Salt pastes and PEG Polyethylene glycol is high-priced, but the alternatives for stabilizing green wood are few. 1998.
Spots revealed in dry, planed lumber Dr. Gene attempts to find the causes of discolored spots on dried lumber, revealed only when the stock has been planed. 1998.
Woods for outdoor furniture A manufacturer of outdoor furniture consults the Wood Doctor for help with choosing a species to replace beech. 1998.
Working with casehardened lumber Casehardened lumber should be returned to the processor, or planed to the desired thickness; resawing is not an option. 1998.
Workbench end caps: Bad idea? Though European workbenches commonly feature caps over the ends of the worktop material, these may hinder natural movement of the wood on this side of the Atlantic.
Wood dust a carcinogen? The Wood Doctor points to two sources of information on the carcinogenic properties of wood dust. 1998.
Wood technology Web sites A short list of Web sites with information about characteristics of given species. 1998.
Why is machined teak blotchy? If you're not familiar with it, one property of freshly machined teak can take you by surprise. 1998.
Stained oak from supplier There are solutions for stained, milled, not-yet-dried oak lumber, but first , one must determine the cause of the staining. 1998.
Math for Helical Stair Parts Pros find and discuss a formula for figuring helixes (it's a real head-scratcher). April 11, 2005
Problem with veneer over MDF Veneer applied over MDF is splitting and cracking - what could be the cause? March 21, 2002
Rough lumber dimensions Understanding basic lumber dimensions and how to calculate board footage. April 20, 2001
Rx For Bending Wood Dr. Gene Wengert offers advice on bending solid lumber in production applications. 1998.
Oversize End-Grain Butcher Block Woodworkers kick around the issues raised by a client's proposed DIY project: a 4-foot by 7-foot butcher-block top. October 2, 2007
Glazes and crackles How to use glazes and crackles to produce dramatic effects. November 21, 2000
Re-Fortifying Ancient Wood Wood can survive for millenia if it's buried under certain conditions. Here's a description of a method for saturating ancient wood with penetrating epoxy under vacuum pressure, to make it strong enough to be workable. October 13, 2005
Production sanding for humidors There's no 'silver bullet' when it comes to the detail sanding that fine work demands, be it in a one-off or production environment. 1998.
Relative densities of various birches The Wood Doctor offers resources for information on the relative densities of birch lumbers, and offers an opinion on plastic laminate. 1998.
Choosing Wood for a Shop-Made Hand Plane In the olden days woodworkers made their own planes. You can still do it. Here are some thoughts on the appropriate wood.June 28, 2013
Dry Kiln Information Resources A list of clubs, organizations, books and publications providing information about drying lumber for use in woodworking. 1998.
The Most Important Skills to Learn An apprentice woodworker asks what he should concentrate on for a career in the trade, and gets a full helping of good advice. October 2, 2005
Turning and Drying Burls Burls for bowl turning are best turned while green, and then dried. Here's a little detailed info. January 14, 2008
- Wood species Information on tree species and their uses. March 20, 2001
Vacuum application FAQ All aspects of vacuum and how it is used by the woodworker. March 18, 2002
Wood, the environment, and Man A wide-ranging overview of the state of the primary processing industry, and where it may be going from here. August 10, 2000
Test your gluing knowledge Answer these true-or-false questions to see what you know about adhesives and gluing. 1997
WOODPRO - Species Selection Made Easy A free complete working computer program (that can be downloaded at WOODWEB), allowing woodworkers to select the most suitable wood species for any particular application - 1997
Sanding Hard Maple A cabinetmaker complains of little swirl marks, and gets advice on sanding (and card scraping) technique. July 21, 2005
Teak Finish on Kitchen Cabinets Teak may be naturally water resistant, but in a kitchen environment, even this tough lumber needs some help. February 26, 2005
Small parts on P2P Using a spoilboard to solve problems of no suction with small parts. March 20, 2001
Shop arrangement and setup Shop owners describe the best and worst aspects of their workspaces. March 21, 2002
Think before you take the CNC plunge WOODWEB technical advisor Brian Personett offers some food for thought to those thinking about purchasing CNC equipment. November 15, 2000
Where Doors and Panels Meet How various cabinetmakers deal with the relationsihp between overlay doors and the adjacent edges of finished end panels. January 24, 2005
Vomit-Like Odor of Bacterially Infected Wood When cabinets or wood smell like vomit, a likely culprit is bacterial infections in the trees the wood was made from. Unfortunately, there is no known fix. April 20, 2008
Tumble Sanding for Toy Parts Advice on how to cobble together a tumbling drum arrangement to sand small wooden items. March 12, 2015
Truing-up rough wood Planers will not remove the bow from rough stock; jointing is required before boards can be properly thicknessed. February 13, 2001
Veneer buckling Preventing veneer from expanding and buckling through proper gluing and application methods. November 7, 2000
What's the Best Pencil for Woodworkers A few jocular comments notwithstanding, this is a serious question for the professional woodworker. December 28, 2014
Waxing Equipment Surfaces Using butcher's wax to make wood move easily across machine tables. April 18, 2004
Warping and cracking in glued-up pine To find clues for cracked and warped pine panels, a measure of moisture content is needed before the splitting occurs. 1998.
Production Tips, part three Part three of three from Woodworking International Magazine, offering proven ideas for increasing efficiency in production shops. 1998.
Production Tips, part two Part two of three from Woodworking International Magazine, offering proven ideas for increasing efficiency in production shops. 1998.
Getting Mahogany Flat Very hard woods with alternating grain patterns sometimes develop waviness when sanded with wide-belt equipment. Here's an extensive discussion of the characteristics of Mahogany, and of ways to approach it using both hand tools and power equipment. November 12, 2005
Production Tips, part one Part one of three from Woodworking International Magazine, offering proven ideas for increasing efficiency in production shops. 1998.
Hanging Cabinet Doors The efficiency of hanging doors before or during install. January 28, 2004
Faux marbling Creating a decorative finish to match a marble mantel. November 22, 2003
Ellipse jig Making your own jig for ellipse-based arcs. (From WOODWEB's Cabinetmaking Forum) March 5, 2003
Laying Out, Routing, or Templating an Ellipse Here are several approaches to cutting a large ellipse: elegant jigs, slick pencil layout tricks, and sources for paper or MDF templates. May 16, 2008
Joining cabinets - at a 45 degree angle Cabinetmakers offer illustrated tips on joining a line of cabinetry which incorporates a 45-degree-angled unit. April 3, 2002
Eliminating Burn Marks when Routing Flutes Tips on router techniques to prevent burning at the end of flutes, and on tools and methods for removing burn marks when they do happen. December 28, 2005
Getting Your Waterstone Back in Shape If your waterstone isn’t flat, it can’t deliver a proper edge to your tools. Here's how to fix that. December 18, 2013
Face frame alignment Getting good alignment with mortise and tenon joinery in face frames. December 6, 2000
Hogging Out Large Bowls Ways to speed up the pesky process of removing large quantities of wood from the inside of a bowl before final turning. April 30, 2006
Gluing white oak panels Because of its density, white oak lumber must be machined carefully for panel glue-up, and assembled within an hour of preparation. 1998.
Finishing MDF Doors Urethane-based paint versus pigmented lacquer for paint-grade doors. August 9, 2004
Blind woodworker's story A blind cabinetmaker tells the story of his education and career in woodworking. (From WOODWEB's Cabinetmaking Forum) January 21, 2003
Are Cabinet Makers Carpenters? Mulling over the dividing line between skilled tradesmen who all build things out of wood — but in different ways. July 20, 2011
Chip-free dovetailing in plywood Building dovetailed plywood drawers without chipping; European and American approaches. April 24, 2002
Chordal's Letters Considered by Today's Shop Men A discussion of a century-old book about shop craft, "Chordal's Letters" by James Waring See, available today as an on-line archive. February 6, 2010
Drawers and the Utilization of Space Why slide-integrated drawer systems are less costly to produce and provide greater space efficiency than traditional drawer construction. 1998.
Drilling a Hole the Length of a Log People have actually succeeded at drilling holes in logs the long way. Here, they explain how to do it. December 27, 2006
Considering Bifocals As we age, some of us need bifocals for good close-up and distance vision. In this thread, cabinetmakers who've switched to bifocals discuss the fine points of different types. September 21, 2005
Determining pricing Finding a balance between fair and greedy pricing. June 5, 2002
Dyes and Wash Coats Conditioning "naturally blotchy" woods to accept stains and dye uniformly. February 26, 2005
Cyanoacrylate adhesive How does this glue work for gap filling? (From WOODWEB's Finishing Forum) March 23, 2003
Cross-Cut Setups for the Shop Woodworkers discuss radial-arm saw and sliding miter-saw choices for cross-cutting stock in the shop. May 16, 2008
Biscuits for face frames A discussion of using biscuits for assembling cabinet face frames. Pros and cons of biscuits on face frames, and equipment used. November 21, 2000
Bandsaw Blades and Cut Quality Blade characteristics go a long way toward explaining the smoothness of bandsaw cuts. December 1, 2005
Determining MC by weight Tools and techniques for measuring moisture content by weighing lumber cuttings. January 4, 2001
Comparing Low Angle and High Angle Planes Woodworkers discuss the differences between low angle and high angle planes, and the appropriate uses for each. February 14, 2010
Door/drawer gaps in Euro-style cabinets Americans need to apply the looser European standards to door and drawer gaps to avoid frustration when ordering these parts from other manufacturers. October 18, 2000
A Lap Joint for Curved Members Ideas for tools and jigs to dado out for half-lap joinery where two curved pieces meet. December 7, 2007
Alternatives to dado cabinet construction John Elvrum offers a practical approach to identifying viable, mechanical alternatives to traditional dado joinery of cabinet boxes. 1998.
Dowel drilling and use guidelines A quick guide to dowel clearances and practices, including drilling depth, diameter-to-edge ratios, and dowel selection. 1998.