Basic woodworking skills
It doesn’t matter if you are new to woodworking or have been at it for decades, choosing the right woodworking finishes for your projects can be complicated.
What should I use as a finish?
Should I brush it, wipe it or spray it? Continue reading Woodworking Finishes – How to Choose And Use Them
For a lot of people, knowing how to use a tape measure correctly seems like a no brainer, until you want to get an accurate measurement. Then you have a lot of questions that need answered, like: What are all the little marks for? Why is the hook loose? How accurate can it really even be? Continue reading How To Use A Tape Measure
Sometimes you have a great piece of wood that has a natural edge, a bit of crook, or you want to put a taper on a board. There are a
couple of ways to get a clean, straight edge on a board. The quickest is, of course, on a jointer. You can also use a router table. But you can also do it with a hand router and a straight edge guide, just like cutting with a circular saw. In fact there are times when the combination of circular saw and router is the quickest and most flexible solution. So, here it is, how to joint a board with a router. Continue reading Joint This! How to Joint a Board With a Router
To create a solid wood panel for a desk or tabletop, you need to glue boards together. You need to know how to glue up a panel! How do you do that?
There are several ways to build a drawer for a desk, a dresser, or your kitchen cabinets. And while the traditional dovetail is a “hallmark” of a well built piece of furniture, the truth is, they require time, experience and tools that the average person doesn’t have. For someone starting out in DIY, there has to be a simpler (cheaper) way to get the job done!
Guess what, there is… Pocket Holes – In fact all you need for tools is a saw and a pocket hole jig! Continue reading Let’s Build a Drawer!!!
In a recent post, I discussed the various tools for sanding projects (Tools for Sanding Success) , and just as there are a lot of ways to sand, there are a lot of options in sand paper.
Rather than going into a long technical explanation about sand papers, let’s explore the basics and make recommendations specifically for woodworkers. Continue reading Get a Grit on Sand Paper
Sanding sucks! But it’s essential for finishing a project that looks and feels great. If you get it wrong, a great piece can look like junk.
There are a lot of options in tools to help get the job done, from hand sanding with a cork block to belt sanders and detail sanders. You also have a lot of paper grits to consider, from 36 grit to well over 4000 (gotta love automotive finish papers!) All these options can get confusing.
Not everyone has access to a table saw for making precision saw cuts. So, how do you safely make accurate cuts? With a circular saw and a straight edge guide. For those with a small shop, a limited budget, or working off site, this is a great way to get very accurate cuts with a simple set up.
Continue reading How to Cut a Straight Line (with a circular saw)
So you built a table from one of those on line plans, maybe one with breadboard ends. Six months later you are wondering “why did my table top shrink?” Why is is cracking and splitting? What causes wood movement?
The biggest reason is what it was made with. You see, solid wood is like a big sponge. In the winter, with central AC, it drys out and shrinks. In the humidity of summer, it soaks up moisture and swells. Every kind of wood reacts a little differently.
Continue reading Wood Movement – Why Did My Table Top Shrink???
One of the quickest ways to build “stuff”, is to use a pocket hole jig. Basically, the jig drills a screw hole at an angle into a board. This lets you put a screw through the center of one board into another. No dowels, no tenons, no dovetails, no fancy tools! It may not be a family heirloom, but most of the things you can assemble with pocket screws will hold up to a lot of abuse.
Continue reading Beginners Guide: Kreg Pocket Hole Jigs – The Mini
