Woodworking Projects Removing Mildew From your Lumber

Just like everything in life sometimes your woodworking projects
can get put off and delayed. Nothing is worse that when you finally
get around to starting and you find mildew stains on your lumber. Even
easy woodworking projects can become a nightmare. I’m going to give
you some advice on how to best avoid stains on your project lumber and
how to best remove the stain.

How you store the wood is obviously the biggest factor in whether or
not you end up with mold and mildew on your wood surfaces. Storing
lumber for your woodworking projects indoors is your best bet whenever
possible. If you must store it outside cover the wood with a blanket
or old sheet that will allow air movement and won’t trap the moisture.
Then loosely cover that with a plastic tarp or cover. Do not make this
plastic outer cover tight you want it to be loose, not tight. The
plastic should keep rain from getting to the blankets covering the
wood.

If you do end up with mildew on the lumber you plan to use for your
woodworking projects removing it does not have to be a difficult job
and can be accomplished with items you probably already have in your
home. Start with a solution of 1 part dish washing liquid to 10 parts
of regular household bleach and 30 parts of warm water. You will want
to work in a well ventilated area and wear rubber gloves while working
with the solution you have just created. Use the solution along with a
soft bristle blue to scrub away the mildew on the wood surface. You
should scrub gently. Then rinse the cleaned area with clean water and
towel dry it. Once the wood has dried thoroughly you can sand off and
grain that is raised. I hope this article was useful and you can put
this into use when pulling out older lumber to use in your woodworking
projects.

If you are new to woodworking I suggest you take a look at this great ebook:
Beginners Guide to Woodworking
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Tips For Cutting Plywood for use in your Woodworking Projects

Here are some tips to use when cutting plywood for your woodworking projects.

First you want to avoid cross cutting.  This is because plywood has a
tendency to chip when you cut across its grain.  Make your cut with
the grain and you will reduce chipping.  Be sure to choose the right
blade too.  Blades are specially manufacturer for different purposes
and jobs.  Choose a blade that is the best match for the job you are
doing.  All those things that go into the blade such as the width,
angle and number of teeth all have an impact on how it cuts.  If you
are like me sometime you get lazy with your wood working and figure
you will just make the cut with the blade that is already on your saw.
 While this will save you a minute initially it can cost you time and
money if you end up being forced to cut another piece of wood because
you were too lazy to switch blades.

A good idea is the score the cut first by running plywood through the
saw and removing only a small amount of wood.  When you do the next
cut it will be a much cleaner cut.  Placing masking tap over the cut
line will help keep the fibers on the edge of the plywood from pulling
up.  Using double stick tape you can also attach a backing panel which
will end up taking most of the damage.

When using a table saw cut with the best face up.  If you are using a
circular saw it is the opposite – cut with the best face down.  You
can also use a router with a straight bit to cut a nice clean line.  A
straight edge and a router can combine to provide a clean line.

If you really want the ultimate plywood cutting solution for your
woodworking projects you can buy a panel scoring setup.  Some saws can
be fitted with a plywood panel scoring attachment that consists of a
smaller blade the scores the surface before it reaches the main
cutting blade.  This is a great way to get good cuts when working with
plywood and I highly recommend you choose this option if you work
often with plywood.

I hope these tips gave you some good ideas on how to make your
woodworking projects easier to complete. I recommend you pick up this
collection of thousands of woodworking plans:


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Tips for Applying Stain and Finish to your Woodworking Projects

Here are some useful tips regarding the staining and applying the
finishing coats on your woodworking projects.

Allow a day or so for the dust to settle after you have been sanding.
If your workshop has any type of dust removal or air cleaner be sure
they are turned on while sanding and when applying your finishing
coats.

Remove any dust that may be on your woodworking project prior to
staining it.  You can use a vacuum cleaner to accomplish this or use a
tack cloth.  The tack cloth generally will do a better job of removing
most of the dust.

Protect your hands from a long clean up!  Get some decent gloves that
you can wear and then throw away when finished.

Cover the work area and floor with plastic to protect them from those
accidental spills and drips.

Stain is usually best applied with a high quality foam brush.

Let the stain penetrate for about 45 minutes and the using a lint free
cloth wipe it off.  This will help give the wood a uniform color.

Allow the stain to dry for a day and then apply a second coat.  Rub
this coat off after about 30 minutes.  This will give the project a
richer finish.

After allowing the second coat to dry to a day you may apply a third
coat depending on the color you want to achieve.

Let the stain on your woodworking project dry for several days.  It
should be completely dry before applying the finishing coat.

Take your vacuum cleaner or tack cloth and again remove any dust that
may have settled on your project.

Apply your fast drying polyurethane using a foam brush.  I usually use
MinWax which takes about four hours to dry.  Always brush in one
direction.  Make very light strokes down the entire length of the
project.  Make sure the polyurethane is not drying while you are
applying it to your project.  You will usually need two coats.

Now wait three days and apply a final finish.  This will give your
woodworking project an incredible professional look.

If you follow these steps carefully you will end up with an incredible
looking item.  So the next time you are ready to apply the final
touches to your woodworking project try out this method I outlined
above.



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5 DIY Crate Projects Vote for Your Favorite

Rounding up 5 DIY crate projects with tutorials to share with you and peeps we need your votes please!  Check out all the projects and vote for your favorite over at Ryobi Nation here.

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Due to stolen content I can no longer provide a full RSS feed. I work really hard to provide original content and there are too many sites stealing my work that Ive been forced to change my feed settings. Thank you for understanding.

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Woodworking Projects that can Earn your Money!

Woodworking projects can be an enjoyable way to spend your free time.
It can help you relax, provide a creative outlet and even help you
feel better about yourself. It doesn’t matter if you are planning to
just make some items for around the house or looking to sell your
finished projects wood working can be a great way to spend an evening.

Below I will discuss some simple projects that you can do to begin
selling your work at local craft shows and flea markets. This is a
great way to earn some cash to fund more projects or to upgrade your
woodworking tools. Please read this whole list, but just to let you
know the last one on here is probably one of the simplest and best
selling choices!

A Birdhouse is a perfect beginner project and also something that is
small and can easily be transported. An added benefit is the crowds
at craft shows are a good target audience for a birdhouse.

Planters are another easy project that can be sold. Basically, make
a small box that can hold dirt and seeds. The key here is to add your
own flair or personalize the item.

While Picnic Tables are large they are not hard to make and a well
built picnic table can sell for quite a few dollars. The biggest
problem is that you cannot easily load a dozen into your car and head
off to the flea market. You can however take one to the show and use
it as a model, and then you can take orders and arrange delivery to
the buyer (if you are lucky they will just bring their own pickup
truck to your house).

What have I found to be the best seller and the perfect woodworking
project to sell? A sign! But not just any sign. A signed
personalized for the local area. For instance, if you live in Dallas
you might make some signs that read: “Cowboy Fans Only!” and paint it
in team colors. Also keep in mind how simple this project is to make.
Figure out a good size for the sign and cut it out of wood along with
a support stick to place into the ground. Once word of warning is to
be careful of breaking any trademark laws, for instance on my example
sign I wouldn’t put a Cowboys logo. Of course there are other popular
signs such as “Santa Stop Here!” that can be sold during the holiday
season.

You could also place ads in a craft or woodworking magazine to try and
sell some of your items. One thing to keep in mind is that easy
woodworking projects can be sold. A small woodworking project is ideal
since it can be easily transported or carried. If you need some plans
look here for thousands of plans.

These are just a few examples of simple woodworking projects you can
do to earn some extra money without having to be a wood working
expert. Most of all have fun and enjoy you new profitable hobby.
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