I recently made a big rift sawn white oak table for someone and they asked if I could replicate the frame of a piece of artwork they have to hold a mirror. We didn’t discuss price and I plan to give them a good deal on it because everyone deserves one now and then. Curious though to know what others would charge. 56”x41” 2.5” deep

I've been tasked with making a sentimental project. We are demoing a barn at the local fairgrounds, the barn is almost 100 years old. one family who has stalled their steer here every year has used the same stall for ages. We would like to create a momento for the family from the reclaimed wood in their very own stall.

Trying to keep the esthetic of the weather barn wood as much as possible. We have started rolling around ideas. One being a photo frame, but thats a lot of fresh cuts. Another idea was to take some of the 4x4 posts and turn on of the old light fixtures into a floor lamp of some sort. But the receiver is an elderly lady so we want to not hand her a new burden to move. Any ideas would be greatly appreciate!

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I live in the Netherlands, so most products would be available. Went to a local construction supply store and got recommended this, took it home but I'm hesitant to use it.

Preferably I want something waterbased or non-toxic.

And is oil better or varnish?

Does anyone else use Google Slides to lay out their projects. I find it works really good for simple stuff like this, nothing 3D though.

I’m wondering if there is a sliding miter saw that I can lock the blade height on so I can use it to cut half lap joints as I would on a radial arm saw.

My Inca radial arm saw was stolen from a job site

I would like to do this with solid 8/4 walnut but worried it will split at the quarters. Live in Vancouver WA. House has a central HVAC so it's always close to temp and humidity. I could use 1/2" dowels for the joinery or even cut tongue and groove. If anyone has any experience or wisdom to provide It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

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Hi all! I have a project where I need a glue up of larger pieces to be really, REALLY strong (big home climbing gym bucket holds). I know that glue joints are as strong/ stronger than the hardwood generally, but what if the pieces are too big for my jointer? Are void spaces or small gaps completely filled with glue as strong as the wood around it?

Put in a more straightforward example, what happens if I join two pieces of wood that aren't perfectly parallel and have a small gap in spots? Are the gaps (if fully filled with cured glue) as strong as the surrounding wood?

I generally use titebond 2 if that matters.

Thank you!

I am constructing a bookshelf for my daughter’s nursery. The joinery is a dado front to back about 1/3 the depth of the wood (lumber is milled to about 3/4in, so the dado is about 1/4inch) and the middle third of each shelf is a through tenon.

I cut my dados a hair too wide. Based on my feeler gauge, it’s about .031inchs, or around 1/32. The dry fit shelf is far from wobbly, but it has more movement than I’d like. I’ve done this same shelf once before and my dados were so tight that the glue up was a stressful nightmare, nearly catastrophic.

A big part of me says to do nothing. Glue it up, and it will be plenty rigid. But I also want it to last a lifetime. At this stage, what would you do?

I am a high school wood shop teacher in need of some ideas. I have a few students this year with Autism. I am looking for some project ideas that I can do with them using hand tools. Any ideas are appreciated.

I make pixel-art coasters out of white oak on my CNC, and I’ve been chasing a “shiny” version for a while. Finally got there, but I honestly can’t tell anymore if I nailed it or went too far.
The process: each blank gets cut in one setup — the pocket, the border, the corner details. Then the art goes on. The shiny ones get two extra steps after that. Real 24k gold leaf laid into the small stars around the sprite, and glitter mixed into the epoxy before the pour.
The leaf was the hard part. It’s thin enough that a stray breath takes it off the brush, and once it’s down in a star that small there’s no correcting it. I ruined a few learning that.
The glitter epoxy is doing most of the visual work. Flat printed color goes glassy, and the light travels across the pixels when you tilt it. Which is also the problem — it’s nearly impossible to photograph. Every shot either blows out the sparkle or flattens it completely, so these pictures are underselling it.
Every image is the normal version next to the shiny one. The Gengar is my favorite of the four; the purple reads completely differently under the epoxy than it does flat.
So: does the shiny version hold up, or is the glitter tipping it into cheap territory? And if anyone has a trick for photographing sparkle without losing it, I’m listening. Or even improving the shiny side of it, I am all ears! Cheers! 🍺

original post where I butchered my test piece and corrected my method using feedback from reddit.

Here I have my finished tabletop with 3 coats of osmo 5 hours in-between coats and Scotch Brite white pads. I'm sure I saw this in a video somewhere but I added the brite pad to my orbital sander and used it at the end to get any leftover - huge difference between this and hand wiping.

I haven't made my table legs yet but was really excited to post these results. thanks for looking

A hurricane decimated much of my woods several years ago. The vast majority of trees that came down were maple, and the majority of those are curly and figured maple. I have more maple than I know what to do with at this point, but damn if it isn't pretty.

This was a fun challenge because the entire apartment is only about 55m² (590 sq feet) with two bedrooms, so most commercially available furniture was simply too large for the space. The clients wanted to make the most out of every square meter, so I designed the entire interior around smaller pieces that would still be comfortable and functional.

I'm an architect, so I designed the whole space in Rhino first and then fabricated almost everything you see in my shop. Beyond the furniture, I also built the TV console, the sculptural wall cladding that continues into the entry hallway, the suspended light fixture, the mirror and picture frames, and the sofa and chair frames.

Most of the woodwork is solid maple, stained to a walnut color and finished with water-based polyurethane.

The TV and hallway wall was probably the most involved part. The fluted sections started as 1" thick glued-up maple panels and were CNC machined, leaving about 1/2" of solid material behind. I designed the fluting in Rhino so it starts and stops exactly where the angular pieces need to attach, leaving flat mounting areas.

The 3/4" maple angular pieces sit on 1" spacers so they float in front of the fluted surface. They're glued and screwed from behind with no visible fasteners. The wall sections sit on roughly 1 1/2" frames and hang on French cleats, which also created enough space behind them to hide LED strips for indirect lighting.

The floating TV console is also all maple. The black sections are maple drawer fronts painted for contrast. What looks like a separate shelf on the right is actually part of the same assembly, with the angular back providing the support.

I also built the dining table and chair frames. The table base is made from individually CNC-cut maple slats fitted into circular maple rings, with a Calacatta stone top. The chairs and sofa use floating mortise-and-tenon joinery with Domino tenons. I built the frames in my shop and then sent them out for upholstery.

The two small stools were made from glued-up stacks of maple and turned on a CNC lathe.

The black angular element running across the ceiling is actually a light fixture I designed and built from plywood. It's a hollow structure with all of the wiring concealed inside, and the shape and openings for the individual lights were CNC cut before the entire assembly was painted black.

I also made the floating maple frames for the mirrors and artwork. I worked with a local artist who created the artwork itself.

The whole project took about two weeks to design and another month and a half to fabricate and install. Everything was fabricated in my shop and then brought to the apartment for installation.

It was a lot to fit into a small space, but designing everything together meant I could control the proportions of every piece and make the most of the available room while keeping the same material and design language throughout.

Happy to answer any questions about the design or build process.

Just finished this coffee table, was not sure in wich direction im going with this build but it came out as one of those old vintage tables.

Top is solid black walnut and base is red oak.

I’m starting my woodworking journey by building out my workshop. I’m currently attempting shop cabinets for the first time. This project required my first hardwood purchase, which was ~16 board feet of maple (~$240). I milled the maple into face frames, as well as rails and stiles for cabinet doors using my planer and table saw.

I’m a complete amateur when it comes to lumber, but I was surprised by the variation in colors across these maple boards. There are also many knots and a few small voids and worm holes.

Is this normal for maple? Or is this just poor lumber? I live in a remote area in Wisconsin with essentially no choice for buying hardwood (I had to drive over an hour for this purchase). I wouldn’t be surprised if the shop took advantage of me as a first time buyer.

I’m not worried about the looks of the cabinets (which I like in a way). These are for the shop, and the wood is perfectly sound for this purpose. But if I intend to buy “clear” maple for future projects, how would I go about clarifying my expectations at the time of purchase? Thanks in advance for helping the new guy.

creating a floating Walnut slab bathroom shelf for my wife. it's a half bath with a sink on top of the wood so it shouldn't get too much water just some splashes from the sink, but no humidity from showers. Any suggestions on an appropriate finish to use?

This tiny pile of fine sawdust appeared on my live edge slab while it’s been drying.

Hi all, thought I’d share that the porter cable dovetail jig is 100$ off what it normally goes for.

https://www.menards.com/main/tools/power-tools/routers/porter-cable-reg-12-dovetail-jig/4210/p-1444425504459-c-10087.htm?srsltid=AfmBOorZGW5YNL7aw7EXzCHYdnrTtcigOIhtusLAm1Q-connXqlt4Nop

Made a large glue-up of white oak for a tabletop. Roughly 4’x7’.

Been sanding and getting ready for finish. Left the panel on the bench cookies and got distracted for a few weeks. Shop been very hot and this weekend I noticed the center (unsupported) is now touching the bench. Wood was dry and unfinished. Airflow on both surfaces.

I got the bench cookies out from under it and letting it sit on the flat workbench. Warped along both axises Anything else I should do? Going to add a bit of weight or clamping pressure to start getting it flat. Anyone got any better ideas? Better to have cup up or dome up? Thought maybe wet blanket over it might help as well.