General Woodworking

Novice Door Making - Guest Column by Glen Bayley

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Background: The first attached image (1-Door-inspiration.jpg) is the inspiration for the design of some of my doors.  To be clear – I didn’t make this.  This is kind of what I’m shooting for.  I have a few variations I’m building.  The basic construction of the door involves a solid 1” core with ¼” thick panels glued to the core spaced ½” apart from each other.  Interesting details and tips in here, but are not relevant to this tip.  I constructed the core of my first door, milled 9” wide, ¼” thick African Mahogany panels perfectly and started gluing the first one ...   

Stripping Down With the Times: How Slab Wood Furniture Is Making Less The New ‘More.’

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By Guest Columnist and Woodworker - Paul Dumond

Have you ever been on a guided tour of some mansion or historic building, where there are more tiny end tables and coffee tables per room than tiles on the floor?

I’m not sure whether it’s a product of fashion altering with the times, or perhaps just a way for curators to showcase every piece of furniture their estate’s famous dead, “once-upon-an-owner” ever owned, but either way, it makes for a serious tripping hazard.

Leah Mills Image from the Sheridan Museum linked courtesy the Casper Star Tribune

No one can deny that some of these patrons of design had style whilst living and breathing, though ...

Ipe Wood for Eye Catching and Long Lasting Projects

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It's exciting to work with new kinds of woods. It seems we are always looking for the “ultimate” wood. One that is stable, easy to work with, long lasting, and something that is versatile and that looks great without having to be a professional “finisher”. Well ... we may have found one of those woods, AND the company that provides it ... and much more.

First of all lets talk about the wood. Ipe is actually a South American hardwood and is sometimes called Madera, Brazilian Walnut and Greenheart. Ipe is hard and dense wood which means your projects will be able to handle more wear and tear and be more resilient. The wood it'self is virtually free of knots and tends to maintain it's straight grain without too much wood movement.

Ipe is also extremely weather resistant which makes it ideal for out door projects like decking, furniture, gazebos and pergolas. Outside, Ipe stands up very well to ultraviolet light, resists rot and insects, and provides durable long lasting structures. Ipe is often slightly reddish brown in color and provides a most pleasing, rich color, which is one of it's most desirable aspects. It's truly an attractive, eye catching wood.

The company that provides Ipe lumber, Everlasting Hardwoods, has been in business for over 40 years and are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. They can be reached toll free at 1-800-999-7616 or at www.everlastinghardwoods.com

Working with Ipe requires the same techniques as with many other dense hardwoods. Tools need to be sharp in order maintain good clean, nicely finished edges. As with ALL woods avoid dust exposure when cutting and ensure you good eye protection. All screws used for fastening parts should be pre-drilled to prevent wood cracking, and for out door use stainless steel is recommended. As with all projects for outdoor use, your joints should be snug to help minimize wood movement between the huge swings in temperature and humidity. In terms of finishing, there are a number of options, or you can simply leave the wood natural, which, if left out of doors, will allow the wood to gradually turn a very pleasing grey tone over time, and which can be later lightly sanded to restore the original wood color.

But ... there is even more ...