If I had infinite free time I'd be making a series of videos on YouTube about gridbeam stuff, but I don't, so for now you have to read my project log.
After reading some books I am now making my gridbeam better, faster, and of more consistent quality.
Lessons learned:
The new gridbeam production process:
Up until now my gridbeam creation has been mostly experimental. I'd mostly used two-by-twos from Home Depot (which run ungridbeamingly small at about 1+3⁄8″ thick), cutting them to as exact a length as I could, tediously marking the hole centers with a pencil, drilling 3⁄8″ holes in them (larger than the 5⁄16″ ones recommended by the gridbeam guys) using a dull bit or one not even designed for drilling through wood, and, if I was feeling ambitious, staining and polyurethaning them. I also put just as much effort into 'gridbeam-compatible' stuff that isn't itself gridbeam, like lamps, boxes, and racks. These things are neat, but the result is that I have not yet built up the collection of interchangeable parts that I'm hoping for.
Around the end of 2019 I finally took some time to read through 'How to Build Your Own Living Structures' by Ken Isaacs, and most of 'How to Build With Grid Beam' by 'the gridbeam guys' (Phil and Richard Jergenson and Wilma Keppel) to get a better sense for how they do things.
Ken Isaacs talks a lot about picking out good wood and making precise measurements and a little bit about how to talk to workers at the lumber yard and about how the telephone is an 'instrument of alienation.' He makes fun of people who use fat, dull, carpenter pencils and says to use a sharp one. He likes to drill holes in the centers of his beams, which I can relate to, and he really likes masonite, a.k.a. hardboard.
He emphasizes the value of practice, and likes making cubes (1′, 2′, 3′, and 4′). These ideas rubbed off on me somewhat.
Unlike other composite wood panels, no formaldehyde-based resins are used to bind the fibers in Masonite.
The gridbeam guys focus a lot on using up all your material and avoiding scrap. Ignore the kerf of your sawblade. Edges don't need to line up exactly. I've been mostly focused on 1+1⁄2″ gridbeam, but they seem to be be even bigger fans of the 2″ 'telestrut' stuff.
Given how tedious and messy my stain+polyurethane finishing process is, I found the section of the book about finishes especially useful. They like oil-based finishes for a number of reasons:
Oil finishes soak into the wood, so you get no globs, drips or runs. Since the finish is in the wood, not on it, it cannot be chipped or scraped off. Oil looks great, is super-durable, and gives excellent protection. More can be applied at any time, an advantage for outdoor projects. If you cut a stick, you can brush or dip more finish onto the freshly cut ends. (We don't bother.)
Another important thing I learned from re-reading the book was that although they like joint connector bolts, they don't use joint connector nuts. They use 'weld nuts' instead.
All that reading inspired me to make some changes.
I've started ripping two-by-fours to make my beams instead of buying two-by-twos, since the two-by-fours from Home Depot, unlike the two-by-twos, are the full 1+1⁄2″ thick. The primary reason for having beams be the correct thickness is to improve tri-joints, but I soon realized other benefits.
The more precisely-sized beams mean that I no longer have to adjust my jig nearly so much, which saves a lot of time when drilling.
Another benefit is that I can get away with smaller holes. I had already switched to using 3⁄8″ brad point bits, as they made much nicer holes in the wood than the 'normal' bits you get in a pack from the hardware store. (I only 'discovered' brad point bits because they were included in a cheap Ryobi set that I bought "because it's cheap"). I switched to a 5⁄16″ bit to match what the gridbeam guys use. One thing I noticed was that the holes with this fresh bit were much cleaner. This was my first lesson on the importance of sharp bits.
I had stuck with 3⁄8″ holes not only to accomodate the sloppy beam widths, but also because the joint connector nuts I've been using are that wide. In order for 5⁄16″ holes to be useful I needed smaller nuts. So I ordered some weld nuts. I should have read the description more carefully. The ones I received are much shorter than the ones in the picture, and my 70mm joint connector bolts couldn't even reach them through 3″ of gridbeam! So I had to order some 80mm ones.
I couldn't find any linseed oil (Wilma's preferred finish) at Home Depot, but they did have Watco Danish Oil (which is Richard's), so I picked up some of that and tried it on a few sticks. Sure enough, it is way easier to apply than stain and polyurethane. I use a pipe cleaner, twice folded over and twisted together, to spread the Danish oil inside the holes and along the sides and ends of the beams and after a few minutes wipe off any excess with a rag or paper towel.
OILY RAGS MAY SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST! KEEP THEM IN A JAR OF WATER OR THROW THEM IN THE FIRE PIT!
I've found while cutting the gridbeam holes that my brad point bit does get dull pretty quickly. When that happens I take my file and do my best to sharpen it. Hopefully with practice I will get good at sharpening it. Though to make sure I am sharpening it correctly I should maybe rewatch the youtube videos on brad point bit sharpening.
TODO: pictures.
TODO: Stuff about making mixes in VDJ and playing with FM synthesis.