For the woodworkers here...tips, discussion etc

An unrelated discovery…

Do you need thin plywood panels that are more reliably rigid with more consistent mechanical properties, more resistant to puncture or do you just need plywood to keep out critters?

Well consider Gilwood … a 1950s invention by a guy wanting to help farmers keep rats out of the feed. Gilwood is a plywood reinforced with wire mesh. I first came across it in an old Popular Mechanics here:

Edit: The link seems wonky, if you go to it you may need to clear search and the go forward to page 100.

Some time ago I finally found a file of the patent (Canadian #563453) for Gilwood.

The P.M. article had a claim that Gilwood was 10x stronger than 1/4" plywood, but from the patent that’s relative to the worst test specimen … as plywood sheets can be all over the place when it comes to mechanical properties.
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The patent includes data from a 9" ring test where they took a 3" plunger hitting material supported by a 9" ring. I.O.W. a test relevant to puncture. This was performed where he was apparently a professor, at Oregon State (then a college).

(The picture in the article shows a different test being performed)

The Gilwood tested used inferior plies compared to the stock plywood (and this was mid 50s plywood, which people now seem to claim was great compared to what we’ve got today but in the patent was not described as good based on the lumber available as had been). The 1/4", 3 ply plus one layer of 23.5 gauge 1/4" mesh was twice as resilient, at over 2000# thrust (and very little difference between specimens tested) than the 1/4" standard fare at its best (750#, down to 200# for one sample … it varied a lot). It was around twice what 3/8" standard fare produced.

The strongest samples described in the patent was for 1/2", 5 ply DF, 1/16" outer plies, 1/8" inner, front ply grade B, back C, and 3 inner plies of the sort normally rejected for making plywood because of defects. It had two mesh layers vs one as before and managed 3,620 psi in the ring test.

In the past I only referenced one file for our current high tech stuff: a paper that compared using 12K carbon fiber reinforced plywood ($$$) with less expensive 3K stuff and was focused on the effect of bending strength, not punch through, and also failure of wood plies.

So no idea how good the Gilwood claims really are compared to state of the art… but it’s definitely better than standard fare and maybe within reach of home made since the pressures described in the patent aren’t that great and there’s nothing pricey about the materials as opposed to carbon fiber.

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I would like to do a large room floor like Abbey Road studio. I love this herringbone style. Anyone experienced with this sort of things and have any tips? I want real hard wood.


Two more, one was just for fun. My grandpa used to have one of these.

The second is Walnut inlaid into Maple. This was my first inlay and I hadn’t managed to perfect the gluing process so you can see the seam.

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First attempt at 3D carving. Mahogany.

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Last two…both walnut and a maple one I provided to Trump Burger in Bellville TX. :smiley:



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Spend the money up front having someone professionally level the floor. I’ve tried a small room and it’s super tedious and ANY bumps are immediately apparent. :slight_smile: The only thing I came away with from my attempt to do real hard wood was “Let an expert do it” because I stunk at it! :smiley:

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Fun with CNC machines!

That’s a beautiful guitar! I probably own just about every gadget that’s come along, but had never heard of the OBEL system before, looks interesting. Is there a switch on the guitar so that the effects loop is post volume control? It’d definitely be nice to be able to control guitar volume and keep the same tone, there are also times where you’d lower volume to change tone, e.g.: less distortion.

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Nice work!

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That’s a thing of beauty, very nice.

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The piece below looks simple, but there is more than meets the eye. I would have used solid slabs of cherry if they were available, there was no budget per se’, but I had to use 4/4 boards instead and made three sided hollow “beams” and slipped them over cleats inside the box and assembled it from one end to the other. There is not a single visible gap in the entire thing and the joints on all the outside corners are absolutely invisible, you can put your face right up to it and not see them LOL.

Lockmiter for anyone not familiar with it;

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I bet that bastard’s heavy!! :smiley:

Sleek.

Why the electric outlets?

No doubt! It serves as a railing, there is a stairwell right behind it.

Looks great!

Did you do the joints by a hand router?

The customer wanted them, I didn’t ask questions or care. We build anything they want, usually from pictures in Architectural Digest etc. Just a photo, that’s all I need, I build it in my head within seconds of seeing the picture somehow, every detail. I think I’m a woodworker savant or something.

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On a shaper with hold downs and stuff.

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I am amazed at all the work you guys produce, this is going to be a fun thread to browse.

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That’s a good tip right off the bat