White oak floor vents
 

As part of our wood flooring installation project....I made some floor vents that match our floor. We looked at purchasing "factory" made units, but quickly found that store bought vents are very cheaply made and do not come in white oak.

The wood used for the vents is the actual flooring, so when sanded, they should not be noticable or basically disappear:D

I also posted a couple of YouTube videos of the vents being cut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p43H4eugKlU

Some new stuff
 

Haven't posted for awhile....so I thought I would share some of the new Mechmate stuff I have been working on.

First we finished our floor project. Although not really a Mechmate project.....I did use the machine to cut the floor vents;) We are real please with the floor, turned our better than we expected.

Second, I gave up on my "homemade spindle" project and broken down and purchased a Colombo RV90. The difference between the router and spindle is dramatic....much less noise and more cutting power. It's been a great addition to my MechMate. I purchased the spindle and controller from Ebay, was a little nervous, but the seller offer full money back if not satisfied. Turns out the spindle and controller function perfectly....and I saved a ton of dough:D

Third, I have a new Youtube video showing the spindle cutting some 1/2" polypropylene plastic at 100"/min. The spindle is running at 10K rpms, the cutter is a 1/4" Onsrud (63-725) which is designed for soft plastics. Cut's like butter :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3hdE17KwHI

Well that's it for now
Wayne

Wayne,
That floor looks awesome. Did you do the inlay work on the mechmate? Can you post a closeup of the inlay work? :)

Wayne,

You just need a hoop to go along with the shinney new floor. Nice job on the floor and inlay. How many coats of poly did you put down?

Heath - I did not make the inlay, purchased it from a guy who makes them in Wyoming. Thought about making one (The Mechmate is certainly capable) but really could not take on any more projects this summer. I will take a close up and post it....give me a day or so to get it done.

Nils - Appreciate the comment, we do like the way the floor came out. The (super) shinney picture was taken when the poly was still wet.....it is actually a semi-gloss finish. The 2nd picture better represents the look when dry.

There are 3 coats of poly on the floor, should be enough to protect the it from shoes, the dog, or a little sliding of furniture.

Wayne

I did my floors with semi-gloss and then the next time I did them with gloss and I will always use gloss from now on. I agree about the three coats. It gives the best protection.