Quarter-sawn wood costs about twice as much as plain-sawn. So, why use it? In order to understand the benefits (and extra cost) let’s look at how the material is milled from a tree. Imagine this is a log ready to go through a sawmill. I’ve sketched out plain-sawn cuts on the bottom half, and quarter-sawn cuts on the
Question: In Ontario, Canada, I have free fallen trees cut down by the city to walk away with. How long is too long to consider fallen wood to be not green enough for re-sawing? The trees have been down two winters. What tools and blades will do the job? Submitted by anonymous Answer: It can
Question: What can I do to prevent my timber from splitting open? We manufacture furniture in South Africa – Cape Town – then we transport it up country as soon as the furniture is delivered. A month after that our turned legs craps open. We use a glue called Balcotan 100 which is the best
Question: Simple question maybe. How is the best way to dry wood cut from trees? I have several around the farm here, ranging from pecan to Oak. During fall we trim them up and think they would be a cheap supply. I have heard several ways using a coat of latex over the cut ends
Question: George, I have the same system throughout my workshop, garage, and Shed, (from the George’s Solid Wood Storage video) but I put 3/4 ply down for more consistent support. Do you think the ply was a good or bad idea? Submitted by Tim K. Answer: No, no problem adding a plywood deck. In fact
I recently bought a SawStop tablesaw. (Is that the sound of applause I’m hearing?) On the one hand, it was an easy decision. Who wouldn’t want the blade brake safety feature only SawStop offers. On the other hand, it wasn’t a snap decision. In fact, years went by between the time I first used a
In an effort to better document my work (and possibly move into sales), I’ve begun to focus on my photography skills. One major need is light, preferably diffuse and bright-white. After checking my options online, I decided that cheap clamp lights sold in big-box stores were a better idea. Only thing is, they cast harsh
Many woodworking projects require the ability to render a perfectly square edge on a board. There are many ways to perform this task, but nothing matches the performance, precision and repeatability delivered by the motorized jointer. Getting the jointer to deliver on its potential is not particularly difficult but, like most things, it requires proper
As I’ve stated in earlier articles, my shop (like many others) generates a lot of small pieces of wood, each one precious. My wife just shakes her head and often accuses me of buying scraps! I’ve turned those piles of scrap into lots of fun projects like cribbage boards, serving trays and napkin holders. This
In the 21st Century it is rare that a tool can revolutionize a wood joinery technique, yet the Festool Domino does just that. It borrows the portability and engineered fasteners from the biscuit jointer, and the robust joints created by a slot mortiser to result in a super-efficient joint making machine. The first time I
