The Wood Whisperer

The Thorsen House is one of the Greene & Greene ultimate bungalows located in Berkeley, California, one of the only ultimate bungalows in the northern part of the state. Built in 1909 by Hall and Ott and designed by Charles and Henry Greene, the house contains all of the detail one comes to expect from a Greene & Greeene masterwork.  

The house is currently owned by the Sigma Phi Society of California and is a California historic landmark. While the house looks great in video, it is actually in need of repair and restoration. Leading the restoration effort are the Friends of the Thorsen House. Curious what needs fixing? Check out the list! If you would like to donate to help support the restoration effort, you can do so here.

I’d like to thank Darrell Peart for giving us the tour and the Friends of the Thorsen House allowing me to film on location.

The video gives you an extensive tour of the interior and exterior of the home, but here are a few images for you to enjoy as well:

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/MBOLAbsSpv4/">Source</a>

By: Mike Finnefrock (Williston, VT)
Experience: 0-2 Years
Woodworker Type: Hobbyist
Project Type: Tables
Material(s): Plywood, Solid Wood, Veneer
Finish Type(s): Oil/Varnish Blend
Finishing Technique(s): Wiping

About 4 years ago, maybe longer, I saw a show on TV–one of those non-network stations–where a woodworker made a piece of furniture that looked nothing like the “Norm”. In fact, the show made the execution appear simple, elegant, and mindless. I immediately wanted to make the coffee table. Alas, I lived in a 1850s era home that was in constant need of TLC and all spare time was dedicated to repair and maintenance.

Just under 2 years ago my wife and I moved to the country, to a 150 year younger home. I suddenly realized that I had time to build something superfluous (well by my previous standards). I started looking around for projects and advice on the internet and stumbled upon “The Wood Whisperer”. As a side note, its a great site, maybe you’ve heard of it, if not, it’s worth checking out. This site had a ton of links to David Marks’ website which, at the time still had links to the DIY network clips.

I realized David Marks was the woodworker I had seen on TV. His approach seemed simple and straight forward: mill, bandsaw, rout, sand, glue, and finish. With all those jigs he used, how could one go wrong? David made it seem as if the project practically built itself.

Before I could blink, all the Woodworks’ videos were removed from the internet, but at least I could still look through DJM’s website at the finished project photos. I found the photos of his Contemporary Cocktail Table and loved it! I taught myself the steps by reading (TWW site and FWW), listening to podcasts and watching videos. Well, that and constant home repair helps to familiarize one with tools.

Armed with a bit of knowledge, DJM’s awesome project and Sketch-up, I jumped right in. This is my first piece of fine furniture. It took almost 3 weeks to build plus sketch-up planning. I did the rough milling at a friend’s house and the band-saw and router work in my basement. The legs and aprons are cherry. The edges of the rough board went to the legs (rift) and the rest went to the aprons. The joinery is hand cut mortise and tenons. The top is 3 pieces of lacewood veneer. The back side is cherry veneer. I edge banded the top with thin strips of Wenge cut on the table saw and mitered on my chop saw. I sanded to 320 and finished with a 1/1/1 oil, mineral spirits and varnish basement blend.

The Table was presented to my sister as a house warming gift and she loved it! Now that the whole family has seen it…well let’s just say the requests are still coming in.

I sure have learned a lot. A lot more than expected! As can be seen in some of the photos:
1) Always glue up the legs before chisel work for the top begins. I had blow out on one corner of a leg where the inset is because the grain was unsupported.
2) The inside shaping of the legs should have started 2/3 the way up instead of only 1/2 way up for more elegant curves.
3) Veneers are impossibly thin and leave nothing to sand. I just barely exposed the plywood substrate on one corner and was unable to completely flatten/clean up the veneered top.
4) Sap wood – Come on man! Always popping up where I didn’t expect it. There must be an art to board selection that only experience brings.
4) What the heck is up with snipe? Getting rid of it is the equivalent to snipe hunting in boy scouts. I wasted a ton of time futzing and in the end had nothing to show for it. I learned to make my pieces longer than needed and just cut the snipe off.

Thanks for all the information. I couldn’t have done this without the online community!

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/gi-wEShftZY/">Source</a>

There’s only one thing more important to me than woodworking and that’s family. Jersey tomato pie and BBQ are tied for third.

I have no intention of forcing my son to enjoy woodworking, but if he wants to go that route I’ll be happy to help him along. So far, the signs are positive. More than any room in the house, the boy absolutely LOVES being in the shop. Of course the shop isn’t exactly safe for a little guy so we spend most of our time chasing him down and making sure he doesn’t hurt himself. So far, the biggest hazard in the shop is the grit in the epoxy floor.

So here’s a fun little “slice of life” video of my boy enjoying a day of work in the shop.

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/oyFMm2soCio/">Source</a>

By: Jack R. Baker (Spring Arbor)
Experience: 0-2 Years
Woodworker Type: Hobbyist
Project Type: Tables
Project Style(s): Mission
Material(s): Plywood, Solid Wood
Finish Type(s): Commercial Stain, Paint
Finishing Technique(s): Wiping

A few months ago I decided to build our family of 5 a new dining table with reference to the Ana White’s Farmhouse Table plans. We knew we wanted to make the table out of some red oak that I had gotten for free, so I intended to deviate from the plans a bit. Long story short, I deviated from the plans quite a bit. The plan was to make the table essentially with free materials I was given when I began woodworking last year, but that changed when I spent several days squaring up the rough stock and realized with the tools I had, I would be squaring stock for weeks!

The first major mistake I made: jointing a crowned plank in the center of the table-top…whoops! After gluing, Kreg jig screwing, and sanding, I realized there would be no way to get the crown out of the top. So…the first table-top became the bench seat and the other half is going to be used for a computer desk in another room. After a trip to the local lumber yard, I had about $220 worth of red oak: Four 1x4x14ft planks for the legs and Seven 1x6x6ft planks for the table top.

I began by cutting the 14′ 1×4′s to length and then jointing them with lots of glue and clamps to form the legs. Next I set up the table saw to notch out the tops of the legs to receive the box. I prefer this method over using a circular saw or jig-saw as indicated in the plans. My wood-chisel cleaned things up and then I sanded, scraped using a card scraper after following Marc’s podcast on sharpening them, applied two coats of stain, and finished with two coats of wipe-on poly.

I followed Ana’s plans to construct the 2×4 base, modifying it to fit the size of my table and the specific overhang I sought. I also simply used 2×4 scraps to span the width of the box, and then Kreg jigged them to the box and table-top for support. I jointed the table-top planks using a Kreg Jig and glue. Lots of sanding and scraping again, and then I flipped the top, attached the box, and attached the legs. I used more of the 1×4′s for the skirts to hide the 2×4 box.

We decided we also wanted a built-in bench for storage instead of a free standing one to accompany the table. I followed the plan at the following site, modifying it as necessary to match the length of our table. I only built the bench and not the wall unit (http://www.thisoldho...0301255,00.html). My mistake with the first table-top ended up being a blessing of sorts when we were looking for a sturdy bench-top.

All in all, we love it! It took a good deal of time to finish the table in part because I’m a horrible perfectionist and I’m fairly new to woodworking. The bench, on the other hand, was finished in a day.

The table is constructed entirely out of red oak and measures 6′x38.5″. The bench-top is also red oak. The bench is birch plywood and pine.

On future projects, I’d like to try mortise and tenon joinery to be truer to the Arts & Crafts movement and style. Total cost for table: $220 for wood; we already had all other supplies. Bench: $25; again, we already had most of the materials needed.

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/9VWXbRrgPfE/">Source</a>

By: Randy Braaten (Phoenix, AZ)
Experience: 10+ Years
Woodworker Type: Hobbyist
Project Style(s): Greene & Greene
Material(s): Solid Wood
Finish Type(s): Commercial Stain, Oil/Varnish Blend
Finishing Technique(s): Wiping

I thought the style of the custom leaded glass panel my wife designed and made would be complemented by a Greene & Greene style frame. I have framed many of her pieces and designed them to be hung in a window. This time I wanted to do something a little different and designed the piece to act as a divider between our entryway and dining room.

I made this hanging room divider from genuine mahogany. The finish is a mixture of sedona red and rich mahogany oil based stain topped with three coats of oil/varnish blend hand rubbed in. The hanging hardware is forged from 3/8″ bar stock, it is twisted in the center and a hook formed at each end. The eye hooks attached to the frame and ceiling support were formed around a 3/4″ pipe and welded closed. 16GA copper wire was wrapped around the bar and tarnished green with patina.

The triple relief in the ceiling piece was inspired by a detail from the Thorsen House dining room as shown in Darrel Peart’s book and the hidden mitered mortise & tenon corners came from Tage Frid. The pillowed buttons are made from Caco de Negro instead of Ebony.

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/A1lQ6LaxBHU/">Source</a>

Paint. It’s more than just the butt of a woodworking joke. When used properly and tastefully, it can beautify and protect our wooden creations. If you’re new to woodworking, you might also be delighted to find out how well paint can hide certain flaws. Additionally, you can use inexpensive wood that might not look so great with a simple clear coat.

While I don’t often use paint in my own work, I can certainly respect those who do. So how about you? Do you ever paint your furniture?

This poll was created by Tom Iovino of TomsWorkbench.com.

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/6klBE8Ue1As/">Source</a>

After installing the Clear Vue CV1800 cyclone, the next step was to install the Nordfab ductwork. This video shows you how I did the job and how this system works.

History

Over the years, I have tried a few of the common options out there for ductwork including home store HVAC, sewer & drain PVC, and economy snap-lock pipe. Below on the left you can see my old HVAC ductwork system in my first shop in Temecula, CA. I was running a Penn State Tempest cyclone at the time and didn’t have much ground to cover. The ductwork consisted of the 28 gauge snap-lock HVLP dutwork available at the home stores for a very reasonable price. While fairly thin-walled, I didn’t have any issues with the pipe collapsing and the system worked well enough.

After moving to the monster shop in Arizona, I had much more ground to cover and I quickly upgraded to a Clear Vue CV1800. Even back then I considered them to be the best bang for the buck in cyclone dust collection. Most folks who run a Clear Vue utilize 6″ sewer & drain PVC pipe. I found a local source and picked up a bunch of pipe and various fittings. Because the system is PVC, assembling the joints was a piece of cake. Hanging the relatively heavy pipe from a 16 foot high ceiling, however, was a pain in the pooper. In spite of the awkward suspended ductwork and harsh 90 degree angles, the system was serviceable and I had adequate collection at each tool. And no, I did not fear  

Fast-forward through several painful shop moves and I finally ended up back in the monster shop, once again challenged with designing a ductwork run that didn’t suck, or actually, on that DOES suck. So I decided to drop a few beans on some better quality metal ductwork from Penn State Industries. I purchase a few boxes of their 28 gauge Economy Snap-Lock Ductwork. Metal ductwork is never quite “fun” and involves self-tapping sheet metal screws, tin snips, aluminum duct tape, and many band-aids. But because the pipe is lighter, it’s much easier to hang. Unfortunately, thanks to my poor design and excessive use of 90 degree angles, the system did not perform well at all. It’s such a bad memory that I don’t even have a picture to share with you. Fortunately, the Dream Shop was in my future and I would have one final chance to do it right.

Doing it Right!

In the new shop, I decided I was done screwing around with ductwork. Not only would I get the stuff that’s incredibly easy to install, I would also enlist the assistance of a professional ductwork designer. Now before you go thinking, “Hey, I can barely afford the ductwork let alone a design service!”, keep in mind that most vendors that sell ductwork will also provide a courtesy design service. I HIGHLY recommend you take advantage of that service and let someone who knows what they are doing help you make the right choices for your shop. Your lungs will thank you.

The ductwork I used is called Nordfab. It’s a smooth-walled pipe that snaps together end to end using their ingenious clamping system. This means the system can be modified, expanded, or reduced in a matter of seconds by simply unclamping various components. When clamped together, the pipes and fittings form an air-tight seal with no interior obstruction. The video shows you how the system works, in detail.

An essential part of this process was planning. In order for the design service to work their magic, they needed a tool layout and floor plan that shows the approximate tool locations as well as their port sizes. Without this information, it’s all just guesswork. So take measurements and sketch it out on paper. If you are so inclined, you should consider mocking up your shop in SketchUp like I did. The design service was actually able to overlay the proposed ductwork layout right into my SketchUp file. Feel free to download and check it out.

Pricing

The one single massive gargantuan drawback to Nordfab ductwork is the price. For all of the things it does well, is it any surprise that it also does an incredibly good job of sucking the money out of your wallet? Here’s a rough run-down of some common metal ductwork prices for the sake of comparison.

5′ section of 26 ga Snaplock Pipe (Oneida) – $19.83
5′ section of 26 ga Snaplock (Penn State Industries via 5-pack) – $16
5′ section of 24 ga Spiral Pipe (Oneida) – $21.32
5′ section of 22 ga Nordfab – $33.80

Of course, the straight pipe is probably the least expensive part of any ductwork setup. There are blast gates, wyes, elbows, and flex pipe to consider, and those tend to hurt the most. Even the cheapest ductwork system is going to be a hefty sum. So when you are ready to get serious about quality integral dust collection, make sure you budget appropriately.  

Geeky Side Note

A lot of you were concerned after we moved into the new shop that my videos would be continually plagued by horrible audio due to echoes. As promised, the echo was addressed and this video shows an excellent before and after. Listen to the audio at the beginning and then compare that to the audio at the very end. That’s before and after sound treatment. Just thought some of you might be interested in that.

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/qbplLyY8TjE/">Source</a>

From: Dave F (Centerville, OH)
Shop Type: Standalone
Shop Size: 500-999
It’s been almost 30 years since my first wood shop and I’m finally able to have the nice shop that I’ve always dreamed of. The shop is approximately 900 sf and is connected to the back of a large two car garage. The entire building took 1 ½ years to build before I finally put down the hammer and called it complete. I posted some photos on “Wood Talk Forum” as I was building.
I framed it using 2X6 insulated walls with 5/8” drywall that reaches 11’ for plenty of height. I plumbed the garage and shop for compressed air with iron pipe and have a 60 gal compressor in its own room in the garage. The HVAC is a heat pump that is used only for the wood shop area so I can keep working through the winters here in Ohio. There is plenty of lighting throughout the shop which is controlled by 4 switches which allow me to use only what is needed at the time. In the back corner is a room for the future dust collector but for now it acts as a large closet. The 2X5’ windows are high enough to allow plenty of wall space around the perimeter. The floor is plywood screwed to 2X4 treated lumber with hard foam insulation sandwiched between the sleepers. This was well worth the effort and is great on my knees and back when I’m in the shop all day. If interested, I talk about how I installed the floor in another article “How to Install a Plywood Shop Floor.”
I’ve been grateful over the years to be able to save enough money to purchase all the Jet equipment at one time. Once I was ready, I waited for one of Jet’s yearly sales and since I was purchasing multiple items through my local dealer, they gave me additional savings on top. The combined savings allowed me to purchase two additional pieces of equipment for the same amount.
As you can see the walls are bare so I plan on building each cabinet for tools and storage differently, i.e. raised panel or flat panel doors, different hinges etc. This will help me regain my woodworking skills that have gone dormant plus build in ways that are new to me. I built the cabinet for the router table to house all the bits and accessories and this was the first time I sprayed on paint and water based poly so that was a good experience. The drill cabinet was also going to be painted black since I had leftover paint but I like how the door turned out so I wanted to keep it natural looking.
My finishing skills need updating since the only thing I ever sprayed in the past was lacquer and sanding sealers. I had expected almost no overspray when using my HVLP gun but there was enough to land on the surface of my projects so I took the next step and made a portable spray booth. I used (7) 4X8’ foam boards, 5 for the walls and 2 for the ceiling and some 2X4s to help keep it solid in case I accidentally bump the walls. The filters are 16X25” taped together and inset into the foam board. Scrap lumber was used to build a fan box to mount the fan off the floor. The foam pads seal the fan box to the booth once the fan is operating. The entire booth is about 11” thick when all the walls are folded together and is covered in a blanket against the wall in one of the pictures. I may end up only using 3 walls instead of 5, it will all depend on how much space is available once I build an actual bench or two.
The next project will be to build a bench for the miter saw which will store much of my smaller lumber and some lumber racks on the wall above the door and jointer so I can have a place to acclimatize lumber to the shop conditions before I start cutting into them. Then I will build an out-feed table/bench to replace my saw horses.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TWW?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TWW?i=7jLZhSs3nZo:DnbrhentGME:D7DqB2pKExk http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TWW?d=7Q72WNTAKBA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TWW?i=7jLZhSs3nZo:DnbrhentGME:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TWW?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TWW?i=7jLZhSs3nZo:DnbrhentGME:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TWW?i=7jLZhSs3nZo:DnbrhentGME:-BTjWOF_DHI

Source

This month’s giveaway will be three two-packs of DVDs for three lucky winners. Use the form below to enter. One entry per person. Three random winners will be selected on May 31st. Here are the DVD’s that are up for grabs:

Greene & Greene Adirondack Chair DVD (a $49.99 value).

One winner will also receive the Complete Wood Magazine Collection Issues 1-216 in searchable digital format (a $149.95 value)

One winner will also receive Season 2 of Woodworks starring David J. Marks – This DVD set contains all 13 episodes of the highly popular woodworking television show WoodWorks Season 2 (a $69.99 value)

One winner will also receive Season 3 of Woodworks starring David J Marks – This DVD set contains all 13 episodes of the highly popular woodworking television show WoodWorks Season 3 (a $69.99 value).

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/1-kNosNQ5io/">Source</a>

By: Len Meyer (Mesa, AZ)
Experience: 10+ Years
Woodworker Type: Hobbyist
Project Type: Tables
Project Style(s): Mission
Material(s): Solid Wood
Finish Type(s): Oil, Oil/Varnish Blend
Finishing Technique(s): Wiping

This dining table is Arts and Crafts Prairie style to mate with a set of 6 dining chairs completed prior and also posted on Marc’s viewer projects. The table is 84″ by 43″ at standard height and seats 6 spaciously with room for at least two more diners. It replaces a smaller round table that matched the Copenhagen style teak buffet in the photo background.

I wanted to keep the buffet so I selected Canarywood for the table top since it has a bold grain and coloring that is complimentary to teak that has aged a bit. I stayed with Cherry for the table frame since it matches the Rodel design chair set and other nearby pieces. I expect the cherry frame to darken with time and improve in contrast to the top relative to the new table photos.

I used 4/4 Canarywood available locally and built up to 8/4 for the breadboard ends and for the tabletop edges to provide the massive look of Prairie style without the weight and expense of thicker material. The breadboard ends were installed with both a long base tenon and six extended tenons using a combination of techniques from Rodel and Garrett Hack. The Wenge plugs cover the screws used to anchor the breadboard to the top tenons. The legs and apron pieces are solid cherry with mortise and tenons that can be disassembled on the long aprons.

The finish is Watco Natural followed by 4 good coats of Minwax Poly wipe-on. I did just a little testing with water and wine drops and this seemed to be the best choice for me for a bit of protection.

<a href="http://feedproxy.goo...~3/F8O-UQkEtmI/">Source</a>