I AM MAKING A CIRCLE SKIRT FOR A VICTORIAN COSTUME.
◊
I made it out of a bedsheet that I got from an antique store for $2. I also got a proper high-collared lace shirt for $4! But I left that at school so I'll have to take a photo of the full costume later.
I literally had two days to make this costume, so I'm not bothering with underthings. BUT YOU CANNOT IMAGINE MY EXCITEMENT!! I've always wanted a floor-length circle skirt and thanks to acting school, I have an excuse to make one! I am going to flounce around in this thing every chance I get!!
"I'll have five more minutes of flouncing with my hair up,
◊" I said about twenty minutes ago. IT IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER AND I WILL LOGICALLY FREEZE TO DEATH IF I DO NOT WEAR SENSIBLE CLOTHES. BUT IT'S SOOOOOOOOOO PRETTY.
I picked up this very handsome eight-legged coffee table
◊. Of course it's missing the middle panel, but before that I need to clean it. It had been left outside in perhaps one light rain, but is otherwise quite sound and not waterlogged, just dirty. I got the worst of the crusted mud off, but now the problem is the stuff that seeped into the surface. I have seen "proper woodcleaner" but also "sandpaper." Any thoughts? I'm kind of leaning towards sandpaper as there are a couple of nicks, but should I get a wood cleaner for after it's nice and smooth?
A wood cleaner isn't going to help that. That's a refinishing job — actually, with the way the edging is coming apart, it's a restoration job. It's a lot of work, and the table itself isn't worth the investment, but if you really like it, I think you have two options.
First, you really should glue and clamp the edges. Fill any other gaps with wood filler.
Then you can either:
(A) sand the whole thing — I would guess you could probably start with a medium grit, but it depends on the original finish. You should do several passes, working your way to finer grits, finishing with something like a #000 or finer steel wool. Then you would probably want to buff with wax / oil / furniture paste, or apply a lacquer. This is going to be tedious, with all the little rims and bevels, but some people zen out on that. *shrug*
(B) sand it just enough, then paint it.
Yeah, the legs are kinda unique.
You could just literally clean it with Murphy's Oil Soap. A little Feed N Wax might help even out the irregularities a little. I mean, if you need furniture and you like it, why not? Just keep your expectations low. I really would try to glue the edges on, though.
It looks like the center panel may have been glass. I think that should be pretty cheap to replace — glass is always either surprisingly cheap or surprisingly expensive, and I haven't bought enough to figure out why/which.
I realize you've decided to dump the coffee table, but just on general principle, or maybe future reference:
Please, please, please don't use furniture wax to finish wood. It does nothing to protect your furniture, and if later on you want to refinish it, it's a pain in the butt to remove.
I learned this when I tackled a 100-year-old cabinet. I was like, "what is this awful brown gunk that resists sanding and a cabinet scraper and Citri Strip and everything else I'm throwing at it?" Googling brought up furniture wax horror stories from woodworking veterans. Turns out you have to use the nastiest of solvents: naphtha, toluene, or turpentine.
I still haven't finished the hutch.
So a friend of mine gave me his supply of Citadel model paints. Like, a shitload of them, he said there's about seventy of them.
Eight required a good stir and some water, the rest was good to go. I decided to repaint a Rad Spencer kitbash I made from some GW parts (a Terminator power fist, a Catachan torso, left arm and head, and SM Scout legs), and just touched up the bottom part of the figure that I messed up last time. Next in line are the Spellcrow space Ork castoffs I bought at the con. I already spraypainted them with black undercoat, I'll paint them tomorrow.
edited 9th Feb '16 1:52:57 PM by NotSoBadassLongcoat
"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von LewisDIY nickel plating turned out to be a bust. I'm currently on the hunt to find somebody who will nickel plate small parts. Gunsmiths do it, but I don't know any gunsmiths.
Also, just so you know, there isn't a wood putty in the world that takes stain the same way actual wood does. Fortunately, the wood in question is the floor of the piano, and nobody's gonna see that anyway.
(I'm liking this new "Preview Post" option.)
So I guess I'm gonna be sticking with doing a sciences blue/green version when I get around to making the DS9 / VOY style uniform.
Because that's the only one I've found suitable fabric for.
edited 12th Feb '16 2:43:19 PM by Deadbeatloser22
"Yup. That tasted purple."It's been awhile since I've posted anything, since I've been a bit distracted from crafting. Namely, tried to teach myself to draw.
Anyway, experimenting with weaving
. As in, actual textile weaving on the loom
edited 13th Feb '16 11:46:28 PM by Beholderess
If we disagree, that much, at least, we have in commonSo I'm done with the Orks
, and I'm intending to work on my Dark Legion army for Mutant Chronicles next.
I also found some nice decorative buttons for my Russian Navy coat and, by the way, similar ones for my leather waistcoat.
"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von LewisSince the new publisher of Mutant Chronicles screwed me over and most of my Legion army has no stats whatsoever, I decided to give it a rest and kitbash some Warhammer 40000 stuff instead. The Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard's Tempestus Scions have some interesting bits I want to repurpose.
"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

Last night I was pulling everything I could out of the piano to make it lighter, in case I don't have help to put the thing on its back.
Took out a bunch of screws so I could remove the side arms & legs, which are all attached to the key bed. But when I was done, what came loose was the key bed. The legs are probably attached to the toe blocks with screws and I can't get to that part until I have the thing on its back. The side arms are glued tightly to the side board. Apparently three screws per arm was not enough!
For the whole hide glue thing, it looks like I'll be rigging up a dimmer switch to my hotpot. The lowest temp on it is just too high. *shrug* Whatever works, I guess.
(Edited for correct terms. Finally found somewhere that labelled the cabinet rather than what's inside it. Here
◊, if you're curious.)
edited 7th Jan '16 10:01:52 AM by scionofgrace