Ask the Builder: Crown Molding Installation

Crown Molding/Crown Moulding: Nothing puts the finishing touch on a room like crown molding. Our eyes are drawn to the sculpted lines that create an elegant look in even the most modest room. Now you can learn the tricks of installing crown molding. Master carpenter and nationally syndicated columnist Tim Carter shows you the ins and outs of completing a project that would make a pro jealous. This DVD includes step-by-step detailed instructions, tool lists, the option of choosing multiple camera angles and a special feature called Tim's Tips that will give you tricks of the trade from an expert with over 30 years of experience on the job site. This action-packed DVD is totally interactive and covers the following topics:

• Required Tools and Safety
• Positioning and Cutting Crown Molding in a power miter saw
• Inside Corners
• Outside Corners
• Ending Crown Molding on a Wall
• Crown Molding On Top of Cabinets
• Crown in 45 and 60 Degree Bay Windows
• Crown Molding in Stairwells
• Cathedral and Vaulted Ceilings
• Fancy Crown Molding Corners and Installtion Tips for Rounded Corners
• SECRET Nailing Tips!
• No Tedious Coping Required!

Available at Amazon.com.

Ultimate Guide to Crown Molding: Plan, Design, Install

The Ultimate Guide to Crown Molding shows readers how they can add distinction to their homes by installing crown molding. Through over 350 photographs, author Neal Barrett takes readers through the process of selecting crown molding designs for their homes, choosing the right materials, and mastering the techniques of cutting and installing the trim work. But the heart of the book are the 30 crown molding projects. Each contains detailed step-by-step photographs and clear concise text that show how each unique design is created. This approach gives even the novice do-it-yourselfer the confidence to tackle the projects. More experienced homeowners and professional trim carpenters can use author's designs in their own projects.

Available at Amazon.com.

Making Workbenches

No single workbench design is ideal for everyone: some craftspeople assemble furniture, while others require only special clamps for smaller projects. Based on the author’s 30 years of experience, this informative handbook will help every woodworker construct exactly the bench he or she needs. Anyone with basic skills could build either the sturdy and versatile joiner’s bench or one for cabinetmakers, and adapt them for individual use. Other workbenches have storage drawers and a cabinet, or are designed for specialties like carving, veneering, guitar making, and more. And this book offers more than just plans for building the bench—it features information on setting it up, installing the tools, and using it for planning, joinery, power tool operations, and assembly.

Available at Amazon.com.

Trim Complete

Trim Complete covers those important finishing touches that give a house a one-of-a-kind personality: trim and modling. An expert carpenter, Greg Kossow presents a vibrantly visual guide that details every possible project, from the most basic baseboards, to the most complicated casings. He tackles real-world situations with authoritative advice, never failing to address how to solve problems when things do go wrong. The book's ingenious design makes it a snap to find the relevant information for each project and Kossow includes a crystal-clear table of contents. Plus, unlike most other books that only deal with basic carptnetry, Trim Complete includes hard-to-find advice on complex crown molding and making custom modling.

Available at Amazon.com.

Woodworker's Guide to Sharpening: All You Need to Know to Keep Your Tools Sharp

Step-by-step expert instructions and visual aids teach woodworkers the characteristics of steel, carbide, and ceramic while showing how to sharpen any device, from planes, chisels, cabinet scrapers, and drill and router bits to saws, axes, knives, and turning and carving tools. Readers will benefit from a detailed discussion on the four types of bench stones as well as a thorough resource of websites and contact information. An additional chapter presenting a peek at the sharpening setups of some of America’s best professional woodworkers—including James Krenov, Sam Maloof, and David Marks—is also provided.

Available at Amazon.com.

Shoulder Plane Techniques

Step up to precision-fit mortise-and-tenon joints with the shoulder plane. Master Furnituremaker Tim Peters demonstrates the techniques.

Popular Woodworking's Arts & Crafts Furniture: 25 Projects For Every Room In Your Home

Simple and beautiful, Arts & Crafts furniture designs offer an excellent learning medium for furniture building. The Arts & Crafts style allows the craftsman to build a quality piece of furniture in a reasonable amount of time while providing a very successful and satisfying experience.

This book offers a collection of twenty-five Arts & Crafts furniture projects for every room in your home. Some of the projects are accurate reproductions of the original furniture pieces, while others are loving adaptations of the style. In addition to the projects in the book, we've included a Bonus CD-ROM with ten furniture projects and ten technique articles to provide even more information on construction and finishing.

This book represents a collection of projects that the Popular Woodworking staff considers to be some of most visually appealing pieces of furniture ever created.

Available at Amazon.com.

Skew Chisel Techniques

Brian Simmons demystifies the skew chisel with three basic-but-beautiful cuts.

Rout Perfect-Fit Dadoes

WOOD Magazine Techniques Editor Bob Wilson shows you how to rout perfect-fit dadoes of any width using what may be the world's simplest jig.

Woodworker's Guide to Veneering & Inlay

Woodworkers will learn how veneer is manufactured and how to choose glue, adhesives, and substrates; band-saw their own veneers; cut, match, and tape veneer panels; accomplish complete four-way matches; and other procedural skills in this expert guide. These techniques are demonstrated through a series of step-by-step exercises that culminate in four finished projects: a dining room table, a wall mirror with shelf, a marquetry picture, and a parquetry design. Complete with a troubleshooting section for repairs and problems and featuring contemporary methods and materials, such as hammer veneering with PVA glue and vacuum pressing of flat and curved panels, this reference is the most inclusive resource for working with veneer and inlay designs.

Available at Amazon.com.

Make Rounded Corners With Your Router

WOOD Magazine's Bob Wilson shows you how you can make rounded corners of any radius time after time with a simple jig.

Perpendicular Holes Without a Drill Press

Get drill press accuracy from your portable drill using inexpensive jigs. WOOD Magazine's Kevin Boyle demonstrates in this free video.

Illustrated Cabinetmaking

Featuring each piece in highly-detailed, exploded drawings and applying time-honored dimension and ergonomic standards, this comprehensive visual sourcebook takes the guesswork out of furniture joinery, assembly, dimension, and style. Woodworkers of any skill level will benefit from more than 1,300 crisp and detailed drawings that explain classic solutions to age-old problems, such as hanging a drawer, attaching a tabletop, and pegging a mortise. Covering hundreds of pieces of furniture, including kitchen cabinets, dining tables, desks, bookcases, and chests, readers will unlock the mysteries of legs, moldings, separate braces, and dozens of other subassemblies.

Available at Amazon.com.

Gluing and Sanding Panels Flat

Solid-panel construction is within your reach. Jeff Mertz shows you how using a few clamps and a random-orbit sander.

Precision Cuts With Basic Tools

Glue-joint-ready cuts don't require expensive tools. See how you can make an easy guide for straight cuts and jointed edges with just a circ saw and router.

Doweling Jig

Automatically centers itself on round, square or irregular shapes. Handles stock up to 2" thick. Drill-hole sizes are 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16" and 1/2". Six hardened steel bushings are provided: 2 each of 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8". You can drill two identical parallel holes without moving the jig. Easy to use!

Available at Amazon.com.

How to Use a Biscuit Joiner

Learn How to Use a Biscuit Joiner in this free woodworking lesson from our expert carpenter and furniture maker.

What Is a Biscuit Joiner Used For?

Learn What projects a Biscuit Joiner Used For in this free woodworking lesson from our expert carpenter and furniture maker.

From Trash to Treasure

Increasingly, heirs of America’s baby boomers face the unpleasant prospect of selling or distributing the possessions accumulated by their parents. These heirlooms are often dirty and damaged. It is possible, however, to restore unwanted furniture to heirloom beauty with some simple cleaning steps.

“A dear friend of my mother was selling her home in Illinois to relocate into a retirement home,” says Susan Tyra of Upland, Calif. “She had three beautiful pieces of furniture: a hutch, a side board and another matching cabinet. Her children were not interested in the pieces and I offered to buy them from her.”

When the furniture was delivered, she saw that years of usage had left the pieces covered in dirt and grime. She wanted to restore the items without inflicting further damage. Her research showed her that most furniture restoration projects involve three steps: Clean off the grime, restore the finish, then protect the wood from further damage

It is crucial that the products used to clean the wood do not damage it. You do not want to use any product containing silicone because silicones impregnate the wood fibers and can prevent the wood from accepting a new finish. It keeps wood from breathing, so over time the finish will develop cracks.

You also do not want to use water-based products to clean wood because the water will soak in and ruin the surface. And never use soap to clean a wood surface because it will remove the moisture from the wood.

On the recommendation of a friend who operates an antiques store, Carrie Leeper of "Generations Antiques and Art" in La Verne California, Tyra used Touch of Oranges Wood Cleaner to remove the dirt and grease from the items and to restore moisture to the wood. “Once the dirt and grime from all the years of use was removed they came out gleaming.”

After cleaning, assess the finish for damage. It is important to try to retain the existing finish when restoring used furniture, because stripping and refinishing can greatly diminish the value of antiques. The antique store owner suggested Howard Restor-a-Finish to blend out scratches and blemishes and to restore the color and luster without dissolving the existing finish.

Lastly, it is important to seal the finish and protect the wood from heat and cold and from grease and grime. A properly applied protectant will add years of service to fine furniture. Susan applied a thin coat of Touch of Beeswax Wood Preserver to her newly restored furnishings.

If you are faced with the task of selling or distributing or even keeping heirloom furniture, remember that you’ll get much more value from your pieces by using the three-step restoration method: Carefully, clean the grime. Restore the existing finish; don’t strip it! Then protect the finish to prevent further damage.

For more information about the products mentioned in this article, visit www.woodrestorationkit.com or call (800) 867-2643.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Router Tips

This video shows a couple of very simple router tips to help you with the accuracy and consistency of your router projects.