Woodworking For Dummies

Part I

What’s All the Buzz about Woodworking?

In this part . . .

You’ve seen a few shows on TV and working with wood looks pretty fun. After all, you get to use your hands and create something that you can proudly display to your friends and family. But where do you begin to learn to do woodworking? This part provides you with the basic vocabulary from which to build your woodworking skills. Chapter 1 shows you all the steps involved with making a woodworking project, Chapter 2 introduces you to the various qualities of wood, and Chapter 3 helps you get up to speed with your woodworking space and workshop safety.

Chapter 1

Discovering the Basics of Woodworking

In This Chapter

bullet Introducing wood

bullet Figuring out your tools and getting organized

bullet Finding out even more about wood

If you’re like me (and all the other woodworkers I know), you became interested in woodworking because you wanted to use your hands to build something of lasting value. Maybe the motivation was partly economic — why pay a fortune for poorly made, ugly furniture, right? — and partly a need to create something of your own.

Regardless of why you got interested in woodworking, you want to know how this whole craft works. Well, this chapter leads you through the basics of the woodworking process and shows you where to go in this book for answers to your questions.

Getting the Lowdown on Wood

One of the most important aspects of woodworking is understanding the properties of wood. I know this seems obvious, but you’d be surprised about how many woodworkers I talk to who don’t know why wood acts the way it does. Wood changes with the weather and the stresses put upon it (such as when it’s stacked in a pile under a bunch of other wood). It expands and contracts and can twist, warp, or cup depending on the stresses that exist within it (from the direction of the grain in the board). Being able to look at a board and determine where those stresses are and how they may impact the board as it experiences changes in humidity requires some basic understanding of wood and how it’s made.

Many species of wood fall into two general categories: hardwoods and softwoods. Knowing which type of wood is which and being able to choose the right wood for your goals can help reduce the negative impact of the inherent instability that is a part of solid wood. As you discover the variability of wood, you’ll undoubtedly come to appreciate that some wood products allow you the same level of beauty without having to worry about the wood changing shape on you. These include veneers and manufactured wood products such as plywood and Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF). All this talk of wood is covered in more detail in Chapter 2.

Setting Up Shop

You need tools to work with wood. And most woodworkers think tools are great. I know I love buying and using tools. Heck, I’m the first to admit I have a problem. (Does anyone know of a 12-step program for tool addicts?) I buy tools like candy (well, more than I buy candy, actually). I have special tools for almost any imaginable task and I can’t ever seem to get enough. Such is the life of a woodworker.

You don’t need to get addicted to buying tools, but you will become dependent on using them. That’s okay because by knowing how to use your tools you can build just about anything that you can imagine.

Tooling up

I dedicate several chapters in this book to exploring the exciting world of tools. From age-old hand tools to the most modern machine for milling wood, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 cover them all (well, not all of them, that would be insane, not to mention take up the entire book). Not only do you get to see what tools are what, you also get a glimpse into how to use each of them safely and effectively.

Working safely

Speaking of safety, woodworking is one of the most dangerous hobbies that you can get into. Wood is harder than skin and bone, and the tools that you use to cut and shape wood can do real damage real fast if you happen to slip or make a mistake. Not to worry, though. Chapter 3 gives you the heads up on creating a safe shop in which to work and on keeping safe while working. As an added bonus, Chapter 19 offers ten habits to get into that can make your woodworking time accident free.

Getting organized

With all this tool talk, you’ll probably be tempted to buy every one that I describe in this book. Well, to keep you from going broke, I offer some advice on which tools to buy when, so that you can slowly and sanely build your workshop as you build your woodworking skills. See Chapter 4 for more on this topic. Chapter 8 helps you set up your shop so that you can get to all of your tools without hassle. You can also explore shop essentials, such as lighting and electrical requirements, to ensure that you can see what you’re doing and can run all the tools you want to use.

Working with Woods

Woodworking is not all about tools and wood. Okay, it largely is (especially if you’re a gear junkie like me). But even more important are the skills required to use the tools to craft the wood into the projects you want to create.

Putting the wood together

The first step in developing woodworking skills is to be able to discern the best glues, joints (ways of connecting two pieces of wood), and fasteners to use. Whether you need a dovetail joint for a drawer front or a mortise-and-tenon joint for a table leg, Chapter 10 introduces you to the wonderful world of wood joints. With an understanding of the joints in Chapter 10, you can build any furniture project and make it strong and durable.

Of course, these wood joints would be almost useless without some sort of adhesive to go with them. Chapter 9 walks you through the most common types of adhesives available for woodworkers and shows you the best one for each job. In Chapter 11, I go over the ins and outs of screws and nails and show you when and where to use them to improve the strength of your joints.

Following plans

The key to making furniture is having a plan. (Or is that the key to life? I always forget.) The good news for beginning woodworkers is that you don’t need to develop the plan; you need only to follow it. Project plans are abundant and easily found (check out Chapter 21 for some project-plan resources). After you get familiar with the way plans are written, you can build just about anything (depending on your skills, of course).

After you review the plans that you’ve chosen, you can pick out the wood and other materials and get to work. (Check out the Cheat Sheet and Chapter 2 for information on buying wood.)

But, before you start cutting, spend some time figuring out which board to cut the part from. Tabletops, for example, look best if you choose boards that have similar grain patterns and overall color. Likewise, drawers and doors look great if you can use one board for pieces that are next to each other. Chapter 12 helps you figure all this out.

Building projects (and skills)

As far as I’m concerned, you can never have too many project plans to choose from. For example, I may like a Craftsman-style table, but you may think that the style is too clunky looking and prefer the elegant lines of a Shaker design. With this in mind, I provide three chapters of project plans, each with several variations on basic projects that not only give you some great furniture but also help you progressively build your woodworking skills.

Chapter 13 details making bookcases — the basic part of a carcass. Chapter 14 digs into tables where you get a chance to practice your edge-to-edge joints for building tabletops and use the most common and durable joint that exists — the mortise and tenon. Chapter 15 goes a little farther by providing plans to make a dresser and an armoire. By the time you finish with these chapters, you’ll be well on your way to feeling comfortable making furniture and will be ready to tackle more ambitious projects.

Finishing up

When the project is together, you’re only halfway done. The next step involves getting a smooth, blemish-free surface and preparing the wood for a stain or topcoat. Chapter 16 helps you explore the varied world of sandpapers and wood fillers.

After you have smoothed the wood, you can then decide whether you want to add any color and, if so, what type. You can choose from stain or paint and from water-based, oil-based, or lacquer-based products. You have many options and I’m sure you can find one that works for you. Chapter 17 helps you make sense out of all the choices and shows you how to apply these products.

The final step in any woodworking project is protecting the wood from moisture and damage. Chapter 18 includes lots of information about the most common types of topcoats. Because not all of them provide the same degree of beauty and protection, you get a chance to compare the pros and cons of each topcoat so that you can choose the best option for you and your project.

Moving on

As much as I’d like to provide a book with everything you’ll ever need to know about woodworking (as if I even know all that!), it’s just not possible. Chapter 21 is my way of helping you to keep exploring this immense craft by providing you with a bunch of resources. This chapter contains contact info for woodworking magazines, addresses for helpful Web sites, and ideas to help you keep expanding your knowledge and skills.

Chapter 2

Wood You Be Mine? Appreciating Wood for All It’s Worth

In This Chapter

bullet Understanding the characteristics of wood

bullet Looking into the different kinds of solid wood

bullet Discovering everything you want to know about veneers

bullet Understanding plywoods and manufactured boards

bullet Figuring out where to find wood

bullet Knowing the basics on buying

This chapter is all about wood. Hardwood, softwood, plywood, veneer wood. Plain-sawn wood, rift-cut wood, quarter-sawn wood. Solid wood, man-made wood. Wood, wood, wood. Did I mention this chapter is about wood?

The number one thing to know is that wood isn’t a static thing. It’s a natural product that’s constantly in movement. As a woodworker, your job is to understand how wood moves and how to use that movement to your best advantage (or at least how to keep it from ruining your masterpiece). This chapter helps you to understand how boards are made out of trees and to discover that the way the log is cut determines its ultimate strength and stability (and its beauty). Additionally, you explore the characteristics of a variety of species of hardwoods and softwoods.

But that’s not all. In this chapter I talk about one of modern times’ greatest gifts to the woodworker: manufactured boards (also called sheet goods) and veneers. Yep, wood technology can help you keep your sanity while also speeding up the process of making furniture. Oh, and it can also save you some bucks in the process. What’s not to like about that?

Board Basics: Knowing What to Look For

If you’ve ever been to a lumberyard and seen the huge stacks of varying lengths, thicknesses, grain patterns, and colors of wood, you understand what a daunting task it is just to find a couple of boards that match. Luckily, with just a few pieces of information and a little patience (and a decent lumberyard) you can find some great wood.

Making the grade

Every board at the lumberyard has a grade assigned to it. A grade is a code that tells you about the board you’re looking at. Grades refer to the quality of the grain (the way growth rings appear in the board) and the number of defects (knots, holes, cracks, and so on) in the board.

Sure, you can look a board over carefully and grade it yourself (which you should do anyway), but an official grade can speed up the process by weeding out the boards which are simply too full of defects. The National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) lists seven grades of wood:

bullet Firsts

bullet Seconds

bullet Selects

bullet No. 1 Common

bullet No. 2 Common

bullet No. 3A Common

bullet No. 3B Common

Because the rules for determining the grade of a board are very complicated and species-dependent, I can’t go into too much detail about them in this book. (If you have an inquiring mind and want to know the details, however, see the NHLA Web site www.natlhardwood.org.)

For woodworking, you want wood with few defects and as good a grain pattern as possible. For the most part, you want the top two grades of wood: Firsts and Seconds. These two are often grouped together and referred to as FAS (Firsts and Seconds). Most decent lumberyards are well stocked with FAS boards and some Selects. The common classes aren’t used in furniture-making because they contain far too many defects.

Resist the temptation to buy common grades of wood for furniture even when the price seems great. Cutting all the defects out takes a ton of time. Besides, by the time you make the lesser quality wood usable, you don’t have much wood left over. When you buy a cheap board and cut it up to find usable parts, you spend more money than it costs you to buy the better quality stuff to begin with.

Drying and storing cut boards

After the wood is cut it needs to dry before it can be used, and drying the wood causes shrinkage in the board. So it’s important that the board be allowed to dry evenly or it twists, bows, or warps. If you buy wood from a lumberyard, it’s already been dried, but you want to acclimate it to your shop before you work with it. This way the wood will make any changes it needs to make with the different humidity level in your shop, and you don’t get any nasty surprises like a table leg that twists after you’ve glued your project together.

The best way to acclimate your wood to the humidity of your shop is to create horizontal racks and lay the boards flat on them (more about this process in Chapter 7). Leave them for a few days, and they’re ready to go.

Understanding how wood is cut

To get a flat board, you have to cut a round log in a particular way so you can get the grain to run how you want it to. The orientation of the blade in relation to the log and its growth rings determines the type of cut the board ends up with. You can cut a log in three main ways:

bullet Through and through: This type of milling involves progressively cutting the log from one side to the other (see Figure 2-1).

Through and through milling is the simplest and most efficient way to cut a log. Milling through and through results in plain-sawn, rift-sawn, and quarter-sawn boards because the orientation of the growth rings changes as the boards are sliced off the log (see the Choosing the right wood cut for you section later in this chapter for more information).

bullet Plain-sawn: Plain-sawn milling involves cutting the log from the outside to the center on all four sides. The very center of the log (the pith) is left alone. Check out Figure 2-2 to see how plain-sawing is done. This type of milling produces plain-sawn and rift-sawn boards.

bullet Quarter-sawn: Quarter-sawn milling is the least efficient way to cut a log, but it produces some of the best boards. You can mill a quarter-sawn board in two ways: the preferred way (Figure 2-3 left) and the practical way (Figure 2-3 right). Unless you have a mill of your own or you own the log and have it milled to your specifications, you’re going to have to live with the practical method of quarter-sawing wood. Don’t worry, this is still a great way to mill a log and, because it’s more efficient than the preferred method, it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg to buy (maybe just the arm).

Quarter-sawn boards (see next section) are more stable and attractive (to me, anyway) than the other types of boards, but they are much more expensive. They’re also unavailable for some types of wood.

Choosing the right wood cut for you

When you get to the lumberyard (or when you order over the phone) you have three choices of wood cuts: plain-sawn, rift-sawn, and quarter-sawn. The difference between each of the types of cuts is in how the growth rings relate to the face (wide side) of the board.

The relationship between the growth rings and the face of the board determines its overall stability (the amount of movement that occurs with changes in humidity). For example, plain-sawn boards have growth rings at a low angle to their faces so these boards will have as much as 1/4-inch movement across a 12-inch-wide board as the climate gets drier or wetter. Rift-sawn boards, because the growth rings are at a steeper angle to the face, move less (maybe as much as 1/8-inch for a 12-inch board). Quarter-sawn boards have the least amount of movement with changes in humidity because the growth rings are at an almost 90 degree angle (almost no discernible change in width with changes in humidity). This makes the quarter-sawn board the most stable type of cut available. Regardless of the cut type, the length and thickness of the board changes very little as the humidity changes.

Plain-sawn

Plain-sawn boards are the most common boards at your lumberyard (check out Figure 2-4 for a look at a plain-sawn board). When you choose or order wood without designating the type of cut, you get plain-sawn boards. Plain-sawn boards have growth rings that run less than 30 degrees against the face of the board.

Plain-sawn boards are the most economical of the solid wood boards, but because the grain runs at an angle close to the face of the board, they tend to cup or warp more easily so they’re less stable than rift-sawn or quarter-sawn boards.

When using plain-sawn board, carefully consider the way the grain runs in relation to the face of the board and plan your projects accordingly. You may have to cut out sections in order to get the most stable end product. Check out Chapter 12 for ways to minimize the problems with plain-sawn boards.

Anatomy of a tree

Without the tree, woodworkers wouldn’t have anything to build from. It’s a shame, however, that so little of the tree can be used for furniture. (At least the rest can be used for other stuff like the paper that this book is printed on.) The trunk of the tree is where woodworkers get wood for projects. The branches, on the other hand, don’t make good wood for furniture because they contain too many defects and aren’t as strong.

A tree consists of several layers. From innermost to outermost they are

bullet Pith. The pith is the core of the tree. It’s unusable for woodworking because it’s weak and often contains fungus.

bullet Heartwood. The heartwood is the heart of the tree, providing its strength. This wood is one of two sections used for lumber (the second is the sapwood, listed next) and the best wood for furniture-making. You can tell the heartwood from the sapwood because it has a darker color.

bullet Sapwood. The sapwood is newer growth that allows nutrients to travel through the tree. The sapwood isn’t as desirable as the heartwood for woodworking because of its color (it’s lighter, almost white in many cases) and the fact that it’s less stable than the heartwood (sapwood expands and contracts more with changes in humidity). It can be used for woodworking but it needs to be stained separately.

bullet Cambium layer. The cambium layer is the outer layer of living wood that forms new wood and bark. This layer is stripped off the log and not used in the final board.

bullet Phloem or blast. Phloem or blast refers to the living inner tissue located directly under the bark. This layer can also be included in the bark.

bullet Bark. The protective outer layer of the tree.

Rift-sawn

Rift-sawn refers to boards where the growth rings meet the face between 30 and 60 degrees (see Figure 2-5). Rift-sawn boards have a straight grain pattern as opposed to the circular pattern of the plain-sawn boards. They are also more stable and more expensive than plain-sawn wood (costing as much as 50 percent more).

Quarter-sawn

Quarter-sawn boards are the most stable and most expensive of the three options. Quarter-sawn boards have growth rings not less than 60 degrees from the face (see Figure 2-6). Quarter-sawn boards have a straight grain pattern with a flake or ribbon-like figure in the wood. This is beautiful wood, but you pay for it — often costing almost twice as much as the same species of plain-sawn board. Quarter-sawn oak is a popular wood to use with Arts and Crafts and Mission style furniture.

Which cut you choose depends on your budget, the availability of the species you want, and your design aesthetic. Each of these three choices can produce some great woodworking projects as long as you plan ahead when you cut (you can find out more about choosing the best part of the board to cut in Chapter 12).

Dealing with defects

No matter how much you wish otherwise, no board is perfect. All wood has cracks or dents, checks or splits, cups or twists, shakes or warps, or any combination of these. Being able to understand and deal with the various defects allows you to use the board to its best use. Defects essentially come in two varieties: Those that are easy to deal with and those that aren’t.

bullet Defects that are easy to deal with: Include knots, splits, cracks, and checks (see Figure 2-7). These defects affect only a small area of the board (if they exist over the majority of the board, don’t buy it). Just plan the way you cut the board for your projects with these defects in mind. Chapter 12 details how to do this.

bullet Defects that aren’t easy to deal with: Include warps, twists, or bows (check out Figure 2-8). For the most part, these types of defects are the result of uneven drying and working with them is time-consuming and often frustrating. If you see wood at the lumberyard that is warped, twisted, or bowed, set it aside and choose other boards.

If you get home and find some boards with these defects or if these problems develop as the wood sits in your shop, don’t throw it away. It will take some work, but you can fix the defects by methodically using a table saw, planer, and jointer. This process (called pre-milling) is explained in Chapter 12.

When choosing wood at the lumberyard, place one end of the board on the floor and hold the other end to your eye. Look down the board to locate any irregularities such as a bow, twist, or cup. Avoid the boards that aren’t straight and true. You may end up rejecting a lot of boards before you find the ones that work for you. Also, as you examine each board look for other defects such as splits and cracks and examine the grain pattern and overall color of the board (the color can vary widely from tree to tree). Try to choose boards that match (again, this may weed out quite a few boards).

Sorting Through the Types of Solid Wood

Solid wood — that is, wood cut into boards from the trunk of the tree — makes up most of the wood in a piece of furniture. The type of wood you choose determines the beauty and strength of the piece. Many varieties of wood are available and each has its own properties. In the following two sections I introduce you to the most common types of soft- and hardwoods.

Sampling some softwoods

Softwoods aren’t weaker than hardwoods. Softwoods come from coniferous trees such as cedar, fir, and pine and tend to be somewhat yellow or reddish in appearance. Because most coniferous trees grow fast and straight, softwoods are generally less expensive than hardwoods. It’s also relatively easy to find sustainably grown softwoods (woods grown on tree farms to ensure a endless supply of wood); this means you’re not contributing to the deforestation of the world and will always have a supply of wood for your projects.

Following is a list of common softwood varieties and their characteristics. See the color section to get a look at these woods.

Cedar

The most common type of cedar is the western red variety. Western red cedar, as its name implies, has a reddish color to it. This type of wood is relatively soft (1 on a scale of 1 to 4), has a straight grain, and has a slightly aromatic smell. Western Red cedar is mostly used for outdoor projects such as furniture, decks, and building exteriors because it can handle moist environments without rotting. Western red cedar is moderately priced and can be found at most home centers.

Fir

Often referred to as Douglas Fir, this wood is very soft, has a straight, pronounced grain, and has a reddish brown tint to it. Fir is most often used for building; however, it’s inexpensive and can be used for some furniture-making as well. It doesn’t have the most interesting grain pattern and doesn’t take stain very well, so I’d recommend using it when you intend to paint the finished product. Douglas fir is pretty hard, rating 4 on a scale of 1 to 4.

I mention this wood because it is very common at your local home center and it’s so inexpensive you’ll probably be tempted to make something with it.

Pine

Pine comes in several varieties, including Ponderosa, Sugar, White, and Yellow, and all of them make great furniture. In my neck of the woods (southwest United States), pine is the wood to use (although I prefer oak and cherry, go figure). Pine is very easy to work with and, because most varieties are relatively soft, it lends itself to carving.

Pine generally takes stain very well (as long as you seal the wood first; see Chapter 17), although Ponderosa pine tends to ooze sap, so be careful when using this stuff. Pine is available