Hi, I’ve got a friend who is starting their own shop. I’d like to get them something nice for Xmas. Ideally something small, but really practical that they would keep on them (think Gerber multi tool, but for woodworking). Any suggestions? Looking to spend no more than $200.

Hi there I'm a clueless hobbyist DIYer and contemplating getting a power saw that will serve me best all around. I'm not sure how to describe my use case, it's occasional repairs around the house and maybe a build once a year. I already found needing a power saw on a couple of instances lately. I see pretty much everyone recommends a jigsaw as a first due to it's versatility and ease of use, but i find it impossible to cut perfectly straight lines with it (eg to stitch together tow pieces) and therefore thought about a circular (handheld) saw. WDYT?

I'm a novice at woodworking and am making a kitchen nook L bench with storage and hinges lids. How can I make this look seamless / flat without adding much if any height? Thanks in advance!

Hey all, I’m a garage guy working on walnut and white oak live edge slabs and I’m turning them into cutting boards. I’ve got some pretty noticeable twisting/warp on my boards and was wondering if anyone had any pro tips for getting a nice flat surface to work with. I saw the posts about wetting the surface and placing it on a trashbag and have that going on after I took this photo. Thinking a belt sander is in my future to help take care of the rest since I only have an orbital at the moment. Maybe it’d be better to get signed up with my local makerspace and see what tools they might have available? Let me know your thoughts, thanks!

Just to preface, I make wands for wiccans/pagans. I had a whole small Black Willow sapling (uprooted in a storm) that I had heat-hardened and was saving. I used a 15" length to make a single wand on commission 4 months ago, the test had been sitting in the garage since then. I went back to get some blank piece made (I sell blank wand bodies for a base price, versus varied prices for commissions), and I picked up this single 25 1/4" piece. I cut it in half into two 12 5/8" pieces, and when I sanded off all the bark and fibers, I found this beautiful spalted pattern hiding underneath. I sanded it to 600-grit and piled it yo bring out that pattern. Just thought you all might like to admire it with me~

TL;DR - I was saving willow for another project and it spalted in the meantime. Look. Pretty, right?~

50 year old 7 piece bedroom set. This is the long drawers. I'm a carpenter. I move rocks now because I hate myself for charging what I would need to in order to compete against the past.

So for the last several years I’ve had a 4, 5, 7 stanley that are probably 60-70 years old. They are in really good shape. But I had to spend a lot of time flattening the bottom and have always spent a lot of time setting them up to get good shavings. They are all fickle little bitches.

I will need to sharpen the blade. I’ll pull blade out and get a good razor sharp blade, put it back in the plan and then spend another 45-60 min futzing with the damn thing to get a good clean shaving with a good surface. Between my OCD, not being proficient at setting them up, and having no reference to compare to, I have spent hours setting them up to get ready to use…only to be right back at the start…needing to sharpen the blade again…because I spent so much time trying to get it set up…I can’t get the damn things set where I can sharpen the blade and then put it back set the blade depth and go…always having to fiddle to get it to work…on top of that I don’t trust them…once I get them set up, and I know I’ll need to sharpen, i’m reluctant to pull the blade out because I know it will be a 2 hour endeavor to get it back usable again…if i’m lucky.

That’s all I have experienced…well…Lee Valley sent a “Veritas Manufactured Seconds” ad. I said fuck it and decided to grab a Low Angle jack…just came in today….

First…I can’t even tell it’s a manufactured second…literally looks perfect to me…there is no pitting, no scratches, no marks no nothing….there is a very small maybe the size of a ball point pin head nick on a corner but I wouldn’t have thought twice about it even if I paid full prices…if that’s even what the issue was…so that’s a win…

Well I threw the blade in set the mouth, set depth of cut put it on a piece or a cherry and pushed and what do you know…a nice pretty shaving…small depth adjustment and a small side adjustment and tada, an amazing see through full width shaving leaving mirror like finish. It’s absurd…literally took 5 min.

It makes me actually want to pick it up and use it rather than side eyeing the damn thing being reluctant to put the damn thing on a piece of wood, not knowing how much time i’m going waste fucking with the plane.

This is my first high quality plane lives up to what people say because…I don’t want to go back.

Hello, I understand the differences and processes st a high level. For my purpose of wanting to make some tables/cutting boards. What should I get for breaking down rough lumber for table tops or cutting boards?

I see the positives of a jointer. But see lots of planer sleds that would do face jointing. I have a track saw I can ensure square and do the flip method for edge jointing. So think I can go ahead and get a slightly better planner with my budget.

Just want to sanity check my thinking. Most of my wood working is basic, getting into more items with different woods.

Cheers

Anyone have success with staining Douglas fir? Large interior beams need to stained and I’ve done about 28 samples and combinations of minwax so far and not loving anything due to the variation across grain. Thanks for any tips!

Guy on FB is selling these; 1.75” thick, and were a tabletop. 75” long each.

Please tell me it’s black walnut…

I'm refinishing our mid century teke dining room table. I decided to strip and sand it down, as the previous finish was discolored and I wasn't positive what it was at first (turned out to be old polyurethane, I think). The table cleaned up nicely and now I'm looking for recommendations on how to finish it for regular family use. We have two elementary school aged boys who aren't rough, but are kids. They sometimes spill drinks and aren't the most dainty of eaters. I was considering teke oil, but have started wondering if polyurethane would fair better with kids being kids. Thanks in advance!

I acquired, this, and actually a second one slightly bigger, through my work as an Arborist, I would like to turn this into a serving platter/decorative thing or at the very least preserve it's beauty in one way or another, where would I start? How would be the best way? I know that I will need to let it dry out, and get a meter to test it's moisture content but outside of that I'm lost.

I have a 78 year old triple planked vessel with a length of 36', beam just under 12', and draws 6' with a full keel. She weighs 17 tons. I'm preparing it for a wood reclamation project. I was a part of the world's 2nd largest Douglas Fir reclamation in 2012 from a 3 story cannery built in Kenai, AK in 1926. I've been looking for examples of similar projects, and found Acorn to Arabella's (channel on YouTube) disassembly of a mahogany sailboat of similar proportions to mine, except only single planked. Does anyone have any connections to similar projects that have taken place? I'm hoping I could get the boat diassembled over the course of a month, but a bluewater sailboat is built a bit differently than a building, and I only have limited wooden boat repair knowledge. I'm sure it will be easier than building it, but this vessel is heavily overbuilt by some of the best boat builders in the world.

Thanks!

This is my third attempt at building drawers, I've had to make hacky fixes that I felt discontent with so this was my penance. All done in 3/4 Baltic birch, handles made from offcut 2x4s. To make everything square drawers I fit the drawers together with dados

I'm looking to build a gaming desk out of red oak butcherblock. I've read countless suggestions as to what the best finish and sealer would be for a project like this. Does anyone have any good reasoning as to what the best choice would be in terms of a good quality and durable finish?

Bought a Milwaukee 30 degree framing nailer, which nails would be complaint for NJ?? Any recommendations?

The picture is from a painting pallet box from Artcharya, it holds the lid open around 115 degrees.

Hey all!

New to wood working, made my a few cutting boards and other things.

But now I’ve got all two black walnut panels. Bought em for $30 bucks each

2 foot by 3 foot by 2 inches.

What are some easy ideas on a nice cutting board gift ideas or other newbie gifts? All for the holidays.

Very new beginner here:

I went to my local woodworking shop and found a box full of import wood scraps for a few dollars a lb.

So I grabbed a few that were close enough in size.

I am not too worried about the width as they are close enough for just some trial and error practice, but for the height, how would I get these all to the same height. Can I hand plane them that much ?

Note: I am trying to learn using hand tools.

If you had to give some advice to a small group of young adults (mid 20s) that you were teaching how to use a table saw, what advice/knowledge would you give them that is unique, an ah-ha moment when you were learning, or something you wouldn't find on a generic youtube video that has a title like "5 THINGS TO NEVER DO WITH A TABLE SAW"?

I am teaching a table saw workshop (4 hrs, 6 students) tomorrow. I am not a new teacher, been doing it a while, mainly teaching design, digital fabrication & design, and woodworking.

Teaching how to use a table saw is always challenging compared to other equipment. Any thoughts on unique, non-obvious advice you would share with a group of students you were teaching? Or things that you would maybe demonstrate that really hits home on key aspects of using the saw.

I’m hoping to maybe get some crowdsourced ideas for what I could possibly make my lady of 9 years this holiday season, given the fact that I think I’ve made pretty much everything for her and my house is stacked already with items.

I have a shop full of great wood of all types, large stock and off cuts.

I’m and laid off unemployed guy who just had his car totaled in an accident this week (this was my source of income during the interim), so I won’t be going to the lumberyard any time

We both have a mid-mod sense of style.

So far I’ve made her: Armoire rotating mirror stand Office desk Cutting boards for days Coasters for days Keepsake boxes/jewelry boxes Lazy Susan for table

I’m just a bit brain locked for ideas and given my life circumstances I’m not just at an overflowing wealth of ideas currently; any sort of kick start would be appreciated!

This is what I’ve drawn so far. I’ve never done anything with plans before. I usually just refinish my/repair things. The closest I’ve came to building shelves was buying brackets and screwing planks to the top of them.

I’m planning on making each shelf solid. I don’t think hanging totes like TikTok shows is a smart idea for the long run.

I’ve measured out a nook of my garage that this area will go in and I think I’ve figured it out but I’m not confident and would like a couple extra eyes on it before I commit to the lumber purchases

I’m refurbishing and turning this old dresser into an entertainment center for our basement. The plan currently is to keep the three drawers on the bottom and the two drawers in the middle and have one long shelf where the top two drawers used to go. Im going nail in some 1/2” plywood on the bottom and sides to create this shelf.

My question is, what can I do I support the top if I cut off that top middle support? Or do I even really need any support? The only thing it should hold is pictures, decorations, etc as our TV is mounted in the wall and our cable boxes and router should go on the shelf I make.

I’m also not opposed to keeping it but my wife thinks it’ll look better without the center support. I’m fairly new to woodworking so any suggestion is helpful.