Phase IV - this will probably be pretty lengthy, but I'd like to get closure on this project in this last post on the subject.

I have always hated staining. I suck at it, and everything I have ever stained looks horrible. The casual observer might not catch all the flaws and inconsistencies, but I know they are there, so in my head, the entire project can be junk due to piss poor staining.

Since I was using really soft wood, I decided to go with a wood conditioner to prepare the wood for staining. For the stain itself, I decided to use Minwax #231, which is described as "Gunstock" color. I have used this color before, and I like it. To seal the project I decided on Minwax "Polycrylic". I have used this before as well and it is easy to work with and water based, for easy clean up.



After purchasing the coatings, I dragged out my Campbell Hausfeld HVLP sprayer system. If you are not familiar with HVLP, it stands for 'high volume low pressure' and it is exactly what you might think. It sprays a high volume of material at low pressures. This way, you don't get much overspray and thus wasted material, and a simple basic turbine provides the air rather than an elaborate/expensive compressed air rig. So I loaded up the wood conditioner in the gun and made a few test sprays on the back of the unit. SHITTY! My gun was old and worn out, and worst of all, caked up with leftover gunk from my past projects. DAMN IT! Long story short, I tried to clean it up and in the process of reassembly, I busted a screw rendering the entire gun useless. After some heavy debate I decided to just use staining sponges and rags to lay on the finish.

The wood conditioner went on using this method with no problems whatsoever. This makes sense though, since it is clear, and you can't really fuck it up. Next came the stain. This is where things started going south. The idea is to apply it with a sponge or a rag, let it sit for a few minutes to soak in, then remove the excess. I soon realized that the unit was so damn big, that A. I would not be able to apply it all before having to wipe off the excess, and B. is was going to be hard, backbreaking work, due to the size of it, and taking into account having to lean in awkward positions to reach all the parts. Ideally, you would want to work on the piece upright, but I decided this would not be feasible because the damn thing was 8 feet high, and having to stand on a ladder while staining seemed like a bad idea. One downside of this is that the stain would 'run' towards the back of the thing rather than towards the ground. But I pushed onward. I eventually got the stain on and I am glad that part was done.

After taking a step back, I started seeing major flaws, but by that time, it was really too late to do anything about them. The first problem was that the glue used for the shelving and such was not properly sanded down where it had ran and/or been wiped off. I knew that the glue was there, and I made an attempt to remove the glue using my orbital sander as well as manually sanding it by hand prior to staining. I guess I didn't do a good enough job. Secondly, the 'plastic wood' hole filler I used to fill in the tiny nail holes on the side trim pieces changed the surface of the wood and cause the stain to be discolored where it was smeared on the surface.

Anyhoo, nothing much can be done about it at this point. So screw it. I just need a place to stash books, and regardless of how it looks, it will still do just that.
So, after learning what a huge pain in the asshole it was to put on the stain, i decided not to take the same chance with the Polycrylic. After another internal debate, I opted to purchase a new HVLP gun to replace my busted one. Campbell Hausfeld has a semi-pro version that is better than the consumer model, yet not as expensive as the pro version. I found one at sears for around 60 bucks. Sweet. A few days pass and the gun is delivered, and I spray on the sealer, and its easy, and awesome. Do yourself a favor if you have the means, don't do stuff by hand if you don't absolutely have to.

Ok, so after letting it dry for a couple of days, it was time to move it in the house. Turns out that the damn thing is so big that the only way to get it in the house was to lug it out the garage door and through the backyard and into the backdoor of the house. Seems like everything I build ends up this way, so no surprise there. Next problem is that it was so bulky/heavy that my gal would be unable to carry it with me. It had been raining for several days so that added another layer of complexity. After a dozen beers or so, I came up with a plan. Since she would be unable to carry it, what if I made it so that she could set it down whenever she wanted, then we could go in small stages. The solution, which I did not bother to photograph, was to put a towel on the top and bottom of the piece, then add a piece of large cardboard on the bottom, and then duct tape it all to the unit. It turned out to be perfect. When it got too heavy or bulky for her, she just sat her end down on the ground, and I balanced my end on my feet. I had on my motorcycle boots with hard toes, so this was not a problem. We made maybe 10 stops along the way to rest, but alas, we got the damn thing in the house.

After trying a couple of different positions in our front room, we picked a spot for the thing to live permanently. Since it was so damn big, I had to attach it to the wall. To make this inconspicuous, I decided to get some small "L" brackets, and attach the brackets to the shelf and to the wall. Fortunately, the position we chose served us well, because there were 3 wall studs behind it to attach the brackets to.

So that was it, it was built, stained, sealed, and installed. Only one last thing to do, fill it with books. We grabbed all the books we could see that were laying around the house, and that looks like this:

The bookshelf is almost full, just from the stuff we had laying around. This does not account for all the books we have in boxes in our spare bedroom, so I may have to start thinking about building another one 8-).

So, there you have it. Now go build your own.

Two quick wacky updates. 1. I ran over my fucking new HVLP gun with my truck somehow and broke it. More on that later. 2. I am off to Austin for the weekend to hang out with friends and hang out with MetallicA at their "super secret" show that I won credentials for in a drawing. more on this later as well, and hopefully some KICK ASS pictures!