Search:

Hello,
My son and I are learning to carve and we could use some advice about sharpening. There are so many sharpening products out there that we’re sort of feeling lost as far as what we need, so...

Hi Mike,
I cut it with a chain saw, so it's pretty rough right now. One piece is about three inches thick, but I'm going to resaw it tomorrow, and the other piece is about one inch thick. They're...

Hello,
I was fortunate enough to come across some nice looking crotch wood as I was cutting some walnut tonight. Is there anything special I need to do when air drying it? This is some great looking...

Hello,
Some trees were recently cut down on an empty lot by my house, and I was able to get some pieces of walnut and sycamore about 12-18 inches in diameter, and 24-30 inches long. I only have...

Hello,
I may have an opportunity to get a couple of oak burls and possibly a maple burl from a local tree clearing service. I’m not sure what I need to do once I get the burls. I know I need to seal...

Martin,
Thanks for the information. Another question for you if you don't mind. I have two pieces of spalted maple that are about two inches thick, which have been air-drying for a little less than...

Tom,
I'd also heard the same thing, but like you had questions about the wood becoming acclimated to the shop climate while it was being built.

One thing I do have questions about is say I have...

Since I use small quantities of wood when I build my boxes, I could bring it inside my house prior to using it, but is there any real advantage to doing that? It sounds like the most important...

I have always heard that it's best to store the wood where it's going to be worked, but now it sounds like maybe it should be stored where the finished product will be kept? I make jewelry boxes and...

I know that shellac related topics have been covered at length, but I’ve not seen these questions addressed on the message boards. These questions apply to applying shellac on small to medium sized...

Hello,
I know that when you build something you normally want to finish the inside and outside, but is it necessary for something small like a jewelry box? I prefer the look of unfinished wood on...

Hello,
I have a few pieces of lumber (QS mahogany, spalted maple) that I've been storing in my house, mainly because I need to make room in my garage for it. Does it effect the wood one way or the...

Hello,
I want to put some slip-feathers in a jewelry box I’m going to build to strengthen the miter joints, and I need to use my table saw to do it since I can’t find a 1/8th inch router bit that...

Will the BLO darken the mahogany very much? I'm assuming it's best to use blonde shellac?

I've banished the dreaded polyurethane to the very back of my cabinet where it rarely sees the light of...

Hello,
I have some ribbon mahogany that has some really nice grain and color, and it almost glows in the right light. Can anyone suggest a finish that will add depth and emphasize the color and...

Several questions about finishes on various woods I’m using to making jewelry boxes.

I’ve heard a good finish for walnut is BLO, followed by amber shellac to add a warm tone, and then a final...

Hello,
I recently got a piece of spalted maple that’s about 12 x 30 x 2 ¼, and has been air-drying for about 6 months. Most of it is sound wood, but one edge is heavily spalted and kind of punky....

Hi Bart,
Good point about the wood movement. I guess I got a bit caught up in wanting to have it perfectly aligned. It was such a pain to get it aligned using the "hammer and block of wood"...

Hello. I have a Delta contractors saw, and after years of using a hammer and block of wood to align it I finally broke down and bought the PALS Alignment System. I got the blade aligned to within a...

Russ,
I grew up on the west coast, and I couldn't agree more. Humidity is the pits!

Wes,
I haven't had any problems yet, but I haven't done much woodworking since I moved here, so I can't be...

Hello. I live in Missouri, and moved into my house late last summer, and I need your advice about a problem I'm having. My shop is in the garage, and the concrete floor will get damp looking from...

Hello,
What is the proper way to stack kiln dried wood that is being stored for future use? I've read you're supposed to sticker it, but it seems like I've also read where some people suggest...

Hello,
I have some bocote I'm going to use for a jewelry box, but I can't decide what other wood to use with it. I don't like the idea of a box made entirely of bocote, I think it would be too busy...

I finally figured out I needed to loosen the trunion bolts to make the adjustment. But when I tightened the bolts back up it caused the blade to become unaligned again. I tried various things to...

Lately the cuts on my TS have not been square, so tonight I checked the blade alignment, and it's a bit off. So I figure it's just a simple matter of re-aligning it. Well, I must be going dense,...