12 at 4:17pm

Havent really thought about carpet, I have no idea what would look good with my woodwork.

That is the exact look I am going for, I may tweek just a bit to better match the Burl finish

Thanks for the comments, know I need to maintain that color/hue throughout the finishing process; that's the trick to all of this.

Not the Shellac that I am using, which is a German Shellac, in Platinum/Ultra light. Its lighter than the blonde.

I will explain, how i've been told/taught.....

However that also brings up the need to always match your color by completing a sample with the coating of choice and as many coats as you need to satisfy your desires in the final look/appearance of the wood. Meaning to get a true measure of how your wood will look you need to go all the way. With mine, I have achieved the color from dye that I want but I may have to tweak it because that is only part of the finishing process. There will be subtle shifts of color with every coat that is applied which will affect the end color appearance!! What you believe or think is an end color you like in dye, may not be like-able once the entire finishing is done. This is mainly because the solvent/carrier, in this case water but true of all, adds a darkness to the colorants which when evaporated will not look the same. This again "is a must", not a suggestion!! The refraction properties change along with the DOI [distinction of image] and depth and other qualities of the visual looks. You "can not" be successful in color matching without doing this. You will fool yourself by just dyeing the wood and nothing else. All of this can be pretty complicated stuff, I am fortunate enough to have those around me that "really" know their stuff. Im still learning myself for sure!

To your question. No sir, I do not think it will change much at all, but I need to find out first hand before I set in stone a specific dye I have mixed up.

That is exactly what Im looking for, and thanks. It's always good to hear others opinions and I always appreciate any feedback, good or bad!

Thanks for weighing in JPA. I think most would agree, as yellow is not a very desirable shade in wood. At least IMO. I think some of what you are seeing is the reflection of light, as it is mostly the colors you like, the deep rich reds and browns. I don't know how many sample pieces of burl ive been through but I probably could have finished my room with it.

Another thing that needs to be considered is how the rich color will fade over time, its something that can't be stopped.

But as I said a few posts ago, I am going to keep testing and tweaking, as I have time waiting for some of my Walnut to be dried.

Take break up the woodwork talk I have my lighting plan.

Thanks to my buddy Tim (TMcG)

A brief zone summary:

1. ZONE 1 - Perimeter lights - Qty. 9 - 3" recessed lights built into your perimeter soffit and centered on the fabric areas. The rear corner lights can "split the difference" between the side and rear walls. The two lights between the side columns should be put on the 1/3s between those two columns.
2. ZONE 2 - Screen wash lights - Qty. 5 - 3" recessed lights built into the perimeter soffit. These should be as close to the front bulkhead as possible but without blocking the beam propagation of the recessed lights so you may illuminate the screen with light wash
3. ZONE 3 - Column lights - Qty. 6 - wall sconces mounted on the columns
4. ZONE 4 - Coffered Ceiling - Qty. 9?? - 3" recessed lights built into the intersections of the planned coffered ceiling. You may want to add a separate zone above the seating only if you would like to read, work on the laptop, etc. while in the theater without interfering with the picture.
5. ZONE 5 - Perimeter Soffit - Rope lighting - If you get the 120v. incandescent version of this "fixture", you can dim automatically through the Grafik Eye. RGB LED versions are available, but would have to be controlled via a separate credit-card sized remote.
6. ZONE 6 - Step lights - Qty. 4 recessed into the step OR Qty. mounted on the side walls and casting a soft glow on both the step, riser and ground level simultaneously. Use recessed fixtures similar to what is used for exterior landscape and/or deck lighting for stairs and pathways.
7. ZONE 7 - Speaker Spotlamps - Qty. 3 or Qty 5 - Probably easiest to mount track lighting on the back side of the screen wall, either above or below the screen. Directional spots could then be placed and aimed directly at the speakers (and subs) you wish to illuminate either from above or below.

OPTIONS:
• Break out the light above the door onto its own zone so people can see the door to get in and out.
• Recessed lights for reading directly above each row of seating, broken out separately from the coffered lighting and even by row.

Attached Sketch..

If anyone is interested the following is the first steps into finishing the Walnut....Basically it's a Tung Oil and French Polishing finish.

As for the walnut, one thinned coat 3 parts mineral spirits or turpentine to 1 part tung is all. Sanding to 320 is fine for the final sanding but the higher grades before that final sand are necessary to make sure the wood is glass flat. any waves or imperfections will show themselves if not removed. It's very important to use a cork block or rubber block. The key is to make it glass flat then it will give the wood the same flatness as itself. 320 or finer is needed to polish the wood to a satin finsh so you can look across it at an almost even angle to the light and view to make sure it is flawless before any finishing materials are applied. if you can't see the surface sheen well enough then its probably best to sand up to 400 or even 600. A quick tip that has burnt me, and had to be drilled into my brain by those more experienced around me. Don't ever depend on the finish materials to provide glass flatness, only proper prep can do that beforehand!!

I'll follow the single coat of Tung with shellac after it has dried sufficently, that will be a week or more depnding on how hot or cold the basement is. Once dry I can start to apply the shellac. First coat will be a 1/8th pound cut so as to soak in as deep as possible, the remaining coats will be 1/2 lb cut.

This is all kind of simplified, but i'll post results if anyone is interested. I'm sure those that might be following are tired of my ramblings concerning woodwork and finishing.