Antique/Industrial Shelf Project

[chithead]

Excellent work!

[gckless]

Top of the shelves after the seal coat. They look better than the bottoms, so I chose the right sides. Going to let these dry, then start the urethane coats either before bed or tomorrow. This takes the longest, letting everything dry.

[gckless]

Bought some black iron pipe for the top section, and holy hell is it more expensive than I expected. I'm $80 in and only about halfway there. Although I did figure out another feet configuration that will save me some money and probably look better.

[BigAl205]

This is an awesome project!

I saw Norm Abram use this set to repair a similar crack http://www.rockler.com/butterfly-key-inlay-template-set. It's a bit on the expensive side, but if you plan on doing more in the future, it might be worth the investment.

[gckless]

This is an awesome project!

I saw Norm Abram use this set to repair a similar crack http://www.rockler.com/butterfly-key-inlay-template-set. It's a bit on the expensive side, but if you plan on doing more in the future, it might be worth the investment.

Yeah, if I would have done splines, it would have been with something like that. If I do anything bigger/more expensive, I will be doing that for sure.

[gckless]

This is after the first coat of Arm-R-Seal on top. I have flipped them over and now coated the back. Waiting for it to dry, and then going to sand with 220 grit between coats.



Black iron pipe! This is about 3/4 of what I need. This stuff isn't cheap, I'm over budget for sure. Before I start putting it together, I need to figure out the final plan for wiring. Have to put the wiring in as I go, because it will be impossible to fish it through later. Pretty sure I got it, just need to figure out where the switch is going. Also determined, with the help of coworkers, how I want the base to be. Changed my original plan, and was able to save money and make it better functionally and aesthetically.

[gckless]

Sanded down with 320 grit, and this is the 2nd coat of Arm-R-Seal. Looks good! Depending on how this turns out, I may not do another coat. If I do, one more at the most. Just my taste, I like a more natural-looking finish. Some people like that glass look with no holes or cracks or anything, but not this guy.

[gckless]

This finish is giving me headaches. I get small patches of streaking, or just low spots. Can see it in this picture at right center. I have sanded one more time and reapplied a coat. I'm going to have to live with however it turns out now though, because I'm afraid if I do more coats it's going to start to look plasticky. I love the color, on the plus side.




These are the bulbs I'll be using. I ordered 5 different ones to sample them, and this one was perfect. Good size, and not too bright.




Here is the support. Obviously nothing is tightened yet, but you get the idea. It's actually going to be pretty tough to wire and tighten. I have to wire all through, solder the connections, and then tighten them up in 3 circles and then together. The pipes aren't threaded opposite on each end, so if you turn only the pipe one side will loosen while the other side tightens. Because of that, have to go in a circle and then the last piece will be somewhat loose. I'll be using JB Weld to keep 'em in place.
I ordered a switch as well, but it doesn't fit and I don't know where I can put it. So, I'm just going to hardwire all of these to the plug and then get a remote control outlet, so I'll have a wireless switch.




Here's after the last coat. Looks great! No streaks or anything. This is about 4 hours into drying, nothing else should randomly appear. Glad this worked out because I did NOT want to do another coat.




Tops are done. Just have to flip them over and do one coat on the bottoms (don't really care how they look) and these are done. They're a little lighter than this picture makes them out to be.

[BigAl205]

I like that. In order to make running the wire easier, tie a piece of string around a foam or paper ball and use a vacuum cleaner to pull it thru the pipe.

[gckless]

I like that. In order to make running the wire easier, tie a piece of string around a foam or paper ball and use a vacuum cleaner to pull it thru the pipe.

Good idea. I'm running the wire before I assemble though, so I'm not going to have any issue with that. I'd never get it around the turns, it would get hung up on everything inside the pipe. Would be damn near impossible with the 12AWG I'm using.