Category: Podcast Episodes

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Sean

1)It seems that no matter what I try its hard to make great mitre cuts.  I have a sawstop with a Osborne mitre gauge,  an older radial arm saw (70’s craftsman) that I’ve tried the broken fence technique on and I seem to still have trouble with mitres.  I do all kids of woodworking from segmented bowls (though rarely) to picture frames to simpler miters.  It always seems to have issues.  Is the solution the Kapex? if its really amazing (as the domino is) I’ll spend the money but is there a better less costly solution?  You guys are awesome!

thanks,

Dan

2) My question is concerning marking gauges, a lot of suggested beginners kits include some sort of marking gauge. When watching youtube very rarely do you see a marking gauge, and even more rare is someone that is putting one to use. While I understand what a marking gauge is and how it functions, i don’t see a place it in my workflow. Do you, gentlemen use marking gauges commonly in your workflow, and if you do when do you use them?

As a related question, do you guys use marking knives? I understand marking knives will give you more accurate results but again rarely do you see YouTubers using marking knives.

-Jim

Guy

1) Gentlemen I greatly enjoy your podcast.  I have a question about stain.  I just finished a large dining table and like most other projects I’m very disappointed in how the finish turned out.  The table is red oak and I stained it a medium brown followed by three coats of General Finish   Armor Seal Satin    .   I don’t go cheap on stain, I forget the brand of stain but it was $35 per quart and was custom mixed at my lumber supplier.  Is there any tricks that you guys can recommend to get a more even end product?  The top is six boards that are different grain patterns so maybe I’m expecting too much.

Also Guy I heard your comment a few episodes back about only using pipe clamps and kind of snickered but in gluing up this table top which is 7’ x 42” my Besseys couldn’t begin to compare with the old reliable pipe clamps.  I used dominoes for alignment purposes and it took a pretty good squeeze to pull everything together.  I’m a believer. -Tom

2) Hello again (you said you needed questions so submitting a second today)

Like most woodworkers, I started out with pre-milled lumber at mostly 3/4 inch. Once I got a planer, I found myself often planing lumber down for aesthetic reasons. I make mostly smaller projects, and 3/4 is just too thick for my tastes.

My question is, beyond looks, when do you worry about thickness choice? Is there a weight determiner, length of boards, etc. Ever made a mistake and went too thin to suffer later?

As a slight followup, do you ever purposely buy thicker material with the anticipation of re-sawing over planing down (like from 3/4 to 1/2″) and just wasting material?

Peter       

Huy

1) Hey guys, love listening to the podcast and was hoping you could help me out with a problem I ran into. I put a nice new glue line saw blade on my table saw and when I went to switch out the blade to my multi purpose, I physically can’t get the blade off the arbor. It is not the arbor nut, that was removed easily, it is the blade itself that is stuck on the arbor. Has this ever happened to any of you and what would be your solution. I have been thinking about heating up the blade to expand it off the arbor but wanted to see if you had any other options. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for the awesome podcast!! Seanvella designs

2) Hey guys, Have any of you taken a chance on wood species that are uncommon both in wood working and lumber yards. Their are many local species in my area (north Arkansas) that I could get, but wonder if people don’t use them because there garbage or their just not good for commercial sales. Some of the trees are black gum, Osage, paw paw, pecan, cotton wood, dogwood

 Tyler

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Sean

1) Second question: This question is for Sean, mostly. I’m getting ready to make a blanket chest with frame-and-panel front, sides, and back, out of cherry and walnut, but the recipient wants the wood from a single source. So for the first time I’ll be making the internal panels out of resawn cherry rather than plywood. I remember that you said you had a problem with trapped hardwood panels in a set of end tables (I think?) you made for your parents a while back. I can’t quite find the episode, but I was wondering what how you would go about doing hardwood panels for a frame-and-panel cabinet now — what would you do differently to keep the wood movement under control? Any tips for making thinner, 1/2 inch panels in general? Thank you all — I love supporting such a great conversation.
Adam

2) Hi guys! Another quick question – I’m making a small table and the base will be ash, ebonized with India ink. What would be a good choice for topcoat over the India ink? I was thinking of using a water-based poly, but it seems to “reactivate” the ink. Maybe shellac would be fine? Thanks!!
Dan

Huy

1)I was recently setting up to rip 60 facets to create a hexagonal column that is 1.5 inches across the flats. I have a right tilting arbor on my table saw. With my rip fence on the right side of the blade the blade tilts toward the fence. This would mean the top facet would be cut with that geometry and the the work piece would be pinched against the fence. I could move the fence to the other side which would allow me to cut the bottom facet and the work piece would not be pinched against the fence. I have never ripped on the left side of my blade. I ultimately decided to do this on the bandsaw which worked fine.
 
This brought up the question as to which is the preferred tilt direction for the table saw? Do we need one of each or is one direction more useful than the other. I would like to know your thoughts about this.
 
Thanks,
 
Dave Pollatta
Ontario, New York

2) I rarely hear mention of woods like Cumaru and Ipe for exterior use in articles, podcast or see it used by woodworkers I follow on social media, is there a reason? Weight and hardness Im sure factor into the decision as they can be difficult to work, but are they still worth a mention?

Guy

1) Question: I prefer 3/16” solid wood edge banding over the veneer, have to ask your opinion?
Harder to install, but better I think. Glenn

2) Hey guys! First off, I have to say, glad to have fellow metalheads in the woodworking community! I wanted to follow up on something good ole’ Guy said a while back about how he makes his own Danish Oil.
Poly, BLO, and…. Naphtha? The Naphtha threw me for a loop seeing as how every YouTube video says to use Mineral Spirits. Well, I gave it a side-by-side test and yep, I liked Naphtha better! Good call!
So, my question is, what other chemical tricks do you guys have up your sleeve? Anything out of the ordinary novice woodworkers may not know? I pretty much have one of each and only a little used from each. So I’m looking for inspiration!
And lastly, we all hear the combustible chemicals need to be stored in a metal cabinet. Why? It’d have to cram in next to all my other wooden shop cabinets anyway.
Keep up the great work!
Paul

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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