Wood Working Shop

I would like to start learning how to work with wood, work with power tools, etc. I never had the luxury of taking "Wood Shop" in high school – what are my options as an adult? (I live in Colorado, if that helps.)

Many community colleges and community centers host arts and craft classes at a number of "skill levels."

Try contacting the nearest community college to you to find out if they have any classes for beginning wood working. If not, your community center should send out quarterly news letters that may show a selection of classes available there, or a number to contact them on possible, upcoming classes.

I’m not sure what I need, band saw, miter saw, jig saw or what?? There are so many different power tools to choose from, I have become overwhelmed when I go to look at them. I also need to find a good supplier for all the accessories.

It depends on what sort of woodcraft. I would start with some basic hand tools, and a few handheld power tools. Such as a wood rasp, a coping saw, a jig saw a hand drill, and a skill saw, and some sand paper. Then as you improve a router with a basic table, and a table saw. By then you will have hopes and dreams of radial arm saws, jointers planes , maybe even cnc router tables.

I’m turning the smallish bottom cabinet space into a place for the trash bin, and would like to pull out the drawer for quick dumping of trash from above. I don’t want to take out the interior hardware for the drawer just yet, but don’t want to look at it through the empty drawer front, either.

Practical would be nice, but ANY ideas appreciated since a lot of times they can spark new ones.

Thank you!

I had the same problem (sort of), so I bought hinges, a magnet clap and a handle and made the drawer into a door.

I’m making raised panel cabinet doors using an MLCS brand 3.25-inch raised panel bit and a variable speed router that can run from a low of 1000 rpm to a high of 10,000 rpm. How fast should I spin the bit? The wood I’m using is 0.75-inch red oak. Is there a maximum speed above which I should not spin the bit? It sure makes me nervous to think about the holes that might form in my chest should the bit fly apart at 10,000 rpm.

You should use the bit at 10,000 rpm. The thing you want to avoid is taking of to much wood at 1 time. Try a scrap piece of oak first. If it cuts the profile in 1 pass, good. If it won’t, do it in 2 or 3 passes, taking a little at a time.

I have a old wood shop here in Wisconsin. I shut the business down about a year ago. I was just wondering what i would have to do if i wanted to make it a duplex for me to live in and rent out the other half.

You have to find out if the property is zoned residential, commercial or both. Then you have to find out if it is legal to have a duplex if it is residential, as some cities have rules and restrictions about building multi unit residences. Sometimes you can get a property rezoned, good luck:)

Have to get a list of tools for building an old style wood cabin for class. Actually rebuilding the cabin.

Well, you will need at a minimum the following:

Chain saw
SHARP hatchet
Large scriber (at least 12")
Sledge hammer
Large pry bars
Drill with long bits
Tape measure
Markers (Sharpies)
Hammer
Framing square

These should get you started. Hope this helps.

Hi,
When I did my parts drawers a few years ago, I scanned several labels from the actual boxes and etc.
Then just cut them out to fit the fronts of the drawers.
OR, get yourself some blank sheets of return address labels for you printer.
Then you can type in all the info you want into each label "box" shown on the sheet.
When you have all you want, print them out, remove and stick them to the fronts of your drawers.
Save your work in your computer in case you want/need to make more.
That worked well for me, too.

I want a tool that can tongue and groove plywood. I can’t use the pre-tongue and grooved wood because I need to cut it. Is there a tool other than a router that I will be able to tongue and groove plywood with? I have a lot to do so something that is reasonably easy. The hardware stores near me didn’t know of any tools. I wanted to buy one ASAP. Any info or links or anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

you are doing all you can do right now the only other method is to use a routing table to run the board through instead of having to hold the router in your hands.

Hi!!
My next project is to update the kitchen cabinets. I plan to remove the trim strips, strip the carcases and restain and varnish the face frames. I will construct my own new doors and drawer fronts (perhaps the whole drawer). New hardware, different style doors (more of a craftsman style) and new color should look pretty good.

It is the sides of the cabinets that concern me. I don’t think they are even oak. I think the cabinet maker used fir plywood and an oak stain. In any case, they are pretty scroungy looking. They are also not perfectly flat. I am somewhat distrustful of the thin veneers on the market. I can resaw my own veneer and have an 18" Rikon bandsaw for just that purpose. If I were to resaw a bunch of quartersawn oak into 8" wide and 3/32" thick strips, how would I stick them to the sides of the cabinets with any expectation of them staying put. Also, with wide strips of wood over plywood, what do I do about wood movement. Will my thick veneer buckle?

Finally, how do I smooth out the surface of the cabinet to create a flat gluing surface?

So, 4 questions:

1. Should I be so intimidated by the stick on veneers on the market?
2. How would I attach 3/32" veneer to the sides of cabinets without uninstalling them.
3. What about wood movement in thick veneer?
4. How do I create a flat gluing surface.

many thanks,
STEPHEN
P.S. I taught Industrial Arts for 8 years but never certified in woodworking. I was a plastics and metals kind of guy. I did get used to having those wonderful shops around for my own projects and have acquired some tools over the years.

Hi there nice to meet you again!!
You obviously know a good deal about woodworking, because you asked a lot of important questions that a beginner wouldn’t even begin to ponder. And it’s wise to consider all that you are thinking about, as all of this could prove problematic down the line. I’ll try to help with each questions you asked, so this may turn into a long answer.

1. Should I be so intimidated by the stick on veneers on the market? Yes, you should be a little intimidated by those veneers, but maybe not for the reasons you think. I have a fair amount of experience with these, and I have a couple of opinions. First, they’re pricey. Next, they stick like crazy, but CAN fail, meaning that they can bubble when you least expect it. It’s just my opinion, but they’re overpriced, and tricky to work with, so they wouldn’t be my first choice.

2. How would I attach 3/32" veneer to the sides of cabinets without uninstalling them. Good question. I would guess that contact cement would just about be the only option you have, but once again, you’re going to have to be really careful to get it positioned right the first time. And this thickness of veneer can create movement problems, read below.

3. What about wood movement in thick veneer? I think this might not be as big a deal as one would first consider. Your plywood sides are pretty much stable, meaning they’ve acclimated to your kitchen environment. They probably don’t move much. It might be wise to bring the 3/32" veneer inside for a while, and let it acclimate in the room, too, so that when you join the two materials, they’re both going to be a similar moisture contents, and movement will be reduced. Still- movement can happen. Using this veneer creates just as many problems as it solves. Keep reading…

4. How do I create a flat gluing surface. The veneer is going to be somewhat flexible, so the surface doesn’t have to be dead-on flat. And the contact cement will grab instantly, so it will compensate for any imperfections in the surfaces.

Roger, let’s talk about this project you’re going to undertake just a little bit. Taking off the doors and frames are going to leave you with just plain boxes that you want to get back into shape, right? You’re going to reapply a new face frame, too, right? And even perhaps rebuild all the drawers. This is a fairly large undertaking, and right off the top of my head, I can think of a few solutions to some of the problems that you are going to encounter. I’m going to throw a few things out there, and you can write back if you want to discuss them further.

Since you’re remaking new drawer boxes, it really doesn’t matter what you do to the inside of the cabinets. If I were taking on this project, I would buy some 1/4" or 1/8" white melamine sheets, and some 1/4" oak plywood. Then- I would resurface the bottoms of all your cabinets with the while melamine. It will make it look clean and will be easy to clean in the future. You only need to reface the bottoms of the cabinets that don’t have drawers in their bottom area. In the cabinets have lower drawers, you don’t see the bottom interior anyway. Next, reface the sides using the 1/4" oak plywood. Once again- you only need to face the interiors where you see them. If the cabinets have drawers in them, you’re not going to see the interior, so you can leave those alone.

So- you’ve refaced all the surfaces that are visible, and they’re clean looking and stable. And since you’re going to reinstall the face frame, it’s going to hide the fact that you’ve added a layer to the mix. Remember that you can’t just put the existing face frame back in place, you may have to cut the pieces smaller to hide the new layers you’ve added.

When you stop and think about all your time and the wood involved, I think it’s overkill to cut your own veneer to resurface the interiors. You can glue the plywood and melamine stuff in place using something like a thin coat of liquid nails, and maybe shoot a few brads into place to hold it while the glues sets up. A those sheets of plywood (or even MDF) are pretty cheap, and will be easier to work with than your home made veneer.

Last thing- you might want to consider using European hardware like the cup hinges that most cabinet companies are using these days. They make mounting plates designed to go with face frame construction, and it makes installing new doors a breeze. I like Grass or Blum hinges, and both have face frame mounting plates readily available. I can give you specific part numbers if you’re interested.

Good luck, I hope this helps. Feel free to write back with any other questions you might have after reading this. I’m sure you’ll have a few!
maybe if you want more information,You can refer to this blog which show you an article about Kitchen Cabinets Refacing and Kitchen backsplash Ideas:
(if those website not change)

Kitchen Cabinets Refacing VIDEOS:

http://home-cabinetsideas.blogspot.com

Kitchen Cabin

I need to cut wood for a project I’m doing, but I don’t have any use of power tools.
Any advice?

Go buy a hand saw.. that should work