It’s everywhere, and – if you are like me – it’s probably the first finish other than paint you ever used on a woodworking project.
It’s canned brush on polyurethane, and it’s available at every major retailer. Just about all of the major manufacturers sell the stuff, and everyone in your local mega home improvement retailer recommends it for wood finishing.
And, there’s a lot to like. It creates a tough, water and abrasion resistant surface. It also takes a great deal of skill to lay down properly, dries slowly and makes some projects look plastic.
This week, how do you feel about brush on poly as a finish?
As I’ve stated before – when it comes to woodworking techniques, there are a thousand ways to skin the proverbial cat. Ask any woodworker, and you’ll soon discover how true this is. While you may complete a task using a table saw, other woodworkers may turn to routers, bandsaws, hand tools or other means to complete the task in their shop.
While some woodworkers may tell you how they would have done the task at their bench, others who are a little bit more pushy (abrasive? know-it-all?) not only offer their recommendations, but tell you you ‘should have’ done it their way instead.
This week, let us know if you have ever been told by another woodworker that you ‘should have’ done the job the way they would have done it, and what your reaction was.
First of all, you’ll notice that this week’s quick poll looks different. No, I’m not just test driving new polling software (although test drives can be fun). Starting this week, the quick poll is being shared with Marc Spagnuolo at the Wood Talk Online community.
The idea is that we’ll be able to reach out to more woodworkers and get a better idea of what you are thinking.
Which leads to this week’s question – what do you think about collaboration between online woodworkers? Do you think the online woodworking community would be stronger with more collaboration among woodworking bloggers, or do you think it would lead toward more similar – and boring – posts?
Remember, all votes cast here at Tom’s Workbench and the Wood Talk Online community will be show on the vote total.
When it comes to keeping your shop – and sinuses and lungs – clean, there’s nothing like a good dust collection system.
Capturing dust at its source is the most effective way to keep the mess at bay. This week, let us know what your basic dust collection set up looks like. Sure, there are many ways to collect dust, and in many shops, there are several methods at work. Just tell us about the main one in your shop – the one that gets the most work.
Does plywood have a place in fine woodworking projects? Should all projects considered master works be completely devoid of plywood, or is it OK, to have non-visible parts (backs, drawer bottoms, etc) made if it? Should it even matter?
Let’s say theoretically that you have a good friend who – because of age or illness – is nearing the end of his or her life.
One day, he or she asks if you – a woodworker they respect – would use your talent and skill to build them an urn to house their remains for their eternal rest.
It’s been more than a year since Norm Abram called it quits with the New Yankee Workshop. Since then, we’ve seen the debut of Rough Cut with Tommy MacDonald.
Now that he has a season under his belt – along with some pretty cool looking projects – what do you think about the show?
