Stretching Lumber, Raised Panel Doors, Combo Machine? And MORE!!!

This Episodes Questions:

Brians Questions:

Howdy fellas, Love the podcast!  I'm in the process of building a bench and misjudged how much wood I could get out of a board.  The plans call for two stretchers of 3/4 maple about 65" long and 4.5" wide.  After squaring and thicknessing, I'm down to 0.75-by-65-by-4.25 which is 1/4" too narrow.  I initially thought I'd start over with a new board, but have decided to forge ahead with the slightly narrower stretchers since it won't impact the joiner, should still be plenty strong and will probably be imperceptible.  In this example or others from your experience, how big of a boo-boo do you allow in your projects?  Sorry if you've covered this before, I'm still catching up. Thanks, Bryan

In a previous podcast, Brian mentioned he had used raking light after sanding and was impressed by how clearly sanding marks were visible.  I have tried to deliberately use raking light to identify sanding issues.   You can lift a small item at a angle towards an overhead light and sight along the surface which works but if it is larger surface this isn't practical. I have taken an led trouble light and held it at an angle close to surface but rarely see the sanding marks stand out.   At some point in the afternoon sunlight hits the top of a project and marks are clearly visible   .  Any suggestions on  using raking lighting on larger surfaces?  Thanks for the great program, look forward to each new podcast. Dave at Xcuse4tools Custom Woodwork

Guys Questions:

Appreciate you all and look forward to your podcast. I was making raised panel doors for the cabinets in my shop. The panels are cut on the tablesaw with a tall fence jig and the blade tilted. This works well but leaves a few saw marks on the beveled portion of the panel which need to be cleaned up. The best way i know to sand this area is to wrap sandpaper around a small flat piece of plywood and manually sand it. This is time consuming and you are sanding across grain on two of the four bevels. I was wondering if there are any powered options available. I still have a quarter sheet sander but you hit the outer edge of panel if you use this on the bevel. Have you used a mop or star sanding wheel?  This appears to be good for contours. Hoping you might have some insights possibly with Huy's recent furniture restoration efforts. Thanks, Dave@Xcuse4tools Custom Woodwork

Hi there,

As always, love the podcast and all of the insights and expertise you share. I’m preparing to do a built-in cabinetry project for our entertainment center. The full set of cabinets will be be about 11 1/2 feet wide. I’m planning to do shaker style doors, but with a beaded pdf panel with vertical beads going across the full width of the panel. I know Guy is probably going to say, “I’d just buy the panels and be done with it”, but let’s say that I really wanted to make them myself. How would you recommend cutting all of those beads. I have a Powermatic PM2000 and a nice cast iron router table and handheld routers, but no CNC. I recently saw a video where someone made these kinds of panels with a “Magic Molder” on the table saw. Would love to hear if you have any other methods. Pete

Huys Questions:

I have been woodworking for 6 years and have learned allot from your podcast. I recently took a finishing class and learned about the different finishes. Mineral spirits is the recommended thinner for oil based finishes. Why does Guy recommend Naphtha. What is the difference between Naphtha and Mineral Spirits. What advantage is there in using Naphtha. Thank you for all the great information you bring to the community. John

Gents - Apologies for the long story, but you asked for questions. At the peak of the COVID pandemic I found myself watching far too many YouTube channels and came upon makers using European combination machines. Call it boredom or simply a need for a good excuse to travel during a traffic density period we hope to never see again, I researched a variety of brands and settled on a Robland X-31. This 1,100 pound beast is equipped with a sliding table saw, jointer, planer, shaper and mortiser. It replaced the Delta Unisaw with a 52” Unifence, a 6” Delta clone jointer sold as “Pit Bull,” and a DeWalt DW-735 that I paid $220 because HomeDepot decided to run a price match plus 10-odd percent discount the same week HomeBase was doing its going out of business liquidation. Price shopping for the best planner deal was just a walk-about as both stores shared a common parking lot. So back to the Robland. I convinced myself that I need a change. I started milling logs and the Pit Bull wasn’t going to cut face jointing wide boards. I needed a 12” jointer. The 20 by 24 foot shop could not accommodate length of a dedicated 12” jointer, said the little voice in my head. I could sell the Unisaw and the Pit Bull, stuff the DeWalt in a cabinet, it said. The collective footprint of the