Author: woodshoplifepodcast

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Sean

1) Shop router table or store bought. Pros and cons -trszki

2) Hi guys, I’m curious as to whether you guys use metric or imperial. I’m thinking it makes sense to switch to using metric for fine woodworking. I’m curious your take, what you are using and if you are using metric how was the switch and what are your pointers on making the switch. Thanks and I love the podcast.
Trent

Huy

1) I’m planning on replacing my melamine kitchen cabinet doors/drawer fronts with Shaker style I make. I’ll be using Whiteside’s Shaker Rail and Stile set in a router table and the doors/drawers will be painted.
 
I would like your opinion on material. I was thinking poplar for the rails and stiles and MDF for the panels. 
 
Also, do you have a preference on type of hinges and brand? My  current plan is to use European style, using jigs for drilling and mounting. I’ve never used European hinges, so any tips would be greatly appreciated if you agree this is the way to go.

2) Good morning fella’s.  I have a question about timing a unique finishing option when assembling an outdoor closet (used for storing shovels, rakes, etc.).  I’m making the closet out of white oak and it will be hanging off of the back of my brick outdoor fireplace.  Lately the internet cannot decide what to call the finish I want to use, so I’m just going to say that I want to do a burned/charred wood finish.  The question is, when to do it.  I want to do traditional mortise and tenon assembly where the bottom is mortised into the sides and the sides into the top.  Do I burn all the wood first then cut the joinery?  Do joinery first then burn while avoiding the joinery locations?  Or assemble the whole thing and burn as one piece?  Any help would be appreciated and keep up the great work.
Garrett

Guy

1)Hi there, I’ve written in before and appreciate you answering my questions.
 I have another question that I would love some guidance on. I was wondering if your had any tips on cleaning up glue squeeze out on inside corners. The majority of my work I’m using titebond 2 glue. Ive tried letting the glue gum up and scrape it, and also tried wiping it right away w a wet cloth.
 The orbital sander doesn’t full clean out the inside corners, and sanding the corners by hand and the rest of the piece w an orbital sander tends to show a subtle difference in how those areas take the finish. Any tips would be a huge help. Thanks again, Bryan

2) Thanks for the best woodworking podcast on the web! I know it’s best to joint and turn “downhill” in regards to grain direction. How does one tell which end of a board was  closest to the top or bottom of the tree ?
 
Thanks again,
Tim in North Carolina

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Sean

1) Do you sand inside surfaces before or after gluing dovetailed parts together? Sanding before = potentially changing the fit and sanding after = having to sand inside corners. TheRoaringWoodwork

2) Do you buy your hide glue or make it yourself? Leather by Dragonfly

3) Would you guys ever want to build a wooden bathtub? Keith

Guy

1) So I’m new to veneering. I finally purchased a vacuum pump and bag. I love the fact that you can arrange veneer  into different orientations to get the look that you desire. I want to make a modern credenza and want the grain to run in the same direction and match from the vertical carcass pieces to the horizontal carcass pieces. What’s the best method to ensure grain matches. Robert Couch

2) I recently got an old school desk and am planning to repair and refinish it so that my kids can use it. I’m starting to think about what kind of finish to use since it will obviously be getting some abuse, but I don’t know a lot about finishes. I’ve just kept it simple and have always used Arm-R-Seal for my projects so far. I know finishes is a huge topic, but could you talk a bit about if certain kinds of finishes are better for pieces that you know will get abuse (e.g. desk, table) versus projects that are more accent pieces? Is it simply a matter of applying more coats to get a more durable finish or are certain types of finishes really better? Lastly, does the sheen (satin vs glossy) make a difference? Maybe nicks and dings wouldn’t show as much with a satin sheen? Thanks in advance and keep up the great work. -Billy

Huy

1) After reading Bill Pentz’s website, my eyes have been opened as to the proper way of setting up a dust collection system. I’d like to run a 6” main run coming directly from my Oneida dust collector inlet. Pentz’s suggests maintaining the duct sizing and reducing right up until the tool. He also suggests keeping the ports as large as possible as well. However, almost all of my tools have a 4” port. For the bandsaw, it makes sense to have 4” ports since there are two of them (one right under the lower roller bearing and one in the lower cabinet). However, my table saw only has one 4” port. Wouldn’t it be better to increase the port size to 6” to get more airflow? Do you think it would be worth increasing the port size to 6”? For context, I have a SawStop 1.5hp PCS. Moser Woodcraft

2) I’m very new to woodworking. I have a modern chair piece that I’d like to build with lots of angles. I have it modelled out in SketchUp and everything looks great. However, when I start cutting the test pieces on the miter saw or on the table saw with a miter gauge, I can’t get the angles just right and I end up with small gaps. Everything will be joined with floating tenons. Are there any techniques or methods that might solve my gappy joint problem? All.Woodworking

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Sean

1) Great show guys. Been listening a while and I’ve heard them all. Thanks for sharing your experience. Hoping you can give me some ideas for potential workaround. I recently made a mitered box out of a nice piece of cherry, with continuous grain running around the sides. I rabbeted the inside edges of the top and the bottom and used those rabbets to seat in some 1/4 in. baltic birch plywood veneered with bubinga and wenge. I’m a relatively new woodworker but I think they turned out pretty nice. After the glue dried I noticed that I had slightly undersized one of the rebated panels on two of the ends. Maybe somewhere between a 32nd and a 64th. As this is on the outward face of the box, what are the alternatives for closing this gap? The rest of the box looks pretty nice, and I’m afraid to goof it up with a sloppy patch job. Any suggestions? Thanks again guys for the great work! – John

2)So I’ve been trying my hand at shellac, with mixed results. I’ve put a coat on some soft maple sanded to 220. I decided I didn’t like it so I wanted to sand it off. After waiting several hours, while it looks dry and feels dry to the touch, when I sand it, it is clogging my sandpaper. I then tried waiting over night. Same results. Is this normal? Some details: it is a 2# cut of amber shellac flakes, freshly mixed with denatured alcohol, applied with a blue shop towel. Temps were in the low 60’s to high 50’s with humidity ~40-50%. Shellac flakes don’t get old do they? Is it possible that the denatured alcohol doesn’t have a high enough % of booze in it? I did buy it @ the big box store. -Mark

Huy

1) How would you get rid of bandsaw marks from thin shop made veneers, that are less that an eighth of an inch thick, but still come out with a consistent thickness. I don’t have a drum sander, yet. Was thinking of a sled with the veneer stuck down with double sided tape in the planer. Just afraid it will explode under the planer knives. I’ve tried a hand plane, to no avail.  I have an old Inca,  Jointer/Planer with a Tersa head. Any help would be very cool.

ps..Love the Podcast – Ken

2) Hey guys. I’m looking into buying a track saw along with corresponding work table. More specifically, the  . I’m hoping you all could give some insight when comparing and contrasting these two and whether the Kreg system, while more budget friendly, sacrifices quality or is lacking in any way. Love the show and look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks, Phil.

Guy

1) I have many slabs of 8/4 maple that have been air drying for a couple of years after I milled them. I know how you feel about slabs, but don’t worry, I plan to dimension these to 6/4 and 10″ wide with the aim to build a dining room table of approximately 8ft long by 40″ wide.

For legs, I’m thinking of the “panel” style that are situated about a quarter of the way in from each end. I’ll use a cross beam between the two panel legs, but does the top panel require an apron or any additional underpinning or support structure? 

Thanks for near 70 shows of insights. Glen

2)Hey guys – can you explain why tool companies produce / sell multiple tool brands?  The latest I’ve noticed is the South Bend tool line that Grizzly is distributing – it looks very similar to the Grizzly line of tools but with a new paint job. I’m sure they’re not the only company with this practice. What gives?  As a follow up, as someone only a few years into the hobby, which single brand would each of you select if you were starting a new shop (and I’m assuming Guy’s answer will be Powematic)?  Thanks for the episodes – really enjoy them – Mike

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Sean

1) Hi all, greetings from Australia. Love the show and appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge with people like me who are just starting out. I have a question about router dust collection. I have recently built a router table and am looking at the dust collection. I have a router lift and round body router installed I am waiting for the port to come for the fence dust collection, but have a question for under table dust collection. What do you recommend here? I have seen something from milescraft called a dust router 1501 that  has a router fence and router dust collection. Currently the router is mounted on a router lift which technically will sit inside a space covered by a door. Any advice welcome – Jamie

2) I just bought a new house with some property and it has

A big detached 2 car garage that will be my new shop. I was planning to get a Laguna Fusion F2 to upgrade my dewalt jobsite tablesaw, but they are backordered until August. I can still find Sawstops in my area so it looks like I’ll plop the extra money and save my life. At this point the 52 inch fence is only $100 more than the 36 inch

In your opinion is the 52 worth the money and extra space or is the 36 big enough, I mostly build custom furniture but will be doing all the cabinets in the new house remodel, bathrooms and kitchen as well as bed frames, a master closet, building etc. So a mix of sheet goods and hardwood builds.

I don’t have a track saw, I use a circular saw with the bora NGX strait edge system to roughly break sheet goods now.

Thanks for the great show I learn so much.

Will @ Oleksy wood works

Guy

1)I have a question about Festool sanders.  I currently use a delwalt 5″ random orbit sander that works well enough.  I have it hooked up to a shop vac that I run with a standard filter and a hepa filter at the same time.  This results in no dust coming out of the vacuum, and it gets most of the dust from sanding coming off the sander itself.  I still have to wipe down my work after sanding which I don’t mind.

I recently built a desk and had to sand vertical surfaces for the first time and was surprised at how much harder this was and how numb my hand was afterwards.  It was pretty miserable.

I have the chance to upgrade to a Festool sander and I see several different used models for sale locally.  I was leaning towards the RO 125 because of its versatility but have read that it can be difficult to handle and can vibrate more in random orbit mode than the sanders specifically designed for random orbit sanding like the ETS.

Will one of the Festool sanders actually leave a better finish than my dewalt?  If so, is it better to go with the RO 125 because of its versatility or will a dedicated random orbit sander have less vibration?  Will I see a difference in finish between the RO 125 and an ETS 125?

I am somewhat new to woodworking but I am fortunate enough to have a well outfitted shop.  I have been working on smaller projects like boxes and shoe racks.  I’d like to get into building more desks, tables, cabinets, and doors.  I don’t really strip or refinish furniture, so I may not have a need for the material removal capabilities of the RO 125? Thanks Julio

2)  Hello, I’ve been a fan of the podcast since the beginning and thought I’d finally submit a question. So, I plan to make one of those bath tub trays for my soon to be wife. It will be made with 1 inch thick purple heart wood with various little slots and grooves and routed out sections to place a wine glass, hold a phone or book, put a candle on that sort of thing. My question is what would the best finish be for something like this that is always going to be used on a bathtub and be exposed to water every time it’s used even if it’s only for short periods of time. I’ve basically only ever used typical stain and brush on poly/varnish for my projects, but wouldn’t mind using a satin oil finish for the look. What do you guys think is the best finish for such a thing? Thanks – Brendon

Huy

1) Jonas from Germany here! Love the podcast and the wealth of Know-how you guys provide!

Since you’ve been asking for questions, here is mine:

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around wood movement in general and more specifically around keeping wood straight while still allowing for movement. I am in the midst of building my workbench right now and a couple of questions have come up. I know that wood moves mainly across its width. Is that still the case if you flip  a bunch of boards 90 degrees and glue their face sides together, as is often done for workbench tops? Not sure if that would mean that the top now moves mainly in its thickness or width.

Also, If i wanted  to build my workbench more like a mft (but from solid wood)  with aprons on all sides and less like a traditional workbench.  What would I have to look out for regarding grain direction and wood movement? I guess the long sides/aprons  are not the problem as they Would be Long grain, just like the top. What about the short aprons?

2)  Hello  Guy, Huy and Sean. Over the summer I made one the nesting serving trays from a plan in Fine Woodworking. I used paste wax as my finish. It looked great and really brought out the character in the mahogany. Then I used it for it’s intended purpose on a camping trip. It was much more convenient than bringing the cooking ingredients from the camper to the grill, then I put the plates with the warm food on it to bring to the table. The heat melted the wax. Did I just ruin my piece by using wax as the only finish? Is there a way to remove it and put something more durable on like lacquer or shellac? Is there any finish that I could put over the wax if I fix the affected areas? If I have to remake it, I have enough mahogany left over, but I’m cheap and I ran out of waxed cotton threads for the handles… help me Wood shop life, you’re my only hope!! -Joshua

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Sean

1) Hey guys, I became a patron supporter a couple months ago and I really love the format of the podcast. I am a beginner woodworker who is in the process of acquiring more tools. I would like to start to resaw my own lumber from rough sawn. I was hoping to get your advice on what is the best bandsaw you all would recommend. If money was no object what would you recommend? Again, my main objective is to resawn Lumber and the number one challenge I’m facing in picking a machine is they are not on display at any of the usual stores, Woodcraft or Rockler. I appreciate your response in advance. Juan from Boston

2) Hey guys! Digging the podcast, keep up the good work.

I have a question and curious how you guys would approach fixing tear out on a table top?

I’ve got a ambrosia maple top I just glued up. And noticed a nice 1/2” x 1/2” wide chunk that’s  about a 1/16 to 1/8” deep right in the middle of the top. How would you fix it? Also you can’t flip the top, there another mark/divot that’s worse on the bottom side.

Would you use a decorative inlay/ bow tie? Or try to hide it?

Details: Top is 1.75” thick, I know a little heavy but gets a large chamfer on the underside. Overall it will be 40” wide by 7ft long.

And I don’t have access to a wide belt sander.

Thanks, Jesse

Huy

1) Hey guys! Great show! I have been having problems with raising and lowering the height of my table saw blade. I have a Grizzly 1023RLW. It is new from Grizzly, and have had it for about 6 months. My question is, what do you guys use as a lubricant for the moving parts? I cleaned everything good, and used grease. Like packing bearings grease. It works great for about a week, and then gets all packed with sawdust. Is there a better way? Thanks for the show, it has been a real help. Keep it up! Marc

2) Good day Sean, Huy and Guy.  Thank you for the podcast.  It is an excellent resource.  I prefer the french pronunciation of Guy, so in my world Huy and Guy rhyme which greatly increases my enjoyment of the podcast. 

I recently got a 20″ bandsaw for free.  It has a 3 phase motor right now.  Is there a compelling reason to purchase a phase convertor as opposed to a new motor?  They are in the same ballpark in terms of price–the motor being a bit more expensive.   It may be more difficult to find the motor with the proper mounting brackets and etc. but I would guess I can find it.  Is there a performance based reason to select one or the other?  (Huy should great insight on this as a rocket scientist which is a close cousin to an electrical engineer, right?)

Thank you for any insight you may have. Darrick

Guy

1) So a bit of non woodworking question for you – I need some new music to listen to in the shop. What’s on your playlists right now?

For the record, I don’t listen to music while I’m using anything with a blade or cutter, it’s too distracting. only when I’m sanding and finishing. Just sayin’.

Thanks, Mark B

2) My shop is being constructed and I’m about to face the electrical decisions.  One decision I’m stuck on and could use some other input on is about the tools in the middle of the shop. I don’t like cords running across the floor to trip on, so I’m considering putting some outlets in the ceiling and having the cords come down with the dust collection run.  I’ll need 240 and 120 for the center tools.  Does this sound like a good idea?  Should I try to get something in floor instead?  This would add cost, but then think I would need to consider adding dust collection pipe as well to free up my head space.  My ceilings will be vaulted, so that brings another complication.  Just looking for thoughts from seasoned woodworkers.

Brian