Category: Podcast Episodes

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Guy

1) I’m writing about a project where we are making a table and using white oak for the first time. While most boards looked great throughout the milling process, we found that a few board exposed a lot of very small short cracks or voids along the “rays”. I’ve seen this a lot working with heart pine which i have epoxied.

How common is this and how do you deal with. Thanks, Mike @ Sibley Manor Woodworks

2) Greetings, love the show. How do each of you feel about hand held belt sanders? (3″X 21″ for example). Some fine woodworkers swear by them for projects such as table tops, while others won’t even touch them for the hatred of the uneven marks they can leave behind, and relegate them to rough construction only. From my experience I’m in the latter category, although I admit I may not be using the machine properly/correct technique. Are there any special tips or ‘insider’ knowledge on how to avoid the dips/valleys they leave behind? Or should I go ahead and list my belt sander on Craigslist and be done with it?

MLBETT Wood Works

Sean

1)Hey Guy(s),

Your podcast is great. Thanks for all the help.

I am in the process of building a detached garage. Part of it is going to be a shop area. It’s not going to be a big shop area by any means (15’x25’).  I’m planning on making some cabinets and furniture for our future house (kitchen cabinets, vanities, tables, bar area).  Currently, I borrow other friends and family members equipment when doing project due to my limited space in town.  My question is, what equipment do you recommend for my shop?  I realize you need more information so I’ll explain what I have and a budget. I’m looking to spend around $2000-$2,500.  I don’t have many tools but here is what I have – 10” compound sliding miter saw from Harbor Freight that cuts a little off, cordless drills, circular saw with clamp edge guide, jig saw, and a 1/4” trim router.  These tools got me by for small projects but I think it’s time to upgrade.

Thanks for the help!

Casey

2) Hey guys I love the podcast and what you’re doing to help the woodworking community.

About two years ago I finished my walnut dinning room table. It was my first major project in years since my high school shop days. I learned a lot doing it. But as always made mistakes.

I made my table using breadboard ends and I used third coast craftsman’s video as inspiration for the construction of my breadboard ends. After I assembled my table I noticed small gaps between my top and breadboard ends. I was wondering if you could think of any ideas to fix those gaps.  I appreciate the time. Thanks guys. – Trent

Huy

1) Hey guys – I am in the process of building a shed (my new workshop). It’s going to be 12×16. I will have full 8ft walls and a 7×5 steel rollup door (like the ones you see at storage units) and it will be insulated however most likely not climate controlled 24/7.

My main question is about lumber storage.  since it won’t be climate controlled 24/7 should  I be storing lumber in the shop or think about storing it elsewhere. Typically I will only have on hand what I need for the current project or 2. 

Any suggestions on maximizing storage in this small space? John

2) I recently bought some CA glue and activator, as I was reading the label it said that it needed to be kept in a cool place and even suggested storing it in the fridge.  Then I remembered that I heard that PVA glue can go bad if left in a place that is to hot.  Where do you guys store your adhesives? -Rick

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Guy

1) Next question: how much time do you spend working on workflow and process in the shop? I’m a night and weekend woodworker who is taking commission orders now and want to ensure I maximize my time in the shop to be the most effective. What are some tips tricks or source material you might suggest? Maybe Guy can lend an answer to this, as he is working in a full time production shop. Also, just down the road from you Guy, in Noblesville. Thanks in advance! -Thelibertycraftsman

2) Hi Guy, love the podcast. I have a question about the Festool Kapex. I’m about to purchase a new miter saw and am between the Kapex or the Bosch glider. The only concern I have are some of the comments  about the handle shape on the Kapex. Since you use it I’d like your opinion. It is expensive and want to be sure it’s worth it. I would really like a precision miter saw. Thanks you all and love the show. Anthony

Sean

1) I have the opportunity to get my hands on some ash trees that will be felled due to the emerald ash borer. I will have these trees slabbed and kiln dried by a local sawmill.

I am fairly new to woodworking and I am primarily a hand tool user.

My question for you guys is what are your thoughts on using ash to build either a Roubo style workbench. Is ash dense/heavy enough to be used as workbench.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Carlos @alberto_woodworks

2) Have you ever heard of anyone hiring someone for a weekend to come to your house and help make adjustments on multiple machines? My tablesaw, bandsaw, jointer and planer all work but could benefit from someone with experience double checking things and making minor adjustments. I  know that every machine has its own quirks so finding someone that knows my exact models would be difficult but I feel as though someone with more experience could make a big impact in a short period of time.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. – Evan

Huy

1) Hey guys my name is Anthony S. I am a novice woodworker with a focus on medieval furniture for the house and camp as my wife and I are part of a living history group. We are looking for  our first house. I would like to have one area of the house for a workshop. I use quite a few power tools in my work now and will hope to get a tablesaw and drill press after the house. I know I should be concerned with ventilation and dust collection, which will be determined by where in the house the workshop is, but I am hoping for it to be in the garage. I was wondering what else should we be looking for in a workshop space when house hunting.

2) I have a chance to buy a second hand Felder AF22 dust extractor. It is a 2.2kw 3HP machine but it has a three phase motor in it (I’m in the UK). Putting in three phase power is prohibitively expensive.

Do you have any experience of running a three phase machine with a VFD (preferably an inexpensive Chinese one) and can I use a remote control switch to activate it from my table saw. Many thanks, Mark

Information mentioned in the podcast from Huy: Acogedor AC 220V 2.2KW VFD Motor Inverter Speed Controller,Variable Frequency Drive with Wireless Remote Control

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Guy

1)When is the right time to pull the trigger?  I’m currently using an old Grizzly 6″ jointer that works fine but limits me in terms of both width and length of stock.  What measurements or guidelines do you all use to determine when it’s time to upgrade your shop equipment? Joel   

2) Right now I’ve really been trying to take time to learn and be comfortable with the foundational skills; practicing cuts and joinery. Do you have any tips on how to make more accurate angled cuts? For example, I started just making and octagon shaped frame this weekend. Getting all angles and lengths to perfectly match took way too many attempts 🤦‍♂️. Is this something you prefer a miter saw or table saw for? Any tools or accessories you suggest using that can be used to double check your saw blades are at the proper angle? Etc. Right now I have a cheap miter saw and a dewalt jobsite table saw. I know the tools aren’t the best, but I’m sure there are some things I could start doing and making into habits to get better as I start into this new hobby! -Brandon

Sean

1) Hey guys, could you recommend a mobile (2 stage) dust collection system for a hobbyist woodworker? I’m not looking to wall mount as I’m both, in a small space, and not in my “forever” shop. Perhaps DIY (where to start?) or from any brands is suitable. I don’t really know where to begin. Currently run a jobsite table saw, and looking to add a jointer and planer soon. 4” intake is preferred. Thanks! RJ

2) Questions for the podcast: is the Festool Domino worth it? Context: building a bar and stools out of 8/4 ash and need something to quickly join the legs of the stools together, as well as the bar and legs. I originally thought dowels or router out for loose mortise and tenon, but time is money, literally, as this is a project for a client. Should I spend the $1000+ for the domino, and save time, which allows me to get other client projects done (could use the domino on some of those projects too) or, save the $1000k, do it with dowels or a router and then spend the $1000+ on a delta tablesaw and a dewalt 735x planer? Planer would need to be on sale for the numbers to line up (bad at math!). I currently have a 1/2 hp craftsman table saw with upgraded fence. Thoughts? Thanks! Love the podcast! Thelibertycraftsman

Huy

1)Thanks for the time you invest in the podcast. I have been woodworking a long time but I am still learning. I do not make furniture but I still pick up lots of tips from you three. I am new to the bandsaw. I have a Laguna 14 Twelve. I mainly resaw logs for bowl blanks, since I do a lot of turning. I have been using a Laguna Proforce 3/4″ 3 tpi. The blade broke though it is only a couple months old and I have only milled about 3 dozen blanks. What are the causes for such a blade to break? I would appreciate any insight, so as to avoid breaking the new blade. Thanks. -Mark

2)The talk about bringing all sorts of lumber into your shop, like from a pile outdoors under a tin cover, has me wondering about contamination. Basically, were talking about a biodegradable material here, which starts growing microbial life on, in, and off it as soon as the tree dies. So is there ever any danger of bringing wood into your storage which infects your entire stock? Relatedly, should we never machine any rotting material because that would make the fungus etc airborne and infect the whole shop? -Warren

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Sean

1) What method do you guys use for waterfall joints (besides domino) and are biscuits and glue strong enough? Nick

2) I picked up 4 slabs of white oak that measure about 10 ft by 15” wide and 2 1/4” thick. I set up a router sled leveled everything on saw horses and as it turns out a couple of the slabs have a twist of about an 1”. Or a bow of about an 1” at either end. I wanted to keep the slabs as thick as possible and I don’t think a 1” top would look right.  I ripped one down to about 12” to try to reduce the twist and route off a small amount but it still has a fair amount of twist and would require a lot of material to be removed.

 How would you handle these slabs? Flatten one side with the router sled and leave the bottom slightly out to keep the thickness. Rip them down to smaller widths that I could handle on my 6” jointer, in hopes to keep the thickness at 1.5”. BTW this will be a PITA but could be done with roller stands/roller conveyers. Screw it and  leave the twist/bow smooth out what I can with a power planer and go with it. I don’t have access to a large shop with a belt sander.

Thanks

Jesse

Guy

1) Hi guys! Been listening since the beginning and love the show, but I’m still a beginner and recently got a bandsaw (Rikon 10-326, brand new 3/4” Timberwolf resaw blade) which I’m trying to use for resawing. A friend gave me a bunch of purpleheart to resaw for him, and … it didn’t go well. So my questions:

1. Do you prefer to resaw using a “point fence” or just the bandsaw’s normal fence?  The normal fence gave me an awful lot of drift with the purpleheart.
2. Is it better to keep the piece you’re resawing off (the piece with the thickness you want)  next to the fence or on the side of the blade without the fence? The former seems preferable for repeatable cuts, but it seems like you quickly lose a reference surface on the third cut?
3. Is it possible that I had so much trouble because I was resawing a hard wood like purpleheart and dulled my blade really quickly? Or is resawing a lot more fussy than you all make it look on YouTube? 🙂

Thank you, and for what it’s worth, I’ve followed the Snodgrass advice on setting up the guides and I’m pretty sure I got that right. – Adam

2) Guy, as I’ve improved as a woodworker, I’m getting more requests for building custom furniture, or recreating a design someone has seen online. This means I need to get serious about cost. You guys have discussed cost of various projects in a previous episode, which was helpful, but still vague enough to leave me scratching my head at times. I recognize that you don’t want to tell the podcast how much you might make on a project—I get it. So, I’m going to list a project here (not one I’m currently making), hoping to hear you think through materials, time, etc. As a professional, what would you charge for this piece? What should an amateur charge for this piece?:

–  Project: Round breakfast table

–  Wood: solid cherry

–  Size: 42″ diameter, 1″ thickness

–  Base: something like what Andy Rawls made here, just not as beefy: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg9tf4_jyRr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

–  Joinery for the base would utilize the Festool Domino

–  I live in SE Texas, and rough cherry is around $5 bd. Ft.

Josh

Huy

1) Hey guys…I am making a Morris chair out of cherry. Being a novice woodworker, this is my first substantial project. I’m having problems with snipe with my delta 22-555  13″ planer. I keep adjusting the infeed and outfeed tables , but still getting the darn snipe. Any suggestions? Also, how much thicker should pieces of wood be, to obtain a desired thickness?

https://woodgears.ca/jointer/planer_snipe.html

Also, the arms of the chair are a gentle bent lamination. I built a bending form and 

wondering if you can go through the process, from resawing (what thickness), to assembly, clamping, what glue you use, etc. Final thickness of the arm is inch and an eighth thick.

Keep up the good work.

Dale from Muskego, Wi.

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Guy

1) I’ve recently upgraded/downgraded from a Delta 3 phase 5hp unisaw right tilt (mucho power, not much safety) to a Sawstop 3hp left tilt (less power- more safety ). Is there any difference in approaching cuts for the left vs. right tilt? My crosscut sled has to be remade, I have to rework the mitre bar on my Delta (Buick sized) tenoning jig, etc. In the past, I’ve used the mitre bar on the left side for crosscutting -so the blade tilts away from the support fence. Do I start using it on the right side of the blade so it tilts away from the support fence? Eric

2) Since I’m planning to soon purchase some of these tools I would like your thoughts/recommendations for purchasing all Incra, all Woodpecker or a mix of both.  I would also like to know which five or six measuring devices you would recommend if it were for your own shop as I’m not exactly sure what I need.  I realize this may not be a fair ask given that Incra and/or Woodpecker are sponsors for some or all of you. Jack

Sean

1) I am gluing up 3 boards, each board being 1” thick x 8’long x 6” wide. I do not have a flat surface that big to do a glue up on. Do you have any recommendations on how to ensure a flat glue up? Nick

2) What’s the most useless thing you’ve bought for your shop? I’m not even going to try to explain this one. You know you bought something that you haven’t touched since you bought it. Guy…. you’re old… you know you have things you’ve bought for that one job and didn’t even use it then. What is it?  Brent Jarvis

Huy

1) For everyone: It seems that all three of you work in your garage. What are your best storage saving tips? Josh

2) Hi guys. I really appreciate everything you guys have put out. I’m a beginner to wood working. Been doing this about 4 years. I have a to. Of questions that I’d love to get your perspective on. I have a shop space that is 24 x 30. When I first started woods working I was out of a garage 1/4 of the size on was very intrigued by the Shopsmith. What are your thoughts on a 5 or 7 in one machine? I really enjoy the option for a lathe. And a quick flip to a drill press. – Kyle