Staining Plywood Steps

1. Sand to 220 grit Make sure to sand the surfaces, start with 100 grit and work up to 220 grit to give a clean surface. Use a tack cloth to remove all dust. 2. Clean plywood with mineral spirits Using a rag, clean everything with mineral spirits. This will highlight any dried glue that […]

Waterfall Miter Joint: dowels or floating tenons

When looking to miter two long pieces together for a TV stand, it seems the popular option is a spline for strength (which also gives a nice look with a contrasting spline material). However, since I don’t have a table saw I looked for other options. (I did see some people make jigs to use […]

Review: Kobalt 9 Drawer Tool Chest

When looking for a tool chest there was a compelling video comparing the Harbor Freight 9 Drawer Tool Chest to Home Depot’s 9 Drawer. At the time of the video, the Yukon from Harbor Freight had more slide rails, drawer pads, and a fixed top that the Husky from Home Depot did not. But that’s […]

Woodworking Clamps

“You’re always one clamp short” is how the saying goes (I think). Make sure to check craigslist and garage sales to find some bargains on used clamps. F-style clamps Shaped like the letter F, clutch-style bar clamps are very common in most shops. They offer greater width than C-clamps and are quick to adjust to […]

What the heck is tack cloth?

After watching a lot of youtube woodworking videos I see that everyone uses a tack cloth to wipe the dust off their projects. I feel silly now as I assumed it was just a rag and didn’t realize the “tack” part of it meant “tacky” or “sticky”. Tack cloths come individually wrapped in plastic to […]

Glubot Glue Bottle Review

I’m not a fan of the Glubot glue bottle. When I first got it, I couldn’t get any glue to come out of the nozzle. (This is using Titebond II woodworking glue.) After trimming the nozzle back several times I finally got an adequate amount of glue. However the bottle is stiff and hard to […]

Woodworking Marking Tools

Four common ways to mark up wood stock and draw cut lines: lumber crayons, pencil, carpenter’s pencil and marking knife. While woodworking crayons don’t seem to be popular, they are great to quickly markup stock and do rough layouts. A bright red mark is much easier to see than a thin pencil line. Also you […]

Woodworking Shop Vac Buying Guide

Don’t choose a shop vac based on the Horsepower rating alone. Horsepower can be gamed to sound more powerful than it is. You can only get 2HP from a normal household 110 volt outlet. The higher ratings printed on the box are for peak draw in some perfect conditions at the manufacturers facility. Make sure […]

Black Friday 2020 Power Tools

There’s some great deals currently on combo tool sets and other items. Remember to check camelcamelcamel.com for price changes to see how the price compares to past prices. A great starter miter saw is the Dewalt DWS715 which is on sale at Amazon right now for $199 (finally back down from $235 or more). There’s […]

Saw Blade Hook Angle

Table saws blades have a positive hook angle (or rake angle) as this pulls the wood towards the blade and down onto the table. The forward leaning teeth pull down on the wood and keep it against the table. In contrast to a miter saw, which benefits from a negative rake angle, as it pushes […]