He's fuming!

  Sir Old Man is fuming!  That's a good thing, too.

  Last January I finished up this quilt, the Buzz Saw quilt.  The agreement was I would make a new quilt and  he would build a new bed.  The quilt has been waiting for the bed since then.

   Over the last few months I have shown the progress on the bed parts....the slats, the legs, part of the head board in various posts.  Today I want to share the fuming stage.


  When Sir Old Man completed the end table  last fall, I mentioned that he had fumed the wood before putting on the finish.  It gives the natural wood a very unique patina.  There is an aged appearance that can not come from a stain or dye.  The "blonde highlight" on the table is from sap wood, which does not change with fuming.....even with stain it has a lighter appearance.


  I have been waiting for this stage---not very patiently---because I know it means the finish is getting near.   Or so I thought.  Let me explain......
  Fuming is done with ammonia....it is dangerous when breathed in, so a great deal of care must be taken.  That means the fumes from the ammonia must be contained in a type of covered cage along with the furniture parts/pieces/sections and it must be sealed.   This sits for a couple of days  to allow the fumes from the ammonia to react with the tannin in the wood.  The tannin will darken during the react which gives the deeper patina to the wood.  Actually, this explanation is the easy part.  Designing and building the cage and internal structure to hold the pieces took over a week!
   If you have hung on this long and are not bored, here are some photos of the fuming cage.


  Sir Old Man  recycled some shelf brackets and supports by building a structure out of 2x4 lumber.  The pieces for the bed can rest on the arm brackets.













   The support system is inside the actual cage structure.  The cage is built of PVC pipe.

   It was like designing a puzzle to figure out how to get the long and short pieces, the legs, and such to fit inside.  Once he was happy with the arrangement, out came the heavy plastic.

  One last look to be sure everything is positioned and ready to be sealed.   Wait......what do you mean you need to go to the big box store?  Now what do you need?
  ....Duct Tape!!!  
  ....You don't have duct tape?  Well, be sure to pick up a pretty color.
 .... Colored duct tape?
.... Yes, duct tape comes in lots of colors and designs now.
  At this point he did not believe me.  I stuck out my hand and said "Betcha".  He refused and went to the big box store.
Guess what he found?  Guess what he brought home?

Note the end sealed with ugly, manly, grey duct tape!
I had to laugh. He told me I was right, and could buy more fabric....lol.
   That's okay, I was happy to see the bed pieces caged and sealed with grey duct tape.   Now the wait begins.

   Thanks for visiting the workshop with me today.....let's go make some scraps, or sawdust.  Happy stitching.