"Yuugou" Finished (1 Buy.com Lan pic)

You needed...a...biohazard bit?

 

that wood looks superb I spent 12 hours turning a giant burl log of camphor laurel (best smelling sawdust ever )into a lamp for my bedside table - i thought it looked great then, but after a similar treatment to the one you are using, it came out fantastic. It just goes to show how easy it can be to get fantastic results without complex finishing techniques or chemicals.

really, the work looks sublime. 5 stars.

 

fantastic work there man

 

I'm getting really addicted to this project...it's a so welcome change from all the alu work I'm doing on mine.
It would be way out of my league, seeing your skills and tools. That's what makes it all the more fascinating to watch it develop.

 

Thanks a lot guys.

@tkdwarrior:
Thats what i like about this finish. The material is everywhere, its really easy, and even though its really time consuming, it just gives me time to appreciate the wood more and get better aquinted with the project.

@Jokkos:
Thank you very much. Unfortunately, the wood is almost complete on this project since i guess i decided to do the fun stuff first. I've been having thoughts of just using the alu for the main frame and bringing the wood to the insides too. I think it would resemble a japanese house inside or something but we'll see about that.

 

I decided to experiement with the veneer today. First off, my new blade came:



And the players are:
Wood and Alu (this is oak veneer)


And Polyurethane glue:


The first step is to wet down the veneer since this glue likes moisture:


Then I spread the glue:


And then I clamped it between two cauls:


When it came out, it was pretty messy so after a bit of sanding, it looks like this:




My acrylic also came and i cut one of the windows yesterday, this one happens to be the translucent ivory (with the paper still on)



and a teaser of what the whole thing will look like:


Today i'll finish the other acrylic panels and cut the paper hopefully. This acrylic was really really nice to work with. I got it from delviesplastics.com and i highly recommend them.

I photochoped some designs for the front panel and i don't really like any of them but i'd like everyone's input. If you have photoshop or paint or something you can do your own design and post it here:


The black line at the top is the cd drive


This one doesn't really work anymore


Should i just go with solid and no designs? or maybe bookmatched koa? Like this:


Thanks for you input

 

definitely bookmatched!

 

unbelievable work...

i'd go for book matched as well.

ever thought about making shoji screens?

also, that urethane glue is probably the best thing I've ever found for adhering aluminum to wood veneers..

otherwise, 3M makes a high adhesion double side tape for adhering wood veneers to plastics and painted metal that might work, though I don't think it's all that thin

 

I agree!

 

i like the 2nd design actually. kinda blends in with the top design. keep updating

 

I like the second design also!!! Great woodworking skills!!

 

I'm going to go against the grain here (groan) and say don't use the bookmatched. Instead use 1 piece that has an even horizontal grain. That way you avoid the line down the centre (however minimal it will still be visible).

My vote is for the second design.

 

Hm, well this is a bit of a sticky wicket eh? (i hope i used that right) The hard part will be making those lines for the second design....unless i make those out of veneer too, like ebony maybe, i dunno. If i cut the lines in the veneer first, the glue is going to go everywhere and i don't know how to accurately cut them afterwards.... unless i make a huge form thing and use a router to cut barely the depth of the veneer. The ebony idea actually sounds way better. I'm going to mock this stuff up before i do it though. I also need to get the veneer too.

@cderalow: I made some little shoji doors for my last case but nothing full size yet as i don't have a house of my own to put them yet, but when i do, i'll definately make a few sets of them.

Oh i forgot to add in the last update that the rest of the wood peices are being finished now with 3 coats to go so they'll be done this week.

I probably have more to say but i'll save it for the next update (tonight or tomorrow). As always, thank you for your input, you guys actually have a huge part in deciding where this project goes (as i'm fairly open and not much besides what i've done is designed).

Oh, that reminds me. Instead of having a really boring two toned paint job on the inside, what do you guys think of carrying the wood to the inside, either maple or koa or both. The alu would still be the main structure with various curved and laminated peieces of wood.

 

My vote is for as much wood as possible. But I am a little biased as woodworking is a hobby of mine. Some day, when I get off of my lazy butt, my plan is to throw my hat in the wooden case ring also.

(I'm also still partial to the bookmatching. It's a classic look that works out well when done nicely.)

 

yeah i really don't know what to do about the case front and i'm biased too about the wood thing as the thought of the wood being done and only aluminum left made me kinda woozy and dizzy. So yeah, we'll see.

 

I don't think mixxing different types of koa will look good either the same as you have or something less dramatic. Like the black covers and stuff.

 

Different types of koa? I don't quite get it. If your meaning of different "type" of koa is refering to the color of the koa based on the pictures then it doesn't matter since those pictures are inaccurate as to color anyway. And weren't you the first to suggest a koa front? To give you an example of what it looks like with just a black front, check this out:



that looks pretty boring.

 

imo stick with the wood types you used so far. btw just an idea for the front. make a design similar to your side panel with the veneer behind it and a sheet of clear plexi covering the front of the panel. im at work right now maybe ill try to make something in paint when i get home to make myself more clear. either way it will involve a piece of koa at the bottom and those curved lines at the sides

 

i think a plexi/rice paper front would look really cool with a wood surround for the disk slot. the black front just makes it look unfinished and plain wrong.

 

Why not keep going with the line from the koa piece on the side and make that flow to the front. Would tie the front together with the sides. And that's always a good thing... right? (I'll try to photoshop something later to see if I can show you what I mean)

Love the woodwork, wood is my favorite matieral to work with, has always been, but I can't say I can do things at your level.

EDIT:


Pardon the crappy photoshopping but I'm at work and... yea. I see that ssR had the same idea just 2 posts above me.