Stinky Dresser! - Question of the Week

December 20, 2007 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week | 6 Comments 

This week’s second question comes from Melanie. She writes:

My Father in Law made a gorgeous dresser for our son…problem is when we use it, the clothes smell like finish and then so does our baby. We’ve aired it out numerous times and it also aired in his shop before it came over. I’ve tried a couple of odor discs and sachets, but the smell comes back. I’m afraid to try anything stronger for fear of adding/combining the smell. FIL and my grandfather (who also does wood items) are both stumped. What can I use to safely conquer the smell and use the dresser?!

And here was my reply:

“Hey Melanie. This is actually a very common problem. As oil cures, it maintains an odor. Fortunately this odor dissipates over time. But on the inside of a piece of furniture, where very little air exchange takes place, the oil can produce an odor for many many years. So what can you do? The first option, which I’m sure is not feasible, would be to let the unit air out for a very long time. The second option would be to coat the interior with a new finish that doesn’t produce an odor. There are two finishes that are perfect for this: shellac and water-based polyurethane. One or two coats on the interior should do the trick. This material will lock in the oil odor while producing no smell of its own. Your FIL or Grandfather should be able to help you apply either material. So as an FYI for your woodworking relatives, its a good rule of thumb to leave the interior of casework (especially those intended for clothing or blankets) unfinished, or finished with a few coats of shellac or water based polyurethane. That should take care of it.”

Wood Talk Online - Episode 26

December 19, 2007 | Filed Under Blog, Wood Talk Online | 7 Comments 

Download Episode


You asked for it, and you got it! A hot and fresh episode before the holiday! Topics covered include simple finishes, cheap pocket hole jigs, rough table saw cuts, and the introduction of Kaleo’s new podcast on KaleosWorkshop.com. The show is a little rushed because I had a vet appointment for my dog, but there are quite a few tidbits worth listening to. Enjoy!

Gone to the Dogs - Viewer Project of the Week

December 19, 2007 | Filed Under Blog, Project of the Week | 2 Comments 

This week’s project comes from Jim. It’s a dog feeding station that is worthy of the most regal beagle.

So here it is, my first attempt at semi-fine wood-working… a dog feeding station. This is my first furniture project and first project using the Domino, which I bought after watching your Domino episode about 8 times. WHAT A MACHINE! (sorry, about the caps but I love it). I used the Domino to reinforce/align the glue joint for the “table” top and it worked like a charm - a perfectly aligned and reinforced glue up. I then used the Domino to join the table skirts to the legs, and for the first time in my short wood-working career, came out with a perfectly square, strong frame. Although the price tag is a little hefty, its the best money I ever spent (except for that course of antibiotics in college, just kidding). At the end of the day the most satisfying part was that I designed the project myself from some similar examples I’d seen in the Orvis catalog. I tend to like mine *a little bit more* especially since they get $49.00 for theirs and its made out of pine. As for materials, I made the whole project out of lacewood - a slight upgrade from the pine I’ve used for everything else. Three coats of tung oil later, I’m ready to pass the project onto my brother and his horse/golden lab.

Interestingly, I gave it to my brother about a month and a half ago after putting 3 coats of tung oil on it. I saw it over Thanksgiving and it just didn’t look right - the slobber/water and food took its toll. The grain was raised and the whole project just looked dull. So, I hijacked it from him, re-sanded it, and just finished putting 3 coats of Minwax Wipe-On Poly on it. It looks a whole lot better and more durable but only time will tell I guess.

dogstation Feeding Station2

Ripping Wide Boards for Stability - Question of the Week

December 18, 2007 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week | 5 Comments 

This week’s question comes from David. He writes:

I’m relatively new to the woodworking scene. A quick question for your thoughts… My local hardwood supplier takes in rough lumber and mills it to various boards and trim. I happened to stop in after they had just finished milling some 8′ x 15-18″ wide black cherry planks. I’d love to do a sofa table or some type of piece where I can preserve the board intact. I’ve been reading about the issues with continuous wide planks (cupping, etc.) and was wondering your thoughts on keeping them intact at 12″+, or doing relief cuts and gluing them back together. They’re all 4/4. They’re beautiful and I can’t stand the thought of tearing them up now. I live in upstate NY, hot summers, cold winters - fairly large shifts in humidity across the year. Help!

And here was my reply:

“Hey David. The sad truth is there is no telling what will happen over time. Each board has its own characteristics. Combine that with the seasonal changes, and you have wide variety of conditions and a wide variety of results. So here is the way I see it. I would NEVER chop up a beautiful large board as a preemptive strike against unfavorable movement. Nothing is more beautiful than a full tabletop made from a single board. Not to mention how rare it is to see furniture like this today. So mill the board as flat as possible, prep it, finish it, and slap it on your coffee table frame. Then just hope for the best. Be sure to secure it in a way that allows for the wood to expand and contract (fig 8 fasteners), and keep your eye on it. If at some point disaster strikes and the table starts cracking or warping, you can always remove the top and rework it later. Also, it might not be a bad idea to leave the rough board in your house for a few months before touching it. This way there will be no drastic humidity changes once the final piece is placed in the house. Hope that helps. And congrats on getting such great lumber!”



Camera’s in the Shop!

December 17, 2007 | Filed Under Blog | 9 Comments 

So I was planning on editing the footage for the next video today, and much to my disappointment, my camera started acting up on me. So its off to the repair center for a couple of weeks. You realize what this means, don’t you? It means no new recorded footage and no editing of the recently acquired footage until that camera comes back! YIKES! We were planning on buying a new “pro-sumer” level camera in the new year anyway, but at this point in time we just aren’t able to plunk down the cash. Once you go beyond the $1000 high-end consumer level stuff, the prices rise dramatically! So unfortunately, I will not be using this repair time as an excuse to get the new unit. But man is it tempting!

Now, I do have one video in the hopper, which I will release soon, and that’s it. So until the camera comes back I will be posting two questions and two projects each week in an attempt to fill the void. And Christmas is right around the corner so this is probably the best time for something to go wrong with the equipment. Anyway. Thanks for your understanding.

I Think We Made It!

December 17, 2007 | Filed Under Blog | 17 Comments 

Well now that the smoke has cleared, it looks like we’ve made it. The new site is up and running. Thanks for bearing with me as I made the live changes this weekend. In fact, it really did take ALL weekend! And now at 12:35am on Sunday night, with all the major fires put out, I can close my laptop and get ready for a nice day in the shop tomorrow. Please feel free to contact me if you have trouble finding anything. But I tried to make all the new changes as obvious as possible. So nothing is really “hidden”. As always, please let me know if you find any major issues. I did hear that the site doesn’t look its best in Internet Explorer 6. No surprise there. If you are running IE6, and you can handle the newer browsers, i highly recommend upgrading to IE7 or Firefox, if only for your own browsing security. Seeing websites the way they were meant to be seen will be icing on the cake. :) Ok off the soap box. Thanks everyone and enjoy the site.

Nothing to See Here

December 14, 2007 | Filed Under Blog | 3 Comments 

Hey everyone. Just a heads up for this weekend. I am making some changes to the format, appearance and functionality of the site. So if you stop by and things look crazy or you can’t find something, please bear with us. These changes will allow for future growth and expansion of the site. As is always the case, you never know what snags you will confront until you confront them. So we may end up changing nothing in the end if we can’t get everything just the way we want it. Have a great weekend!

Nut Cracker - Viewer Project of the Week

December 14, 2007 | Filed Under Blog, Project of the Week | 10 Comments 

This week’s project comes from Mattias. It’s an amazingly simple, yet clever, nut-cracking device. Here’s what Mattias had to say:

This is a replica of a nut cracker that I remember from when I was a kid. It’s made out of walnut from a tree in my wife’s grandmother’s front yard, and I’ve made a whole bunch of them for family and friends. You place the nut in the hole and tighten the smaller bolt, until the nut cracks. This is a great nut cracker design, really, because you have lots more control, and don’t get pieces of shell flying across the room, or crushed fingers.

It’s a pretty handy Christmas present because it’s relatively quick to make, small, and nobody has usually seen anything like it. Then of course you have the visual pun of it being shaped like a nut. The finish is Tung Oil, three coats. The threads are cut using a tool from Highland Hardware, size 3/4″. The center hole is 1 3/8″.

Nut Cracker 1 Nut Cracker 2

TWW Reviewed on the Clip Show

December 13, 2007 | Filed Under Blog | 10 Comments 

Well folks, I can finally stop trying to be successful. I have reached the pinnacle of my career. Our show was reviewed on The Clip Show. If you aren’t familiar with The Clip Show, it’s a cleverly-written/performed podcast review show. We’ve hung out with the two geniuses behind the show (Jim and Chuck) several times and its an honor to finally be reviewed. Check it out here! And just a heads up, the humor is on the adult side, just the way I like it. Thanks Jim and Chuck!

Request and a Thank You

December 13, 2007 | Filed Under Blog | 5 Comments 

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for supporting us by watching the videos, clicking our links, shopping in our stores, and sending us donations. Nicole and I really appreciate your support. Now someone named Dave sent us a significant donation recently and unfortunately my reply bounced back. And that brings me to my request. When you email me through the contact form, PLEASE double check your email address. At least 2-3 times a week I write up a nice reply to an email only to have it bounce back because of a typo. So not only do you not get my reply, but you walk away thinking I don’t answer my email. And as many of you know, I most certainly DO answer every single email. So until I find a contact form that requires you to write your email address twice, please double check it. And if you dont hear from me within 2 days, please email me again.

Thanks everyone and hope your holiday season is going well!

« Previous Page — Next Page »

  • What's New???

  • Check this out!!

    Loading the LumberJocks Widget

  • Extra Reading

  • Google


  • SuTree Videos

    Find free how-to videos
Close
E-mail It