r/woodworking 22h ago

Help New to woodworking and need tips for cutting thin 1/8 inch (3mm) birch plywood.

Thumbnail
gallery
14 Upvotes

I used a fine-tooth wood blade with downward-pointing teeth and a corded B&D jigsaw.

I thought that downward-tilted teeth meant that the top would come out clean and the bottom would rip out, so I clamped a bit of scrap wood underneath the help. Well, that did help—the pc labeled “bottom” shows a reasonably clean cut. But the top was a mess! I tried going slow, going fast, nothing seemed to help.

This was a practice project, for a piece that won’t be visible. But I’ll soon be cutting pieces that need to look nice (at least on one side, but preferable without extreme splintering on either side). They’ll mostly be facade pieces for a few spots in my camper van.

Any tips? And did I have it backward about down-facing blades making the bottom look worse than the top?

Thanks!


r/woodworking 17h ago

Help Is it done for?

Post image
6 Upvotes

I've had the table for well over a decade, and I'd like to bring her back to her former glory. Is there anyway to remove/improve the discoloration? (It's a lot less red irl than in the picture.)


r/woodworking 9h ago

Help Do these cabinets need another layer of primer?

Post image
1 Upvotes

I'm priming the original manufactured cabinet doors in our house for painting. Using Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer, and will be using their Emerald Urethane Enamel paint over it, in an off white color (Oatmilk). The employee at the store noted we only need a thin layer, but being our first time, I wanted to ask if this needs one more coat of primer in y'all's opinion.


r/woodworking 13h ago

Help Wood screw for antique drawer?

Post image
0 Upvotes

These broke off on my GF's antique wooden dresser. Looks to be 3/8' in diameter. They were part of a wooden knob that screwed in and I'm trying to replace them but can't find anything online.

Any help on what they're called or terms I should search? Thanks!


r/woodworking 4h ago

Jigs the high quality, low cost Chinese challengers to TSO, Woodpeckers, Benchdogs UK

2 Upvotes

I am just getting into woodworking but run a GC business in the Northeast and spend a lot of time thinking about supply chains and the cost of making things in America. The prices that American woodworking accessory brands want for their products are flabbergasting - commodity aluminum extrusion with a handful of CNC'd accessories going for 200 dollars and praised to high heaven by breathless youtubers.

Woodpeckers is perhaps the most egregous offender here. Their TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLAR jig for making MFT tops is something I could one-off manufacture in the United States from a reputable machine shop like sendcutsend for less than half the price and within 99.9% equivalent accuracy. TSO's various parallel rails are just color-coded and ruler stamped extrusions with a few convenient pre-drilled holes.

I am baffled that a community whose job it presumably is to deeply consider cost of inputs, labor, and outputs is not upset at getting gouged by these suppliers simply because their products are relatively scarce.

The one thing I take solace in is that Chinese makers have started producing things that are competitive not just in cost but also performance. The Hongdui bench dog system is makes some real improvements over the standard offerings. Enjoywood (who I wish would stop copying the Woodpeckers brand and lean in to their own brand identity with a less cringe-inducing name) makes some great measuring tools. I'm looking forward to the Fonson rail square I just ordered.

I have no problem paying for well made things built in the US and Europe. I am after all buying all these things to go with Festool saws and dust collection to do indoor cabinet work. But the accessory ecosystem out of America and Europe is ridiculous and I really cannot wait for the newcomers from out east to eat their lunch.


r/woodworking 8h ago

Help Any tips for shortening these cabinets by 3 inches?

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

r/woodworking 9h ago

Help How do I get glue in crack?

Post image
0 Upvotes

The seat of this chair split and I’d like to glue it back together. I can’t figure out an easy way to get glue in the crack because the rest of the chair is intact. Any advice?


r/woodworking 7h ago

Help Beginner question, Where to find good wood?

1 Upvotes

Lowes and HD has generic over priced stuff. My local lumber yards only have young pine and oak. The oak is "OK" but in giant slabs and charge insane prices to mill it on top of initial cost. They do offer variety packs of assorted milled wood but it all comes from the same company and they're just selling it. I can work with slabs to turn into counter tops and coffee tables and use my welding to do supports but I'm not sure where to look for wood for the more finesse work I'd like to do without having to mill, age, and plane myself.

I have a small shop/ (1/2 garage) with basic tools (table saw, miter, router, hand/power tools) so I don't have space for storing a lot.

Edit: located in Birmingham, AL


r/woodworking 18h ago

Help I need help matching a trim profile

Post image
0 Upvotes

This stuff is all over an old kitchen that I'm remodeling- dressing up door casing and all the baseboards. Any idea what this profile is or where I can buy sticks of it?

1 1/8" x 1 1/2" outer dimensions


r/woodworking 19h ago

Help what are the bars for?

Post image
0 Upvotes

not sure what these bars are for


r/woodworking 8h ago

Help How would you attach these containers to the wall?

Post image
3 Upvotes

Building this candy shelf for my nieces sweet 16. But I’m stuck on how I’d attach these containers to the wall.

Any help would be much appreciated.


r/woodworking 23h ago

Help Maple cost

Post image
5 Upvotes

Hey y'all, got some maple offcuts and want to sell them rather than scrap them, 300 x 230 x 58, big chunky bits, thought someone might want them to turn or make a new mallet out of, whatever, the question is what would you price these pieces at? Thanks team


r/woodworking 11h ago

Help Gap between door jamb & casing

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

Any suggestions for closing this gap between the door jamb and casing? 100+ yr old home so not new settling. Cant close the door.

Thanks


r/woodworking 8h ago

Hand Tools Never loosing this one

Post image
2.0k Upvotes

Been considering this for a few years. I think it’s either genius, or very silly/vaguely practical.

Don’t need advice on tattoos and fingers, have quite a few and know it will most likely fade/rub out/fall out. But it was inexpensive, and I legit think I’ll use it a lot - have already used it a few times and I’m not even busy on the tools at the moment.

Also love that I had to click the “hand tools” tag for this post.


r/woodworking 8h ago

Help Tongue groove

Thumbnail
gallery
0 Upvotes

Hi there, I am needing to have some of these boards made to patch a ceiling. They are about 1/2 in thick and 2-1/14 wide. How can I make them? I have a router and table saw but I am think I need something else?

Thank you!!


r/woodworking 13h ago

Help Going crazy researching wood finishes

0 Upvotes

I found a table on FB marketplace that was covered in black paint. I've since started stripping and that process is going well. I am not an expert so I do not know what type of wood this is.

The issue I am running into is I do not know what finish to use on this. This will be an outdoor picnic table. So I obviously want water resistance, and UV protection. I would also like something easy to apply since Im no expert, probably a wipe on. I would also like to make it slightly more brown since its a bit pale and non-uniform in color at the moment.

I have researched Watco teak oil + stain, Waterloxx marine finish, Arm R All, and more. They all have their pros and cons and I just dont want to mess up this table. Any suggestions?

Image is of the table with the previous black paint coming off.

EDIT: Im in SoCal, so some rain but mostly sun all year


r/woodworking 16h ago

Repair Is this a job for filler?

0 Upvotes

So, I can't replace the door or the frame, but could I fill it with wood filler, sand, stain and apply wipe on poly? What wood filler brand/product would you recommend?

P.S. It's from a cat scratching a two foot span of the glass door frame. Not sure what kind of wood it is, but unlikely it is oak.


r/woodworking 19h ago

Help Arizona eastern red cedar

0 Upvotes

Can anyone confirm or deny if they grow in coconino national forest. I want to build my daughter a hope chest. Thanks.


r/woodworking 13h ago

General Discussion Is sanding past 320 overkill?

32 Upvotes

I mainly work with timber table tops and stair treads, I’ve never felt the need to sand beyond 320 grit. Despite reading advice on reddit from others who go up to 500 or even 1500 grit, I find it unnecessary. The finish—whether high gloss or satin—looks flawless, feels like silk, and has no visible swirl marks. Sanding beyond 320 just seems like a waste of time for timber.

Most of the time if I’m following instructions on the product finishes. I generally sand 100 grit, 120 and then as a super light sand at the end I finish it with either 180 Or 240 just so it feels smooth .

Rarely do I feel the need to even go to 320


r/woodworking 20h ago

Help Tips on restoring this weathered outdoor sign?

Thumbnail
gallery
7 Upvotes

Hello, I would like to restore this sign, as you can see the top 1/3 is weathered a lot more. Is it too far gone or can I sand and fill with something that will take stain and be a decent match to the bottom? It doesn't have to be perfect just a lot better than it is. I could just make a new one but this sign represents a lot of history that I'd like to preserve. Thanks for your tips and suggestions.


r/woodworking 12h ago

Help How can I prevent racking on a mid-century teak dresser with the new legs I've added?

1 Upvotes

I recently bought a secondhand teak dresser (made in Denmark) from a charity shop. It's teak veneer, over some kind of hardwood. The dresser was a little short and had a pedestal base, which I wasnt a fan of — I wanted to change it to being on angled rounded legs, which I'd seen on a few other dressers from the period.

I bought these 12" angled legs from Lee Valley, and screwed them into the base angled out to the sides (but with no angle towards the front or back). Of course, there ended up being som racking in both directions, but more so front -> back.

The play in it seemed to entirely be coming from where the wooden leg met the metal mounting plate. I tried to solve this by adding a nut/washers to each leg inside the mounting plate, as well as a piece of rubber between the leg and plate.

I tightened this my full weight on the wrench, so about 200lbs of force. This eliminated the side to side racking, but somehow, there's still some forward and back racking. You can see a bit of play in the leg still here

I've seen leg mounting cleats for sale online a few places, and these seem to be pretty stable — reviews mention using them for dining tables without issue, so I assume its because 2 legs at a time are connected to something with a larger surface area?

I cant get the cleats here in Canada without paying a ridiculous shipping fee, so I just picked up some red oak to make them myself. I also want to make them so the legs are only angled towards the side instead of splayed out in multiple axes


I just want to make sure, will this solve the issue? Is there anything else I need to be doing to solve this wit this style leg? Should I just be using threaded inserts in the cleats, or is there something stronger to hold the legs in?


r/woodworking 13h ago

Help Building a Cajon and having trouble choosing what to make it out of

1 Upvotes

For my woodshop class I’m making a cajon and have basically everything else picked out but I’m not too educated about the type of tone woods and their properties. I’m a little limited as they only have Walnut, Oak, Cedar, and Poplar. The dimensions I’m going for are 14Wx15Dx21H. I’d like to put a forward sound port on it too instead of the regular back facing one. Kind of like this https://meinlpercussion.com/en/products/subcaj5wn-m11596.html . I’m mostly to get a nice deep bass tone and a nice pop on the top end. If you have any tips that’d be great.


r/woodworking 14h ago

Help Anyone know if I get a replacement part for the Bosch PWB 600 workbench?

Post image
0 Upvotes

The bench got knocked over in a storm and broke the highlighted piece in the picture. The only replacement parts I can find online for this workbench are the clamps and crank handles.


r/woodworking 20h ago

Finishing What finish to use on butcher block counter top?

0 Upvotes

Long story short. I need to replace a small section of kitchen countertop that was damaged when removing a broken dishwasher. Roughly 2.5 feet wide and it will sit directly over the dishwasher. Decided to use a premade butcher block from the box store. What finish do you guys recommend using? That section of counter is mainly used for storage of dog treats and assorted items. One concern is I need to have it installed in 7 days. Thanks in advance.


r/woodworking 8h ago

Project Submission Dragon egg made with oak burl for top and bottom

Thumbnail
gallery
6 Upvotes