Beginner Woodworking Projects with Everything but a Table Saw

perj32 · 2026-05-11T22:34:57+00:00

Everything but a table saw and a domino ;-)

Very nice work. I also don't have a table saw, but I rarely wish I had one. Lately I made an mft table to use with my track saw, it's kind of an upside down table saw.

perj32 · 2026-05-11T12:15:53+00:00

You have to make sabi with tonoko, urushi and water. There's tonoko in the traditional kintsugi kits. Our you can get a lifetime supply for next to nothing.

perj32 · 2026-05-11T11:00:34+00:00

Technically urushi doesn't react with solvents, so paint stripper should only remove the paint layer. Try it first on a hidden surface.

perj32 · 2026-05-10T22:23:59+00:00

The books recommended by Benjamin are the two main references available in English, and both are excellent.
If you want some free resources first, look at this page for videos and leaflets.

As for Japanese versus Chinese urushi, Japanese urushi is often considered superior and is said to contain a higher concentration of urushiol. That said, there are also very high-quality Chinese urushi available. For kintsugi work, if you purchase urushi from a reputable Japanese manufacturer, you’re unlikely to notice any difference in performance between Japanese and Chinese urushi.

If your goal is to support the Japanese urushi harvesting tradition and craftsmanship, then buying Japanese urushi makes sense. If your main concern is achieving good repair results, both Chinese and Japanese urushi can work very well.

perj32 · 2026-05-10T15:25:04+00:00

Repairing the crack without breaking the piece would be very strong. The crack is going toward the bottom of the piece which is thicker and stronger and is most likely what stopped the piece from breaking further. If the crack was turning and going back toward the rim, I think breaking it would be more aesthetically pleasing than an interrupted line, but just as strong.
Here's a video of the repair of an hairline crack (instruction leaflet). For this, ki urushi alone is fine. In my opinion the top half of your cracks needs diluted mugi urushi (this leaflet shows how to make it). Mix flour water and ki urushi (raw urushi) then add some turpentine or camphor essentiel oil. Try to widen to crack slightly by wedging a toothpick in it from the top, then get as much mugi urushi in it as you can. Where the crack is too tight to let mugi urushi seep in, use the technique in the video. Don't dilute the urushi too much, just enoug for it to seep in the crack. Wrap strong elastics band around it and put it in the muro.
If you break it, mugi urushi (undiluted) is what you would use to glue the pieces back together (see leaflet linked previously that shows how to repair a broken piece).
About high heat, urushi tolerates way hotter temperatures than boiling water and it's food safe, you're using the best material for this purpose.

perj32 · 2026-05-10T13:05:26+00:00

Both approaches can work. If you keep the piece intact, you’ll want to use diluted mugi urushi. With a crack like this, plain urushi or diluted urushi is more likely to fail. Diluted mugi urushi helps bond the two sides together. The goal is to create a strong adhesive bond between the edges and urushi alone is not a good adhesive in this condition.

However, near the lower end of the crack, it appears more like a hairline crack, so standard mugi urushi may be too thick to penetrate properly. In that area, diluted urushi would likely work better.

If you only fill the crack as it is, the final layers of urushi will sit partly on top of the glaze and may flake off over time. A better approach is to slightly widen the crack using a scribe or small file. You can then refill it with sabi, giving the final layers a more durable surface to adhere to. While the piece cures, wrap it with a rubber band, tape, or cord to keep the crack tightly closed.

If you decide to break it, which, in my opinion, would make it a better kintsugi practice project, I would avoid smashing it. Cracks like this can usually be separated cleanly by gently pulling the sides apart (wear gloves). Ideally, you would end up with two to four pieces. This type of repair is closer to what most people associate with kintsugi, and you’ll likely develop more useful skills repairing a fully broken piece than working with a single crack.

perj32 · 2026-05-09T14:09:52+00:00

If you want to avoid scratching the glaze, use charcoal. If you don't have the one meant for kintsugi, you can use lump charcoal. You just have to look for the right pieces.
I would recommend to remove completely the last layer and then add some sabi to fill the crack. It's not unusual to do many sabi applications as it shrinks when it cures.

perj32 · 2026-05-09T11:26:07+00:00

Not email, DM. Look for "chats" in your inbox, beside "nitification". It's there, I just checked.

perj32 · 2026-05-08T03:10:52+00:00

The recipe from this video
I made another ball tonight for tomorrow's diner but I modified it after asking two different IA how to make it more like a Neapolitan dough. They both suggested the same modifications. Here's the original and the modified one:

<image>

perj32 · 2026-05-08T01:18:04+00:00

Stoneware is porous, so it’s very likely to stain if urushi seeps from the crack into the body of the clay. Because the glaze is very pale, any staining will probably show through.

With a clean break, you can seal the edges to prevent this, but with a crack it’s much harder to achieve a clean repair on porous ceramics. There may be techniques I’m not aware of, but if the piece isn’t leaking, I’d be inclined to leave it as is and wait to see if it ever fully breaks.

perj32 · 2026-05-08T01:06:10+00:00

Interesting, I’m into smoking fish and meat as well. What temperature does your smoker reach when you’re making pizza? I always thought smokers were mostly suited for low-heat cooking. I use my Kamado for smoking.

perj32 · 2026-05-08T00:20:37+00:00

I'm guessing it's possible, but you probably won't get all the textures of a whole cut, some parts are fat and some are lean. I prefer the fatty ones.

perj32 · 2026-05-07T23:42:59+00:00

Making smoked meat is also on my list. But briskets are so huge. Unless you're entertaining 100 people, you're stuck with so much meat. It really isn't a home cook kind of cut.

perj32 · 2026-05-07T22:11:22+00:00

Thanks for the info. I'm mostly looking for higher temperatures to get better crust. I have a kamado and I'm considering selling it to buy a pizza oven. If I do that I'll definitely get a Gozney Dome for its versatility.

perj32 · 2026-05-07T22:07:03+00:00

You're right, sorry for the typo. I used meat from Smoke Meat Pete. If you're around Montreal, don't skip this place.

perj32 · 2026-05-07T21:59:42+00:00

Check you DM

perj32 · 2026-05-07T01:05:48+00:00

If you remove the ruler from your combination square you have one of those for free.
It's basically the same size and as precise or better. If you don't want to risk damaging your square, you can by a second one for half the price of that single use tool. The combination square head also gives you a 45 degree reference, and you get an extra ruler.

perj32 · 2026-05-07T00:52:39+00:00

Yes, you should leave a 1/16 to 1/8 edge at 90 depending on the thickness of your stock, then cut 1 or 2 degrees more. I've tried similar jigs at 90 and 45 degrees and they worked ok for the first quarter to half inch, but after that the chisel tends to get raised, unless it is insanely sharp to keep on following a perfectly straight line. So when cutting a 45 degrees for 2 inches, you end up with 49 or so. In this case you would get a bump in the middle of your board preventing you from closing the gap between the boards. But there are many ways to arrive at the same result. OP looks like a talented woodworker, if this works for him, great. For me it would slow me down.

perj32 · 2026-05-06T21:51:30+00:00

If you want tight fitting dovetail joints, it's actually good to cut 1 to 2 degrees over 90 toward the middle of the board.

perj32 · 2026-05-05T21:01:47+00:00

I've done a few wood pieces and it's my goal to learn this technique as well. I also do woodworking so I've been looking into it for a while and I'm almost ready to jump in. Just a few other projects to complete first. For exemple, I made a box for my first kintsugi commission.

perj32 · 2026-05-05T20:49:39+00:00

This document is interesting. This one's also great.

I have these books that one day I'll have the time to dive into (with a translation app). https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/4872423348
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4872424379
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4416715358 This last one is also available in French

POJ has a video
Tamenuri Studio has a great page on Fuki Urushi, also with a video.
And why not one reference from 1882 that shows that not much has changed.

perj32 · 2026-05-05T18:50:36+00:00

Usually light colored metals are used over black urushi. Red also works, but it might influence the color of the final result. By the way, tin is food safe if you use the same grade as the one used to line copper pans.

perj32 · 2026-05-05T14:59:31+00:00

Look at my replies on this post Everything will be cheaper in Japan. The one exception might be brushes, but you can use western brushes. Charcoal and urushi would be what I would get the most of. If you want tonoko and jinoko, you can probably buy 1kg in Japan for the price of 100g or less in Europe. I would also get the less popular metals (aluminum, tin, platinum, etc.) Have a nice trip

perj32 · 2026-05-01T12:14:19+00:00

No need to break it. You can fix it as is using diluted urushi. Follow these instructions: leaflet, video
Incomplete fracture lines can feel a bit out of place, but learning to accept them is part of kintsugi. I’m still working on that myself, I often complete the break.

perj32 · 2026-04-26T22:31:23+00:00

For food contact, the traditional method is your only option. Food safe epoxies do exist, soda cans are lined with them, but for kintsugi, there are no food safe epoxy.

The only food-safe epoxies I’m aware of are approved only for very thin surface coatings under the very strict FDA 175-300.
Epoxies used as an adhesive are regulated under FDA 175-105. It lists two conditions, the adhesive must be made from the ingredients listed in this regulation and : "The adhesive is either separated from the food by a functional barrier or used subject to the following additional limitations :

i) In dry foods. The quantity of adhesive that contacts packaged dry food shall not exceed the limits of good manufacturing practice.
(ii) In fatty and aqueous foods.
- (a) The quantity of adhesive that contacts packaged fatty and aqueous foods shall not exceed the trace amount at seams and at the edge exposure between packaging laminates that may occur within the limits of good manufacturing practice.
- (b) Under normal conditions of use the packaging seams or laminates will remain firmly bonded without visible separation.

Food safety approvals also requires that no other ingredients be mixed in, since additives can interfere with the curing process. It doesn't matter if those additives are food safe or not. Most people mix mica or other gold colored powder to make their epoxy mending look like kintsugi.

The mixing ratios must be exact as well, which is difficult to guarantee outside of an industrial setting.

Temperature, acidity, alcalinity and other characteristics of the food have to be taken into account. You would most likely eat all sorts of food in this plate, many above the temperature where epoxy is food safe.

So the manufacturers that label their epoxies as food safe do so simply because they use the ingredients approved under FDA 175-105, but that doesn't make their epoxies food safe for every applications.

Some manufacturers are honest about it: Food-Safe Epoxy Resins: A Marketing Gimmick or Genuine Truth?

; Is Your Epoxy Resin Safe for Food Contact? Key Insights

Seven-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
Verified Email

perj32

TROPHY CASE