How To

We like wood oil finishes, and have moved in their direction for our finish of choice and away from some of the other popular finishes like polyurethane, shellac, and varnish. We like wiping the oil on and in, and we love the warmth and beauty it brings out in the grain of the wood we’ve … Read more

Uneven wood cuts prevent a clean, level, and square assembly in our woodworking projects.  We know these are all essential to a stable, strong, and secure finished project, whether a desk, a chair, a table, shelving, cabinets, picture, window and door frames, baseboard trim, you name it. Key Points: Clean, level, and square cuts and … Read more

We’ve all used plywood for some project or another in our woodworking shop or in a home DIY project.  It’s real wood but much less expensive than solid wood, and for many uses is a perfectly acceptable alternative.  Plywood comes in a variety of types, grades, thicknesses, and sizes, and the project will determine the … Read more

We’re woodworkers.  We work with wood for the tactile satisfaction, for the love of wood’s appearance, for the grain, and for the warmth, it introduces in a room.   But not everyone feels the same way, and modern materials have insinuated their way into furniture design.  Among those materials is glass, as in glass table tops, … Read more

When was the last time you noticed one of your door hinges? They’re something we never pay attention to unless they start squeaking or stop working because a screw came loose. The former is easy to fix – a little WD40, and the squeak is gone. The latter, though, might need a bit more attention. … Read more

We have a project coming up in the spring that we have begun planning, for now, in mid-November.  It’s a moon gate for entry into the meditation garden under construction out back.   Moon gates are circular openings in a garden wall (a bamboo fence, in my case) that are a traditional element in Chinese gardens.  … Read more

How many times have we said to ourselves how nice it would be to have a third hand?  If only, we say, and how much easier it would be on some of the tasks we perform in our woodworking shop.  Just that extra digit, even, to hold something in place while we reach for this … Read more

Water is the enemy of wood.  Water is also the enemy of cast iron.  On wood, continued exposure to water leads to decay and rot.  On cast iron, water/moisture leads to rust.   We’re woodworkers, so why do we need to worry about cast iron?  Tools, man.  Tools.  That table saw table is likely cast iron, … Read more

We know polyurethane, and we like polyurethane.  We use it as a finish for our woodworking projects often.  We have a bit of experience, then, in washing our brushes after using polyurethane, as well as cleaning up after its use.   It’s important to remember that there are two kinds of polyurethane:  water-based polyurethane and oil-based … Read more

We know we repeat ourselves, but water is the enemy of wood.  To this, we want to add another:  the sun’s UV rays are also the enemy of wood. Each will lead to the deterioration of wood fiber, weaken the wood, lead to decay and rot, and eventually make wooden furniture unusable even as firewood.  … Read more

We’re not sure how many times we’ve written these words:  water is the enemy of wood, but it is germane to today’s piece on warped cabinet doors, whether kitchen or bathroom.   The kitchen sink, the dishwasher, the bathroom sink, the toilet, the shower, the bathtub – all of them a water source directly impacting kitchen … Read more

How tall are you?  At 6’1”, I’m neither tall nor short, just sort of 6’1”, with somewhat long arms (35” shirt sleeve length) and an fairly erect stance – age hasn’t quite caught up with me yet.   In preparing to write this piece, I gave some thought to the height of various furniture pieces in … Read more

His name was Callachan.  The “ch” distinguished it from the Irish version, and he was proud of his Scottish heritage.  He was the fastest trim carpenter within a hundred miles. “Custom Cal, the Contractor’s Pal” was his business slogan, and he charged $10 an opening – windows, doors, sliders, the opening didn’t matter.  He could … Read more

Square pegs in round holes and all, yes.  We remember those toy games from our youth, or at least from our kids’ youth.  But what about square holes?   Why would you need square holes, though?  Our drills and their bits, and our routers and their bits, will create nice, neat, and usable round holes, and … Read more

Not every project for the home woodworker needs to be perfect or made using solid wood.  A desk for the kid’s room, perhaps, or shelving for their stuffed animals or toys, might fit this bill.  For these projects, plywood is an acceptable choice, as well as an economical one. However, we do take some measure … Read more

Many of us have a miter saw in our woodworking shop.  It’s easy to operate and can make quick cuts on our workpieces both at right angles and at miter angles.  Whether a single bevel, double bevel, compound, or even sliding miter saws do the trick well and fast and are very convenient to use. … Read more

While table saws make ripping easy, for the most part, not every home woodworking shop has one.  Perhaps there’s not enough room for one, or it’s outside your budget, or maybe you’ve figured out a way to work without one.  If you are one of the latter woodworkers, you can likely guess what this article … Read more