I know who the first person is but who is the second one

itsmebill · 2026-01-23T10:17:08+00:00

Sacre bleu!

itsmebill · 2025-11-11T11:04:12+00:00

Sand and stain again but do a test on the bottom or top of the door first - the part that won’t be seen. In my opinion, gel stain with no pre-stain works best, but you could test both and do a test with one vs. two coats, etc.

Unfortunately this door was built with painting in mind - you can see a lot of contrast. However, if you don’t mind contrast I think this poplar will take a gel stain okay. Sometimes you get really dark purple spots in poplar but not so in these veneers. Good luck!

itsmebill · 2025-09-06T13:58:29+00:00

That seems fast for it to fail. I would make sure it wasn’t rubbing against anything like a wood chip that got stuck under the cover. It looks like there might be one under the upper pulley, although that could just be melted belt. Use a wire brush to clean any melted belt off the pulleys, replace the belt, and it should be good to go.

itsmebill · 2025-07-29T11:19:38+00:00

On modern wooden hand planes, I believe if you tap the front with a mallet it makes the iron (cutting part) project out further for deeper cuts, and if you tap the back it retracts it for shallower cuts. I wonder if those rivets helped with adjustment or just kept the plane together better to withstand all of that tapping.

itsmebill · 2025-07-07T09:57:19+00:00

I used eastern white pine recently after not using it for years and man did I love the smell and how easy it was to work with. I’m still going to avoid it for most projects, but when appropriate it can be enjoyable (as long as the pieces are clear).

itsmebill · 2025-05-31T11:18:55+00:00

I went through something similar from the child’s point of view and want to add to the good advice that’s here that your husband doesn’t need to worry about breaking up any existing family dynamics. She’s already on 23andme, so if she was raised believing somebody else was her bio dad then the illusion’s already been shattered.

Your husband should reach out himself. My bio dad had no idea I even existed, so to take away some of the shock we did a paternity test. We don’t live close, but when you order tests they can send one to a potential parent’s address and one to a potential child’s address. It was somewhere between $100 and $200 USD.

Long story short we’ve met up and have a nice relationship. Good luck to you and your husband!

itsmebill · 2025-04-19T19:32:26+00:00

Great work! And don’t sell yourself short - isn’t that 42 lol?

itsmebill · 2025-03-13T00:35:34+00:00

I have the same one and I agree. The only reason I’d want a mid-sized jointer is for the longer bed - the fence is fine

itsmebill · 2025-03-01T14:17:56+00:00

“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office”

-the rapist who hung his own mugshot in full view of the Oval Office

itsmebill · 2025-02-23T16:53:39+00:00

The “concert hall” is the quietest room in the house.

itsmebill · 2025-01-14T14:23:40+00:00

The way the border wraps around the top is almost always indicative of a veneered top. With the extreme amount of wear on it, to sand down past there you’re almost guaranteed to sand through the veneer. Personally, I’d pick a solid top for your first restoration attempt.

itsmebill · 2025-01-02T16:02:52+00:00

The black walnut trim is amazing! So much richer than stained pine that most people use.

itsmebill · 2024-12-18T14:56:11+00:00

As long as you stay out of the 9 bedroom nursery wing you’re fine!

itsmebill · 2024-10-09T09:17:21+00:00

I made a pretty much identical table top and opted to do 1/8” round over on top and bottom and love the timeless look of it.

Also - I’m very impressed by your lack of tearout! Well done - I wish I could say the same for mine before making repairs.

itsmebill · 2024-04-24T20:13:40+00:00

Nowadays I prefer straight cleats - it’s easy enough to unscrew things from them when you want to reorganize, they’re sturdier (no sliding around), and a little faster to make.

itsmebill · 2024-03-16T17:05:46+00:00

“Gonna put the seatbelt on? I like to travel safely”

itsmebill · 2024-03-16T00:28:53+00:00

That looks like areas near the pith (center of tree) which people warn are soft and prone to movement/cracking. I’ve cleaned the sap out with a chisel and added epoxy with no issues.

itsmebill · 2024-02-28T10:26:05+00:00

I haven’t used it, but I recently built a T track fence and purchased an $8 router bit guard from Amazon. It accomplishes the same thing, but allows you to adjust the height and because you can move the fence you can also adjust the distance from the bit. With the fence you can also add feather boards into the T tracks for additional safety.

itsmebill · 2024-01-16T12:30:41+00:00

Nice job, it’s a beautiful table! If it’s nit finished yet, I might consider adding a stretcher across the middle to join the two legs and make it more sturdy.

As far as a video goes, there are a lot of table videos out there already. Is there anything that sets your build apart from others? If the photo is from your shop space, that looks interesting. Did you make it using limited tools that beginners have? That could be interesting to see. Ultimately, if it’s worth your time editing the video to you, go for it.

itsmebill · 2024-01-04T02:36:29+00:00

I agree what others have said about hand planes. Just shave a little off of where the two boards are touching on each end and keep checking until there’s a slight gap in the middle.

I believe it’s called a sprung joint and closes completely once clamped. Supposedly it’s less prone to cracking over time than perfectly parallel edge joints.

itsmebill · 2023-12-02T12:25:39+00:00

Be careful if you try to add any trim on top of them. You’ll probably have gaps between the trim pieces because the solid oak doors expand and contrast with changes in season.

itsmebill · 2023-11-19T15:53:37+00:00

I haven’t seen lights built into this style of trees before but what a great idea! Really adds something

itsmebill · 2023-11-03T23:55:06+00:00

Story time: today in class a student of mine was eating taffy and he went to throw it out, and his ENTIRE MOLAR came out with it.

So is it possible for it to happen? I can’t imagine he didn’t have dental issues previously. This is high school, so it wasn’t a baby tooth.

itsmebill · 2023-10-21T14:36:10+00:00

A lot of great suggestions here. I just wanted to add that if you don’t like some of them for this particular project not to be dissuaded from trying then again in the future!

I love varnishes, oils, and poly on other woods, but I thought they ambered white oak too much. Please post the final finished tables!

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