IMG_5814
I ran up to Rockler again and took advantage of sales to get big rubber sticks (2 for 1 sale) that clean out things like belt/disc sander, and bench/angle grinder grits. I got a hand guard I've really wanted for saving my fingers when ripping thin stock in the circular saw, a push stick for similar reasons - this one has a power magnet that lets it stick to the saw for storage and easy access - hooks for hanging dust hoses, a glue roller bottle, rubber band clamps, a splitter for use with circular saw table zero clearance plates for keeping stock from kicking back, two lazy-susan turntables, and the thing I actually went for: some aniline dye.
Aniline dye is a way to color wood without using stain. Stain can pool, and gets darker with more coats. Aniline dye is supposed to be only as dark as it is concentrated, and the concentrate in the little bottles at right here make many quarts of dye. I was getting such splotchy, terrible coatings with Minwax stain that I decided to see how well these would work. I got Golden Brown and Honey Amber. They were about $17-$18/bottle! One nice thing is that they can be mixed with anything as their medium, such as water, mineral spirits, oil, and alcohol. This gives you a lot of options as to how you'll work, how they'll dry, and what finish you'll get.
IMG_5814
I ran up to Rockler again and took advantage of sales to get big rubber sticks (2 for 1 sale) that clean out things like belt/disc sander, and bench/angle grinder grits. I got a hand guard I've really wanted for saving my fingers when ripping thin stock in the circular saw, a push stick for similar reasons - this one has a power magnet that lets it stick to the saw for storage and easy access - hooks for hanging dust hoses, a glue roller bottle, rubber band clamps, a splitter for use with circular saw table zero clearance plates for keeping stock from kicking back, two lazy-susan turntables, and the thing I actually went for: some aniline dye.
Aniline dye is a way to color wood without using stain. Stain can pool, and gets darker with more coats. Aniline dye is supposed to be only as dark as it is concentrated, and the concentrate in the little bottles at right here make many quarts of dye. I was getting such splotchy, terrible coatings with Minwax stain that I decided to see how well these would work. I got Golden Brown and Honey Amber. They were about $17-$18/bottle! One nice thing is that they can be mixed with anything as their medium, such as water, mineral spirits, oil, and alcohol. This gives you a lot of options as to how you'll work, how they'll dry, and what finish you'll get.