The Coffee House

snowbear · Dec 23, 2025

MLW is making sugar cookies as I type. We have a number of odd shapes that were her mom's but the big ones for this batch are a bear, a lobster and a moose.

Silver paint nmeeded a touch up from a run. Coverage sucks but the nutcrackers are round with protruding arms, and one had a drum. I think gold did a little better than the silver. It would have been much better had I gotten them a week or two sooner; I could have taken them apart, painted, then glued together. They're only out once a year, so it'ss le fine.

The second project is going along fairly well. I was able to sand out most of the wavyness in the padauk and the crooked cut in the purpleheart. I power sanded 80, 120, and 180 grit paper Hand sanding the 220 is next, then shellac. Unfortunately I didn't find the mask until after the power sanding. I'll be sneezing and coughing red-orange-brown for the next week!

smoke665 · Dec 23, 2025

snowbear said:
able to sand out most of the wavyness in the padauk and the crooked cut in the purpleheart. I p

Both of these are high up on the hazardous list. If sneezing for a week is the worst, you'll be lucky.

snowbear said:
, then shellac

I've done some traditional rubbed out shellac in the past but moved away from it. On larger pieces there's always color variations in the wood, I prefer a spray lacquer with an alcohol based dye tint. Evens ot the color and creates depth in the finish.

snowbear · Dec 23, 2025

Yeah, just call me sneeze & wheeze. Ya gotta die from something, right?

I just wiped it down with mineral spirits after the 220 hand sand. I love the grain.

It will darken over time and it’s a lap desk/drawing board, so some color variations will be fine. Fine Woodworking reported on testing a number of finished on Padauk and clear shellac cured quickly and had the least affect on color.

MartinCrabtree · Dec 23, 2025

Well we have returned to the future. We have central heat.

smoke665 · Dec 23, 2025

@snowbear most of my craftsman furniture pieces have been in cherry, which can have a lot of variation, especially in larger glued up panels. Rather than scrap the wood, I even it out with the tinted lacquer.

Assuming a paste wax finish?

cgw · Dec 23, 2025

Jeesh, avian flu whacks S. Ontario for Christmas! Fresh turkeys in short supply. Despite an advance weeks-ago order for a 13-15 pounder, they fork-lifted a 25lb bruiser from the cooler. Once home, I pissed the frau by grabbing the roasting pan for a fitting. Verdict? "Barely." Truly a First World problem...
Wet snow and drabness does show off the outside lights nicely mid-day. Comfort and joy in wretched excess.
Just got my well-traveled, slightly smelly oiled wool sweater repaired by the onsite knitter. Sheds water and holds warmth like no other. That sheepy smell, though...Best kept outdoors.
Joyous Christmas/Jul wishes to all the TPF darlings!

SquarePeg · Dec 23, 2025

snowbear said:
I do miss having a fireplace but we aren't going to try to put ine here. I already mentioned a wood stove and was outvoted. It woiuld have to have gone in dining room where the chimney forvthe furnace is. Maybe we can put a video screen in MLSIL's fake one.

I ended up just spray painting the nut crackers. One more coat on the silver one tomorrow, then final sanding and finish the lap desk for Lazy Lobster. I ended up going with padauk (MLW picked it for the red to orange color. Trying to decide on finish: shellac or bowling alley wax. I'll grab both in the morning and puth them side by side on a piece of scrap. Photos when all is done.

NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory fir Central Maine, including our tow, from 1:00 PM Tuesday to 1:00 PM Wednesday . Total accumulation of 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.5 cm) of snow.

Sounds like a Jeep challenge to me. Bring it!

I don’t use the wood-burning fireplace any longer. I put an electric insert inside it and I feel much better about using that. The wood-burning fireplace always made me nervous as to whether or not it was fully out so I wouldn’t use it later at night, which was when I really wanted it. The electric one is great, I just turned it on and turn it off whenever I feel like it. I got it off of Amazon after measuring the space available. I had to make a little bit of a minor adjustment for a custom fit but I think it looks pretty good. They sell some really nice looking ones that are already encased in wood with a mantle that you just plug and play. Or for more modern look, you can build it into the wall. If I didn’t already have a giant brick fireplace, I would have one of the wooden electric ones with the mantle. Costco and BJ’s always have them available.
Like so…

smoke665 · Dec 23, 2025

Gas insert in our fireplace. Remote control turns it on and adjust, turn it off. No worries. Not as much heat as wood, but so much easier to deal with

snowbear · Dec 23, 2025

smoke665 said:
@snowbear most of my craftsman furniture pieces have been in cherry, which can have a lot of variation, especially in larger glued up panels. Rather than scrap the wood, I even it out with the tinted lacquer.

Assuming a paste wax finish?

That's the way I'm leaning.

cgw · Dec 23, 2025

Wood works with a hearth-size fireplace and free timber. In my area, so many late Victorian homes had shallower fireplaces built for coal--not wood. The family ruin has an 1840s/50s hearth with swing arms plainly designed for cooking and heat.

smoke665 · Dec 23, 2025

@cgw Our old house wasn't as old as yours. But the fireplace was a massive stone affair. It would hold a lot of wood and held the heat. Our new house has a smaller wood burning fireplace. Never ending supply of wood right outside....but never built a fire in it. Ended up putting in the gas logs.

limr · Dec 23, 2025

terri said:
Some fabulous and much-needed time off at last!

The lemon rolls sound intriguing - how did they turn out?

Those little chimneys look great - you'd have to get it installed to code for good ventilation, of course, but I don’t think you'd ever leave the house once it was in! I love the style.

The lemon curd rolls came out fantastic. Packages were delivered to select neighbors and to the mechanics at the Mazda's inspection this morning. They were messy to roll up and I need to watch them more carefully in the oven because the overflow curd can burn quickly, but they are definitely a hit!

It's a little dangerous that I have learned how easy it is to make lemon curd. Next, I want to try cranberry curd, and I also want to attempt choux pastry with some kind of curd filling.

VidThreeNorth · Dec 24, 2025

SquarePeg said:
I don’t use the wood-burning fireplace any longer. I put an electric insert inside it and I feel much better about using that. The wood-burning fireplace always made me nervous as to whether or not it was fully out so I wouldn’t use it later at night, which was when I really wanted it. The electric one is great, I just turned it on and turn it off whenever I feel like it. I got it off of Amazon after measuring the space available. I had to make a little bit of a minor adjustment for a custom fit but I think it looks pretty good. They sell some really nice looking ones that are already encased in wood with a mantle that you just plug and play. Or for more modern look, you can build it into the wall. If I didn’t already have a giant brick fireplace, I would have one of the wooden electric ones with the mantle. Costco and BJ’s always have them available.
Like so…

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I've seen fireplaces in homes built after 1950's that I don't think were designed properly. I doubt if one could actually burn anything in them, so probably no point in trying. Nice wood in yours.

snowbear · Dec 24, 2025

The sinuses are definitely not up to par. MLW and Lazy Lobster having the same issues so we are thinking more bad colds rather than sawdust (the pretty colors have cleared).

A couple phone snaps: first is the lapses with one coat of shellac. I doubt I’ll get to store for paste wax today, mainly due to feeling under the weather.