In my quest to find the perfect finish… ah, it’s every woodworker’s dream… but seriously, as I mentioned in earlier posts I’m in the process of trying different finishes so I picked up the double whammy combo of U-Beaut’s Shellawax Cream and EEE-Ultra Shine.

These products give a finish that looks like a French polish that brings out lights and grain in the wood. It adds a whole new dimension to a turned item in a matter of seconds. Sounds too good to be true, but it is. They were initially designed for use on high end, exhibition, museum, gallery and collectors quality, woodturned items.

Shellawax Cream is a friction polish that also doubles as a buffing polish. On the lathe it gives a brilliant shine in seconds, can be handled immediately, is non toxic and water resistant. On woodcarvings and flat surfaces it gives a rich deep shine in a matter of minutes. It is a fusion mixture of pharmaceutical grade white shellac and a number of highly refined, non-toxic waxes with a shelf life of several years.

EEE-Ultra Shine is a cut and polish paste wax containing Tripoli powder, an ultra fine abrasive. The polish is designed to be used in conjunction with the Shellawax Cream.

Continue reading 'U-Beaut Shellawax And UltraShine Polish'

1. To sand in a hard to reach place just cut a piece of sandpaper to fit on the end of a tongue depressor or popsicle stick and glue it on. Then trim off any excess sandpaper. If you need a thinner sanding surface the tongue depressors and popsicle sticks split very easily. Split and then glue on the sandpaper.

2. Clamps too short? Extend your clamp length by joining two clamps with a third one. Sometimes you can get away with just two clamps if the angle of the clamp heads of the two joined clamps is suitable to your application.

3. If you need to countersink screws inside a drawer for a drawer pull simply drill the hole for the draw pull screw. Then, keeping the drill bit in the hole, mount the countersink cutter to the bit where it extends into the inside of the drawer. Reverse the rotation of the drill and gently pull back to create the countersink.

4. When cutting a slot for an exposed spline use an outer dado blade instead of your regular combination table saw blade. The raker teeth on the outer dado blade will create a flat-bottomed kerf instead of the V-bottomed kerf made by the alternating teeth on the combination blade, thereby allowing the spline to seat properly with no noticeable gaps. This bears repeating, only use an outer dado blade. Never use the inside dado blades alone!

5. When filling nail holes with putty there is often the tendency to apply to much. This results in more sanding and can leave ‘oil’ marks on the wood. To eliminate this problem place masking tape where you are going to nail. Then pound in the nail, sink the head, fill the hole and remove the tape. All you are left with is a small bit of putty that is easily sanded and leaves no mark.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

Back to the shop…

From all indication Woodworkers Safety Week 2008 has been a huge success! Throughout this past week there has been a slew (my new word) of blog posts related to workshop safety from a wide variety of woodworkers and from an even wider variety of perspectives. The woodworking forums and blog comment areas were also abuzz with helpful tips and personal ‘horror’ stories.

The purpose of Woodworkers Safety Week was to “refresh our memories about the importance of safety and proper techniques”. Too often we sidestep proper safety cautions, get complacent or are just unaware of the inherent dangers with woodworking. This week focused on these issues, bringing attention to areas of required safety, the necessity of being alert to them and some steps to take to ensure that your shop and your work habits are following these safety guidelines.

When The Wood Whisperer, Marc Spagnuolo, announced the first annual week devoted to safety in the workshop it was quickly supported by the woodworking community. Throughout the week bloggers, podcasters and vidcasters turned their attention to this serious issue, creating a cornucopia of workshop safety articles.

Here is a list of some of the posts that were made over this week. You’ll find some great safety tips, a bit of humor, some gruesome images and lots to think about!

Continue reading 'Woodworkers Safety Week 2008 A Success!'

Here’s a cutting board that I just finished today that is made out of Maple and Cherry blocks in a checkerboard style with two Cherry ends.

It measures 8 1/2″ X 10″ X 1″ thick and finished with Tried & True a combination of linseed oil and beeswax.

Back to the shop…