drksky
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I do. That's intriguing. I wonder how easily hickory turns? It might be worth a shot.
I can't imagine hickory turning easily. It's brittle and hard as a rock.
Hickory Keezer
- Thread starter Oberon
- Start date
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I can't imagine hickory turning easily. It's brittle and hard as a rock.
I attached the copper to the backing board yesterday. I used 5 mil copper attached to MDF with DAP contact cement. The copper cuts easily with scissors or a razor blade. I outlined where the board was supposed to go with a Sharpie and cut out the corners accordingly. My buddy and I applied the contact cement to both surfaces, waited 15 minutes and carefully set the board in place. We used a laminate roller to set it permanently.
(more pictures on the first page)
I was hoping to have enough copper left over to do the whole backing board behind the taps but there won't be enough. I think we are going to trim it out and put copper in the panels.
Still have to attach the copper board to the bar. There is slight difference between the edge of the copper and the bar rail and I'd like that to be flush so we'll have to figure out how to do that.
Once the backing board behind the taps and the copper is attached I have to polyurethane the whole thing which is proving more problematic than I anticipated. My wife is pregnant and apparently VOCs are bad for the baby so I won't be able to do it in the house. I can probably do it in my Dad's barn but it is an hour drive away and many coats means it will take days not hours.
I was hoping to have enough copper left over to do the whole backing board behind the taps but there won't be enough. I think we are going to trim it out and put copper in the panels.
Still have to attach the copper board to the bar. There is slight difference between the edge of the copper and the bar rail and I'd like that to be flush so we'll have to figure out how to do that.
Once the backing board behind the taps and the copper is attached I have to polyurethane the whole thing which is proving more problematic than I anticipated. My wife is pregnant and apparently VOCs are bad for the baby so I won't be able to do it in the house. I can probably do it in my Dad's barn but it is an hour drive away and many coats means it will take days not hours.
You are aware, are you not, that they make a water-based polyurethane, right? I think it comes as a powder and you mix it up and "paint" it on. Voila...no VOCs.
The finish I'm looking for requires oil based polyurethane so I'm going to have to deal with VOCs. This project has already taken six months what's a few more days.
Heh. Shows what I know about wood working. I figured poly was poly.
richardtmorgan
Active Member
The wood is very beautiful. Good luck with the finish.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
Heh. Shows what I know about wood working. I figured poly was poly.
I only know what I've read. It's my understanding water based poly tends to yellow over time more than oil based. I'm not a big fan of oil based because it's more toxic and a pain to clean up but I've spent a lot of time (and money) on this project and don't want to cut corners.
I'm going to thin the poly 50/50 with mineral spirits and rub it on with a cloth. The base coats will be gloss and the final coat(s) will be semi-gloss. I'm going for a natural look. From what I've read when you thin out semi-gloss the particles that make it "semi" tend to settle so if you do multiple coats of semi the finish might become hazy. The copper will be all gloss.
This is the piece that will go behind the taps. It still needs to be sanded and glued together. I'm out of town for nine of the next ten days so hopefully I can do something on my day off otherwise it will be a couple weeks.
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richardtmorgan
Active Member
I would have a look at Waterlox finishes. They're really well reviewed and will keep your Hickory looking beautiful. The poly will be okay - especially applied like you suggest, but it will always be 'on top' of the wood rather than 'in' the wood.
I've had great success with Danish Oil. That's poly cut with a thinner and with some oil of some sort. You apply it quite heavily (like a stain) and then wipe of all the excess ten minutes later after it has had a chance to seep into the wood. An hour or two later you need to rub hard to remove any finish that had seeped out of the wood. Then every two days (every day if you have ideal drying conditions) rub the finish gently with some fine wire wool and apply another super thin coat of danish oil with a cloth and rub it out 10 minutes later. If you persevere with this, eventually you will have the most gorgeous satin finish (but it's worth keeping going - maybe five or six super thin coats before the dry finish has the same kind of sheen as the wet finish...).
Whatever you do all depends on perfect sanding. If Hickory is really hard, I would sand to 300 or 400 grit - it will be worth it in allowing the wood to really shine. The finish will show any imperfection in the sanding, and if there is anything you have missed it's worth sanding back any area that isn't perfect and refinishing there. You will see it on the first coat you apply.
I've had great success with Danish Oil. That's poly cut with a thinner and with some oil of some sort. You apply it quite heavily (like a stain) and then wipe of all the excess ten minutes later after it has had a chance to seep into the wood. An hour or two later you need to rub hard to remove any finish that had seeped out of the wood. Then every two days (every day if you have ideal drying conditions) rub the finish gently with some fine wire wool and apply another super thin coat of danish oil with a cloth and rub it out 10 minutes later. If you persevere with this, eventually you will have the most gorgeous satin finish (but it's worth keeping going - maybe five or six super thin coats before the dry finish has the same kind of sheen as the wet finish...).
Whatever you do all depends on perfect sanding. If Hickory is really hard, I would sand to 300 or 400 grit - it will be worth it in allowing the wood to really shine. The finish will show any imperfection in the sanding, and if there is anything you have missed it's worth sanding back any area that isn't perfect and refinishing there. You will see it on the first coat you apply.
Done...mostly, I have a little caulking to do but I'll wait until it is in the house to do that. My buddy who helped on this project is having a party on Saturday so we will wheel it across the street for one night before it finds it's final resting place in my basement.
The finishing was technically easy but logistically was a huge pain in the butt. As I mentioned above, VOCs are a concern to my pregnant wife so I took the bar to my parent's house an hour away so I could work on it in my Dad's shop. I did five coats over three days and ended up making four total trips. I'm very happy with the finish but wish I'd have figured out a way to do it closer to home.
I used Minwax oil based polyurethane thinned about 50/50 with mineral spirits and wiped on with an old t-shirt. The first four coats were gloss and the last coat was semi-gloss. Each coat was very thin and I sanded any coat that sat for more than 24 hours. The fumes were pretty terrible. I can't say I recommend oil-based to anyone.
You can see the gas springs in this picture. I didn't get the geometry exactly right; it's a little heavy to lift and would slam shut if l let it drop but I'm not going to bother to fix it since the lid shouldn't be open very often.
I used a piano hinge for the lid.
I didn't use the freezer's lid. Instead, I used two pieces of 1" foam. I used 1/2" copper tube to keep the beer lines cool. There is about 2" exposed in the cooler and it seems to transfer the temperature pretty well. I haven't used it enough to determine if I will have a foaming issue. Hopefully not.
The plumbing is a bit messy but it works! I bought a second regulator so I can run my ciders at a lower pressure or force carb at a higher pressure.
The final product. I'm extremely pleased with the result. It was a lot of work!
You can see the stainless faucet handles here. I found these at Williams Brewing. I like the low key look.
The finishing was technically easy but logistically was a huge pain in the butt. As I mentioned above, VOCs are a concern to my pregnant wife so I took the bar to my parent's house an hour away so I could work on it in my Dad's shop. I did five coats over three days and ended up making four total trips. I'm very happy with the finish but wish I'd have figured out a way to do it closer to home.
I used Minwax oil based polyurethane thinned about 50/50 with mineral spirits and wiped on with an old t-shirt. The first four coats were gloss and the last coat was semi-gloss. Each coat was very thin and I sanded any coat that sat for more than 24 hours. The fumes were pretty terrible. I can't say I recommend oil-based to anyone.
You can see the gas springs in this picture. I didn't get the geometry exactly right; it's a little heavy to lift and would slam shut if l let it drop but I'm not going to bother to fix it since the lid shouldn't be open very often.
I used a piano hinge for the lid.
I didn't use the freezer's lid. Instead, I used two pieces of 1" foam. I used 1/2" copper tube to keep the beer lines cool. There is about 2" exposed in the cooler and it seems to transfer the temperature pretty well. I haven't used it enough to determine if I will have a foaming issue. Hopefully not.
The plumbing is a bit messy but it works! I bought a second regulator so I can run my ciders at a lower pressure or force carb at a higher pressure.
The final product. I'm extremely pleased with the result. It was a lot of work!
You can see the stainless faucet handles here. I found these at Williams Brewing. I like the low key look.
A thing of beauty, for sure! May you get many long and pleasurable years of service from it.
Brew on
Brew on
Congrats on your beautiful bar. Very classy with the hardwood/copper combo. I'm sure it's worth the time & effort for a priceless piece of furniture with rewards! FWIW, I used 45 lb. shocks on my keezer & had to move them around to find the sweet spot. It opens & closes with ease now.
Could you list where to buy these shocks and where the sweet spot is located?
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f252/4-tap-keezer-build-469533/
The info. is in this old post with photos. They're Suspa shocks from Amazon @ $27/pair. Hope that helps you.
richardtmorgan
Active Member
Looks fabulous- congrats
I put LED strip lights behind the taps today. Used parts from an under/over-cabinet lighting project a while back. The switch is a touch switch hidden behind the tap board. I used F-channel attached to the top of the back splash to support the lights.
LED strip lights are a really nice addition to a project. They are really cheap, low profile, and relatively easy to work with.
Here is a view from below. You can see the touch switch on the right (bottom).
LED strip lights are a really nice addition to a project. They are really cheap, low profile, and relatively easy to work with.
Here is a view from below. You can see the touch switch on the right (bottom).
