Podcast
Woodshop Life Podcast
Hosted by Woodshop Life Podcast · ENGLISH
Bi-Weekly Podcast Focused on the Craft of Woodworking
100episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Making Jigs, Color or Grain Match, Angle Madness, and MORE!!!
3w ago00:55:43Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: Love the show. Thanks for getting right to the questions. I have a project where I've made hundreds of the same item. Over that time, I've come up with a bunch of different jigs and processes that I've iterated over time to make things go faster and work better. I wonder if you have experience with and thoughts about how to approach this kind of woodworking-at-scale and if Huy in particular has any take-aways from making all those drawer knobs recently. Thanks! Mike Hey guys, my name is Van Whitmire and I recently started listening to your podcast. I’ve really been enjoying it and had a couple questions for you. I’m 17 years old and super involved in my high school club, SkillsUSA. I placed 6th in the state of Nebraska in cabinetmaking this year. When I get out of high school, what do you think would be the better route: getting on with a construction crew or trying to find a job in a cabinet shop? I’m not a super experienced woodworker yet, but I know my way around a shop pretty well. I’m currently finishing up my junior year of high school, and over the last few weeks I decided I want to start making and selling custom cutting boards. Right now I’m completely running everything out of my high school woodshop, and I’ve also started buying tools to slowly build up my own small shop. How would you recommend pricing my boards? I don’t want to make them so expensive that nobody buys them, but I’d also like to actually make some money from them. Thanks again, and keep up the great work. You guys are doing an awesome job with the podcast and I’m looking forward to listening to more episodes. Van Guys Questions G'day fellas, A quick question that might not have such a quick answer: when matching planks for a tabletop or panel, which do you prioritise - Grain matching or colour matching? Thanks for all you do! Jim from Perth Good morning gentlemen! As always, I love the show and value your perspectives. Keep up the great work. I have been woodworking as a hobbyist worth the occasional commission piece for 30 or so years, and I'm always looking to improve, learn, and grow as a woodworker. For the past few years I've also had the pleasure (and torture...lol) of working at a lumber yard/hardware selling lumber and tools. I've finally come to the point where I'm seriously considering getting a track saw. My question is, which one to get? I'm looking for one that will give really good cuts, have some versatility with accessories, but not break the bank. I know that Festool, Milwaukee, and Makita are, for the most part, interchangeable with the tracks, and DeWalt and Kreg have their own proprietary track designs. Aside from straight cuts with the saw, how have you guys used the guide rail system in your woodworking? Thank you, Joshua. The Blackdog Woodworks Huys Questions Greetings all; setting up new shop; gotta ductwork question. First main equipment: 5hp sawstop; 20” planer; 16” jointer; floor spindle and belt sanders; 20” bandsaw and such. Gotta 3hp Oneida cyclone dust collector. Question; I’ve been using hvac ductwork for years and manual blast gates; advantages of upgrading on norfab ducts? Are there better options? Guessing $2k-ish investment. Cheers guys! Chris Hi fellas, I'm making a coffin shaped bookshelf for a friend of mine using 3/4" plywood. I wanted to make dados for the shelves but my router base doesn't have an adjustable angle. So i made a jig to achieve the angle but when I made 2 passes with my 1/2" straight bit to get to the exact thickness of the shelf, there was a noticeable "step" in the dado. What I ended up doing was simply cutting an angle on the sides of the shelves to match the angle of the case and then glued and screwed straight through the case and plugged the holes, no dados. I'd like to know how you would handle attaching shelves at peculiar angles and if theres a better way to make angled dados, Thanks! -Matt
Transcribe →Fixing Boo Boos, Why Use Veneer?, Wood Movement and MORE!!!
Jun 1200:55:06Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: Hey guys, thanks for answering all of my questions in the past. I have something a little different this time. While cutting a mortise on the router table into a leg, I accidentally touched the outside of the leg to the router bit and did some damage. I happen to have the offcut and the grain is a perfect match (see photo). What would be your process to go about repairing this so it is near invisible? My thought was to use a wheel marking guage and chisels to remove a sliver of the leg. I have no idea how to cut a perfectly matching piece from the offcut to fit into that removed material. In order for the grain to match, the repair piece can't be oversized and would have to fit perfectly. This is on the outside of the leg and will be seen. Or is that a little unreasonable and would you not match the grain perfectly? Thanks, Jeff Howdy fellas, Love the podcast, thanks for what you do. For the sake of space and cleanliness, I've decided to get rid of my table saw. It's an 80's era Delta Unisaw that runs great, but doesn't have any safety features and the dust collection is wanting. Rather than upgrading, I plan to use my bandsaw + planer/jointer for ripping, tracksaw + MFT for cross cutting and router table for joinery. The only thing I haven't quite figured out is cross cutting short pieces, anything <8 inches is too short for my MFT + track saw. So far I use the bandsaw + shooting board if I have a lot to do, or handsaw + shooting board if it's a one off. It works, but I feel like there's an easier way I'm just not seeing. Y'all have talked before about workflows without table saws so I'm wondering what you would do. And no, I don't have a miter saw. Is it worth getting a small miter saw or contractor table saw just for short crosscuts? Thanks again for your insights. -Bryan Guys Questions: You guys have the best woodworking podcast on the web, and I think you are fans of shellac like I am. Just about any finish for me starts with a few layers of shellac. Every once in a while, I will notice a defect in the wood, like sanding scratch marks, under the shellac while applying it. So, of course I sand out the bad spot and apply a bit of shellac over the repair. But the act of sanding through the shellac to the wood has effected the surface. The wood doesn't want to accept the shellac. I put coat after coat on the spot that I sanded, but its not building up. Sometimes I sand the surface between coats and I can see the repair shellac I have been putting down has been migrating to the periphery of the repair spot. Like a little berm around the effected area. I know the spot where I sanded will be a few thousanths lower than the rest, but the shellac just doesn't want to be there. Like the surface where where I sanded down to wood has become shellac-phobic. I did a test on African Mahogony and after 8 coats, I got the surface of the board uniform. Have you ever seen this ? Is there a name for this problem? Do you have a better solution than just keep putting down more coats of shellac ? I would include an image if I can figure out how to on this Chat. Steve in Windsor sps1@cogeco.ca Eventually I can get the surface uniform. Where do you see veneering having the greatest impact, such as bent lamination, solid pattern the top of furniture, inlays, marquetry, etc? George Huys Questions: Hello, Like everyone else, I enjoy listening to your podcast while working in shop. I make shadow boxes with my CNC and have a question about my assembly methods. I start by making an 8/4 panel and a 4/4 panel to cut the shapes out on my CNC. I use the 8/4 piece for the body of the box and the 4/4 for the top face. I cut a rabbet on the 8/4 to set a piece of acrylic glass in leaving about a 1/16" gap for movement. I then glue the top 4/4 face to the body using small dowels for alignment. I'm using flat sawn lumber and the grain of the body and the face run the same direction. I make a removable plywood back to gain access to the box. The width of the body and face is only 2" and the overall size of the box is generally 25"x30". I'm concerned about wood movement and the top face splitting due to movement at a different rate than the bottom piece. Any thoughts on this and do you have any suggestions on other assembly methods? ALSO - Would you have different thoughts if the grain of the 8/4 body ran perpendicular to the grain of the 4/4 top face piece? Hope all that makes sense, you can see examples of what I'm doing on my facebook - seven cities woodworks https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GM2wxMGiR/ Please remove the face book link if you share my question on the webpage. I'm not looking for advertisement here. Thank you for all the valuable information you share and hope to hear your feedback! Chad I recently acquired a Fuji Minimite 5 stage Platinum hvlp spray system with T75G gravity gun. I also purchased 1.0mm and 1.8mm aircap sets and 3M PPS 2.0 lids and liners. I seek your advice on how / when I need to clean my spray gun. Let’s say I’m spraying multiple coats every 6 hours over a period of 2 days. Do I clean the gun fully (disassemble and fully clean out) between each coat or only after I apply the last coat? If not full gun cleaning between coats, what’s the minimum cleaning I need to do between coat? Does the type of finish I use change this? I will be spraying shellac, solvent and waterborne poly, waterborne primer, waterborne latex paint, etc. Bonus related question, what additional accessories would you recommend I buy for this spray system? For example I already bought the remote control for power. What else could improve my spraying? Thank you for a great podcast! Max Greddie Woodworks
Transcribe →Mouse Poop?, Dark wood Marking, Veneer Glue and MORE!!!
May 2900:53:40Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: I frequently work with dark wood, and need to mark the cuts. Do you have a recommendation for a white pencil or pen that is fine tipped? Thank you for the great show and your time to produce it. -George What has been your favorite veneering project (or what project would you like to do with veneer) George Guys Questions: Hey guys, your recent talk about bandsaws made wonder if anyone is using anything cool for bandsaw infeed and out feed, im using roller stands and doing resaw cuts that are about 10’ long. I also was curious how you guys would go about making a cabinet over a toilet not require filler strips? Maybe a scribed face frame? Great podcast lately, i really enjoy it. Tyler I’m making a bow front dresser and the bow will be made by gluing up 1/8th” bending play. The front of the drawers will be 1/16th” shop sawn cherry veneer. I’m planning on putting 1/32” backing veneer on the inside of the bow. To make up the bow i will have a couple glue ups. The first glue up will be the 1/8th” bending ply and the 1/32” backing veneer. For ease of use, I plan to use unibond one for this glue up. The second glue up for the front piece of 1/16” cherry veneer I plan to use Unibond 800 to ensure there is no wood movement later, since the height of some of the drawers will be 10”. My questions are: is 1/32 backing veneer ok seeing the front piece of veneer is 1/16”? And second: is using Unibond 800 a bad idea because it will only be for the front piece of veneer. Mike Huys Questions: Hi, Love the show. I recently got into woodworking as part of my stress relief from my W2 job (ICU work) and have fallen in love with it. I have expanded my tool chest and have a makita track saw and recently noted there was a variable speed setting on it. What guide do you utilize to change that setting? I have had it on 6 since I got the saw and never even thought to change it. I did finally follow your advice and upgrade my blade with a CMT finish 36 tooth carbide blade and what a difference cutting through hardwoods. Thanks, Viyeka Anyway, i wanted to ask how you would go about cleaning mouse droppings on your wood. The cdc (because of the hantavirus scare) suggests using bleach and then wiping but it seems harsh on raw wood stock. I don’t want the bleach to penetrate too deep. I was thinking of spraying with a soapy solution and then gently wiping it off all my wood. What do you think? —vaibhav from chicago
Transcribe →Design Software, First Veneer Projects, Extinct Tools and MORE!!!
May 1500:58:55Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: Hi guys! Long time listener, first time question-asker! Thanks very much for the show. I've been listening for a few years now and love the no-nonsense, down to business approach of your show. I am a hobby woodworker, but have begun to get a few paying projects, which have been really fun and rewarding. One of the things that has forced me to do, as opposed to things I make for fun, for myself, or for gifts, is to do more design and modeling up front. I've gotten proficient enough with Fusion 360 to be able to create a 3D model that I can use to visualize for myself or show a client, and have most of what I need to build. What I've discovered about Fusion is that you can model a HUGE amount of detail. I've found that modeling detail down to the rabbits, dados and understanding and determing the detail of each joint to be very helpful. I recently built a few large cabinets out of plywood using rabbet and dado joinery. I did not go to the trouble of actually modeling each rabbit and dado. When I was buidling it, I wished I had. A while back I built a cabinet from plans and they modeled ever rabbit, dado, hole... and I found it to be very helpful. I was also thinking that modeling all that might take alot of time and not be worth the effort. All of that is just an example for context. My question actually is, How much detail do you go into when you model/design your own pieces and what are some of the reasons you do the level of detail you do? Thanks again for the great podcast an I'm excited to hear your answers! Jeff I just got into a shop with power for more than lights for the first time in several years, and I dug out several routers that I couldnt say no to, even though I was exiled to hand tools at the time. Between those and the ones I had before, I've probably got a half-dozen of various sizes; enough, I think, to leave a couple in permanent setups. Just wondering, how many routers do you guys have, and how do to maximize their utility in your own work flows (with permanent setups, favorite jigs, etc)? Scott Guys Questions: Hello from Alabama, I am in the planning stages of building a dispenser for boxed wine. I have some highly figured walnut that I would like to use for the side panels. However, the pieces I have are fairly thin. I am considering using 1/4 inch plywood as a core between 2 pieces of the thin walnut for each panel to prevent warping in the future. The plywood that I have on hand is currently somewhat warped itself. My question is: If I use this plywood as a core and apply sufficient clamping pressure during the glue up, should this panel remain flat? Or would you use MDF or HDF instead? Also, would you recommend any other glue rather than water resistant PVA? Thank you all for doing the Podcast. Woodshop Life is the BEST woodworking podcast out there, and I appreciate each of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to provide this service to all of us. Juston (Wild Chicken Woodworks) 1) I just drove down to Mississippi and met an old friend for the first time (if he's listening, he'll know who he is) to buy a Vacupress and associated gear. In this stuff, there was a flitch if cherry veneer (it was curled like a plane shaving from wing rolled, but appears really smooth, as in not wrinkled) and several starter packs of 3 sq/ft of some exotics (specifically satinwood, zebrawood, and rosewood, if interested). I'm super excited to put my first pump to work and have grand aspirations of masterpieces with figured exotics, but in the meantime, I don't know where to start. Do you guys have any recommendations? What were your first veneer projects? Scott Huy's Questions: Hi guys, thanks for your responses to my drum/belt sanding and tenon cutting questions a few months back. Here’s a hopefully fun one to think about: what is a tool that is no longer made or is no longer “in style” that you either can’t imagine working without or wish you had acquired when it was more readily available? Why? I always love hearing and learning about those “forgotten” tools and techniques that at some previous time were a normal part of the craft. Thanks! Michael Hello Gentlemen, I am a hobbyist woodworker, with a small shop nestled in the corner of my 2 car garage. I've been using a DeWalt contractor table saw for the past 12 years, and have gotten good enough results with it that I've never bothered to upgrade to anything bigger. However, the thing that bothers me most about this saw is the virtual lack of dust collection. Even though there's a dust collection port on the back under the blade, most of the dust drops straight to the floor. And I'm sick and tired of having to shop vac my entire garage after making even just a couple quick cuts. I think it's time to invest in something that can manage dust a bit better. My question is: what brand/model of table saw would you recommend that is (1) easily mobile (2) doesn't take up a large footprint, and (3) has the best dust collection? Because my shop is small, I do not have an actual dust collector. I've been using a 6.5 horsepower shop vac with a dust separator for all these years, and would prefer to stick with this setup for now if possible. Can you explain the pros and cons of using this setup with a table saw versus using an actual dust collector? If I need an actual dust collector to get the results I'm looking for with the new saw, what kind would you recommend to keep the cost and footprint low? Oh, and hopefully the saw would be under $1500, but could possibly stretch to $2000 as long as all the requirements are met. Thanks for your help, and thanks for providing the best woodworking podcast on the planet! Best, Matt
Transcribe →Face Frames, Rubio Monocoat, Accurate Marking and MORE!!!
May 100:56:54Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: Hello and greetings from Texas, I’m an amateur woodworker who may have bitten off a little more than I could chew. I started building full closet cabinets for my walk-in master closet, and at this point I’m too far in to turn back, so I’m learning as I go. All of the cabinet boxes are installed, and I’m now working on shelves and drawer fronts. My question is about face frames. I’ve seen a lot of people recommend assembling the full face frame first and then installing it as a unit, rather than attaching each rail and stile individually. What are the real advantages of building and installing the face frame as one piece versus installing it piece by piece? One complication in my situation is that my walls weren’t perfectly square when I started, and as a result some of my cabinets aren’t perfectly square either. I’m trying to figure out which approach will give me the best final result given those imperfections. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for all the knowledge you put out there—it’s been a huge help on this project. Thank you, Casey Wood You Rather 1. The first question is about accuracy. What is your own degree of tolerance when it comes to measurements, without going crazy? I guess it depends on the project, but for example, when cutting panels to specific dimensions with a track saw, do you try to get the measurements down to the nearest 1/16th? nearest 1/32nd? 1/64th? 2. On a related note, the measuring marks on the ruler or parallel guides of course have a width themselves… Do you place your pencil or stop pointer just before the line/mark, in the middle of the line, or just after the line? Does it not matter as long as you’re consistent? I know this isn’t NASA, but I don’t want the project to ultimately look amateurish. Josh Guys Questions: First, thank you for answering my other questions. Guy points out that Rubio Monocoat is made for wood floors when others talk about using it on wood furniture. Is there an actual disadvantage or problem with using Rubio on fine furniture when you want a finish that can withstand the abuse that a floor gets? Thanks again for the great show! George 3. Any advice for staining blotchy baltic birch plywood with Gel stain and tips for finishing with water-based urethane topcoat? I have heard so many different opinions, from putting a slip coat of mineral spirits, to using preconditioner, to applying gel stain directly on the wood, etc. Josh Huys Questions: I am working on a large kitchen cabinet project and have come across a few questions I thought would make good discussion. Project includes 16 base cabinets, 14 uppers, range hood and a couple of custom spice racks, open shelves etc. Upper will have 14" upper uppers stacked on them with glass fronts. Lowers are almost entirely drawers. Carcasses are about done heading into face frames and drawers. -Ripping down face frame lumber. When batching out large amounts of 1 1/2" strips what is your preferred method. Table saw then sand? Table saw proud then plane? Table saw then drum sand? Will a bandsaw with ripping blade provide a nicer edge? Major concerns are efficiency and accuracy while avoiding saw marks that have to be hand sanded off. -Ever use a shaper to add dado on 8' strips of wood for drawer box parts? Wondering if there is a good way to setup the shaper with power feeder to run through all the strips then cut to length. Essentially making my own drawer blanks. Any other thoughts or recommendations when batching out large cabinet projects. Matt I have the Grizzly benchtop oscillating edge and spindle sander that I believe a couple of you have mentioned owning currently or in the past. I’m working on some oak glue-ups that are using some odd angles that will be template routed later. The problem I’m having is that when I use the edge sander to dial in these pieces my edges are getting slightly rounded over and becoming convex. I’d love to have a large disk sander but this is what I’m working with and I can’t figure out if it’s a tension or pressure issue or the oscillation is causing it… any help is greatly appreciated! Keep up the great work! Shawn
Transcribe →Leg Glue Up, Kitchen Drawers, Radial Arm Saw? and MORE!!!
Apr 1700:59:22Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: I am getting ready to build a mission style entertainment center. This project will use what I'm told is arched pedestal legs which was used a lot by Gustav Stickley. I will be gluing up three 5 3/4"x 28" quarter sawn white oak blanks to make the legs. I will then route the curve using a compression bit and template which I made using the Shaper Origin. My question is what are some good methods to ensure there is a tight (almost invisible) line on the glue up of the blanks. The legs are going to be a major feature on this piece and I would hate for the lines to be visible. I've done glue ups for square legs before and have pretty good success although not perfect. I know grain match is a big deal but wanted to pick your guys brains on clamping methods, glue type and anything else you can suggest to ensure success. Yours is the best podcast on the net. Tom Young I recently upgraded from a 9” ryobi bench top bandsaw to a craftsman 10” Floor standing. I’d like to build a mobile base for it. My question is, how tall should the table be? Should it be elbow high? Waste high? Higher ? Lower? For context, I’m mostly a hand tool guy and, although I have a dinky table saw, I don’t use it much, favoring the bandsaw. I’ll do some light resawing and other more detailed work with it. Thanks guys and Guy. Love the show.Jason Guys Questions: I am working on a large kitchen cabinet project and have come across a few questions I thought would make good discussion. Project includes 16 base cabinets, 14 uppers, range hood and a couple of custom spice racks, open shelves etc. Upper will have 14" upper uppers stacked on them with glass fronts. Lowers are almost entirely drawers. Carcasses are about done heading into face frames and drawers. -Drawer box preferences or use cases for solid wood vs plywood with edge banding. I am leaning towards plywood due to number I need (38), being simpler to use prefinished ply then mill down rough cut. But it seems like cheating.....Large Pots and pans drawers 3/4" sides or 5/8" sides? -Drawer box construction when using overlay fronts. I do not have a dovetail jig. I may end up just pocket screwing them which is what I have done in the past but I wanted to add an upscale touch. I tried my domino with Sipo dominoes, pin nailed the box together first and then put two 5x30 dominoes in. To me the hole created was not that tight with the domino, didn't look nice. I see some YouTube experts make it seem easy, any experience or thoughts? Also thought of using drawer lock bit on the new to me shaper I just picked up but no experience yet. (Grizzly 3hp) Thoughts or preferences? Any other thoughts or recommendations when batching out large cabinet projects. Matt Hola Y'all, I have been listening to y'all for a little over a year, and woodworking for two years. Best Podcast on the interwebs! I was recently gifted a used Grizzly Go555 14" 1HP. I have never owned a Bandsaw and I want to use it mainly for resawing. I was told it is working fine, but I prefer to "Trust, but Verify". My questions are: 1. What tune-up/preventive maintenance should I do immediately? 2. What upgrades should I do for resawing hardwood? Thanks so much! Peace, Love, and Sawdust Norris Sebastian Grandad's Workshop Huy's Questions: Hey guys! I am a full-time journeyman carpenter and I work in the commercial sector around the Indianapolis area. Currently working at the new IU Health Hospital downtown. I’ve been doing carpentry professionally for nearly 9 years. Almost half of a year ago, I decided to purchase a 4x4 shapeoko 5 pro and got involved with learning about cnc. As friends and family found out about my new acquired skill, I’ve been asked to make various types of wood related projects-some requiring cnc and some that don’t. I have a decent amount of handheld power tools and jobsite tools I’ve acquired through the years. Thankfully those tools have helped me in completing non-cnc related projects but my problem is the lack of woodworking tools and equipment at my disposal. Many times I’ve turned down projects due to not having the right tools. Other times I’ve taken extra steps to complete tasks, but had I just had the right tool, it could’ve been a breeze. I want to have a nice wood shop in my barn eventually but not sure how to prioritize my wants and needs. Considering trading the cnc to instantly increase my wood shop tool budget and maybe revisiting it in the future. With a focus on increasing my wood working tools and building up my shop—What are some upgrades/ tool trades/ must-have-tools to kickstart my wood shop? What tools should I get rid of? Tools at my current disposal/ 4x4 shapeoko 5 pro, a dw 8-1/4” table saw, dw 735 planer, dw 10” miter saw, Bosch random orbital sander, metabo belt sander , ridgid oscillating spindle sander, central machine drill press, various dw drills/ impacts/ saw zalls/ oscillator/ hammer drill/ jig saw/ circular saw etc. Tools that could’ve made my life easier in the past- a jointer, band saw, track saw, drum sander, router table, etc Thanks, Holden P.s. My dad and I carpool together during the work week and love listening to the podcast-we especially have come fond of Guy’s no bs, straightforward attitude. Keep up the good work! Korey from Independence, KY again. I was thinking about getting radial arm saw to use exclusively for dados. I have never seen a radial arm saw in person. They can be found very cheaply on Facebook marketplace and space in not an issue for me. Do you think it would be worth it and can you use it to cut dados safely. What are some other good uses for a radial arm saw. Thank you and keep up the good work. Korey
Transcribe →Which Drum Sander?, Drawer Slides, Door Repair and MORE!!!
Apr 400:43:01Tap to summarizeGuys Questions: I am going to be adding a 25/50 drum sander to my shop. I can’t afford a powermatic so it is between the Jet and Laguna Supermax. I went to AWFS this past year to see them in person and Jet was not at the show and Laguna only brought their large tools. I called one of the nationwide woodworking stores that sells both brands and asked the employee which he thought was better and his response was “ they are both great tools, but if you have a problem with either one of them Jet will take care of the problem immediately, and Laguna will eventually take care of it but it will take a while”. Laguna also charges a $199 shipping fee where as Jet does not. I would appreciate any advice on which one you would recommend. I always look forward to listening to the podcast. Keep up the great work gentlemen! Tom Hello Fellas On my third round of listening to all your episodes. Thanks for all you contribute to the community. I am getting ready to move my shop from the garage to the basement. I want to keep the dust down to a minimum. I was looking at getting a Grizzly T10113 - Universal Overarm Blade Guard for Table Saws. Have you used or this or something similar. It is very pricey do you think it's worth the money. If not do you have any alternatives. Thank you and keep up the good work Korey Griffin, Independence KY When is a drawer too wide, specifically for under mount slides? I keep seeing these huge kitchen drawers that look to be almost 36-48" wide. How do they account for the large amount of weight that could potential be in these drawers. Do you guys have any experience using the blum tandem stabilization bars? They state they can be used up to 53" but that seems widely wide. How would you go about building drawers that are over 36" wide? Jesse Huys Question: Hi Woodshop Life Podcast Team, Thanks for all the great content—new woodworker here (not a cheap hobby by any means and I mostly blame you guys for this), I went in deep with about 50K in tools but so worth it as I love the idea of building things for people that they will have when I'm gone. I'm a Power Engineer by trade, and I learn a ton from the podcast. Quick question: I’m in Sylvan Lake, Alberta (-40C to +35C weather) and store a decent hardwood stockpile (Walnut, Wenge, Maple/Figured Maple, Zebrawood, Rose Woods—kiln-dried from a reputable Calgary seller) in a 14’ x 10’ room in the back of my heated oversized 3-car garage. Winter RH is usually ~22–25% and summer can swing much higher. I could add a small humidifier in the storage room but that's about it. Storage room has air flow, in floor heat and wood is sitting off the concrete stored vertical on ends. Whole home humidity control is hard to achieve in Alberta without creating a lot of condensation on the windows in winter months which is not good. So we just except the cracked bleeding skin during the winter months. Would you leave it alone and accept seasonal humidity movement, or try to hold the storage room around ~35% RH? If you would control it, what’s a practical target range? Part B - Is cutting wood stored at 22% RH a good idea - I assume it will swell so much in the summer months and assume 22% is way to low to store wood long term over a couple years. Thanks for the wicked podcast - I'd love to come on, I'd have so many questions during each show. Thanks! Trenton (Sylvan Lake, AB I started a stripping project of my redwood door. It’s old old old! So I am trying to be thoughtful of the contours and the soft wood. I need some guidance since the paint is fighting me and Ive kind of hit a wall. Ian I have another closet door that my kids have forcebly pulled the screws from the hinge. Not sure how to approach fixing the holes for screws other than cutting a chunk out of the door and glueing and sanding a new piece in. Any thoughts would be helpful. Ian
Transcribe →Estimating Materials, Grain Selection, Maloof Chairs and MORE!!!
Mar 2001:00:13Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: My sister and brother-in-law would like to recruit/hire me to install/build built-in bank of drawers and shelves for them for their new home. The only relatable experience I have with this type of woodworking is building a face frame cabinet and constructing some under the bed drawer storage, each of which I have done exactly one time. The remainder of my woodworking experience has involved making small knick-knacks such as cutting boards, boxes, etc. Considering your experience with built-in shelving and closets, I was hoping you could lend me your expertise in regards to the following questions: 1. What's the easiest way to go about coming up with accurate calculations for the amount of materials I'll need? I might need a very dumbed down explanation. 2. How do you price projects like this? Do you estimate the time it will take and give the customer a set price, or do you use a time + materials structure? I want to help my sister do this for significantly less than she would pay someone else, but I also don't want to be committing an undetermined amount of my time for free. Thanks in advance for all your help. Zach Owens I have a question about Sawstops and the brake cartridge. I recently tripped my brake last night after changing from a Forest Woodworker blade to a Diable blade. Not sure why it happened. They are both 10" blades. Any suggestions for how to prevent this from happening in the future? Mark Guys Questions: I've had this question in my mind for a few months now. How do I know when I'm qualified and ready to teach others how to woodwork? For context, I am a teacher by trade, and have only been woodworking for about 2 and a half years. I am single and have no family, so I do have a lot of time to myself. I primarily use hand tools though I occasionally break out my track saw for sheet goods. I don't have any experience with power tools like a table saw, bandsaw, jointer, planer. My dovetails range from "functional-but-ugly" to "decent", I can chop out mortises with chisels, I can joint my edges with my hand plane, and I can get my surfaces to be "flat enough". With all that said, is there a point where you know you can effectively teach others how to woodwork? Down the line, I wouldn't mind being able to teach some hand tool woodworking classes. I do want to hold myself to a high standard and to be able to teach everyone proper technique without seriously hurting themselves. Thanks in advance for your input, Jose 1. Over the past a couple years I have gotten spoiled by building with a bunch of rift sawn white oak veneer, large slabs of walnut where I can cut parts out as I see fit. Now I can't go back to flat sawn boards!! All I see is the glue line, cathedrals that don't match, or kinda do and just a jumble of boards that just kinda go together. Am I doomed to only hunt for the straightest best grain board? How do you guys incorporate flat sawn (cathedrals) and other wildly grain boards into your work? Or are you only trying to select straight grain for table tops, and use flat sawn stuff for lesser seen parts? Jesse Huys Questions: My question is about moving my shop. My wife and I are moving from California to Washington - about 800 miles north of us. I'm going to upgrade from a 1 car garage shop to probably twice the space. We're going to hire professional movers but I'm wondering how to prepare and ship certain machines. The ones I think most about are the Sawstop, the Festool Kapex 120, the DeWalt 735 planer, and my Laguna 14" bandsaw also with wheels. The Sawstop has an extension table. Would you remove that or let the professional movers move the fully assembled saw? I would remove the blade and cartridge. How about the Kapex, planer, and Laguna bandsaw? Any special precautions or recommendations there? For my planes and handsaws am thinking lots of bubble wrap and packed into boxes. Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks for the great show guys! Ron Novato, CA Hi guys, I am relatively new to the podcast so maybe it has been talked about before, but I had a question about Maloof inspired rocking chairs. Have any of you attempted making a chair with a Maloof inspired design? If so, did you use/purchase a pattern and do you have any recommendations? I have found several patterns out there, but some of them are a bit pricey and I don’t want to commit to a specific pattern without doing my research. I consider myself an intermediate woodworker and this would by far be the most difficult project I have attempted so any advise is appreciated. Zach
Transcribe →Shop Lighting, Router Table, Easy Veneering, and MORE!!!
Mar 600:46:49Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: Hello gentlemen, I love your podcast. I appreciate the care and detail you put into maintaining a consistent format and clean, listenable audio. Having been a radio production director in a former career, I loathe most podcast audio, so your effort to provide a professional listening experience is apparent. In my brief time as a woodworker, I’ve found it difficult to source hardwood. I don't have any woodworking stores nearby—the closest is several hours away. Buying from private parties feels unreliable, and I strongly prefer kiln-dried wood. Furthermore, online ordering is expensive, even for small stock. So far, the only hardwood I’ve been able to work with was purchased from big-box stores or salvaged from pallets. Do you have any advice for sourcing hardwood in my Southern California area? Thank you! Todd from Barking Beavers I’m curious your take on shop lighting. I’ve got 12’ ceilings in my garage and I’m on thinking the lights could be far away. Maybe I should focus on task lighting instead or possibly lowering lights on chain but that is a less appealing option. Tyler -What are your best strategies on negotiating time with the wife to be in the shop? Brian Guys Questions: I’ve been listening to your podcast on and off for a couple years now. I know I haven’t listened to all the episodes but I’m trying to work my way through them on my commute to work. I appreciate the podcast, I’ve learned a lot. Thanks for doing it guys! I’m a weekend warrior, with an old craftsman contractor saw. Well maybe not that old, 20 years. Not old enough to be really sturdy built but it’s been a good saw. I would like to upgrade to a cabinet saw. I’m interested in getting a Sawstop for the safety aspect as well as I’ve heard they are well built saws. One convenient feature on my Craftsman saw is it has a built in router table on the table saw wing. I can get the same setup on the Sawstop. I’m not a professional wood worker but I do want a good quality table saw and router table set up. My questions are: 1) Will the Sawstop be a substantial upgrade to my Craftsman contractor saw or should I consider another brand? 2) Do you know anything about the Sawstop router table accessories such as the router lift and downdraft box. Are they good quality components, anything I should be cautious about. 3) What are the pros and cons to having the router table built into the table saw versus a stand alone router table? Would I be better off getting a stand alone router table? Thanks for the help! Appreciate the Podcast! Marty I recently purchased a shaper and power feeder to run mostly door profiles and other trim as well. It's been a huge upgrade from the router table, but I still get tear out if I try to mill for example a shaker style door in one pass (the long edge not the coping cut). I've seen videos of other guys running their shaper in reverse and cutting for profiles with a climb cut but ONLY WITH A POWER FEEDER. Would this be a case where you would be comfortable breaking the "never climb cut" rule if you had a power feeder in order to produce a cleaner edge? Thanks! Jared I would like to begin my first foray into veneering. I’m thinking a small table top for a side table or nightstand would be a good first project. How would you suggest a first time veneerer approach this—I don’t want to invest a lot into veneer specific tools (vacuum bags, etc), so any tips for using stuff already laying around the shop would be appreciated. Thanks for the great pod! Andrew
Transcribe →Router Bearings, Easy Finish, Loose Router Bits, and MORE!!!
Feb 2000:48:15Tap to summarizeBrians Questions: I currently have a Sawstop PCS 1.75, an 8” Laguna spiral head jointer, a Jet two-stage dust collector, a Laguna 1412 bandsaw, a Bosch cabinet style router table, a Dewalt DW734 lunchbox planer, an entry-level CNC, a Festool ETS125, a Festool dust extractor and various smaller power tools. I’m not particularly happy with the stability, adjustability and fence on my Bosch router table and I feel like my planer isn’t giving my a consistent cut across its width. I’m thinking of upgrading either the router table to something with an Incra lift, or maybe a planer like the DW735 with helical head or similar. However, I’ve also been seriously considering a Festool Domino DF500. Lately I’ve been working on decorative boxes and small furniture like side tables and coffee tables. Who knows what’s next? What would you purchase next and what do you think would make the biggest difference in my woodworking? Thanks, Kevin Westbrooks Hey this is Brooks from BROOKS BOARDS in Utah, I really enjoy the podcast while I work on the shop, and a lot of my questions get answered, but I was hope maybe you could help me understand the best way to round over a board that is a curved shape like my longboards I make, when I use a bearing router bit the issue is that when you flip the board to route the other side where the bearing would ride along the wood it routed off so the roundover is un-even and usually a line is left over, would you guys have a potential solution to this? I would love your suggestion, thanks in advance you guys are awesome. Brooks Guys Questions: When making flat panel drawer fronts I keep running into drawer fronts that need to be just a little bigger than my 8" jointer. Say 9-10" tall. Most of the rough stock I buy is 8-8.5". In this case I have two options, use two boards of similar grain and try to hide the glue joint which becomes a straight grain only situation. Or make a veneer drawer front with some wider stock if i can find it. How do all these European cabinet makers do it with large flat drawer fronts. Do they all just have a 12-16" jointers? Jesse Hi y’all! I’m Chris. I love your podcast and listen to it while I drive for work. I am on my second round of listening while I wait for the new episode to drop! I will be proposing to my fiance soon and I am making a ring box for her engagement ring. I am going to use White Oak and I have seen several videos of guys using a rub on finish that slightly darkens the wood and leaves a minimal sheen. I am wondering what finish you would use for durability, to darken the wood, and leave no sheen! Thanks and love the show! Chris Huys Questions: I have a Makita Track Saw which I purchased a couple of years ago. I use it only for cutting full sheets of plywood and melamine, mostly plywood. Although I haven't used it all that much the Makita brand saw blade is not making clean cuts and leaving burn marks on the sheet goods. It's a 48 tooth blade measuring 165mm x 20mm. I cleaned the blade hoping that would solve the issue but it hasn't. The cut quality is the same. I've considered sending the blade out for sharpening but not sure if it's worth it. I'm thinking my money might be better spent buying a new blade. I could always buy a new blade and have the Makita blade resharpened and use it only for cutting melamine. I'm sure track saw blades are not all made equal so I'm looking for your recommendation for a new blade based on your knowledge and experience. I'm interested in saw blade brands as well as the type of blade such as the number of teeth for making clean cuts in plywood. Looking forward to your comments and thanks for hosting such an informative podcast. Jack Francis Hey guys, I’m a long time listener and continue to learn with every episode. You’re one of only two podcasts I listen to cause there’s no stupidness and you just talk woodworking and don’t feel the need to waste the listeners time talking about what you had for lunch or whatever other personal garbage every other woodworking podcast seems to delve into. I have a very simple question. Last week I was routing a dado in some oak with a quarter inch straight bit. Nothing unusual about the setup and nothing I hadn’t done a hundred times before. This time, however, the bit managed to come loose from the collet and came up through the work piece and essentially ruined it. Has this happened to you guys? Should I assume that I just didn’t tighten it enough? Should I be constantly checking it as I’m batching parts? This one bugged me cause I don’t feel like I know how to prevent it in the future. Any advice would be appreciated! Bill
Transcribe →