Woodworking Not-So-Common Sense - The Wood Whisperer

As you"ll be able to think about in my line of labor, I spend lots of time serving to new woodworkers clear up issues. This provides me a singular perspective on the potential stumble level that the majority woodworkers will expertise. Ultimately, this stuff turn into woodworking widespread sense however till that point, I contemplate it woodworking not-so-widespread sense. So listed here are 5 ideas that the majority woodworkers ultimately work out on their very own.

Don’t Mill Too Far Forward of Time

In case you haven’t observed but, wood strikes. Not solely is moisture an element, typically boards transfer as a result of improper drying practices or intrinsic strain inside the board. So once we mill our inventory flat and sq. it’s essential to understand it won"t keep that approach for lengthy. To safeguard towards this, I like to recommend milling your boards as-wanted. As soon as the joinery is cut, you possibly can often let the boards do their factor. However in case you attempt chopping your joints every week after the inventory was milled, you may discover that your boards are not flat and that’s simply no enjoyable in any respect! Clearly some tasks and a few circumstances would require you to mill your inventory well forward of time and it isn’t the top of the world. That is simply one thing to remember as you strategize your tasks and your store time.

Don’t Chase Thousandths

Feeler gauges and dial calipers are nice for establishing instruments however you must watch out to not get misplaced within the numbers. If you end up spending days dialing in a software to the closest thousandth, it’s time to pinch it off and get some woodworking executed! Actually, the most effective methods to provide your instruments a actuality examine is to easily make a pattern cut and examine the outcomes with a straight edge or sq., because the case could also be. In case your eyes don’t see a problem, then there in all probability isn’t one.

All the time Drill Pilot Holes

I is perhaps stating the apparent once I say that screws displace wood. Typically the wood will give and permit the screws to drive by means of with no opposed results. However in denser wood species, the wood isn’t fairly so forgiving and the screw merely causes the board to separate alongside the grain. As a rule of thumb, drilling applicable-sized pilot holes will go a great distance towards stopping splits. By eradicating a column of wood, you give the physique of the screw a spot to go because the threads cut into the encompassing materials. So hold these small drill bits useful for those who plan to make use of screws in your tasks.

Use Cauls together with your Clamps

Clamps are sometimes constructed from plastic and metallic that are more durable than the wood we use them on. Consequently, the wood typically dents underneath strain. The worst a part of this example is that the dents aren’t all that noticeable till the end is utilized, which is clearly the worst time to find a problem. To stop this, use a bit of scrap wood between the clamp and the work, also referred to as a caul. The caul not solely protects the workpiece but in addition helps distribute clamping strain as an added bonus.

Don’t Encompass Strong Panels with a Frame

If I had a greenback for each time I see this elementary woodworking rule damaged, I’d be a really wealthy man! OK perhaps not however I’d at the least manage to pay for for a number of tanks of fuel within the wood hauler! Strong wood expands and contracts throughout it’s width. When the humidity goes up, the wood expands. When the humidity goes down, the wood contracts. The wider the panel, the extra substantial the motion turns into. This is the reason you"ll be able to typically ignore this wood motion situation on smaller tasks like ornamental packing containers. However in case you ignore the principles of wood motion on one thing as giant as a desk prime, you’ll pay the worth eventually.

One of the crucial widespread errors I see is when a wood panel is surrounded by a body. The body locks the panel into its present measurement and doesn"t permit the panel to broaden and contract. Over time, this can result in joints opening up and almost definitely the destruction of the body. Lots of people scoff at people who find themselves overly-involved about wood motion so maybe a couple of footage will assist illustrate my level. Under you’ll see earlier than and after pictures from a fellow woodworker Brent, proprietor of Houzz-2-Home.

Earlier than – 1

Earlier than – 2

After – 1

After – 2

After – three

Clearly, Brent is not any slouch in relation to talent and execution. However as a self-taught woodworker, there was apparently one essential element he by no means discovered and easily found on his personal the hard approach: don’t body a strong wood panel. As you possibly can see, regardless of well-executed joints together with reinforcement with biscuits and pocket screws, the desk is self-destructing. Brent emailed me for recommendation on a repair and the unhappy information is that there isn"t any restore that may make this desk secure and engaging. The solely (a phrase you’ll not often see me use) answer is to both create a brand new prime or to dismantle the present prime and attempt to rework it into a brand new design.

When building your tasks, I like to recommend visiting a few of these on-line motion calculators to see simply how a lot your boards may increase or contract: Wood Store Widget, Wood Motion Estimator, Shrinkage Calculator

When you have different ideas/tips, depart them within the feedback part and maybe we’ll do extra of those movies sooner or later.