No woodworking project is finished until it is, well, finished. There are many wood finishing techniques in the world, each one with different functional and aesthetic characteristics. The final finish can turn a project into a masterpiece, or ruin hundreds of hours of hard work. Find out here how to finish wood the right way, every time, no matter what woodworking project you’re completing. Whether you’re finishing up an elegant, delicate jewelry box, or an outdoor chair meant to face the elements, you’ll find the right wood finishing technique here..
Free Wood Finishing Guides
Wood Finishing Techniques
Finishing Furniture Tips
Staining Wood
One thing you can count on when you save a half-used can of varnish is that the contents will be skinned-over the next time you open the can. When this happens, don't gnash your teeth; the [...]
Restore an Antique Oak Table Thoughtful finishing and new leaves prepare this classic for the next 100 years. By Kevin Southwick This old table looks like a prime candidate for refinishing. Strip [...]
When stripping a chair or table, place each leg in a coffee can. Any excess stripper drips right in, and when you take off the finish, you can simply push your scraper down the length of the leg. [...]
Editor’s note: In the Summer 2008 issue we promised to reprint our article on an “Authentic Arts & Crafts Finish” from 2007. We just noticed that we neglected to post the [...]
Yesterday I finished up work on the dry sink that is the cover project for the Spring 2009 issue of Woodworking Magazine (Issue 13). As always, the finishing part of the project was as much an [...]
Flexible Spray Gun Pickup Tube My HVLP spray gun came equipped with a standard metal fluid-pickup tube. It works fine until I tip my gun to get inside a cabinet. Then the gun sputters and spits [...]
Sometime back in 1996 I took a piece of cloth that was cast off from my wardrobe. I cannot remember what the garment was. A sweatshirt perhaps? Long underwear? It’s a bit stretchy. And I [...]
Reader Greg Peel writes: I’m glad to see that the latest issue of Woodworking Magazine is a great one like the others. I was wondering if there is color picture of the pumpkin pine samples [...]
Adam Cherubini, who writes the Arts & Mysteries column for Popular Woodworking, ends up making a lot of his own tools to satisfy his 18th-century urges. The handsaws you see in the photos of [...]
Someone once told me that woodworkers cannot talk to other woodworkers without using their hands to explain things. And that’s true. But I’d like to amend that aphorism to say that [...]
It’s lunchtime, but as I gaze into the fridge the only thing that looks good to me is a beer. I reach for the yogurt, but I almost change direction and grab the bottle of Fat Tire on the [...]