1. When carving Cottonwood Bark ensure that the wood is no more than a year off the tree. Cottonwood Bark contains a waxy oil that will dissipate over time and cause the bark to become brittle and dry. Once this happens your chisel will break the edges of the bark, making it hard to create a quality carving.

2. Make a scribble mark on the waste side of a cut to ensure that you remember what side to make your cut on.

3. Static cling causes dust to attach itself to your faceshield. Wipe your faceshield with a laundry dryer antistatic sheet. Try a sheet that has been used in the dryer at least once because a fresh sheet will leave streaks and a sheet that has been used too much won’t have enough ‘cling repellent’ left on it to be useful.

4. When sanding by hand without a sanding block you can keep your sandpaper from tearing so easily by covering the back side with duct tape prior to use. This works well with palm sanders too.

5. One annoyance when using an orbital sander is that it continues to spin after it has been turned off. Instead of buying one of those ‘sander sitters’ just use a piece of carpet that has a bit of pile.

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.

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1. When building a deck it’s possible to straighten a warped deck board – even when working by yourself – with the aid of a scissor-style car jack. A 2×4 cleat screwed to the supporting joists allows you to exert enough force with the jack to straighten the board. Then screw the board in place.

2. Sawdust and shavings from Pine and Oak lumber can be composted to form a nutritious mulch for gardens, shrubs and trees. It is best to mix it with other compost like leaves and grass clippings. Never compost sawdust from pressure-treated lumber, plywood or particle board which contains hazardous additives.

3. Some woods, such as walnut or oak, are very tough and hard to carve. You can soften the wood up by applying de-natured alcohol to it. The alcohol will not cause the grain to raise like water will. The alcohol, of course, will evaporate with time.

4. Need to fill in a crack or check? Mix sawdust from your piece with glue and put into the crack or check. When dry, sand and finish as usual.

5. Use a framing square to find the center of a circle by placing the corner of the square on the circle, and marking where the legs meet the circumference. Draw a line from one mark to the other. Do this a second time. These lines intersect at the center.

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.

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1. To draw a line parallel to the edge of a board quickly, set the blade of a combination square to the desired distance. Position the flat side of the square against the edge of the board, and place a pencil at the end of the blade. Pull the square and the pencil toward you to draw the line.

2. To measure the diameter of a round object make a simple gauge with a ruler and two squared pieces of wood. Place the round object between the two blocks of wood and then measure the distances between the two blocks.

3. Wrap a piece of sandpaper around and old deck of playing cards to make a handy contour sander. The deck of cards will shape itself to the contours of the workpiece.

4. An old phonebook makes a great renewable work surface for small painting and gluing projects. Simply tear out the dirty pages to provide a clean work surface.

5. Although tack cloths are fairly inexpensive you can make your own by moistening a lint free cloth with equal parts of turpentine and oil-based varnish. Store homemade tack cloths in an airtight container.

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.

Back to the shop…

1. If you have a moisture problem in your shop keep your cast-iron tools like your tablesaw and lathe bed covered with heavy cotton bath towels when not in use. This will keep rust at bay and save you countless hours removing rust.

2. The strongest wooden tool handles have wood grain that runs parallel to tool head. Handles with grain running perpendicular to the tool head are more likely to break.

3. Hold a saw at 90 degrees to the workpiece for fast cuts. This leaves a rough edge. Hold a saw at 45 degrees to the workpiece for most cuts. This produces a fairly smooth cut. Hold a saw at a 20 degree angle to the workpiece to make very smooth cuts.

4. On the tablesaw cut boards that are too wide for the miter gauge in its normal position by turning it around so that the gauge precedes the workpiece.

5. Checking for square is crucial when building frames, boxes, cabinets, drawers, etc. To check for square quickly measure the distance of the diagonal corners. The measurements should be identical if the workpiece is square.

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.

Back to the shop…