Woodshop Life Podcast

This Episodes Questions:

Brians Questions:

I have a question for you about glueing up table aprons. And I’m mostly referring to large dining tables. The aprons I’m making are generally w 8/4 stock roughly 4” width. I can manage to get the legs and the aprons milled and cut square. All my joinery is w dominoes. Whenever I do the glue up everything is slightly out out square despite everything being square prior to glue up . I have pipe clamps and parallel clamps and have tried both. For some reason I can’t get the clamping pressure or positioning right. Any tips would be appreciated. Timber Tables

Hi guys!
Love your podcast and listen for over a year during my early walks in the morning. I’m always picking up a tip or two. Keep up the great work!
My question has to do with designing a bowling ball rack shelf system for my granddaughter. She is an outstanding bowler with well over 20 balls so my little ball rack is only going scratch the surface.
My plan is for a 12 ball bowling rack with three shelves with four 15# balls on each shelf. Each shelf will be made of 3/4 poplar (to be painted with college colors) and is 46” wide, 10” deep and will have 3” chamfered holes for each ball to sit in. So the shelf has to support 60# in bowling balls!
I’ll be fastening the shelves to the upright side with through tenons.
Do you guys think 3/4 poplar shelves with through tenons and chamfered holes to be enough to hold 60#? This is the first time I’ve created anything requiring that much weight to support. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks! Pappy

Guys Questions:

Hi all. Looking for recommendations for entry level laser engraver to be used for making router templates / engraving logos and simple designs on my woodworking projects such as cutting boards, wall decorations, etc. Are there any alternatives to a laser engraver that would do the same in a similar lower price point? thank you for a great show! Max

Hello gents, as always, the podcast is one of the best out there. My question for you is about pivoting. What I mean by that is, what do you do when something happens during a project that causes you to take a different direction? Recently I completed a humidor for a friend. He gave me the rough dimensions that he wanted, and his only specification was that it had some contrast and some nice looking grain. I made myself a plan and began working on making the box sides with alternating maple and cherry. My original intent was a 4 corner grain match. Unfortunately, my miters did not come out well, so I changed to a corner post design using mahogany. Since the client did not know the original plan, this was an easy change to do in my shop. Have you guys had to change your plan mid way through a project? How did you handle it and how well did it work out? As a side note, sometimes I appreciate the original plan going sideways because it forces me to think of viable alternatives.
Keep making sawdust and sharing what you love.
Joshua from The Blackdog Woodworks.

Huys Questions:

Hi guys, I have a question for the best woodworking podcast around. I bought some beautiful air dried white oak from someone who had it sitting in a barn for 20 years. I have two 4/4 boards that are 8 foot long, 10.5″ wide and almost dead straight. I would like to use them for the top of a dresser but there are several lighter shaded bands going across the boards (on both sides). I believe these stains or marks are from stickering. I did a light pass through my planer and it doesn’t appear that it made a difference. Are these boards totally ruined? I am not confident that if I keep planing them this will go away, plus they are just north of 4/4 in thickness and I was hoping to keep them as thick as possible. Jeff

Thank you for your informative podcast, enjoy the experience and diversity you bring to woodworking enthusiasts. I was recently installing drawer faces on a nightstand. The drawer boxes were just slightly inset so soft close slides would pull the drawer tight when face installed. The drawer faces are proud of the nightstand cabinet. I wanted to have very tight/consistent reveals between the two drawers and wanted the sides to line up perfectly flush with sides. This requires very precise holding of drawer fronts while securing from the back side of drawer box. I was able to get the drawer fronts flush with sides and use a 1/32 shim between drawer faces for the gap, great so far. The drawer face handle is a flat rectangular(lip style) wood pull at the top of the drawer face so there are no holes in the drawer face like there would be be with a more conventional pull. I attempted to use thin double sided tape to hold face securely in position until it could be attached but it was not secure enough to ensure the precise geometry for the drawer face until it could be attached. I felt thicker double sided tape was too flexible for desired outcome. I end up using pins strategically placed under the pull which works but the pins were barely visible. I find wood filler draws attention to pins so left them unfilled reasoning that no one would notice. My wife of course noticed right off the bat. Here is the question:
What other methods of holding drawer face in place before securing to drawer box which doesn’t leave evidence:) Thanks, Dave at xcuse4tools custom woodwork

This Episodes Questions:

Brians Questions:

Hey guys thanks for the best podcast You knowledge and wisdom
Thanks for answering my last question about what project would help build my skills
My question now is I’m looking for a set of chisels and I don’t know what brand to get i’d save up to buy the brand that to get recommended cause I want a set that lasts
Thanks for your help and guidance wise ones Ashtin

I hope you can help me:
I made a 58 inch round table top out of 3/4 inch, good quality plywood. It’s meant to sit on top of smaller round table (48 inches) to add additional seating for occasional use when extra guests are coming to dinner. I’ve done it before with good results. To make it manageable, and because it’s quite heavy, I cut it in half.
I use a rug pad between the smaller table and the ‘topper’ table to keep the 2 halves from slipping. I fitted it and made sure it worked in the space and was stable before doing the finishing. All good so far.
My problem is: I finished one side with stain, lacquer and wax and it looks great. Then I turned both halves over and repeated the same process on the other side. When both sides were all finished, I noted that one of the halves had developed a slight bow, thus making the fitting together of the 2 halves a little wonky. But, when I turned only the bowed half over, the 2 halves fit together perfectly. YAY! BUT – here’s my problem. With both sides lining up perfectly, and laying flat on the rug pad on top of the smaller table, the stain color is slightly different on the 2 halves.
Thinking about how this happened I realized I had to open a new can of stain part way through staining the 2nd side. I must have mixed one of the cans poorly. Or maybe different batches can be slightly different?
What are my options? I don’t think any of these will work.
Do I:1. Try to clamp the bowed half of the table topper (plywood) for awhile hoping to eliminate the bow?

2. Try to refinish the halves that fit so they match?
3. Come up with a latch of some sort to eliminate the bow when using the table topper?
   Since the lacquer is on and wax is rubbed in on both sides, I don’t even think I could paint, or add a veneer.
   Am I stuck with a harlequin table topper? Trish O’Neill

Guy’s Questions:

In contrast to some podcasters who seem to think we are interested in listening to them talk for the sake of talking, you guys have the best podcast as far as communicating tips and techniques for woodworking so thank you for all your hard work.
I have been been working and building things wood for many years but within the last year have dove into making more fine woodworking type of projects, with nice woods like Walnut and Cherry for example.
I have been using shellac as well as 1:1:1 mixtures of BLO:Polyurethane:Turpentine and Beeswax:BLO:Turpentine for finishing so far. Wipe on, wipe off technique…
What finishes are considered best to really highlight the chatoyance/beauty nice figured woods? It seems like the finishes I have used so far are not doing it justice that or maybe I am just too critical. Quinn

Hey guys! Thank you so much for your hard work on the podcast. I love listening to how much fun you guys have and getting answers to questions on various woodworking topics. Great content! We are running a woodworking company, mainly doing cabinets, out of our 500 square foot garage. We have a Hammer 12″ planer but would like a sander to assist with uniform door sizes. When it comes to sanders, what would you recommend? Would it be worth getting an open-ended wide belt sander (Grizzly 15″ or something) for the extra horsepower and belt size, or would a drum sander be sufficient? Within the realm of drum sanders, would an open model (such as Supermax 2550) running on 110v be sufficient, or would you recommend a closed model with greater horsepower? More capacity, less power, or vice versa? Just want to hear your thoughts on width capacity, motor power, belt size, machine footprint, and which you think is most important. Sorry for the long question, and thanks in advance for your help on this! Gavin

Huy’s Questions:

Hi, I have a question about applying finishes in cold conditions. My specific situation is that I have a bunch of drawer boxes for a desk I’m building, and I’ll be finishing them with a few coats of Zinsser Bullseye brand spray shellac. The only instructions on the can pertaining to the spray conditions say to apply it with “the can at room temperature”.
Based on my experience it does tend to smell up the house a little (or so my wife says), so what I’d like do is to spray them outside. The workpieces and the spray can would be brought outside to the 40 degree weather, then I’d quickly do the spraying, and then bring everything inside to dry. Although there will be some smell from the outgassing of the solvent, at least there won’t be any smell from any overspray. What do you think about this plan? And is there any limit to how I can safely have them outside after spraying, before things would be adversely affected by the cold? Thanks. Steve Feldman

Gentlemen,
First I would like to thank you guys and Guy for the podcast and and for sharing all your knowledge.
About 6 months ago we had a large multi truck red oak tree fell down in the front yard. Being so frugal, I cut it up myself for later use. I painted the ends to help preserve the wood.
Now I’m looking to bring it to a sawyer. My wife/I are not a fan of the cathedral 80’s look nor the live edge. We both agree that quarter sawn would look nice.
We have a large space for a table and my kids are starting to have kids so a very long table would be nice to have.If I don’t have enough wood post kiln drying, how can I extend the table length to 12’.
Breadboard ends?Hardware to insert multiple leafs (any recommendations)?*butcher block some boards glued end grain to endgrain staggered?
The available logs I have vary from the biggest in diameter 15”-24” and length 8’-12’. The thickest being the shortest unfortunately. While the longer ones are curved.
I have limited woodworking outside of lots of endgrain cutting boards, the usual kitchen wares and a few boxes. This is one project I can afford to mess up.I don’t currently own a domino, but would be willing to buy one if needed. I have a 20”hh jet planer , 8”hh Laguna joiner, 8’ JLT panel clamp the big industrial type. Jason

This Episode’s Quesions:

Brians Questions:

I plan to build a handtool workbench in the future, maybe in a year or so, but as of right now, I do not have any workholding devices. I have a large assembly table that does have an overhang and the top is 1.25″ thick. I have been using clamps to the top as a stop for planing and it does not work very well. I also need a way to hold the wood for using chisels, and I haven’t bought any dovetailing tools yet because of the lack of workholding devices. Are there any good vises that don’t require cutting a hole in my assembly table or makeshift ways to hold the wood until I can build a proper bench? Thanks Jeff

When sanding end grain, say when you’ve got a panel where you’ve chamfered or rounded over the edge, which direction should you sand? I’d imagine you continue to follow the grain direction from the adjacent face grain but I’m not sure. Can you sand across the grain? Thanks for the great podcast, you guys really do have the best wood working show out there! Eric

Guys Quesions:

Hey Guys
I am looking to set up a shop in my unheated garage. I live in Canada so the weather is inconsistent. Very cold in the winter and very hot and humid in the summer. I am thinking of setting up a small workbench in my basement to cut joinery and do glue ups/assembly. I would keep all of my big power tools( table saw, planer etc.) in the garage. This setup would allow me to work comfortably through the year. My question is with wood movement.
If I stored wood in my air conditioned basement and just took it out to the garage for a few hours at a time to plane and cut to size and then brought it back inside to cut joinery with hand tools, would the few hours spent in the humid or cold garage be enough time to warp the boards after I brought them back in?
Heating the garage isn’t a realistic option right now as I have two young children and would probably only be able to get a few hours in the shop a week. (Not worth the cost)
Thanks for all of the help. This podcast has been a huge influence in helping me to get started with woodworking. Derek

I have a small benchtop jointer that a friend gave me for free and a Dewalt 735 planer. For anything but pretty small parts, I use a sled to joint lumber in my planer. I’d like to upgrade both of these eventually. I have a big shop with plenty of power, so neither of those are an issue. My budget is generally the limiting factor. I do plan to keep using standalone machines for the convenience of maintaining settings and flexibility of workflow. I’d like to get a big jointer first and keep using the 735 while I save up for a big, heavy 220v planer. My question is about 12 inch combo machines. I keep seeing decent 12″ combo machines come up used for way less than I can find a standalone 12″ jointer. I’ve seen a few of the Jet machines for $2k-$2500 and a friend recently got a Hammer A3 31 for $3500. Even new, combo machines seem to run way cheaper than a 12″ jointer. Why? I understand the beds are shorter, but other than that, what is the disadvantage. Is it ridiculous to buy one if I have no long term need of the planer function and don’t plan to use it? Parker

Huys Quesions:

Hey guys,
Thank you for your many thoughtful responses to the questions you receive from your listeners.
I tend to get bored after I’ve made the same type of project several times (ie pencil boxes, pens, etc..).
If I am not in a time crunch, I like figuring out how to do something to make a project a little more challenging and interesting.
I like looking at projects to give me some inspiration on how I might make a new project. Early on in my woodworking journey I gained a lot of positive inspiration from watchin ‘New Yankee Workshop’.
The way Norm broke down processes in his projects was very helpful to me.
However, there are some projects I’ve seen which are incredibly intimidating.(ie highboys, Maloof rockers, etc…). While I admire these types of projects, I don’t think I would tackle them without taking a specific class.
Where do you guys find inspiration for you projects?
Are there any type of projects that intimidate you?
Thank you for your responses.
Have a great day.
Chuck

I am designing a dresser which will be 48” high and 72” wide and a chest of drawers which will be 60” high and 40” wide. I would like to join the carcass sides and top with dovetails. With the sides being 48” and 60” and the width being 72” and 60”, how should I clamp the sides and top/bottom to my bench and stand in order to cut the dovetails by hand? I’m only 5’8” and have never cut dovetails up by my head. With a dresser and chest of drawers being the above sizes, would you recommend another method for my joinery?
Love the podcast, keep up the great work!!
Mike

This Episodes Questions:

Guy’s Questions:

With mothers day around the corner, I plan on knocking out a couple of small jewelry boxes. Mitered corners and book matched grain for a seamless look. 2 questions leading into this project. The first is more likely for Guy.

In the past my boxes have been cut to 45.1 degrees to ensure a closed outside corner. My table saw is a jobsite saw and setting a precise angle is extremely difficult. I recently set up a router table and have seen guy use a 45 degree chamfer bit to cut miters this way. How close to 45 degree do these bits actually get? Is there a brand you recommend for better accuracy? How bad is the tear out?

2nd question. In the past I used a wiping poly to finish the boxes. However VOC’s are a concern for these boxes. I’d like to finish the boxes with a base coat of shellac and finish with beeswax top coat. I purchased a block of beeswax but didn’t really think about how to dissolve it for quick finish. Seems like mineral spirits are the leading candidate but I’m curious if anyone has used natural oil citrus solvent for the same task (I’d likely by the version from milk paint company). Jose

Gentlemen, thank you for all you do to support and educate the woodworking community through this podcast and other platforms. I’m planning out a full kitchen remodel for our home and will be building the cabinets myself. The style of cabinets will be frameless/euro style which means all the plywood will need to be edge banded. The plywood will be pre-finished, but the doors and drawer fronts will be painted. How would you recommend finishing the edge banding to match the door and drawer front color? Would you do hardwood edge banding and paint it? That seems like it would take a lot of taping which leaves room for lots of error. Is there such a thing as custom colored edge banding for cabinets that is either iron-on or peel-and-stick? I don’t have an edge banding machine so that probably limits my options. Thanks in advance for your help! Joel

Hi guys,
Thanks for providing some great knowledge for fellow woodworkers.
My question is around drum sanders and the usefulness of them in a hobby shop. When do you use a drum sander and what type of projects are you using a drum sander on?
I just purchased a 20” bandsaw and would like to start resawing veneers for projects. In the past I would buy 1/16” thick veneers from a commercial veneer shop which worked well. But I question if a drum sander is actually required/desired for this operation. I’ve read a bunch about troubles with drum sander’s and really question if it speeds up the work.
Could I just joint a fresh face, resaw. Then joint another fresh face and so on. Then glue up the panel. And either clean up the panel on the planner or ROS?
In my future I probably have a set of kitchen cabinets and various built in cabinets(which I would either buy plywood or use commercial veneer and glue my own). I normally make freestanding furniture as well. This isn’t a production shop, and I have all the normal tools for dimensioning lumber, TS, Jointer, and planer.
Feel free to summarize my question, just wanted to give you guys enough context.
Thanks,Jesse Beechland Furniture

Huys Questions:

Hi Guys
Have known of & liked Guy’s YT channel for a number of years and recently came across this podcast which I’m really enjoying as I go through the back catalogue.
I must be on similar wavelength to you Guy as I love (& own a lot / most of) the Incra stuff, saw your MFT style outfeed which I’m about to build a copycat of (just awaiting delivery of the aluminium extrusion) and am in the midst of milling the timber to start building your mini workbench, the plans for which I recently bought.
I then happened on your YT channel the other day Huy and whilst watching the 6yo shop tour video was interested to see your boom arm. Could you tell me a bit more about it. Is it bought as is, or built up from tubing etc?
Keep up the good work.
Thanks Andy

I love your podcast, particularly that you spend the time talking about woodworking without a lot of jibber-jabber about unrelated stuff. I’m sorry to hear about Brian’s accident, and appreciate very much that he was willing to share about it so we could all learn. Could you possibly send me the 10 safety rules from the Purposeful Design shop? Also, here’s my question: are there any general rules for how much clamping pressure is advisable when doing a glue-up? Is it just enough to close the joint? Or does glue work better when extra clamping pressure is applied? I realize this is a broad question and the answer may differ depending on the situation, but any guidance you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks for all you do! Jimmy B, Los Angeles CA.

Hello Guys,
I recently found your podcast and I love it. Great content and great chemistry between you all. I will be sad when I catch up on all the past episodes because then I will have or wait to listen to new episodes. I am new to woodworking and I currently use a Dewalt 8 1/4 inch job site table saw. For my 50th birthday I am looking to upgrade to a larger table saw. I am economically challenged so my budget is around $1000. I am looking at 2 different saws the first one is the Delta 36-725T2 for $699 and the other one is the Laguna Fusion F1 for $1080. Is the Laguna worth $300 more? Do you have any other suggestions? I would prefer to buy new. Thanks you all are awesome have a great day. Korey

This Episodes Questions:

Brian’s Questions:

I’m so curious about the Laguna bandsaws that Guy used at work. Long time listeners of this podcast could easily believe that Laguna bandsaw tables are at knee height and unusable. But I have a Laguna 14/12 and the table is at 35″, which seems really normal, and I’m pretty tall. All the other Laguna saws I’ve used or been around seem about in the same range. Is this not normal? Is Guy freakishly tall? Or an advocate of chest height bandsaw tables? Parker

I haven’t felt like my woodworking really justifies a jointer yet. I don’t generally mind using a planer sled to get flat faces and a jointer sled on the table saw to edge joint boards, but I’ve never tried to use those workarounds on long stock (over 4′.) With that being said, this dinner table project that is looming ahead of me seems like it might be the moment to finally take the plunge and buy a jointer. Do you think its possible to get the table top glue-ready without a jointer? I trust my planer sled to get flat faces, but I’m wondering if you think edge jointing such long boards is possible with an extra long table saw jointer sled jig. Any tips on milling and glue up for this table top would be very appreciated.

Part 2: Or maybe you guys can give me the nudge to consider this dinner table project as the moment to finally buy a jointer. I suspect that a bench top jointer wouldn’t give me much (other than efficiency) over the work arounds that I already use for milling. Do you have any recommendations for a first jointer? I don’t have major space limitations but I do like to save money, so I’m curious if you guys would send a case like mine to scour craigslist or facebook marketplace for an old delta 6″.

Thanks as always for your contributions to the woodworking community! It can’t be said too often: you guys really do make the best woodworking podcast there is!! Evan

Guys Questions:

Hey guys, I’m new to woodworking, really enjoying listening to the podcast!! I have a question, would you guys be able to go over what you use your 3/4, 4/4 etc lumber!? I often think that you need thick lumber for projects. I don’t have a project in mind but I bought some rough saw lumber that I plan on using for trim in the house but I bought enough to have plenty left over. Ivan

I want to build a cherry coffee table for my house. We’ve got a couple of cherry pieces that I’ve made. I really love watching them darken and get more beautiful with age. The other pieces I’ve made don’t really see much direct blasting sunlight so the process is subtle. The coffee table however, would get some direct morning sunlight every day (or at least for the three months of the year that we get direct sunlight in the pacific northwest). I’m worried about uneven color change and sun shadows on the top where there would be decorative objects or books or things left in one spot for a period. If I pre-darken it by leaving it in the sun for some hours or a day or two will that slow the process enough to alleviate this? If so, should I do it before or after finishing? Is there anything else I can do to help, besides not putting stuff on top of course? Parker

Huys Questions:

Hi Fellas, I recently purchased a horizontal crown bit ( ref: Yonico 16172 ) to apply a soft dimple to the drawer faces on my tool cabinet. I will be recessing the drawer pulls within them.
The challenge that I’m facing is that the drawer faces are a little small, 5 1/2″ x 3 1/4″, and without being overly creative on work holding, I’m not seeing a safe way to plunge the face onto the bit in my router table, or plunge the bit into the face with a hand held router.
My plan is to chuck the bit into my drill press and use that to apply the cut. What experience, tips, or words of advice might you have in using a drill press with router bits? I have a Grizzly G7943 which only spins up to 3050 rpm.
Thanks in advance, and for all that you guys do for our craft of woodworking!
Justin

I have a 16′ PVC board (8″ tall * 3/4″ * 16′) that needs an edge profile added . The edge profile needed is to mimic a skirt board (this board installs at the bottom of an exterior siding). I purchased the 6″ wide boards with the profile cut by the mfg, but they did not have an 8″ so I’ll need to cut this myself.
The profile is a 1/4″ tongue that is 1″ in length with a 45 degree cut underneath. This allows the skirt board to slip underneath the bottom row of siding (the 1/4″ section) and still have the rain/water drip off (the 45 degree portion).
How would you cut this profile? I am thinking on a router table, but appreciate your input.
Thank you, Mark Moeller