Avoid Damaging Finish with an Electric Polisher and Lamb’s Wool Pad
I got a call from a piano refinisher who had damaged the new finish he had applied by getting it too hot with an electric polisher. It turned out that...
Polyurethane is Almost Always the Best Finish for Wood Floors
We are offering a spectacular collection of products by Bob Flexner at shopwoodworking.com right now. Check it out here, Finishing with Bob Flexner Collection. The two key considerations for [...]
Spontaneous Combustion & Oil Finishes: Drape Rags Over the Edge of a Trash Can to Avoid a Fire
Drying oils, especially linseed oil (raw or boiled), are the only finishing materials that spontaneously combust. Solvents don’t spontaneously combust, paint strippers (including paint or finish [...]
Titanium Dioxide a Carcinogen? Europe Thinks It Is
It’s not just solvents such as methylene chloride that are coming under scrutiny as suspected human carcinogens. (I wrote about methylene chloride in the June, 2017 issue of Popular Woodworking.)...
What to Do When White Oak Won’t Take Stain Evenly
I received a question from a woodworker who had made an end table from quartersawn white oak and had a problem with the stain penetrating unevenly. The problem showed up...
Gluing Dowel Joints: Why Factory Furniture Dowel Joints Loose so Quickly
Why does so much factory furniture, made with dowel joinery in the last forty or fifty years, often not hold up well? I have two explanations, both of which are...
Suspicions Confirmed: Zero VOC Claims Exaggerated
Ever since water-based paints and finishes began carving out a market for replacing solvent-based products, claims for the amount of solvent these products contain have been getting increasingly [...]
Hide Glue – Part 4: Factory Pictures
When I wrote my posting on how hide glue is made last Dec. 5, I knew I had pictures from the Milligan & Higgins hide glue factory, but I couldn’t...
The Best Kind of Clear Finish to use Outdoors – The Difference Between Varnish and Spar Varnish
We’re entering mid-summer and you may be thinking of applying a clear finish to some project that will be exposed to sunlight outside. What finish should you use? Be careful....
Conservators – How Some Hide Glue Changed the Trajectory of my Career
I’ll probably get pushback for this post, but I’m posting it anyway. Three decades ago I had a unique opportunity of being considered for a conservator’s position in the magnificent...
Overspray and Bounce-back
Terminology is important. If we aren’t all using the same definitions, we can’t communicate. Using sloppy language is one of my pet peeves, and I spend lots of effort just...
Peeling Paint on Exterior Doors
A reader had a problem with the paint on his front doors, which he thought might be caused by exposure to strong sunlight for many hours each day. Fortunately, he...
