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A Week In The Workshop 178




Hi everyone! What a great week; didn’t get much done, lots going on, but had a great time - hope you all had a good one too!


I’ll let the video do the talking, but TL;DR, I shot the Birch Ply Alternatives video - they’re not great and I’m actually struggling with the thumbnails as they’re just not photogenic - I met some lovely people, designed some shelves for my home office, broke a brand new router, made some progress with the MFT jig, booked a hotel for Makers Central, bought some new microphones.

Oh, and I rented a house. 🤷‍♂️


Honestly, I’ve had cheaper weeks…


Thanks so much for being here, enjoy the rest of the weekend and I’ll catch you midweek.


Peter


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14 comentarios


Andrew Lawton
Andrew Lawton
23 abr 2023

I think that part of the problem with the birch "alternatives" is that the timber used probably cannot be cut into such thin veneers as birch. My limited experience with poplar is that it is a relatively lightweight soft timber. I would expect it to produce the thicker veneers, by whichever cutting process you use.

I too was going to suggest a vinyl top for your desk. Got a bit of resilience and warmth to it and easy to clean. I once worked on a vinyl topped drawing board and liked it as a work surface. A bit of warmth - with a hot air gun - would, if necessary persuade it to go round a curve.

Finally, I had…

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petermillard
petermillard
23 abr 2023
Contestando a

Thanks Andrew! I'm sure you're right - but then I'd say that they need to stop calling them alternatives, if they're really not. And yes, some genuine Lino / marmolium may well be the answer; I'm warn=ming to it myself! 👍

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Bill J
Bill J
23 abr 2023

Quite a week Peter! Are you still able to walk to the workshop from the rental?

The shelving unit plan and the desktop sound very interesting, looking forward to seeing those develop.

I've got my MC tickets for the Saturday, so hopefully see you then 👍.

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petermillard
petermillard
23 abr 2023
Contestando a

Thanks Bill! Yes, the rental is just across the road from my timber yard, so a 10-minute walk away; need to crack on with that shelving though as I need to get myself moved upstairs! I'll be at Makers Central all weekend, look forward to meeting you if you can make it! 👍

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Peter K
Peter K
23 abr 2023

It was quite the busy week for you! Nice clip in the video, visit immortalised now 😂

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petermillard
petermillard
23 abr 2023
Contestando a

😂😂

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Mark  Walker
Mark Walker
23 abr 2023

Hopefully catch you at Makers Central.I aim to go as I live just down the road. If you are in Brum make sure you check out the Albert Schloss.

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petermillard
petermillard
23 abr 2023
Contestando a

Cheers Mark! Makers Central tends to be pretty full-on - a bit like the recent Berlin trip, not much scope for other activities! Looks like an amazing place though - definitely a destination for another visit, thanks! 👍

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Paul Civati
Paul Civati
23 abr 2023

You have been very spoilt with your local timber merchant and the quality of boards they have, but I think you know this. 😀 Out here (Thanet, Kent) one of the local timber merchants supplies birch ply that is patched on both sides(!!), it didn't bother me too much for the project but there was another person in there complaining about it and they just shrugged. Why you would even make boards like this who knows, let alone resell them. Have to say I was amazed with the quality of your birch ply when I got my LTJ. Aside from the patching the quality of the birch face on mine was far away from yours. I think my point is that these…

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petermillard
petermillard
23 abr 2023
Contestando a

Thanks Paul! Yes, very good point about the Birch ply quality I'm accustomed to; I think I'd be more forgiving of these alternatives f they were priced more appropriately - feels like they're gouging, taking advantage of the inflated prices of Birch. Good shout about Lino / vinyl too; marmolium may also be an option, though I'm not sure how well it handles curves. Thanks for the reminder though! 👍

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