Unisaw More Paint and Some De Crudding

Atlanta has had some exceptionally beautiful weather the last few days - combine that with my lack of a job - and suddenly stuff gets done thats been waiting in the wings for years. Im finally making some progress on the Unisaw rebuild - Ive got most of the interior guts primed and painted (still plan a second coat of Rustoleum "Machine Gray"). I also got back into the paint removal on the case.

Shiny New Gray Paint

More Gray Paint

Even More Gray Paint

 I also had a chance to work on the front Door latch - this is what it looks like cleaned-up (still need to clean up the knobs):

With the weather so nice I drug out the case - which I had started to media blast sometime last year but didnt get very far. I first tried to use stripper but theres so much old paint that it basically laughed at the stuff - I tried a couple of coats and only got about half way through the paint layers with scraping. Much too slow a process for me. I then started media blasting but with only a single stage compressor it too was excruciatingly slow (the pressure would drop and you end up sitting there waiting for it to build back up, remove another inch or two then repeat. After the first time spending about 2 hours and only getting about 10% removed I gave up).

Finally, while doing some cleanup in my shop, inspiration hit. I came across a braided cup grinder that I got in a mess of parts in a trade. I thought.... "hmm - wonder if this will fit in an angle grinder?" - I found my $10 Harbor Freight Angle Grinder, drug everything outside and stared going to town.

The cup in comparison to the grinder is just massive - probably why that little thing died after about an hour. It got to the point where it started smoking and all the torque was gone as soon as the brush hit the metal. Oh well - for a $10 grinder it worked plenty long enough for me, especially considering that I originally bought it for a single job (removing the top of a toilet flange in cast iron) so it paid for itself the first time I used it. Ill try replacing the brushes before donating to Goodwill. I got out my Makita angle grinder - funny as its rated the same as the HF version (obvious knock-off) but the difference in torque is simply amazing. I learned that if one of these gets away from you you back away and unplug from the extension cord. That spinning brush wrecked havoc on the leaves and dug a furrow in the ground, slinging dirt everywhere. Happened more than once as my arms started to get tired (on the inside of the cabinet).

Twisted Wire Cup of Wrath

RIP Harbor Freight Grinder

 To give you an idea of what I was working against - I noticed while grinding that the odor it was giving up was the smell of bondo - Im wondering if at some time in the past someone just coated the whole case in bondo. It would explain the thickness (over 1/16" in most areas) and the red color.

I had to stop after a couple of hours for a phone interview (which went very well - have an in-person interview next week as a result). For about 2 1/2 hours worth of work, I was able to get 99% of the paint, rust and crud off - only needing to work the corners and edges to complete the removal. This method was so much cleaner and faster than media blasting that I would recommend it to anyone - just make sure you have earplugs, especially when youre working on the inside of the cabinet.

-- John

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Christian Becksvoort
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Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village - Maine
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Mount Deset Island 36th Annual Directions Show - Maine
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Aug 8-12, 2011: Chair Design
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Aug 20-21, 2011: Doing Curved Joinery
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Aug 22-26, 2011: Table of Contents
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Sept 19-23, 2011: Designing Chairs
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Sept 24-25, 2011: Embellish Your Work
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 15, 2011: Making a Living as an Artist, Designer, & Furnituremaker
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 16, 2011: Drawing in Perspective
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 17-21, 2011: Making a Bow-Front Chest
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 22-23, 2011: Making the Ultimate Gift
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana

Peter Gedrys
Chris Gochnour
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Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Garrett Hack
July 15-16, 2011: 30th Anniversary Open House
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Aug 1-5, 2011: Precision with Hand Tools
Center for Furniture Craftsmanship - Maine
Aug 6-7, 2011: Furniture Details: Decorative Edges and Faces
Lie-Nielsen - Maine
Sept 12-16: Build a Side Table
Port Townsend School of Woodworking - Washington
Sept 19-21, 2011: Precison with Hand Tools
Port Townsend School of Woodworking - Washington
Oct 3-9, 2011: Make an Occasional Table with Exquisite Details
West Dean College - West Sussex, England

Roland Johnson
Sept 19-23, 2011: Finishes & Finishing
The Northwest Woodworking Studio - Oregon

Matt Kenney
July 29-Aug 2, 2011: Make a Box with  Hand Tools
Peters Valley Craft Center - New Jersey

Tim Killen
July 23, 2011: SketchUP
AWFS - Nevada

Steve Latta
July 18-24, 2011: Making a Spice Box
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
July 16-17, 2011: Pattern Inlay and Decorative Borders
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Aug 27-28, 2011: Build a Federal Sideboard, part I
Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe - Pennsylvania
Oct 8-9, 2011: Build a Federal Sideboard, part II
Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe - Pennsylvania
Dec 17-19, 2011: Build a Federal Sideboard, part III
Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe - Pennsylvania

Philip Lowe
Ongoing Classes
Furniture Institutue of Massachusetts
June 18-19, 2011: Hand Cut Dovetails
Lie-Nielsen - Maine
July 25-29, 2011: Sheraton Tilt Top Table
The Northwest Woodworking Studio - Oregon

Teri Masaschi
Aug 29-Sept 9, 2011: Finishing From A to Z
Center for Furniture Craftsmanship - Maine
Sept 12-16, 2011: Hand Applied Finishes
Center for Furniture Craftsmanshop - Maine
Oct 3-7, 2011: Basic Finishing
Kelly Mehlers School of Woodworking - Kentucky

Jeff Miller
Ongoing Classes
J. Miller Handcraftred Furniture - Illinois
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AWFS - Nevada
July 30-31, 2011: Mortise and Tenons: Hand Cut Joinery Made Easy
Lie-Nielsen - Maine

Gregory Paolini 
Ongoing Classes
Gregory Paolini Design - North Carolina
June 4, 2011: Hands on Finishing
The Woodworking Source - North Carolina

Michael Pekovich
July 20-23, 2011: Photographing Your Work
AWFS Fair 2011 - Nevada
Aug 19-23, 2011: Dovetails: Intro to Working with Hand Tools
Peters Valley Craft Center - New Jersey

Doug Stowe
June 15-19, 2011: Box Making
Kansas City Woodworkers Guild - Missouri
July 25-29, 2011: Creative Box Making
Eureka Springs School of the Arts - Arkansas
Aug 8-13, 2011: Simply Beautiful Boxes
Marc Admas School of Woodworking - Indiana
Aug 13, 2011: Interior Architecture for Boxes
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 29-30, 2011: Box Making
Sawdust & Woodchips Woodworking Association - New York



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