On Saturday morning, May 9, I will draw a name at random from readers who register for the drawing. Simply send me an e-mail to sandal_woods@bbwi.net . The winner will receive, directly from Target Coatings, 1 gallon of EM2000wvx, the latest waterborne alkyd varnish.

Good luck to all!

I invite you to read the coating information from the web site. You will find the following benefits:

Features & Benefits

Brush & Spray Friendly	Ultra-Low VOC’s & HAP’s Free
Water Clean-Up	Fast Recoat Time
Exotic Color Tones	UV Stable
Excellent Adhesion Qualities	Water & Chemical Resistant

If you are a regular reader, you will recall I showed EM2000 in use in my finishing room some time ago. I have been using this topcoat almost exclusively, in satin sheen; I like it very much, as it is easy to use, it is very forgiving, and levels beautifully. Since I use a turbine sprayer, I use the SA-5 retarder. The instructions suggest use of SA-5 for brush application; I applied EM2000wvx with a brush on a small piece, and it worked well!

You can view and download the Technical Information data sheet here, and the MSDS here. I suggest you also take a look at the Finishing Zone forum, and the Finishing Zone eCommerce Zone.

Welcome to Safety Week, Target Coatings – and thanks, Jeff!

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Today: 1) Time to apply the first coat of Target Coatings’ EM2000wvx alkyd varnish:

Also today: 2) I fine-tuned the mortise and tenon fit on a test leg made of scrap, glued-up quarter-sawn white oak (QSWO):

Now, some details.

Setting up the FMT to make the tenons – I don’t want to do this while perched 6 feet above the ground, so I do it with the FMT on the workbench:

As a first step, I record all dimensions for the test tenons; this simply makes it easier to tweak the fit:

Just for kicks, I make sure I won’t cut through into another mortise. For this I make a new test mortise, at 90° from the first one, on the face where the other tenon will be – I cut this one, to share with YOU:

Now, to cut a test mortise:

This is my view when I remove the router from the FMT:

I wanted a 1/4-inch reveal from the front edge of the leg – and got it:

Now that the mortise and tenon joinery fit has been tweaked, I turn my attention to spraying the table top.

Getting ready to spray took about 10 minutes. The steps:

1. Filter water into one Teflon®-coated aluminum spray cup, using a Fine paint filter – I will use this water to clean the internals of the HVLP system; I will do it after spraying each of the 2 or 3 coats:

2. Stir the top coat. Satin sheen coatings have a “flattening agent” that settles to the bottom of the can; it must be stirred prior to application:

3. After stirring, filter the topcoat using a Medium filter, directly into a Teflon®-coated aluminum spray cup:

4. Proper application of a finish using HVLP equipment requires careful adjustment of the air flow, and of the material being sprayed. I shoot into Kraft paper I tape to the back panel of the booth:

5. Once I am happy with my adjustments, I start spraying. I am especially careful to fully coat spray all edges, and about 3 inches into the top surface. This ensures proper coverage:

6. As soon as I finish spraying I inspect the surface, to ensure sufficient coverage. The applied spray must be “wet”, and applied at a wet film thickness of 2-3 mils (thousands of an inch); if not, the finish will have a somewhat rough feel. On inspection, this first application of the varnish went well (the final appearance will not be shiny, but rather a nice, sating finish):

Actual spraying took about 5 minutes, followed by about 5 minutes to clean up the spray gun.

Enough for today. After cleaning the spray equipment, I headed to the house, and a wonderful dinner – spinach salad and a few crackers!

Next: Continue spraying the table top, mill the QSWO boards for the aprons, finish milling the walnut blanks for the legs, glue up the legs. Use the Leigh FMT to cut mortises on the legs, and the tenons on the aprons.

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Take a look at the Leigh FMT: