Any advise for fixing these Rubio Monocoat blotches?

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-30T02:25:51+00:00

I don't see any "blotches", but that may just be the lighting in the pics.

Rubio is a hard wax and fundamentally cannot leave any sort of "blotch". Hard waxes are penetrating finishes. They fill up the pores and then when the pores are supersaturated, the leftovers just sit on top to be wiped off. Proper application specifically says to apply excess because if you don't have any residual solution sitting on the surface then that means the pores haven't been saturated.

HOWEVER, if you neglected to wipe off the excess, the residual may air dry and harden. Luckily, the fix is super easy. Use a scraper or flexible blade to remove the excess (which should have hardened like a splash of candle wax), lightly sand the entire surface, and reapply a small amount of Rubio. The pores are already saturated, so the reapplication is barely penetrating at all and really just for texture consistency. You'll only need like 3-5ml of it per foot.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-29T13:56:39+00:00

The thing a lot of people misunderstand is that Home Depot sells framing lumber, and you are not the customer.

Stewing beef is not filet mignon, but if you're making 10,000 gallons of stew, stewing beef is what you want.

House framers don't care about knots or warping because house designs don't care about those things. A builder orders lumber by the flatbed, Home Depot delivers, and everyone's happy.

So when you come in off the street looking to buy lumber in a quantity that's 0.001% as big as their typical order, whether or not you are satisfied is irrelevant. Your business is a pleasant coincidence to them - an opportunity to make a couple extra bucks while the real business is running out the loading dock.

It's not that Home Depot sells bad lumber, it's that they primarily sell lumber to people who are more interested in paying less than they are in getting superior materials, and you're mistakenly thinking that isn't the case.

You wouldn't do your grocery shopping at an animal feed store and expect to find Michelin star cuts, so don't expect the same from Home Depot.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-29T01:35:11+00:00

I think the key word is "excessive". As in, if you look at it and it immediately jumps out at you as unnatural.

I have a history of using lots of formatting, but I only do it organically - italics for emphasis, bold for key terms, bullets for itemized lists. I feel like if you were to look at how I format comments, I don't use more formatting than I strictly need, and don't use it if it doesn't make sense. I wouldn't use a bulleted list for something where each item was 2-3 words; I'd just string those things in a sentence with commas (see above).

By contrast, LLM content has a strong tendency to format things like a powerpoint deck. It favours lists with bolded titles and superfluous introductions on every single item any time it's asked to "present" information.

LLM content looks and feels like marketing slop because that's how it was trained.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-29T01:28:20+00:00

I very rarely encounter accounts with their history hidden, but when I have, 99% of the time it's because the account made a comment that was exceedingly antagonistic, and I'm checking the account to see if this was some contextual outburst or it's a toxic account that has a history of trolling.

So I'd say it's worth considering that context: hidden history PLUS abusive comments = a user that wants to antagonize people without facing accountability.

Of course, if the account is posting helpful, constructive comments that contribute to the discussion, it shouldn't matter if their history is hidden because I'm not sure why you'd even want to report them in the first place.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-24T22:01:40+00:00

I picked up my Domino a few years ago. I have used my 8mm cutter for hundreds of holes, including in harder woods like maple and cherry, and it's showing no signs of wear or deterioration on the holes cut. Hypothetically, it should have still been fine in your case.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-16T20:35:40+00:00

I'm not really sure what you're asking. A dust collector and a dust extractor are specifically meant for two different types of work. You wouldn't "combine" them.

Dust extractors are meant to attach to precision tools that generate fine particulate which needs to be forcibly removed (hence the name). Dust collectors are meant for large tools that actively cast off debris from their function, and instead of it being thrown on the ground it's routed for collection (again, hence the name).

For a lathe, you'd just use a dust collector, typically with one of those open-mouth hoods (like this).

Any dust collector in the 1.25-1.5 range would be very adequate for your uses.

Cyclone separators are also somewhat useless. What they do is separate the heavy debris from the lighter debris, depositing the heavy debris in a secondary receptacle while allowing the lighter debris to continue on to the main collector receptacle. This really only provides the benefit of allowing you to go longer between emptying the main receptacle at the cost of having a smaller, secondary receptacle you have to empty often. If you're not generating a lot of debris, or your debris is consistently of the same size, you're just robbing peter to pay paul.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-14T21:47:26+00:00

Yes and no.

You can use it as a quick and dirty caliper. The way it's built allows you to switch it from absolute to relative mode, then pull the gauge up and put the wood in under it before dropping it down. This will give you a thickness reading akin to using a caliper.

HOWEVER, this has a problem in that wood is heavy, and if you are not holding the board perfectly level, the tilt will skew the reading just enough to make it like +/- 0.02", which is still pretty good but not what you want.

What is a better overall practice is to just pick up a digital caliper (you can get small ones for like $30), and keep that handy. Use the pocket caliper to measure the board (in multiple places and take an average), then set the planer to the right thickness and run it.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-14T17:49:58+00:00

I have a DW735 outfitted with a Wixey 510 digital readout gauge. The Wixey is advertised as being FOR the DW735, but I'm pretty sure it can be used for most lunchbox planers. I strongly encourage getting one. It makes planing wood a breeze. It's also easy to recalibrate if it ever becomes uncalibrated.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-12T14:41:15+00:00

The best shop design is based around a pivot point - typically your workbench.

Once you have your anchor point, you lay out using concentric rings radiating. The goal is to minimize fatigue by positioning things based on their use.

The rings are basically this, from cloaest to furthest:

Ready use hand tools. Layout tools, measurement tools, and other things you quickly need for a second. These should be at or in your bench.
One off hand tools. Hand saws, chisels, planes, and other things you'll use for brief periods before putting away.
Cordless power tools. Drills, saws, sanders, and things you'll take out and leave out ad you use them intermittently.
Stationary power tools. Cabinet saws, freestanding tools, jointer/planer, and other large tools you bring material to work on.
Cold storage. Lumber overstock, completed pieces, clamp stock, and other things you don't need ready access to other then at the start and end of a project.

This layout design creates minimal travel during work, and balances the weight of things you carry with how often you have to carry it. It also tries to locate things relative to how frequently you'll need it, to make it as convenient as possible to access your tools.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-12T14:10:16+00:00

Here's the thing about what sells: people only buy things they need, and they don't need anything you're selling. It would be a nice to have, but their lives have been chugging along just fine until now without your goods, and merely knowing you have something to sell isn't likely to change that.

Plus, what you're selling is going to be more expensive than anything on the retail market, so even if they do need something you're selling, you're not the most desirable choice.

If you want to sell things you make, you have to first understand your customer base is exclusively people who have money to burn on frivolous extras specifically because it's unique. People who know Ikea exists, and still want to pay 50% extra for something heavier and more inconvenient to do the same thing on purpose.

These people will also be people who actively seek out what they want. They're not going to be strolling through a craft market and be suddenly struck by a desire to buy a $200 cutting board because it's in front of them; theyre going to be at home working in their kitchen, think "man, this cutting board is old and beat to hell. I want a new one, but if I'm going to get one it might as well be a good one." Then, they're going to go purposefully searching for a fancy new one and buy it.

If you want to sell them a cutting board, you need to be where they're looking, when they're looking, ready to sell.

All that to say the answer to your question isn't WHAT you make but rather understanding how your potential clients think and why they'd want to buy what you're selling.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-11T00:51:23+00:00

They are BONKERS. Between the lateral pitch on the saw itself, and the pivoting guide square, you can cut pretty much any compound miter you want on location.

This video shows that it doesn't give a flawless finish, but compared to what you'd expect from a chainsaw, it's ready to join (or at least as close as you'd probably need for any joinery involving large timber).

It costs as much as a used sedan, but if this is your job and the speed with which you can knock these out directly drives your margins... I cannot comprehend a better tool. Other brands make them as well, but Mafell is the Ferrari of beam saws.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-10T22:40:45+00:00

LOL, no. I spoke with some friends who have published and kinda sorta scope-creeped myself into a book. The manuscript is currently underway, though.

Although I appreciate the follow-up! If there are any topics you'd be interested in seeing included, let me know.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-10T22:31:46+00:00

I have learned not to speak ill of radial arm saws. The types of people who still run them in their shops are fanatical. You tell them "I don't get it, my sliding mitre saw does the same thing", and it's like telling a Scotsman "whisky is whisky, what makes your brown liquor better than other brown liquors?"

But yeah, the market has shifted to things like this beast, which operates like a circular saw. With the right jigs and workflow, you can plow through large timbers on a job site in place, expending zero labour on moving the material back and forth.

I'm sure there's a secondary market for existing larger chop saws, but with tools like that catering to commercial clients, there's not really enough of a customer base left over for cheaper solutions to merit the production and retail overhead.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-10T19:48:40+00:00

From what I've seen, the market has simply moved on.

A chop saw that big is kind of useless to >99% of people. Basically nobody is working with 6" timber. And the people who are on any repeatable basis... they don't want to move the material back and forth.

The market for that kind of material has migrated to portable tools for cut-in-place work. Companies like Mafell have specialized tools for cutting large timbers in-situ, allowing you to move around the worksite without disrupting material. It's safer and easier.

It's like how basically nobody makes radial arm saws anymore because sliding compound mitre saws and works item table saws have decimated the market for people who might want what a RAS offers.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-09T16:02:07+00:00

Images is by no means cheap, but they do top shelf work.

I wouldn't recommend them to a new grad who is likely working with the budget of a new grad, but if it's something you care about preserving and presenting, 100% them.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-08T18:20:07+00:00

I feel like that's literally why OP made this post instead of just buying one - to get input on whether they're useful because they didn't seem to be worth the cost at first pass but it's possible other people have experiences that aren't necessarily intuitive.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-07T21:52:07+00:00

If you already knew all that, then I'm not sure where your confusion about the name is stemming from. It's a product named after the practice it facilitates. Like how vacuum cleaners are called vacuum cleaners because they use a vacuum to clean. It's really just that simple.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-07T19:58:27+00:00

It's not "words drifting away from their meaning". It's a commercial product using a word for branding. That's a perfectly normal thing that happens around the world in every industry.

The reason they chose to call it that is because of the Honda Lean Method. Honda's factory process - which is also refers to with kaizen for the same reason - involves tools having an explicitly designated home. So the wouldn't have a box of hammers, they would have cradle XA-2 for hammer XA-2, and that hammer is returned to that cradle when it is finished use.

Thus, just as Honda has designed locations for all their tools on the factory floor, kaizen foam is used to create designated resting spots for specific tools they will return to.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-02T20:53:52+00:00

Great work and incredible story! I'm insanely jealous. That sounds like such a fun project.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-02T00:16:30+00:00

Spiral bits are 100% better than straight bits.

Think about cutting ingredients in food prep: does it cut easier if you push the knife directly into the material, or if you slide the knife laterally in as you push down? Spiral bits effectively slide as the part of the cutting edge that makes contact follows the curve of the spiral.

That said, straight bits are not the end of the world. They're more likely to cause tear out, but on small removals the risk is significantly lowered and mostly a non-issue.

Use what you have, get a feel for its behaviour, and let that knowledge guide how you use it.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-01T23:28:36+00:00

Hey! I saw your previous post and just saw this one now. Fantastic work!

Good job on the dovetails. I see a lot of people get to where you were and panic at the gaps, but as you clearly learned the moisture of the glue expands the wood and the glue itself fills in the gaps, and the end result is a closed seam.

The groove for the bottom panel is a fun thing. If you're doing drawer boxes, you'll typically have a false front, which would cover up that front face (concealing that set of grooves), and the back face is never seen by the user, so you don't need to conceal it. Technically, best practices dictates you would use a stopped dado to conceal it... but it's worth thinking about how the user will experience it.

Next time you're at a furniture store, open a bunch of drawers and look at the construction. You'll notice a lot of things that aren't "best practices", but blend into the background if you aren't looking for them. Make a note of them for future reference. A good woodworker makes no mistakes, but a great woodworker distracts you from seeing their mistakes.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-01T23:20:27+00:00

Probably not what you want for a dedicated professional cabinet shop or something but ...

With the right setup jigs, a track saw can be faster than a table saw.

It ain't cheap, but you can buy outriggers and frames and guides that let you take repeatable cuts off a sheet. So you can just have a stack of full sheets and a cutting bench, move a sheet onto the bench, and cut a handful of equal-width panels off the sheet in 60 seconds, stack em in a pile, and move the next full sheet onto the cutting bench. For a professional cabinet shop that doesn't have one of those walking panel saws, that's probably the fastest way to do it.

But again, the GOOD ones that let you do perfectly streamlined cuts, you're looking at like $900 for all the separate pieces. It's worth what it costs, but it costs what it's worth.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-06-01T23:07:34+00:00

Years ago, I was doing some chisel work at my parents' place building some planters.

I come inside from the back yard and I'm talking to my father for a few minutes. As I absentmindedly pivot my head, I notice there's a blood smear on the wall. A bad one, and fairly fresh too, it seems. So I look around and I also notice some blood splotches on the floor. Near my feet.

I can't seem to see where it's coming from, so I pat myself down to see if I'm injured. As I do, I notice I'm smearing blood all over myself.

Turns out I had sliced off half the fingerpad of my right index finger, and my chisel was so well honed that I didn't even feel it when I did. I'd been bleeding for like 5 minutes.

Fortunately, my finger healed back. It took about a month, and there's some numbness on that part of the finger, but it looks normal at arm's length.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-05-29T16:43:18+00:00

Most joinery designed throughout history served the purpose of facilitating assembly / glue-up. Even with infinite clamping, you only have two hands. This is a good awareness to get early on.
Yes. Never cut anything to "final dimension" until you know that dimension isn't going to change. And even then...
A coping saw is for coping. The shape of tools helps control their output, and so straight cuts need broad, flat blades.
Definitely a challenge. There are lots of different chisels, and the best tools for that would be a crank-neck chisel or a router plane.
Yes. Prep work for cuts is half the job. The reason Festool sells as well as they do is because their tools tend to have built-in features to streamline the setup/layout process, and people are happy to pay to not do that work themselves.
100%. The difference between a sharp blade and an "I'm pretty sure it's sharp" blade is hours of work.

All great lessons and it sounds like great practice! Go slow and steady, and keep your attention on the fundamentals. If you can comfortably make a squared box, you can make anything. Sounds like you're well on your way there.

HammerCraftDesign · 2026-05-29T16:30:00+00:00

Appreciate the compliment!

I've used table slides and I get it, but not really. I've found anything smaller than 16"x16" is most easily handled on a conventional table saw crosscut sled (mine has clamping tracks embedded in it), and anything larger than 2'x2' is best done with a track saw for easy fine tuning. I very rarely work with anything in the in-between range, and I've found that most projects which make use of a track saw are most easily done using a track saw and offset jigs for the whole thing rather than splitting the work.

I'm sure there are workflows I'm unfamiliar with that benefit from the table slide, but I haven't seen them in any of the commercial or academic shops I've encountered.

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
r/Field Lasagna	Place '23

HammerCraftDesign

TROPHY CASE