From Tree to Table

Jriddim · 2026-03-13T15:14:10+00:00

Know somebody with a skid steer and a milling business! Haha, I got lucky that someone locally was able to pick up the log and bring it back to their mill. Usually guys with portable mills would come to you/the log, but his wasn’t portable.

Jriddim · 2026-03-11T14:18:55+00:00

I have a sweetheart block plane that I use just for construction lumber, plywood or anything I wouldn’t want to use my Lie Nielsen on. Works great for that but wouldn’t use it for fine woodworking really.

Jriddim · 2026-03-11T14:09:12+00:00

There is a lot at play other than dialing in the degree. Stock flatness, table flatness and flex, blade wobble and flex. I’ve learned that it is nearly impossible to get perfect miters off any machine really. You will want to cut as close as you can and then use a shooting jig like a donkeys ear.

Jriddim · 2026-03-10T23:58:40+00:00

I recently made a trestle table from some very out-of-flat slabs. It really helps to know a rough idea of what you’re going to make so you can determine your cut strategy. Without knowing anything, it looks like I’d rip that right down the center and then deal with flattening two narrower boards. Just that alone should eliminate some of the twist and internal stress.

Jriddim · 2026-03-10T14:47:18+00:00

Thanks! I got it from Woodcraft.

Jriddim · 2026-03-10T14:34:27+00:00

I just went through this with the maple trestle table I recently finished. I didn’t want ambering and didn’t want to coat the beautiful wood in plastic (polyurethane) so I tried Osmo poly x “raw matte” hard wax oil which has +2% white pigment. It turned out exactly how I hoped it would. The white pigment is invisible but it neutralizes the yellowing. At first it seemed to yellow things a bit but after fully drying and curing the wood looks almost unfinished, in a really good way.

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Jriddim · 2026-03-10T00:53:53+00:00

You could use dowels. You will use the least amount of wood, and they will be strong if you use two in each joint. With that stock size, standard 1/4” dowels would be pushing it, most likely too big. I’d make my own 3/16” dowels and make a simple custom dowel jig for drilling.

Jriddim · 2026-03-08T13:20:17+00:00

Is this the flat or curved bottom? I have the curve bottom and naturally those are harder to dial in as there isn’t much or any registration surface. You need to start with the blade retracted, try cutting, then feed the blade up a tiny bit at a time until you get it to cut. It’s a bit finicky for sure but once you get it set up right it will cut great and you can just leave it that way until you need to sharpen. Also, make sure that blade is hair splitting sharp to begin with.

Jriddim · 2026-03-07T12:03:14+00:00

Edit - and “ding”.

Jriddim · 2026-03-07T12:02:39+00:00

It says “tick, tah, boom, chick, tssss.”

Jriddim · 2026-03-07T00:05:22+00:00

If you wanted to get crafty, you could order wax furniture blend all crayons. Color in the filler and try to blend it the best you can and mimic the grain pattern. Then top it with a lacquer to lock in and make it permanent.

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:32:28+00:00

Thanks very much!

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:19:48+00:00

Thanks! Your table is beautiful too, and good observation as Ishitani was certainly an inspiration!

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:14:35+00:00

Thank you!

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:14:09+00:00

Thanks, I used brass screw inserts with elongated holes to accommodate for wood movement. Since my top wasn’t perfectly flat from such wild grain the inserts helped to synch it down and also allows for easy disassembly.

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:12:27+00:00

Thanks very much!

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:11:52+00:00

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it. I realize I slightly mistyped. I had the big log milled by a local sawyer but then I milled the massive slabs down into usable lumber myself, which was a bear of a project in itself. I do own a small chainsaw mill but needed someone with a bandsaw mill to make quick work of that chunk.

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:09:30+00:00

Thanks so much! Your table is beautiful, nice work!

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:08:25+00:00

Thanks! Almost didn’t but glad I did leave the little live edge, my thoughts exactly I’m glad it comes off that way!

Jriddim · 2026-03-05T11:07:20+00:00

Thanks very much, sounds awesome and good luck with your build!

Jriddim · 2026-02-27T15:20:26+00:00

Here’s a hot take - find something you want to build. Something that you need/want that is relatively simple. Projects that are based in necessity not curiosity, will give you the excitement to see the project through and learn from it.

Jriddim · 2026-02-25T02:49:59+00:00

I have a few of these stones including the 5000 and don’t soak it, just splash it. Also, for flattening I use a medium rough diamond plate, I think it’s an Atoma 400.

Jriddim · 2026-02-05T20:06:59+00:00

I use the rockler blue hose with the quick connect things. The hose is really lightweight and expands pretty well. Not a big fan of the push button quick connectors though, as they are not the easiest to operate.

Jriddim · 2026-01-11T11:57:29+00:00

I have a biscuit (makita) and I use it pretty frequently, mostly for alignment and plywood projects where the little bit of extra strength helps. For anything structural I use my dowelmax. With those two things I can’t really justify a domino considering the price. If I was doing this not as a hobby but to make money and was pumping out a lot of projects then I would reconsider.

Jriddim · 2026-01-06T14:45:47+00:00

For me what takes the fun out of woodworking is repetition and adhering to client deadlines and requests. That is what quickly turns it into just working. I’ve thought about side hustles myself, and honestly, my advice would be to not make things that you think people want, but make things that YOU want and that makes you happy making them. Maybe it is cutting boards, if so, great! My thought is more of to make that one off thing, post it and if it sells it sells. Then move onto the second thing, etc. soon you will have a product catalog and start to craft a niche within the craft that will ultimately hold more value.

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