/shop-and-studio-how-to

Woodshop How-To

We are often asked about our woodworking techniques and finishing routine. No mysteries here. We use standard woodworking tools but are working in a very small studio (under 400 sq ft!) so must often keep that in mind when getting new tools. See Amazon links at bottom of page...

  • Newest cool tool: Bessey Auto-Adjust Toggle Clamp – Brilliant!

  • Second newest tool: the Wixey Digital Angle Gauge Fantastic – why didn't someone make this years ago? Set it on your table saw (and other tools), press a button to zero it, attach it to the side of your blade and presto! whatever angle you choose will be right on – particularly good for setting 45º. Not 44.8º or 45.2º – precisely 45º. Also useful for many other setups. Copies are widely available now.

  • Grizzly G0691 10" 3HP 220V Cabinet Table Saw. Fairly new, it’s the workhorse of my shop as with most woodworkers. We use thin kerf blades fairly often, except for miters – thin kerf blades flex too much for miters. We also use blade stabilizers if possible at all times.

  • JDS Multi-Router Joint making machine. Highly recommended for many joints and routing. Easy to tap holes in table for all sorts of jigging uses. I use a vacuum (venturi) clamp for holding lids to route out the recess for inset, for example. My Multi-Router has been going strong for over 20? years (it was about a third the price then!) Beautifully built machine.

  • Rikon 10-325 14" Bandsaw. Nice saw - sure beats the ancient Delta 14" I used to have. I’d prefer a more robust bandsaw but this will do.

  • Ridgid portable 13" planer. Nice, it replaced an ancient Ryobi 10" planer that I ran miles and miles of wood through.

  • Grizzly G0586 8" jointer. Nice tool, replacing a first generation Grizzly 6" jointer that was not. Grizzly has come a long way…

  • Some routers: Bosch 1617EVS 2½ HP – terrific router, it's now on my Multi-Router. A Dewalt 621 plunge router and a Dewalt DW670 Laminate Trimmer. Several more have died.

  • Porter Cable 557 biscuit joiner – nice! Not really used in making our boxes.

  • Half a dozen finishing, random orbit, pad, and belt sanders. Our most often used is probably the Makita 1/3 Sheet Sander and several little Ryobi 1/6 sheet sanders that are, unfortunately, no longer available. The little Ridgid R2740 3" x 18" belt sander comes in handy occasionally. Tracks well, light and dust collection works OK (but you should hook it up to a collector.)

  • Jet 6"x48" belt/12" disk stationary sander. Used constantly. Nice tool.

  • Jet 17" floor drill press. New – seems to work quite well, longest spindle travel for it's size.

  • Sawzall for occasional rough cutting to length.

  • Ancient Grizzly two-bag dust collector that I’ve updated with new cyclone system and filters. We'd be dead by now without it but it's not even close to the efficiency of newer collectors.

  • JDS Air-Tech 2000 Air Filtration Systems (the box-on-the-ceiling type). Cleans out air-born dust quickly and efficiently.

  • Miller Respirator. Best light weight dust mask I've found so far now that the Dustfoe has disappeared.

  • Several Japanese saws. Wonderful to use.

  • Grobet detailing file is in use constantly. Not cheap!

  • Japanese and Western chisels.

  • Grab bag of other hand and power tools found in any shop.

  • Many, many shop made jigs, templates and forms. As any woodworker will tell you, making jigs is half the fun.

As for our finishing routine (standard boxes):

  • After assembly and band sawing sides, we disk sand with 50 grit.

  • Belt sand 150. Lids are sanded after band sawing with 60 grit against grain and then with grain using 150 grit belt.

  • Pad sand or big belt sander 220.

  • A LOT of hand (or fingers) sanding of all those areas you can't get with a machine.

  • Some woods like rosewood are sanded to 400 or 800.

  • Cleaned thoroughly (compressed air) before finishing. Final inspection before it's too late!

  • A coat of "Watco Danish Oil" to bring out the color and somewhat seal. Wipe down thoroughly and let dry overnight.

  • Two to four coats of standard Deft nitrocellulose lacquer. Yes, lacquer does work over Watco. Deft is slowly being withdrawn from the market.

  • Lightly sanded with 800 sandpaper.

  • Hand rubbed with Fibral Abrasive Wool equivalent to 0000 steel wool. Not as aggressive as steel wool and more expensive but, oh so much nicer – no more bits of steel wool floating around my head although we still use steel wool too.

  • Polished with cotton cloth by hand (yes, hand-rubbed!) The result is a nice semi-satin.

  • If you prefer an oil finish for your projects ("oil varnish"), I'd recommend WaterLox, a great oil varnish – tough, fast drying, builds up nicely. Or try Minwax Wipe-On Poly. Tough finish. We used it on our kitchen island that gets much use (although no chopping!) Closer to the resin end of the oil/resin scale.

  • During the process we use a lot of cyanoacrylate adhesive. Starbond makes excellent CA, along with a newcomer from Glu Boost. We use tons of it on punky wood like spalted maple. Just keep pouring it on (kind of) and eventually you have a hardened surface.

Here are some suppliers I use (that are online):