Replies

1. 
   DanH | Mar 13, 2012 11:41pm | #1

   IrfanView is one (shareware) tool that folks here use.  If you hold your mouth right it will even do "bulk" transformations of all the files in a directory, etc.

   You can also link directly to Picasa rather than uploading.

2. 
   ditchburns | Mar 14, 2012 12:03am | #2

   here we go

   This is a log cabin corners floor going down.

   
1. 
   calvin | Mar 14, 2012 06:41am | #3

   ditch

   Good to see you back.  What's been going on?

1. 
   ditchburns | Mar 14, 2012 08:10pm | #4

   Spent the last 6 years getting better since my accident with a drunk driver in '05. My tools were in a trailer for 5 of them. 

   Thanks for asking.

1. 
   calvin | Mar 14, 2012 10:22pm | #5

   Glad to hear you're back!

   Your name pops in my head everytime I use the multimaster.

   Thanks!

   You going to fill in with some more pictures?  You can embed them in the message now if you want to add some narrative.

1. 
   ditchburns | Mar 16, 2012 07:27am | #9

   Everytime I use my Multi-Master I think of all the people I turned on to this life changing little saw. 

   Fein asked for my feedback on the tool in 2002 or so. I spoke with the president at the time, his name was Major, and I told him my two major concerns were blade cost and the fact that we (floor guys) needed something that could withstand hitting a nail or staple and not blow 25 bucks out of my wallet. Make a better blade cheaper.

   Dissapointingly they did neither. Now Harbor Freight sells a decent set of blades, some bi-metal, and the cost is down to about 5 dollars.

   Moral; ALWAYS listen to the people in the field, your engineers aren't buying your tool.

2. 
   calvin | Mar 16, 2012 08:04am | #10

   Lucky for us........

   blade cost has come down.  That indeed was the only killer.  Hard to pass on the cost to the customer............"are you kidding me-who'd you get it from............a swiss watch maker?"

   And now with what started with infomercials and then proceeded to hands on displays in home improvement stores, fein reinvented their marketing strategy.  Now every (sort of) Tom Dick and Harry has one.  With the cheaper knock offs, even those guys and their brother in laws have them.

   The day of the magician is fading.

2. 
   Piffin | Mar 15, 2012 10:48pm | #6

   Good to know you are still verticle Ditch

1. 
   ditchburns | Mar 15, 2012 11:45pm | #7

   Still verticle man, takes me awhile to get warmed up though.

2. 
   Piffin | Mar 16, 2012 12:24am | #8

   One day at a time

3. 
   ditchburns | Mar 17, 2012 10:24pm | #11

   More patterned floor pictures.

   Finished sanding and water popped the floors in preparation for staining tomorrow.

   
1. 
   calvin | Mar 18, 2012 06:52am | #12

   Ditch

   Explain this "water popped" please.

1. 
   ditchburns | Mar 18, 2012 10:31am | #13

   "Water Popping" is just an

   "Water Popping" is just an age old way to raise the grain. It allows stain to penetrate deeper and more evenly. These are Ash floors and I'm staining them white with an exterior deck stain thinned 2:1 wiped quickly  to effect a "milk paint" look.

1. 
   DanH | Mar 18, 2012 10:47am | #14

   I've wet the wood and then (when dry) sanded, prior to using a water-based stain, so that the stain wouldn't raise the grain.  Do you sand after, or just stain over the "water-popped" surface?

1. 
   ditchburns | Mar 18, 2012 11:02am | #15

   Stain over the raised grain. It will be like sandpaper but the finish will smooth the floor out and abrading between coats will knock off any grain reaching through the stain and 1st coat of finish. When you sand over raised grain you are essentially going back to pre-water-popping mode.

2. 
   calvin | Mar 18, 2012 11:12am | #16

   So the finish and screening will bring it back to smooth, eh?

   Thanks.

2. 
   Piffin | Mar 25, 2012 06:55pm | #17

   With certain species of wood, when you sand it, the stray hairs of grain are foirced down into the surface.

   when you add wtater or a wtater based sealer, those grain hairs stand up straight, like porcupince quills at alert.

   That lets stains penetrate better.

   Or if you used a sealer, and sand off those veticle haitrs while they are stiff, you get a smootyher finish in unstained work

1. 
   calvin | Mar 25, 2012 11:16pm | #18

   yessir

   I understand the raised grain with water idea.  Just never knew it added to applying stain.

   I'm gonna have to try this sometime.