Sadly, there just isn’t a lot of advice out there when it comes to working with wood. You may dream of crafting a beautiful chair or table, but how do you begin. This article was written with you in mind, offering tips and tricks you just won’t find elsewhere, so read on.
If you will be using stain, always do a test on an inconspicuous area, or scrap of wood. This will prevent you from getting an unwanted stain color on your final product. Wood is unpredictable at times and you should do this test so that you aren’t disappointed by the results.
Your workbench height is important. Measure where your waist is from the floor. Your bench will be at the perfect height at this measurement.
Clean your saw’s teeth before cutting lumber. To thoroughly clean your saw blade dip a shop rag into a little acetone and wipe the blade thoroughly. Additionally, using a piece of sandpaper that has a fine grit will remove any sap or gumminess from your skill saw’s cutting blades.
Keep all of your woodworking tools in a safe and dry place. You want to be sure that your tools are not in reach of children, as well as that they will be safe from moisture and other elements that can cause them to degrade at high rate. Follow this rule and your tools will last a long time.
If you have your own table saw, you will eventually have to crosscut some wood. This can bring your fingers very close to the saw guard and blade. If the saw kicks back, you could be headed to the hospital. It is best to cut a block of wood to push the wood through the saw with.
Learn how to find the center in a piece of firewood every time. Mount some flat scrap wood to the lathe’s faceplate. Attach an acrylic piece to it using some double-faced tape. Chuck that in your lathe. Turn your acrylic to a disc. Using a 1/16″ bit in your tail stock chuck, drill a hole through that center-point. Scribe some concentric circles on to the disc at 1/2″³ intervals using a skew chisel. Position this center-finder over the end of your stock and adjust it until one of your circles is inscribed completely in a portion of the wood that is solid and usable. Using an awl or nail set, mark your center through the central hole in the disc.
If you plan on applying any gloss or stain to a piece of wood, it is very important that you sand it down first. Failing to do this step will result in a wood surface that is not very smooth. Use sandpaper to smooth things down then make sure all dust s removed by brushing it with a cloth.
You can prevent glue stains by placing masking tape along the joints of wood being adhered. First, tape the wood together along the joint, then use an Exacto knife to cut through the tape at the joint line. Following this, glue the pieces of wood together and clamp them. Just before the glue has dried completely, you can peel the tape off.
Attached a small magnet to the bottom of your hammer’s handle to hold several nails when working above your head or on a ladder. This simple technique allows you to keep your nails handy and avoid climbing up and down the ladder when you are working above your head.
With all of this advice fresh in your mind, the time is now to tackle the world of working with wood. Any project you have dreamed of creating is now within your reach. Take your time as you review each tip and start to use it as you build your first project and the results will be astounding.
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