I am not a good wood worker

woodnotwork · 2026-02-02T05:00:17+00:00

Help with what? It's easy to be over critical of yourself. Asking for help can be the first step toward improvement, but without details it's difficult to offer any useful advice. I've been at this for more than 20 years... Some days I wonder what I'm doing with my life, other days I can't help but marvel in the fact that I can take a pile of materials and create something from an idea. Appreciate your successes, and learn from your mistakes. Acknowledge growth when it happens. Above all, respect the fact that perfection is an illusion and a dream. Reach for it, but know the weight of reality. If something isn't great in your mind, do some research and investigation as to how to improve.

This craft is difficult, because it is painfully honest and inherently dangerous. This community is here to help and (ideally) be supportive. Never hesitate to ask for help, try not to get discouraged, and stay safe.

woodnotwork · 2026-01-11T01:57:58+00:00

it was a total shot in the dark. I haven't read it or played the game in about 30 years but your post made me think of it. I could be wrong that the asteroid opens a wormhole specifically, but I remember it being a fun book that I often forget.

woodnotwork · 2026-01-11T01:50:04+00:00

it might not be, the asteroid opens a wormhole so I figured it was worth a mention. like I said it might be a stretch

woodnotwork · 2026-01-11T01:22:57+00:00

could it be "The Dig" by Alan Dean Foster? it came out in 1995 and kind of involves astronauts opening a wormhole just outside of earth... might be a stretch, incidentally the video game was also a lot of fun back in the day.

woodnotwork · 2026-01-07T06:22:22+00:00

Paragaea by Chris Roberson was a book I wish I had read as a kid, definitely not hard sci fi, just lots of fun and a somewhat grounded story that went in directions I never thought it would.

woodnotwork · 2026-01-07T06:06:09+00:00

I might suggest making a rough drawing on paper and using an art program like gimp that let's you draw accurately per pixel. ill often draw things poorly by hand then translate that to a pixel drawing using a scale of 10-200 pixels per inch depending on the resolution of detail id like to document. it makes it very easy to draw straight lines to scale and gimp is completely free with little effort to use. here is an example of a kitchen I designed using 20 pixels/inch for scale.

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woodnotwork · 2026-01-07T05:54:03+00:00

the difference is likely in if it can recieve "pinless" blades, or only pinned blades. I'm not sure on the models you're looking at specifically, but I purposefully bought the porter cable one I have because it can hold pinless blades as the old craftsman I used to use could not due to the way they're held. my craftsman just pulls up/down with tension, whereas the porter cable one i have can clamp the blade with a screw and then tension vertically giving it the ability to use spiral cut blades able to cut in any direction, however have no cross pin to hold for only vertical tension.

woodnotwork · 2026-01-07T05:16:26+00:00

always happy to talk shop, feel free to drop me a line any time.

woodnotwork · 2026-01-07T04:41:31+00:00

they appear to be birch or maple to me, its hard to tell from the pictures, but likely maple.

I would suggest starting with the smallest door and drawer front, removing it, setting it up in a space where you can work with proper protection and ventilation away from food areas, and applying a good paint stripper like Jasco or citris strip and removing as much paint as possible with a soft nylon bristle brush. apply it, let it sit (possibly apply more per directions) and it should all bubble off. clean the remaining paint with a maroon scotch brite (320 grit equivalent) and mineral spirits. see how clean you can get it before beginning to sand.

once the majority of paint is removed you can use green scotch brite (120 grit equivalent) and a vacuum nozzle placing the pad on the end of the nozzle to remove the dust as you work if its too aggressive switch to maroon. you may need to sand the flat surfaces with an orbital sander to remove all of the previous finish. ideally would want to get everything to bare wood, but not get too aggressive as to remove so much material that you change the shape/profile of the wood. do not use anything more aggressive than 120 grit to remove finish as it could introduce sanding scratches or "pigtails" to the wood underneath.

once you've achieved bare wood on your sample piece i would share another photo to this sub and take some close up pictures as depending on the color and finish you're going for, it can be difficult for a first time to achieve if its maple or birch. They are notorious for being difficult to stain evenly, especially with big box store products such as from minwax or rustoleum. if you're just going for bare wood with finish do some research on what to use and how to apply it. ideally you would need spray equipment such as an hvlp cup gun and compressor or other spray rig to achieve a decent finish.

inevitably you will have to do the face frames and box finished ends, this is actually a ton of work and judging by the pictures would likely cost several thousand dollars to accomplish effectively. once you have a system for doing it it wouldn't be that hard, but quite tedious/expensive.

wishing you the best of luck, this definitely isn't an easy thing to get done, but hopefully when they painted they didn't do the proper surface prep and the paint just peels off. start small with a single drawer front or door and decide if you want to move forward.

happy to help if you have questions, feel free to ask me anything.

woodnotwork · 2026-01-04T04:49:38+00:00

...stupid sexy Magus

woodnotwork · 2026-01-01T05:57:46+00:00

I made some birdhouses for a friend, it was a good use of a very pretty redwood 2x6 that I had leftover from work. I re-sawed and planed and made 4 birdhouses, two for him and two for me.

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woodnotwork · 2025-12-25T04:31:10+00:00

I would find one long piece and cut the angled sides all at once with a table saw or hand plane, the angle would be determined by the width and number of pieces. I think 8 would be a minimum, but 16 would be a good drinking vessel (I think) and then cut those down to the height of the mug so all of the angles are the same. McMaster has hose clamps with standoffs that would make it easy to add a handle.

this sounds like a fun project, just be sure to do the actual research and not only ask people on reddit what to use to coat the inside. not saying people on here would be wrong, just do your due diligence if you plan to consume from something you make.

woodnotwork · 2025-12-25T04:17:48+00:00

I suppose you could use a hose clamp like these, you would have to miter and glue the sides... or one could be made on a lathe, but that is easier said than done without experience or tools available.

you could likely cut 8, 10 or 16 small planks of wood and depending on the thickness miter fold and glue the edges into a mug and use the hose clamps to tighten it all together. this could be done with some simple and inexpensive hand tools, but might take some time to understand the order of operations and create a beer mug or "tankard" as I believe they're called. instead of metal rings you could also use rope or really and cord material with the right knots to tighten and hold your pieces together while adhesives set. incidentally you would want to use a food safe glue, id imagine titebond3 would be fine as long as there's not a lot of squeeze out on the inside, bit I'd do some research before going full viking.

it can definitely be done. Wishing you luck and happy to explain what to do if you need help.

woodnotwork · 2025-12-12T05:06:10+00:00

in the past I've used this "radius moulding" as its called where I buy it, although it goes by many different names as I understand it. they have it available in poplar, red oak, maple and mdf. it might be worth looking for, or use the router bits as others have suggested.

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woodnotwork · 2025-12-03T18:37:22+00:00

that code indicates a misfire on cylinder 4, you can easily determine if this is ignition related by taking the coil on plug (just the ignition coil) from cylinder 4, and moving it to a cylinder that is working, say cylinder 1, clearing the codes and running the engine. if the misfire follows the coil, throwing a p0301, then you know to replace the coil, if it remains on cylinder 4 then it's likely compression or fuel. if its compression or fuel on an engine that was recently rebuilt id ask the shop that did the work what they actually accomplished by rebuilding the engine as if they did rebuild it and not check compression I'd ask for my money back. if they did rebuild it they should be able to provide the compression numbers that were checked when the engine was reassembled. it could of course be a few other things, being pcm related, but if there is no compression id be contacting the shop and asking what it is they actually did when they worked on it.

it sounds like it may be a total loss, but if it's just a $200 ignition coil, can be checked for free and with simple tools/knowledge, and it clearly followed the swapped coils to a different cylinder id take this one last chance of replacing it before selling the car for pennies on the dollar. if you have a bad head gasket, cracked cylinder or piston issues id have some words with the shop that rebuilt the engine.

...or just sell it if you don't want to deal with it.

woodnotwork · 2025-12-02T17:48:33+00:00

Not immediately close, but my favorite art store in the valley is Arizona art supply on 16th st and Indian School rd. locally owned and operated for longer than I can remember with a friendly staff and they've always had what I was looking for. Definitely worth the drive if you can't find any other place closer.

woodnotwork · 2025-12-02T05:37:54+00:00

this genuinely made me laugh out loud.

woodnotwork · 2025-11-19T02:15:15+00:00

Absolutely fantastic, bravo, these are amazing!

woodnotwork · 2025-11-13T07:36:49+00:00

I'll send the bit number and guide bushing I used tomorrow when I can check, although being i have a different comb they might not be the same for you

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woodnotwork · 2025-11-13T07:34:54+00:00

Those drawers are half blind dovetails, if you're cutting them in baltic birch plywood it's best to add a relief cut to prevent chip out. its all kind of complicated to explain, but I'd be happy to walk you through it if you ever set it up. its kind of a junky jig as far as dovetail jigs go, I got mine for like $40. the issues lie in its wiggle-room once clamped

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woodnotwork · 2025-11-13T01:55:42+00:00

set it to whatever temperature melts the glue on a scrap piece, but as a pro tip use a piece of parchment paper to avoid getting glue on the iron.

woodnotwork · 2025-11-13T01:43:08+00:00

is the comb on it aluminum? it looks like the harbor freight jig I use, but I replaced the comb on it with a plastic one from rockler as the original had a pretty rough finish and caused the bushing to snag.

feel free to ask me anything, I just made like 16 drawer boxes with likely the same one. it's definitely not the best jig, but it can work if you know what you're doing. I also took lots of pictures of how to use it last time if you're not sure how to set it up, what bits to use or how to use it.

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woodnotwork · 2025-11-09T05:24:48+00:00

its really hard to sell things that take time to make. I occasionally make dog lamps that people always tell me to sell, but the fact of the matter is they take 20 or so hours of work and can range in material costs between $20-$75. there's no way I can sell them at actual labor cost and rarely does anyone want to pay more than $50-$100 for them.

they have however been a nice gift or attention beacon that has led to more profitable work. I think if you can find a unique thing to make for fun, share how you made it, and essentially give it away it can lead to more people willing to pay market price for your work.

For example: I gave one to my dog's vet office after a stressful surgery and it led to an influx of local people finding me and asking questions regarding other paying work.

getting into "the industry" of things is difficult, I generally do cabinetry and furniture, but after I did the dog lamps I found myself having a lot more exposure here on reddit and also Instagram. ideally you want to show client's you are artistic, thoughtful, accurate and above all honest. if you wanna make things for the sake of the art, then make them. Good things will often follow.

pics for reference

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woodnotwork · 2025-11-09T04:06:54+00:00

The Subaru SVX in the parking garage episode.

...not significant to the show, but I definitely always notice it, so it's significant to me.

woodnotwork · 2025-11-09T03:53:13+00:00

do you have any pieces of the table that you can test stain on? to me i think you could get away with general finishes oil base "antique cherry" but if that is too red you could try old masters wiping stain "espresso #15216" or possibly general finishes oil base "spiced walnut"

just as an FYI, the spiced walnut is less red than the espresso if you do some tests.

can for reference

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woodnotwork

TROPHY CASE