Building An End Table Out Of Furring Strips And Luan

Discussion in 'Home Improvement' started by Dwight Ward, Mar 8, 2022.

  1. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I finally bought a 10" sliding compound miter saw when DeWalt came out with a special stripped-down model sold at Lowes...it doesn't appear on the DeWalt website and I don't believe that any of the DeWalt accessories (like the kerf laser) will fit. The cost of it new was less than the price of the full model through Craigslist. It's been one of the best tool investments I've made, tied with my portable table saw.

    I also have a 5hp/20 gallon compressor I bought at a yard sale. It won't drive impact wrenches but it's still nice to have for other general purposes.

    It was your "fist-through-door" comment that caught my eye. During layoffs in my white-collar career, I've done whatever it takes to pay my mortgage...everything from H&R Block to cleaning out rental units in between tenants. I don't need to tell you what I saw (what kind of person leaves 2 feet of trash--including soiled diapers--covering the entire living room carpet????), but fists-through-walls & doors and toilet seats ripped off of the toilet were common items I fixed. And they looked like such a nice couple. ;)
     
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  2. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Just got “the beast” last night via UPS. It’s a Metabo 12” sliding compound.
    It’s essentially a Mikita but when Mikita made a couple of upgrades they threw the name of Metabo on the ones with no upgrade.
    Price wise, it’s a good thing Amazon has a payment method for Prime members or it would still be sitting at the warehouse. B11EBD2C-DDAC-4C5F-BBF5-801E11CA9794.jpeg

    I already had the stand from my old 12” but instead of lugging the saw back to the shop I assembled it on the stand whilst on my porch.
    The invention of the wheel is a wonderful thing.
     
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  3. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    It is said that the very best library to have is occupied by the books you have actually read.
    It’s the same with tools. I know a guy who has a whole warehouse full of nearly every tool imaginable but he doesn’t know how to use half of them and the one’s he halfway does know how to use he generally brings them to me to fix once he breaks them.

    Even at my age, I have a heavy need for equipment that I can use to either make original woodworks or duplicate someone else’s work in the case of trying to replace something.
    I have a personal policy that says that if I can use it and it will pay for itself then I can buy it. If not, no matter how many shiny buttons it has and how many bells that clang, it stays on the shelf.

    Yeah, sometimes leaving something on a shelf does break my pea pickin’ heart but life goes on as it should. (sniff)

    Oh yeah. I had a small table top drill press at one time that got stolen which is why, out of belligerence I got the big stand up.
    Actually, I enjoyed the table top one because I could use it anywhere I wanted as opposed to the big one and it was about 1/5th the price.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 10, 2022
  4. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    You dog. That looks SWEET!!!

    I initially went cheap and bought a small Makita chop saw on a folding stand off of Craigslist, but the thing is really meant for trim. And the bevel adjustment is kinda cheap...the harder you turn the threaded handle that pinches against the frame, the more it torques the mechanism and moves the saw. Getting 90° to hold is difficult.

    I use the Makita stand for the DeWalt. The stand does not double as a wheeled cart because the Makita is so light...you remove the saw and then collapse the stand as a separate unit. (I need to add such a stand to my Craigslist list.) Now that I've used it a while, I kinda wish I has spring for the 12" blade. I cannot cut 6"x6" lumber without flipping the thing over, not that I do that very often.

    I have a larger Makita chop saw that's gotten beat up over the years, and I use it to cut kindling :D . My wood stove is only 2ft³ so I cut medium branches & such to fit the width and the depth. It's so easy to set up that saw with the stops and have a kindling assembly line going. Besides, I'm not gonna hurt it...it's meant to cut cross-grain.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 10, 2022
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  5. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    It is with great consideration and have now come to a most profound conclusion after a single pressing of the switch and the scalpel like cut I made with my new saw.
    In short, I wanted to kick back and have a smoke afterwards. Yup, that good.
     
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  6. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    LOL. I have a plethora of puns and an abundance of analogies, none of which are suitable for print.
    [​IMG]
     
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  7. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Made me kinda wonder why a guy would even think of cheating when all he has to do is get one of these saws.
    It’s less expensive than motel stays, less anxiety attached to it, more glitz and buttons to play with and the end results are something to be proud of and ultimately more satisfying.
     
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  8. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    In all my home improvement and new house construction work I've never had the need for a compound mitre saw. I have a Makita fixed mitre saw that does what I need. I did build my own router table that accepts my 1 horse Craftsmen router but I haven't used it in a while. I have a craftsman table saw in my back bedroom/shop that might be 60 years old. It is too heavy to load on my truck for on site work. For that I have a Delta that I can lift with one hand.
     
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  9. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    And if you're married to Lorena Bobbitt, all you're gonna lose is a finger.
     
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  10. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I have a Black & Decker Workmate that I got nearly 50 years ago, and have picked up all sorts of accessories for it along the way. One of the real handy ones is a RouterMate:
    [​IMG]

    I also have a small router table, but this is my go-to mount for it.
     
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  11. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    That looks very handy.
     
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  12. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Sweet !
    If it hadn’t been for my stepdaughter giving me a little less functional portable bench, I’d have a Workmate in a second and might still get one. The versatility is amazing so you’ve got yourself a real jewel !!
     
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  13. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Gotta get back to your table Dwight. What kind of finish are you going to use? Brush on Lacquer and a fine steel wool? A satin Poly? High gloss Poly?
    Uh, okay. I’ll mention varnish just to keep the lovers of varnish happy. Kinda like spackle. Everybody simply loves spackle.o_O
     
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  14. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    I've spray-painted it with gloss oil-based for durability. It looks a little plain so I think I'll use some t&g roof sheathing and do a stained finish top. I'll finish with clear gloss poly fine sanded between coats.I might leave that tongue and grooved pine outside for a while and let it do what shrinking it's going to do. Looks like I'll have to get my router table set up.
     
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  15. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I watched a home improvement show where the guy showed how to repair a stippled/popcorn ceiling. He took some DAP spackling compound and mixed ina little of his ceiling paint to dye it and to thin it a little bit. Then he daubed it onto the ceiling with a damp sponge, working to imitate the existing texture.

    Fast-forward a few years, and I replaced a single globe ceiling fixture in my hallway with a series of 3 small recessed spots (to make the hallway look longer), and discovered that the ceiling had been stippled around the 12" base so there was a big naked spot when I removed the fixture. That trick worked like a charm! Spackle is my friend.
     
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