Built some furniture from free online plans

[Kiwibird]

Been a while since I've posted any of my little "projects", figured it's about time to share something I have been learning to play "piano" with this cheap keyboard and not using proper posture either due to not liking the look of stands available to buy. I have been tossing around the idea of upgrading to a 76 key digital piano with weighted keys and sustain pedal so it would be more realistic to learn on than the junker I have but before I did that I really wanted something more furniture like to put that on. Behold this nifty plan of how to use cheap lumber to build something that isn't a metal stand (and thanks to whomever created/posted this tutorial)!

DIY Digital Piano Stand plus Bench (...a $25 project!!) | Make It and Love It

My stand is not yet stained or finished, but it is super sturdy and should fit the larger piano I have my eye on when I eventually buy it. The lumber only cost around $30, but I had to buy this special "kreg jig" and driver bits to do the pocket holes which was awfully pricey for such a little thing. For the first piece of furniture I ever built from scratch, I think it came out ok. Those "x" decorations were horrendous. As someone who is mathematically deficient (to say the least!) I did not find the angles in the tutorial to work and you can see my eventual results to be more "square" than the tutorial's. Still looks OK. Especially given my limitations of only having a jigsaw and the lumber not being of the best quality to begin with. It is fortunate Kiwi is not a talking bird, or he may have a vocabulary that would make a grizzled sailor blush at this point after hearing his mommy trying to figure out those X's:08: I spent a long time applying a 'finish' to raise the grain and *hopefully* will be able to get a realistic weathered wood look on it as a final finish. I am experimenting with some scraps using "natural" wood aging techniques with tea, vinegar and steel wool. Stay tuned

"I think you made the bench too short, mommy":07:

 

[SailBoat]

Julio plays using his claws. That way he can play more complex notes.

Nice project!!!

 

[plumsmum2005]

Give her a hammer and she will build it LOL! Very envious of those skills and well done, really looks good. Kiwi will be having a specially made stand of his own very soon?

 

[Kiwibird]

Julio plays using his claws. That way he can play more complex notes.

Nice project!!!

Kiwi plays with his beak...starting with the squishy little buttons that change the settings before prying off the keys, I'm sure That is why I keep it covered when not being used. Many little buttons may prove too great a temptation:16:

 

[Flboy]

I really have to say, looking at the plans, and what you made, you are good!

 

[Flboy]

Julio plays using his claws. That way he can play more complex notes.

Nice project!!!

Kiwi plays with his beak...starting with the squishy little buttons that change the settings before prying off the keys, I'm sure That is why I keep it covered when not being used. Many little buttons may prove too great a temptation:16:

In the days of a BlackBerry, I must say, I thought there was nothing Bongo could do to it until somebody start saying hey what are all these little letters laying all over the floor!

 

[Kiwibird]

Julio plays using his claws. That way he can play more complex notes.

Nice project!!!

Kiwi plays with his beak...starting with the squishy little buttons that change the settings before prying off the keys, I'm sure That is why I keep it covered when not being used. Many little buttons may prove too great a temptation:16:

In the days of a BlackBerry, I must say, I thought there was nothing Bongo could do to it until somebody start saying hey what are all these little letters laying all over the floor!

A major blow to parrotkind when phones with buttons to dial and type with were phased out!

I do remember when we first had Kiwi him chewing a button off something (a remote maybe?) and scolding him about it. He's pretty good about not chewing on things that have not been directly given to him (like toys), but you can never *quite* 100% trust a parrot to behave. I tend to just cover/hide anything with buttons so he never gets the chance in the first place to destroy them:58:

 

[Scott]

Great job, April. Looks good to me, I like that hue, shows the wood's "personality."

 

[Kiwibird]

Hoping someone might know- I am "staining" the wood with vinegar, tea and steel wool instead of a traditional stain. I also wanted to use a non-toxic sealer but am not sure what. I've always sealed with stuff like polyacrylic or polyurethane before (depending on base), but this will be right next to Kiwi, so I don't want anything smelly/toxic (hence why I'm avoiding traditional stains). I don't have room on our patio to leave this thing out there for weeks for sealer stench to dissipate. I'm also not entirely certain a homemade stain needs to be stained or if it's technically considered water based? Any suggestions? What about something like butcher block oil that's food safe and doesn't go rancid?

 

[plumsmum2005]

Here is my offering, let me know what you think LOL

https://www.amazon.com/ECO-SAFE-Wood-Treatment-Preservative-Non-Toxic/dp/B00LWF09XA

http://www.protekwoodstain.co.uk/wood-stain/royal-interior-wood-finish-golden-pine

 

[SailBoat]

As you stated, butcher block oil is food safe, doesn't go rancid and, I will add: works well. The trick is to not over do it! The first time a coat begins to remain sticky, it was time to stop one or two coats prior! There are several veggie based oils that you can use, but the down sides are the improvement of favor for a certain member of your family. Any of the above products are every easy to over use. Generally a couple of coats is more than enough. We get comfortable with those deep clear surfaces and tend to keep applying oils in hopes of duplicating! Also, oils tend not to create a rock hard surface and can collect dust.

I have not used 'vinegar, tea' and rubbed with steel wool. But I am guessing that it could be much the same. Normal, steel wool is used to close the grain and continued rubbing will act like a sealed surface and brings a bit of a shine to the surface. This is commonly used with the oils also.

Try a test coating on so surplus pieces and see, which provide the hardest surface.

 

[Kiwibird]

Here is my offering, let me know what you think LOL

https://www.amazon.com/ECO-SAFE-Wood-Treatment-Preservative-Non-Toxic/dp/B00LWF09XA

Royal Interior Wood Finish - Golden Pine - Protek Wood Stain

Interesting options. I already bought the supplies for the diy version, but if it just doesn't work on my samples I might look into these more. By "pet safe" I wonder if that means safe for a dog/cat to walk/lay on or safe enough if a parrot nibbles on it? That gray color may be right for my next project though, which won't be something near Kiwi's area. Thanks for letting me know these are actually options!

 

[Kiwibird]

As you stated, butcher block oil is food safe, doesn't go rancid and, I will add: works well. The trick is to not over do it! The first time a coat begins to remain sticky, it was time to stop one or two coats prior! There are several veggie based oils that you can use, but the down sides are the improvement of favor for a certain member of your family. Any of the above products are every easy to over use. Generally a couple of coats is more than enough. We get comfortable with those deep clear surfaces and tend to keep applying oils in hopes of duplicating! Also, oils tend not to create a rock hard surface and can collect dust.

I have not used 'vinegar, tea' and rubbed with steel wool. But I am guessing that it could be much the same. Normal, steel wool is used to close the grain and continued rubbing will act like a sealed surface and brings a bit of a shine to the surface. This is commonly used with the oils also.

Try a test coating on so surplus pieces and see, which provide the hardest surface.

Actually, you dissolve the steel wool in the vinegar. Tea is painted on beforehand and allowed to dry. The tea adds tannins to the wood, which apparently in the case of fir, has very little natural tannins. Once the steel wool has dissolved, you filter out the finer particles and apply on the tea-coated wood. This reacts with the tannins causing the wood to oxidize (i.e. artificial aging) over the course of a week or so. I will be trying out various #'s of coats of tea and different vinegar (white, apple cider, balsamic) solutions on test samples, along with the addition of coffee (which apparently creates a darker/warmer appearance) to some jars to get the right stain color.

I have used butchers block oil on unsealed wood (bamboo) cutting boards before. I would imagine I'd want to do a similar process to this stand in building up the coating over time, not in one or 2 big applications correct? Again, something to test out on my samples. Depending on how the staining process works, I may just end up needing to fine sand it and no need to seal at all. I textured the wood to look old and am hoping to get it to a color where it would look believably like 'reclaimed' wood.

And while it is in Kiwi's vicinity, he knows better than to chew furniture. He learned that was a big no-no a long time ago and doesn't tend to bother things of ours. It's been there a couple weeks now and he hasn't given it a second glance. Still, being so close to his cage I just want to be 100% certain if he ever did decide to be extremely naughty he'd still be safe