Shop update #149 (9-2-20)

I’ve been wanting to try out the vinegar and steel wool aging method for a while so I mixed some up on Saturday morning to try out on Sunday.

I’m in a few CNC groups on FaceBook and there are constant posts about people having to replace the brushes on their routers.  I ordered a spare set on Amazon to have on hand in case mine ever wear out.  That made me wonder how much I still have on mine so I took the router apart and checked them.  They are still at about 75% so I have plenty of time left.  I wanted to see how they worked so I plugged the router back in and turned it on.  That is the 3rd picture.

A buddy of mine is making a killing right now build desks with Ikea Linmon desktops and selling them on FaceBook.  I had him pick me up a desktop and made my own base for a video that should be coming out soon!

I tried some of the vinegar and steal wool mixture on some plywood, pine, and cedar scraps and it turned it an interesting shade of brown, not gray as I had expected.  It had only sat for about 24 hrs so I am going to try it again later in the week to see what kind of color it makes.

In the meantime I went ahead and gave the desk base a couple of coats and it turned a really cool shade of brown.

The wood had a very strong vinegar smell to it so I left it out in the sun for a couple of days and it helped to tone down the smell and the brown color.  I then gave the whole thing 3 coats of a satin polyurethane.

I installed the top and some adjustable feet and it is now done!  I’m going to post it on FaceBook Marketplace for my town and see if I can find any takers.  Wish me luck!