~ SSRsi's Cabinetry & Woodworking Page ~
BIG PAGE!! Slow Loader - Patience Please!

... the practice of utilizing many woodworking skills to create cabinets, shelving and furniture... We added a few categories here and don't forget to check out the Finish Carpentry page..

Intuition ~ Creativity ~ Adaptability
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Due to the size of this page, we will be working on splitting it up into individual topic pages some time in 2009.

Check out the Finish Carpentry Page

Jump to Section: Accessibility Ancient Techniques Basements
Cabinets Carving Construction       Decks Doors/Windows
Drywall & Insulation Fencing Finish/Trim Flooring Formsetting
Framing Furniture Hand Tools Heat & Power Joinery
Landscape Carpentry Planning & Blueprints Power Tools Roofs Shelving
Siding, Soffit
& Facia
Stairs Forums Jobs Books & Magazines

General & Miscellaneous Carpentry

Woodwork Formulae & WOODWORKING SHOP LAYOUT. 32' x 40'.

Wood Sawing & Wood Sawing 2

Boring & Boring 2 & Wood Mortising

Woodwork Sanding & Woodwork Surfacing & Wood Planing & Timber Miller & Wood Shapers & Wood Routers & Wood Lathes and finally Woodwork Carving

Wood Storage & Wood Storage 2

The GetWoodworking.com Online Routing Wizard - find template offset when routing with guide bush. Enter the size of your guide bush and diameter of cutter in millimeters or inches and the handy Routing Wizard will calculate the template offset required.

The GetWoodworking.com Conversion Wizard Fed up with tapping hard to remember conversion factors into your calculator? Well, fret no longer, just use the easy Conversion Wizard. You can even use fractions with the Conversion Wizard, all you have to do is enter a space between whole number and the fraction.

The GetWoodworking.com Database of Woods is a growing guide to the many materials at your disposal when working with wood. Please browse using the categories listed, or search using the search box at the bottom of the page. Currently American Hardwoods only, but more coming soon.

Green Facts A listing of facts about wood, the green building material.

The rules of the job This guy is hilarious. But there is some bad language for those easily offended.

Bending Big Pieces of Wood. Ted Kinsey's OLDTOOLS note from [email protected]

The rec.woodworking Wood Bending FAQ

Wood Toxicity table. This chart appeared in _American Woodturner_ June 1990, Originally posted to rec.woodworking by Bruce Taylor [email protected]

Golden Rules of Remodeling This addition project was on a small 1907 home involving a new sunroom, half-bathroom and kitchen expansion. During the planning stages, we focused on three basic rules on "spending, blending and overextending" intended to help make good investment decisions...

IMPROVING ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF STEEL STUD WALLS Steel Framing Can Perform As Well As Wood Steel stud wall systems for residential and commercial buildings are gaining in popularity. Very strong thermal bridges caused by highly conductive steel studs degrade the thermal performance of such walls. Several wall configurations have been developed to improve their thermal performance. The authors tried to evaluate some of these wall systems.

House Framing Glossary of Terms and Diagrams

Continuing Education This is a good resource with links to information on universities, colleges, and other education related topics.

Professor Resources This is a links page for professor resources, building and design examples.

Education The CWC research forum contains a discussion forum, professors listing as well as wood courses and our news letter.

Wood Education Links General interest links to provide educators with resources and information on wood and wood design.

Engineering Competition The 1st Engineering Student Design Competition: Wood Catapult

Store lumber for 2 weeks or more in the area where you plan to use it to help prevent shrinking after installation.

To ensure quality and value, look for a grade stamp before purchasing lumber.

Store wood panels flat, under cover or inside.

Choosing the right type of stain for your wood deck will add years to the results.

Staining your fence protects the wood, and means you’ll never have to scrape off peeling paint!

Before you apply varnish or high gloss paint to open grain hardwoods, fill the pores in the wood with a paste filler.

Good building techniques will help your wood deck resist the effects of moisture.

Add years of life to your wood deck by attaching the surface planking to your wood deck properly.

Use common sense when handling treated wood.

Look for the "PWF" Certification Stamp when buying lumber for permanent wood foundations.

Cove molding can hide cracks between the ceiling and the wall.

Grade stamp on Canadian lumber ensures quality and value

Canadian lumber - understanding grades and uses

Tips for finishing exterior wood

Hints for applying fillers to wood

Choosing wood for the finished look you desire

How to fix cracks in the ceiling - for good!

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Bow lathes
Spring-pole lathes
Continual rotation lathes
Tools Mostly pics, but interesting.

101 Woodworking Tips

Here’s an easier (and cheaper) way to make wooden beams I know that there are a lot of really fine products available for turning logs into lumber, from bandsaw sawmills to chainsaw attachments. I’ve seen a lot of these at work, too, and most of them are actually terrific pieces of equipment, if you’re interested in producing a large quantity of dimensional lumber. However, if you’re really only in need of a few good squared beams, then those gadgets become more of a waste of your hard-earned dollars—and time wasters to boot—than any sort of worthwhile investment.

Make your own lumber with a chainsaw mill These are trying times for those of us who need to buy lumber. The prices of good boards are at an all-time high. The E.P.A. is shutting down the mills that make plywood. The timber companies have less old growth forest to choose from. Most of the affordable timber is being cut from new-growth pine. In the Midwest, the standard 2x4 is made primarily from spruce. Boards made from cherry, oak, or poplar are expensive. The easy solution to this lumber crisis is for the woodworker to make his own boards from the trees of his choosing.

Trusses — low-cost marvels to roof over most large spaces This column is about something the construction industry (or architecture, if you prefer) has not been able to do very often over the last 10,000 years—come up with a new and better way of roofing over a space. It took thousands of years for builders to move from throwing tree-trunks over two walls to arches and domes. It took thousands more before steel and concrete were used to create, in effect, bigger and better tree-trunks. Only in the last few hundred years has the industry come up with the roof truss (a collection of little pieces so assembled as to span a large space) and only in the last score of years have trusses become available to the mass market at extraordinarily low cost. It’s all a little remarkable, from an historic point of view, but it’s now so commonplace that we take it for granted.

"Popular Mechanic’s Furniture Building" Irritating frames, but the detailed instructions and step by step photographs make these plans worth looking at. I really hate frames.

"Houses & Furniture" Lengthy article by b. Levick on Viking construction of shelters & homes. Though primitive, some of the info may well serve the survivalist in some situations.

Clamps Wood Miser's Workshophas this article that's titled Clamp it Jed!, which covers the various clamps, and their uses. Images included.

Common Wood Defects This article from Wood-worker.comhas a chart with the wood defects, it's features, what causes it, the effect, and a solution.

Fasteners Wood Miser's Workshophas this article that explains the advantages of using drywall screws instead of slotted wood screws, plus other fasteners. Images included.

Making Wooden Cylindricals Wood Miser's Workshopoffers this article that shows how-to bend thin stock to make a radius, how-to measure, and more. Images included.

Measuring Strategies The Woodworker's Gazettehas this two part article by Jim Mattson. It has information on several different measuring tapes.

A Router Table For Woodworkers The Woodworker's Gazettehas an article by Joe Johns. Joe explains how he made his router table. Images included.

The Saw Board Wood Miser's Workshophas this article that shows how-to set-up a board in order to use a circular saw to cut large sheets of plywood. Images included.

Tools Check List Wood Miser's Workshopoffers this article that shows the hand, and power tools that may be needed to make wooden projects, plus more.

Wood Species Wood Miser's Workshophas this article that explains about the softwoods (Conifers), and the hardwoods (Angiosperms), plus more.

Cutting Square American Toolhas this page with a tip for making perfectly square 90 degree crosscuts, with a circular saw.

How to Measure Trees and Logs Article published by University Extention, University of Missouri-Columbia, explains the formulas for calculating measurements.

Air Seasoning (Drying) of Wood This article published by University of Missouri-Columbia explains the process in air drying small quantities of lumber.

Building A Solar Kiln Newsletter from Woodwebthat explains design, preparation of lumber, and drying lumber. Three more plans follow this one at the bottom of the page.

Processing Trees to Lumber -- for the Hobbyist and Small Business
Two experts share their secrets of success for small-scale milling operations. January 19, 2002

Drying wood in a tent
Recommendations on how to use the sun's rays and a plastic tent to dry lumber. November 7, 2001

Calculating airflow in a kiln
Quantifying airflow through lumber stacks. April 2, 2002

Kiln insulation
A discussion of good insulations types for kilns and information on R values. February 7, 2001

Bandmill enclosures for all-weather milling
Ideas for a structure to house a bandsaw mill, with thoughts on heating and dust collection. February 13, 2001

Firewood kiln
Methods and facilities used to dry firewood. November 26, 2001

DH Kiln Drying
References for DH kiln drying instruction

Solar kiln materials
Advice on types of materials for letting light into your solar kiln. June 24, 2001

Vacuum kilns
Choosing between a vacuum and dehumidification kiln. July 24, 2001

Solar kiln kits and plans
A discussion of various solar kiln plans and kits. June 20, 2000

Geothermal dehumidification kiln
Can water piped from below ground help with dehumidification? July 24, 2001

Solar kiln instruments
Advice on controls for monitoring a solar kiln. October 2, 2001

Determining MC by weight
Tools and techniques for measuring moisture content by weighing lumber cuttings. January 4, 2001

Dry Kiln Information Resources
A list of clubs, organizations, books and publications providing information about drying lumber for use in woodworking. 1998.

Kiln velocity and sticker thickness
The necessary volume and velocity of air exchange, and sticker size, for a small dehumidification kiln are discussed. November 29, 2000

Don't send a home dehumidifier -- to do a commercial kiln's work
Are domestic dehumidifiers adaptable for use in drying small quantities of lumber? March 12, 2000

Kiln wall material and insulation
What to use when you're building your own kiln. January 21, 2002

Temperature maximums for dehumidification units
and that's plenty. 1998.

Twisting lumber
What causes lumber to twist in a dehumidification kiln? March 20, 2001

Pacific island kiln
Construction details for a kiln on a Pacific isle near the equator. February 29, 2000

Lumber Degrade Above or Below FSP
Is wood subject to degrade and defects above or below FSP?

Sealing kiln ceilings
What's the best material for sealing a kiln interior? July 18, 2000

DH kiln preferences
A look at dehumidification kiln construction, and manufacturers of DH units. July 26, 2000

Kiln venting
Are vents needed in a condenser kiln? March 20, 2001

Home dehumidifier for drying lumber
Can a home dehumidifier be used to kiln dry lumber? January 31, 2001

Kiln-drying energy: Too cheap to save?
Sleep lost over the most efficient way to insulate a wood kiln will yield only lost sleep, not big savings. 1998.

Solar kiln construction
Specifications for a solar kiln. March 11, 2000

Solar or dehumidification kiln?
A discussion of the merits of two types of kilns for lumber processing. March 12, 2000

Low-cost kiln plans
Information sources for constructing low-cost kilns. 1998.

Solar kiln construction - and more
are answered.

Kiln floors
What causes the breakdown of concrete floors in kilns? September 6, 2000

Heat considerations in solar kilns
Solar kilns get hot enough to handle some aspects of lumber drying, but not all of them. March 6, 2000

Stickers for stacking
Does species matter when choosing stickers to use in your stacks of drying wood? July 24, 2001

Small kiln construction and systems
Advice on where to find information on small kiln construction and operating systems.

Aluminum paint for kilns
Options for aluminum paint for use on solar lumber kilns. March 9, 2000

Timetable for final processing of walnut
Stock in cants form should be processed in a timely manner. March 26, 2000

Drying of Wood A scientific objective to gain insight into improving the energy consumption in the drying of lumber, plus more.

Drying References Here's some links to the many aspects of drying lumber.

Home-built kiln pays it's way Here's some information about a kiln that Bruce Williamsonbuilt for his company.

Home Drying Lumber Nebguide has this in-depth article of knowledge for drying your own lumber.

Solar Kilns Information provided by the Virginia Cooperative Extentionon Solar Heated Lumber, Design Fundamentals, Construction Details, Drying Lumber, and Cutting and UsingSamples.

Before You Buy a Portable Sawmill Sawmill Exchangeoffers this fact filled page on things you should know before going shopping.

EnRoute™ An automated production software for engraving/routing. It includes tool libraries, templates, and wizards for doors, furniture, cabinets, and more.

Easycab v4.0 International Atlantis Software Developmenthas this software the builds cabinets, or just drawers, or doors, plus it does much more. For Win95, free 30 day trial.

Even Shelves A software program that calculates shelf spacing for inside (like a cabinet), and outside shelves (like a bookcase). For Win95, 98, or NT, 30 day free trial.

Sheet Layout Program that is a material optimizer, and project manager. Version 6 for Win95, or WinNT. Version 5 for Win3.x, Win95, or WinNT.

Woods of the World Program with a one-stop-source for information on wood. CD, Floppy, or Demo.

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Power Tools

Power Tools... by Sherry Hayden, Editor, Home at Work Online! What's the deal with power tools? I always used my trusty ratchet style screwdriver and never thought I had need of power tools, actually because they scared me to death. Until I decided to put together a work center for my kitchen. After 4 hours of really, really hard work, screws that "squeaked" at me and were really tough to get screwed all the way in, my husband said to me - you should have "soaped" those screws and they would've gone in easier or, better yet, why didn't you just use my power drill?

Operations on Band and Circular Sawing Machines see also: Part 2: instruction examples for practicing the sawing of straight-line oblong, cross and angle cuts on the circular sawing machine, equally sawing curved oblong and cross-cuts on the band sawing machine.

Belt Grinders & Belt Grinders 2

Drilling Machines & Long Hole Cutting

Presses

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Hand Tools

Museum of Woodworking Tools has rotating exhibits of cool pictures of classic tools. Includes a page that has some tips on adjusting combination planes. See Also: A Guide to Honing and Sharpening by Maurice Fraser, a master teacher of woodworking. This is the Museum's first instructional exhibit. But just as we think it's important to explore the history and details of woodworking tools, we think it's important to preserve the knowledge of technique. This exhibit is one of the largest and most comprehensive examinations of honing published anywhere.

Making an infill plane Since there seem to be a couple people on the list who would like to hear about various dumb mistakes I made while trying to build a "Norris-style" infill panel plane, I wrote the following. This is the only plane I have made, so I don't want anyone reading this to think that I know what the heck I am doing, or that I am telling anyone how to do it.

Making planes Here are the responses to a question about making planes posted some time ago. Lots of references to books and articles, lots of good suggestions and sources.

Nailing & Screwing & Nailing & Screwing 2

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Framing

Building A Small Interior Partition One of the bath rooms in our double-bath remodel project needed an alcove built to hold the new bath tub.

Framing exterior walls is a pretty straight-forward process. Assembling walls on a level surface—probably the subfloor or slab—and raising them into place will help you frame faster. However, raising walls usually requires some extra help.

Framing Bathrooms What features you decide to incorporate in your bathroom will dictate the amount of framing you do. Expanding a bathroom's dimensions may require tearing down existing walls then erecting new ones in an adjacent room.

FRAMING by: HOMETIME.com           Interior Details
Overview Roof Basics
Subfloor Construction Special Roof Techniques
Exterior Walls Glossary


Introduction to Light framing Light framing is the use of closely spaced members of dimension lumber size combined with sheathing to form structural elements of a building. The structural elements provide rigidity, support for interior finish and exterior cladding, and a cavity for the installation of insulation.

Introduction to Post and Beam Post and beam construction is a method of construction which uses large, widely spaced members to provide structural support. It is a principle method of wood construction which offers the designer the possibility of combining function with the unique beauty of wood.

Wood-Frame Construction: Meeting the Challenges of Earthquakes (1.8MB PDF FILE) Experience from strong earthquakes in North America and around the world, has shown that well-constructed wood-frame buildings provide safety to their occupants. This bulletin summarizes actual findings from earthquakes and outlines some of the fundamental properties of wood-frame construction that make it an effective system for resisting earthquake loads.

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Drywall

Insulation & Drywall Tips Insulating and drywalling are the mundane steps that many people like to see done, but don't like to do. Both can be dusty, laborious, and installation is pretty basic for both processes. Insulating is a crucial step in providing comfort in both winter and summer and there are some choices to make regarding R-value. Hanging drywall and mudding take a certain knack to get professional-looking results, so it always helps to learn a few new drywall tips.

Drywall and Backer Board for Bathrooms Gypsum wallboard and concrete backerboard are popular materials for bathroom walls. Wallboard is easy to work with and provides a smooth, paintable surface. Concrete backerboard is a solid, durable material designed as an underlayment for ceramic tile. This page discusses how each material is used in a bathroom remodel and also includes links to their respective "How-To" sections.

do-it-yourself project help: Drywall          Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Tools & Materials Finishing Drywall Joints: Fill Coat
Preparations Finish Coat and Texture
Cutting Drywall Sanding and Priming
Hanging Drywall on Ceilings & Walls Repairing and Patching
Finishing Drywall Joints: Tape Coat Installing Concrete Backerboard

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Cabinets

Kitchen Cabinets & Lighting Often the most expensive room in the house to remodel is the kitchen -- and our addition was no exception. We spent the majority of our budget on custom-made kitchen cabinets. To complement the cabinets and provide working light, we also used a combination of lighting fixtures in strategic areas of the kitchen.

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Shelving

A Shelf Unit Attached To A Finished Wall Inexpensive Shop Storage Mounted To A Finished Wall.

Building Face Frames For Custom Cabinets One of the most common methods of building cabinets involves a face frame, which is an assembly of vertical and horizontal sticks of wood, typically 1x2's. The face frame is attached to the front of a plywood or particle board box (called a carcass), and the doors and drawer fronts cover the openings in the face frame. This method of cabinet construction has long been the tradition, but lately there has been a new method... the frameless or "European" cabinet design.

Building A Bookshelf With Pocket Screws. I had some old 1x12 knotty pine lumber in the basement, which a previous owner had used for some inexpensive shelving. Since we are always in dire need of storage space for books and magazines, I decided to build a small 2-shelf bookcase.

Building A Shelf Unit. In my own garage I had a corner that was not very well organized. I badly needed some way to better utilize the space, to store tools, equipment and miscellaneous household stuff. The plan is to use the studs in the exposed garage wall to support the shelves, with only one additional stud or post needed.

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Trim/Finish

Building A Valance To Conceal A Fluorescent Light Fixture

Wood Finishing Learn about proper sanding techniques, what's the difference between stains and dyes and when to use which one, how to make your own stain, applying topcoats like varnish, lacquer, polyurethane and water based finishes and more.

Built-in Woodwork The biggest challenge we faced in this project was to give the addition the same look and feel as the existing house, while using modern materials...

Veneer Plaster Walls Veneer plaster is a higher quality product because it's stronger, more durable, and richer-looking than drywall. And you won't see seams or get nail pops like you sometimes get with drywall.

Finishing Details Our lower level project incorporated several items that influenced the appearance and layout of each room. Here are some you may find interesting

Installing Andersen Window Extension Jambs

Making Custom Extension Jambs For Andersen Windows

Installing Hardwood Window Casing

Installing Hardwood Door Casing

Installing Custom Door Extension Jambs

Replacing A Lever-Style Lockset

Installing A New Door Knob

Cutting A Deadbolt Hole In A Steel Door

Installing Vinyl Shutters

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Furniture

Building A Sturdy Workbench This Work Bench can be built with common materials costing less than $20. A more detailed version of this article is also available, with about 40 small photos. Download time should be about 2 minutes with a 56K modem.

Building A Shelf Unit. In my own garage I had a corner that was not very well organized. I badly needed some way to better utilize the space, to store tools, equipment and miscellaneous household stuff. The plan is to use the studs in the exposed garage wall to support the shelves, with only one additional stud or post needed.

BED --Plans for a portable wood frame bed, with canvas/rope mattress support, in PDF format

Field Bed Materials, Hemlock, Fir, White Pine. First attempt at a bed. Learning project for using hand tools. Bedposts were hewn from 4x4's using broad hatchet and block plane. Mortises dug with brace-and-bit, mortising chisels. Saw cuts by hand. Slats are left over from an old futon sofa. While not terribly pretty, it is relatively lightweight and sturdy. Finished with tung oil.

A Period Rope Bed Some time ago, several of our SCA friends told us about a period picture one of them had found, a 13th c. Byzantine ivory showing a rope bed. I made a version of that bed sized for a small child. It turned out to be ridiculously easy to make--about half an hour for me to build the bed, plus another hour or so for me and my lady wife to lace it.

Making a Rope Bed Rope beds are easy to make and relatively comfortable on which to sleep. The basic idea behind a rope bed is a wooden frame within which is stretched a lattice of ropes. you place a mattress on the ropes and sleep on that.

A Transportable Rope Bed & Medieval Benches Plans & instructions

do-it-yourself project help: Patio Furniture         Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
A Great Weekend Project Building an Adirondack Side Table
Making Adirondack Chairs Plugging & Finishing
Fabricating an Adirondack Footstool  

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Doors/Windows

Building Traditional Casing For New Windows After installing new windows in an old garage, we made window trim following the design of early 20th century houses.

Framing A Rough Opening For A Window

Replacing The Screen In A Storm Door

Repairing Rotted Jambs Using Wood Filler Blocks

Repairing Rotted Jambs Using Epoxy

Break-In: Fixing A Split Door Jamb

Unfashionable Gap: Fixing A Split Solid Wood Door

Sealing Up Walls and Roof (Windows, Doors & Roofing)

Replacing An Old Entry Door

Removing a Pre-Hung Exterior Door

Removing An Old Slider Door and Repairing The Rotten Framing

Installing A Replacement Slider Door

Framing The Rough Opening For A New Sliding Door HEAVY STUFF !

Installing The Sliding Door (New Construction Type)

Repairing The Siding And Finishing The Exterior Trim

Installing A Store-Bought Pre-Hung Interior Door

Custom Door Hanging: Starting with a plain solid wood door, we routed pockets for the hinges and built a product suitable for mounting...

Installing The Custom-Hung Door

Replacing An Old Basement Entry With A New Bilco Door

do-it-yourself project help: Windows/Doors        Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Window Options Installing Tilt-Pac® Windows
Door Options Skylights & Roof Windows
Installing and Replacing Doors Garage Door Installation
Installing and Replacing Windows Windows & Doors Glossary of Terms

Improving On The Original Window & Door Casing

Installing The Enhanced Window & Door Casing

Installing Conventional Window Casing

Replacing A Window

Installing A New Window In An Old Wall In order to replace a shower with a bath tub, a tall window had to be filled in and a new smaller window installed a few feet away.
Replacing A Window In An Old House
Part 1 - Preparing The Opening | Part 2 - Installing The New Window

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Flooring

"Sistering" Floor Joists takes care of the bounce problem.

Raising A Floor with a hydraulic jack

A Suspended Partition Reduces Floor Bounce and Sag

Preparing A Wood Sub-Floor For Tile

Bathroom Flooring - mostly vinyl (with links to tile)

do-it-yourself project help: Flooring          Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Subfloors & Underlayment Refinishing Hardwood Floors
Ceramic Tile Laminate Flooring
Vinyl Tile Carpet
Sheet Vinyl Flooring Repairs
Installing Hardwood Floors Flooring Glossary


Preparing A Wood Sub-Floor For Hardwood Flooring

Installing A Hardwood Floor

Using Wood Plugs To Fill Screw Holes

Sanding A New Hardwood Floor

Finishing A Hardwood Floor With Urethane

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Stairs

Designing And Laying Out Stairs Lots of diagrams...

Building Stairs To Last A Century

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Roofs

Trusses Common truss shapes.

Sealing Up Walls and Roof (Windows, Doors & Roofing)

do-it-yourself project help: Roofing          Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Inspecting Roof Condition Underlayment & Flashing
Types of Shingles & Repairs Shingling
Tear Off Ice Dams

Replacing Individual Shingles

Tearing Off Old Shingles and Adding New Sheathing

New Shingles.

Patching Holes From An Old Vent

Basic Re-Roofing
Tearing Off Old Shingles | Roof Surface Preparations | Installing New Shingles | Shingling Around Roof Penetrations | Installing Plastic Ridge Vent

Installing A Saddle Behind A Chimney
The Wood Framing | Installing The Shingles | Repairing The Old Flashing

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Carving

FREE CARVING PRIMER Techniques and Glossary Learn Wood Carving Basics Online!

Relief-Carving-art Class handout from a class at Pennsic XXVIII called Relief Carving 101

Carving the Wood Spirit Face By L.S. Irish For carvers, the Wood Spirit is a wonderful theme to use for experimentation with new techniques and image ideas. These delightful little creatures come in an unlimited variety of shapes, styles, and forms. You will find Wood Spirits used as cane handle ornamentation, free standing statues, and even wall hanging.

FREE ONLINE TUTORIALS Free Step-by-Step Instructions; Free Lessons - Free Patterns; Free Projects - Free Tips

Pencil carvings feature in the exhibition that we JAD Project hold. They are mainly produced by Mizuta Tasogare and Kato Jado. According to their forms, they are divided into 4 types - "Double spiral", "Chain", "Ring" and "Kikko" that may be called a honeycomb pencil. Others like "Six-fold spiral", "Extensible" and "Triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon" are considered to be variations based on one of those 4 types.

Everyone’s looking for patterns. In this section, you can conveniently download bonus patterns from different issues of Wood Carving Illustrated Magazine.

Wood Carving Illustrated Past Articles

Chip Carving.Com Tips on holding the knives. For carving, you'll hold the cutting knives one of two ways.

Woodcarving Tutorials free introduction tutorials to encourage newcomers to explore the art of woodcarving at no cost. The free tutorials are well identified; they provide hundreds of step-by-step free pictures with detailed instructions to learn the fundamentals of woodcarving. The woodcarving patterns for the tutorials

Sharpening Techniques Click on the "download" button to start the download of the lesson, project or workbook file to your computer. The downloaded file is a WinZip self-extracting archive file with a .exe file extension, it contains the lesson, project or workbook in PDF format. You can also click on the pictures to see better detail.

Wood finishing and staining techniques Click on the "download" button to start the download of the lesson, project or workbook file to your computer. The downloaded file is a WinZip self-extracting archive file with a .exe file extension, it contains the lesson, project or workbook in PDF format. You can also click on the pictures to see better detail.

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Forums

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Jobs

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2002-03 Edition, Carpenters. This section discusses what workers do. Individual job duties may vary by industry or employer. For instance, workers in larger firms tend to be more specialized whereas those in smaller firms often have a wider variety of duties. Most occupations have several levels of skills and responsibilities through which workers may progress. Beginners may start as trainees performing routine tasks under close supervision. Experienced workers usually undertake more difficult tasks and are expected to perform with less supervision.

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Construction

Replacing A Load-Bearing Porch Beam We support the porch roof and remove a badly sagging beam, and replace it with more serious lumber.

Replacing Rotted Sill Plates On A Garage An old garage is raised with jacks and the rotten old sill plate (or bottom plate) replaced.

Correcting A Leaning Structure We attached automotive tow hooks to the corners of a leaning garage and cranked it back into plumb, using ordinary cable winches and chain.

Repairing Collision Damage To A Garage Wall I used a hydraulic bottle jack to lift up a section of the wall so the framing could be fastened back together.

do-it-yourself project : Garage Construction      Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Planning Fascia and Soffits
Excavating Issues Roofing and Cupola
Footings & Foundation Installing Lap Siding
Pouring the Slab Electrical & Storage
Framing Walls Installing a Garage Door
Raising Trusses Installing a Garage Door Opener
do-it-yourself project : Kitchen Remodeling Cabinets
Remodeling: Getting Started Countertops
Demolition and Framing Flooring
Plumbing and Electrical Fixtures and Appliances
Drywall and Soffits Hometime's Past Kitchen Projects
do-it-yourself project : Outdoor Shed Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
The Putter Shed Finishing the Roof
Platform & Wall Framing Trim, Clerestory Windows & Siding
Roof Framing Doors

We bought this fixer upper in May of 2000. Looks harmless, doesn't it ..... When we purchased 308 Warwick, we knew there was a lot of work to be done. Namely, the foundation was crumbling and it needed to be replaced. While we considered this daunting task, we realized we had the opportunity to add more square footage to our little home. Follow along from demolition to finishing touches in pics and text.

do-it-yourself project : Build a Log Home      Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Building a Log Shell Cabinets & Countertops
Assembling Shell on Site Terra Cotta & Ceramic Tile
Log Staining & Chinking Log-Style Sauna
Roof System Details Wood Flooring
Windows & Doors Kitchen & Bath Fixtures
Fieldstone Fireplace Finishing Touches
First Floor Framing Plans & Products
Second Floor Framing Note: This project uses kit-built logs

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Joinery

Batch Techniques for Making Joinery Mortise-and-tenon joinery is used throughout the piece -- for stretchers, legs and side spindles. To save time, the technique of batch cutting is used in making the joinery.

Fundamental Construction Techniques for Furniture & Wooden Objects This guideline will describe some of the ways that wood is processed into familiar forms, such as joined furniture. This description will lead to a better understanding of the various technologies: from the ancient to the modern. You will see that there is much in common through time and across cultures. In fact, the joinery of wood can be reduced to a fundamental set of principles in evidence the world over. By understanding the basics of joinery, we can also understand and predict the utility and ultimate degradation of some furniture.

Joints for woodworkers ~ illustrated lists of basic joints for all kinds of woodwork

'COPE AND STICK' JOINERY (or 'stile and rail') is a very common means of making wood frames for glass or wood panels. Large window and door shops use this technique with expensive shapers and molders for producing large runs of square sash and doors, as well as some curved pieces. Cabinet shops do the same thing for kitchen cabinet doors, often using router bits. Using such bits you can do the same thing in your shop for making cabinet doors with wood panels or glass. Here we are going to focus on using such bits for the purpose of making curved components for a cabinet door in which there will be glass, or wood panels if you like.

Woodworking Tips #9: Drawbore Joinery A few issues ago, WorkbenchMagazine (October 1997) featured two projects that were joined using an "old fashioned" technique: drawbore joinery. They used it to join the parts of a screen door, and to join the legs and stretchers on the base of a workbench.

Frame joinery is used to assemble structures whose parts are wider than they are deep. This group includes doors, panels or parts of larger furniture, gates and benches, table supports and chairs--anything that can be thought of as being made of "sticks".

Case joinery is used to assemble structures whose parts are deeper than they are wide. Examples are boxes, crates, drawers, chests, armoires and most enclosed furniture--that is to say, cases. It is distinguished from frame joinery in that the properties of wood call for different techniques when joining panels than when joining sticks..

Log joinery: what works, what does not and why! To the average log home purchaser trying to understand why there are so many different forms of log construction joinery and which is best for what reasons is a mystery. This article will deal with full scribe joinery but the principals apply to all forms of log joinery, even manufactured log construction.

Dovetail Joinery This is an old technique which gives added strength to adjoining sides of a joint where additional forces are at work, for example the front of a drawer.

Arts & Sciences: Dovetail Joinery A Presentation of the Barony of Axemoor - Society for Creative Anachronisms. The box illustrated here makes use of a woodworking feature called dovetail joinery. This is an old technique which gives added strength to adjoining sides of a joint where additional forces are at work, for example the front of a drawer.

Post and Beam Timber Joinery Timber joinery is the traditional form of post and beam construction. The origin of timber joinery in North America predates the availability of metal fasteners and of sawmill produced lumber. Therefore large hand hewn timbers were used, joined by shaping the members to fit together and to be retained in this position by means of wood pegs, or merely by joint geometry.

Butt Joints A new series of step-by-step guides to making joints is intended to help you learn the basic techniques and choose the best joint for the job.

Lap Joints A slightly more sophisticated version of the butt joint. The lap joint is a type of corner joint and is often used in boxmaking and occasionally drawer construction on lightweight pieces. It is really a more sophisticated version of the butt joint, but with a rebate cut into one member, which the other member fits into.

TESTING OF PLATE (BISCUIT) JOINERY AND ADHESIVES FOR APPLICABILITY IN CONSTRUCTING ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTS. In the architectural market, wood structure joints have traditionally been constructed using mortise and tenon joinery methods. Within the last ten years cabinetmakers have adopted plate or 'biscuit" reinforcement for joinery, resulting in large savings on working space, tooling, materials, waste disposal, and time. Is this new technology strong enough for building heavier architectural woodworking, e.g. residential doors?

Classic Chinese Joinery Classic Chinese furniture is unique for many reasons, including its exquisite carvings, rare woods and joinery. Each type has joints that are suited for the particular strains and stresses that will be placed on it. Understanding joinery and construction further enhances the connoisseurship of Chinese hardwood furniture.

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Formsetting

A DISSERTATION ON "CONCRETE" One of the most important things to realize about concrete is that "the conventional wisdom" is very often either archaic or grossly incorrect as applied in the use of concrete. Suffice it to say, there are many more incorrect ways to mix concrete than there are correct ones, we feel we can apprise you of some of the correct ones, if only very briefly, here.

Concrete and paving glossary To help site visitors, industrial distributors, and contractors understand or clarify many terms used in the concrete and paving industry, dee Concrete Accessories has included this one-of-a-kind glossary. The glossary is organized as an alpha listing to assist you to quickly find the term you are looking for.

Curb and Gutter Forming with Wood vs. Concrete Steel Forms

Safety tips for working with concrete

Caring for metal concrete placement forms

Cold weather concrete tips

Hot weather concrete tips

History of concrete

COMMON FACTORS THAT CAUSE FORMWORK COLLAPSES Formwork collapses should not occur if the system is correctly designed and installed. When checking the adequacy of a formwork system consider all loading conditions, all formwork components and the foundations.

Foundations by Marshall Brain. Basements, crawl spaces and slabs are the three main foundation systems used on houses. In wet and coastal areas, it is sometimes common to put houses up on posts as well.

The Symons Silver Form System is a pre-engineered, reusable, factory-built design. The system saves you time because it is easy to set up and easy to strip. No measuring, sawing, drilling or nailing is required. Minimal training is needed in order to use the system, so workers are quickly up to maximum efficiency.

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Ancient Techniques

Shaving Horse Plans The basic “workbench” for shaping with a drawknife or spokeshave is the shaving horse. The two traditional shaving horse styles are the Continental schnitzelbank or dumbhead and the English bodgerís bench. While the dumbhead shaving horse is seen in 15th and 16th-century illustrations, there is no pictorial or documentary evidence for the English style prior to the late 19th Century. It was in use by the time that H. L. Edlinís Woodland Crafts in Britain: an Account of the Traditional Uses of Trees and Timbers in the British Countryside (1949) and J. Geraint Jenkins’ Traditional Country Craftsmen (1965) were recording the disappearing traditional woodland crafts of Britain. The English shaving horse may simply have escaped from record and, I suspect, its appearance in the 19th—20th Century was as a long- held, traditional tool. Whatever its origins, the English-style horse is a very effective alternative to the Continental style.

Tapered Reamer Plans

Early Wood Lathes Follow the links for some interesting stuff.

Medieval and Renaissance Woodworking Author states "This page grew out of a fusion of three of my hobbies: medieval/renaissance recreation, woodworking, and antique tool collecting. Most of what's out there on "traditional" (i.e.; hand tool) woodworking, antique tools, and woodworking focuses on the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. As a result, I've collected material on medieval and renaissance woodworking for my own use."

Anglo-Saxon and Viking Woodworking Timber was the most important resource for the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. The early medieval carpenter was not only skilled in working the wood, but also in selecting the correct timber and shape for the job. If the finished item needed to have a curve in it, the carpenter would select a piece of timber that had the correct natural curve. You can use natural junctions where a branch joins to the tree as joints that have grown to suit a job that you had in mind. These natural joints are stronger than man-made ones and save the carpenter a lot of time creating joints. Wherever possible they would 'follow the grain' to leave the finished product as strong as possible.

Anglo-Saxon and Viking Houses and Furniture The Saxons generally built their houses of wood although, after they had accepted Christianity, some of their churches were built in stone. Of course, at the time, people had been building in wood for thousands of years, so they would have known far more about making wooden buildings than we do today and they had far more timber to choose from. The problem with wooden buildings is that they catch fire and decay much more easily than stone buildings, which meant that they had to be replaced more often. Indeed, there is some evidence to suggest that, at least amongst the nobility, it was considered 'not the done thing' to live in an old building, so some perfectly serviceable buildings would have been replaced for no more reason than personal vanity.

A Brief History of Medieval European Joinery The techniques used to join pieces of wood together evolved significantly between the 12th and 15th Centuries. This evolution was in response to both the technical problem of making strong joints that would resist wood movement and the demands of the customer base. This evolution in technique was part of the general evolution of woodworking from the relatively crude and utilitarian objects of the early Middle Ages to the highly decorated furniture in use at the dawn of the Renaissance.

MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE LATHES--article with pictures, documentation by Thomas Rettie. The lathe is an ancient tool, dating at least to the Egyptians and, "known and used in Assyria, Greece, the Roman and Byzantine Empires."(1) Primarily a tool of tradesmen known as "turners" or "throwers" (the term "bodgers" came later), the lathe was also used by pulley makers, seal makers, wheelwrights, chairmakers, joiners, bell founders, and others. Early evidence of wood turning in England dates from the 4th to the 7th century(2), and by 1180 there appears to have been a turner's guild established in Cologne, Germany(3).

Building A Four-Post Turned Chair Through much of the Middle Ages, chairs with arms and backs were regarded as prestigious items, suitable for lords, the clergy, and learned men. They came in a variety of designs, with seats of solid panels, woven rush, or leather. Turned chairs appear in European records as early as the eleventh century(1), and some surviving examples are believed to date from before 1300(2).

Medieval Woodworking Resources see also: Medieval Woodworking

Arts & Sciences: Dovetail Joinery A Presentation of the Barony of Axemoor - Society for Creative Anachronisms. The box illustrated here makes use of a woodworking feature called dovetail joinery. This is an old technique which gives added strength to adjoining sides of a joint where additional forces are at work, for example the front of a drawer.

The Medieval Chest Chests are also the most useful items of medieval furniture we can make for use in the SCA. As the great nobles in the Middle Ages traveled from manor to manor, we travel from event to event and must store our SCA goods in the meantime. This article is a survey of chest construction and decoration techniques in the hope of inspiring woodworkers to build more medieval chests.

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Heat & Power

Upgrading Heating System (in a renovation/addition)

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Accessibility

Building and Remodeling for Accessibility

Building Ramps.

Remodeling Bathrooms for Accessibility

Remodeling Kitchens for Accessibility

Building an Accessible House

Accessibility Resources and Manufacturers

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Basements

Framing Basements The lower level area is often the least square and plumb; older basements are notoriously out of plumb/squareness. You may need to shim, scab, and/or plane board to get everything straight. We were fortunate that our lower level walls, joists, and slab were fairly level. Here's a list of framing items for our lower level project

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Planning & Blueprints

Lower Level Planning Lower levels and basements can be difficult areas to deal with. Considerations like lack of sunlight and headroom, and exposed mechanical systems can present problems that take a little more creativity to solve. Here are some common considerations to include in your lower level plan

Wood-Frame Construction: Meeting the Challenges of Earthquakes (1.8MB PDF FILE) Experience from strong earthquakes in North America and around the world, has shown that well-constructed wood-frame buildings provide safety to their occupants. This bulletin summarizes actual findings from earthquakes and outlines some of the fundamental properties of wood-frame construction that make it an effective system for resisting earthquake loads.

A guide to designing wood stud walls up to 10.7 m (35 ft) high for single story commercial wood structures (800KB PDF FILE) Whether built with lumber or engineered wood products, wood stud walls are a cost competitive, energy efficient and structurally elegant design option for your commercial structure. The Tall Walls Workbook will first help you determine if wood studs can work for your building and then assist you will a detailed design of the walls. The Workbook includes stud tables for a wide variety of lumber and engineered wood products. Also included is detailed design example covering structural, thermal and fire considerations.

A Guide to Single Story Commercial Wood Structures (1MB PDF FILE) Looking for step-by-step design plans including costing information? The Design & Costing Workbook Module Series is what your looking for. The first module completed details the design for a one story plaza or office and includes an interactive cost spreadsheet for similar designs.

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Decks
Foundation For A Heavy-Duty Post

Sill Preparations For Rebuilding A Porch

New Porch Framing

Repairing Rotted Wood

Installing Handrail Newel Posts

Tongue-and-Grooved Porch Flooring

Building Stairs To Last A Century

Replacing A Load-Bearing Beam

Building A Basic Deck - Part 1 - Framing & Part 2 - Deck Boards, Hand Rail, Stairs

A Jig For Assembling Handrails

A Spindle Spacing Calculator

Building Basic 2x4 Deck Railings

Designing And Laying Out Stairs Lots of diagrams...

Deck Overview A deck is one of the most basic structures in home construction, and most do-it-yourselfers have the skills to build one. In this sequence of pages, you'll read about the main steps in building a deck, and you'll see many graphics illustrating key points in the process.

Deck Building Tools Here's a list of tools you'll probably need to build a deck. They're divided into 4 basic categories to help you sort through them.

Preparing Siding for Ledger Board The ledger board is attached directly to a house wall after the siding's been cut away, and it supports one side of a deck. The first steps in attaching the ledger board are determining where the top of the deck hits the house, where the ledger board goes and where the siding needs to be cut.

Preparing Ledger Board Once the siding is cleared away and the sheathing exposed, you can measure and cut a board to fit the space you've cleared and serve as the ledger board.

Attaching Ledger Board Once the siding's cut and the ledger board's prepared, you can set it in place on the wall.

Laying Out Footings Use string and stakes or batterboards to lay out lines representing the deck and measure off those to locate the footing positions. To get started, use a plumb bob to transfer the outside edges of the deck from the ledger board down to ground level.

Digging Footings & Pouring Concrete Frost Footings are usually required to support structures attached to homes. That means digging down past the frost line in areas where the ground freezes in the winter.

Cutting and Raising Posts The posts support the beams which support the joists, so the tops of the posts have to level with each other for proper stability.

Installing Beams & Installing Joists The beams go over the posts directly opposite the ledger board, and together they support the ends of the joists.

Installing Deck Boards Installation of the deck boards usually begins at the house wall and goes out toward the end, with the boards always running perpendicular to the joists.

Building Stairs To frame a deck stairway, you need to figure out the number of treads (steps) required and the rise and run (length) of each tread.

Installing Railings Deck railings are comprised of posts, top rails, bottom rails, spindles and cap rails.

Exterior Decks

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Landscape Carpentry

Use of Creosote Treated Wood In and Near Fresh Water. Creosote treated wood has been a building material of choice for many years where protection against decay and rot is required. It is effective against marine borers. Before the development of newer products, creosote treated wood, which was first patented in 1838, was used whenever long term durability was required, Creosote is a distillate of coal tar. It contains over 160 compounds but is composed primarily of liquid and solid aromatic hydrocarbons as well as some tar acids and tar bases which provide protection against destructive insects and organisms. Creosote contains impurities that are toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic. Leaching and weeping of creosote, especially in hot weather is a particular problem.

Retaining Walls - Timber Walls Most walls are constructed with this crib-type method using timbers that are 89 x 140 mm (3-1/2 x 5-1/2in), 140 x 140mm (5-1/2 x 5-1/2in), 140 x 191 mm (5-1/2 x 7-1/2in) or 191 x 191mm (7-1/2 x 7-1/2in). Used creosoted railway ties are often found in this type of construction but their rough, inconsistent texture and harmful effects on some plants make them less suited than CCAA-treated wood.

Retaining Walls - Plank Walls Traditionally used in marine applications, plank walls have become popular in residential and public areas where they offer a variety of design options. Pressure-treated 140 x 140 mm (5-1/2 x 5-1/2in) posts are placed in holes spaced at 1.2m (4ft) the posts should extend below ground as much as they do above.

Retaining Walls - Plywood Walls Plywood walls are a less common type and consist of pressure-treated plywood and pressure-treated 89mm round or square posts. Posts should be sunk to the frost line at 600mm (24in) spacings. Plywood 18.5mm (3/4in) thick is placed behind the posts and held in place by the backfill. The wall is anchored by threading plastic-coated galvanized wire rope through holes drilled in the plywood on either side of the post at two-thirds of the wall height. The wire rope is wrapped around the posts and secured with a U-bolt wire rope clip behind the plywood.

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Fencing

Fences

do-it-yourself project help: Fences & Gates Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Getting Started Setting Posts
Planning and Designing          Installing the Panels
Layout Building a Gate
Digging Post Holes Installing a Chain-Link Fence


Installing A Fence From Pre-Made Sections

Pre-Assembling Fence Sections

Cutting Simple Dog-Eared Fence Pickets

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Siding, Soffit & Facia

Installing Tongue-and-Groove Wood Siding. After rebuilding the wall to accommodate a proper overhead door, we installed some custom-milled siding that closely matched the original.

do-it-yourself project help: Siding Brought to you by: HOMETIME.com
Vinyl Siding Basics Maintenance-Free Trim & Windows
Installing Siding Fiber-Cement Siding
Maintenance-Free Soffits & Fascia  

A Leak Where Roof Meets Wall

Replacing A Single Panel Of Vinyl Siding

Patching A Shallow Hole In Wood Siding

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