Best depth stop collar: plastic or set-screw?

In furniture-making, drilling pilot holes to a certain depth is not uncommon.  For worry-free and accurate work, it's nice to have a depth stop collar: something to stop the drill once it reaches the desired depth in the workpiece. 

So the question is: are all depth stop collars the same, and, if not, which is the best? 

I am happy to report that the best functioning stop collar is also the least expensive.  It's the plastic design, shown in this picture.  You can get them at Woodcraft, Rockler, or Lee Valley, for about $6.

Now, when I was looking for a picture (and the name) of these handy devices, I came across a this entry on Toolmonger.com.  I can tell you right now: the comments on Toolmonger are very negative regarding these depth collars.  but I didn't find any of the negative comments to be true to my experience, and I have to wonder if many of the people who claimed to have used them really have, or whether they just bought them...and then traded "up" to metal collars assuming the bright red plastic ones are junk. 

The truth is, these plastic collars are better than metal collars in a couple of ways: First, they don't have set screws to mar the cutting edge on your drills.  Second, since they don't use set screws, you can set them anywhere on the drill and they won't slip.  Metal collars with set screws often have the problem of the set screw getting bumped off the drill and into a gullet, and loosening the collar in the process.

I have been merciless with these collars, whereas with the metal collars I proceed gingerly because I don't want to bump the collar and loose the stopping action right when I need it.  The plastic collars never move, no matter how hard you bash them against the work.  Between the large and small sizes that came in the package I bought, they fit nearly any drill, including Kreg Pocket Hole Drills and Miller Dowel Stepped Drills. 

My verdict: don't believe the hype, save your money (and your drill edges), and buy plastic.

The easy route to a mirror polish: where cars and credenzas meet

Putting a good-looking, long-lasting finish on your furniture project can be an afterthought.  Many of you probably wish you didn't have to think about finishing at all!  This final sequence of steps is not woodworking, it's chemistry, and an exercise in patience, diligence, and attention to detail. 

Most carpenters think of applying the last coat of finish as the last step in finishing.  But furniture makers know that the final coat of finish needs to be rubbed out before the finish is - er - finished. 

Rubbing out starts with fine sandpaper, and ends with polishing.  Over the years, polishing has evolved alongside the evolution of water-borne finishes and automotive clear coats.  New automotive finishes are meant to stay flexible, so they don't crack when plastic car parts bend.  That's led to a convergence in formulations for both wood and automotive finishes.  Things have gotten to the point that you can use automotive finishes on wood projects, and automotive polishing compounds work very well as rubbing compounds for most wood finishes, including water-borne, polyurethane, varnish, and lacquer. 

This table was rubbed out using 320 grit sand paper, then 400, 600, and 800, then rubbed with 0000 steel wool.  Finally, I rubbed it with 3M fine scratch remover car polish.  The result was a beautiful surface that took mere minutes to put on and wipe off. 

A good use for the 5mm Festool Domino cutter - expansion slots

The Festool Domino biscuit joiner has a rep as the best, most well thought-out biscuit joiner on the market.  It even uses its own proprietary "domino" tenons rather than traditional biscuits.  But the Domino isn't without its glitches.  To wit: the 5mm cutter cuts mortises that are often too small for the 5mm "dominoes".  In a year of using the Domino, and over the course of three packages of 5mm dominoes, I am still convinced that the 5mm tenon is the worst-fitting of all the sizes available, and also convinced that more than 30% of the 5mm dominoes in any given bag are too large for the mortise and have to be sanded back or baked in a microwave in order to fit. 

I have stopped trying to use the 5mm tenon in my projects.  But I have found a use for the 5mm cutter: making slots for mounting cabinet tops to their cases, and table tops to their aprons.  The slots are a great size for z-clips (see photo).

Oil-Based Beauty with General Water Borne Topcoats

This post shows how to bring out the deep figure in wood furniture using water-borne finishes, which are notorious for leaving wood dead and flat.  

Introduction:

Water borne topcoat finishes - like Minwax Polycrylic and General Finishes Enduro-Var and Pre-Cat Urethane - are very popular among carpenters.  There are many reasons to choose water-borne.  For one, water borne finishes dry in about an hour, as opposed to traditional organic finishes (polyurethane, tung oil), which require 24 hours to cure.  Water-borne finishes don't smell as bad as traditional finishes, the worst-smelling of which (lacquer) is very poisonous and explosive.  Water-bornes aren't flammable, and they clean up with water instead of noxious organic solvents.  Finally water-borne finishes have excellent resistance to heat, water, alcohol and other solvents, making them appropriate for high-wear applications. 

But water-borne finishes are much less popular with fine furniture makers, for the simple reason that they just don't look as good as their oil or lacquer counterparts.  Water-borne finishes don't bring out the depth and figure in wood at all: what you see before you lay down a water-borne is pretty much exactly what you'll see once the finish is dry (some brands have yellow dye to imitate the look of oil-based polyurethane, which changes the tint of finished wood).  This is very different from solvent-based finishes like polyurethane, shellac, oil, and lacquer, all of which make wood "pop" with chatoyance, and show off the holographic shimmer inherent in many wood species.

Less expensive water borne finishes have poor clarity.  When water-borne finishes first hit the market (before my time, in the 1980's), they all had a bluish cast to them...very unnatural!  Nowadays, cheaper brands (like Minwax Polycrylic) have a yellow dye to combat the blue, but the cloudy, plastic look remains.  More expensive (read: high-tech) new water-borne formulations are less cloudy.  But even the very best water-bornes look flat and dull compared to traditional topcoats.  

The best of both worlds:

But there is a way to get most of the benefits of traditional finishes, while avoiding the majority of the hassles of organic solvents.  This method is the only water-borne one I'll use on my projects, and I happen to be using this method right now, on a table commission for a new pub opening soon in Davis Square, Cambridge.  

The Steinway Project

the Steinway Square Grand

I am lucky to have recently been offered an antique Steinway Square Grand piano, to use as the basis for a one-off furniture collection.  I am now considering the options: the purpose of the collection, how to express the essence of the piano in furniture, and how to use substantially all of the piano in whatever I make.

The piano itself is unlikely to ever be playable again, since it has been sitting in a barn in New Hampshire for the past decade or so.  But otherwise it's in amazing condition.  It has all of its parts: the main case of solid mahogany, cast iron soundboard, all the keys (with ivory veneer and real ebony), a super-flat 3-piece solid mahogany top, four fat, carved mahogany legs, mahogany pedal board, and a mahogany sheet music stand - carved with Steinway's twin serpent logo.  All of the wood is in excellent shape, and so is the finish, including the Steinway decal over the keyboard. 


My initial thought as that this one piano is too big to be made into a single piece of furniture.  Also, whatever is made will be so big and bold that few private homes could accommodate it.  I wonder if this collection is destined for a bar, restaurant, or nightclub.  Using the gorgeous sound board is another challenge: should I take the easy route and put the sound board under a glass table top, or be more adventurous?  Perhaps the sound board could be made into a chandelier of some kind, to hang over a table made from the main body of the piano.  I am also thinking of making a tall, slender cabinet, and turning the keys into handles and hinges for the cabinet doors. 

Of course, the legs are an altogether different challenge.

Take a look at the pictures, and tell me what you think I should do! (click "read more" below to see the pics).

The Fluval Nano Stand arrives at Skipton Unique Aquaria

It was a sunny Saturday morning yesterday, when I carefully packed my just-finished "Nano" aquarium stand, in solid cherry and purple heart.  The stand is small, tall, and finished in tung oil.  The frame-and-panel case features solid wood panels I planed and raised myself, and adjustable shelves.  The Nano stand will take its place on display next to the checkout counter at Skipton's, which is located in Boston, Massachusetts.  Atop the stand will go a Fluval Nano aquarium, in which the staff at Skipton plan to rear exotic marine shrimp.

Here are pics of the stand inside Skipton, with an empty Nano aquarium on top:

Fluval Nano aquarium stand in cherry and purple heart

Recently, I got a commission from Skipton Unique Aquaria and Reptiles in Boston, MA, to build a nice stand for a Fluval Nano reef aquarium display next to the store's checkout counter.  I took some photos of the stand in my shop while I waited for the last coat of oil to dry.

The project began as a very basic frame and panel stand.  As I try to do at least one new thing with every project, this was the first time I used my router table to cut raised profiles on hardwood panels.  Previously, all my frame and panel cases used plywood panels. 

I wanted to give a subtle "lift" to the stand, and so I went with top and bottom horizontal panels with a sharp bevel running along their edges.

About halfway through the build, I started thinking I should push the envelope just a little bit.  And around that same time, I ran out of cherry lumber, with the adjustable shelves still left to make.  So I dug out a nice piece of purple heart, and cut the shelves from that - making a nice little surprise for anybody who opens the front door of the stand.  I wanted to give a hint of what was inside, so I hand-carved a door handle out of purple heart as well, and also added two vertical purple stripes to the back panel.

The handle was made by first cutting profiles on either side of a stick of purple heart with a 3/4" core box router bit.  Then, I cut the end profiles on the band saw.  After cleaning up the curves on my 6"x48" linishing sander,  I cut out the sides of the handle on the band saw, giving it an hourglass shape.  I finished it off with 220 grit sandpaper in the palm of my hand.  The result is cool and curved and smooth. 

The photos show the stand before rubbing out the oil finish, which will impart a smooth sheen.

CLICK "READ MORE" (in blue below) TO SEE THE PHOTOS

longer lasting sand paper & abrasive

my favorite power hand sander

Sanding is a big part of almost any furniture or home improvement project. In fact, it's one of the few steps everybody has to take, whether you're painting your bedroom, or crafting an 18th-century reproduction sideboard. If you're a weekend warrior doing your own home improvements, then you know how tedious and time consuming sanding can be, and how a new package of sand paper can disappear faster than you can say "my arm is cramping up." You've also probably noticed that in spite of all your work sanding, once the finish (or paint) dries, you can see dozens - or hundreds - of tiny scratches that were invisible before.

If all this sounds familiar, be sure to read this post before you sand again!

Wine Bar Video Tour, Take II

I posted an edited version of the Wine Bar Video Tour on YouTube. It's shorter and I little faster-paced. I welcome comments.

New Video: the Wine Bar Video Tour

I am so happy about my new Wine Bars, I want to tell the world!  But I'll settle for a YouTube video...

Here is my second YouTube video - the Wine Bar Video Tour.  It's another narrated slideshow, telling all about how I make Wine Bars, their design, and how they can be used to solve all sorts of wine-related challenges in your home or business. 

It's available on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/rN_Skx1jx3A

and also embedded in this post, here:

How to make sliding dovetails

Sliding dovetail joints are very useful in a number of furniture making applications.  They are sometimes used instead of dadoes to join shelves to cabinet panels, or to join cabinet panels to each other.  Sliding dovetails are also sometimes used as drawer slides - and are better than "square" slides because they don't allow the drawer to lift away from its travel path. 

I have been afraid of dovetails for a long time, mostly because of the apparent difficulty of getting a good snug fit.  But sliding dovetails offer up a chance to make a dovetail without worrying about making LOTS of dovetails, as you would with a dovetailed case edge.  Making long sliding dovetails isn't easy, but it's totally doable, with the right power tools.

The first step is to mill the two workpieces to be joined, flat and square.  Next, pick the location of the "female" side of the joint, and plow a centered dado along the path of the joint using a router and a straight bit.  Make sure the dado is wider than the bottom of the dovetail bit, but not so wide that the dovetail will leave too little stock.  Plow the dado s deep as you want the joint to be  - or just a hair shy of that depth.

Wine Bars: the New Product from Wine on Deck

Now available at www.wineondeck.com

I am pleased to announce the arrival of the Wine Bar, an innovative new product from Wine on Deck. Wine Bars come a year after the introduction of Wine Wings, Wine on Deck's first consumer product. With a similar design aesthetic to Wine Wings, Wine Bars are nevertheless incredibly useful and flexible wine storage racks, that can keep up to a case of wine "on display and out of the way".

Currently, I'm offering hand-made Wine Bars in 100% solid, local flamed cherry hardwood.   Soon, I'll have a few available in curly maple, and by late July 2011 I plan to have some Wine Bars done in the classic Wine Wing pattern (curly maple and purple heart).

Wine bars mount easily to a wall stud, into plaster & lathe, cabinet panels, and even concrete.  Just locate the position of the dovetail on the wall, drill three pilot holes, and fasten the dovetail.  Then, simply slide the Wine Bar over the dovetail, push in the two locking pins, and you're ready to load the Wine Bar with up to 12 bottles of wine from any region in the world.

My first YouTube Video: a slideshow of my furniture from the past year

Over the past year practicing woodworking, I have completed a few furniture pieces, and explored some of the basic techniques of the craft of furniture making.  Apart from making Wine Wings, I have built chests of drawers, tables, bookshelves, and, of course, aquarium stands.  Now I have made a video slide show out of the pics I've taken of these pieces.

I could have better pictures, for sure.  And I didn't include pictures of the bookshelves I made early on, which we use in our home.

But it's a nice slideshow anyway:

A dresser rises - phoenix-like - from the scrap heap...

If economy is a hallmark of good design, then this dresser is one for the record books.  Every single part of it was a piece of scrap, nearly unsuitable for furniture making.

It's also my first experiment with using water-based dye in furniture.  The case is actually a 90 gallon aquarium stand, which I cracked when driving a screw into dry birch.  It's strong enough to be a dresser, so I fixed the crack and added some drawer runners inside.  The drawers are made from sheets of scrap 1/4" plywood, scrap 3/4" birch & maple, and scrap 3/4" MDF.  They're heavy but they work.

About the drawer fronts: from ugly to sexy
The drawer faces and top are made from scrap curly maple.  This lumber was NOT premium by any stretch: the boards were thin, pitted, narrow, and covered with the unsightly "brown hearts" that furniture makers avoid.  Because of the brown hearts, I knew I would need to color the drawer fronts and top somehow, and I didn't want to use stain, which dulls curly maple. 

Because the boards were so narrow, I wouldn't be able to use a single board for each drawer.  And because the "curls" were so spotty, it would be impossible to make two boards look like a single board.  To get around these visual problems, I decided to form a "V" shaped panel, with each board angling toward the center line at 45 degrees.

Once I had made my V shaped panels, it was a natural choice to use red and burgundy dye to bring out the wavy figure of the curly maple, and bring a bit of visual consistency to the mish-mash of light and dark grain.

I sized the drawer fronts so each drawer was taller than the next by a ratio of 1:1.618 - the golden ratio.  Then I cut the drawer front panel into three strips of the appropriate size.

The handles: routed from a scrap VG Fir 2x4
I like using VG fir for the moldings on large aquarium stands.  Hence, I have some scraps of VG Fir 2x4.  VG Fir is knot-free and easily milled, and well cured, unlike fir studs.  to size the handles, I divided the width of the dresser by 10 to get a length for the small handle of 4.8 inches.  Then, I multiplied the length of the small handle by the golden ratio, to get the length of the middle handle, and again for the large handle. 

The drawer slides
I used Rockler's less expensive medium duty drawer slides.  If I were to do it again, I would use the heavy duty slides, or, even better, use the medium duty slide from Accuride, which is more robust and slides straighter.

The Feet
I was able to use pieces of 3/4" maple as short as 5" to make the feet.

The finish
I finished the dyed maple parts with shellac, then polyurethane.  The case was finished with black water-borne stain and water-based lacquer (It was an aquarium stand, remember?).

The Verdict:

Some drawer parts were badly scarred scrap

I never thought of myself as somebody who would make full-scale drawings, or even cardboard mockups.  But in this case, you cold say I made a "full scale, full materials" mockup of a design I will try again.  The vision is for a dresser with drawers like jewels: the drawer fronts would have chamfered edges, like the face of a square-cut gemstone.  they would be made of white figured hardwood with a large figure, such as quilted birch, and dyed the color of gemstones.  Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires, etc.  I may do a dresser first, or a jewelry box...se bijoux!

Great Video showing picture frame clamping setup on the bench

I like this technique!  If you have a workbench with dog holes, it's possible to set up this clamping system right on the bench top. These kinds of clamps are great for general work holding on the bench.

DIY sanding block & Klingspor Sand Paper for Sand Flee

For final sanding and rubbing out a finish, a good sanding block is essential.  These final finishing steps require precision and flatness, and are always prone to accidental "cutting through" on the edges of a piece.  Power sanders are often too much tool, and anyway the final sanding and polishing should be done in a linear motion anyway.

For sanding of profiles, such as molding and flutes, a shop-made sanding block is the only way to get into tight curves and corners.

This post is about how to make sanding blocks for any purpose.  It includes tips from my experience on how to outfit a sanding block for perfect results that are nearly fool proof.

Using Dye in Furniture Design

A dyed chest.  All it needs are feet and drawer pulls and I'm done!

When I first got into woodworking, I didn't like the idea of using dyes and stains.  Stains, which are essentially thinned pain - pack the pores in wood with pigment, highlighting the grain by masking the wood.  Why, I thought, would anybody want to mess up wood's natural beauty?

I still don't use stains, but I've changed my mind about dyes.  Unlike stains, dyes penetrate the wood fibers rather than pack the pores with pigment.  Dyes highlight the natural figure and chatoyancy in wood, and range in color from subtle browns and yellows, to intense reds, blues, and greens.  Dyes are often used with highly figured, light-colored woods, most notably curly maple.

Decware Zen Open Baffle Project

I have decided to build another open baffle speaker, and instead of making my own design, I am going to use the plans for the Zen Open Baffle from Decware. 

The Zen Open Baffle is the highly-touted open baffle design that Decware founder Steve Deckert claims produces percussive, deep bass down to 50 Hz.  It achieves this bass response by way of a network of two resonant chambers and a horn, incorporated behind the baffle.  This network amplifies the rear-firing energy form the Zen's single full-range driver, and can be adjusted for bass response by opening or closing a valve a the top of the chamber, underneath the back of the driver.

Minwax Polyshades vs. Water-Based Black Stain Comparison

Getting a good black finish on furniture can be a challenge.  There are plenty of ways to attack the problem, and I have tried most of them.  Today, I compare Minwax Polyshades black polyurethane, to General Finishes' Black water-based stain.  I'll give you my verdict right up front, in case you don't have time to read this entire post: use a water-based black stain such as General's.  Don't go the oil-based route, and don't use Minwax Polyshades.

I have long preferred water-based black stain for getting my furniture black, for a few reasons.

1. First, I like the water-based cleanup process (just rinse with water).  
2. Second, I have always had problems with oil-based black stains, especially if I'm brushing them on, because oil based stains have a tendency to stick to the brush, and it's easy to remove stain from the work while trying to put it on.  This is a problem peculiar to black stain, because with black stain, the goal is usually a completely black finish, whereas with other stains the goal is merely to tint the wood, or bring out the grain.  
3. Third, water-based finishes, including stains, dry much faster than oil-based finishes, and they tend to flow out more evenly, leaving a uniform finish on the work.  

Festool TS 75 plunge cut circular saw review

The Festool TS 75 plunge cut saw is a big circular saw.  So big, in fact, that my contractor friend Kris doesn't much like it.  He's used to wielding his 5" Makita freehand - driving it up walls and across sheet goods with ease.  The TS 75 is more suited to riding on one of Festool's aluminum guide rails, like some new breed of panel saw.

And here the TS 75 performs as well as I could ask.  I have used the TS 75 to melt through sheet goods.  I used it to size my bench top, which was made from two layers of 3/4" MDF, one layer of 3/4" plywood, and 1/4" of hardboard.  That's 2 1/2" of dense material.  But the TS 75, with it riving knife backing up the blade, made short work of it, with blade capacity to spare.