Finishing

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...

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...

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...

There’s no finishing problem more frustrating than glue splotches. You spend countless hours cutting, shaping, smoothing and joining pieces of wood only to have your work discolored where glue [...]

I get a lot of questions about Arts Crafts style finishes. Gustav Stickley’s original work was made of quartersawn white oak and fumed with ammonia. This was then topcoated with...

What kind of sprayer do you recommend for applying a lacquer finish: gravity or siphon feed? Could you use the same sprayer for applying a stain? Thanks for your time...

It’s curious that many of the people I know who are professional finishers and refinishers are also connoisseurs of drink. Whenever I spray finish , particularly lacquer , I always...

There’s an adage that cherry is the wood that comes with a built-in stain. All you have to do is apply a clear topcoat and watch its rich color develop...

When it comes to finishing, I’m first to admit I can be a bit chicken. I do work hard at finishing, but I generally stick with what I know. And...