American Woodworker
 

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  • 10 Things You Need to Know About Plastic Lumber

    by American Woodworker Editors     Tuesday, November 10, 2009
    by Brad Holden No, we haven’t changed our name to American Plasticworker. I love wood, with all its beautiful textures, figures and smells. But I also enjoy experimenting with different materials. So I decided to try some of the plastic lumber available...

  • Inexpensive Blade for Suspect Lumber

    by American Woodworker Editors     Thursday, October 15, 2009
    I’m always on the lookout for orphaned boards. I’ve reclaimed lots of useful material from old pallets, downed trees, remodeling job sites and salvage yards; I’ve even rescued weathered siding from old barns. I try to remove all the...

  • 8 Tips for Milling Rough Lumber

    by American Woodworker Editors     Wednesday, October 14, 2009
    Get the best yield from the least-expensive wood. by Tom Caspar Cut Big Boards into Small Pieces You might think the best strategy for milling rough lumber is to flatten as large a piece as possible, then cut it into smaller parts. Not true. It’s...

  • Rollers Ease Plywood Storage

    by American Woodworker Editors     Wednesday, September 9, 2009
    Before I installed these rollers, sliding plywood in and out of my storage rack used to wear me out. It also damaged the edges of the sheets. Now plywood sheets glide in and out.I cut the 2-1/2-in.-dia. rollers from 3/4-in. hard maple on my drill press...

  • Good-Looking Panels

    by American Woodworker Editors     Wednesday, June 24, 2009
    Nothing makes a cabinet look worse than door panels with unattractive grain that runs at weird angles. It pays to be picky about grain direction, even if it means wasting some plywood. After assembling your door frames without glue, slide them around...

  • Using Melamine

    by Tim Johnson     Tuesday, March 3, 2009
    Melamine is the professional cabinetmaker's best friend. Build a cabinet with it and you have a complete, durable interior that requires no sanding (yes!) and no finishing (oh, yeah!). Pros often build whole kitchens out of melamine and then dress...

  • Using Wet Wood

    by Tim Johnson     Wednesday, February 25, 2009
    Q. I'm building outdoor furniture from rough cedar. When I cut the wood, it's soaking wet on the inside. Should I use polyurethane glue since it's a moisture-cure glue? A. Not when the wood is that wet. Polyurethane glue uses moisture to cure...

  • Wood Stabilizer Prevents Cracks

    by Tom Caspar     Sunday, February 22, 2009
    Q. A recent storm left a large tree limb in our yard. I'd like to slice cross sections for plaques and trivets. How do I keep the slices from splitting as they dry? A. Pentacryl wood preservative is an excellent product made for this very purpose...

  • The Virtues of No. 1 Common

    by AW-Editor     Thursday, January 29, 2009
    Save money by using boards that aren't perfect. Want to make your head spin? Just try to figure out how hardwood lumber is graded. Lumber is such an incredibly diverse material that there are enough grades, rules for grading and exceptions to the...

  • Jointing With A Planer

    by AW-Editor     Thursday, January 29, 2009
    I came across some wonderful oak boards for a small table I wanted to build. The problem was the boards were too wide for my jointer and I didn't want to rip them any narrower. I solved my dilemma with this planer sled that allows me to use my planer...

  • Ipe: Wood—or Metal?

    by AW-Editor     Monday, September 1, 2008
    Ipe (pronounced E-pay) is a South American wood as exotic as its name. When you hold a piece, you know it's something special. Ipe sinks in water like cast iron, is hard as nails and polishes like brass. Of course, you don't really have to weld...

  • How to Deal with Knots

    by AW-Editor     Tuesday, July 8, 2008
    Knots are usually considered defects in wood. They're cut out of boards and thrown on a scrap heap. But take a closer look at a knot. In a hardwood, it's surrounded by stunning grain. Why not make it the focal point of your next project? The best...

  • MDF & Particleboard

    by AW-Editor     Saturday, July 5, 2008
    How two versatile woods can be both a blessing and a curse Cheap, plain and definitely not wood. That's how many woodworkers describe particleboard and MDF (medium-density fiberboard), but think these words instead: inexpensive, uniform and stable...
 

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