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Why are you working harder than you need to? Sanding is boring. It’s boring to watch, it’s boring to do, and I find it boring to write about. But myths are fun to write about, and there are some [...]

Here are some finishing tips I hope you find of value. They are arranged in roughly the order of the typical finishing steps. Sand Oil Finishes Wet It’s not at all necessary to sand wood to very [...]

A better understanding of what causes grain raising will help you manage it. Our finishing expert Bob Flexner explains this phenomenon and how to deal with it.

Different finishes look different on different species. There are many reasons to choose one finish over another. Usually the most important is for protection and durability – how well a finish [...]

You can achieve a great finish from commonly available products. We all love home centers for the good stuff they carry and for their low prices. But home centers cater to the lowest common [...]

The two commonly available pure oil finishes that can be used on furniture and woodwork with decent results because they cure – that is, turn from a liquid to a soft solid – are linseed oil and [...]

The critical parts are the fluid nozzle and air cap. As I have said many times, spray guns are pretty simple tools. By comparison, they aren’t any more difficult to use than a router. Still, [...]

How to choose a spray gun. A spray gun is a tool that turns a stain, paint, finish or other liquid material into a fine mist—a process called “atomization.” It then propels the liquid onto a work [...]

Understand the fundamentals. A wood finish is a clear, transparent coating applied to wood to protect it from moisture and to make it look richer and deeper. This differs from paint, which is a [...]

Solutions for common situations, from softening edges to stripping. Here are 10 tips and tricks you might use to both speed your finishing and get better results. I’ve arranged them in the rough [...]

Some straight talk about cherry and blotching. When I opened my furniture-making and restoration shop in 1976, the woods considered best for high-end furniture were walnut and mahogany. Of [...]

Simple in theory, not in the real world. A reader of my blog  asked me to explain what polymerized oil is. So here goes. On one level the explanation is incredibly simple and on another it’s [...]