Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT DIY Shop

[RickP]

splotchy green/tan bark

I'll bet it's a sycamore tree (we call them buttonwoods too).
The knots didn't really look like a tulip tree, and I think the mottled bark really points to a sycamore.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I'll bet it's a sycamore tree (we call them buttonwoods too).
The knots didn't really look like a tulip tree, and I think the mottled bark really points to a sycamore.

Well, I just looked up sycamore tree on the internet and neither the bark nor wood match what this is. The bark is not splotchy green/tan. The bark on this reminded me of hickory - darker gray, almost black, with strips of bark curling up. However the bark appearance may have been affected by how long this tree had been dead or by whatever killed it. Good suggestions. I tried the only tree book I have, but the bark illustrations in it are almost worthless - book relys mostly on leaves and blooms/seed pods/nuts.

 

[RickP]

Well that's strange -- all the buttonwood trees around here have splotchy bark.

I found these sycamore photos online:

But I'm not too familiar with hickory, so that might be a better match.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Here are hopefully better pictures of the bark and wood of the tree I am trying to identify. So far, I think I have ruled out 41 species. There were no thorns on this tree. I have used 2 tree books in conjunction with internet searches on the wood and bark of each tree that I was trying to match/eliminate. Next, I am going to try to find a list of trees native to Oklahoma and go through them. Sure would have been easier if I had known in advance this tree was going to die so I could have taken a picture of the foilage and and any blooms!

 

[RickP]

You're right -- that doesn't look like sycamore bark.

I've cut a couple of black locust trees that look a bit like those boards. Was the wood really hard when you were cutting it? The only thing is, that bark doesn't look like it has furrows that are deep enough.

Do you remember if the tree dropped any thorny seed pods? The wood also looks a bit like a sweet gum tree, but those thorny gum balls are impossible to forget...

 

[Jeff Ivers]

You're right -- that doesn't look like sycamore bark.

I've cut a couple of black locust trees that look a bit like those boards. Was the wood really hard when you were cutting it? The only thing is, that bark doesn't look like it has furrows that are deep enough.

Do you remember if the tree dropped any thorny seed pods? The wood also looks a bit like a sweet gum tree, but those thorny gum balls are impossible to forget...

The first trees I cleared from my 5 acres were all the Locust trees - due to the thorns. I know some Locust trees do not have bad thorns, but as far as I can tell they are not native to this area. Also, this wood is not as hard as the Locust wood I have cut. I have had sweet gum trees on a former property and have never seen any of their seed pods anywhere on this property.

So far, I have reviewed 59 species and think there are only 3 likely possibilities - Western Soapberry, Hop Hornbeam, and Yellow Poplar (the Poplar is supposedly not native to this area). Bitternut Hickory, Silver Maple, and Sugarberry are less likely possibilities. Can't figure out (yet) any step to take to further narrow it down.

 

[Prospecter]

The first trees I cleared from my 5 acres were all the Locust trees - due to the thorns. I know some Locust trees do not have bad thorns, but as far as I can tell they are not native to this area. Also, this wood is not as hard as the Locust wood I have cut. I have had sweet gum trees on a former property and have never seen any of their seed pods anywhere on this property.

So far, I have reviewed 59 species and think there are only 3 likely possibilities - Western Soapberry, Hop Hornbeam, and Yellow Poplar (the Poplar is supposedly not native to this area). Bitternut Hickory, Silver Maple, and Sugarberry are less likely possibilities. Can't figure out (yet) any step to take to further narrow it down.

If it was silver maple, there should be volunteer silver maples about.

 

[RickP]

So far, I have reviewed 59 species and think there are only 3 likely possibilities - Western Soapberry, Hop Hornbeam, and Yellow Poplar (the Poplar is supposedly not native to this area).

Of those 3, I've only seen yellow poplar. I cut a lot of it for firewood (I call it a tulip tree). For a hardwood tree, the wood is actually pretty soft. But it does look like your photos of the milled boards; did they cut like soft pine? The tulip bark is really distinctive with its inner bark -- very stringy and wet when cut, and falling off the trunk when aged. That doesn't sound like a good match to your bark though?

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Of those 3, I've only seen yellow poplar. I cut a lot of it for firewood (I call it a tulip tree). For a hardwood tree, the wood is actually pretty soft. But it does look like your photos of the milled boards; did they cut like soft pine? The tulip bark is really distinctive with its inner bark -- very stringy and wet when cut, and falling off the trunk when aged. That doesn't sound like a good match to your bark though?

Since yellow poplar or tulip tree is supposedly not native to this area and since I have never seen any blooms on any tree on my property like those associated with tulip trees, I consider it very unlikely. Of course, I have identified a Buckthorn Bumelia tree on this property which is not listed on the native trees list put out by OSU. Which, is why I am stuck.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Haven't done much in the shop lately. While pursuing my metal detecting hobby back in May, I found 2 gold bracelets 2 weeks apart. Since this was somewhat of an unusual occurrence for me, I submitted the info to the Garrett Find of the Month contest. This past week they notified me I had been selected as a winner and sent me a very nice prize package!

So, I got out this morning for a few hours of metal detecting before the heat got oppressive. After three hours, I decided to move to a third site or head for home. Put my gear away and threw my keys on the passenger seat and closed the door to walk around and get in the drivers seat. Whoops - I somehow hit the lock button before I closed the door. I have a cell phone in my pocket but who to call? Dropped AAA insurance last year since it had been so long since I had used them. I had cracked the windows about 1/2" when I got out of the truck to moderate the heat build up. I had my leatherman on my belt, so I walked to a nearby tree and cut a branch about 30" long and 1/2" diameter at the thickest. Trimmed all the twigs off it. Through the window crack and snagged the keys (on a caribner) and lifted them up to where I could grab them through the window crack. Back in the cool in under 10 minutes! Thank goodness - all my drinks and tools were in the locked truck.

 

[bugnut]

ooo what a lucky man he was!

 

[Prospecter]

Always nice to hear from you. Clever solution to the locked truck problem. What did you win?

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Always nice to hear from you. Clever solution to the locked truck problem. What did you win?

I was really lucky on the truck/key issue. I spent several seconds wishing I had a coat hanger before I started looking for alternatives. I still can't quite believe the branch worked - apparently there was enough of a bump or high enough coefficient of friction to hold the carabiner while I raised the keys up about 18" and rotated them to where I could grab them off the stick.

The advertised prize for the find of the month was a new Vortex VX5 metal detector, but since I already had a VX9, they instead sent me a new set of wireless headphones, my choice of Vortex coils, a book on favorite finds, and a Vortex hat. I am looking forward to trying the new coil which should be better in water and noisy fields.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

My shop office/bathroom is showing the effects of being 35 years old. The stick down vinyl tiles have lost their sticky and become stained beyond being cleanable. The industrial carpet is looking tired.


After a couple of aborted attempts to find porcelain tile in 1' black and white squares, I reached out for some GJ help and now have tiles on order.

So, yesterday, I began preparing for laying new tile.

I started cleaning and moving items out of the space to clear the floor and began removing the old floor covering.

As part of the process, I will be raising the toilet and pedestal sink and have decided to replace the water shutoffs with new 1/4 turn valves. That, of course, requires shutting off the water supply. When I built the shop, I installed a shutoff valve in an in-ground "can" just outside the shop wall. Probably has not been used in all that time. So, I went to shutoff the water and the "handle" fell off in my hand. Got a trowel and moved some of the dirt out of the way and clamped on a small pair of vice grips. I think I have the water turned off, but will check later today.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Hooray! The water shutoff with temporary vice grip handle worked! This allowed me to remove the toilet and sink without turning the water off to the entire property. Turns out I have already replaced the toilet shutoff with a 1/4 turn, so I just need to do the sink shutoffs.

Still need to remove some of the "stuff" from the office area and the last 2 pieces of baseboard, replace the shutoffs and then figure out how to remove the glued down carpet.

 

[Prospecter]

There's a lot of preparation going on there! Any chance of lifting a corner of the carpet and just peeling it back? Will you try to repaint before the tile is in and while the fixtures are out?

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I managed to peel up one corner and pulled up about 4 sq ft and then it stopped coming up - decided to get everything else out of the way before working on it some more. I suspect I will have to pull at different angles to reduce the linear feet I am trying to pull up at one time. I absolutely hate painting, but the more I reveal, the more this is saying to increase the scope to include a paint job. Went today and bought new sink faucet and the needed shut-off valves. I am not looking forward to trying to get up the glue residue.

 

[Prospecter]

I am hesitant to suggest options, given your excellent skills. In case this might be helpful. . . You might look at some floor scrapers like these. I have one similar to the first one for the shop to scrape dried epoxy / paint spills off the floor. For a project like yours I'd try the air scraper. Just because I am old.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I am hesitant to suggest options, given your excellent skills. In case this might be helpful. . . You might look at some floor scrapers like these. I have one similar to the first one for the shop to scrape dried epoxy / paint spills off the floor. For a project like yours I'd try the air scraper. Just because I am old.

Those are some good suggestions. I have a tool similar to the F&M scraper that I used to get a corner of the carpet up and pop the tiles. I plan to try it first to remove the glue. If it does not work, I plan to try scraper blades on my oscillating saw next. Then, I may be tool shopping. I have also considered trying a wire brush on my 4.5" angle grinder.

 

[Prospecter]

Those are some good suggestions. I have a tool similar to the F&M scraper that I used to get a corner of the carpet up and pop the tiles. I plan to try it first to remove the glue. If it does not work, I plan to try scraper blades on my oscillating saw next. Then, I may be tool shopping. I have also considered trying a wire brush on my 4.5" angle grinder.

Plans A-B-C-D. I like it. One of those should work!

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Yesterday, I installed the new 1/4 turn water shutoffs for the sink. These are "sweat" onto copper pipe. During the process, I determined the exterior shutoff was obviously still seeping - had to put a lot of heat into the joints to remove the old shutoffs because of the water percolating out of the pipes. After cleaning the pipe ends, I had to resort to the honey wheat bread trick to solder on the right valve which is lower than the other and the cold water. I have a 1/4 turn shutoff on the cold to hot transition that made the hot side much less of an issue.

I experimented with removing the carpet also.

I got this first strip (about 30" wide) peeled up but could not finish the task. That was really good glue!

Today, I cut the carpet to narrower strips (about a foot wide) and was able to get about half the carpet up.

After breaking a finger nail trying to grip the first strip tight enough to pull it up, I drug out the "proper" tool - my sheet metal vice grips.

Turned the water back on and retrieved my vice grip water valve handle.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

So, I got all the carpet ripped up.


Then I turned my attention to trying to get up the old glue. First, I tried my scraper.


Even after sharpening it, it really only wanted to remove high spots. Next, I tried a cup wire brush on my angle grinder.

It worked, but was tending to "glaze" the concrete and the brush was wearing out. Went looking for a replacement and did not find the same style. The style I bought to try was not as effective.

Then I switched to my 3x21 belt sander. Some of my in stock belts came apart, but after buying some new 36 grit belts I started making better progress.
In the bathroom:

These 2 brackets have to come off and the mounting holes and the 2 mounting holes above need to be filled as the new holes may overlap when I put things back together.

Drilled the holes out and glued a length of 3/8" dowel in each one.

After using the sander, I then used a rubbing block. I think this will be clean enough. According to research, if the glue is water based, it must be removed completely. I tried soaking some of it with water and it did not seem to be softening or dissolving. Now I just need to clean the rest of the floor. Taking it a couple of hours at a time to not over stress my sander or my back.

 

[drivesitfar]

Jeff: I love the thread title and sorry I haven’t been here sooner.

It might take me more than a bit to catch up on your last 15 years of work but I will definitely follow along now because like you I have a hard time throwing away a good box or huge piece of cardboard.

I found a tree cutter to get firewood from because a friend of ours can’t afford her baseboard electric heat bills and she’s got a great fireplace insert. Anyway I picked up a load of black locust that is super dense so I might set up my Shopsmith next summer to turn a few bowls or whatever.

How heavy was the blonde wood you cut into small boards? It looks like the color of maple but my old eyes couldn’t tell how dense or heavy it is. Did you ever figure it out?

Good luck on the bathroom and guessing the demo might be harder than the remodel.

Keep up the great work

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Jeff: I love the thread title and sorry I haven’t been here sooner.

It might take me more than a bit to catch up on your last 15 years of work but I will definitely follow along now because like you I have a hard time throwing away a good box or huge piece of cardboard.

I found a tree cutter to get firewood from because a friend of ours can’t afford her baseboard electric heat bills and she’s got a great fireplace insert. Anyway I picked up a load of black locust that is super dense so I might set up my Shopsmith next summer to turn a few bowls or whatever.

How heavy was the blonde wood you cut into small boards? It looks like the color of maple but my old eyes couldn’t tell how dense or heavy it is. Did you ever figure it out?

Good luck on the bathroom and guessing the demo might be harder than the remodel.

Keep up the great work

Welcome drivesitfar!

I still haven't figured out what kind of wood I cut up. I used lists of trees that are supposed to be native to this part of the country and then looked up, on line, the bark and wood images for each tree without coming up with a definitive match. Of course, I have previously identified a buckthorn bumelia on the property which was not on the native lists. It is really hard to identfy a tree that has already lost all foilage and died. I am waiting till it dries sufficiently to cut and run through the planer, hoping that will give me more clues. It is not maple, as it appears to be a much softer wood. You'll have fun with the locust.

The demo of the office/bathroom is definitely more work than I think it will be to put it back together. Tiles still aren't here.

Today, I burned up one of the belt sanders I have had for over 25 years. I've also cleaned 3 stores out of their stock of 36/40 grit belts.


I am close to having about 1/3 of the floor cleaned. I may be trying to get it too clean.

 

[drivesitfar]

Just an fyi for another option. Can you use a concrete dusk on your 4.5 or 7.5 inch grinder? There are dust attachments you can buy but you need a hepa filter to keep the breathing air breathable.

Or I saw in instagram a disk that looks like concrete grinding wheel but they used it to clean paint s as bd glue off wood so maybe there is another option. In any case it’s a nasty job and yes old glue and materials were made to last 100 years in some cases.

Good luck!!

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Just an fyi for another option. Can you use a concrete dusk on your 4.5 or 7.5 inch grinder? There are dust attachments you can buy but you need a hepa filter to keep the breathing air breathable.

Or I saw in instagram a disk that looks like concrete grinding wheel but they used it to clean paint s as bd glue off wood so maybe there is another option. In any case it’s a nasty job and yes old glue and materials were made to last 100 years in some cases.

Good luck!!

Good point regarding safety. I have been wearing foam gasketed safety glasses, hearing protection and an industrial breathing mask. Interestingly, using the 2 25+ year old belt sanders, I was not getting airborne dust - not even enough to get my glasses dirty. All the dust tended to kick back on the floor about 6" behind the sander. Have no idea for the reason, but delighted the job is much less messy than I thought it would be.

My first sander ( which I think is the newer of the 2 - Craftsman 315.117131) bit the dust 4 or 5 days ago. Quit running. I partially disassembled it and believe the problem to be with the switch. Since I probably won't be able to find a replacement switch or at least not without a time delay, I laid it aside and commenced using my second 25+ year old sander.



This is a Craftsman 315.11721. Since I anticipated it would bite the dust, I picked up a new Craftsman CMEW213 as a backup. Yesterday, this one also bit the dust. So I shifted to using the brand new CMEW213 and it ran for 5 minutes and quit turning the belt. So, since the motor was running but the belt was not turning on the 25+ year old sander, I attempted a repair. Belt was thrown, but not broken. I removed the front roller (on right) cleaned, greased and reassembled. I removed the entire bottom assembly to get to the "gear box", cleaned out the hardened grease, re-lubed and re-assembled. Then, I used epoxy to re-attach the outer plastic cover to the inner aluminum rear drive roller. This morning, I reattached the rear drive roller and - success! I used the repaired sander for over an hour with no problems. Not knowing if my repairs would succeed, yesterday I hit 5 different stores in search of a backup sander. Ended up buying a Bauer 20103E-B which look very much like the Craftsman CMEW213 but at half the price. Today, I broke it out and alternated using it and and the repaired 25+ year old.
It has worked fine so far. It has an advantage in being able to get closer to the wall.

Continued making progress.

 

[drivesitfar]

Nice work on the repairs and finding a good replacement.

Also happy to hear your room isn’t filling up with toxic dust.

Looking good on the progress.