Woodworking Hints and Tips

Recently, we have noticed people have been searching our site for tips on woodworking. We told the expert at Shea Paul’s that people are interested in woodworking tips; and asked if he would talk to us about working with wood. He was kind enough to provide some tips you can use that will save you time, money and heartache.


Many decisions need to be made before starting a project. The first is wood selection. Are you going to carve the wood? Then you should use a soft wood like pine or maybe a soft hardwood like some varieties of maple. Are you going to make a baseball bat? Then you need a hardwood like hickory or ash. If you want the project to have a glass like finish then you need a closed grain wood. If you use an open grained wood like oak which has a wide open grain, you will spend a lot of time trying to get that glass like finish. Not impossible to do; but it can turn into a nightmare! Like most projects, painting the house, remodeling, etc. planning ahead will save you hours of time and energy.

The next thing you should know about is buying material. You consider your project, decide on the type of material, and figure out the piece of material you will need. You figured out that if you bought a piece of wood 12 inches wide by 8 feet long you could get all the pieces you need to complete your project. Off you go to the lumber yard in search of your material. The first thing you discover at the lumber yard is there are no boards that measure 12 inches wide in any length. Unfortunately, finding a board that is 12 inches wide is rare. Next, you find out lumber is sold by the board foot. A board foot is 12 inches wide by 12 inches long by 1 inch thick. So, a board 12 inches wide by 8 feet long is 8 board feet. Because there are no boards 12 inches wide, how do you know the number of pieces you will need when you are selecting the material? Here is a good tip to use; if you find a board that is 4” wide and the next board is 8” wide stack them next to each other measure their length and you know approximately how many board feet you have. So if you have a board that is 4 inches wide and 8 feet long and you set a board next to it that is 8 inches wide x 8 feet long the two boards added together equal 8 board feet. This tip holds true even when you have one board at 3” wide, one at 2” wide and one at 8” wide. Even though the width adds up to 13” the next boards selected might only add up to 11”wide. If you try to figure it out exactly you are going to have a very long day. This tip becomes real handy if you are buying a lot of material.

The lumber yards use a tally stick to determine how many board feet you are buying. Running over to the yard guys to see how much lumber you have every few minutes is not a good idea. He has a lot of work to do; so babysitting you will not make him very happy. If you are buying lumber by the running foot it is a lot easier. Usually you will find price by the running foot on moldings, trim strips, or where the width of the boards is the same size in the whole stack. So, if the price is 99 cents a running foot and you buy 8 feet it is about 8 dollars. Ok, it is exactly $7.92; but the point we are trying to make here is buying wood is not exact. We can tell you why. The length of wood is random cut so most of the time your selection may be 8 feet 2 inches long or 7 feet 10 inches long rather that the perfect 8 feet. This also holds true for the width of the board. Also, you have to allow extra for machining and maybe a mistake or two. Now that you know how to buy the lumber you should also know what to look for in your selections. Unusable material is costly and usually ends up in a fireplace.

 

Shea Paul's Exotic Woodworking

We visited a friend’s workshop whose artistry and talent for working with

exotic woods was awe inspiring. Walking into the shop you see a table saw, small planer, cutoff saw, drill press, and some hand tools. It’s a small shop with the smell of wood and linseed oil in the air. The impression left us with the feel and smell of an artist’s loft.

We noticed a purple night stand on the workbench; and wanted to know if it was stained purple. The master craftsman explained that Purple Heart Wood is a natural purple wood that he finished with hot linseed oil then hot Danish oil. We asked why use hot oil and not a varnish or polyurethane? He further explained that hot oil is used rather than cold oil because it provides a deeper penetration with the added benefit of being able to reapply and rejuvenate the wood throughout the years. He said “It’s really all about what the customer wants for a finish or the type of wood used”.

We saw a half-round table against the wall and asked him what kind of wood he used. He told us it was “certified cherry”. We did some research; and found that certified wood and paper products come from responsibly managed forests as defined by a particular standard. With third-party forest certification, an independent organization develops standards of good forest management, and independent auditors issue certificates to forest operations that comply with those standards.

We were looking over the purple heart nightstand and opened the drawer.The drawer was easy to use and didn’t bang shut when we closed it. We wanted to know what was different about the construction and how his pieces of furniture were built. He explained that he uses solid wood construction with pinned mortice and tennon joints and dovetail drawer sides. We knew this was not your typical furniture store item. This was old school construction with a modern twist. He uses special Blum European Style Drawer Guides that gently close drawers without slamming.

We asked to hear more about the woods he uses. He told us most of the true exotic woods come from the rain forests of South America or Africa. Woods from these countries have strange sounding names like Bloodwood, Bocote, Ziricote, Bubinla or some not so strange sounding like Purple Heart, Canarywood, Teak and Zebra Wood. A lot of exotic woods are close to extinction; and as a general rule are not used. The biggest gripe at Shea Paul’s is the burning of the rain forests. This creates pollution, affects our oxygen supply, and destroys the woods themselves - a tremendous loss. He is angered and saddened that all the beautiful exotic woods are going up in smoke. He told us that if the loggers would clear cut before they burn, then the woods could be available for years. His wish is to at least let this beautiful lumber be harvested and used instead of burning it. We had to agree!

A strange feeling came over us as we were leaving. We felt as if we had just visited a great artist’s loft; and traveled back in time. We saw a glimpse into the “old world” of master craftsmen where quality, caring, and workmanship were important. For more information on how you can own one of these beautiful works of art, phone (510)-338-8749.