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WT278 – Matt’s Back

On today’s show we’re talking about finish for a teak shower bench, curved vs hard angles in ductwork, and steamed vs unsteamed Walnut.

Just a quick correction, we thanked Joel Laviolette and mistook him for our friend Joe Laviolette. Apologies Joel and we think you are just as cool as Joe!

What’s on the Bench?

  • Marc is still working on his gaming table and using a T slot router bit
  • Matt is planning home office type projects
  • Shannon’s lack of shop time has him contemplating new projects when he already has enough to do.

What’s New?

Kickback

  • Dan says that nails get used over screws much more in carpentry since they can handle more stress in parts like joist hangers.
  • Brian has the cheap Beadlock system from Rockler and doesn’t like it either citing alignment issues.

Email

  • Eric wants to know what finish to use on a Teak shower bench
  • Ben is a afraid of 90 degree angles…in his ductwork
  • Andy says “what gives?” about steamed and unsteamed Walnut.

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11 replies on “WT278 – Matt’s Back”

I have the 3/8″ Beadlock Pro and it’s relatively simple to use. I have used it to build face frames for 2 bookcases with excellent results.

You have to be careful when marking your mortises and referencing the correct side of the workpiece to the jig. Sawdust tends to build up pretty fast too, so if you don’t keep that cleaned up it can interfere with the drill bit alignment, making tenon too tight. Once you practice on a few test pieces, things go pretty smooth and the joints are rock-solid.

The built in clamping mechanism of the pro version is the only thing that makes this work in my opinion. I can’t imagine using this without the integral clamp.

Marc,

Just saw the Bosch Glide 12″ saw at Home Depot for $585. Had been $649. Not sure how long this is good for.

Hey guys I love the show,

You started discussing the new Amazon Handmade and I thought I would throw this out there. My wife is a knitter…I know…but she has been pretty successful selling items via Etsy, Big Cartel, etc. I asked her thoughts on the Amazon Handmade and she pointed me to an article from an artisan who went through the sign up process…two things worth mentioning. One, items are considered handmade if you have less than 20 employees or less than 100 collaborators. Second this excerpt from the license agreement…

“You grant us a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, perform, display, distribute, adapt, modify, re-format, create derivative works of, and otherwise commercially or non-commercially exploit in any manner, any and all of Your Materials, and to sublicense the foregoing rights to our Affiliates and operators of Amazon Associated Properties.”

I have not compared these terms of use to Etsy or other handmade sites, but if that statement scares you, you might rethink selling items via Amazon.

Reference:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.creationsfromthehart.com%2Famazon-review%2F

Jason V – Thanks for pointing that out. My day job is reviewing license agreements for software purchases. You will be surprised how many people will click “I accept” and not read the agreement. Read the terms and conditions for any site you plan to sell on. You may be surprised.

Leveled UP! And they are Not the voices in my head. Thanks Guys soo much. really
enjoy the podcast, and the Videos from each of you. Keep up the great work. Like Marc’s old intros said Hot & Fresh Woodworking, well it’s not always Hot, but it’s always FRESH.

Even though I was one of your very early readers and used to email with you (Marc) in the “old” days I am getting back to woodworking. I think the podcasts are drawing me back! Great to hear you guys!

Hey guys, just working on a project here in the shop and listening to the latest WoodTalk.

One of the most common questions I get from woodworkers is also about the black walnut issue. Embedded within the question of sourcing black walnut and what I do about it is the complaint, “They steam all the warmth and color out of it.”

The solution of reintroducing the warmth is really pretty simple, just apply golden oak stain.

As for steaming all of the color out of it, I would say that is not really the case and adding the golden oak stain not only warms it up nicely but it enhances the darker colors.

This solution especially helps if applying a waterborne finish as black walnut seems to take on a particular cold, greenish, and purple tone compared to the results if using oil or solvent based finishes.

If there is sapwood in the project, the sap wood warms up, the heart wood gets darker and it produces a great contrast. Using golden oak stain produces a nice result that does not look stained, rather it looks very natural.

Doing this has always resulted in lots of positive comments on my work by clients and anybody viewing the work.

Hope this helps!

Your friend in the shop – Todd A. Clippinger

One more thing on the black walnut issue:

Go to the source if possible, and this may not be possible depending on where you are at.

I live in Billings, MT so getting black walnut straight from a logger is pretty difficult. But I have done quite a bit of work in central Ohio (where I am originally from) and it seems almost all of the great American hardwoods grow there. These trees are often harvested by small logging and milling companies so I searched them out and made some nice contacts.

If I wanted to get black walnut that has not been steamed, at a special thickness, or not kiln dried, I could contact them and do so.

I recommend doing a search in your region and locating logging businesses and mills. Some companies may do both logging and milling, and some may be strictly one or the other.

It may lead to a great relationship and the ability to source some exceptional material.

Todd A. Clippinger

For air dried walnut you can check out Goby Walnut in Portland Oregon. Do a Google search.

I recall Fine Woodworking’s podcast, Matt and Mike were talking about air dried vs kiln dried. And how much they liked air dried. So you could post a question to them as to where they get theirs.

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