Wood Talk Online - #33

March 31, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Wood Talk Online | 9 Comments 

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Topics: The one year anniversary of Wood Talk Online. Matt’s class with The Schwarz. Selecting a conversion gun for your particular air compressor. Building a lightbox for photographing your work. Cambering a plane blade (see video below). Kaleo’s “Tip from the Workshop”.

If you want to leave us a voicemail: 623-242-2450

Wood Acclimation in Hawaii - Question of the Week

March 31, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week | 1 Comment 

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

“I live on an island in Hawaii (surrounded by water of course) where the humidity is always high and it rains a lot. All the material that I’ve been reading says to dry your wood to about 6% before working on it. Then you leave it in your shop for several days to let it become equal to your humidity. My humidity is always super high. A lot of times in the 80’s and above. Do I still dry my wood to this dryness (6%) even though it will probably go up to 12 to 14 % after acclimated to my place (I do my work in a garage that is open on two sides)? Do I store my wood here in the open garage or somewhere else? What % humidity should I be working on my wood? BTW, the items will probably stay here in Hawaii and we don’t use heating and not a lot of us use air conditioning in their homes. So I believe the humidity inside and out are pretty similar. And it rains a lot here. Sometimes 3 to 5 times a week. I’ve seen charts that show the moisture in wood left on its own here will have between 11 and 14% moisture content throughout the whole year.”

And here was my reply:
“If you are buying kiln dried wood, it will most likely be shipped in at around 6-8%. But if it sits in a lumber yard for a while, you can count on the moisture content going higher and higher every day, until it reaches equilibrium with the environment. So by the time you get it, it is probably up in that higher range anyway. And just like in anyone else’s shop anywhere in the world, you want to let those boards acclimate to your shop’s conditions. And if there is a lot of humidity, your boards will have a higher than average moisture content. Remember that humidity is not necessarily our enemy. CHANGES is humidity are the real problem. So if its relatively constant inside and outside, you should have no problems working with wood that has as higher than average moisture content. Probably not a bad idea to get a moisture meter so you can monitor theses things and figure out just what percentage these boards get to and how they change over the course of the year. But it sounds like you already have a head start on the research. You are wise to be cautious. But I think your actual workflow will not be all that different from anyone else’s.”

For more information on wood, the science behind it, and proper ways to dry it, check out these great articles provided by our friends at FineWoodWorking.com:


All about Wood Science

Video: How to Dry Lumber

Mini Holtzapffel Workbench - Project of the Week

March 28, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Project of the Week | 10 Comments 

This week’s project comes from Shawn. Impressive indeed! Here’s the story:

holtzapffel-01.jpgThis project was different than a normal one, I had to reduce the size down to fit my four year old daughter and stay within visual scale of the original. I got the idea to build this because my daughter is a tom-boy who likes to spend time in the wood shop with me. After seeing the reworked Holtzapffel workbench by Christopher Schwarz, I was inspired to create a scaled down version for my daughter’s Christmas present.

holtzapffel-02.jpgThe workbench is made of scrap pine I had in the shop. It is finished with amber shellac to give it a antique look and the hand cut scaled down hold-fast and bench dogs are finished in a black enamel paint. The hold-fast, bench dogs and clamps all work just like the real deal. I found it fun to do this project and quite challenging as well and it’s nice to step out of your normal work zone and be refreshed with something new and different. Plus help the next generation of woodworkers get started, even if they are only four years old.

holtzapffe-03.jpg holtzapffe-04.jpg holtzapffe-05.jpg

Contest Reminders

March 28, 2008 | Filed Under Blog | 1 Comment 

Don’t forget to get your entries in for the March Fescool Giveaway and the Wood Whisperer Giveaway. Only a couple days left!!

Episode 45 - Music to My EARlex

March 27, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Video | 25 Comments 

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earlexThis video covers my initial impressions and experience with the Earlex Spray Station 5000. To sum up, I thought the Earlex did a darn good job spraying pretty much everything I put in it, including oil-based poly, water-based finishes, lacquer, and latex paint. I would probably recommend purchasing some of the smaller tip sets though, since they will increase performance on the water-based stuff. The 5000 does lack some of the spray controls typically found in higher-priced 3 and 4-stage units, but sometimes those extra features are just unnecessary. I found the simplicity of the unit to be refreshing. In fact, there were a few occasions where I needed to spray and I found myself gravitating to the Earlex primarily because of its simplicity. Now the unit has only been in my possession for about a month so I can’t comment on its longevity. But from what I’ve seen so far, I think the Earlex represents what many of you are looking for: a low-cost way of getting into the spraying game, without scarifying the quality of your finish.

I would also like to thank Charles Neil for his help “behind the scenes” on this video. You can see his video on 2-stage turbines on Youtube.

Wednesday Chat 3/27/08

March 27, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Wednesday Chat | 3 Comments 


Don’t worry if you couldn’t make it. After I stopped recording, the conversation quickly turned to how terrible my haircut is. :)

Be sure to hit the little “Full Screen” button on the player, otherwise you won’t be able to read the chat.

Perhaps, Our Youngest Fan…..

March 25, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Video | 13 Comments 

Here’s a cute little video Kevin made with his 3-year old son, who apparently is a big fan of the show. Gotta love it!

DVD Previews

March 24, 2008 | Filed Under Blog | 7 Comments 

I just added a new feature to the site. On our home page video player, I have added a new tab called “DVD Previews”. I am slowly but surely adding 3-5 minute previews from some of the best woodworking content producers around. So we aren’t talking 30-second teaser clips here. These video “shorts” were hand-picked so that you really get a taste of what the DVD will offer you. Right now we have about six clips, but the list is growing so be sure to check back once in a while. Also, be sure to click the blue link below the video that says “Order this DVD” so that you can visit that particular woodworker’s site. These guys were kind enough to donate a clip so let’s drive some traffic their way. And if you are so inclined, go ahead and place an order for the DVD while you’re there.

Thanks everyone and enjoy!

When should I throw away sandpaper? - Question of the Week

March 24, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week | 2 Comments 

This week’s question comes from Jonathan. He writes:
“So I’ve been doing this woodworking thing for a long time (even though I’m just 40) :-) So there I am in the shop listening to my ipod, hand scraping some stuff, sanding some other pieces (long story) and after a while, the brain starts to drift a little… “I wonder when the hell I should be throwing out these sanding disks…” What is -your- rule for deciding when the 5″ sanding disks on your little Festool have generated enough dust and are ready for the fireplace? (I mean, the disk isn’t frayed or torn. I use klingspor and Norton disks so the things are pretty good quality, and i know after a while a 80 disk probably ends up more like a 120 as the abrasive wears down).”

And here was my reply: “Excellent question Jonathan. Sometimes its really is hard to tell. One common misconception is that as the abrasive wears down, its like sanding at a higher grit. In reality, you aren’t sanding at a higher grit. You are just sanding at the same grit with much less efficiently. :) I usually just look for a few specific signs that tell me the sandpaper is ready for the trash. First is visible wear. That’s an obvious one. For paper that has no visual indicator, I actually just feel the surface. Eventually, the paper will feel a lot smoother when compared to a fresh piece. So how do you know when to switch? Well that’s a personal decision. If you want to save paper, you can wait a long time. But you are doing it at the expense of time and sanding efficiency. In a professional shop where time is more expensive than sandpaper, you switch out more often to get the job done sooner. Its hard to describe just how much smoothness I look for, so you kind of have to decide for yourself. But you should be able to tell when your sanding efficiency is going down. And keep in mind that even dull paper will continue to sand…..but very slowly. Hope that makes sense and gives you at least some guidance. Good luck!”

For some more information on surface preparation and sandpaper, check out this article from FineWoodworking.com

All About Surface Preparation

Music Stand - Project of the Week

March 21, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Project of the Week | 5 Comments 

This week’s project comes from David. From Sketchup to reality, here’s the story:
“I asked you about a dark mahogany stain a few weeks ago and you suggested I go with Bartley’s Jet Mahogany. Well, I wasn’t able to get the Bartley’s stain in time for Christmas, so I was forced to go with the Polyshades. It didn’t turn out too bad, though it was a very frustrating process. I’ve attached photos of the music stand. The music stand was a gift for my sister Kristina for Christmas. I constructed it out of genuine mahogany. The sheet support spells her initials “KMK”. The height is fully adjustable using the thumb knob on the back of the hexagon shaft. The “hinge” is constructed out of mahogany and again, using the thumb knobs, can be positioned in any way necessary. This was my first real project. I haven’t built anything quite so complex in the past, so I was excited that it turned out better than I expected. I’m a Civil Engineering designer and I use AutoCad for everything I do. I’m also pretty decent at Sketchup, so I was able to model the stand before attempting to construct it in the real world. It certainly made the hinge aspect of the design function correctly the first time.”

musicstand4.jpg musicstand1.JPG musicstand3.JPG img_4395.JPG

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