The I-Don't-Know-What-I'm-Doing Bar Build

[MrFoodScientist]

And while we're discussing tools,
Why did Snoop Dogg go to the hardware store?

Fo' chisels!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

$6 for a set at harbor freight. I'm not going to trust my life with them, but they got the job done. Actually I bought these to chip out a recess for the strike plate of a deadbolt, so pulling double duty on this now.

I had to trim the top and bottom flush so it wouldn't interfere with the floor or countertop. I may have to shim it, but all in all I've been pretty happy with how it has turned out so far given my aversion to buying a cabinet shop worth of tools.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

$6 for a set at harbor freight. I'm not going to trust my life with them, but they fit the job done.

I have some of those too. Takes some work to get a really good edge on them but they hold an edge better than some of my more expensive chisels.

Handles can get a bit fidgety tho'.

 

[Kharnynb]

I put on a whole new roof last year with the HF air nailer. Reading the reviews, everyone who had problems with it used the HF nails. Those that bought name brand nails had no issues.

Agreed, also with pop-nails it really keeps your machine working better if you buy good ones.

 

[Soulshine2]

I put on a whole new roof last year with the HF air nailer. Reading the reviews, everyone who had problems with it used the HF nails. Those that bought name brand nails had no issues.

I had bought the HF nailer for a small side job . After the 10 nail fail (yes it was HF nails) I took it back after being shut down the rest of the day and got a Bostich oil-less. Like BUTTAH.

 

[hedgie57]

I thought this thread was about a bar build,don't really care about hf tool debate.The bar is looking great!!

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Thanks hedgie. Wait until everyone finds out that I'm driving screws with a 12V cordless drill from Aldi.

True story.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Got my trim mitered to cover the screws in the face panel. I'm not entirely sure the best way to attach this to ensure that it it holds the curve well.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Thanks hedgie. Wait until everyone finds out that I'm driving screws with a 12V cordless drill from Aldi.

True story.

Meh. I still use a old Popular Mechanics electric screwdriver from the 80's. Thing is a beast and will not die.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Got my trim mitered to cover the screws in the face panel. I'm not entirely sure the best way to attach this to ensure that it it holds the curve well.

Glue and finish nails.

I'd prolly use glue, headless pin-nails, and tape.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Oh snap. As I am putting this thread together, I am now realizing that I may have just hit my worst flub so far.

I just now realized that my layer of shellac is going to make gluing this trim on rather difficult if not futile.
Don't mind the orangey color. That's Fiebing's British Tan leather dye which will soon get a layer of Sedona red minwax. I should probably figure out how I'm going to get the glue to adhere, though, before any more doses of color. Oops.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

poly glue (liquid nails), and finish nails or staples.

edit: being that fieberg is an alcohol base aniline dye, you may be okay with basic PVA glue since the dye does not "fill" the grain of the wood.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Thanks for the tip​ on poly glue. Hadn't thought about that.
Yeah, I was more worried about the shellac I put on first, though. I think I will probably try and clean it up a bit with alcohol and see how the pva and finish nails will hold, and I can always go back with liquid nails later if I need to.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Oh. I missed that you shellac'd. I thought at that point you had only dyed.

 

[b-boy]

Yes, no, and maybe!!

If you make your living with tools, yes buy the best you can. If you need that tool that you may use every 3 years, why spend the money. Well, unless you are tool snob with cash to burn, lol. ( or a Union guy) jk

I just built my house. I did about 20% of the work myself. 2400sf of solid red oak flooring I put in with a HF floor nailer. I think I paid $140 os so with coupon. Not the first problem with it. Sold it on Craiglist for $90 when I finished. So no real advantage in spending $$$ for a Dewalt or whatever name brand. But I also have a Kubota tractor I use 3-4 times a week. It is worth the extra money for it.

Kind of like if I was to spend $6000 for a high end brew system just to make 1-2 kegs a month. I don't have that kind of money just to have bragging rights, lol

That HF Floor Nailer is a beast! I got mine about 10 years ago for ~$100 vs. ~$450 for a high-end model. I've used it in 2 houses. I re-floored every room in my old house, and I've done a lot of work in my new house. I also loaned it out to someone. Best $100 I ever spent.

On the other had, I bought a ball peen hammer that broke the first time I used it. The face just snapped off. Crappiest metal I've ever seen.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

So, I was able to scrub down the surface a little with some denatured alcohol. And then immediately after I rubbed it down I glued and nailed the trim down while it was still damp, so hopefully that will help the glue soak in at least a little. It's a bit tedious, and I've been pretty busy this week, so it seems like I only have time to do one square at a time. Once I get them all on then hopefully this weekend I can put the stain on. Just not sure if I want to color the insides of those squares, too or leave them natural.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Just not sure if I want to color the insides of those squares, too or leave them natural.

The contrast is nice but needs a transition. Maybe a dark color for the trim that still ties in.

Or, maybe just contrast with the trim.

 

[xpops]

subscribing for the photos and fun antics!
looking great so far!

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Thanks xpops. Hopefully more to come soon. I've been financing this with eBay sales, and they have slowed down a bit lately, so progress might be delayed, but there's plenty to do with what I have purchased.

Gila, I agree it needs something. I have some black dye that I can darken up the British Tan with to make more of a chocolate brown, or I did consider doing the trim with the red stain and leaving the centers natural.
I don't know if I can pull it off, but I found the dye trick on some guitar websites, so I considered doing like what some acoustic guitars have a sort of shadow around the edge that fades to show the wood grain in the center. I would probably screw it up though.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I would probably screws it up though.

Wood finish can be like tasting your own beer. Often times, you think you can do better or it seems flawed, while to others it seems perfectly fine.

Sometime you just have to do as good as you can and move on.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Finally there is some update worthy progress. I top coated the dye with some minwax wood finish. This worked so much better on the test piece than the actual bar because the test piece was done immediately after the dye which was done immediately after the shellac, so the stain filled the grain pores really nicely. The actual bar was done in stages days (or weeks) apart, so the grain was pretty well sealed in spots. The red stain made the centers pink. Not what I was going for. Maybe I'll have ladies dancing on this bar after all.

The photo doesn't really convey how pink it is.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

I did some mock ups for colors in GIMP and decided the best thing to do would be to darken the orange a bit more and do a deep red for the squares.

Oh, that's really red. And it makes the orange more orange. Still a few steps to go yet, so I'm not quite panicking.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Some shading and a bit more darkening of the main portion. It took​ a couple drops of dye in the minwax, which worked nicely. It's starting to look a bit more like a piece of furniture now:

Next up is spiffing up and coloring the corbels, working on the trim and then on to the countertop​.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

Making some slow progress. Did some alchemy and turned this PVC trim into wood.

Ok, so it wasn't alchemy. I surrendered my man card for a Pinterest account and came across it there. It passes a fairly close inspection and is convincing enough. I guess we'll see how durable it is. FYI aniline due on PVC does not maintain the same color as on wood. The red dye turned gray.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

I was fortunate enough to find a classifieds listing that said "wet bar - $75". So I jumped on that! It included 3 upper cabinets which held a bottle and wine glass rack, 3 base cabinets with a composite countertop and a postage stamp size sink.

I had asked the dimensions and they said it was 8ft, which is about a couple inches longer than my space. But I figured I could make it work somehow.

When I got it in my truck I was surprised that I could put my tailgate up. It was at that moment that I realized that dude can't measure very well since my truck (92Toyota 2wd) is small enough to almost not qualify as a truck and I know it doesn't have an 8ft bed.

Anyway, so here is what the place looks like right now with the wall cabinets mounted:


I had to mount the cabinets off center because the sink is going to go in the corner where the coolers are stacked, but didn't want to put them all the way against the wall on the right because there is speaker wiring back there. And I was limited by the vent on the ceiling, so I mounted them so that the drawers almost rest on the countertop (which is how it was originally designed). I plan on building some shelves for above the sink to balance out the space. I don't plan on reusing the sink or countertop that came with it, so if anyone wants them, you're welcome to come get them. It's a tiny sink, though.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

So it's been a while, progress has been slow but fairly steady. I attached the bar to the wall with some cabinet mounting screws and used the same screws to attach to some 2x8's that I liquid nails'ed to the tile floor. This beast is solid, now!
I'm going to have to go in and fix all my pictures now that Photobucket killed everything on the internet. Any suggestions as to what has been working best since the Photobucket apocalypse?
I've been poking around on the Toyota minis forum and they'll take direct uploads under a certain size. They seem to have a similar forum setup, but not sure if it's the same here or not.

Looks like maybe it works.
Above is the latest work done on the bar top, perfect for a game of wiz kids pirates.

 

[sillbeer]

Ogden! I'm just up the road from you. I'm about to install a hood in my basement and moving everything inside. Bar install is next.

Looking good!

 

[stlbeer]

I'm going to have to go in and fix all my pictures now that Photobucket killed everything on the internet. Any suggestions as to what has been working best since the Photobucket apocalypse?

When I click the PhotoBucket image where the picture appeared and another browser tab opens and I'm taken to the picture on PhotoBucket.com.

Another option for you is to load them up to this forum and link to them that way....