Guest on the Protractor Podcast

One of my favorite podcast titled the "Protractor Podcast" kindly invited me to be a guest. If you are interested in listening than subscribe and listen here: http://protractorpodcast.com/freddy-roman/

Enjoy.

T-shirts For Sale

Many people have requested for me to have t-shirts for sale. Well here they are. In stock and ready for sale. I have L and XL currently. But if you are interested in any other size please let me know. I am selling the shirts for $10 plus shipping.

Stripping furniture.

Stripping furniture doesn't always involve using strong toxic chemicals like methylene. Often if the piece has shellac or lacquer as a top coat you could use solvents to strip the piece. But first you will need to know the solvent binder in the finish you are trying to remove. For example the image above is a table top with 2 drop leafs. The finish on the piece has been determined to be shellac. How did I determine the finish? I used a cotton q-tip dipped in solvent to see if the finish would react to a particular solvent.

As we all know denatured alcohol or grain alcohol melts/softens shellac. So I took t-shirt rags spread them across the top and pored alcohol on them. I let the rags sit for 5 mins or so and checked the progress. Upon inspection I take notice of the finish and see if it appears gummy. If you ever used chemical strippers than you know exactly what I mean by the gummy appearance. If and when the surface is ready I would wipe the surface down with the rag soaked in alcohol.  Often it takes two rounds of ragging. This process can be used on shellac and lacquer, I have to test it on another finishes. Always remember to dispose or air out the rags properly.

After the finish has been removed sand lightly and top coat the piece once again.

Happy solvent stripping.

Clamps are my weakness....

What can I say I am addicted to buying quality clamps. Many of us already know the options or lack thereof when buying clamps. Sadly manufactures like Wetzler, Hartford, Hargrave, Cincinnati Tool Company, and most recently Jorgensen have all closed their doors. So where does that leave us? There is Ebay which lets be real can be a little crazy when it comes to prices. But if you want to buy "new" than the only options you have these days are Bessey and Piher.  I am not saying you are not going to find a bargain on vintage clamps but it's getting harder. 

This leads me to my recent Ebay purchase that lead me to New York. I was lucky to purchase 13 Hartford clamps for a great price. While speaking with the seller he kindly and smartly mentioned he had more clamps he was going to sell.  Since I was planning to drive 3 hours each way why not buy everything I can. 

Well below you find the recent load of clamps. Lets just say I am pretty darn happy and excited. Now  I don't buy clamps just randomly. There are a certain sizes I use the most. The most common clamps I use range in the 12-30 inch clamping capacity. 

This post isn't me bragging but rather buy what you can when you see it. Its getting tough out there. 

Happy hunting.