Outdoor wood furnaces Experiences with outdoor "water stove" heating systems. March 20, 2001
Honing Your Way to the Perfect Edge An extensive discussion on chisel and plane iron sharpening walks through the basic and advanced aspects of creating a shaving-sharp edge on your hand tools. May 13, 2013
Tapering Bow Laminations Thoughts on how to make tapered laminations for glued-up archery bows, using either simple or advanced equipment. December 28, 2006
Math for Helical Stair Parts Pros find and discuss a formula for figuring helixes (it's a real head-scratcher). April 11, 2005
Specialty Sawing Vocabulary A newcomer asks for definitions of terms like "resawing," "ripsaw," and "chopsaw." December 30, 2005
Touching Up the Burnt Ends of a Routed Flute Here's advice on cleaning up the rounded end of a flute if the router leaves burn marks — and on scraper sharpening, and on how to avoid those burn marks to begin with. February 11, 2010
Rough lumber dimensions Understanding basic lumber dimensions and how to calculate board footage. April 20, 2001
Faux marbling Creating a decorative finish to match a marble mantel. November 22, 2003
Sharpening Hand Tools with Sandpaper Chisels and planes take a keen edge using increasing grits of sandpaper glued to glass. Here, pros discuss the fine points of achieving that wicked edge. December 15, 2005
Maintaining Sharpening and Honing Stones Solid advice on selecting and using water stones and oil stones, and about how to keep them clean and flat. November 16, 2010
Steam Box Construction Ideas Here's a handful of ideas for building a simple steam box for steaming and bending wood. December 9, 2010
Oversize End-Grain Butcher Block Woodworkers kick around the issues raised by a client's proposed DIY project: a 4-foot by 7-foot butcher-block top. October 2, 2007
Curved Staircase and Rail Discussion The Furniture-Making Forum takes on an architectural question: bending and laminating wood for curved stair projects. July 25, 2005
Drawer construction High-quality, cost-effective methods of drawer construction, and tips on joinery. March 28, 2001
Reviving an Old Sharpening Stone Here's the story of an old, legacy grinding wheel and the difficulties a woodworker encountered while trying to make it work again. January 2, 2012
Quality Control for Picture Frames The fine art of woodworking: a discussion of wood choices, moisture control, and other key issues involved in creating picture frames that will be stable in service.June 12, 2014
Dado processing Methods and equipment for producing dados. October 30, 2003
Steam-Bending Kiln-Dried Purpleheart Purpleheart is one of the most difficult woods to bend, especially after it's kiln-dried. But here are some useful tips on how to best do it. September 10, 2007
Steam Bending Leopardwood and Lacewood An informative thread on steam bending versus lamination of curved pieces, and on the different properties of Leopardwood and Lacewood. April 4, 2011
Steam Bending Alder Pondering whether to steam-bend alder for a curved shutter frame, a woodworker hears that other woods, or other methods, may meet his needs better. April 21, 2011
Options for Carving on Cabinet Doors A cabinetmaker looks for practical ways to make bas-relief carvings on wood cabinet door faces. September 23, 2006
Considering Bifocals As we age, some of us need bifocals for good close-up and distance vision. In this thread, cabinetmakers who've switched to bifocals discuss the fine points of different types. September 21, 2005
Tumble Sanding for Toy Parts Advice on how to cobble together a tumbling drum arrangement to sand small wooden items. March 12, 2015
Choosing Wood for a Shop-Made Hand Plane In the olden days woodworkers made their own planes. You can still do it. Here are some thoughts on the appropriate wood.June 28, 2013
Creating a Hand-Hewn Look on Cabinet Doors Depending on exactly what you want, there are several ways to get a scooped-out, scalloped, rippled look on a wood surface. October 11, 2007
Dishing Out Chair Seats Here's a whole slew of ideas for crafting solid wood chair seats. October 17, 2012
What's the Best Pencil for Woodworkers A few jocular comments notwithstanding, this is a serious question for the professional woodworker. December 28, 2014
Choosing Footwear for Shop Use Army boots? Flip-flops? It's a matter of personal preference, but here are some thoughts and observations. December 6, 2012
Comparing Low Angle and High Angle Planes Woodworkers discuss the differences between low angle and high angle planes, and the appropriate uses for each. February 14, 2010
Sharpening Files You can send files out to be re-sharpened. Lore also says you can sharpen them up yourself by soaking them in battery acid or vinegar. October 28, 2005
How to Smooth and Flatten a Tablesaw Table A palm sander will do a decent job of removing scratches, but you can also have the thing professionally ground flat. April 27, 2007
Steam Bending Tips Expert info on grain, sawing, moisture content, and finishing concerns for steam bending wood. October 2, 2005
Calibrating a Hollow Chisel Mortiser Careful adjustments to the spacing between the chisels and the bit can prevent overheating, smoking, and chisel breakage. January 3, 2012
Making Box Beams Look Hand-Hewed It's hard to duplicate the look of an authentic hand-hewn beam, but here are some suggestions. August 24, 2005
Turning and Drying Burls Burls for bowl turning are best turned while green, and then dried. Here's a little detailed info. January 14, 2008
Sawing for Wood-Turners Wood-turners, carvers, and other artists provide a market for figured wood in short lengths or chunks. December 6, 2011
Quartersawing for Bows Whether for archery, a chuck wagon, or a fiddle, bow-making starts with quarter-sawing. October 14, 2006
Sharpening Equipment A basic description of tool sharpening equipment and its use. November 13, 2008
Finger Joint Telegraphing Given time, finger joints in lumber will show up through almost any finish. November 12, 2006
The Look of Hand-Hewn with Power Tools A curved power-planer or planer knife can approximate the look, but for the real thing you need the hand tool (an adze). December 15, 2005
Steam-Bending and Laminating Steam-bending before laminating is a way to reduce or eliminate springback when using thicker strips of wood. November 28, 2006
Working Green Versus Dry Hickory Yes, it's true: green Hickory or Oak is much easier to work by hand than dried wood. March 13, 2014
Wood Medallion Accuracy Tip Here's a slick trick for making all the angle cuts work out on a multi-piece medallion. November 28, 2006
Building and Using Your Own Steam-Bending Rig Turkey fryers and pressure cookers, PVC pipes and plywood boxes — woodworkers show their inventive side in this thread about steam-bending apparati. January 27, 2008
Problem with veneer over MDF Veneer applied over MDF is splitting and cracking - what could be the cause? March 21, 2002
Bubbles in veneer Why are bubbles appearing in veneer applied with PVA glue in a bag press? March 21, 2002
Proper nail hole touchup Using a material to fill holes that will be compatible with the finish. July 9, 2002
Hand-Sharpening Plane Irons Woodworkers discuss how to sharpen and "round" a smoothing plane iron. October 28, 2005
Bending Mahogany Trim A furniture-maker gets tips on making tight curves with Magohany. October 2, 2005
Pencil Preferences Craftsmen discuss the pencils they like and where they carry them. November 11, 2005
Bending Large Pieces Experienced hands offer tips on bending a thick piece of cherry for a curved rail. June 12, 2005
Bending Wood: Steam or Heat? In steam bending, is it the moisture or the heat that makes the wood bendable? The doctor explains, it's both. October 17, 2012
Bending and Laminating Cherry Quartersawn wood will behave a little better than flatsawn for making a laminated bent piece, but it's not a critical issue. April 21, 2008
Hogging Out Large Bowls Ways to speed up the pesky process of removing large quantities of wood from the inside of a bowl before final turning. April 30, 2006
Tape-Measure Accuracy Like everything else in life, tape measures are imperfect. But here are a couple of suggestions for improving accuracy. October 11, 2007
Drilling a Hole the Length of a Log People have actually succeeded at drilling holes in logs the long way. Here, they explain how to do it. December 27, 2006
Cross-Cut Setups for the Shop Woodworkers discuss radial-arm saw and sliding miter-saw choices for cross-cutting stock in the shop. May 16, 2008
The Ten-Cent Router Switch Repair A woodworker fixes the variable-speed control dial on his DeWalt plunge router by sliding a dime under it. Go figure.January 3, 2012
Bending Stair Rail in Three Dimensions Experienced stair rail professionals weigh in on a deep and complex subject — multi-dimensional wood bending — in this long, detailed thread. February 25, 2009
Accurate Miters Tips on achieving good miter joints when working to fine tolerances. October 25, 2006
Re-Fortifying Ancient Wood Wood can survive for millenia if it's buried under certain conditions. Here's a description of a method for saturating ancient wood with penetrating epoxy under vacuum pressure, to make it strong enough to be workable. October 13, 2005
Treating Burls With Pentacryl Is pentracryl a proper treatment for burl wood, or are other sealers more suitable? January 6, 2005
Bent Lamination Springback Advice on limiting springback in a laminated piece with a fairly gentle bend. July 13, 2010
Tree Burls — Causes and Value Burls from a tree trunk can yield valuable material for custom craft work. Here's some info on what they are and why they appear. June 14, 2014
Steam Bending Tight Turns For very short radius bends, you'll have to laminate strips. For more gentle curves, here are a few technical tips. August 30, 2005
Antique Lumber: Steam Bend or Laminate? Upon consideration, a furnituremaker decides to laminate a curved table apron rather than try to steam and bend historic old wood. October 17, 2012
Drying Bowl Blanks One woodturner reports success with an alcohol pre-soak method. January 13, 2006
Tiny Bubbles Are tools or techniqes to blame for the bubbles appearing in this ICA poly? October 20, 2004
Lamination and Springback A chair back curvature problem leads to a discussion about predicting and minimizing springback in bent wood laminations. December 6, 2009
Choosing an HVLP System Selecting the proper size and quality system for your shop. October 21, 2004
Are Cabinet Makers Carpenters? Mulling over the dividing line between skilled tradesmen who all build things out of wood — but in different ways. July 20, 2011
Three-phase motors 101 Three-phase power and converters; explained in layman's terms. June 19, 2003
Making Code from Sloppy Drawings The frustrations of messy drawings, and a parallel discussion of CNC theory vs. reality in terms of function. December 9, 2004
Chip-free dovetailing in plywood Building dovetailed plywood drawers without chipping; European and American approaches. April 24, 2002
Getting Mahogany Flat Very hard woods with alternating grain patterns sometimes develop waviness when sanded with wide-belt equipment. Here's an extensive discussion of the characteristics of Mahogany, and of ways to approach it using both hand tools and power equipment. November 12, 2005
History of Plywood Here's an interesting ramble through woodworking history, covering the invention of plywood in ancient Egypt (or before), and some anecdotes about lacquer. October 2, 2007
Estimating Start-Up Costs A brand new business owner seeks input on projecting first-year expenses. January 6, 2005
Chordal's Letters Considered by Today's Shop Men A discussion of a century-old book about shop craft, "Chordal's Letters" by James Waring See, available today as an on-line archive. February 6, 2010
The Most Important Skills to Learn An apprentice woodworker asks what he should concentrate on for a career in the trade, and gets a full helping of good advice. October 2, 2005
Laying Out, Routing, or Templating an Ellipse Here are several approaches to cutting a large ellipse: elegant jigs, slick pencil layout tricks, and sources for paper or MDF templates. May 16, 2008
Steambending How much time to allow based on thickness and proposed radius of wood. September 23, 2003
Humorous Tool Definitions Do not read this while drinking, or your beverage may go up your nose and on your keyboard. December 28, 2006
Estimating board footage Most accurate and most accepted methods of figuring BF for lumber. December 17, 2002
Structural Concerns for Boat Cabinetry A proposal for a free-standing entertainment center on a boat sets off a discussion about appropriate technology in nautical cabinetry. July 30, 2007
Millwork Touch-up and Repair A visitor seeks advice on how to get training in the fine art of fixing faults. February 26, 2005
Outfeed Table Plan Construction ideas for an outfeed table with mounted router. March 14, 2004
Joining cabinets - at a 45 degree angle Cabinetmakers offer illustrated tips on joining a line of cabinetry which incorporates a 45-degree-angled unit. April 3, 2002
Making Curly Maple "Pop" Finishers share ideas for bringing out the best in this stressed wood. February 26, 2005
Variables in Parametric Programming Forum participants guide a user through programming customization techniques for an Andi CNC with a Fanuc 18I controller. January 24, 2005
Gnarly Maple Yields Awesome Figured Burls A sawmiller and wood turner shows off a highly irregular Norway Maple log and the remarkable figure in the wood it produces. May 13, 2013
Vomit-Like Odor of Bacterially Infected Wood When cabinets or wood smell like vomit, a likely culprit is bacterial infections in the trees the wood was made from. Unfortunately, there is no known fix. April 20, 2008
Eliminating Burn Marks when Routing Flutes Tips on router techniques to prevent burning at the end of flutes, and on tools and methods for removing burn marks when they do happen. December 28, 2005
Cyanoacrylate adhesive How does this glue work for gap filling? (From WOODWEB's Finishing Forum) March 23, 2003
Routing an Irregular Outline Woodworkers compare a pin router to a CNC as the device for cutting the outline of a map or other irregular object. February 19, 2013
Tapered Stop Flutes The search for a simple, efficient method. December 26, 2004
Truing-up rough wood Planers will not remove the bow from rough stock; jointing is required before boards can be properly thicknessed. February 13, 2001
Getting Your Waterstone Back in Shape If your waterstone isn’t flat, it can’t deliver a proper edge to your tools. Here's how to fix that. December 18, 2013
Hot Cooking Surface Built Into a Wood Tray Puzzling over an odd problem: How to put a heated stone or iron cooking surface into a wooden tray for use at a restaurant table. Interesting suggestions here for insulating materials, air spaces, et cetera. January 19, 2012
Storing Maple in Partially Dried Condition A woodworker gets advice on the feasibility of maintaining wood at 25% moisture content for use in drying operations. January 8, 2010
Dovetailing plywood Successfully dovetailing baltic birch plywood. March 20, 2001
Glue Choices for Veneering a Boat Whether to use epoxy or other adhesive for veneering on a boat transom which will get wet. April 24, 2009
Steaming of Walnut Properly done, steaming adds an even dark tint to walnut. But the wrong technique gives unsatisfactory results. October 4, 2007
Cutting board finish Is there any way to add color to a maple cutting board? January 16, 2002
Whether to Kiln-Dry Wood Before Turning A woodworker is advised to kiln-dry Osage Orange wood (also referred to as "Hedge") before gluing up blanks for turning bowls. October 19, 2014
Rating drawer slides What does a drawer slide weight rating mean, exactly? February 12, 2001
Carving Machines Here's a quick introduction to some of the high-tech, high-volume carving and duplication machinery that is now available. September 20, 2008
Ostrich Skin Technique Whack wood with a ball peen hammer, then wet it, and the dimples turn into pimples. Who knew? Only the ancient Chinese — until now. December 31, 2012
Machinery for Making Rosettes Specialized equipment works better than a standard drill press for cutting rosettes. September 27, 2008
Sanding Carved Profiles A small sand-blaster can be used for smoothing intricate carved profiles. September 19, 2009
Fraction Conversion Chart This measurement conversion chart shows inch system fractions and decimals with their metric system equivalents. January 3, 2007
How To Spalt Wood Like making a world-class cheese, spalting wood intentionally is more art than science, and you may waste some raw material learning how. Here's an extended and detailed discussion. May 28, 2008
Bending Pressure-Treated Wood Detailed, authoritative information on the ins and outs of bending pressure-treated wood for curved outdoor decks or garden structures. May 23, 2007
Praise for HVLP Has HVLP outgrown a bad reputation? Here's why some swear by it. (Finishing Forum) May 19, 2003
Home-Built Casket Description and photo of casket built using water oak. September 24, 2003
Pricing Cabinet Installation Work Pros discuss their differing approaches to charging for kitchen and bath cabinet installation work. January 24, 2005
Words to Live By This long thread about quotable sayings generated a long list of pithy quotes you could post up on the wood shop wall. March 21, 2012
Blind woodworker's story A blind cabinetmaker tells the story of his education and career in woodworking. (From WOODWEB's Cabinetmaking Forum) January 21, 2003
Drawing Units and Precision Deciding on the level of precision needed for cabinet and millwork design. October 20, 2004
Optimal Joint Method for Making Curved Beams Woodworkers discuss the best way to fabricate a curved beam, and learn about an interesting historic example of curved laminated timber barn construction. October 19, 2013
Lumber Insurance Can a sawyer be held liable for the structural integrity of his wood? February 28, 2004
Dyes and Wash Coats Conditioning "naturally blotchy" woods to accept stains and dye uniformly. February 26, 2005
Hanging Cabinet Doors The efficiency of hanging doors before or during install. January 28, 2004
Where Doors and Panels Meet How various cabinetmakers deal with the relationsihp between overlay doors and the adjacent edges of finished end panels. January 24, 2005
Stabilizing Wood with Polyethylene Glycol Advice and explanations about using PEG to prevent shrinkage and cracking in heavy wood disks being dried for a specialty application. July 15, 2014
Face frame clamping options Woodworkers discuss their clamping systems and share pictures of what works for them. July 24, 2001
Exterior glues Recommendations and opinions about various weather-resistant glues. February 13, 2001
Holly and Teak for Boat Decking This thread answers the question of why Holly and Teak are paired in boat decking (below decks only), and continues with a folkloric and historic discussion of Teak for boatbuilding — including on nuclear submarines.October 19, 2013
Teak Finish on Kitchen Cabinets Teak may be naturally water resistant, but in a kitchen environment, even this tough lumber needs some help. February 26, 2005
- Wood species Information on tree species and their uses. March 20, 2001
Bending Douglas Fir Dry After asking for advice, a woodworker successfully laminates a curved 5-inch by 7-inch beam on a tight radius by laying up and bending 3/4-inch-thick plies. October 17, 2012
Clamping Equipment A brief description of the various types of high-volume clamping equipment available today. September 20, 2008
Cabinetmaker's Responsibilities Lively conversation about who should handle plumbing, electrical, etc. on kitchen/bath projects. December 9, 2004
Tile Setters vs. Trim carpenters On a woodworking site, it's not tough to guess the winner of this battle. But the war of words makes for good reading. February 25, 2005
Danger in the Woods Woodworkers should be aware of the reactions some people may have to certain species and take appropriate precautions. August 13, 2005
Appliance Cutouts Standards, and a lack of, for kitchen appliace cutouts. August 7, 2004
Who Are You? Thumbnail Biographies of Forum Members Ever wonder who you're interacting with on WOODWEB? In this thread, forum posters give a brief history of their lives in the woodworking trade. June 16, 2014
Crowns on Band Wheels Why do crowns exist, and do they improve band tracking? January 29, 2004
Wood, the environment, and Man A wide-ranging overview of the state of the primary processing industry, and where it may be going from here. August 10, 2000
Drawers and the Utilization of Space Why slide-integrated drawer systems are less costly to produce and provide greater space efficiency than traditional drawer construction. 1998.
CNC pod table Homemade pods and more. (CNC Forum) March 23, 2003
WOODPRO - Species Selection Made Easy A free complete working computer program (that can be downloaded at WOODWEB), allowing woodworkers to select the most suitable wood species for any particular application - 1997
Titleblock in CAD How-to instructions for setting up a titleblock for your template. July 24, 2002
Correcting dowel hole runout Finding and correcting the cause of dowel hole runout in CNC-machined parts. November 7, 2000
Static charge on wood Troubleshooting and resolving static problems on freshly planed boards. October 9, 2002
Think before you take the CNC plunge WOODWEB technical advisor Brian Personett offers some food for thought to those thinking about purchasing CNC equipment. November 15, 2000
Intentional Spalting Can you treat logs with fungus and humidity to create spalting on purpose? Some say "yes," but it's more art than science. June 23, 2005
Treated pine vs. cedar The Wood Doctor offers his prognosis for outdoor projects using cedar and treated pine. 1998.
A multi-faceted challenge An architectural woodworker gets ideas for making a too-wide handrail intersect gracefully with an octagon-shaped newel cap. December 17, 2003
A Jig for Drawing or Cutting Ellipses This clever but simple jig can be used with a pencil to draw an ellipse, or with a router to cut one. April 18, 2006
Three phase generator Running machinery off of a three-phase generator. September 2, 2002
Rx For Planer Splits The five main causes for splits in lumber during roughmill planing. 1998.
Which software? Ideas on reasonably priced, comprehensive computer applications for cabinetmakers. February 13, 2001
Advice for Ripping Large Logs How the pros make longitudinal cuts in the field, in order to expedite getting their harvest to the mill. January 25, 2005
Dry Kiln Information Resources A list of clubs, organizations, books and publications providing information about drying lumber for use in woodworking. 1998.
Keeping lumber flat during drying Advice from Professor Gene Wengert on drying lumber in order to produce flat, true boards. December 12, 2000
Mortising Large Timbers Ideas about tools and techniques to efficiently cut lots of big mortises in 5x5 posts. April 9, 2008
Warping and cracking in glued-up pine To find clues for cracked and warped pine panels, a measure of moisture content is needed before the splitting occurs. 1998.
Glue failures Adhesive failure can usually be traced to one of two causes: overly moist wood or defective glue. December 6, 2000
Door/drawer gaps in Euro-style cabinets Americans need to apply the looser European standards to door and drawer gaps to avoid frustration when ordering these parts from other manufacturers. October 18, 2000
Cypress board and batten siding It's better to kiln dry that cypress before siding your house with it than to let air-drying suffice. 1998.
Spots revealed in dry, planed lumber Dr. Gene attempts to find the causes of discolored spots on dried lumber, revealed only when the stock has been planed. 1998.
Gang rip yields Determining the factors which influence optimal yields. June 13, 2001
Moisture content of walnut -- and measuring it A woodworker seeks information about acceptable moisture contents for walnut used in furniture, and wonders what makes moisture meters tick. 1998.
Gluing white oak panels Because of its density, white oak lumber must be machined carefully for panel glue-up, and assembled within an hour of preparation. 1998.
Learning the trade How to approach a woodworking firm about becoming an apprentice. November 7, 2000
Calculating longitudinal shrinkage There's no firm factor for calculating longitudinal shrinkage in maple, but here's a place to begin. 1998.
Working with casehardened lumber Casehardened lumber should be returned to the processor, or planed to the desired thickness; resawing is not an option. 1998.
Workbench end caps: Bad idea? Though European workbenches commonly feature caps over the ends of the worktop material, these may hinder natural movement of the wood on this side of the Atlantic.
Wood dust a carcinogen? The Wood Doctor points to two sources of information on the carcinogenic properties of wood dust. 1998.
Relative densities of various birches The Wood Doctor offers resources for information on the relative densities of birch lumbers, and offers an opinion on plastic laminate. 1998.
Wood technology Web sites A short list of Web sites with information about characteristics of given species. 1998.
Why is machined teak blotchy? If you're not familiar with it, one property of freshly machined teak can take you by surprise. 1998.
Stained oak from supplier There are solutions for stained, milled, not-yet-dried oak lumber, but first , one must determine the cause of the staining. 1998.
Uses for applewood Applewood. Huh! (Good God, y'all) What is it gooood for? August 10, 2000
Production Tips, part three Part three of three from Woodworking International Magazine, offering proven ideas for increasing efficiency in production shops. 1998.
Production Tips, part two Part two of three from Woodworking International Magazine, offering proven ideas for increasing efficiency in production shops. 1998.
Production Tips, part one Part one of three from Woodworking International Magazine, offering proven ideas for increasing efficiency in production shops. 1998.
Building a steamer Homemade steamers for bending wood in your shop. January 21, 2002
HVLP + compressor vs. HVLP + turbine Participants offer their preferences between compressor- and turbine-driven HVLP spray finishing systems. March 13, 2000
Patching damaged veneer Repairing damaged veneer on the top of a chest of drawers. June 14, 2000
Heavy-duty CNC router recommendations Suggestions choosing for a good-quality CNC router, offering adequate tech support and training. February 28, 2001
Books About Historic Lumbering and Sawing Sawmill forum members recommend some interesting reading about the history of logging and sawmill operations in various regions of North America. April 18, 2015
Production sanding for humidors There's no 'silver bullet' when it comes to the detail sanding that fine work demands, be it in a one-off or production environment. 1998.
Biscuits for face frames A discussion of using biscuits for assembling cabinet face frames. Pros and cons of biscuits on face frames, and equipment used. November 21, 2000
Delta 12.5-inch planer Participants discuss the performance of the DeWalt 12.5-inch planer. April 9, 2000
No-blotch dying Methods to achieve uniform finishes. March 5, 2003
Wrinkles in Lacquer Recoat window? Catalyzation? What could be causing this defect? December 9, 2004
Eliminating Scratches in Glaze Stubborn sanding scratches appear when a piece has been glazed... can this be avoided?January 6, 2005
Matching stain to existing work Techniques for matching the finish of new work to that of the existing cabinets in a cherry kitchen. November 7, 2000
Cleaning the Kremlin Airmix system Solvent recycling methods and hose products to help decrease the cost of cleaning and maintaining the Kremlin Airmix system. November 21, 2000
Finishing MDF How to achieve a smooth finish on MDF, where the sealed face has been removed. November 29, 2000
Dowel drilling and use guidelines A quick guide to dowel clearances and practices, including drilling depth, diameter-to-edge ratios, and dowel selection. 1998.
Safe sprayroom setup Advice on everything from finish type to disposal of hazardous materials. December 17, 2003
Setting up new finishing department Forum participants chime in on their favorite types of finishing systems, and approaches to establishing a finishing department. April 21, 2000
Cutting "Edge-Installed" Crown This "stand up" crown requires some adaptations to "normal" installation procedures. February 8, 2005
Veneer buckling Preventing veneer from expanding and buckling through proper gluing and application methods. November 7, 2000
Cold Weather Gluing Cold or frozen temperatures affect both the glue and materials and can create problems when gluing - 1998
Best stain for cherry? Recommendations from visitors on the best processes and products for staining cherry. March 28, 2000
PUR adhesives A Q&A on PUR hot melt formulations and their proper use. December 6, 2000
Alternatives to dado cabinet construction John Elvrum offers a practical approach to identifying viable, mechanical alternatives to traditional dado joinery of cabinet boxes. 1998.