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Why stains and finishes sometimes dry slowly. A friend called with a problem. He had applied an ebony oil stain to oak and after the stain had dried for two days, the polyurethane he then brushed [...]

Achieve great results with the least amount of work. Think about it: What’s the first thing you do when judging someone else’s woodwork? You run your hand over it, of course. If it feels really [...]

This traditional finish from Denmark is simple, safe and tactile. When I tell fellow woodworkers and customers that I use soap as a finish on some of my tables and chairs, they think I’m joking. [...]

Tool: Ultimate Matte Finish Polyurethane Manufacturer: Rust-Oleum So you want the look of raw wood and excellent protection against spills and scratches? Until recently, that request might have [...]

Fire and wax together produce a rich black surface. Fire might not be the first finishing technique that most woodworkers gravitate toward; then again, I am not most woodworkers. As a blacksmith [...]

Discover how (and when) to give old, deteriorated finishes new life. As finishes age, they deteriorate. First they dull, then they begin showing small cracks (called “crazing”). The culprit of [...]

Using factory-made prefinished plywood makes cabinet building quicker, easier and cleaner, so it’s unfortunate that most home centers and lumberyards don’t stock it. Luckily, [...]

Peeling surfaces on inexpensive furniture give veneering a bad name. It’s actually a sophisticated technique with a rich history dating all the way back to the Egyptian pharaohs. So it may be [...]

This 3-cabinet unit is designed to organize and store finishing supplies ranging from flammable liquids to Q-tips in ways that makes them easy to access and (just as important!) easy to put back. [...]

The modern term “butcher block” probably originated from the large, heavy chopping blocks found in old-fashioned butcher shops, which consisted of thick square boards (such as [...]