SHOP & STUDIO HOW-TO
We are often asked about our woodworking techniques
and finishing routine. No mysteries here. We use standard woodworking
tools:
- My 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 45 degree angle. Not 44.8 or 45.2 - precisely 45. Also useful for many other setups.
- 1956 Atlas-Clausing table saw. Weighs a ton, it's the workhorse of my shop. We use thin kerf blades mostly, except for miters - thin kerf blades flex too much for miters. I also use blade stabilizers at all times. If anyone knows of a source for parts
- 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 fifteen years. Beautifully built machine.
- Delta 15" bandsaw. The old standard. 3/8" 4 tooth hook blades mostly. Equipped with 6" throat extension.
- Ridgid portable 13" planer. New and very nice, it replaced an ancient Ryobi 10" planer that I ran miles and miles of wood through.
- Grizzly G0586 8" jointer. New and it's a nice tool, replacing a first generation Grizzly 6" jointer that was not. Grizzly has come a long way...
- Some routers: Newest is the Bosch 1617EVS 2½ HP
 - terrific router, it's now on my Multi-Router. A Dewalt 621 plunge router , two big Hitachi M12Vs , and a Dewalt DW670 Laminate Trimmer . Several more have died.
- Porter Cable 557 bisquit joiner
 - nice!
- Half a dozen finishing, random orbit, pad, and belt sanders.
- 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 rough cutting to length.
- Grizzly two-bag dust collector. We'd be dead by now without it!
- JDS Air-Tech 2000 Air Filtration Systems (the box-on-the-ceiling type). Cleans out air-born dust quickly and efficiently.
- Dustfoe Dust Mask. Best light weight dust mask I've found so far.
- 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 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 even 800.
- Cleaned thoroughly (compressed air) before finishing. Final inspection before it's too late!
- A couple of coats of "Watco Danish Oil" or "WaterLox". Wipe down thoroughly and let dry overnight.
- Three or four coats of lacquer.
- Lightly sanded with 800.
- Hand rubbed with Fibral Abrasive 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!
- Polished with cotton cloth by hand (yes, hand-rubbed!)
- If you prefer an oil finish ("oil varnish"), I'd recommend WaterLox, A great oil varnish - tough, fast drying, builds up nicely.
- During the process we use a lot of cyanoacrylate adhesive. Starbond makes the absolute best CA, much better than anything I've tried. We use tons of it on punky wood like spalted maple. Just keep pouring it on and eventually you have a hardened surface. We use it to glue up laminations for our lid insets and it has many other uses.
Here are some suppliers I use (that are online):
|
