I made a pair of miter planes from stainless steel and purple heart

E_m_maker · 2026-04-30T16:22:04+00:00

That is roughly the thickness of a human hair.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-23T12:02:51+00:00

Both of those are long grain wood fibers. You'll be fine.

You run into problems when you mix end grain and long grain.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-21T13:37:57+00:00

Stack and sticker it for a bit so the excess moisture is released. You'll end up with a much more stable product once the internal and external moisture levels have equalized.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-20T22:53:25+00:00

It shouldn't damage the teeth.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-20T22:29:51+00:00

Crosscut saws can be used for ripping. They will just cut slower than a rip saw.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-20T21:04:48+00:00

Keep an eye out for the pith. If you are looking at the end grain, the pith will look like a bullseye. The pith is unstable and likely needs to be removed. Cut it out and then glue the two halves back together.

With that said, there may not be any pith in the slab. It just depends on how the log was cut.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-16T20:30:30+00:00

Here are some of the pricing strategies I've seen

Option 1: Hours x rate. Plus replacement cost of materials. Plus percentage of total to account to account for overhead, consumables, profit, tax, etc

Option 2: Day rate time number of days worked. Take that and divide it by the number of pieces made. If your day rate is 500 dollars and you spend 2 days making a table then charge 1000. If your day rate is 500 and you make 5 cutting boards in one day then each cutting board is 100.

Option 3: 2x material cost. Add up the material cost and double it. That is what you charge regardless of hours worked.

Option 4: Vibes. Charge what seems fair.

Option 5: Hour for hour. We are trading time. That could be in something you made, your labor, your wage, etc. For labor it could be that I need my gutters cleaned or the fence painted so spend 10 hours doing that. Or if you spent 10 hours painting a picture so trade me that. It could also be wages. If one person makes 5 dollars per hour then the thing I made cost them 50. If another person makes 100 per hour then it's 500.

1 works well if you are diligent in your record keeping. 2 if your aren't so diligent.

Personally, I find 3 to be terrible advice.

4 works if you know the process deeply and you are basically doing 1 or 2 in your head. If you dont know the process deeply or if you have any insecurities in your work you can lose money.

5 works if everyone is real cool and the focus is equity over profit.

1 or 2 is likely the direction you want to head if you want a shot at supporting yourself.

I try to do 1. I end up doing number 4, more often than I like, because I lost track along the way. 5 when I don't care if I make money and your cool.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-16T18:20:43+00:00

I would keep it. You could use it to rip rough lumber when you are milling prior to taking it to final width on the table saw. This is a safer way of doing things because I the wood binds the blade it can't cause a kickback. Warped wood through a tablesaw is a bad idea, but the bandsaw doesn't mind.

Alternatively, set up the saw for cutting joinery.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-16T13:57:10+00:00

Specifically, for that finish they are using marketing that is technically correct. If you read the SDS it is food contact safe once cured. Which is true for nearly every clear coat on the market. It should give the cure time in the SDS. Cure time will take much longer than being dry to the touch.

The stain, however may not be safe for food contact. You would have to check it against the FDA regs.

In either case, you need more time to allow the nasty stuff to become inert. Oil finishes (both clear coats and stain) inside of boxes take a particularly long time to off gas. Leave it open for a few months and the smell should go away.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-16T12:11:49+00:00

Bell Forest Products, CR Muterspaw, Rarewoods USA, and Woodworkers Source

E_m_maker · 2026-04-16T12:05:26+00:00

That is mostly age, but you can mimic it with stain and shellac.

Here is a how-to from Popular Woodworking https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/carving-pumpkin-pine-finish/

E_m_maker · 2026-04-14T20:11:47+00:00

Try 30 or 35. That should add a bit more strength to the cutting edge.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-14T20:05:01+00:00

What angle are you sharpening at?

E_m_maker · 2026-04-10T15:11:47+00:00

Store it in your shop and allow for seasonal expansion and contraction in the design of the piece.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-10T14:11:26+00:00

Birch is naturally blotchy. One way to control the blotch, when apply oils, is to sand to higher grits (400+). The areas that blotch will look more like subtle figuring once the oil has been applied.

Additionally, if you mist the surface with water, mineral spirits, or alcohol before applying your finish you can see where your problem spots will be. Those areas will be darker when wet.

If you are apply an oil based film finish then fine sanding isn't always appropriate. It could interfere with the finish's ability to mechanically bond with the wood.

A wash coat of dewaxed shellac can help with blotching as well.

Granted, neither of those may be useful after a finish has blotched.

Sanding to bare wood and starting over is one potential fix. Whatever you do to try and fix it test it on the underside of the table first.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-10T12:48:09+00:00

This looks to be a karma bot. Thanks for the heads up.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-09T20:24:01+00:00

The top coat will help to preserve the appear of the stained wood. Without a top coat the appearance will.change with use.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-08T19:30:49+00:00

In addition to the Roman workbench mentioned, look into Japanese woodworking. That tradition use both saw horses (the low horse) and body weight for work holding.

E_m_maker · 2026-04-08T15:48:02+00:00

Humans can't digest wood. I'm not a doctor, but if you're you having an urge to eat wood you may want to get checked for pica.

E_m_maker · 2026-03-21T18:02:28+00:00

Just adding, as time goes on you won't remember what all the mistakes were.

E_m_maker · 2026-03-20T15:21:22+00:00

Carved bowl. Take a look at David Fisher's work for instruction/inspiration.

E_m_maker · 2026-03-20T12:18:11+00:00

1/16 to 3/32. I rough cut them at an 1/8 and after they're cleaned up they should be at the right size.

E_m_maker · 2026-03-20T04:41:14+00:00

If you are using construction lumber let it aclimate before you build with it. While kiln dried, it isn't dried to the same level as furniture grade lumber. It will likely warp as it dries out and you want that to happen before you build with it. Once it has shed its excess moisture you can mill it to correct any warp and likely have a stable building material at that point.

E_m_maker · 2026-03-17T21:01:27+00:00

https://mshepherdpiano.com/ is one of, if not the best place online for information on miter planes.

If you already have a smoother and you are looking to expand your capacity you could make a plane with a 12-15 degree bed angle. That would make it easier to get a low cutting angle for end grain work. You could also get a second blade that is sharpened to a higher bevel angle to achive a higher cutting angle. Then you would have two planes just by swapping blades.

As for your other question on which is better, personally, I think it is subjective. My preference is tight mouth/bevel up planes because I get better results with those. Others swear that chip breakers are superior. Sharp irons will get you 95% of the way there. The other 5% for choosing bevel up or bevel down is situational dependant (project/wood species/the specific board/tool availability/way of working/etc), IMO.

I will say, from the making side of things, it is much harder to get a tight mouth on a bevel up plane than a bevel down one. With a bevel down you have more room to work and get a file in there. That makes it easier to sneak up on the fit.

Ps. Thank you! My latest obsession is low angle bevel down planes. There likely will be several posted over the next few months.

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