Woodworking Guide for Beginners

Woodworking for a lot of people is a relaxing and rewarding hobby. There's just something about the feeling you get when you build things using your own two hands. But remember that whatever it is you want to build, whether something simple like a birdhouse, or something complicated like a boat, you will need a good set of woodworking plans.

Even the most experienced woodworking craftsmen can't make anything from the top of their heads. So if you're just a beginner in woodworking and have no idea where to start, then it's best for you to get some beginner woodworking plans. These will tell you what materials and tools you will need, so you don't have to invest money in a lot of woodworking tools that you won't even use.

The best place where you can get woodworking plans is over the internet. Choose websites that have their own resident craftsman in their staff, that way you have someone you can ask whenever you run into a problem with your project. And since all of the plans are in digital form, you don't need to clutter your workspace with dozens of blueprints.

Just make sure that you get plans that have very detailed instructions, and if possible offer some professional advice too. This is important especially for a beginner like you. When you have a clear idea of what you need to do then you won't get frustrated in the middle of a project. There's nothing sadder in the world than a forgotten, unfinished project.

View the original article here

Finished Intarsia Woodwork - How Much Can I Sell It For?

How much can I sell my intarsia woodwork for? This is the question I get asked all the time. So I know that at least some of you out there are considering trying to sell your work.

So how much are they worth?

Early Days - A Typical Scenario

You've started on a new and exciting woodworking skill called Intarsia. You can't get enough of it. Your family and friends are really impressed with the stuff you are making. So every new piece easily finds a home.

You are happy to give your finished pieces to your close family and friends. But then friends of friends start wanting pieces. It occurs to you that while you certainly enjoy making them there are costs involved other than your time. And even though you don't feel you need to be paid for your time it would be nice to get some sort of return for your labours.

Mid Intarsia Crisis

Well maybe not a crisis but now you do start to think it might be good to sell a few intarsia pieces to recoup costs. And how much easier is it to get the boss to agree to a new machine in your workshop if you are showing a return. "Well dearest heart, I've made a few bob already and with that money I can buy a brand new - insert your preference here - so I can make my intarsia even more efficiently and then I'll easily be able to get around to making that new coffee table you've always wanted and so richly deserve." Woffle wofle woffle.

The Big Question - "How much are they worth?

"How long is a piece of string?

The golden rule. "They are worth whatever customers will pay for them"

Which doesn't actually tell you anything. So let's look at a couple of pricing scenarios.

The Academic Approach

A Masters degree in Business will tell you to do something like this. First calculate your total cost of production.

Material Costs

* Timber including any waste - $ Very little

* Plywood backing - $ A tiny amount

* Hangers from a framing shop - a few cents

Consumables

* Sandpaper - $ more than you'd first imagine but still not much

* Glue - a few more cents

* Varnish or oil finish - $ a few dollars

Overheads

* Workshop rent - it might be your garage but somebody some time had to pay for it.

* Telephone

* Electricity

* Broom for sweeping up

* yadda yadda yadda

Marketing

* Cost of stall at local flea market/car boot sale

* Traveling cost to get there

* Your time sitting behind the stall all day

Profit

* The cream on the top that you deserve over and above your wages for running your own business. And now the big one.

Labour

* Your local mechanic charges $50 (or $60 or $70) per hour to fix your car. And it's probably the first year apprentice that's done the work anyway. It's taken you 84 hours to make your masterpiece (you've carefully noted the hours) and it looks fabulous. You're not greedy so maybe $20 per hour is okay. That makes $1680 plus the $50 for all the materials etc. $1700+. Probably not going to get that at the local flea market.

Okay, let's be less ambitious and work for $5 per hour, I don't actually need anything, this is just a hobby. And I'm sure I must have got those hours wrong, lets pretend it was only 40 hours work. So $200 plus a bit extra for materials, let's call it $220 all up. Now that sounds more reasonable.So not-with-standing the business degree, what we've actually done is made a guess at the price. Surely there's a better way. You're right, there is.

An aside Sitting all day in the hot sun at a local flea market hoping a punter with $220 in their pocket will happen by is okay occasionally but not a regular, reliable income stream. Oh, you say, but if you take your work to a local gallery they want 40%, or 50% or more for themselves. And all they have to do is hang it on their wall, I had to do all the hard yakka to make it. Highway robbery. But if you go the gallery route you don't have to hang around all day, every day looking for customers. They do that. That's what you pay them for. And they have to spend the money to make their gallery look good, not you. We always tried to make quality woodwork so we could interest the best galleries in the land. Way to go. Happy to pay their cut as long as they keep them trucking over.

The Two Month Rule

I take my finished woodwork to the local craft gallery and talk to the owner. After some discussion we came to an agreed starting price and his percentage. Listen to the owner. If they are any good they know their market. Your beautiful intarsia gets hung on the wall. Hopefully the first thing the customer sees when they first walk into the gallery.

* If the work sells in less than two months it is too cheap.

* If it takes much longer than two months to sell it is too expensive.

* And you guessed it, if it sells in about two months the price is just right.

The first time I did this I took along 2 frog intarsia on Thursday. They both sold that weekend. Priced too cheaply but I knew there was a market.

Okay, so now you know the price you can sell them for. But maybe you are still only going to be earning $5 per hour based on the time it took you to make that first one.

So what have you gained?The knowledge that you can't expect your customers to pay for your inefficiency.

So what can you do about it. There are lots of ways to streamline your production. You will make your 20th frog a lot more quickly than the first one. As you get more experienced you will come up with all sorts of short cuts. But that's another article.

View the original article here

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.

This article has been viewed 15 time(s).
Article Submitted On: September 11, 2010

View the original article here

Used Woodworking Tools Are A Great Money Saver

There are so many people like yourself who want to get into woodworking for various reasons, but find the high cost of new tools to prohibit them from diving in. This is why many decide to look for their tools by taking advantage of the used woodworking tools available. It is easy to find a number of great tools to use if you know where to begin looking.

Maybe you live some place small, out in the country somewhere, or maybe you live in a crowded urban area - there are always garage or yard sales. You can look for used woodworking tools from local garage sales and even get a better deal. Try negotiating the prices so that you get more for less. Then you can look through many of the church yard sales as well since many will join in and bring their tools for sale.

If you are able to do so, you should look at the pawn shops that sell used woodworking tools in your area. Sometimes if you look through various shops you will see that the inventory and prices really fluctuate but can easily be much cheaper than new tools in the hardware and lumber stores. It always helps if you call in advance to see if they carry the tool you are after, and to check back often since inventory is not constant.

Rather than looking locally you can also check with the many online stores where you can buy used woodworking tools at auction prices. There are a few tips to keep in mind, such as considering the reputation of the seller as well as really combing over the tool in question. Again the inventory is fluid so you will want to keep checking regularly to be sure you don't miss out on a great deal for the tools you are looking for.

A classic way to find used woodworking tools is to check in the local listings of the classified advertisements. Newspapers can give you a heads up when there is an estate sale or great yard sale in your area featuring tools.

You should be able to find used woodworking tools very easily if you consider the resources listed and are diligent to search for deals. Doing this will enable you to get to woodworking much faster and help you advance in your skills much quicker - it is much easier to work when you have all the tools you need.

View the original article here

Sharpening Woodturning Tools - Seeking the Edge

Woodturners all agree that wood lathe tools need to be sharp, the question however is "how sharp is sharp enough?" A few simple considerations will get us quickly back to the lathe and to turning wood.

First we need to question what is a good edge for woodturning. The razor edge sought after by wood carvers and aficionados of wood planes quickly disappears under the rapid movement of turning wood as well as the bark and knots that often meets the edges of our tools. As opposed to the very fine angle used to achieve a knife edge, woodturning tools require a hefty amount of steel behind the cutting edge so as to resist the impact of the wood itself.

For bowl turners in particular, a forty five degree sharpening angle will give an edge that removes clean shavings while retaining a clean cut for a reasonable length of time before sharpening is again necessary. The nature of spindle turning which generally calls for higher speeds and more knot free wood allows for a tighter angle of about thirty degrees.

The need for an edge that hold up under the stress of high speeds and less than perfect wood allows a turner to use a grinder as the primary sharpening tool. A honed and stropped edge on a gouge tends to be quickly dulled by the spinning material. However, the grinder with an aluminum oxide stone of eighty to a hundred grit will leave an edge that cuts well and holds up reasonably well under most turning circumstances. A quick trip to the grinder allows the turner to get back to work with minimum time spent on the sharpening process.

Skew chisels may require a slightly different approach. They are used for spindle turning and thus can have a sharper angle than most gouges, especially those used for faceplate work. In addition they are sharpened on both sides similar to a knife blade while most other woodturning tools are sharpened on only one side. For most cuts the edge off the grinder will be quite sufficient, however, the skew rests in the woodturner's arsenal in much the same place as a plane to a flat woodworker. Finishing cuts in particular for a skew may call for a honing before the cut. In skilled hands a skew may leave a surface that requires little or no sanding before the finish is applied.

Scrapers are used by most if not all woodturners and require an even heavier edge. Many times they are ground to only eighty or seventy degrees. However, fine cuts and very fine shavings can be achieved using the burr raised from the grinder in a trailing motion.

Surprisingly, the simple grinder becomes a very efficient sharpening tool for the experienced woodturner. What is needed is an understanding of the tool that is held and the wood that is to be cut so as to understand the cutting edge one is after. Putting these together before the grinder allows for an enjoyable and productive time in making shavings at the wood lathe.

Darrell Feltmate is a juried wood turner whose web site, Around the Woods, contains detailed information about wood turning for the novice or experienced turner as well as a collection of turnings for your viewing pleasure. You too can learn to turn wood, here is the place to start. Wondering what it looks like? There are many free videos on the site dealing with everything from sharpening to making a bowl.

While sharpening wood turning tools is a mystery to many wood turners you can easily and cheaply make a jig to solve your sharpening problems. To see how and solve those problems in a hurry, check out the sharpening pages at http://aroundthewoods.com/sharpening01.html. There are lots of explanations, pictures and videos, all free, to get you underway.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darrell_Feltmate

View the original article here

The Versatility of Home Woodworking

There are a lot of things that you can do with woodworking, and home woodworking is one of the most rewarding. Some people like to make furniture or pieces that they intend to sell; some people just find it a fun hobby to pass the time in an enjoyable and constructive way. Other people want to be able to make a lot of things for their home, and home woodworking is one of the best possible applications for your newfound skill. Not only will you save money making pieces for yourself when you learn home woodworking, but you'll also personal your space and create a warm feel to your house that no store bought item can possibly duplicate.

Every space in your house can benefit from woodworking. Let's start in the front.

There are a few great pieces you can make for your foyer, front hallway, or front entryway. Making a round or square umbrella stand is a great touch, especially if you live in a place where inclement weather is the norm. Snowy and rainy places also benefit from mitten chests and either racks or stands to hang your coat on. You can even construct a small seat to sit on as you take on and take off your shoes, and I know someone who made a really attractive shoe rack to sit next to his front door.

Next up we have the living room. There are a lot of items that are perfect to make for your living room and that are great applications of home woodworking. Bookshelves are a great thing to make, as are book ends. You can make them tall or short, wide or thin- whatever suits your space. You can make cabinets and display cases for all your decorations or precious items. You can even make some of the larger furniture. Coffee tables are relatively easy to put together, and can be beautifully personalized and finished to match the rest of your d?cor. You can also make other small tables for plants or other decorations. Card tables are nice to have if you have a space for playing games, and you can even construct the chairs for them.

Home offices are a natural place to construct some furniture for. Obviously the main thing you can make for your home office is a sturdy desk to work from. There's something about working from a large, solid desk that you constructed yourself that nothing from IKEA can touch. In addition, you can also make shelves and drawers for your equipment, tools and important papers.

Kitchens are also great places to make an item or two for. While a lot of kitchen furniture is fixed into place, there's nothing stopping you from learning how to replace your cabinets with something more appropriate to your tastes. You can also make a great kitchen table or small pantries.

Finally, if you're feeling really ambitious you can bring your woodworking skills to your bedroom furniture. Perhaps the best use for your skills is constructing a custom bed for yourself. Your bed is where you spend a third of your life, and taking the time, energy and resources to make a bed that will make you exceptionally happy is an investment that will pay dividends.

View the original article here

Lattice Wall Planter.

Portable planters allow you to add a touch of spring color anywhere you want!

Type of Information: woodworking free plans

Source : HGTV

You can view other related woodworking free plans plans found in our woodworking category http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=716

View the original article here