Daily Handy Tips

Posts Tagged ‘woodworking’

1. How To Choose The Right Location for Your Shed

Take careful consideration about the placement of your wooden sheds. Give yourself enough room around the shed so you have the space you need to build it. Your shed should blend in with its surroundings and not look like it was just plopped in its place. Locate your wooden shed according to its intended purpose. For example, next to the pool if it’s to be a used as a pool cabana or near the garden if you are going to use it to store garden supplies and equipment. If you build your shed directly under a tree, it can get messy with falling debris and bird droppings.

2. How To Pick The Right Plans

A good set of plans should have it all. Your plans should contain plenty of photos of the wooden shed in the progress of being built. It should also have step-by-step instructions. Another helpful item is to have exploded diagrams along with a detailed materials list to make the trip to the supply store much easier.

3. How To Decide if You Should Buy a Shed Kit

Cost, time and skill level are the three main factors that help you determine if you should purchase a wooden shed kit. It should take approximately one weekend to build your wooden shed once it arrives. Your skill level of using tools is one you should be honest and comfortable with. Another consideration you will have is how much this will cost. Wooden shed kits tend to cost more but the time you will save is the big payoff.

4. How To Choose The Right Kind of Shed

The roof determines the style of shed. There are four basic types of wooden sheds. A lean-to shares or leans against an existing wall and is good for storing smaller items. Saltboxes have an uneven roof with more headroom towards the front end of the shed. Gambrels look similar to a barn with their two pitched roofs. The advantage of this is that they allow for more room overhead. The most popular style is the gable roof shed. The roof has two equal sides and is very simple to build.

5. How To Choose The Right Materials for Building

Cedar is the best material for wooden sheds. Not only does it have an unmistakable aroma and natural beauty, but it also repels insects and resists molds that rot wood.

6. How To Properly Prepare The Shed’s Site

The first thing you’ll want to do is remove any large rocks, debris and plants. Make the ground flat by using a rake and shovel. If you slope the site slightly down from front to back, this will produce the best runoff for water.

7. How To Stake Out The Site for Your Shed

Put a temporary stake in the ground where the first corner will go. Now, drive a stake into the ground a little ways past this stake. Measure the length of where the front wall will go and drive the next stake just past that mark. Run a piece of string between these two stakes. Now, stake in the second wall taking your best guess. This is only temporary. To make the next line of your rectangle perpendicular to the first, measure out from the corner (where the two strings cross). On one side measure three units (feet). On the other string measure four units (feet). From these two points, the measurement should be five units. If it isn’t, make adjustments until it measures this exact amount. This means it’s perfectly square. Continue around the other sides until finished.

8. How To Square The Walls And Floor

Once your wall or floor is framed, the easiest way to make it square is to measure the opposing corners diagonally. So, you would measure the bottom right and top left corners. Then measure the bottom left and top right. If both measurements are the same, the wall is square.

9. How To Take Advantage of The Small Spaces

The spaces between the studs are one of the most overlooked spaces in wooden sheds. Add 1×4 or 2×4 boards as shelves as these spaces are perfect for them. To make the shelves adjustable, use slotted tracks that accept shelving clips up the sides of the studs. You can find them at most hardware supply stores.

10. How To Make Your Shed Last A Lifetime

If your shed is made from the right materials and you take care of it properly, it is sure to last a long time. Use a high quality water sealant on all exposed wood and try to keep the roof clear of debris. It will make all the difference if your shed is made out of hardwood such as redwood or cedar.

You can find more info, tips and resources regarding to wooden sheds at Donald Rickerby’s new web site: Best Wooden Sheds

Any woodworker would know that he is only as good as his tools. It is important therefore to keep them in pristine and in good condition.

Keeping the woodworking tools sharp does not only make for precision work it reduces the possibility of accidents as well. This means that you are going to have to invest in some tools just to do the job of keeping the others sharpened. The problem is how do you know which ones to buy for what tool. What you are going to need will also be determined as to the type of woodworking you do. Each specialized area has its own tool requirements. For example, if you do woodcarving or construct wood furniture then your needs will be different.

There are some tools that you can hand sharpen but there are others that will require power sharpeners. You will need to learn about each one of your tools then determine what will be needed to sharpen them.

One thing you are going to learn is that power equipment designed for sharpening tools do not necessarily do a better job they are just able to do the same job much faster. For tools that have been neglected the power sharpening tools work great at removing any build up debris on the cutting components. Most often, these cutting edges are gouged and this really is where you will need the power sharpening equipment to do an effective job.

One of the most popular pieces of equipment for sharpening is the grinders. It must be noted that the shop grinders are not for using on woodworking tools in their original state. They need some modifications done to them first. You will need to remove the original wheel that comes on the shop grinder and replace it with one of the wheels that is designed specifically for sharpening wood working tools. The original blade that came on your grinder is designed for sharpening items such as the blades of your lawnmower or for grinding in general.

Another part that also needs to be changed is the tool rest. You will find the tool rest that comes on the grinder difficult to adjust because it?s so small. This makes it most difficult for any type of control of your grinding. Doing your grinding up grades won?t be difficult to do because they are readily available on the market.

Once you have purchased your grinder and completed the necessary changes to it then you will be ready to start getting your woodworking tools back in shape where they can do a great job just like they were designed to do. Often novices to woodworking tools will blame the inferior job they are doing on the quality of the tool not realizing it?s because of a dull blade. Then there are some that will attempt to just change the blade instead of sharpening the one they have.

Not too many people realize that you can bleach wood although most are aware that you can stain it. It can be frustrating sometimes when you buy a piece of wood for a project and the colors are so naturally uneven that it looks like it has been done on purpose. You can use bleaching techniques on the darker area to lighten it up somewhat so it blends in more with the lighter shade. Another good use for utilizing the properties of bleach is when wood has black spots on it created by water stains and some various other types of stains.

The properties of bleach create a chemical action just as they do when we use a bleach to remove stains or whiten our clothes. When it comes to the bleach?s reaction on the wood, it doesn?t actually remove the stain it just causes a chain reaction to turn them into a colorless component.

Just as with working with any, chemical or solvent one needs to be properly protected. Gloves are a must and even protective clothing is beneficial. Eye protection glasses are also very important. There are specific bleaches designed for wood and these can be caustic and burn your skin. As a safety precaution keep a container of clear water in your area in the event that you do get some on your skin. Should this occur wash it off immediately.

Bleaching is only applicable to bare wood so you need to remove any coloring on the wood.

The First bleach: Is a combination of sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide. They are used as a combination but are sold in separate containers. It?s when they are applied to the wood that the chemical action takes place. This is good for evening out the color variations in the wood.

The Second bleach: Is chlorine bleach and is used to remove the dye stains left in wood .The household chlorine we use for clothes is weaker than the brand used for woodworking but it can be used but will require several applications.

The Third bleach: Oxalic acid is the treatment you want for iron stains and black water rings that are left on the furniture, which the paint stripping did not remove.

Once you have used any bleaching procedure you must stop the chemical reaction. A thorough rinsing with plain water then a second rinsing with a mixture of baking soda and water will do this. If you have used a two-part bleach, you can neutralize it with a mixture of one part vinegar to two parts water.

It is important to fully read and understand the instructions on wood bleaches before working with them.

Remember the wood must be stripped clean of any color first before using the wood bleaches. These bleaches are not your common household bleaches and you can purchase them as a rule from where you buy your paint and finishing supplies.

Its always a good idea to test a small area of the wood before doing a full application to be sure you are not going to get any adverse results from the chemical reactions.

If you have a cedar chest that is passed down to you as a heirloom, it is important that you know how to take care of and maintain it. You have to take steps to restore it now so that it can withstand the hands of time.

One of the most significant things that you may have noticed is that familiar cedar odor is gone. You may remember as a child perhaps when you grandmother would open the chest you would get that woody cedar aroma. Just the thought of it brings back memories. Sadly, though you noticed it is no longer the case. Now when you open the chest there is nothing.

Fortunately, you can restore this. Aside from it creating wonderful memories for you, the cedar has a useful side. It is a natural bug repellant. That s why it was such a favored wood for building these chests. This is where precious items were stored and everyone wanted to ensure they would be where pests would not destroy them.

Over the years no matter how preserved the cedar chest was dust gets into the pores of the wood and clogs them. Or it has been a cedar chest that was in continuous use then the pores may have become pinched shut. So what has happened now is the aroma that once emitted through these pores can no longer do so.

The objective is to open the pores to restore the aroma that is waiting to be let loose. There are a couple of ways you can do this. One method is to very lightly sand the surface using a fine 200 grit sandpaper on a sanding block. What this will do is the sandpaper will penetrate the pores and will open up pockets in the wood where the precious cedar oil is contained. Be very careful with the sanding though as you don?t want to end up with scratch marks. This is avoidable if you sand in the same direction as the grain. You will find that it?s not going to take much sanding before you smell the aroma of the cedar once again.

There are times though when the cedar is just too old for the sanding technique to work. Before going to all that work try sanding a discrete area to see what the end result will be like.

Another way of doing it is to rejuvenate the piece. You can do this with extracts like cedar and some cedar sprays.

You may want to try putting some good grade cedar chips in a nylon and tying it tightly. Place this at the bottom of your cedar chest. Although not as good as the actual odor from the chest it will still no doubt stir up so old memories.

When it comes time to finish your project you need to know that for wood treatments it is either stain, paints or finish. They are each providing a different outcome. To tint the wood you would use wood stains. Paints sit on the wood and protect it. Some finishes are pretty much paint without any color added to it. They are the ones that give that clear protection.

Probably one of the most well known finishes is varnish. It?s a great finish because the more layers you use the stronger the finish. The major problem with varnish is it dries slowly which increases the chance for dust to get into the finish. If possible, try to do your finishing work in an area where there is the least amount of dust.

A mixture of resins and synthetics boiled together is what makes varnish. If you are using polyurethane?s then you are simply using a varnish that has had a polyurethane resin added to it. When you are using a varnish that contains a higher quantity of oil, it makes the product more flexible and this is known as Spar varnish, which makes it perfect for outdoor use because of it flexing properties.

If you are going to use varnish as your finishing product then you need to know how to apply it properly. Working in a dust free room is a priority. Then using a tack cloth wipe down your project as it must be perfectly clean. Put some of your varnish into a container that you can work out of .That way if it becomes contaminated with dust you can just discard that amount. Apply the varnish using long steady strokes with a brush working in the grain direction. Tip off your brush strokes. Wed sand in between coats with fine sandpaper.

There is also wiping varnish but read the labels carefully before using this product to be sure that it is varnish and not tung oil.

Then there are oil and varnish blends. They work similar to an oil finish but have a bit more protection to them but they are not for building layers.

Shellac is a natural resin but not is as durable as the others are. It?s not good for items such as kitchen counter or cabinets for example. It is a fast drying product though and you can get it in various colors.

Lacquer is usually applied with a spray gun but the fumes can be dangerous and the dry dust is explosive.

There are some really good what are labeled as water based finishes but they all have a certain amount of solvent in them. Their two weaknesses is they show brush marks and they bubble when you are applying them so use a synthetic brush for this.

Proper sanding between coats of your finish is one of your most important steps. Be sure to use fine sandpaper. The sanding removes bumps and uneven spots. Especially made sandpaper for wet sanding is ideal. Really, take the time to research the various finishes you are going to use to get the best application and intended use from them.