The Woodshop Shed

Why I Like to Use Shellac as Our Go-to Finish in My Box Making Class

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Shellac is a great finish. It dries fast and if used correctly, can build up a decent protective layer on wood very effectively. It is not resistant to water or alcoholic beverages as varnish or lacquer are, but it is very forgiving to apply. Perhaps more importantly — it keeps my students busy. This last point needs some clarification. Towards the end of the trimester, when my 9th-grade students are […]The post Why I Like to Use Shellac as Our Go-to Finish in My Box Making Class appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

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How Wood Conditioners are Giving Washcoats a Bad Name

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Over my career making and restoring furniture I've found washcoats helpful now and then when staining wood. A washcoat is a finish, any finish, thinned with two or more parts thinner and applied to wood under a stain to partially seal the wood so penetration of the stain is limited. The purpose is to reduce blotching in blotch-prone woods such as pine, cherry and birch. That is, in softwoods and […]The post How Wood Conditioners are Giving Washcoats a Bad Name appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

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The Portable Moravian Workbench

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A good workbench is worth its weight in gold, and building your own workbench is often the first right of passage for an aspiring woodworker. For workbenches, there's also a balancing act between weight and portability, size and strength, materials and vises. While the Portable Moravian Workbench may look a little different than the English and French designs that are so popular, this design, based on an 18th-century workbench from […]The post The Portable Moravian Workbench appeared first on Popular Woodworking Magazine.

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