Habitat for Humanity ReStore

[Canerodz]

Just stopped at the local Habitat ReStore looking for steam box parts, and discovered that they had a truckload of stain and varnish donated by Cabot last week. There were several brands, McKloskey's, Val-Spar, and Cabot, oil based spar, oil and water based poly spars, oil and poly based interior, gloss, satin and a dozen stains.

I know a lot of you don't agree, but I've been finishing bamboo fly rods for 12 years wth McKloskey's Man O' War and just love it. I really think that a good, tung based spar with good surface prep is all I could ask for. Maybe I'd use something different if I was varnishing a $10,000 collectors piece, but I doubt it. I got a case of Boat-Koat oil based spar for $16, and 3 pints of stain for $1 each.

http://books.google.com/books?id=sT...X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA155,M1

By the way, anyone ever use aluminum downspout sections for steaming long rails??

 

[Dan Miller]

By the way, anyone ever use aluminum downspout sections for steaming long rails??

Yep, and it works even better if you go to the linen closet and find the nicest looking, and preferably a hand-made, quilt in there to use as extra insulation.

 

[Canerodz]

I also bought, at the same store, two rolls of that blue cloth toweling you used to find in unending hand towel dispensers in gas stations with the powdered soap dispensers. It looks like it will be easy to wrap this stuff around the pipe and then roll it back up for whatever else I can think of. Maybe as hand towels! It isn't very thick, but better than nothing, and my ex got all the good quilts.