Category Archives: Shop Tips

Potato Shaker / Soil Sifter

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Bill

Last year I made a sifter for sifting compost.  It’s just some 2×4’s screwed together with a piece of 1/2″ hardware cloth stapled to one side.  The rectangle is 35 x 27, with the two shorter sides of the rectangle … Continue reading →

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Cutting Board Butter

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Bill

I have been making my own cutting board finish, which I like to call Cutting Board Butter, made from bee’s wax and mineral oil.  This is very easy to make.  You can order melting bee’s wax pellets online.  Simply add … Continue reading →

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Chamfer Sanding Block + Free Plan

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Bill

I am making an end grain cutting board, and for the edge treatment, I decided to go with chamfers.  Now while the router left a nice edge, it did need sanding.  I could have just used a sanding block and … Continue reading →

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Repairing a Broken Corner

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Bill

So this isn’t really a corner.  Well, kind of.  It’s the corner of a walnut strip in a cutting board I was making. After gluing up the board, and cleaning off the squeeze out, I noticed one of the strips … Continue reading →

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I May Have a Problem

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Bill

Am I a hoarder?  How many pen blanks are too many?

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Repairing a Harbor Freight Ultrasonic Cleaner

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Bill

A while ago, while repairing my old Jonsered 2050 Turbo chainsaw, I bought a Central Machinery Ultrasonic Cleaner from Harbor Freight. I heard they were really good for cleaning carburetors.

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HVLP Spraying

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Bill

I’ve always been interested in spray finishing, whether it’s painting the castle fort, painting our house, or applying finish or paint to woodworking projects.  Over the years I’ve tried various systems and solutions, from our first Wagner Power Painter, to a cheap LVLP siphon spray gun from Home Depot, to the Wagner Spraytech FLEXiO 5000 HVLP system.  This last one we used to paint our house, and it did an excellent job.

[caption id="attachment_1541" align="alignnone" width="338"]TCP Global G6600 with Spectrum System TCP Global G6600 with Spectrum System[/caption] Continue reading →

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Odoo Inventory – Product Entry screen shot

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Marisa

Here are the things that I really like about the Odoo software: I can put a picture on the record.  If you are just scanning through what we have in stock it’s helpful to actually be able to see what … Continue reading →

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Tape!

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Bill

We’ve all heard that using painter’s tape to mask off parts for gluing can save a lot of time later on when we are unclamping and cleaning up the squeeze-out.  But how many of us actually take the time to … Continue reading →

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Blue Tape

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Marisa

Blue tape is a shop hero. Heck it’s a life hero.  About the only complaint I have is that it can be difficult when you only have one hand free.   If I know I’m going to be needing multiple pieces … Continue reading →

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