Woodshop Life Podcast

Guys Questions: Good day gentlemen! I'm planning to make a new tabletop for my travel trailer. It will measure about 36x36". Because of the great swings in humidity and temperature that a travel trailer gets subjected to, I'm a little reluctant to make it out of solid wood. My current thought is to use veneered MDF instead (or, perhaps baltic birch plywood)... something along the lines of applying shop-made 1/8" (or so) veneer to 1/2" MDF (or HDF or plywood). In my mind at least, an MDF/plywood substrate would better resist movement & deformation from the aforementioned big swings in humidity and temperature. Thus, my questions: 1. I know of the principle that says you should always veneer both sides of a substrate to keep things “balanced”, and I plan to abide by this. What I’m wondering is do I HAVE to use the same veneer on both sides? I plan to use a “nice” veneer on the top… could I use some other “less nice” wood for the veneer on the underside of the tabletop, to conserve the good stuff? 2. What ideas or suggestions would you have for attaching solid edge banding to the tabletop? What are the pro & cons of applying the edge band before or after the veneer? Thanks a ton for taking my question and the helpful woodworking conversations every week! - Nelson in Iowa Great show guys. I occasionally need to resaw lumber, and I have made quite a bit of my own shop-made veneer. I usually set the distance of my blade to my tall bandsaw fence, and then put one featherboard on the table-top and another featherboard about 5 or 6 inches higher to keep the board against the fence.  With a carbide tipped resaw blade, it usually works pretty well.   (Except maybe the time I didn't realize how hard Bubinga is, but that's another story) Today, I was resawing some Ash and decided to use the round steel bar that bolts to my fence, and I steered the board to follow a pencil line that I drew on the Ash.   That worked really, really well.  The round bar came with my Rikon bandsaw.   I had to look it up, but it seems to be called a resaw bar. So I am wondering if you guys rewaw against a flat fence, or against a resaw bar, or if it depends on the size or type of material ? Stephen Hi Guys, I’m another new listener and like many others, I’m making my way through all of the back episodes. Your podcast has cost me a fairly significant amount of money because each time you mention something that I think I need, I go directly to Amazon, and click ‘buy now’. I have been getting serious about woodworking over the last 6 or 7 years. I have a pretty simple question, and I apologize to the listeners that have heard this before, or already know it. I hear you guys talk about both “dye stain” and “conversion varnish”. I am old school, (I’m even a little older than Guy), so I’m wondering if those are just different names for regular stain and varnish, or are these two things somehow different than the old-fashion stain and varnish that I grew up with? Thanks for a great show! PS: Like Brian, I too do my designing in Excel. I attached a copy of my plan for the outfeed table that I built. Tim Parker Freedom Woodworking Huys Questions: I have a 6’ tall by 3-1/2’ wide display cabinet with a wood frame structure that holds glass panels. It has a solid back and an enclosed cabinet on the bottom with two frame and panel doors. The frames and structure are all nicely detailed with beads and grooves throughout. The cabinet is finished with light blue semi-gloss paint that was applied years ago. The finish has been well maintained and is in very good shape. However, we would like to change the cabinet from its current blue painted finish to a stained wood finish. Is it possible to strip a painted furniture piece down to bare wood well enough that it can be stained? If so, what products and/or techniques would you recommend in order to accomplish this task? How do you go about getting all of the paint out of the beads and grooves? Thank you for your wisdom. Greg Firstly, thank you all for hosting such a fun and helpful podcast! You guys are both entertaining and knowledgeable. I work mainly in construction but have found I enjoy woodworking as a hobby, both with power tools and hand tools. My question (first time asking) is about milling lumber - any advice? I'm fortunate to have a few acres with a variety of hardwoods, including black walnut, elm and black cherry and have recently had a couple of windfalls. I've taken to the chainsaw to break down the trees to long logs (one American elm and one black walnut). Should I invest in a portable bandsaw mill or see if someone local could haul off the logs? But at that point, how would you best go about flattening and smoothing the lumber? Is it better to dry it first? Thanks in advance, Jon Hey guys, great podcast and I always look forward to seeing each new episode drop into my library. I'm about to build a walnut beam mantel to go over and electric fireplace. It will be a couple inches higher from the fireplace than minimum distance the manufacturer recommends, so high temperatures should not be a problem. I initially thought I would use Arm-R-Seal, but I have also considered using water-based poly, shellac, or the EM6000 that Guy talks about. I really want to highlight the warmth and character of the walnut grain since it will be looked at all the time. Would any of those be good finishes for it, or is there one you guys would use those? I do not have an HVLP system yet, so I will have to apply whatever finish it is by wiping or foam roller. Thanks and keep up the awesome work, Brian  

Hey guys. Love the show. Been binge watching for a few months now and have learned a ton. Thanks for providing such great information.  I have a sears craftsman table saw I bought for a hundred bucks off an older gentleman who needed to free up more space in his shop. It works great but I would really like to install a riving knife for obvious safety reasons. Can it be done and how would I go about doing this? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks again for the great content.  Jonathon Long time listener but only second question Ive sent in. Received a great answer on my first so thought I would try again. What would be the best hand plane to use for edge jointing boards? None of my projects are super long the longest would be around five feet long. Thanks for a great podcast. Robert Guys Questions 1) Guy mentions Hide Glue as a good option due to ease of clean up.  There are several different hide glues commercially available.  Titebond liquid hide glue, Old Brown and the powdered mix that you make with a heat pot and water.  Which type do you use/recommend? Thanks,  Dave @ Xcuse4tools Custom Woodwork I have a chance to get a free radial arm saw. I already have a compound miter saw. Why would I use one over the other? Julie Huys Questions I’m finishing a whole home remodel where I’ve built all our cabinets. I’m about to start door and drawer faces and would love some tips to make the production work go more smoothly.  There’s a mix of paint grade (poplar and MDF) along with stain grade (rift sawn white oak). I bought a rail and stile shaker router bit set to help but what else will make this quicker and easier? Jake Thank you for your podcast. It is a great resource for woodworkers. I am at a point in my woodworking journey when I feel I am finally ready to build a set of dining room chairs. Nothing too fancy, but still comfortable. modern and stylish. I believe I have all the necessary big and small tools. Do you have a source that you would recommend that sells physical router templates? If not, any plans you would recommend? I do have a 3d printer, if I need to print them out, but I do not have a cnc. Max

Brians Questions: I've been woodworking long enough that I've had problems with tools not working properly. Obvious decisions. I got 15 years out of a 2 1/4 horse router.  It seemed reasonable to replace it. There was something wrong internally beyond the normal. I bought a used Powermatic bench top mortiser. A piece fell off it (which i kept). I downloaded the manual and while it was not immediately helpful. It gave me the right name for the piece that fell off (gib) so I use AI and it told me how to reinstall and 10 minutes later it was working. I recently had trouble with the wedges that lock the Shopsmith head stock onto the way tubes. That was a harder fix, but Youtube and AI were helpful.  [sending in the head stock to be repaired would have cost more than I spent on the machine]. How do you guys evaluate problems with tools, replacing them,  fixing them yourself, or trying to find a repair center that charges fair prices? Chuck I know proper procedure for milling lumber is generally to face joint, and edge joint using a jointer. But do you honestly face joint every board? Or is skip planing good enough? Also I bind when im edge jointing I end up after my first few runs at it with an end dapered and then it forces me to hog off a ton of material, im pretty certain my infeed / outfeed surfaces are setup parallel and its my technique, what do you think Im likely doing wrong? Tyler Guys Questions: Hey Guys love the show, my question is, i have a Supermax 16-32 drum sander that i would like to use more for sanding shaker doors to level and even them out, however i get a lot of cross grain on the rail part of the door. I usually keep 120 grit in my sander but do have 150 grit. I try to take very light passes but still end up with cross grain scratches. Any tips or suggestions to help elevate the cross grain issues would greatly be appreciated. Phil This is a question for Guy. A couple years ago I watched a video of one of your table builds where you used potassium dichromate on Cherry to age it without needing to wait for the natural darkening process to occur. I have tried this myself on a couple of pieces, but with different results. Sometimes the Cherry has almost an orange look to it, matching the color of the potassium dichromate mixture. I was able to correct this in the finishing process, using a little bit of dye. Other times it is a warm brown tone. I wonder if you can comment on the kind of mixture you put together, and also the color of those pieces that you have made with this mixture as the Cherry naturally ages over time. What do they look like today? Do they continue to deepen and tone and color, just like Cherry does naturally? I have another project I’m about to begin with Cherry, and I will need to decide if I would like to attempt this process again, or not. Thank you! Josh from Houston, TX Huys Questions: I have a question for the show. I am contemplating the purchase of a brad nail gun. I'm leaning towards getting a DeWalt battery cordless model, but I also like the flexibility that a pneumatic air gun would provide. I don't own an air compressor so that would have to also be part of the purchase if I went to pneumatic route. My thought is to go ahead and just pay the cost for the DeWalt cordless battery model. But I'm wondering if going to pneumatic way helps my shop by adding the air compressor. I have a small garage shop that I share with my wife's car so space is a premium. Love your thoughts on which way I should go? Also love your show, it's my go-to woodworking podcast! Dan G. Good morning! Thank you for your wonderful podcast! This is Shin from Korea but currently studying in Finland. I have been working with wood for some years. From using different chisels from East and West, now I think that I am ready to purchase some nice chisels. I am considering Veritas, because the PM-V11 sounds amazing. My question is, if any of you have used the chisel, or just heard about it from other woodworkers, I am so curious about what you guys would think about the tools since it is quite expensive. Shin

This Episodes Questions: Brians Questions: I was wondering if you guys had recommendations for a first time router purchase. I plan to use it mostly for dados/grooves and probably some edge work. I’d rather buy something I can grow into rather than need to purchase an upgrade. Also, are there any must have accessories (edge guide, etc) Thanks for your time, Ryan Ive sent a bunch of questions lately but thought this one might be good for the audience.  I just made a multitude of stupid mistakes which ended up with a board kicked back, going through my window, and hitting my house. I removed my splitter on my table saw because the anti kickback spawls have alot of resistance with larger wood (2" plus). I ripped a piece of wood through. I dont have an outfeed table and didnt want the board to hit the ground, so after the board cleared the front of the blade I went to the back and pulled on the cut piece. The blade caught and launched through my garage window and hit my house. Im lucky my grip was light and I didnt lose a hand.  All stupid complacent mistakes. But I know many people who remove the guard, will grab one little piece at the back of the saw, etc.  Im okay, but shaken and frankly embarrassed.  What are some of the biggest / complacent safety incidents you have had in the shop and how did you get back into woodworking after? I dont feel like people like to talk about the mistakes they have made when it comes to safety. But I feel we can learn from them. Thanks,,Tyler 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. -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 Hi Crew, I am a woodworker based in western Arizona, where I primarily build furniture in a very low-humidity environment. I am planning a move to the East Coast next year and would appreciate your advice on how to account for the significant increase in humidity when designing and building future pieces. I frequently use techniques like glue-ups for panels, breadboard ends table tops, many solid wood table tops and veneering, I've not experienced any age-related issues with any of the pieces that I've made in my current climate. Specifically, do you have any advice on laminating resawn hardwood over plywood? Are there certain plywood cores (such as MDF) or specific types of adhesives that perform better in high-humidity areas? I am also interested in finishing techniques for these conditions, though I will search your previous episodes to see if you have already covered that topic. Best, Ken Huys Questions: A few months ago I wrote in about veneering a plywood box to make a treasure chest for cards and notes for my oldest daughter’s wedding. As a reminder, I had some wood, morado at about 3/8 thick, that I planned to re-saw for the veneer only because I had it and liked how it looked. The final chest looks pretty cool (pictures attached and on my Instagram at @mr.downing.leatherandwood ) and was very appreciated at the wedding, but it was a fight along the way. So I thought a bit of a postmortem on 2 of the big problems I had might make for an interesting conversation. Problem 1-the wood itself. In hindsight, wrong wood choice because it fought me at every turn. It chipped and splintered while jointing and planing, and the saw dust got me very sick, like I had the flu. But for the specific question, when I re-sawed, I tuned my bandsaw, got a fresh blade, and was able to cut roughly 1mm veneer. The problem was that veneer then cracked with any bend. As the top of the box was curved, this was a huge fight. I tried to go a bit thinner, and I had the opposite issue-it rolled up like a cinnamon stick and wouldn’t go flat. The flat parts of the box were fine, but the top did crack when I bent the veneer over in a few spots even with picking out the best pieces with the straightest grain, but I was able to fill the cracks and hide it pretty well. I don’t have a vacuum bag so I installed the top veneer panel with wide ratchet straps over a matching curved caul and used polyurethane glue. Is there anything to be done with “problem” wood species when re-sawing for veneer, either to make it bend more easily or flatten it when it curls? Peter I was wondering what you'd recommend for a first-time HVLP spray system. I'd like something that runs relatively quietly. I've used a 30-gallon air compressor with a cheap Harbor Freight gravity-feed spray gun before, and while it worked, the compressor was louder than my spouse would like. I'll primarily be spraying acrylic primer and paint for cabinets and other casework, but I'm also curious whether the same system could be used for walls and other household painting projects. I've been looking at the Wagner Flexio 3500 (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Wagner-Flexio-3500-Electric-Handheld-HVLP-Paint-Sprayer-2419306/316886238) but I'm not sure if a handheld unit like that is the right tool for cabinet work or if I'd be better off with a dedicated HVLP turbine system. What are your thoughts on the functionality, finish quality, and versatility of something like this? Andrew