stillp
Well-known member
Great detailing on the rounded corners and edges, not surprised though!
What material are those expansion boards?
Pete
What material are those expansion boards?
Pete
Thomas, I love the use of solid hardwood. Did you make the stair components in your own basement woodworking shop?
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I'd be interested in a few of your tips and techniques for getting the geometry right (or to look like it is right) without spending endless hours twiddling with the boards. For example, it looks the risers meet the skirts at perfect 45-degree angles. Did you get the measurements dead-nuts right all the way up each flight of stairs or did you have to adjust and/or shim each riser as you went? Do you back-cut your **** joints by 2 degrees to achieve seemingly seamless joints where every tread meets it's bull nose trim?
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Holy cow you have stayed busy. I went to look at that index I made for this thing (once upon a time long ago, before I was quite so busy at work and in life in general) and now there's about half the thread uncatalogued.
Sadly I can't make any promises about being able to spend the time to extend it, but I wanted to pop in and say hi. Hope the center of the world up there in Philo is still treating you guys well.![]()

What finish did you use on the stairs Thomas? Danish oil again?
Pete
Thomas and Chris,
WOW! I made it. About a couple of months ago I started this thread and I have finally completed it. I kept wanting to comment, but didnt want to skip to the end. I didnt want to spoil any surprises, so I waited until I was completely caught up before posting. I hate to say, I have a ton of other threads to catch up on now. Every time I have logged in to GJ I have gone right to your thread and have neglected everyone else. As everyone else has said, your work and your adventures have been fun to watch.
Keep it up, we look forward to stopping by.
Chris
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Love the job on the stairwell, and then when you get 3 minutes strung end to end would you please update how the 3 phase converter is working? Do you wish it was bigger? Do your machines take longer to start? Is their torque still the same?
Thanks
Steve, DBA 71 MKIV
Great detailing on the rounded corners and edges, not surprised though!
What material are those expansion boards?
Pete
Great thread! Great garage! Great, Great, Great,......!
Some amazing stuff you've done here. Can't wait to see what's next.
I got married at Philo Presbyterian a few years ago (my wife's from Champaign and knew the Pastor). Small world.
Thank you for doing all this work to let the world to see.
This is how the powered sub-woofer area turned out. You'd never guess what lurks behind that grill.The screw heads and finish washers on the grill still need to be hand painted white.
More important is are they clocked?
Rich
OK I've got a little time so I'll get to some of the backlog questions
While I did the design, a local, small Amish firm (3 persons) that specializes in only stair work made all the stair components and did much of the installation. I assisted where I was able in a calibrative effort. In order to get the house done in a timely manner I couldn't do it all, so this was an area where I chose to bring in a specialist.
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I'll get some additional stair pictures posted...
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...but I'm very happy with the results.
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Sure I can help with some of that but only in broad terms, otherwise I might get bogged down since that's such a vast subject area. My Dad (when he was alive) and I are charter subscribers (since 1975) to Fine Wood Working Magazine: http://www.finewoodworking.com/
I still have every issue and over the years have referred to it many, many times when doing a project. It's available on DVD's now which is a big help. That publication alone is filled with much of the information you seek and I highly recommend it. All the back issues are available on DVD and there are countless articles over the years that go right to the basics and would provide you with answers.
As for specifics to your questions on the steps...
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...the side skirts were installed first and then the treads and risers were each shimmed to get a perfect fit.
Where necessary **** joints and on occasion some miter joints were back cut 1º-2º as necessary.
It's basic but using good quality equipment that is well adjusted and well maintained is very important. Also important is high quality saw blades ( I personally use Forrest blades: http://www.forrestblades.com/)
in areas where fit and finish will matter. I also send them back to Forrest to be sharpened when necessary. There's no one thing, rather an accumulation of a lot of small steps that get good results.
BlueBomber I've struggled to provide a useful answer for you. I fully appreciate the frustrations we've all had when a project just doesn't quite click and we don't get the results we'd like. If you have some additional questions or want more information just send a PM to me and I'll try to help out. Thank you for continuing to follow along here and contribute to this thread. That's what makes this interesting and fun for all of us.![]()

Paint? Powder coat, surely!Still need to paint all the screw heads and washers.
Hi Thomas
Update on Beltsville Shell
- Lyndon - Sydney, NSW Read
- VMX42 - Sydney, NSW Read
- 1/2 Cup - Shepparton, Victoria Read
- Nursepeter1973 - Western Australia Read
- BBChevro - Brisbane, Qld Read
- Panthersteve - Brisbane, Qld Read
- Gatsby - Canberra, ACT Read handed over to Terrickdownunder 10/4/17
- Terrickdownunder - near Canberra ACT After Gatsby
- Grumblebum - Wollongong, NSW Last!
Good Times and Great Cars
Regards
Gatsby

We'll just refer to that area as "the kink". Pretty sure the Lotus is up to the challenge...[/QUOTE said:I never met Mark Donahue but I'm pretty sure he is smiling at the thought of that Lotus making time on the driveway![]()
Hi Thomas and Chris,
Still here, following along...
I believe I'll catch up with Lyndon after my turn and he is going to package up for the next leg of the tour to NZ. We can confirm via PM etc.
Cheers GB.

Yep - I'm still here. Just very busy.![]()
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Thomas, Its become clear... I know whats going on now... Something I don't think anyone else has picked up on... The Grading... the Driveway... The Whole build in fact... Its just been an excuse for you to get to drive some heavy machinery hasn't it?
Soooooo glad you have decided to do a summary of the progress too, could probably go into a slide show as well and look good, I know you were doing time lapse as well.
Privileged to have been to visit you guys on site, eaten Miss Crhris' Pumpkin pie and drunk from your garage drinks dispenser with Dennis Jones when I visited in St Louis MO.
I thought you would like to know that people are still looking through this thread. I have lurked on GJ from time to time but this is the first thread I have read in depth (not every post but most of them), doing so on my down times at work. Anywho, I found This Post particularly interesting as I work at a manufacturing shop in Oskaloosa, IA and isn't a place you see mentioned much. Even if I was 7 years late to the party I am still very much interested in the transformation of this old shop. Kudos to you for living out most of our dreams and doing it with so much respect for the past.
As you know I'm a big fan of small town Mid-West living.Everything is awesome. Your attention to quality in everything is admirable. Did the floor in the barn ever lighten up, and did the sealer ever wear off?
Also, I see you have three foot overhangs which is great but would recommend gutters (copper 5inch) over those beautiful mahogany garage doors.
And yet another lurker comes forth, hi there yates and welcome. No worries about just finding the thread, I'm glad you found us. I've got a few additions to the old shop lined up, so it's still a bit of work in progress but it is largely done. Check back from time to time for updates and thank you for your post and kind words of encouragement.
I'll admit I'd never heard of Oskaloosa before but now: http://www.oskaloosaiowa.org/
- I have.I didn't know that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, that it was a national center of bituminous coal mining. (yeah, that might be on the test)
As you know I'm a big fan of small town Mid-West living.
Thomas
Thomas, I cannot fault you for having never heard of us although Oskaloosa is home to some big name businesses that most have heard of: Musco Lighting is based out of here as well as where I work, Kelderman Air Suspensions. Another town about 10-15 miles away, Pella, is home to Pella windows and Vermeer.
Oskaloosa is also home to C.L. Barnhouse Company, Music Publishers since 1886.Anyone who's played in a high school or college band should recognize that name.
I never knew this, lol. I do not live in the town but rather in a larger one to the south so I am not up on all the ins and outs of Oskaloosa, thank you for teaching me something new.
http://www.sprintsource.com/profile/?r=1896&rt=trackOskaloosa is also home to C.L. Barnhouse Company, Music Publishers since 1886.Anyone who's played in a high school or college band should recognize that name.
Also home to one very nice race track.http://www.sprintsource.com/profile/?r=1896&rt=track
Wasn't there a famous jazz musician from Oskaloosa?
Pete