The new guy with a Columbia basket case

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cweastlick
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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by cweastlick »

Adam,
Here are some pics of my basket case Columbia AH. This is the one I need a motor, motor board, and case trim for. The previous owner drilled several holes in the case probably trying to retro fit another motor or something else. Any feedback you, or others, can add for suggestions I would really appreciate it. I don't know why my pictures post upside down. I've tried several times to fix it.
Last edited by cweastlick on Fri May 12, 2017 9:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

EarlH
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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by EarlH »

I have some 40 odd year old quarter sawn oak veneer you can have for your motor board if you want. I can send you some pictures of it. It's aged some, but not quite like your machine is of course, but it's got some nice flake to it, especially on one end. It's very long as it came from a piano factory that closed back in the 70's. Trying to soak old oak veneer off something and re-using it can really be problematic. But if you glue it back on with hot hide glue it will draw up tight and be fine. I've never tried gluing veneer sheets down with white glue, so I don't know how well that works. You have a small enough area though to work with there that the white glue probably isn't going to give you much trouble.

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Curt A
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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Curt A »

Adam... Just wondering what progress you have made and whether you completed the case...
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Adam_G
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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Adam_G »

Curt, thanks for the reminder. It's been a while since my last update so get ready for a heap of em.

At the time I was stuck on finding veneer for the lid, so I focused on other aspects that I could work on right then. After separating the box bottom and sides it then became easier to clean, so I gave it a once-over again and got it a little cleaner.
Inside the box. Exceptionally dirty in here from the oil and grease from the motor. Couldn't get it all out, but here's a half done side.
Inside the box. Exceptionally dirty in here from the oil and grease from the motor. Couldn't get it all out, but here's a half done side.
Bottom of the base. Also quite dirty and again wouldn't come fully clean, but is better. A half cleaned pic.
Bottom of the base. Also quite dirty and again wouldn't come fully clean, but is better. A half cleaned pic.
While cleaning the box base I was thinking how great it would be to somehow get the gaps in the corners closer together or even closed.
See how far apart each outside edge is at the corners?
See how far apart each outside edge is at the corners?
Realizing that all the woodwork is put together with hide glue, I decided I would attempt to re-liquefy the glue and squeeze the sides back together with clamps. I first tried using just a heat gun, and no dice. All it did was make that old hide glue even more dry and crusty. Then I remembered I had a little steamer and figured this would do the trick because it would apply heat and moisture.
the 'Hot Shot' steamer
the 'Hot Shot' steamer
Here I'm doing a test on some old blobs of hide glue to see if it would become runny again. And it did!
Here I'm doing a test on some old blobs of hide glue to see if it would become runny again. And it did!
Since my test was successful I went full steam ahead on the task, and got the old glue to flow again and had to wiggle the side trim apart just a little bit so that I could apply some new glue, and then clamp it back together. Man, am I ever glad this stuff has a long working time or else I would've had a big mess on my hands (figuratively, even though the glue does make a mess of your hands).
IMG_3007.JPG
Got it pried apart
Got it pried apart
I was glad everything could slide on the original nails. I was cautious not to rip the whole thing off so that I could use the nails to keep things aligned.
I was glad everything could slide on the original nails. I was cautious not to rip the whole thing off so that I could use the nails to keep things aligned.
The downside to steam is that it goes everywhere and ends up loosening parts you didn't want to loosen, so many clamps were required to hold everything together. It's a project like this that makes you realize you don't have enough clamps...
Clamp-apalooza
Clamp-apalooza
And was the mission a success? Kind of...I got the corners mostly closed, but some gaps still exist. I chalk this up to the wood being stored in a place with lots of temperature and moisture fluctuations and the wood just isn't the same shape it used to be and so it's impossible for it ever to line up perfectly again.
Result
Result
Adam G.

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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Adam_G »

Forgot to mention I put some of that tite bond hide glue into a smaller bottle and had to heat the bottle with a heat gun to get it liquid enough to use.
I had to remove the needle tip from the bottle because the glue was too thick to go thru it.
I had to remove the needle tip from the bottle because the glue was too thick to go thru it.
And a pic of the top side of the corners:
How the corners look from the top side. Can also see the veneer is a bit cleaner
How the corners look from the top side. Can also see the veneer is a bit cleaner
The steam accidentally released a corner of the veneer on the top side, but this time instead of using the steamer to reflow the glue, I used a good ol' iron.
Top corner popper loose
Top corner popper loose
IMG_3079.JPG
And then many clamps were used to hold it down while the glue dries for 24 hours. I used a chunk of plastic directly on the surface to apply flat even pressue, and because I knew the glue wouldn't stick to it.
Many a clamp
Many a clamp
And even though a bunch of the glue oozes out, it's easy to clean off afterwards with some warm water on a rag. No sanding necessary.
Glue ooze out
Glue ooze out
All fixed
All fixed
Since I had the steamer out, I used it to remove the veneer from the top of the lid since the plan is to replace the whole thing. It was a struggle even with steam power and unfortunately I couldn't get it all off in one piece. Also a little surprised to find that the actual wood of the lid isn't oak. It's some other wood. Seems strange to me to make this entire box out of oak, and then just not use it for the lid. Perhaps too brittle for the weight of the motor?
Veneer removed from lid
Veneer removed from lid
Lid wood is different
Lid wood is different
Adam G.

Adam_G
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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Adam_G »

I could see a bunch of little bits had broken off the veneered parts here and there. I could have just left it as is, but thought it would give me trouble down the road while sanding. I utilized my pile of old lid veneer to be used as parts for the missing bits.

Repair number 1. A long skinny piece had broken off the edge of the veneer on the base, as well as a few little pieces to the left of it.
IMG_3090.JPG
I sliced out a piece from my pile of scraps, as well as little nubs for those few spots:
Cut it out with an xacto knife
Cut it out with an xacto knife
IMG_3126.JPG
These were carefully glued down and clamped in the same manner as before:
IMG_3128.JPG
After a day of drying, the clamps are removed and the bits of veneer that stick out are trimmed off with an xacto knife:
Long parts and cut off
Long parts and cut off
Repair is a little uneven as expected:
IMG_3155.JPG
But after a little sanding it seems pretty good. Now the wood color doesn't match perfectly, but I'll get to that later.
The long skinny piece is level now, but the little nubbins on the bottom still need a bit more.
The long skinny piece is level now, but the little nubbins on the bottom still need a bit more.
And there was bunch of little areas to do like this:
a few more spots
a few more spots
Adam G.

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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Adam_G »

Repair number 2. This was a larger chunk that was missing, but it feathered really then so I figured I could fix it like this:
IMG_3096.JPG
IMG_3097.JPG
IMG_3098.JPG
IMG_3116.JPG
After being trimmed and sanded a bit
After being trimmed and sanded a bit
Repair number 3. The lid has it's fair share of missing pieces and at one corner the wood was separating.
IMG_3103.JPG
IMG_3102.JPG
IMG_3101.JPG
Cut a bunch of little patch pieces
Cut a bunch of little patch pieces
and gluing it all with many many clamps
and gluing it all with many many clamps
Adam G.

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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Adam_G »

Then the usual process of waiting 24 hours, then trimming to fit, and a bit of sanding:
IMG_3108.JPG
IMG_3110.JPG
IMG_3107.JPG
Again, not a perfect match in terms of color, but I gots a plan
Again, not a perfect match in terms of color, but I gots a plan
Still need to sand this one
Still need to sand this one
My plan for matching these patches with the surrounding wood is to use a custom stain. I'm not done mixing it yet, but I got it started and did some tests. It's basically made from white vinegar, steel wool, and rusty washers. Threw all that into a jar and let it sit for a week.
Who knew I'd use so much white vinegar on this project?
Who knew I'd use so much white vinegar on this project?
Day 1
Day 1
It looked pretty gross after a week
It looked pretty gross after a week
After running it thru a coffee filter to get all the bits of rust and wool out.
After running it thru a coffee filter to get all the bits of rust and wool out.
This is the test piece. Various degrees of concentration for each spot, and beside them a did a little sanding to see how hard it is to remove. I'll need to water this down some more as it's way too dark. Then I'll add some tea to it to make it more orange. More tests to do...
IMG_3114.JPG
Adam G.

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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Adam_G »

Needed a small break from wood working, so I turned my attention towards to rubber feet I pulled off the bottom of the base. The old ones were flat, hard, and crumbly. I had acquired new ones, but some of them were also hard (not very rubbery/grippy) and didn't match the flat style the old ones had.
Old on left, new on right
Old on left, new on right
IMG_3014.JPG
I decided I could do better, so I assisted one of the old ones to crumble apart for inspection.
disection
disection
It's made of the rubber, a bit of cloth, and a handmade nail. I want to reuse these nails as they fit the existing holes they made and reusing them would prevent to possibility of wrecking the wood by hammering in new ones.
I did some measuring, found some scrap rubber and some metal tubes. I sanded the ends of the tubes sharp:
sharpened tube
sharpened tube
Then used to tube on the scrap rubber with a hammer to punch out new rubber discs:
punching
punching
The old feet was a two tier construction, so I needed another punch to make the bigger rubber disc:
Tube came from a bicycle steering shaft. Sharpened the end
Tube came from a bicycle steering shaft. Sharpened the end
Punched out
Punched out
The nails were a little rusty, so they took a bath in evaporust while I tried to clean the little cloth discs:
rusty nails
rusty nails
All cleaned
All cleaned
Not done these yet because I want to hammer the nail thru the thin rubber disc and cloth into the base, then glue on the bigger disc. This will insure I get them lined up in the exact spot they came from. As of now, they look like this:
Old vs new
Old vs new
They'll be a little taller than the old ones, but I think that'll be good for when I have to pick up the machine. There will be more room for your finger to grab ahold.
Adam G.

Adam_G
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Re: The new guy with a Columbia basket case

Post by Adam_G »

Now I'm back to the original issue of veneering the lid. I did find some quarter sawn white oak from a shop here in town that actually manufactures custom veneered plywood, so they had all kinds of veneer that they made. I grabbed 3 pieces and would have to bookmatch them as they're only 5" wide but my lid is 12". The problem I found after I got home where I had better lighting than a dark shop, was that the color variation of these 3 pieces was so bad that it would be very obvious that the lid did not have original veneer. I don't have a picture of this, but it was pretty bad. So I started to do some figuring...
IMG_3073.JPG
What I did was create 4 pieces from these 3 strips of veneer. Each piece I carefully chose for their color and for their grain pattern. Instead of bookmatching I'll make it look like one bit continuous piece. I can achieve this because I have a giant hole in the middle where the motor goes, so instead of 3 strips of veneer, I have 4 pieces taken from different spots. Looks like this:
Oak Veneer Puzzle.jpg
I don't have them tapped together properly yet; they're just sitting there. You can see my pencil lines of where the actual portions I need are. I'm planning on bleaching this a bit to even out some color variations that still exist as well. This I have to test on scrap pieces, but it seems that the bleaching process has to be done after most of the sanding is done, so I have to attach it to my lid first.

The new problem is how do I trim it after it's glued down? I won't be able to see the step-down in the lid that the motor sits in:
IMG_3239.JPG
A jig is the answer! Behold, an mdf block is placed in the center hole with pre-drilled holes in its' corners:
IMG_3240.JPG
IMG_3241.JPG
After a bunch of templating and measuring, I have cut out a plexiglass template:
IMG_3243.JPG
This piece fits just inside the step-down in the lid. I used the holes in the mdf to drill up into the plexiglass and create matching holes:
IMG_3244.JPG
IMG_3245.JPG
An example of how this will work. The veneer gets glued on, the mdf is inserted from the back and I drill holes thru the existing ones in the mdf through the veneer. Then I place the plexiglass on top and put a screw through the holes and tighten it all together. Now all I do is cut the veneer by tracing around the outside of the plexiglass with an exacto knife.
jig example
jig example
I have high hopes that this will work. And that's about it for updates. I was going to work on the veneer this weekend but it's turning into more of a garage spring cleaning kind of weekend. Hopefully I'll have more regular updates from here on out.
Adam G.

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