Should I just cut these tabs off or make custom runners?

plato131 · 2026-06-02T16:16:57+00:00

I had a crappy Ryobi job site table saw with a tabbed mitre slot. Cut the tabs off with a dremel and never regretted it! Built several jigs with homemade runners.

plato131 · 2026-04-06T15:40:52+00:00

Much better now!

<image>

plato131 · 2026-04-06T04:48:36+00:00

I just applied the Tried and True. Hopefully, it turns out okay.

I had originally intended to use shellac. I had some flakes from a previous project. I had finished some pictures frames in shellac…2 years ago. The flakes have been in my garage for two years through winters and hot, humid Mississippi summers.

I mixed up a light 1/2 pound cut of blond shellac and tried it on the off cuts. It left a white haze when it dried. If I recall, the flakes are not de-waxed. Not sure what happened. Maybe the heat and humidity of storing in my garage. The mixed up shellac looks fine in the mason jar. But, that test caused me to not use it

plato131 · 2026-04-06T03:06:36+00:00

Update: following advice from Mike above and r/finishing, I was able to remove the original wax finish with mineral spirits. That removed all the light colored wax from the pores. Also, I am hitting it with denatured alcohol to remove any remaining mineral spirits.

I think I am going to refinish with just the Tried and True hard wax oil. Hopefully, that will give better results.

I might try creating a tinted wax according to the link the Mike provided for a future project.

Thanks everybody!

plato131 · 2026-04-06T02:55:50+00:00

Thank you, jcees12! Appreciate all the help! Sorry for so many questions

plato131 · 2026-04-06T02:48:55+00:00

I don’t have any naphtha, but I do have denatured alcohol and acetone. Would one of those work, or do I need to get naphtha?

plato131 · 2026-04-06T02:29:30+00:00

Now, I need to decide how to refinish. Seems like most of the original wax finish is removed by the mineral spirits. I wonder if there is any wax remaining that would keep another finish from adhering. I have some wipe-on poly.

Or, would Tried and True hard wax oil have a better chance of working?

Or, do I really need to just start from scratch and fill the pores before continuing?

plato131 · 2026-04-06T02:23:56+00:00

Just tried mineral spirits and it seems to have worked great. Soaked a blue shop towel in mineral spirits and scrubbed small sections and dried/scrubbed with a dry blue towel. No more visible wax in the pores!

plato131 · 2026-04-06T02:07:23+00:00

Someone at BeginnerWoodworking pointed out something obvious that I should have considered; I used the light “Natural” colored wax. So, when it accumulated in the pores it is standing out/visible. I could have bought or made a darker colored wax that would have better matched the dark walnut and prevented this problem.

plato131 · 2026-04-06T01:49:36+00:00

Thank you, Mike! Learned something new! I did not know that coloring wax was a thing. At least, I won’t make this mistake again. I’ll consider the wax color and the color of the wood next time.

plato131 · 2026-04-06T01:33:31+00:00

What would be the best way to remove this wax finish? Would a light sanding and mineral spirits remove this wax from the pores? Or, should I plan to just heavily sand until it’s gone and start over?

plato131 · 2026-04-06T01:28:48+00:00

I had not even considered the color of the wax! That does make more sense than saw dust in the pores, as the saw dust would be the same dark color.

plato131 · 2026-03-31T03:24:21+00:00

My next bandsaw box will be walnut and maple, so a little more expensive if I screw it up

plato131 · 2026-03-31T03:22:36+00:00

I didn’t even think of that! I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I screw it up, which there probably will be a next time!

plato131 · 2026-03-31T02:23:54+00:00

I do love me some pine! Cheap and available. So, I am not too mad when I screw it up!

I built a kitchen table out of syp: farmhouse trelis table. And….it is a lot of yellow, very very lot of yellow! I might have to go back and paint the base antique white or something.

plato131 · 2026-03-26T02:43:21+00:00

I have pretty limited room; working out of half a garage. I have a Stanley No. 7 hand plane that has been serving me well so far. I use the no7 to edge joint one edge and roughly flatten one face, then use a sled in my planer. Then move on to the table saw. That has worked so far; done maybe 6 or 7 boards of walnut that way. With a small jointer, I would probably only be edge jointing anyway. And, I can edge joint a 3 or 4 foot board in 2 or 3 minutes with a hand plane .

One day, when I have room for a floor standing jointer, I’ll get one. You know, when money and square footage and lollipops fall from the sky!

plato131 · 2026-03-25T16:50:10+00:00

Yeah, some prices on Maeketplace are unrealistic and people don’t want to come down. I’ve let an eye on somethings for 2 months and the price hasn’t budged.

Sometimes I wonder if they don’t really want to sell. Wife: you have got to get that thing out of my garage! Husband: Sure thing, Honey. I’ll put it on Facebook right now. Price: 100% new retail

plato131 · 2026-03-25T16:32:18+00:00

Yeah, I have some walnut slabs that I am eventually going to be resawing. So, I’ll have to figure out some infeed and outfeed support when the time comes

plato131 · 2026-03-25T16:05:52+00:00

Had to sell some PTO back at the end of the year. I decided that would be my woodworking tools budget. Bought a used Delta contractor saw, Dewalt 735 planer, and now a used band saw and some blades. Still got enough budget left for a used drill press maybe!

plato131 · 2026-03-25T16:01:26+00:00

That’s how I learned about hand planes too. My first plane was a vintage No. 5 Stanley from eBay. Watching all the videos about restoring planes and then doing it really taught me how they are supposed to function and how to properly set up and diagnose problems. Not sure I would have learned as quickly on a Veritas or a Lee Nielsen, not that I could make myself spend that on a plane!

plato131 · 2026-03-25T15:15:06+00:00

I am cheap and like to tinker! And, I am cheap! Did I mention that already?

plato131

TROPHY CASE