Thanks for the quick comment Marty. I agree. If you can plane it by hand do it. However, on this job there is about 200 bd. ft. that needs to be surfaced on two sides. No go on the hand planing. Most of it is in good shape out of the planer, but there are a few spots that require some love. Hand planing is especially good on the rustic work. Set the plane deep and leave the marks.
Pine is iconic. People know what it looks like. It’s one of the few woods that everyone under the sun knows the name smell and look of. They associate pine with cabins, hunting, grandmas house. Even if pine can be sanded, why waste your time? The first set of keys that hit the table or riveted jeans sit on the chair, you a right back into rustic-ville. Save the sanding for Cherry, Walnut and Maple. Building furniture that needs to be sanded out of Pine is a mis-application of material.
I agree almost completely. Material consideration is an important part of the building process and pine does lend itself to more simple and even rustic work. But, I think it is a little too aggressive to say that it should never be sanded and that if you sand it you are not using it correctly. In many cases, the edges are eased and made to look more worn by sanding (sandpaper) and burnishing (hammer handle), which is difficult to achieve with a straight-cutting tool like a hand plane. In this project specifically, some of the boards, since they were wide, ran through an area of the thickness planer that had knicks in the knives. Without a little sanding, I felt that the final project would look more amateur. The key here is that I know some woodworkers will be tempted or forced to sand pine at some time and may face the issue of clogging sandpaper. Hopefully, this will help them avoid having to buy extra paper. Thanks for the spirited discussion!
I remember the cedar well. After sawing for a couple days my wife was
tired of me smelling like a closet at grandma’s house!! Great pictures Scott.
Sure do miss working with you.
I personally have had no problems putting the finish over un-neutralized lye, using oil-based finishes like Danish oil and/or lacquer. Taking the step to neutralize it for a margin of safety couldn’t hurt, but I haven’t found it to be necessary.
I know exactly what your talking about. I never liked them much either. On my Woodmizer, the supports are much thicker and square to the bed. But I don’t
like the adjustable holddowns as much. It takes two hands to get it clamped.
The Timberking was alot easier if your trying to do it with one hand.
Some people think SketchUp is for rough, not to scale, small things. But it can be used for pretty much any thing, of any size, with accuracy and also has plenty of add-ons for finished renderings, lighting, textures, etc….I second that it’s awesome!
Do you have an application mind? I want to give you a complete answer but there are several ways that I could compare the two. Give me as much info as you can, so I can focus my response. Thanks
Scott,
We are using 5 1/4″ MDF baseboard from Koetter in the corridors of a nursing home. So, alot of full length, 16′ or so pieces. With the season change the building has a humidity swing that opens up our scarf joints pretty bad. Shrinkage over 16′ can add up pretty quick. If we were to use the same base in a finger jointed poplar or pine, do you think we would have the same issue? Problem is the test period is six months or so. Let me know your thoughts and questions. Thank you
MDF is often recommended for its stability based on the fact that it shrinks and swells uniformly in all directions. Solid wood is considered less stable because the wood moves different amounts in each of the three directions. In this case, however, that is not such a bad thing because one of those numbers, which is the movement in length, is basically zero in solid wood. The movement in the length of MDF is greater than zero because MDF is made from wood fibers that are going in all directions. I have no hard numbers on this to officially compare the two, but I am confident in recommending solid lumber over MDF in this situation.
As a footnote, I have made panels for wainscotting out of MDF and run into a similar situation. The MDF shrinks the same amount in all directions and produces noticeable seams in the winter. In this wainscotting, the panels are MDF and the frames just happen to be made of poplar, which puts our two contenders side by side and indicates the MDF is shrinking more.
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Matt says :
I remember the cold day you and I went there to work for a day. What a operation!! I believe we were looking to grab some maple boards.
Yes, sir! We went in looking for maple and came home with a bunch of cherry. I usually only take my little truck, so I don’t spend too much money! I took the big truck the other day looking for a couple hundred board feet and came home with an entire stack of about 1300 board feet. I can’t do that with my pickup.
Hi Scott..My husband and I are planning to build a log cabin. Just recently there was an add in the paper for a log package for sale. It was supposedly left over from a planned community in Branson, Ms. which fell apart because financing became a problem. The cost of the package would save us money, but I am concerned about buying wood that sat at the construction site for two years. Supposedly it had “layers” between the logs to keep them dry? They didn’t have it treated for critters b/c they were told to wait until the cabin was built? Yes we are skeptical about buying it, however it would save us quite a bit of money up front. The wood is oak. What say you? Thanks so much!
First check to see if it is white oak or red oak. White oak is many more times durable than red oak. Also, verify that they were on sticks with air between them. If they were “dead stacked” on the ground, with no air-circulation they will rot much quicker. As a safety precaution check to see that none of the areas that would be prone to stay wet, for example, on the bottom, are soft or punky. Any piece of metal can be used to test for the soundness of the wood. Just hit it and literally listen to the sound. If it is hard it sounds very different than if it is soft. I would also cut the end off of one of the pieces and get a look inside. A fresh cut will tell you a lot about it.
So, here is my final answer. Look at the wood and how it was stored closely. If it is red oak, and it was thrown in a pile on the ground to rot for two years, it is probably no good, at least in spots. White oak in the same situation might be alright. If stored correctly both, red and white oak should be fine. Just hope it is white oak.
As far as bugs go, there are probably some in there, but most likely none that cause structural damage, they just add character. Termites are the real issue and they take a little while to work. For your peace of mind, I would have the wood sprayed before installation and have pest control maintenance performed regularly no matter where the logs came from.
Good luck with your investigation!
Amen! I own the Makita 18V, I purchased it right before I built my deck. Looking back, I could not have imagined driving all of the deck board fasteners with a regular cordless drill. Those screws where stainless and the heads more prone to strip than ordinary steel screws. With the impact I saved myself time and a lot of wasted screws.
Congrats on the new shop Scott! One question though . . . . . Did you tell the people you’re leasing from that you burned your last one to the ground? Hah
Congrats Scott! The new shop looks like it will serve you well. Don’t know anything about the machines but they look impressive!!
I’m sure you’ll have it loaded with wood by May??
I’m jealous of the new shop space, but I don’t think my wife would appreciate me following your example by “showing good hustle and quickly burning down my shop” since it is in the basement of our home. I can appreciate the fact that your shop is as clean as it will ever be. My oldest brother told me years ago that he was impressed with how I cared for my tools by keeping them packed in sawdust so they wouldn’t get scratched. I’ve decided that’s a good way to think about the mess.
Love the photos of your wine cellars and the racks you have made and of course if you are going to have a wine cellar, one must have a round top door.
Will ask questions later. Jack
Hi Scott…Vince from Columbia,Ill…..I have a 1 3/8″ thick 34″ wide wood entry door needing thickness sanding. Are you set up and ready to go? I want to take off a half inch to recv new wood verner front.
I have your address but could use your phone number also.
Thanks vkvkvk352@gmail.com
Wish we had a picture of the mangled tambors. That would have been a real nice add to this all too real life event. It contributed to making you the great craftsman you are today!
You’re very brave to admit to something like this but, I’m sure we all appreciate the time you’ve taken to share this, as it’s something many can learn from! 🙂
I was at the tool event and used one of Konrads smoothing planes — it is worth it. I will get decades out of my LN smoothing plane but every time I pick it up—well I think of sauer and stiener
There were many impressive things there, but Konrad’s blew my socks off. I took a couple swipes on a chunk of wood and I knew I had better set it down quick or I would have a lot less money in my bank account.
Bottom line is there beautiful tools nice to look at and without question good to use but if we could all be in the situation to buy these at these prices we probably would be rich already and wouldn’t need to work and then would be buying these to use as a hobby or collection to show off with would love to see these sold at a more affordable price and more realistic price its taken me many years to build my tool collection and don’t have anything like this in my tool collection still everyone know us carpenters are all millionaires NOT I WISH LOL
Not yet. I’m trying not to look. If I do, I won’t be able to stop myself. Before you know it I’ll cut off my sleeves, loose the shoes, get a dog, grab my gun and hang out with Shelby Stanga, never to be seen again.
Scott,
Thanks to you and the guild and the Logs to Lumber extravaganza a couple years ago, I too can never walk through the woods like a normal person again. I keep looking at trees and logs trying to imagine what treasures lie within.
This jig is a fast and dirty way to achieve temporary results. Don’t glorify it any further than that. It’s “clean” compared to most screw applications but is a second or maybe even third tier alternative to wood craft. In no way should this be passed off as good craftsmanship in high end carpentry or fine furniture. Don’t make the mistake of diluting your work. I see its application in plywood and rough work. Don’t dumb down your work with home depot quality methodology… professional or novice.
Scott, I think your uses are correct, but Martin is right about the furniture. Even on a simple table, I can’t think of a joint where I would feel good about a pocket screw holding up better than m and t’s.
Scott,
I must admit that I feel exactly as you do regarding Kreg technology, even to the point of buying their screws in bulk. I think that my own reservations about the Kreg approach is that it is just so simple and easy it seems that it must be deficient in some respect. Isn’t this one of those threshold events that seems like the first step on a slippery slope from whence you will not return with your dearly earned standards intact?
I believe that this happens often and not everybody even notices. Some do, like in the mental scenario that I am currently envisioning: Duncan Phyfe at a shop-wide production meeting where he confesses, “Well, I am sorry that I was sooo … harsh about insisting that any competent woodworker would only use class A Shagreen to prepare this Cuban Mahogany, and do you know, this new glass paper is pretty good?” or words to that effect. Most of these conundrums are decided on the basis of efficacy and today’s woodworker may lament (while drinking, for instance) that it is no longer necessary to boil beef parts in order to make their own glue. Genuine, authentic and historically correct? You bet! Would it help me to make a better return on my labor? Pass the Titebond, please.
We can (and love to) separate these issues into philosophical distinctions, since we now have options. On the other hand, I have never read any mention of a period woodworker missing the joy of preparing stock with a pitsaw. It only sounds romantic if you don’t have to do it, methinks.. I believe that woodworking is nearly as concerned with the inner (and outer) dialogue and drawing those distinctions, as it is about wood. If you didn’t think about the means as much as the ends you would be a woodworker of lesser dimension.
I believe the Kreg Jig approach is a necessity for survival for those valiantly attempting to earn a living as a profesional woodworker. Is it heirloom joinery? Emphatically no! Is it acceptable if you’re trying to put food on the table for your family and at the same time compete with cheap, off shore crap? Well, at least you’re trying to offer beter quality than the glued together particle board offered by your convienently located big box store. Those that have the luxury of pursueing a piece built to heirloom quality standards should champion the effort to inform the public that quality is worth paying for. Meanwhile, good luck and best wishes to those fighting spirits trying to earn a living at woodworking.
The night after I put up this post, I was tasked with putting a bird house on top of a wood post. “What to use?,” I asked myself. In the true spirit of controversial woodworking, I pulled out the Kreg Jig. It may not be real woodworking, but neither is the Home Depot bird house, right? Problem solved. Just make sure not to build an heirloom birdhouse.
here is my thoughts and they are free—- so you see the value
if it is a heirloom piece use all the skills and knowledge you have and enjoy the process as well as the outcome. if you are building kitchen cabinets/ built ins for a house that will be used for for 5-10-15 yrs an then remodeled the Kreg is a-ok. When I am building furniture/box/ etc I look at it as a legacy when I am building plantation shutters I want to get done Trust me you will know if you are cheating the craft.
for me it’s pretty simpe: what’s the client willing to spend? if they have a low budget, they get kreg jig. If they have a high budget, they get m+t. either way, it will look better and will be much stronger than anything they bought off the shelf, and that, is a win win situation for me and my clients. at the end of the day you have to be a smart business person if you want to have a business. thankfully, the furniture at these stores is such crap that even if my pieces were held together by 50 cent gum it would be stronger. case closed!
I use the Kreg Jig on occasion. Fact is that it does work, particularly on face frames. I don’t use it where a mortise and tenon will do. But I also don’t believe in overbuilding face frames. I am an amatuer who gets maybe a few hours each week in the shop. And while I make furniture for fun, I also be make things that are useful and look nice(at least I try) I think there is a real danger when we hear terms like “real woodworker” “hand tool woodworker” “power tool woodworker” To me it’s all means to an end. Since when did woodworking have to be dealt with in absolutes? I’m for anything that gets people in the shop. I started off about 3 years ago with a bad table saw and a router. Today I have several nice projects under my belt and cut much of my joinery by hand. I think getting started is the most important thing. Later you will learn when and where to use certain methods. I don’t think that a pocket hole is going to be the end of quality woodworking by any stretch.
I am glad that you brought up the absolutes. I see everything in shades of gray personally, which has sparked this conversation. I don’t know exactly where to stop using the Kreg jig. Their products are nicely made and work well for their intention, but at some point you can have too many pocket screws. I see promotional videos for the Kreg jig and everything is pocket screwed for demonstration purposes. You can do this, but do you want to? When I saw them going crazy and pocket screwing everything, it made me feel a little sick to my stomach, like the piece was cobbled together. As this discussion has continued the separation seems to be between cabinets and furniture. While alright on cabinets (especially face frames), no one has attempted to make a case for using them to hold together furniture.
Cobble…to make or assemble roughly or hastily <the stranded hikers cobbled together a rickety shelter I looked that up.
I believe I've made my point……………
You’re right, I wouldn’t use them for case assembly nor have I ever seen anybody try to. I have used them twice for attaching a top rather than buttons. Both times I attached, removed, elongated the holes, and reattached. So far after a few years I haven’t noticed any splitting in either case and I live in PA where we have cold dry winters and hot and humid summers. Turns out that this was a traditional method of attaching table/cabinet tops but fell out of favor in the early 20th century. I would hesitate to judge anybody for using them, however. As I said, if somebody new to the hobby decides to use them for case construction then go for it. Whatever works for you works for me. I’m not here to judge a hobbyists furniture. I only judge it if I’m paying for it.
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Martin says :
A band saw and hand plane are faster, safer And more accurate.
Lets clarify what I meant. For repeatability on quantity as well as quality, table saw is the way to go. But pattern being copied has to be exact. Not sure about hand plane.
I’m a little late in replying, but i found this post and the comments interesting and somewhat related to a recent decision on one of my projects. I too have used the Kreg for shop jigs, a few face frames and many practical joinery tasks around the house (similar to the birdhouse example). I generally avoid pocket screws for “fine furniture” in the rare cases I find time to build something in this category.
Since my time in the shop is limited, balancing quality and time required is a relevant challenge. I have built furniture in the past with M&T joints and although I feel better about the quality, it is time consuming. In an attempt to build a loft bed for my son, I needed to find an efficient, but hidden joinery system. Although a loft bed might not be considered fine furniture by most, my version is solid cherry and “finer” than what you would find in a store (at least in my opinion). M&T was possible although problematic, especially on the 100+ inch rails. Obviously, I could cut these by hand, but that consumes even more time and man-handling the rails on the table saw / shaper was not an attractive option.
I had always been an opponent of dowel joints based on my experience with a cheap “self-centering” dowel jig years ago. In my experience this was more of a “self-misaligning” jig and the joints were never to my standards. After reading reviews and biting the proverbial bullet, I bought a Dowelmax jig. I have to say that I have been very pleased with the balance of precision and speed that this jig has provided. I have also found that it is very flexible and can handle a wide variety of joints. I created my own custom shims from aluminum bar stock and used these to put 16 dowels (2 rows of 8) in the joints between the 5/4″ X 6″ cross rails and 4″ X 4″ posts with the rails being offset exactly 3/16″ from flush. The alignment is perfect and the joint seems to be sufficiently overengineered to my standards.
Although this is not exactly related to the Kreg question it has given me a viable alternative in the joinery spectrum. I don’t know if everyone would agree, but the range of joints in the quality vs. time spectrum in my mind goes something like this (in order):
I too have had bad results with dowels, so much so that I pretty much stopped using them a long time ago. There just seemed to be so many directions that things wouldn’t line up. Biscuits solve this problem since one direction is adjustable. For more substantial joints, like the bed you mentioned, I have always thought that we need a biscuit jointer with an extra thick blade and thicker biscuits. Then we start drifting into Festool Domino territory and their loose tenons and before you know it we are back to traditional mortise and tenons. Bring on the duct tape.
Today, I was building another router table after the fire and decided to build a decent utilitarian unit in the shortest amount of time. I can tell you that I used the Kreg jig to hold on the top, and I didn’t even fret over whether this was acceptable or not. I was using plywood and had no cross-grain situations, so I didn’t need to worry about expansion and contraction. Going back to billattapa’s comment above on loosely securing tops, I think elongated Kreg jig holes are a nice solution and very similar to how I might handle it otherwise.
Nice article. I love maple but it’s expensive. I made the trim in our kitchen from maple and I remember trying to nail it with fine finish nails. Even with a pilot hole it was tough going. So I broke down and picked up a compressor and finish nailer.
I always thought maple took a nice finish, and is also tough(tougher) than nails. Again, nice job.
Bill,
That’s two more reasons to love silver maple. It is less expensive than sugar maple and it will take fasteners better.
Hard maple does take a nice finish because can be sanded glass smooth, but that is the reason it is so hard to stain evenly. The parts that are glass smooth take no stain and anywhere the grain changes directions the stain soaks in, causing blotchy color.
Silver maple is more brittle. After storms you’ll see a lot of silver maple branches on the ground. We had a sugar maple at our last house that grew abnormally with a million branches and they never fell off. Sugar maple wins the brittle battle, but when it blows up on the baseball field, it blows into a billion pieces. Even so, it still makes a better bat.
Hello Scott, I got your email on the planer and threw a couple of bids in that were quickly trumped by $2.50. I guess I’ll wait a couple of days and see where its at. If nothing else, I moved the bids higher for you. I think I told you I moved to Kansas City in 2010. I’ve been busy with the day job, engineering consulting, and have neglected my wood working and saw milling. I still have the Lucas but haven’t started it for awhile. I built a 60 x 80 building on my farm with a 30 x 30 living space on the side. That’s kept me busy, and broke, for a couple of years. Concrete is not cheap! I hope to start putting up interior walls this fall and by spring be building some cabinets. I enjoyed catching up by reading your blog posts. Sorry about the fire. I do fire investigations and you are not the first to fall to the seduction of expediency. You didn’t mention how the shop equipment fared, I hope the firemen were able to save more than the foundation. Next time I’m in St. Louis I will give you a call and if you are around I’ll stop by. Our office is in O’Fallon and every few months I get to town. I really enjoyed your posts that chronical you interations with your daughter. I have a 3 yr. old granddaughter and hope to make some similiar memories as she get a little older. She is already a pretty good tag along and helper.
ps This guy is a friend, I set him up in a location for his sawmill. He’s a nice guy, about 45 or 50, who just loves cutting up trees. His main business is custom lumber milling. Love, W
Nice post. the carts started getting hot about 1.5 yrs. ago and remain very sellable. The Ely Walker lofts downtown use one as part of their lobby furniture.
You know i am bigtime familiar was this. Still have some we cut a couple of years ago. Also have a few growing around me. Put it on the mill and it will be
a great day. WHAT A SMELL!
Fisheye killer. Just add a drop or two. It changes the surface tension of the finish to better match what you are spraying. Silicone is a common/main ingredient. I would like to think that there is a brand without silicone in it, but the manufacturers don’t detail the ingredients.
Tim,
I use a scroll saw when necessary, but I am usually very utilitarian about it. I have never considered myself a scroll sawyer and use it only as much as forced too for a specific job. I have had no problems with name brand saws like Delta and Dewalt, but those are the only two that I have used. With that said, I do have two thoughts:
1) No matter which saw you use, make sure to always have a sharp blade. I have found the scroll saw to remind me of a tiny band saw in performance and nothing makes things better or worse than the sharpness of the blade.
2) I sold an “RBI Hawk” once for a friend, and people were falling all over themselves to get that thing. Everyone acted like it was a fancy sports car that they had only seen in movies. It didn’t look that special to me, but I never used it and can’t comment on how well it worked.
I cut my chops refinishing older pieces, and the first time you get fisheyes it’s nothing short of “what the ….” and you feel like you’re beating your head against a wall trying to resolve.
I have found that wax tends to be less problematic than silicone. A lot of the spray on furniture ‘waxes’ used over tha last 20+ years contained less wax and more silicone for the shine.
Wax is relatively easy to clean off with solvents, but silicone resists removal by many solvents. Also when you sand, even though you are removing finish, the slicone tends to be smeared around while you sand.
One caution I hope they gave you when they sold you fisheye remover was to be extra diligent about cleaning your spray equipment AFTER using fisheye remover. Fisheye remover is a silicone additive. (Go figure, use silicone to counter silicone.) You have now put silicone into your spray gun and can contaminate future finishes. I know more than a few professional painters that have a seperate gun reserved for this purpose.
I was not made aware of the silicone that I was adding to the gun and to be diligent about cleaning it. I followed the directions and had no problems with fisheye or silicone in my gun later. It makes sense that the fisheye preventer may remain in the gun after the intended use and could cause a problem. I guess I was lucky or that was the one day a year that I happened to really clean out my gun. It is all a surface tension thing and the fisheye preventer serves to make the surface tension of your finish closer to that of the waxey/siliconey surface. It stands to reason that if you don’t clean your gun thoroughly after using the preventer that your problem will now just be reversed and your finish will be slippery instead of the surface you are spraying. No matter what, after an incident like this, it is best to start with everything new and clean.
I am refinishing a walnut table. I found out the hard way about fisheyes My first time refinishing the table I strippd it, sanded it, restained and put my first coat of laquer on it. After about five minutes I started to see little holes form in my finish, not good. Stripped the table again, sanded again, stained again. Sprayed laquer and it happened again, however not as bad. Thank goodness the table is an inch and half thick…maybe a little less after all the sanding. I stripped again and sanded again I have now stained again. Should I use a vinyl sealer and then add a fishneye preventer to my laquer. I am hoping that three is a charm.
I think the naptha is the trick. Wiping with the naptha should help clean up the wax. Test in an inconspicuous area now that you have the stain on to make sure the naptha cleaning won’t mess up your stain. Of course, it may not be wax, but instead, silicone. The fisheye preventer will help with that, but be sure to follow the directions and clean your gun after you spray like Jeremy T. recommended. The vinyl sealer shouldn’t make a difference because it will fisheye like the lacquer. Another option is a seal coat of shellac. Shellac is a great finish that works with most everything and makes a good primer for most everything. If you are worried and are thinking about a sealer of some kind, use shellac cut very thin with denatured alcohol to do the job. One side note: if you are using an oil-based stain, it may not flow smoothly on the surface which indicates that your finish will most likely fisheye. The stain will not apply evenly and be repelled from some areas. If this happens, stop staining and start cleaning/sealing/fisheye preventing.
That is a very cool tree. That first branch is a pretty substantial tree by itself. I know we’ve got a lot of them but white oaks are probably my favorite overall tree. Must be those rays. Thanks for this post.
It might be a swamp chestnut oak, or a swamp white oak, you’d have to look at the leaves, but you are right in that it is in the white oak family. The ones I mentioned often seal off their old branch stubs with those big knobs, while white oaks, quercus alba, do less so. These are the oldest trees in my woods, usually living to 250 years if allowed by weather, bugs and humans.
If you are inspired to build a treehouse, check out a specially-designed bolt called the “Garnier limb” invented by Micheal Garnier in Oregon, it solves several problems with treehouse building. I went to visit this guy a couple of years ago, he runs a little resort (the “Treesort”) that is all treehouses, it looks like that part of the game Myst with suspension bridges connecting multiple treehouses. It’s a stepped-diameter bolt that spreads the stress of weight across a larger area, and allows for tree growth. I find it criminal how readily people bang nails into trees, and as a sawyer I’m sure you do too.
Someday we’ll build a really cool fort!
Wes,
That tree is actually very close to your house. If you go out your front door and keep walking across Shakelford, I think you will run right in to it. It is across from Trinity church.
My boys and I also recently went “river-exploring” and discovered numerous little treasures. Anyone with kids should give this a try. Although we were hoping to find one of the newly-exposed sand-bars resulting from the low water levels we instead ended up on a rocky shore right by the katy trail a t the Page extension. We hiked a couple miles and found mussels, old railroad spikes, lots of cool rocks (endless skipping rocks), and even an old rusted fishing pole sttand that we cleaned up, repainted, and gave to the grandparent for Christmas (To: Grandma and Grandpa; From: The River Rats). My youngest got stuck shin-deep in some mud, and we traversed a concrete tunnel under the Katy Trail that was built in 1910. Overall a fun and educational adventure!
Scott, very cool blog! Do you offer any kind of resawing services? I have several 4/4 billets of Panama Rosewood ranging from 4″-8″ wide X 36″-75″ long that I’d like to get resawn for acoustic guitar sets. Please let me know if that’s something you offer, or if you know of someone else in town that does.
Brad,
I do not officially have a resaw, but I use my sawmill to resaw when necessary. It is not as accurate as a resaw and mine is not yet up and running since the fire. Locally, I recommend that you call Bill Hibdon at Hibdon Hardwoods. They import logs and mill them for guitar sets as a large part of their business. I know they resaw and, if nothing else, they will be a great resource for you and your guitar work. My second recommendation is Fehlig brothers, also downtown. Pat O’Leary is the man at Fehlig you’ll want to talk to about shop work like this. They don’t specialize in guitars, but I use them a lot for other shop work that I can’t get done efficiently myself.
The sycamore in the photo was quartersawn on the sawmill next. If I am flatsawing the log and it won’t fit on the mill, I just cut off one side and then mill that piece separately. Each log is treated differently depending on the final product I hope to make from it.
Not quite yet. It is cleaned up and I have it set up in the new shop. I have a 15 hp electric motor that we have started wiring up. I still need to get the motor mounted too. It has a bigger footprint than the gas engine and needs a new baseplate.
Hi Scott, You say some people are snobby about their firewood…a few years back I had a big tree blocking my view of the river. Scoping it with binoculars I saw from the large, pale-green maple-shaped leaves it was a sycamore about a quarter-mile away down in the woods. I thought real hard about just where it was, and walked down there with a chainsaw and found the tallest sycamore around. I felled it and, well-satisfied with myself, marched back to my yard to check my accomplishment – to see the tree was still blocking my view! I eventually found the right one, but felt bad about wasting that tree. Later that year I needed some firewood and went down to the felled sycamore so at least it wouldn’t be a total waste. After only about six months lying on the ground the entire log had turned to soft cheese. It’s all just humus now, but I still feel bad about needlessly killing that tree. Wes
In the year 3045 when mainstream furniture production utilizes robots and lasers to make furniture- old fashioned purists will use Kreg jigs because they are more “authentic”.
After all of that you lost the logs? WTF I’m sure your wife is just peachy about that. Sounds like a Scott adventure. It’s the journey, not the destination.
I lost the logs. I am hoping that maybe the root chunk is still there wedged in the piles, even though I pretty much cut it out. I will tell you though, that river is large my friend and that isn’t the only walnut out there. The next one will be right next to the boat ramp.
Since I only take free logs, a lot of the logs I pick up have been laying around for awhile. I have gotten good at figuring out what they are in various states of decay and have always made a game of it. In this case, there were a few characteristics that narrowed it down to walnut. First off, it wasn’t an oak or ash. Those are very open-grained and this was not. That took out a big chunk of choices right there. The next obvious ones to consider on the river are bottomland trees like cottonwood, sycamore and silver maple. This log was really old, but really solid. Any of those trees would have had rot issues somewhere along the log and this one did not. Sycamore was also ruled out because the grain was pretty straight and sycamore is always obviously not straight. That left me with only two choices; cherry or walnut. Both are highly rot resistant and are similar in grain. I have found a lot of logs like this in both cherry and walnut that were done on the outside, but still completely solid throughout. Plus, I like to think positively and tell myself that it is one of those two. The thing that nailed it down for me was the terrain of the surface of the log. The ripples were exaggerated from the water running over them for so long, but I have seen walnuts with a similar structure below the bark. Especially in summer, the bark falls off and exposes the waviness. This tree also had the shape I would expect from a walnut that grew to a large size close to a river. It was fairly clear at the bottom, but quickly started to show knots and branches in the second log, indicating that it grew in a somewhat open spot. It didn’t take long for me to be able to imagine it standing along the river at the bottom of a pasture in a thin line of trees and whispering, “I’m a walnut.”
Sorry. That totally sucks, man. I would have bought all of it, you know. Just that log, though, nothing else. It looked like it had some amazing character.
Everyone is willing to pay full retail for stuff I don’t have. Maybe I’ll find one even better if and when the river goes back down. Then I’ll be sure to give you a call.
You know all I really want is some 5″ thick SYP that’s wide enough I only have to glue up two or three pieces at the most for a bench top, right? I’ll settle for fir. Or Hemlock.
Just stop selling it out from under me. 🙂
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Kathy Lawhorn says :
Love these carts! I have one in my family room. My son is into woodworking like you and I wish he would do what you are doing. I know these are popular because I hosted a bridal shower last year and some of my guests went crazy over my table. Keep up the great work and I’m sorry about the fire. Subscribing to your blog.
Scott,
I lost a cluster of these trees a few years ago to disease and finally had Roger mill them. They grew together so there was a lot if interesting grain patterns. I’m looking forward to using it for a future project.
The state champion American Elm is at Bellefontaine Cemetery in (near?) St. Louis and has a circumference of 191 inches and is 102′ tall with 122′ spread.
This looks pretty close!
“Oh, uh, it’s the pleats… the pleats in the pants. It’s an optical illusion. I was just about to take them back… to the pants store. Oh this is embarrassing.”
(Sorry, brother. I tried not to comment. You are practically asking for it, though, right? Don’t blame me.)
My partner and I stumbled over here coming from a different web
address and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you.
Look forward to going over your web page for a second time.
Hi Scott. I just read your latest installment and when I read about the osage orange it reminded me of something. Here is a picture of a giant one at my dads plumbing shop in leavenworth ks. It is supposedly one of the largest in the state. It may actually be on record as the largest. I figured you’d be into it.
Hope alls well with you. I’m good. The jointer is fantastic. Stupendous even.
I just was talking to a friend I get wood from who was telling me about some kind of disease the ash trees out here are getting where the center of the crown dies and the rest of the tree follows. Was wondering if you’d seen it at all in Missouri. It would suck if ash became hard to come by. It’s a nice tree too. It was one of the few that didn’t totally get screwed up by the hurricane winds last year.
I love the “gardens”!!! I take the kiddos about once a week to check out the ever-changing blooms. They love it, but it’s mostly for me … I’m with you, you walk in and the world seems miles away. We should do a concert together 🙂
Any idea why white oaks have those bulges where they abandon branches? It’s a diagnostic feature on the swamp white oaks at my house: old branch lumps on the trunk.
This tree was in a residential area, so I don’t know if the branches that didn’t heal were poorly pruned, died out or were ripped off. Most of the time it seems like the problem is a dead branch that just lingers and doesn’t fall out, which then makes a cone shaped entrance into the middle of the tree when the branch finally does fall out. It may be a case where the durability of the
lumber works against the tree. A branch that rotted off quicker would have a better chance of healing over. Just a hypothesis on my part. I see it a lot in White Oaks and it is sad to see that just a small opening can bring down something so big and old.
Great story. Who amongst us is beyond the major boner like that one. 🙂
Can I share a story, admittedly not as good as yours but one that I will never forget.
I once tried to move a wall switch over a foot during some remodeling. It was a complicated little sucker with three switches in the plate, two of which were 3-way switches so it had wires coming out of everywhere. I made absolutely sure to draw a diagram where every wire was to go on the new insert, one stud over.
I got the new one all wired up and set up a test lamp in one of the outlets. It didn’t work!! Say what? Man, did I rack my brain and drawings to figure out what the heck I did wrong. Nothing worked. What the heck did I do? Needless to say everything was buried behind dry wall. Everything worked before I started and now it doesn’t.
Four hours later, sweating bullets, I decided to walk my test lamp over to another outlet to check it out. Would you believe fate had decided to surreptitiously blow out the light bulb in that test lamp right at that moment in time between when I first tested the original switch configuration to when I rewired the new one.
A simple bulb change in the lamp announced that I had wired it correctly four hours before.
Thanks for the story. I always use a hairdryer so I can hear it (especially helpful when working alone), but I guess I would have had the same problem if Chris burned it up just before I grabbed it.
Hey I plan to contact you but before I do first of all do you have any of these carts left? I would love one! I actually just came across the Lineberry Factory Carts site @ factorycarts.com and they actually can be bought directly from them for $350 and $450 for a totally redone cart which looks like it just came off the factory floor. Of course that doesn’t include the shipping price. There”s also a guy on Etsy that’s selling some for around $300 a piece. So what’s the best price you can do??
I hope my post doesn’t offend you I’m just a starving artist and single mom so I’m just trying to get the best deal I can. I’m familiar with architectural salvage and also know the market my backgrounds in furniture design so your right on they are also out there for exorbitant amounts. I just thought I’d share some resources I’d found so I had them also to back me up, but not to dissuade your buyers market either because i feel for you having to start from the ground up again after loosing your shop and revenue to fire. So I give you kudos for coming up with a clever way to market some salvaged finds.
Best of luck to you, and I’d also like a bargain if i can get one!
Thang Que!!!
No problem. I am not offended. My carts usually sell on ebay and go from $150 to $600 depending on condition and if the bidders are feeling frisky that day. I sell them from my shop for $250 -$300 for the good ones. For fun I went to the website that you directed me to and noticed that two of their photos are actually my photos of carts in my shop. I’ll call it flattery.
Agree with you about using walnut outside. I find that it not only is durable and strong, it is beautiful and works so nice. I have a cherry stump in my ward that is the result of a tree that was cut down 25 years ago and I believe I could get a fair amount of material from it. I am from south Louisiana and now live in North Louisiana and love working in wood. I have cut plenty logs with a chain saw and enjoyed seeing the inside of these beautiful things before anyone else. Keep up the good work. Larry
I recently toured the basement of an old warehouse and purchased 9 factory carts. All different styles. I have found some names on a few (Hamilton/Thomas) but most have no markings of the manufacturer…but some have the original purchasers label/stencil. Where do I go to find out what I have?
Good question. Most of mine have been Nutting and Francis with a few others tossed in (Thomas, for example). Usually, they are in batches and all are similar, so once one is identified you know what the others are. At the same time, I will tell you that I have run across several one-offs and some that I couldn’t identify. I haven’t found a good source yet for determining the maker, except for markings and luck.
I do rather enjoy being indirectly referred to as an “irregular” woodworker. Scott is correct in assuming that I would strongly recommend against utilizing four quarter lumber for large lamination… Or anything for that matter.
I see four quarter lumber as the beginning of 20th-century industrialization. We were able to Utilize more accurate cutting; a reduction of handwork necessary for flattening allowed us to utilize thinner wood and faster drying cycles. This also created an environment in which lowered grade logs were yielding somewhat higher grade Thinner boards. My issue is less substantial furniture with thinner boards… This leads to the downward spiral of cheaper, faster, more Homogenous pieces of craft work.
In this case you were adding more glue lines to a highly moisture sensitive surface. You are just asking for d-limonene issues
First off, for everyone else out there, realize that we (Martin Goebel and Scott Wunder) could argue about this all day long and still not come to an agreement, but we probably won’t kill each other either.
I would argue that if we are willing to use glue to join boards to make a table top at all (which both of us are) that there is little to no difference in adding lumber to make up the thickness. The scenario I have presented is perfect for glue as there is no cross-grain situation and all of the boards are glued to boards that will move the exact same amount and direction. After all, they are from the same board. You can’t get a better setup for glue. I have no more concerns about the boards coming apart with the additional thickness than I would have without it.
The thick wood/thin wood argument brings up a topic for a future post. And, that is the discussion of drying thick wood or logs before they are milled into finished lumber. There is a point at which wood is just too thick. Either too thick to dry completely or quickly, or too thick to not crack, check and split. As the wood gets thicker the inherent stresses in the tree start to dismantle the lumber as it dries. Again, I am not saying don’t use thick lumber, I love all lumber. But there is no way on this earth of ours to produce a 12″ thick piece of solid white oak lumber without checking or splitting. If your directive was to produce a contemporary (non rustic) mantel in the 12″ range, it could not be done. The splits automatically put it in the “more rustic” category. I would argue that a contemporary piece this size would have to be built from thinner lumber. Thick lumber isn’t always the answer.
Anyone else can respond. It doesn’t have to be Martin.
Scott,
Great post and very nice work! We did the same thing with our granite island top. It appears to be 6 cm thick – if the whole thing really was that thick it would probably crush the cabinets.
The weight is an especially important factor on granite. And with granite, you really have to work with what is available. In this case, the weight would not have been a deal breaker, it was just the amount of wood.
There is no specific reason for the different widths. I had a little extra on the ends and left it a bit wider. Figured it couldn’t hurt in case I gave that end trim a little accidental Karate Kid action while I was handling it.
hello im looking for a tape measure scaling stick. I’ve seen one at work but no one can find them any more. Its a regular tape measure on one side and a scaling stick on other side. Do you know who makes or where i can find such an item..
I normally order from Bailey’s online. I checked there and they don’t have anything like it. I have never seen a tape measure for scaling logs myself. The closest is the folding log rule, but it is not a tape. Let us know if you find one. Hopefully, someone else will know and reply.
thanks anyway i work with the guy that has one ill post back with the manufacturer if theres ones on the rule all i know is that it is yellow with a tree on it?
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Bobby says :
Im just learning to use a scale, so I may be wrong. My sacle only goes to 47 inches. The best I can figure is a little more than 676 board feet.
You will need the log length as well as the diameter to figure out the board feet. My scale only goes to 44″ on the skinny end, which is a very big hardwood log. Of course, they do get bigger, but 44″ will cover most of the hardwood logs out there.
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Nicky van Tiel says :
Dearest,
I am looking for a full set of hardware(everything but the wood) to make muself one of these awesome carts, the problem is i live in holland so the shipping of a whole cart costs a fortune, please contact me if you can ship me a set, you’d make me very happy.
Greets,
Thats unfortunate, but in that case i’ll arrange the shipping myself through an acquiantance in NY.
What will the shipping cost to send it there, and what are tha approx. size and weight? (Considering you are willing to sell a set of just the metal hardware) And ofcourse, what will that cost me?
I hope we can work this out, i really want one, but the ones i’ve come across in europe were way to expensive
I sell a set of hardware for $175. I will send you a photo of them before I ask for payment. It seems silly to ship to NY, just to ship to you. If you would like to arrange the shipping on your end, I will be happy to get it to you directly and skip NY.
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Nicky says :
Please do send some pics if you please. And how will i have to arrange shipping? Sorry i don’t understand what you mean. I hope you can help me acquire a set with your experience. PLease contact me on my e-mail for further details. Greets, Nicky
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Taylor says :
So you sell just the parts, I’m wanting to make one and just need the hardware.
I like! And should make the observation that the previous post was about the virtues of thin wood… Yet all of this unique high quality wood is cut 2.375″ thick. Need I say more? Claymation death match goes to Martin
The last post was not necessarily about the virtues of thin wood, but how to make it work for you. The Claymation death match has not yet taken place, but this pre-death match does go to Martin.
If you find something in the Missouri at my place I’ll help drag it out with chains and cables and tractors. Still can’t figure out how you identify a tree of driftwood, they all look like cottonwoods to me.
I am glad you brought that up. Today, we were out looking for treasures, and I found some more interesting walnut pieces. Nothing worth milling, but they showed characteristics in the driftwood that gives the walnut away immediately. I also have found some white oak that stands out. One of my next blog posts will be on the river wood ID.
beautiful piece!,,,quick question(s),what application method was used to apply the waterlox? bristle brush, sponge applicator, spray? about how many coats? did you use the watewrlox intended for marine applications or the original? did you thin it at all? and if so, with what and at what proportions?
I use the original Waterlox, purchased at a local Woodcraft store. Apply it with a cotton cloth/rag. Just pour it on and smooth it out. It doesn’t need to be thinned normally, but I could see occasions where thinning would help or be necessary, especially when pieces are large and it is hard to get consistent coverage before it wants to set up. Even if it does start to get sticky, as long as you can pull the cloth through it, it seems to flatten out. The countertop has several coats on it and is fully protected, but does not have a thick film of finish. The customer wants to use the top and be able to repair it when needed, so a heavy film thickness is less desirable. If I was trying to achieve a thicker finish, I would spray the Waterlox, but at that point, probably change over to a conversion varnish with a high solid content. The Waterlox is nice because it is consumer-repair friendly and is protective without being thick and plastic-like.
Hi Scott, There’s a monograph by Ferdinand Cohn, written in German about a hundred years ago that describes torsion in trees. In your experence, do they tend to torque in any certain direction? The sycamore you show has a right-had twist, that is, if you ran your right-hand fingers along the cracks, your hand would travel in the direction of your (also right-hand) thumb. Does this indicate some “right-handedness” in nature? Or is it like with people, some percentage, say 15% are left-handed? I’ve wondered about this a long time.
I have never paid attention to the direction of the twist. In a quick, informal survey of slightly twisty logs at my shop, one went to the left and one went to the right. I thought that it would matter which end of the log I was looking at, but it doesn’t. If it goes to the right, it goes to the right, no matter which end you look at.
Brad, I have a Lineberry cart that has 4 left side corner post holders, it was modified awkwardly by somebody long ago. Do you have (2) ESP 14-R post holders you would sell so I can restore this cart?
Try Nelson Cold Storage in VA, he is a little pricey but has a lot of old Lineberry parts. I ordered a couple of corners from him for $45 each, they were the right parts and came prepaid. I had to have the exact part and he had it.
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john wohlgemuth says :
congrats for working the word booger into an article Joseph Pulitzer would be proud. The razor does work great.
If you go on a hot day, find the water-filled quarry about 100 yards beyond the picnic tables. There’s a ledge for jumping in, and the finest swimming pool in Missouri: huge, smooth-sided and carved in living rock. The Other quarry is straight beyond the Elephant Rocks from the parking lot. Johnson’s Shut-Ins is a great side trip nearby.
Scott – we just did this in July – amazing! I cannot believe I’ve lived here my whole life and never checked this out before. Another recommendation – if you don’t pack a lunch – check out the nearby town of Caledonia. Two good lunch restaurants and the a historically-accurate dry goods store – it is like stepping back in time (cool for grown ups who like old stuff) and they have old-school penny candy and kooky toys that the kids went nuts over (cool for the tinys who like new stuff). Johnson Shut Ins is next on our list – can’t wait!
This is pretty cool. I did not know formations like this occured in the Ozarks. If you ever want to see something really cool, just shoot down I-44 to Lawton Oklahoma and go to the Wichita Mountains. They are easily the most impressive things in that part of the country: http://www.trailgroove.com/issue9.html?autoflip=57
Great post. I’ve been to Elephant Rocks many times in my life and I’m ashamed to say never paid much attention to the trees. I will the next time. Thanks.
Not sure what tinker toy contraption you are referring to, but I didn’t work on the stairs. You may be commenting on the lack of a handrail, which I assume is in the works. They can’t pass a final without it.
be sure to wear safety glasses when using nippers as the cut off piece shoots straight back at you!!!! most pros hold their hand over the cutters when cutting nails etc.
I’m one of those lucky enough to always have glasses on, but for those of you that don’t – watch out! They do tend to shoot shrapnel if you are cutting with them. Most of the time I use them to pull instead of cut, but then again, sometimes they end up cutting when I think I am just pulling.
Great article I’m one of those guys that has long stood and stared at the spray guns and wondered………do I or don’t I? Now I think I have my answer and thank you for it. Over the last couple of years I have began to to use lacquer almost exclusively this is why you post realy got my attention. So I do have a question what do you mean that you just leave it when you finish there is no clean up. I’ve been told that if you don’t clean out the hose and gun and everything it will clog it all up this has been truthfully one of my big hang ups on buying such a system. Could you explain this a little more. I love your post keep up the good work.
Jeremy,
If you use pre-catalyzed lacquer (solvent-based), it will break down with lacquer thinner. If your gun gets clogged or gummed up, just soak it in lacquer thinner and you are ready to go. Since I don’t clean as much as I should, I will keep spraying until the gun doesn’t shoot well and then spend a little extra time cleaning it. Again, it is mostly soaking the gun in lacquer thinner with the possible addition of a little elbow grease.
If you took a little extra time each time you sprayed to clean the gun, you probably would never have an issue. I just can’t make myself do it.
Scott,
Another great post! You left out one item that I thought you would include – use of Trans-Tint (on sale at Rockler right now by the way). Super easy to just add it right to the material canister full of lacquer and spray away!
Great idea. I do want to talk about TransTint and decided to make that its own separate post. As you know, I use them a lot and have a lot to say about them. Sounds like it may be time.
I finally took your advice and tried it. They are expensive but a little goes a very long way. I was trying to repair a worn maple raised panel from the hall bath vanity where the finish had rubbed off. It was fun to try different colors and mixtures in water on maple scraps until I got it close – when I applied it to the panel it worked amazingly well.
I just finished a batch of the Cub Scout crosses that we made (44 of them) and I knew that it was time to use the HVLP sprayer. The Tint gave them just the right amount of color to warm them up. Thanks for the advice.
Hi Scott – loved your story regarding your affection for factory carts….
My cart affection/addiction is just beginning, and as an amature cabinetmaker, I have a vision for making a bed that looks like a factory cart.
(I missed a great opportunity a few years back to purchase multiple carts and I am really regretting it now).
I’ve been searching on-line for a set of cart hardware (seen a couple on ebay) and am getting ready to make a purchase. I did not see on your site that you sell just a hardware kit so I wanted to check in with you first before doing the ebay thing. Please advise. Thank you for your time. JDB
You sure you’re not getting ready to write a book! Pine oil cleans things up
as well. But Simple Green does smell better. Hope all is well with the family.
Scott, Scott, Scott… Buy NO MORE of those crepe (crap?) rubber sanding belt/disc cleaning sticks! Go out to the garage and get a cutoff piece of white PVC pipe (or I’ll bring you a piece the next time I see you) and give it a try, instead. Works just as well. And it’s a heck of a lot cheaper.
Ethan, Glad you brought that up. I encountered the PVC trick while doing more research and it looks quick and easy. It appears to work like the rubber sanding belt cleaners, only with more backbone. I haven’t tried it yet myself. The wide-belt sander has sensors everywhere and is made to shut off if the doors are open, so I can’t officially use the PVC on the wide-belt sander. I will definitely try it on my hand-held belt sander and disc sander.
Nothing easy. I have never worked on beams that were already installed. The only change I imagine could be reasonably made would be with the finish. With different stains, glazes and topcoats they could be made to look older. The shortfall is that any surface changes like a hand-hewn finish really can’t be done on the ceiling.
Scott – You can also “Dress the Belt”, that is, remove slight inconsistencies in the feed belt by lowering a running sanding head/belt down and VERY GENTLY sanding the (moving) feed belt. Kind of the reverse of the Drum Dressing procedure. That way you end up with the sanding head “matched” to the feed belt.
You will need one for a compressor. The air is delivered to the gun differently between a compressor and a turbine and needs to be handled differently at the gun. A turbine is high volume low pressure, while a compressor is typically considered low volume high pressure. The compressor gun adjusts the pressure at the tip to deliver the air at low pressure. When purchasing a gun look at the air inlet to be sure you are getting the right one. At the bottom of the handle a compressor gun will have fittings or openings sized for a compressor. A turbine gun will have a much larger fitting or opening, big enough to handle a garden hose. Also, the handle itself will have more girth on a turbine powered gun.
I have been following your blog and really look forward to them. I saw the last one about Walnut veneer logs. I have a friend who has a log that may qualify as a veneer log. Could I get the address and phone number of the mill that buys your veneer logs. Being able to sell it would really help him out.
Tracy export is the company. My contact is Damian. The phone number is 618-337-6126. Their yard is in Cahokia, IL, but they will pick up if there is a load of logs.
Thanks for the fun story. I think the bird marks could be a story of their own on the right piece. Benches or bartops lend themselves to these types of flaws. I’m glad it didn’t go to veneer and make no apologies to your pocketbook…okay sorry a little
I have been cutting some old growth Doug fir with lots of pitch. the simple green works great. But, I just noticed on the simple green web site that it says not to use the all purpose cleaner on un finished wood. cant find an explaination of why,or what happens though.
Hi!
I want a factory cart table, but I’m sure shipping to New Orleans would be out of my budget. Do you sell/ship complete hardware sets like the ones on your blog?
You have great operation Going on. Little jealous. Amazing Big Red is still operational ! I have a few projects going on. Still have the Woodmizer. But getting logs and moving them is a challenge. By the way, the round table is kick ass!
Thank you Matt. Big Red is still operational. I used to think I was going to get a new truck someday, but now it is obvious I will die in that thing. I have already had it for 15 years. I bet it has another 25 in it. After I replace everything it will be like a new truck, just never all at once.
That’s awesome. Fixing doors are my specialty, and I never would have thought of this on my own. Of course I have other methods, but simple solutions like this fascinate me.
Just thought I’d add my two cents. I use Lufkin 1000 HV1312 12′ tapes and love them. I was a welder for 5 years and that’s all we used. They’re very durable and only $12. I use the Lufkin in the shop and when I’m doing something big where I need more than 12′ I have a 25′ Stanley Leverlock that I’ve had since ’97! That’s what they made before the FatMax tapes. Supposedly they’re gauranteed for life. I took one back before that one that I screwed around and broke the end off and Wal-Mart exchanged it no questions.
Ingenuity at it’s finest! Maybe you should commercialize this so others can have your sticks lying around in their shops buried under other stuff so that when they can’t find them they can invent even more alternative methods to measure liquids. . . . 🙂
I have avenues for selling veneer logs and have tried to find buyers for specialty pieces like crotches but haven’t been successful. I have often thought about working backwards from veneer suppliers to get to the veneer mill, to then get to the log procurement department but have never done so. Crotch veneer is coming from somewhere and I assume that they need crotch logs to make the veneer. It seems like I would have “bumped” into somebody that messes with them by now. For me, it is still one of the mysteries of life.
I live on a ten acre place in the country in Johnson Co. Iowa. At least 20 yrs. ago I had a man from the Extension Office come out to look at my trees. At that time there were three acres of trees. I was particularly interested in what he thought of an old burr oak on the edge of the trees. He said it was there when Lewis and Clark made there journey in 1804. I have since let the rest of the property go to a wild state, planting a number of trees over the years. There are numerous 15 ft. burr oaks growing near this huge 200 plus year old tree now. My wife and I just went out to measure it. It is 128in. in circumference and 43in. in diameter. The crown as near as I can tell is 65ft. and I just can’t estimate how tall, maybe 70ft. One day years ago I saw a bald eagle perched in its highest branch. What a sight. I read online that the biggest burr oak is in Woodford Co. Ky. Its is 500 years old, is 287in. in circumference,90in. in diameter 104ft. tall and has a 93ft. crown!
I think that is pretty neat to have such a wonderful old Burr Oak on your property. Or any Burr Oak for that matter. It is fun to think about who might have sat under your tree over the years. The Burr Oak is my favorite because of its beautiful form, and of the huge “chicken egg” sized across that it has. They are just amazing to hold in my hands. I want to take them everywhere as not many in my area know about the trees. I purchased the acorns over the years as I wanted to see if they would grow here. Well, they do and they grow fast if they have a lot of sunlight and water. As fast as a Maple tree. But I can see where their growth would be slow crowded with roots from other trees. I now have 7 on my place, and this is their 3rd year to have acorns. They produce acorns at an earlier age then other trees as they had their first small crop at 7 years of age. I would love to be around when they become huge, but I will never see it. I would love to see an old Burr oak in person, and have only looked at the pictures. I think they are the prettiest tree there is. So feel good about your old tree, as many have sat under it’s branches. Maybe some famous people as well. I enjoyed reading your story.
Hi I found a Nutting cart in a chicago alley it is in beautiful condition. Someone removed the orginal wheel hardware. I have the 4 corner hardware. The cart has spec in a circle. The Nutting stencil is still on the cart. I believe this is a longer cart. I want to use my cart as a coffee table. How do I know what hardware belongs on this cart? My name is Chris Donda my cell is 773-807-1451.
Hi! My name is Maria, and I’m just beginning my journey into wood and woodworking (I’ve been making small things like hair forks and pendants for a bit over a year now), and I’m also new to WordPress. I was looking around for interesting woodworking blogs to follow, and I found yours, and I think it’s really great and informative. Nice to meet you. =)
M.
Thank you for your advice, it’s been invaluable. We’re restoring the 140 year old pine beams in our vaulted ceiling, which were painted with a thick dark reddish stain. Now stripped back they have texture and colour variations galore but are disturbingly bright orange. Can you recommend something to tone it down please? We’re aiming for a medium oak finish leaving the grain and darker aged marks visible. Many thanks
Whenever I am working on matching colors I keep around different colors of TransTint stains. I use them to push colors towards a color I want or to kill colors I don’t want. To kill the orange color, you will need to stain with a color that is opposite on the color wheel, in this case, blue/green. Once you kill the orange, then you can stain a darker brown, if necessary.
Check on Ebay under Nutting carts or Railroad carts. There is also a company in Virginia you can find by search- Lineberry carts, he has a lot of various parts but is high on price.
Here in Mn, the Siberian elm is a decent tree. Thus far, it has been hardier than its cousin and is not susceptible to classic elm disease. Almost everyone dislikes American elm. It is second class to oak, and dies too often…it volunteers everywhere. I saw it in a floor in Wisconsin and thought it surpassed oak for beauty. And, of course, in England, lots of things were built with elm. And I am not sure if it was ‘American’ elm , but I doubt it…thanks for the post.
Thanks for the input. I was at an arborist conference last year and there was a lot of talk about Siberian elm from a presenter from Minnesota. Siberian elm was brought in to replace dying American elm trees. It does not die from Dutch Elm disease, but has other issues that make it less desirable as a tree. It is brittle and will easily break in storms and it is often tormented by other issues that leave it looking less than perfectly healthy all year long. The presenter from Minnesota, specifically addressing power line issues and breaking branches, put Siberian elm at the top of the “Do Not Plant” list.
Both American and Siberian elms are prolific at spreading seeds, which helps them pop up in unplanned locations.
I think American elm is one of the prettiest woods around and I am a big fan of Siberian elm too. I often recommend them to my customers for woodworking projects.
I have no input on elms from England since I have no official experience with them, but I am going to put my money on them not being American elm.
I was wondering if it would help to carefully 1/4 the cut end thru the middle (pie cuts), let it dry and then clean up the cut edges and “reassemble” the round. I know that even with thin kerf cut it would be hard to realign the grain- but it might give a stable result. Any ideas?
Reassembling pieces after they are dry will work, since most of the shrinkage happens during the initial drying. It will require two pieces that match that can be split before drying and then machined and reassembled after drying. The results can be more than satisfactory, but still a lot of work for what everyone assumes is just one cut.
I have no official sources off the top of my head. I will tell you from my research and from personal experience that the only way to stop bleeding sap from pine lumber is too kiln dry the lumber to a high temperature and it will still not be enough for large pockets of sap. If you are talking about sap bleeding through finishes like paint, shellac is the trick. Shellac or products containing shellac (like Kilz) will seal in the sap and keep it from bleeding through the paint.
Wood flooring requires room to expand after installation as seasonal increases in humidity occur, especially across the grain. At least 1/2″ of clearance around the perimeter of a room is needed. I have seen the consequence of inadequate clearance (buckling) and it is not attractive.
All of this acclimating talk is no substitute for good woodworking practice. You still have to let the wood move and leaving a gap along the walls in a hardwood floor installation is a great example. Thanks Jim
Im a car painter and would like to use my spray gun for a furniture project. What tip size should i use for lacquer? Would u suggest thinning it and how much. I use a 1.4 tip for car paint and clear coat with a reducer.
Never SAND White Pine! Plane it by hand and leave it!
Thanks for the quick comment Marty. I agree. If you can plane it by hand do it. However, on this job there is about 200 bd. ft. that needs to be surfaced on two sides. No go on the hand planing. Most of it is in good shape out of the planer, but there are a few spots that require some love. Hand planing is especially good on the rustic work. Set the plane deep and leave the marks.
Pine is iconic. People know what it looks like. It’s one of the few woods that everyone under the sun knows the name smell and look of. They associate pine with cabins, hunting, grandmas house. Even if pine can be sanded, why waste your time? The first set of keys that hit the table or riveted jeans sit on the chair, you a right back into rustic-ville. Save the sanding for Cherry, Walnut and Maple. Building furniture that needs to be sanded out of Pine is a mis-application of material.
I agree almost completely. Material consideration is an important part of the building process and pine does lend itself to more simple and even rustic work. But, I think it is a little too aggressive to say that it should never be sanded and that if you sand it you are not using it correctly. In many cases, the edges are eased and made to look more worn by sanding (sandpaper) and burnishing (hammer handle), which is difficult to achieve with a straight-cutting tool like a hand plane. In this project specifically, some of the boards, since they were wide, ran through an area of the thickness planer that had knicks in the knives. Without a little sanding, I felt that the final project would look more amateur. The key here is that I know some woodworkers will be tempted or forced to sand pine at some time and may face the issue of clogging sandpaper. Hopefully, this will help them avoid having to buy extra paper. Thanks for the spirited discussion!
Great Blog Scott!
I remember the cedar well. After sawing for a couple days my wife was
tired of me smelling like a closet at grandma’s house!! Great pictures Scott.
Sure do miss working with you.
Will the un-neutralized lye hurt the overlaid finishes?
I personally have had no problems putting the finish over un-neutralized lye, using oil-based finishes like Danish oil and/or lacquer. Taking the step to neutralize it for a margin of safety couldn’t hurt, but I haven’t found it to be necessary.
Why was I not notified of the said 54″ Burr Oak!!!!
It’s probably the same as getting “road rash” on you knee. Starts red and goes to black!
Looking forward to more about this one….
I know exactly what your talking about. I never liked them much either. On my Woodmizer, the supports are much thicker and square to the bed. But I don’t
like the adjustable holddowns as much. It takes two hands to get it clamped.
The Timberking was alot easier if your trying to do it with one hand.
Ouch!!
Scott,
Great website and blog. I’ll recommend it to some friends.
Dave Vitale
Thanks Dave, The more the merrier
Dude – I’m totally sad to see this.
Scott:
Very sorry to hear the news. Good luck rebuilding.
Steve Palmer
Ah, no, Scott! Not good at all!
Great blog. The writing is so crystal clear and discriptive—almost like a picture.
I’m off all week. Got anythng for me to do?
OMG !!!! Scott we are so sorry to see this. Mom told us about it.
Wow Scott! We’re so sad to see these pictures. Guess we know what to get you for Christmas (& birthday, fathers day, etc. :-))
Dude! That is the WORST!!! What are you going to do?
Holy Crapola! What happened? I’m really sorry to hear about this. If you need something from me let me know. I’ll try to help however I can. Rick
I can only imagine how you must feel. If you need any help rebuilding let me know.
Some people think SketchUp is for rough, not to scale, small things. But it can be used for pretty much any thing, of any size, with accuracy and also has plenty of add-ons for finished renderings, lighting, textures, etc….I second that it’s awesome!
Dude..I just noticed the fire pics. I am sorry for your loss. es…
Scott,
Does MDF move more than poplar?
Bob,
Do you have an application mind? I want to give you a complete answer but there are several ways that I could compare the two. Give me as much info as you can, so I can focus my response. Thanks
Scott,
We are using 5 1/4″ MDF baseboard from Koetter in the corridors of a nursing home. So, alot of full length, 16′ or so pieces. With the season change the building has a humidity swing that opens up our scarf joints pretty bad. Shrinkage over 16′ can add up pretty quick. If we were to use the same base in a finger jointed poplar or pine, do you think we would have the same issue? Problem is the test period is six months or so. Let me know your thoughts and questions. Thank you
Bob,
MDF is often recommended for its stability based on the fact that it shrinks and swells uniformly in all directions. Solid wood is considered less stable because the wood moves different amounts in each of the three directions. In this case, however, that is not such a bad thing because one of those numbers, which is the movement in length, is basically zero in solid wood. The movement in the length of MDF is greater than zero because MDF is made from wood fibers that are going in all directions. I have no hard numbers on this to officially compare the two, but I am confident in recommending solid lumber over MDF in this situation.
As a footnote, I have made panels for wainscotting out of MDF and run into a similar situation. The MDF shrinks the same amount in all directions and produces noticeable seams in the winter. In this wainscotting, the panels are MDF and the frames just happen to be made of poplar, which puts our two contenders side by side and indicates the MDF is shrinking more.
I remember the cold day you and I went there to work for a day. What a operation!! I believe we were looking to grab some maple boards.
Yes, sir! We went in looking for maple and came home with a bunch of cherry. I usually only take my little truck, so I don’t spend too much money! I took the big truck the other day looking for a couple hundred board feet and came home with an entire stack of about 1300 board feet. I can’t do that with my pickup.
Hi Scott..My husband and I are planning to build a log cabin. Just recently there was an add in the paper for a log package for sale. It was supposedly left over from a planned community in Branson, Ms. which fell apart because financing became a problem. The cost of the package would save us money, but I am concerned about buying wood that sat at the construction site for two years. Supposedly it had “layers” between the logs to keep them dry? They didn’t have it treated for critters b/c they were told to wait until the cabin was built? Yes we are skeptical about buying it, however it would save us quite a bit of money up front. The wood is oak. What say you? Thanks so much!
Dana,
First check to see if it is white oak or red oak. White oak is many more times durable than red oak. Also, verify that they were on sticks with air between them. If they were “dead stacked” on the ground, with no air-circulation they will rot much quicker. As a safety precaution check to see that none of the areas that would be prone to stay wet, for example, on the bottom, are soft or punky. Any piece of metal can be used to test for the soundness of the wood. Just hit it and literally listen to the sound. If it is hard it sounds very different than if it is soft. I would also cut the end off of one of the pieces and get a look inside. A fresh cut will tell you a lot about it.
So, here is my final answer. Look at the wood and how it was stored closely. If it is red oak, and it was thrown in a pile on the ground to rot for two years, it is probably no good, at least in spots. White oak in the same situation might be alright. If stored correctly both, red and white oak should be fine. Just hope it is white oak.
As far as bugs go, there are probably some in there, but most likely none that cause structural damage, they just add character. Termites are the real issue and they take a little while to work. For your peace of mind, I would have the wood sprayed before installation and have pest control maintenance performed regularly no matter where the logs came from.
Good luck with your investigation!
Let the revolution begin!
I am a trend setter
Amen! I own the Makita 18V, I purchased it right before I built my deck. Looking back, I could not have imagined driving all of the deck board fasteners with a regular cordless drill. Those screws where stainless and the heads more prone to strip than ordinary steel screws. With the impact I saved myself time and a lot of wasted screws.
How much would it cost me to have you build me a Wonderwoods home with a view like that? 🙂
Wow. That place is huge. You could make a lot of Joia sticks in there!
I have 500 sq. ft. just for Joia sticks ready to go. Need more? Sticks that is, not space.
Congrats on the new shop Scott! One question though . . . . . Did you tell the people you’re leasing from that you burned your last one to the ground? Hah
I did tell them that I burned my last one down. They didn’t seem to mind, though I am not sure that they thought it through completely.
Congrats Scott! The new shop looks like it will serve you well. Don’t know anything about the machines but they look impressive!!
I’m sure you’ll have it loaded with wood by May??
Gena & Tom
I’m jealous of the new shop space, but I don’t think my wife would appreciate me following your example by “showing good hustle and quickly burning down my shop” since it is in the basement of our home. I can appreciate the fact that your shop is as clean as it will ever be. My oldest brother told me years ago that he was impressed with how I cared for my tools by keeping them packed in sawdust so they wouldn’t get scratched. I’ve decided that’s a good way to think about the mess.
Craig
I like to think of it as being better for my knees and ankles. None of that hard concrete to shorten my working life.
So will be ur first?
You will. I have a shop full of your kitchen right now!
sharp fixes a lot—I should make that a t shirt
I would be the first to buy one.
Love the photos of your wine cellars and the racks you have made and of course if you are going to have a wine cellar, one must have a round top door.
Will ask questions later. Jack
This is a very educational post….for people who can smell!
I’m seeing a first annual Wunder Woods, wood smelling competition coming on!
beautiful—-but those chairs?
We all learned something from that one. Who woulda thunk it!
I remember that day well and still can picture the look on your face when you realized what you did. Absolutely PRICELESS!
Hi Scott…Vince from Columbia,Ill…..I have a 1 3/8″ thick 34″ wide wood entry door needing thickness sanding. Are you set up and ready to go? I want to take off a half inch to recv new wood verner front.
I have your address but could use your phone number also.
Thanks
vkvkvk352@gmail.com
Vince,
I am set up. Give me a call to set up a time at 314-574-6036.
Wish we had a picture of the mangled tambors. That would have been a real nice add to this all too real life event. It contributed to making you the great craftsman you are today!
I was too busy cleaning my underwear to take a picture.
PW and FW says buy 120% of the BF you need my error rate is way higher than that but the mills love me
I hope you got paid for that post!! If not you should!
You’re very brave to admit to something like this but, I’m sure we all appreciate the time you’ve taken to share this, as it’s something many can learn from! 🙂
I was at the tool event and used one of Konrads smoothing planes — it is worth it. I will get decades out of my LN smoothing plane but every time I pick it up—well I think of sauer and stiener
There were many impressive things there, but Konrad’s blew my socks off. I took a couple swipes on a chunk of wood and I knew I had better set it down quick or I would have a lot less money in my bank account.
Wow! Those are sexy!
I agree. They are nice to look at. I thought the Lie-Nielsen line was nice until I saw these. Of course, there is a bit of a price difference.
Bottom line is there beautiful tools nice to look at and without question good to use but if we could all be in the situation to buy these at these prices we probably would be rich already and wouldn’t need to work and then would be buying these to use as a hobby or collection to show off with would love to see these sold at a more affordable price and more realistic price its taken me many years to build my tool collection and don’t have anything like this in my tool collection still everyone know us carpenters are all millionaires NOT I WISH LOL
So did you go back and get them?
Not yet. I’m trying not to look. If I do, I won’t be able to stop myself. Before you know it I’ll cut off my sleeves, loose the shoes, get a dog, grab my gun and hang out with Shelby Stanga, never to be seen again.
I have a boat…
I appreciate the offer. I think we need to go fishing and bring the chainsaw just in case.
Scott,
Thanks to you and the guild and the Logs to Lumber extravaganza a couple years ago, I too can never walk through the woods like a normal person again. I keep looking at trees and logs trying to imagine what treasures lie within.
Me too. Then I start figuring out how I’m going to get them home.
This jig is a fast and dirty way to achieve temporary results. Don’t glorify it any further than that. It’s “clean” compared to most screw applications but is a second or maybe even third tier alternative to wood craft. In no way should this be passed off as good craftsmanship in high end carpentry or fine furniture. Don’t make the mistake of diluting your work. I see its application in plywood and rough work. Don’t dumb down your work with home depot quality methodology… professional or novice.
Martin Goebel
Goebel & Co. Furniture
Scott, I think your uses are correct, but Martin is right about the furniture. Even on a simple table, I can’t think of a joint where I would feel good about a pocket screw holding up better than m and t’s.
Scott,
I must admit that I feel exactly as you do regarding Kreg technology, even to the point of buying their screws in bulk. I think that my own reservations about the Kreg approach is that it is just so simple and easy it seems that it must be deficient in some respect. Isn’t this one of those threshold events that seems like the first step on a slippery slope from whence you will not return with your dearly earned standards intact?
I believe that this happens often and not everybody even notices. Some do, like in the mental scenario that I am currently envisioning: Duncan Phyfe at a shop-wide production meeting where he confesses, “Well, I am sorry that I was sooo … harsh about insisting that any competent woodworker would only use class A Shagreen to prepare this Cuban Mahogany, and do you know, this new glass paper is pretty good?” or words to that effect. Most of these conundrums are decided on the basis of efficacy and today’s woodworker may lament (while drinking, for instance) that it is no longer necessary to boil beef parts in order to make their own glue. Genuine, authentic and historically correct? You bet! Would it help me to make a better return on my labor? Pass the Titebond, please.
We can (and love to) separate these issues into philosophical distinctions, since we now have options. On the other hand, I have never read any mention of a period woodworker missing the joy of preparing stock with a pitsaw. It only sounds romantic if you don’t have to do it, methinks.. I believe that woodworking is nearly as concerned with the inner (and outer) dialogue and drawing those distinctions, as it is about wood. If you didn’t think about the means as much as the ends you would be a woodworker of lesser dimension.
Mike Willard
I believe the Kreg Jig approach is a necessity for survival for those valiantly attempting to earn a living as a profesional woodworker. Is it heirloom joinery? Emphatically no! Is it acceptable if you’re trying to put food on the table for your family and at the same time compete with cheap, off shore crap? Well, at least you’re trying to offer beter quality than the glued together particle board offered by your convienently located big box store. Those that have the luxury of pursueing a piece built to heirloom quality standards should champion the effort to inform the public that quality is worth paying for. Meanwhile, good luck and best wishes to those fighting spirits trying to earn a living at woodworking.
Steve Palmer
The night after I put up this post, I was tasked with putting a bird house on top of a wood post. “What to use?,” I asked myself. In the true spirit of controversial woodworking, I pulled out the Kreg Jig. It may not be real woodworking, but neither is the Home Depot bird house, right? Problem solved. Just make sure not to build an heirloom birdhouse.
here is my thoughts and they are free—- so you see the value
if it is a heirloom piece use all the skills and knowledge you have and enjoy the process as well as the outcome. if you are building kitchen cabinets/ built ins for a house that will be used for for 5-10-15 yrs an then remodeled the Kreg is a-ok. When I am building furniture/box/ etc I look at it as a legacy when I am building plantation shutters I want to get done Trust me you will know if you are cheating the craft.
for me it’s pretty simpe: what’s the client willing to spend? if they have a low budget, they get kreg jig. If they have a high budget, they get m+t. either way, it will look better and will be much stronger than anything they bought off the shelf, and that, is a win win situation for me and my clients. at the end of the day you have to be a smart business person if you want to have a business. thankfully, the furniture at these stores is such crap that even if my pieces were held together by 50 cent gum it would be stronger. case closed!
I use the Kreg Jig on occasion. Fact is that it does work, particularly on face frames. I don’t use it where a mortise and tenon will do. But I also don’t believe in overbuilding face frames. I am an amatuer who gets maybe a few hours each week in the shop. And while I make furniture for fun, I also be make things that are useful and look nice(at least I try) I think there is a real danger when we hear terms like “real woodworker” “hand tool woodworker” “power tool woodworker” To me it’s all means to an end. Since when did woodworking have to be dealt with in absolutes? I’m for anything that gets people in the shop. I started off about 3 years ago with a bad table saw and a router. Today I have several nice projects under my belt and cut much of my joinery by hand. I think getting started is the most important thing. Later you will learn when and where to use certain methods. I don’t think that a pocket hole is going to be the end of quality woodworking by any stretch.
I am glad that you brought up the absolutes. I see everything in shades of gray personally, which has sparked this conversation. I don’t know exactly where to stop using the Kreg jig. Their products are nicely made and work well for their intention, but at some point you can have too many pocket screws. I see promotional videos for the Kreg jig and everything is pocket screwed for demonstration purposes. You can do this, but do you want to? When I saw them going crazy and pocket screwing everything, it made me feel a little sick to my stomach, like the piece was cobbled together. As this discussion has continued the separation seems to be between cabinets and furniture. While alright on cabinets (especially face frames), no one has attempted to make a case for using them to hold together furniture.
.
Cobble…to make or assemble roughly or hastily <the stranded hikers cobbled together a rickety shelter I looked that up.
I believe I've made my point……………
You’re right, I wouldn’t use them for case assembly nor have I ever seen anybody try to. I have used them twice for attaching a top rather than buttons. Both times I attached, removed, elongated the holes, and reattached. So far after a few years I haven’t noticed any splitting in either case and I live in PA where we have cold dry winters and hot and humid summers. Turns out that this was a traditional method of attaching table/cabinet tops but fell out of favor in the early 20th century. I would hesitate to judge anybody for using them, however. As I said, if somebody new to the hobby decides to use them for case construction then go for it. Whatever works for you works for me. I’m not here to judge a hobbyists furniture. I only judge it if I’m paying for it.
A band saw and hand plane are faster, safer And more accurate.
Been there, done that. I agree bandsaw is better.
Lets clarify what I meant. For repeatability on quantity as well as quality, table saw is the way to go. But pattern being copied has to be exact. Not sure about hand plane.
I’m a little late in replying, but i found this post and the comments interesting and somewhat related to a recent decision on one of my projects. I too have used the Kreg for shop jigs, a few face frames and many practical joinery tasks around the house (similar to the birdhouse example). I generally avoid pocket screws for “fine furniture” in the rare cases I find time to build something in this category.
Since my time in the shop is limited, balancing quality and time required is a relevant challenge. I have built furniture in the past with M&T joints and although I feel better about the quality, it is time consuming. In an attempt to build a loft bed for my son, I needed to find an efficient, but hidden joinery system. Although a loft bed might not be considered fine furniture by most, my version is solid cherry and “finer” than what you would find in a store (at least in my opinion). M&T was possible although problematic, especially on the 100+ inch rails. Obviously, I could cut these by hand, but that consumes even more time and man-handling the rails on the table saw / shaper was not an attractive option.
I had always been an opponent of dowel joints based on my experience with a cheap “self-centering” dowel jig years ago. In my experience this was more of a “self-misaligning” jig and the joints were never to my standards. After reading reviews and biting the proverbial bullet, I bought a Dowelmax jig. I have to say that I have been very pleased with the balance of precision and speed that this jig has provided. I have also found that it is very flexible and can handle a wide variety of joints. I created my own custom shims from aluminum bar stock and used these to put 16 dowels (2 rows of 8) in the joints between the 5/4″ X 6″ cross rails and 4″ X 4″ posts with the rails being offset exactly 3/16″ from flush. The alignment is perfect and the joint seems to be sufficiently overengineered to my standards.
Although this is not exactly related to the Kreg question it has given me a viable alternative in the joinery spectrum. I don’t know if everyone would agree, but the range of joints in the quality vs. time spectrum in my mind goes something like this (in order):
– Dovetail (where appropriate)
– M&T
– Loose tenon
– Dowelmax
– Biscuit
– Pocket screw
– Nail
– Toenail
– Corrugated fastener
– Duct tape
– Cheap self-centering dowel jig
Craig,
I too have had bad results with dowels, so much so that I pretty much stopped using them a long time ago. There just seemed to be so many directions that things wouldn’t line up. Biscuits solve this problem since one direction is adjustable. For more substantial joints, like the bed you mentioned, I have always thought that we need a biscuit jointer with an extra thick blade and thicker biscuits. Then we start drifting into Festool Domino territory and their loose tenons and before you know it we are back to traditional mortise and tenons. Bring on the duct tape.
Today, I was building another router table after the fire and decided to build a decent utilitarian unit in the shortest amount of time. I can tell you that I used the Kreg jig to hold on the top, and I didn’t even fret over whether this was acceptable or not. I was using plywood and had no cross-grain situations, so I didn’t need to worry about expansion and contraction. Going back to billattapa’s comment above on loosely securing tops, I think elongated Kreg jig holes are a nice solution and very similar to how I might handle it otherwise.
Nice article. I love maple but it’s expensive. I made the trim in our kitchen from maple and I remember trying to nail it with fine finish nails. Even with a pilot hole it was tough going. So I broke down and picked up a compressor and finish nailer.
I always thought maple took a nice finish, and is also tough(tougher) than nails. Again, nice job.
Bill,
That’s two more reasons to love silver maple. It is less expensive than sugar maple and it will take fasteners better.
Hard maple does take a nice finish because can be sanded glass smooth, but that is the reason it is so hard to stain evenly. The parts that are glass smooth take no stain and anywhere the grain changes directions the stain soaks in, causing blotchy color.
I would like to add that soft maple is a terrible choice for baseball bats! Broke on the second swing!
Silver maple is more brittle. After storms you’ll see a lot of silver maple branches on the ground. We had a sugar maple at our last house that grew abnormally with a million branches and they never fell off. Sugar maple wins the brittle battle, but when it blows up on the baseball field, it blows into a billion pieces. Even so, it still makes a better bat.
This is good stuff. I am sold. I am headed out right now to get some ..donuts.
thx.
It’s not my first time to pay a visit this web site, i am browsing this site dailly and get pleasant facts from here everyday.
Hello Scott, I got your email on the planer and threw a couple of bids in that were quickly trumped by $2.50. I guess I’ll wait a couple of days and see where its at. If nothing else, I moved the bids higher for you. I think I told you I moved to Kansas City in 2010. I’ve been busy with the day job, engineering consulting, and have neglected my wood working and saw milling. I still have the Lucas but haven’t started it for awhile. I built a 60 x 80 building on my farm with a 30 x 30 living space on the side. That’s kept me busy, and broke, for a couple of years. Concrete is not cheap! I hope to start putting up interior walls this fall and by spring be building some cabinets. I enjoyed catching up by reading your blog posts. Sorry about the fire. I do fire investigations and you are not the first to fall to the seduction of expediency. You didn’t mention how the shop equipment fared, I hope the firemen were able to save more than the foundation. Next time I’m in St. Louis I will give you a call and if you are around I’ll stop by. Our office is in O’Fallon and every few months I get to town. I really enjoyed your posts that chronical you interations with your daughter. I have a 3 yr. old granddaughter and hope to make some similiar memories as she get a little older. She is already a pretty good tag along and helper.
Regards,
ps This guy is a friend, I set him up in a location for his sawmill. He’s a nice guy, about 45 or 50, who just loves cutting up trees. His main business is custom lumber milling. Love, W
Nice post. the carts started getting hot about 1.5 yrs. ago and remain very sellable. The Ely Walker lofts downtown use one as part of their lobby furniture.
Hopefully they stay sellable a little while longer.
sassafras is in the avocado family. and there are FOUR leaf shapes, if you include both left and right mittens.
You know i am bigtime familiar was this. Still have some we cut a couple of years ago. Also have a few growing around me. Put it on the mill and it will be
a great day. WHAT A SMELL!
Scott, get me some smallish sassafras boards and I’ll make some boxes you can use (er… You can use pictures of the boxes) to show what it looks like.
I’ll even pay you for the wood! 🙂
I work for restoration hardware, these carts sell like crazy!!
I want to deliver green hickory logs and get back furniture or dried wood.
Bud,
Give me a call at 314-574-6036 to discuss. I am sure that I can help you out.
Sounds good to me, I have a great Sassafras that died this year that I would like to do the same with, furniture for green wood.
“Fisheye killer?” Never heard of it.
That would have taken me four or five times, but I would have given up before that.
Fisheye killer. Just add a drop or two. It changes the surface tension of the finish to better match what you are spraying. Silicone is a common/main ingredient. I would like to think that there is a brand without silicone in it, but the manufacturers don’t detail the ingredients.
Hey Scott. I have a question regarding scroll saws. Do you have any recommendation of a good scroll saw for a home wood worker? Thanks. Tim Plawski
________________________________
Tim,
I use a scroll saw when necessary, but I am usually very utilitarian about it. I have never considered myself a scroll sawyer and use it only as much as forced too for a specific job. I have had no problems with name brand saws like Delta and Dewalt, but those are the only two that I have used. With that said, I do have two thoughts:
1) No matter which saw you use, make sure to always have a sharp blade. I have found the scroll saw to remind me of a tiny band saw in performance and nothing makes things better or worse than the sharpness of the blade.
2) I sold an “RBI Hawk” once for a friend, and people were falling all over themselves to get that thing. Everyone acted like it was a fancy sports car that they had only seen in movies. It didn’t look that special to me, but I never used it and can’t comment on how well it worked.
Dude – How about some pics of the finish without the fisheye, hmm?
I cut my chops refinishing older pieces, and the first time you get fisheyes it’s nothing short of “what the ….” and you feel like you’re beating your head against a wall trying to resolve.
I have found that wax tends to be less problematic than silicone. A lot of the spray on furniture ‘waxes’ used over tha last 20+ years contained less wax and more silicone for the shine.
Wax is relatively easy to clean off with solvents, but silicone resists removal by many solvents. Also when you sand, even though you are removing finish, the slicone tends to be smeared around while you sand.
One caution I hope they gave you when they sold you fisheye remover was to be extra diligent about cleaning your spray equipment AFTER using fisheye remover. Fisheye remover is a silicone additive. (Go figure, use silicone to counter silicone.) You have now put silicone into your spray gun and can contaminate future finishes. I know more than a few professional painters that have a seperate gun reserved for this purpose.
I was not made aware of the silicone that I was adding to the gun and to be diligent about cleaning it. I followed the directions and had no problems with fisheye or silicone in my gun later. It makes sense that the fisheye preventer may remain in the gun after the intended use and could cause a problem. I guess I was lucky or that was the one day a year that I happened to really clean out my gun. It is all a surface tension thing and the fisheye preventer serves to make the surface tension of your finish closer to that of the waxey/siliconey surface. It stands to reason that if you don’t clean your gun thoroughly after using the preventer that your problem will now just be reversed and your finish will be slippery instead of the surface you are spraying. No matter what, after an incident like this, it is best to start with everything new and clean.
I am refinishing a walnut table. I found out the hard way about fisheyes My first time refinishing the table I strippd it, sanded it, restained and put my first coat of laquer on it. After about five minutes I started to see little holes form in my finish, not good. Stripped the table again, sanded again, stained again. Sprayed laquer and it happened again, however not as bad. Thank goodness the table is an inch and half thick…maybe a little less after all the sanding. I stripped again and sanded again I have now stained again. Should I use a vinyl sealer and then add a fishneye preventer to my laquer. I am hoping that three is a charm.
Jim,
I think the naptha is the trick. Wiping with the naptha should help clean up the wax. Test in an inconspicuous area now that you have the stain on to make sure the naptha cleaning won’t mess up your stain. Of course, it may not be wax, but instead, silicone. The fisheye preventer will help with that, but be sure to follow the directions and clean your gun after you spray like Jeremy T. recommended. The vinyl sealer shouldn’t make a difference because it will fisheye like the lacquer. Another option is a seal coat of shellac. Shellac is a great finish that works with most everything and makes a good primer for most everything. If you are worried and are thinking about a sealer of some kind, use shellac cut very thin with denatured alcohol to do the job. One side note: if you are using an oil-based stain, it may not flow smoothly on the surface which indicates that your finish will most likely fisheye. The stain will not apply evenly and be repelled from some areas. If this happens, stop staining and start cleaning/sealing/fisheye preventing.
Scott, thanks for the warning.
Mark
Mark Koritz Lexco Group LLC Bussiness Growth& Development 314-267-6944
” I have always thought that it would help to have a well-trained beaver…”
That’s the quote of the year right there. 😀
Hey, why don’t you see if that one guy will take the driftwood railroad tie for a mantle and I can have the two pine tree trunks for my workbench top?
I’m glad you liked the well-trained beaver quote and sorry to say the other pine chunk is already a mantel, so no go on the switcharoo.
The OCD in me loves this rodent…
Those carts are awesome!!! Congratulations on your find!!!
Those carts are awesome!! Congratulations on your find!!!
That is a very cool tree. That first branch is a pretty substantial tree by itself. I know we’ve got a lot of them but white oaks are probably my favorite overall tree. Must be those rays. Thanks for this post.
It might be a swamp chestnut oak, or a swamp white oak, you’d have to look at the leaves, but you are right in that it is in the white oak family. The ones I mentioned often seal off their old branch stubs with those big knobs, while white oaks, quercus alba, do less so. These are the oldest trees in my woods, usually living to 250 years if allowed by weather, bugs and humans.
If you are inspired to build a treehouse, check out a specially-designed bolt called the “Garnier limb” invented by Micheal Garnier in Oregon, it solves several problems with treehouse building. I went to visit this guy a couple of years ago, he runs a little resort (the “Treesort”) that is all treehouses, it looks like that part of the game Myst with suspension bridges connecting multiple treehouses. It’s a stepped-diameter bolt that spreads the stress of weight across a larger area, and allows for tree growth. I find it criminal how readily people bang nails into trees, and as a sawyer I’m sure you do too.
Someday we’ll build a really cool fort!
Wes,
That tree is actually very close to your house. If you go out your front door and keep walking across Shakelford, I think you will run right in to it. It is across from Trinity church.
better not let OSHA see this.
Amazing!
My boys and I also recently went “river-exploring” and discovered numerous little treasures. Anyone with kids should give this a try. Although we were hoping to find one of the newly-exposed sand-bars resulting from the low water levels we instead ended up on a rocky shore right by the katy trail a t the Page extension. We hiked a couple miles and found mussels, old railroad spikes, lots of cool rocks (endless skipping rocks), and even an old rusted fishing pole sttand that we cleaned up, repainted, and gave to the grandparent for Christmas (To: Grandma and Grandpa; From: The River Rats). My youngest got stuck shin-deep in some mud, and we traversed a concrete tunnel under the Katy Trail that was built in 1910. Overall a fun and educational adventure!
We have had a great experience working with Scott Wunder and the great variety of material available at Wunder Woods
Mark Gordon
MDG Renovations
Scott, very cool blog! Do you offer any kind of resawing services? I have several 4/4 billets of Panama Rosewood ranging from 4″-8″ wide X 36″-75″ long that I’d like to get resawn for acoustic guitar sets. Please let me know if that’s something you offer, or if you know of someone else in town that does.
Thanks
Brad,
I do not officially have a resaw, but I use my sawmill to resaw when necessary. It is not as accurate as a resaw and mine is not yet up and running since the fire. Locally, I recommend that you call Bill Hibdon at Hibdon Hardwoods. They import logs and mill them for guitar sets as a large part of their business. I know they resaw and, if nothing else, they will be a great resource for you and your guitar work. My second recommendation is Fehlig brothers, also downtown. Pat O’Leary is the man at Fehlig you’ll want to talk to about shop work like this. They don’t specialize in guitars, but I use them a lot for other shop work that I can’t get done efficiently myself.
Great job Scott. How will you finish milling it?
The sycamore in the photo was quartersawn on the sawmill next. If I am flatsawing the log and it won’t fit on the mill, I just cut off one side and then mill that piece separately. Each log is treated differently depending on the final product I hope to make from it.
So you have the Timberking up and running?
Not quite yet. It is cleaned up and I have it set up in the new shop. I have a 15 hp electric motor that we have started wiring up. I still need to get the motor mounted too. It has a bigger footprint than the gas engine and needs a new baseplate.
Be sure to buy me something. Long trip for me to get there. Maybe new cordless impact.
Matthew Laposa 636-219-4597 Sent from my iPhone
Thanks for the info. I ‘m planning on going and VERY excited.
Great story and awesome result – your kitchen is beautiful!
Hi Scott, You say some people are snobby about their firewood…a few years back I had a big tree blocking my view of the river. Scoping it with binoculars I saw from the large, pale-green maple-shaped leaves it was a sycamore about a quarter-mile away down in the woods. I thought real hard about just where it was, and walked down there with a chainsaw and found the tallest sycamore around. I felled it and, well-satisfied with myself, marched back to my yard to check my accomplishment – to see the tree was still blocking my view! I eventually found the right one, but felt bad about wasting that tree. Later that year I needed some firewood and went down to the felled sycamore so at least it wouldn’t be a total waste. After only about six months lying on the ground the entire log had turned to soft cheese. It’s all just humus now, but I still feel bad about needlessly killing that tree. Wes
Scott, Thanks for a great story. You’re the best.
Nice stuff!! You have a extra one? LOL
To quote a classic… You are excited? Feel these nipples!!!!
Fantastic Mr. W… Looking forward to giving it a whirl.
In the year 3045 when mainstream furniture production utilizes robots and lasers to make furniture- old fashioned purists will use Kreg jigs because they are more “authentic”.
Humorous, thought provoking and perhaps dead-on. Thanks for the chuckle.
https://woodgears.ca/joint_strength/pockethole.html
This guy tests other joints against Kreg Joints, the only issue in have is that I wish he would have glue the Kreg joints like he did for the others
Do you have any carts left?
I have about 150 left. Feel free to call me at 314-574-6036 to talk about them.
Hi,
It’s been a while since any posts were made here. Any carts left?
Great information!!! I really enjoy your postings
Mom
_____
I don’t mean to sound ignorant I found one of these on Craigslist, are you selling some of these carts?
I am selling them on Craigslist and ebay. I had 200 of them and I am working on selling most of them.
Do yourself a favor, spend the $400 and buy a Festool. You will never love sanding so much… And it will be oddly dustless
Scott,
Good post. More, or better tools are no substitute for the right attitude and mindset.
Chris
Hello! Are you selling these???
I am selling these, and I just got some more. Give me a call and I could send you some pictures. 314-574-6036.
After all of that you lost the logs? WTF I’m sure your wife is just peachy about that. Sounds like a Scott adventure. It’s the journey, not the destination.
I lost the logs. I am hoping that maybe the root chunk is still there wedged in the piles, even though I pretty much cut it out. I will tell you though, that river is large my friend and that isn’t the only walnut out there. The next one will be right next to the boat ramp.
How could you tell it was a walnut before you cut it?
Since I only take free logs, a lot of the logs I pick up have been laying around for awhile. I have gotten good at figuring out what they are in various states of decay and have always made a game of it. In this case, there were a few characteristics that narrowed it down to walnut. First off, it wasn’t an oak or ash. Those are very open-grained and this was not. That took out a big chunk of choices right there. The next obvious ones to consider on the river are bottomland trees like cottonwood, sycamore and silver maple. This log was really old, but really solid. Any of those trees would have had rot issues somewhere along the log and this one did not. Sycamore was also ruled out because the grain was pretty straight and sycamore is always obviously not straight. That left me with only two choices; cherry or walnut. Both are highly rot resistant and are similar in grain. I have found a lot of logs like this in both cherry and walnut that were done on the outside, but still completely solid throughout. Plus, I like to think positively and tell myself that it is one of those two. The thing that nailed it down for me was the terrain of the surface of the log. The ripples were exaggerated from the water running over them for so long, but I have seen walnuts with a similar structure below the bark. Especially in summer, the bark falls off and exposes the waviness. This tree also had the shape I would expect from a walnut that grew to a large size close to a river. It was fairly clear at the bottom, but quickly started to show knots and branches in the second log, indicating that it grew in a somewhat open spot. It didn’t take long for me to be able to imagine it standing along the river at the bottom of a pasture in a thin line of trees and whispering, “I’m a walnut.”
LOL. Seriously? That’s the end of your story?
hahahaha…
Sorry. That totally sucks, man. I would have bought all of it, you know. Just that log, though, nothing else. It looked like it had some amazing character.
Full retail price, too.
🙂
Everyone is willing to pay full retail for stuff I don’t have. Maybe I’ll find one even better if and when the river goes back down. Then I’ll be sure to give you a call.
You know all I really want is some 5″ thick SYP that’s wide enough I only have to glue up two or three pieces at the most for a bench top, right? I’ll settle for fir. Or Hemlock.
Just stop selling it out from under me. 🙂
Love these carts! I have one in my family room. My son is into woodworking like you and I wish he would do what you are doing. I know these are popular because I hosted a bridal shower last year and some of my guests went crazy over my table. Keep up the great work and I’m sorry about the fire. Subscribing to your blog.
Thanks Kathy. I love the carts too. I just picked up some last week that are extra cute. I am going to post on my blog after I get some photos.
do you have any extra sets of hardware you would sell?
I do. Give me a call at 314-574-6036 and we can discuss.
OMG!!! This is hard to imagine… So glad to know everyone in the old neighborhood made it through ok. Very weird to see much sky around the old house!!
My condolences
Scott,
I lost a cluster of these trees a few years ago to disease and finally had Roger mill them. They grew together so there was a lot if interesting grain patterns. I’m looking forward to using it for a future project.
This is a very interesting article. i appreciate all the information you included. the photos are terrific. Thanks.
Hey, looking to find a lineberry. Do you have any left? Do you ship? Thanks!
I don’t have any Lineberry’s, only Nutting and Francis. I do have some left and I do ship them. Feel free to call me at 314-574-6036 to discuss.
The state champion American Elm is at Bellefontaine Cemetery in (near?) St. Louis and has a circumference of 191 inches and is 102′ tall with 122′ spread.
This looks pretty close!
Bulges are the worst, but easily explained away…
“Oh, uh, it’s the pleats… the pleats in the pants. It’s an optical illusion. I was just about to take them back… to the pants store. Oh this is embarrassing.”
(Sorry, brother. I tried not to comment. You are practically asking for it, though, right? Don’t blame me.)
My partner and I stumbled over here coming from a different web
address and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you.
Look forward to going over your web page for a second time.
Glad you like it. I’ll try and make sure there is something to come back for.
It is a cool place. Whats up with the Army Ads? wow good job on that.
We love the Botanical Gardens!
Hi Scott. I just read your latest installment and when I read about the osage orange it reminded me of something. Here is a picture of a giant one at my dads plumbing shop in leavenworth ks. It is supposedly one of the largest in the state. It may actually be on record as the largest. I figured you’d be into it.
Hope alls well with you. I’m good. The jointer is fantastic. Stupendous even.
I just was talking to a friend I get wood from who was telling me about some kind of disease the ash trees out here are getting where the center of the crown dies and the rest of the tree follows. Was wondering if you’d seen it at all in Missouri. It would suck if ash became hard to come by. It’s a nice tree too. It was one of the few that didn’t totally get screwed up by the hurricane winds last year.
Mickey McCann 410.533.1794 http://www.mickeymccann.com
I love the “gardens”!!! I take the kiddos about once a week to check out the ever-changing blooms. They love it, but it’s mostly for me … I’m with you, you walk in and the world seems miles away. We should do a concert together 🙂
Any idea why white oaks have those bulges where they abandon branches? It’s a diagnostic feature on the swamp white oaks at my house: old branch lumps on the trunk.
This tree was in a residential area, so I don’t know if the branches that didn’t heal were poorly pruned, died out or were ripped off. Most of the time it seems like the problem is a dead branch that just lingers and doesn’t fall out, which then makes a cone shaped entrance into the middle of the tree when the branch finally does fall out. It may be a case where the durability of the
lumber works against the tree. A branch that rotted off quicker would have a better chance of healing over. Just a hypothesis on my part. I see it a lot in White Oaks and it is sad to see that just a small opening can bring down something so big and old.
Wow – I love the piece you have for the tabletop. What a beautiful piece of wood.
Beautiful. After a hard day you’ve got Perennial Ales right next door!
Sent from my iPod
Oh, hey, there is a bench top, Scott!
Great story. Who amongst us is beyond the major boner like that one. 🙂
Can I share a story, admittedly not as good as yours but one that I will never forget.
I once tried to move a wall switch over a foot during some remodeling. It was a complicated little sucker with three switches in the plate, two of which were 3-way switches so it had wires coming out of everywhere. I made absolutely sure to draw a diagram where every wire was to go on the new insert, one stud over.
I got the new one all wired up and set up a test lamp in one of the outlets. It didn’t work!! Say what? Man, did I rack my brain and drawings to figure out what the heck I did wrong. Nothing worked. What the heck did I do? Needless to say everything was buried behind dry wall. Everything worked before I started and now it doesn’t.
Four hours later, sweating bullets, I decided to walk my test lamp over to another outlet to check it out. Would you believe fate had decided to surreptitiously blow out the light bulb in that test lamp right at that moment in time between when I first tested the original switch configuration to when I rewired the new one.
A simple bulb change in the lamp announced that I had wired it correctly four hours before.
Mike,
Thanks for the story. I always use a hairdryer so I can hear it (especially helpful when working alone), but I guess I would have had the same problem if Chris burned it up just before I grabbed it.
Hey I plan to contact you but before I do first of all do you have any of these carts left? I would love one! I actually just came across the Lineberry Factory Carts site @ factorycarts.com and they actually can be bought directly from them for $350 and $450 for a totally redone cart which looks like it just came off the factory floor. Of course that doesn’t include the shipping price. There”s also a guy on Etsy that’s selling some for around $300 a piece. So what’s the best price you can do??
I hope my post doesn’t offend you I’m just a starving artist and single mom so I’m just trying to get the best deal I can. I’m familiar with architectural salvage and also know the market my backgrounds in furniture design so your right on they are also out there for exorbitant amounts. I just thought I’d share some resources I’d found so I had them also to back me up, but not to dissuade your buyers market either because i feel for you having to start from the ground up again after loosing your shop and revenue to fire. So I give you kudos for coming up with a clever way to market some salvaged finds.
Best of luck to you, and I’d also like a bargain if i can get one!
Thang Que!!!
No problem. I am not offended. My carts usually sell on ebay and go from $150 to $600 depending on condition and if the bidders are feeling frisky that day. I sell them from my shop for $250 -$300 for the good ones. For fun I went to the website that you directed me to and noticed that two of their photos are actually my photos of carts in my shop. I’ll call it flattery.
Agree with you about using walnut outside. I find that it not only is durable and strong, it is beautiful and works so nice. I have a cherry stump in my ward that is the result of a tree that was cut down 25 years ago and I believe I could get a fair amount of material from it. I am from south Louisiana and now live in North Louisiana and love working in wood. I have cut plenty logs with a chain saw and enjoyed seeing the inside of these beautiful things before anyone else. Keep up the good work. Larry
Sent from my iPhone
You sold me walnut for an english garden bench 8 years ago. Still solid — and I thought it was me
You are solid! I can’t believe it has already been eight years. Seems like just yesterday.
I recently toured the basement of an old warehouse and purchased 9 factory carts. All different styles. I have found some names on a few (Hamilton/Thomas) but most have no markings of the manufacturer…but some have the original purchasers label/stencil. Where do I go to find out what I have?
Good question. Most of mine have been Nutting and Francis with a few others tossed in (Thomas, for example). Usually, they are in batches and all are similar, so once one is identified you know what the others are. At the same time, I will tell you that I have run across several one-offs and some that I couldn’t identify. I haven’t found a good source yet for determining the maker, except for markings and luck.
I do rather enjoy being indirectly referred to as an “irregular” woodworker. Scott is correct in assuming that I would strongly recommend against utilizing four quarter lumber for large lamination… Or anything for that matter.
I see four quarter lumber as the beginning of 20th-century industrialization. We were able to Utilize more accurate cutting; a reduction of handwork necessary for flattening allowed us to utilize thinner wood and faster drying cycles. This also created an environment in which lowered grade logs were yielding somewhat higher grade Thinner boards. My issue is less substantial furniture with thinner boards… This leads to the downward spiral of cheaper, faster, more Homogenous pieces of craft work.
In this case you were adding more glue lines to a highly moisture sensitive surface. You are just asking for d-limonene issues
De-lamination
First off, for everyone else out there, realize that we (Martin Goebel and Scott Wunder) could argue about this all day long and still not come to an agreement, but we probably won’t kill each other either.
I would argue that if we are willing to use glue to join boards to make a table top at all (which both of us are) that there is little to no difference in adding lumber to make up the thickness. The scenario I have presented is perfect for glue as there is no cross-grain situation and all of the boards are glued to boards that will move the exact same amount and direction. After all, they are from the same board. You can’t get a better setup for glue. I have no more concerns about the boards coming apart with the additional thickness than I would have without it.
The thick wood/thin wood argument brings up a topic for a future post. And, that is the discussion of drying thick wood or logs before they are milled into finished lumber. There is a point at which wood is just too thick. Either too thick to dry completely or quickly, or too thick to not crack, check and split. As the wood gets thicker the inherent stresses in the tree start to dismantle the lumber as it dries. Again, I am not saying don’t use thick lumber, I love all lumber. But there is no way on this earth of ours to produce a 12″ thick piece of solid white oak lumber without checking or splitting. If your directive was to produce a contemporary (non rustic) mantel in the 12″ range, it could not be done. The splits automatically put it in the “more rustic” category. I would argue that a contemporary piece this size would have to be built from thinner lumber. Thick lumber isn’t always the answer.
Anyone else can respond. It doesn’t have to be Martin.
Beautiful and brilliant. Thanks for the info.
Thanks, David! I don’t know about brilliant, but every now and then my brain fires on more than one cylinder.
Scott,
Great post and very nice work! We did the same thing with our granite island top. It appears to be 6 cm thick – if the whole thing really was that thick it would probably crush the cabinets.
The weight is an especially important factor on granite. And with granite, you really have to work with what is available. In this case, the weight would not have been a deal breaker, it was just the amount of wood.
When the underside corner miter is being laminated with the off cuts, why the differ widths of the off-cuts?
There is no specific reason for the different widths. I had a little extra on the ends and left it a bit wider. Figured it couldn’t hurt in case I gave that end trim a little accidental Karate Kid action while I was handling it.
this calls for a martin v scott—claymation death match
Love how you added the edge profile to hide the glue lines. great work.
using Doyle scale how many board feet does a 59″ dia 8′ log have?
Wow! A lot. I will have to do some math and get back to you. In the meantime, let’s see some pictures and what is it?
That log has about 920 bd. ft. in it.
hello im looking for a tape measure scaling stick. I’ve seen one at work but no one can find them any more. Its a regular tape measure on one side and a scaling stick on other side. Do you know who makes or where i can find such an item..
I normally order from Bailey’s online. I checked there and they don’t have anything like it. I have never seen a tape measure for scaling logs myself. The closest is the folding log rule, but it is not a tape. Let us know if you find one. Hopefully, someone else will know and reply.
thanks anyway i work with the guy that has one ill post back with the manufacturer if theres ones on the rule all i know is that it is yellow with a tree on it?
Im just learning to use a scale, so I may be wrong. My sacle only goes to 47 inches. The best I can figure is a little more than 676 board feet.
You will need the log length as well as the diameter to figure out the board feet. My scale only goes to 44″ on the skinny end, which is a very big hardwood log. Of course, they do get bigger, but 44″ will cover most of the hardwood logs out there.
Dearest,
I am looking for a full set of hardware(everything but the wood) to make muself one of these awesome carts, the problem is i live in holland so the shipping of a whole cart costs a fortune, please contact me if you can ship me a set, you’d make me very happy.
Greets,
Nicky
Nicky,
Sorry, but I only ship in the US.
Thats unfortunate, but in that case i’ll arrange the shipping myself through an acquiantance in NY.
What will the shipping cost to send it there, and what are tha approx. size and weight? (Considering you are willing to sell a set of just the metal hardware) And ofcourse, what will that cost me?
I hope we can work this out, i really want one, but the ones i’ve come across in europe were way to expensive
Greets
I sell a set of hardware for $175. I will send you a photo of them before I ask for payment. It seems silly to ship to NY, just to ship to you. If you would like to arrange the shipping on your end, I will be happy to get it to you directly and skip NY.
Please do send some pics if you please. And how will i have to arrange shipping? Sorry i don’t understand what you mean. I hope you can help me acquire a set with your experience. PLease contact me on my e-mail for further details. Greets, Nicky
So you sell just the parts, I’m wanting to make one and just need the hardware.
I do sell some sets of hardware when I have them. Contact me through my e-mail at wunderwoods@sbcglobal.net with your details.
I like! And should make the observation that the previous post was about the virtues of thin wood… Yet all of this unique high quality wood is cut 2.375″ thick. Need I say more? Claymation death match goes to Martin
The last post was not necessarily about the virtues of thin wood, but how to make it work for you. The Claymation death match has not yet taken place, but this pre-death match does go to Martin.
If you find something in the Missouri at my place I’ll help drag it out with chains and cables and tractors. Still can’t figure out how you identify a tree of driftwood, they all look like cottonwoods to me.
I am glad you brought that up. Today, we were out looking for treasures, and I found some more interesting walnut pieces. Nothing worth milling, but they showed characteristics in the driftwood that gives the walnut away immediately. I also have found some white oak that stands out. One of my next blog posts will be on the river wood ID.
Do you sell and ship the parts for a factory cart. Just looking for the hardware. Thanks
I do. I will e-mail you, so that we can discuss the details.
beautiful piece!,,,quick question(s),what application method was used to apply the waterlox? bristle brush, sponge applicator, spray? about how many coats? did you use the watewrlox intended for marine applications or the original? did you thin it at all? and if so, with what and at what proportions?
I use the original Waterlox, purchased at a local Woodcraft store. Apply it with a cotton cloth/rag. Just pour it on and smooth it out. It doesn’t need to be thinned normally, but I could see occasions where thinning would help or be necessary, especially when pieces are large and it is hard to get consistent coverage before it wants to set up. Even if it does start to get sticky, as long as you can pull the cloth through it, it seems to flatten out. The countertop has several coats on it and is fully protected, but does not have a thick film of finish. The customer wants to use the top and be able to repair it when needed, so a heavy film thickness is less desirable. If I was trying to achieve a thicker finish, I would spray the Waterlox, but at that point, probably change over to a conversion varnish with a high solid content. The Waterlox is nice because it is consumer-repair friendly and is protective without being thick and plastic-like.
Do you have any large carts left and what would be the price. Are they expensive to ship? We live in DC.
I do have carts. I will e-mail you directly with the details.
Thank you again. My wood GOD
They say I should reply to all of my comments, but I don’t know what to say to that one. Your welcome?
Hi Scott, There’s a monograph by Ferdinand Cohn, written in German about a hundred years ago that describes torsion in trees. In your experence, do they tend to torque in any certain direction? The sycamore you show has a right-had twist, that is, if you ran your right-hand fingers along the cracks, your hand would travel in the direction of your (also right-hand) thumb. Does this indicate some “right-handedness” in nature? Or is it like with people, some percentage, say 15% are left-handed? I’ve wondered about this a long time.
I have never paid attention to the direction of the twist. In a quick, informal survey of slightly twisty logs at my shop, one went to the left and one went to the right. I thought that it would matter which end of the log I was looking at, but it doesn’t. If it goes to the right, it goes to the right, no matter which end you look at.
Brad, I have a Lineberry cart that has 4 left side corner post holders, it was modified awkwardly by somebody long ago. Do you have (2) ESP 14-R post holders you would sell so I can restore this cart?
I don’t have any Lineberry’s. Sorry, I couldn’t be more help.
Do you have any lineberry hardware including wheels for sale, if so what is the price and would you ship to Kentucky?
Sorry, no Lineberry’s right now.
Try Nelson Cold Storage in VA, he is a little pricey but has a lot of old Lineberry parts. I ordered a couple of corners from him for $45 each, they were the right parts and came prepaid. I had to have the exact part and he had it.
congrats for working the word booger into an article Joseph Pulitzer would be proud. The razor does work great.
I did labor over that a bit. I couldn’t say it any better, so I went with it.
It’s a great tip. Thanks.
If you go on a hot day, find the water-filled quarry about 100 yards beyond the picnic tables. There’s a ledge for jumping in, and the finest swimming pool in Missouri: huge, smooth-sided and carved in living rock. The Other quarry is straight beyond the Elephant Rocks from the parking lot. Johnson’s Shut-Ins is a great side trip nearby.
Scott – we just did this in July – amazing! I cannot believe I’ve lived here my whole life and never checked this out before. Another recommendation – if you don’t pack a lunch – check out the nearby town of Caledonia. Two good lunch restaurants and the a historically-accurate dry goods store – it is like stepping back in time (cool for grown ups who like old stuff) and they have old-school penny candy and kooky toys that the kids went nuts over (cool for the tinys who like new stuff). Johnson Shut Ins is next on our list – can’t wait!
This is pretty cool. I did not know formations like this occured in the Ozarks. If you ever want to see something really cool, just shoot down I-44 to Lawton Oklahoma and go to the Wichita Mountains. They are easily the most impressive things in that part of the country:
http://www.trailgroove.com/issue9.html?autoflip=57
Great post. I’ve been to Elephant Rocks many times in my life and I’m ashamed to say never paid much attention to the trees. I will the next time. Thanks.
Very nice, very nice indeed.
Scott, very nice,
MK
Mark Koritz Lexco Group LLC. Looking for Rental Properties Please call or email 314-267-6944
Surely, you are going to finish the stairs and get rid of that tinker-toy contraption? Rather, safety hazard.
Not sure what tinker toy contraption you are referring to, but I didn’t work on the stairs. You may be commenting on the lack of a handrail, which I assume is in the works. They can’t pass a final without it.
I didn’t see that part about the beer and a couch
This thing needs a like button…
be sure to wear safety glasses when using nippers as the cut off piece shoots straight back at you!!!! most pros hold their hand over the cutters when cutting nails etc.
I’m one of those lucky enough to always have glasses on, but for those of you that don’t – watch out! They do tend to shoot shrapnel if you are cutting with them. Most of the time I use them to pull instead of cut, but then again, sometimes they end up cutting when I think I am just pulling.
just saw you in a Dave M video took a double take
Great article I’m one of those guys that has long stood and stared at the spray guns and wondered………do I or don’t I? Now I think I have my answer and thank you for it. Over the last couple of years I have began to to use lacquer almost exclusively this is why you post realy got my attention. So I do have a question what do you mean that you just leave it when you finish there is no clean up. I’ve been told that if you don’t clean out the hose and gun and everything it will clog it all up this has been truthfully one of my big hang ups on buying such a system. Could you explain this a little more. I love your post keep up the good work.
Jeremy,
If you use pre-catalyzed lacquer (solvent-based), it will break down with lacquer thinner. If your gun gets clogged or gummed up, just soak it in lacquer thinner and you are ready to go. Since I don’t clean as much as I should, I will keep spraying until the gun doesn’t shoot well and then spend a little extra time cleaning it. Again, it is mostly soaking the gun in lacquer thinner with the possible addition of a little elbow grease.
If you took a little extra time each time you sprayed to clean the gun, you probably would never have an issue. I just can’t make myself do it.
You’re not going to work tomorrow are you?
What, a little snow and -10? I say yes, Chris says stay home? My customers say get to work. Chris most likely wins. Sorry, customers.
Scott,
Another great post! You left out one item that I thought you would include – use of Trans-Tint (on sale at Rockler right now by the way). Super easy to just add it right to the material canister full of lacquer and spray away!
Dave,
Great idea. I do want to talk about TransTint and decided to make that its own separate post. As you know, I use them a lot and have a lot to say about them. Sounds like it may be time.
I finally took your advice and tried it. They are expensive but a little goes a very long way. I was trying to repair a worn maple raised panel from the hall bath vanity where the finish had rubbed off. It was fun to try different colors and mixtures in water on maple scraps until I got it close – when I applied it to the panel it worked amazingly well.
I just finished a batch of the Cub Scout crosses that we made (44 of them) and I knew that it was time to use the HVLP sprayer. The Tint gave them just the right amount of color to warm them up. Thanks for the advice.
Hi Scott – loved your story regarding your affection for factory carts….
My cart affection/addiction is just beginning, and as an amature cabinetmaker, I have a vision for making a bed that looks like a factory cart.
(I missed a great opportunity a few years back to purchase multiple carts and I am really regretting it now).
I’ve been searching on-line for a set of cart hardware (seen a couple on ebay) and am getting ready to make a purchase. I did not see on your site that you sell just a hardware kit so I wanted to check in with you first before doing the ebay thing. Please advise. Thank you for your time. JDB
I do sell parts. Give me a call at 314-574-6036 and we can discuss the options.
I love Simple Green for cleaning saw blades of all kinds (and other metal) with pitch/gum/etc.
You sure you’re not getting ready to write a book! Pine oil cleans things up
as well. But Simple Green does smell better. Hope all is well with the family.
It also works great on creosote. Nasty, years old stains just wipe away.
Scott, Scott, Scott… Buy NO MORE of those crepe (crap?) rubber sanding belt/disc cleaning sticks! Go out to the garage and get a cutoff piece of white PVC pipe (or I’ll bring you a piece the next time I see you) and give it a try, instead. Works just as well. And it’s a heck of a lot cheaper.
Ethan, Glad you brought that up. I encountered the PVC trick while doing more research and it looks quick and easy. It appears to work like the rubber sanding belt cleaners, only with more backbone. I haven’t tried it yet myself. The wide-belt sander has sensors everywhere and is made to shut off if the doors are open, so I can’t officially use the PVC on the wide-belt sander. I will definitely try it on my hand-held belt sander and disc sander.
I showed everyone at the Build a Backsaw class at the guild workshop when the disc sander got clogged. Works like a charm!
OK, Simple Green works great for cleaning belts, which I must try.
However, does it darken Cherry?
Good one! I assume it doesn’t, but I better try it just to be sure.
Gina McCarthy would like to talk to you about your lye disposal
Do yo have any suggestions for beams that are already installed?
Nothing easy. I have never worked on beams that were already installed. The only change I imagine could be reasonably made would be with the finish. With different stains, glazes and topcoats they could be made to look older. The shortfall is that any surface changes like a hand-hewn finish really can’t be done on the ceiling.
Scott – You can also “Dress the Belt”, that is, remove slight inconsistencies in the feed belt by lowering a running sanding head/belt down and VERY GENTLY sanding the (moving) feed belt. Kind of the reverse of the Drum Dressing procedure. That way you end up with the sanding head “matched” to the feed belt.
I have a big compressor already. Do I need a special type of HVLP air gun to use with it, or will any quality HVLP air gun do the job.
Years ago we used Deft lacquer at a tech school where I took an evening class. We always left the gun full.
Leo Weisman, the self confessed tool hound and occasional builder of nice things.
You will need one for a compressor. The air is delivered to the gun differently between a compressor and a turbine and needs to be handled differently at the gun. A turbine is high volume low pressure, while a compressor is typically considered low volume high pressure. The compressor gun adjusts the pressure at the tip to deliver the air at low pressure. When purchasing a gun look at the air inlet to be sure you are getting the right one. At the bottom of the handle a compressor gun will have fittings or openings sized for a compressor. A turbine gun will have a much larger fitting or opening, big enough to handle a garden hose. Also, the handle itself will have more girth on a turbine powered gun.
Hi Scott
I have been following your blog and really look forward to them. I saw the last one about Walnut veneer logs. I have a friend who has a log that may qualify as a veneer log. Could I get the address and phone number of the mill that buys your veneer logs. Being able to sell it would really help him out.
Thanks
Glenn Hill
Tracy export is the company. My contact is Damian. The phone number is 618-337-6126. Their yard is in Cahokia, IL, but they will pick up if there is a load of logs.
Thanks for the fun story. I think the bird marks could be a story of their own on the right piece. Benches or bartops lend themselves to these types of flaws. I’m glad it didn’t go to veneer and make no apologies to your pocketbook…okay sorry a little
I have been cutting some old growth Doug fir with lots of pitch. the simple green works great. But, I just noticed on the simple green web site that it says not to use the all purpose cleaner on un finished wood. cant find an explaination of why,or what happens though.
Hi!
I want a factory cart table, but I’m sure shipping to New Orleans would be out of my budget. Do you sell/ship complete hardware sets like the ones on your blog?
Shipping for a full cart or a set of hardware is about the same at around $100. I sell part sets for $150 and full carts for $250-$300.
I had one. I killed it. (a chop-saw jumped up and attacked it.)
Scott, Thank you for taking the time to create this post, this is a great tutorial and exactly what I have been looking for! Bruce
Two wrongs just made a right. Take that, Universe!!
Really EXCELLENT video!!
Thanks, Kevin. It was fun too.
That was great Scott. I’m low on lumber. Do I need to call to set up an appointment?
You have great operation Going on. Little jealous. Amazing Big Red is still operational ! I have a few projects going on. Still have the Woodmizer. But getting logs and moving them is a challenge. By the way, the round table is kick ass!
Matthew Laposa 636-219-4597 Sent from my iPhone
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Thank you Matt. Big Red is still operational. I used to think I was going to get a new truck someday, but now it is obvious I will die in that thing. I have already had it for 15 years. I bet it has another 25 in it. After I replace everything it will be like a new truck, just never all at once.
Great video! Need to get that advertising team on board. . .
Thanks. I am thinking about firing the current crew and starting over. They are just worthless.
If I ever have trouble I will know what to look for ! Thanks !
Is the sanding sealer sprayed on? Thank you
I spray it, but it could be brushed on as well. I spray as much as I can for speed.
That’s awesome. Fixing doors are my specialty, and I never would have thought of this on my own. Of course I have other methods, but simple solutions like this fascinate me.
Just thought I’d add my two cents. I use Lufkin 1000 HV1312 12′ tapes and love them. I was a welder for 5 years and that’s all we used. They’re very durable and only $12. I use the Lufkin in the shop and when I’m doing something big where I need more than 12′ I have a 25′ Stanley Leverlock that I’ve had since ’97! That’s what they made before the FatMax tapes. Supposedly they’re gauranteed for life. I took one back before that one that I screwed around and broke the end off and Wal-Mart exchanged it no questions.
Ingenuity at it’s finest! Maybe you should commercialize this so others can have your sticks lying around in their shops buried under other stuff so that when they can’t find them they can invent even more alternative methods to measure liquids. . . . 🙂
That’s a great idea. I can supply the wood for the ingenuity part.
we have an unusual hard maple crotch that we would like to sell …is there a market for it?And how do we go about doing that?
Brian,
I have avenues for selling veneer logs and have tried to find buyers for specialty pieces like crotches but haven’t been successful. I have often thought about working backwards from veneer suppliers to get to the veneer mill, to then get to the log procurement department but have never done so. Crotch veneer is coming from somewhere and I assume that they need crotch logs to make the veneer. It seems like I would have “bumped” into somebody that messes with them by now. For me, it is still one of the mysteries of life.
I live on a ten acre place in the country in Johnson Co. Iowa. At least 20 yrs. ago I had a man from the Extension Office come out to look at my trees. At that time there were three acres of trees. I was particularly interested in what he thought of an old burr oak on the edge of the trees. He said it was there when Lewis and Clark made there journey in 1804. I have since let the rest of the property go to a wild state, planting a number of trees over the years. There are numerous 15 ft. burr oaks growing near this huge 200 plus year old tree now. My wife and I just went out to measure it. It is 128in. in circumference and 43in. in diameter. The crown as near as I can tell is 65ft. and I just can’t estimate how tall, maybe 70ft. One day years ago I saw a bald eagle perched in its highest branch. What a sight. I read online that the biggest burr oak is in Woodford Co. Ky. Its is 500 years old, is 287in. in circumference,90in. in diameter 104ft. tall and has a 93ft. crown!
I think that is pretty neat to have such a wonderful old Burr Oak on your property. Or any Burr Oak for that matter. It is fun to think about who might have sat under your tree over the years. The Burr Oak is my favorite because of its beautiful form, and of the huge “chicken egg” sized across that it has. They are just amazing to hold in my hands. I want to take them everywhere as not many in my area know about the trees. I purchased the acorns over the years as I wanted to see if they would grow here. Well, they do and they grow fast if they have a lot of sunlight and water. As fast as a Maple tree. But I can see where their growth would be slow crowded with roots from other trees. I now have 7 on my place, and this is their 3rd year to have acorns. They produce acorns at an earlier age then other trees as they had their first small crop at 7 years of age. I would love to be around when they become huge, but I will never see it. I would love to see an old Burr oak in person, and have only looked at the pictures. I think they are the prettiest tree there is. So feel good about your old tree, as many have sat under it’s branches. Maybe some famous people as well. I enjoyed reading your story.
Hi I found a Nutting cart in a chicago alley it is in beautiful condition. Someone removed the orginal wheel hardware. I have the 4 corner hardware. The cart has spec in a circle. The Nutting stencil is still on the cart. I believe this is a longer cart. I want to use my cart as a coffee table. How do I know what hardware belongs on this cart? My name is Chris Donda my cell is 773-807-1451.
E-mail me some photos and I should be able to help you out. WunderWoods@sbcglobal.net.
Hi! My name is Maria, and I’m just beginning my journey into wood and woodworking (I’ve been making small things like hair forks and pendants for a bit over a year now), and I’m also new to WordPress. I was looking around for interesting woodworking blogs to follow, and I found yours, and I think it’s really great and informative. Nice to meet you. =)
M.
Good luck on your new blog.
This is so interesting! I’ve never heard anything from inside the sawmilling world, and it’s really enchanting.
Thanks Maria.
Where do you get the Trans Tint products? Thanks so much for these posts. I enjoy all of them.
They are available from Woodcraft or Rockler.
Thank you for your advice, it’s been invaluable. We’re restoring the 140 year old pine beams in our vaulted ceiling, which were painted with a thick dark reddish stain. Now stripped back they have texture and colour variations galore but are disturbingly bright orange. Can you recommend something to tone it down please? We’re aiming for a medium oak finish leaving the grain and darker aged marks visible. Many thanks
Whenever I am working on matching colors I keep around different colors of TransTint stains. I use them to push colors towards a color I want or to kill colors I don’t want. To kill the orange color, you will need to stain with a color that is opposite on the color wheel, in this case, blue/green. Once you kill the orange, then you can stain a darker brown, if necessary.
Check on Ebay under Nutting carts or Railroad carts. There is also a company in Virginia you can find by search- Lineberry carts, he has a lot of various parts but is high on price.
I am under it right now. Remarkable. I am on vacation and don’t have my forestry tape to measure the DBH.
Here in Mn, the Siberian elm is a decent tree. Thus far, it has been hardier than its cousin and is not susceptible to classic elm disease. Almost everyone dislikes American elm. It is second class to oak, and dies too often…it volunteers everywhere. I saw it in a floor in Wisconsin and thought it surpassed oak for beauty. And, of course, in England, lots of things were built with elm. And I am not sure if it was ‘American’ elm , but I doubt it…thanks for the post.
Dan,
Thanks for the input. I was at an arborist conference last year and there was a lot of talk about Siberian elm from a presenter from Minnesota. Siberian elm was brought in to replace dying American elm trees. It does not die from Dutch Elm disease, but has other issues that make it less desirable as a tree. It is brittle and will easily break in storms and it is often tormented by other issues that leave it looking less than perfectly healthy all year long. The presenter from Minnesota, specifically addressing power line issues and breaking branches, put Siberian elm at the top of the “Do Not Plant” list.
Both American and Siberian elms are prolific at spreading seeds, which helps them pop up in unplanned locations.
I think American elm is one of the prettiest woods around and I am a big fan of Siberian elm too. I often recommend them to my customers for woodworking projects.
I have no input on elms from England since I have no official experience with them, but I am going to put my money on them not being American elm.
Good evening, interesting topic. I have a cutting board, made by those guys; http://boardsbyjoel.com/hardwoodRounds.htm
What do you think is there process??
Cheers
David
My guess is one of the chemical treatments, either PEG or Pentcryl. I doubt Joel will be in a hurry to share the info with us.
What? No shiny plastic!? Fabulous. Sarah
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I was wondering if it would help to carefully 1/4 the cut end thru the middle (pie cuts), let it dry and then clean up the cut edges and “reassemble” the round. I know that even with thin kerf cut it would be hard to realign the grain- but it might give a stable result. Any ideas?
Reassembling pieces after they are dry will work, since most of the shrinkage happens during the initial drying. It will require two pieces that match that can be split before drying and then machined and reassembled after drying. The results can be more than satisfactory, but still a lot of work for what everyone assumes is just one cut.
I love this natural play structure! Do you have any natural playground structures for sale?
Where might I find info related to stopping bleeding sap from pine lumber?
I have no official sources off the top of my head. I will tell you from my research and from personal experience that the only way to stop bleeding sap from pine lumber is too kiln dry the lumber to a high temperature and it will still not be enough for large pockets of sap. If you are talking about sap bleeding through finishes like paint, shellac is the trick. Shellac or products containing shellac (like Kilz) will seal in the sap and keep it from bleeding through the paint.
Reblogged this on b19y and commented:
A great write up on what you’re actually doing when you acclimate hardwood floors and trim.
Wood flooring requires room to expand after installation as seasonal increases in humidity occur, especially across the grain. At least 1/2″ of clearance around the perimeter of a room is needed. I have seen the consequence of inadequate clearance (buckling) and it is not attractive.
All of this acclimating talk is no substitute for good woodworking practice. You still have to let the wood move and leaving a gap along the walls in a hardwood floor installation is a great example. Thanks Jim
Visit a stringed instrument shop and the humidity will always be strictly controlled. Usually well bellow 50%.
here’s yo a most happy and productive new year! Sarah
Healthy New Year to you.
so, WHY is elm your favorite wood?
Scott,
You are truly an artist. Happy New Year to you, Chris and Mira!
You had a good year! I’ll try to have one as well. Many pieces to build for family. Have a great year.
Matthew Laposa 636-219-4597 Sent from my iPad
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Thanks Scott, I enjoy reading your post and seeing your projects. Happy New Year!
Beautiful Scott! Yes, please post more pictures of your work.
Happy New Year!
Im a car painter and would like to use my spray gun for a furniture project. What tip size should i use for lacquer? Would u suggest thinning it and how much. I use a 1.4 tip for car paint and clear coat with a reducer.
It’s the same setup for either one. I use my gun for painting metal parts with car paint as well and don’t change the tip. 1.4 is what I use too.
Excellent job with this method, Scott. I&#