November 27, 20241 yr Not sure the best place to post this. I’m looking for a way to have some organization of my tools. I was thinking a box on wheels for the saws, drills, and other large power tools. But damn everyone wants $100+ for a plastic box with wheels. I found a $70 on Walmart that also has 2 smaller tackle box like tool boxes that ride on top of the big box, but I don’t think those smaller boxes will be useful. Probably going to grab a bag with dividers for the hand tools. Anyone have any recs for portable tool storage that are decent priced? Edited November 27, 20241 yr by UT_OB1
December 21, 20241 yr Popular Post I’m adding some drawers to replace doors and shelves under my garage workbench. I’m using the half- half-half method from YouTube and it’s my first time to ever use a dado head. I used the panel saw and miter saw from work to break down 1 sheet of 1/2” and 1 sheet of 1/4”. I have the first drawer dry fit to prove my engineering and will build the rest tomorrow. I don’t care if all y’all woodworkers laugh, I’m a toolmaker/gunsmith, not a cabinetmaker. Edited January 3Jan 3 by Shoxthemonkey
March 3Mar 3 Popular Post Built this entry table. I used Peruvian walnut, read oak and a third wood that I can’t remember for the top and coated with a poly. The base is just box store lumber painted and stained. I may refinish the top at some point since seems like the topcoat is a little uneven.
March 4Mar 4 22 hours ago, DallasHorn26 said: Built this entry table. I used Peruvian walnut, read oak and a third wood that I can’t remember for the top and coated with a poly. The base is just box store lumber painted and stained. I may refinish the top at some point since seems like the topcoat is a little uneven. Great work!
March 10Mar 10 French door question. I noticed some light coming through the bottom and top of our doors. I thought it might just be worn weather stripping, so I replaced the center ateop. But upon closer inspection, there is a decent sized gap at the bottom where the doors meet. I believe these doors were probably installed by the previous owner. Can I do something with the door threshold to seal it, or is this an astragal problem or what?
March 10Mar 10 32 minutes ago, hookem2010 said: astragal I feel similar satisfaction to when I finally googled newel post while watching Christmas Vacation.
March 10Mar 10 3 hours ago, hookem2010 said: French door question. I noticed some light coming through the bottom and top of our doors. I thought it might just be worn weather stripping, so I replaced the center ateop. But upon closer inspection, there is a decent sized gap at the bottom where the doors meet. I believe these doors were probably installed by the previous owner. Can I do something with the door threshold to seal it, or is this an astragal problem or what? Typically the threshold weatherstripping continues on the secondary door beneath the astragal. Maybe they cut it back because it was dragging? I'm guessing you could pull both doors off the hinges and affix new threshold weatherstripping to both doors, then cut to length to narrow the gap. It looks like there's a multipoint bolt that drops into the threshold from the astragal, so you may have to modify the new sweep to go around that. Assuming both doors have standard grooves, those replacement threshold weatherstrippings are super easy to install. It takes 10X as long to get the doors off the hinges as it does to actually install the weatherstipping.
March 13Mar 13 I took delivery on this custom vanity an hour ago, and I am realizing now that I am pretty disappointed in how it turned out with respect to the inspiration image I sent the carpenter. The color of the stain doesn't necessarily bother me per se, but the prominent wood grain makes it look rather rustic, when this tiny powder room is probably the most formal room in my house. The cabinets have a noticeable gap as well. Can someone take a guess at what type of wood this is? Is there anything that can be done to make it look a little less country? I guess I could paint it, but I'm annoyed as I paid extra for stain grade wood.
March 13Mar 13 11 minutes ago, harpercollins said: I took delivery on this custom vanity an hour ago, and I am realizing now that I am pretty disappointed in how it turned out with respect to the inspiration image I sent the carpenter. The color of the stain doesn't necessarily bother me per se, but the prominent wood grain makes it look rather rustic, when this tiny powder room is probably the most formal room in my house. The cabinets have a noticeable gap as well. Can someone take a guess at what type of wood this is? Is there anything that can be done to make it look a little less country? I guess I could paint it, but I'm annoyed as I paid extra for stain grade wood. Looks like plain sawn White Oak which is very grainy. It would have to be stripped down, but I'm a big fan of the Rubio Monocoat products. It's expensive, but it doesn't need to be sprayed on, and provides a low sheen in several different colors. Link below and an image attached. Trimming out the drawer fronts with the Shaker style trim may dress it up some too. https://www.rubiomonocoatusa.com/
March 14Mar 14 20 hours ago, harpercollins said: I took delivery on this custom vanity an hour ago, and I am realizing now that I am pretty disappointed in how it turned out with respect to the inspiration image I sent the carpenter. The color of the stain doesn't necessarily bother me per se, but the prominent wood grain makes it look rather rustic, when this tiny powder room is probably the most formal room in my house. The cabinets have a noticeable gap as well. Can someone take a guess at what type of wood this is? Is there anything that can be done to make it look a little less country? I guess I could paint it, but I'm annoyed as I paid extra for stain grade wood. That's not even close to what you sent the carpenter. I would have him refinish it.
March 14Mar 14 Well, it's not walnut like the link. Might even be pine. Is the grain raised at all? Depending on the type of hinges, the gap needs to be there for the doors to not hit each other when opening. Though that gap does look wide.
March 14Mar 14 22 hours ago, harpercollins said: I took delivery on this custom vanity an hour ago, and I am realizing now that I am pretty disappointed in how it turned out with respect to the inspiration image I sent the carpenter. The color of the stain doesn't necessarily bother me per se, but the prominent wood grain makes it look rather rustic, when this tiny powder room is probably the most formal room in my house. The cabinets have a noticeable gap as well. Can someone take a guess at what type of wood this is? Is there anything that can be done to make it look a little less country? I guess I could paint it, but I'm annoyed as I paid extra for stain grade wood. That is a huge miss by the carpenter. It does not match that room at all.
March 14Mar 14 It's oak. This particular stain makes the grain stand out more than it would have if they applied the same stain as your example. I think you can salvage it. You've got the right idea but strip it down first.
March 14Mar 14 4 hours ago, BHMCruiser said: That's not even close to what you sent the carpenter. I would have him refinish it. Damn. Just saw the link. That's a full inlay in that image. WAY more expensive to build, but would definitely look awesome in that powder bath. @harpercollins not sure if he gave you shop drawings to approve or if you paid him in full yet, but that's a big miss on several fronts if that's what he was supposed to build. The image you sent is probably a $2,500 vanity from a good cabinet maker.
March 14Mar 14 I paid $1250. My friends and I have all used him before and been happy with his work. I reached out to let them know I wasn’t happy with it and why. They apologized and said they would get back to me. Realistically what are my options? Should I just paint it? Or return it and risk burning a bridge? I’m disappointed with more than the species. It just doesn’t look very well done— super blotchy with visible planing marks. Drawer mechanism seems wonky too. I honestly don’t consider myself super picky, and I definitely bear some responsibility for not asking more questions and drawing up a contract. (In retrospect I think I was reluctant to do anything that would slow it down because i ordered it in October and it took several follow up texts to get any movement on it all.)
March 15Mar 15 Man, that really sucks. With the additional context, I say.... screw those guys. Go full no-lube on them. Six months and you got that?!?! When I first replied, I figured you had a trim carpenter do it for $500 or something over a few days without any shop drawings. Or maybe it was a relative or buddy. But, $1,250 and six months!?!? I'd ask for a full refund or replacement. That's blasphemy. I owned a high-end luxury remodeling company for 12+ years with our own in-house millwork / cabinetry shop. We cranked out some awesome stuff. What you got was a DIY hack-job that I bit my lip about because I was trying to be nice. If someone who claims to be anywhere near a cabinet shop sold you that, I'd be demanding a refund.
March 15Mar 15 Seriously though, I'm sorry that happened to you. I'd be honest with the guy. If he's done good work for you before, then he HAS to know that this isn't right.
March 17Mar 17 Re-staining is a bitch - damn near impossible to get all of it removed and then it acts as the foundation for the new stain so you never really know what the final "mixed" color looks like, not to mention it will mix different on different parts of the wood depending on the level of stain you left there. Basically, it ends up splotchy and more grainy looking. Only option I'd do sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, paint which is a fuckton of work in and of itself and would waste the oak (you may as well have used pine or alder). I say you get your money back or have them remake it. It looks like they use the minwax walnut stain - I recognize it from my early days of woodworking when I was too cheap for anything good. Feel for ya, man - hope they make it right b/c they goofed bad. Thinking a bit more about this... That level of splotchyness makes me think this is pine where they didn't use any pre-conditioner prior to staining. Oak is usually way kinder to stains than that. Edited March 17Mar 17 by dieucla98
March 17Mar 17 On 3/13/2025 at 12:50 PM, harpercollins said: 4 minutes ago, dieucla98 said: It looks like they use the minwax walnut stain That's exactly what it looks like. I can smell it.
March 23Mar 23 I can’t fathom charging someone for a build and not having them approve a physical sample of the wood/finish combo. Hell when I make something for my wife I show her a sample of the finish on an off cut from the project before I commit to anything. Also, it looks like the floating panels of the doors are birch and not oak. And I’m not 100% convinced the rest of it is oak. The splotchiness and what looks like grain reversal in some places. Maybe pine, maybe poplar. I’d love to see the end grain of the drawers. At the very least the still visible milling marks and inconsistent sanding are the wrong choice for the stain used. The rustic milling isn’t necessarily bad in and of itself if you like that look, but it needs to have a better dye/stain combo to avoid the harsh splotchiness. But more specifically, it’s not remotely close to the refined (actually planed smooth and sanded properly) look in the inspiration piece. Did you or the builder specify actually using walnut? IMO there isn’t a better looking wood than walnut with a thin oil finish (what is pictured in your sample). All that said, what you got wouldn’t look terrible in a rustic house, but it’s a far cry from the level of finish in the inspiration.
March 23Mar 23 3 Rubio monocoat samples on white oak and a piece of unfinished, unsanded walnut right off the planer.
March 23Mar 23 4 hours ago, heso said: Hell when I make something for my wife I show her a sample of the finish on an off cut from the project before I commit to anything. you might be pussywhipped
March 24Mar 24 They're not wrong - Walnut is really pricey these days and yes, you can get something close to the look for cheaper. What you got was not that. I'd have gone alder plus a darker tone Rubio monocoat but with two coats. Alder won't have the lovely variation Walnut has but it takes stain wonderfully and Rubio is amazing. And alder is cheap (Rubio is not...).
March 24Mar 24 you might be pussywhippedIt may just depend on how much she bitches over every single stupid thing.
March 24Mar 24 3 Rubio monocoat samples on white oak and a piece of unfinished, unsanded walnut right off the planer. What planer do you have?
March 24Mar 24 For those in Austin looking to get into woodworking or expand their shop, check out Assmbly - it's a hacker space and they have some kick ass tools. 12" Laguna jointer, 15" powermatic planer, 2 sawzstop, a resaw, 3 band saws, drum sander, huge CNCs, etc etc... It's a bit of a process to get access but it only costs $100/month. I just went this weekend for my first squaring sessions and was able to square up a decent amount of maple in just over an hour. Using my own jointer, planer, and table saw, that would have taken 3 hours plus with all the setup time and just the inefficiency of my tools vs there's. Highly recommend it - great for beginners (tons of lessons) and seasoned woodworkers. They also have a metal shop and other tools not related to woodworking as well. https://asmbly.org/space/woodshop/
March 24Mar 24 16 hours ago, Gil Bang said: you might be pussywhipped Because I don’t mind adding 1% to the time of building something to make sure she’s happy with something she’s going to look at every day? I know I fucking hate when I’m looking at something I made and all I see is “I wish I would have made it lighter/darker/warmer”. Why would I not take the extra time to make sure someone else doesn't feel that way? I guess it’s a luxury of doing woodworking as a hobby rather than a profession. I can waste time on perfectionism instead of having to worry about profit.
March 24Mar 24 2 hours ago, Jkwellborn said: What planer do you have? I have an old dewalt 733 that I kind of hate but it gets the job done and it was free. The raising/lowering mechanism is gummed up and it takes an absurd amount of effort. It also has way more snipe than I would like to deal with, both in depth and length up the board. If I really need to minimize snipe I run some scrap pieces with it to take the snipe. There is a long list of tools to buy before replacing it so it’ll never end up getting replaced before it dies. When I do I’ll probably go with a 735 and get a helical cutter for it.
March 24Mar 24 I have an old dewalt 733 that I kind of hate but it gets the job done and it was free. The raising/lowering mechanism is gummed up and it takes an absurd amount of effort. It also has way more snipe than I would like to deal with, both in depth and length up the board. If I really need to minimize snipe I run some scrap pieces with it to take the snipe. There is a long list of tools to buy before replacing it so it’ll never end up getting replaced before it dies. When I do I’ll probably go with a 735 and get a helical cutter for it. I bought a 735x setup on sale a while back with a bunch of Home Depot pro rewards and gift cards. I think I spent $200 of my own money. Need to try the stupid thing out. I’ve been so damn busy haven’t messed with it. I’ve tossed around getting a Byrd for it, but damn, they’re as much as the planer.
March 24Mar 24 @Heso, have you tried putting a chamfer on the ends of the material before you run it through the planer? One of the YouTube people I watch does it on pretty much everything.
March 25Mar 25 On 3/24/2025 at 5:10 PM, Jkwellborn said: @Heso, have you tried putting a chamfer on the ends of the material before you run it through the planer? One of the YouTube people I watch does it on pretty much everything. I’ll have to give that a try. Who do you like watching on YouTube?
March 25Mar 25 35 minutes ago, heso said: I’ll have to give that a try. Who do you like watching on YouTube? This guy is bad ass but his content is light: https://www.youtube.com/c/PedullaStudio
March 26Mar 26 I’ll have to give that a try. Who do you like watching on YouTube?John Malecki, Blacktail Studios, Woodworking for mere mortals (he explains a ton of stuff and nothing is really fancy, but Hess Woodwork or Hess carpentry and woodwork (I forget the channel name) is my favorite. He doesn’t necessarily have a bunch of fancy tools. Most of the channels you watch use a ton of Woodpeckers, Festool and things like that. He really doesn’t.
March 27Mar 27 On 3/25/2025 at 7:34 PM, dieucla98 said: This guy is bad ass but his content is light: https://www.youtube.com/c/PedullaStudio I thought it sounded familiar, looking at his channel I’ve seen a few of his videos. 16 hours ago, Jkwellborn said: John Malecki, Blacktail Studios, Woodworking for mere mortals (he explains a ton of stuff and nothing is really fancy, but Hess Woodwork or Hess carpentry and woodwork (I forget the channel name) is my favorite. He doesn’t necessarily have a bunch of fancy tools. Most of the channels you watch use a ton of Woodpeckers, Festool and things like that. He really doesn’t. I know some of those. Never heard of Hess, I’ll check it out.
March 27Mar 27 I’m getting started on a project I’ve been mulling over for a few years. I want to make a travel bar in a briefcase. Somewhat inspired by antique pistol cases where you’d have a box for your pistol and all of the implements and tools, I want to have a case where I have everything I need to make an old fashioned and a Manhattan as well as play music. I finally came across a briefcase with the right feel to it. A little more beat up than I’d prefer but the style and the price were right. The briefcase:Plan for the layout of the case:And the current status, measuring things toMake sure it’ll all fit. The fabric in this picture is some chocolate brown pig suede that I’m going to reline the inside with.
March 29Mar 29 The cabinetmaker just posted this on Facebook. Am I wrong that the paint grade cabinets look exactly like my stain grade ones save the mdf?
March 29Mar 29 I didn’t think you were supposed to use MDF where you’d have high humidity? I was thinking stain grade didn’t have knots and stuff on it.
March 30Mar 30 On 3/25/2025 at 5:57 PM, heso said: I’ll have to give that a try. Who do you like watching on YouTube? Bourbon Moth Woodworking https://www.youtube.com/@Bourbonmoth/videos Edited March 30Mar 30 by ROFL BOX
March 30Mar 30 9 hours ago, Jkwellborn said: I didn’t think you were supposed to use MDF where you’d have high humidity? I was thinking stain grade didn’t have knots and stuff on it. For a bathroom, it's probably fine assuming you use a good primer and top coat. @harpercollins Are your cabinets plywood and not solid wood? "Stain grade" is a wide range. Good ply is stain grade, for example. Heck, for some, shitty ply is stain grade so long as it has some grain and a smooth finish.
April 11Apr 11 On 4/6/2025 at 10:28 AM, Shoxthemonkey said: I machined the end of a bar clamp to make a rattle can shaker. IMG_2635.MOV 10.06 MB · 1 download Anything's a dildo if you're brave enough
April 21Apr 21 Replaced a terrible light fixture with this one I made. Bought white oak and dug channels up top for the wiring and the six black pipes for the lights. This wood was so much harder to work with than regular Home Depot wood. Also pretty damn heavy so had to put it up with help of handyman. He had to hit the ceiling joists (?) exactly for large screws to go into. It was a process but was happy with his work.
April 23Apr 23 just replaced 20 feet of sewer line. This old house has a really shitty product called Orangeburg. I've replaced most of it, but there's more to go. If I knew how to post pics here, I would. The root intrusion was unbelievable
April 23Apr 23 9 minutes ago, Gil Bang said: If I knew how to post pics here, I would. Um, click “add files” and upload them? Copy/paste also works.
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