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
So, I decided it was time for a new desk. I spent a lot of time on the internet and Pinterest looking for ideas. I thought about an industrial design, or up-cycling found objects. I decided that I wanted to build a vintage desk, styled from this one that can be seen on “brown dress with white dots”.
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
When it comes time to set you router bit to a specific height, how do you do it? Tape measure? Carpenters square? Eyeball it?
There are several gauges and fixtures that you can buy, or make. I am going to review the small, but effective “Router Depth Gauge.” from Rockler. There are similar products from other vendors Continue reading Router Depth Gauge
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?
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
From the moment we moved into the new house, the wife has been looking for a side table for the living room.
She looked everywhere, and we tried several tables of various shapes and sizes to no avail.
Finally, while at a furniture store, she found a table made from what looks like an old baluster, that she thought was a great inspiration piece.
Continue reading How to Build a Table From Reclaimed Column for Less Than $35
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
Here are some thoughts and recommendations for shop safety gear and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Continue reading Shop Safety Gear – PPE
When we found the new house, it had just been “flipped”. Almost everything was done. The one obvious item left, was in the living room, around the fireplace. The house is 50 years old. Why no one had added custom built in cabinets during that time, I won’t ever understand.
Continue reading Custom Built in Cabinets – A Fancy Fireplace
