Frontline Clamp Pricing

Needed to correct a misconception I had about the Frontline Clamp price – they are actually significantly cheaper than I thought – not sure where I got the idea from!

The 900mm clamp is $A363 inc GST

The 1220mm clamp is $A399 inc GST

Both these prices include free delivery in Australia (I think I got that right!) when ordered directly from Frontline Engineering, contact them on +61 (03) 9464 6004. And if you happen to mention that you saw them on Stu’s Shed, that’d be cool 🙂

The clamps are still expensive compared to the basic sash clamps etc you can buy in Bunnings, but this is one of those cases where you get what you pay for, and I have no problem whatsoever in saying that if you found yourself with these clamps, you will definitely appreciate the significant quality, design and power of these units.

A Fuming Queen

I was told about the use of ammonia to speed up the oxidation by Sitco, but haven’t had a chance to trial it at all (yet), and so I really didn’t have any idea of how fast the process was etc.  The oxidation sends the Queen Ebony quickly to its fully black colouring.

However, one of the site’s regulars (Murray) has given it a go and reported some very positive results.  The process is placing the timber in a sealed container, suspended above the ammonia, and as Murray reports, it takes a couple of days but by then the ebony has gone a jet black.

So ammonia fuming of Queen Ebony definitely works as a process.  It isn’t as if you are artificially creating a colour that will not otherwise eventuate – it is just speeding up the natural process, and the timber will always go black over time as it oxidises, even under most finishes.

One problem has been discovered though, with the roving reporter’s attempt to make some Sierra Pens from the Queen Ebony.  After some days, the pen develops serious (fatal) cracks, and we are yet unsure of the mechanism of the failure.  It could be the timber is still too green, so once purchased really needs to sit around in the workshop for a year or two before being utilised.  Or perhaps the timber is very prone to checking, as the sample of end-grain I had and documented on here had significant/serious cracks developing.

Anyway, some negatives, some positives for the record.