My old biscuit joiner died halfway through a kitchen job last month and I needed something fast. Grabbed that $60 one from Harbor Freight just to finish the job, figured I'd replace it later. That thing cut so far off on every slot I had to shim every single joint with wood filler. Learned my lesson - buying a cheap tool for one job cost me three extra hours of fixing mistakes.
He told me to just sand to 220 and use a dewaxed shellac instead, and after trying it on a walnut desk last month I haven't touched conditioner since, anyone else make that swap?
I was flipping through a 1987 issue of Fine Woodworking I found at a flea market last weekend. Turns out back then, the average custom shop could knock out a set of through dovetails in about 12 minutes. I timed myself on a drawer yesterday... took me nearly 40 minutes and they still weren't perfect. Made me wonder how much of that was practice versus just having the right muscle memory from doing it every day. Any of you old timers remember that pace or am I just slow?
I was reading through some OSHA stuff last night for a shop I'm quoting in Phoenix. Turns out the legal limit for MDF dust is way lower than regular wood dust because of the formaldehyde binders. Like 1/5th the allowable amount per cubic foot of air. I had no idea it was that different. I've been running the same dust collection setup for everything this whole time. How many of you actually change your dust collection plan when switching from plywood to MDF?
Ran into a retired cabinetmaker at a salvage yard near Knoxville last month. He showed me how he pre-drills his drawer slide screw holes with a slightly oversized bit to avoid splitting the wood, even on cheap ply. I tried it on my last 12 drawer job and had zero failures for the first time. Anybody else got weird old-timer tips that actually work?
I finally borrowed my buddy's shop-built jig and knocked out 12 dovetail drawers in under 2 hours without a single blowout, now I'm wondering if I should sink $80 into one of those Kreg router templates or just build my own copy, what's the best bang for the buck you guys have seen?
Ngl I was a pocket screw guy for like 6 years on all my cabinet face frames. Last month I borrowed a friend's Domino on a kitchen job in Austin and it cut my assembly time by almost half. No more fighting with clamps to keep joints square while driving screws. Has anyone else made the switch and felt stupid for waiting so long?
For years I always built cabinets first and finished them after assembly. It seemed faster and I hated handling finished panels. Then a client in Portland pointed out all the dust in the corners after I sprayed their kitchen. I tried pre-finishing the box parts on a bathroom vanity last month and it took a little longer upfront but the final assembly was cleaner and I saved an hour of touch-up work. Has anyone else made the switch and stuck with it?
Last month I took on a outdoor kitchen job in Phoenix and used MDO for the cabinet boxes, but my buddy who does the same work swears by marine grade plywood after a job he did 3 years ago in Tucson started delaminating. The MDO held up great in the 110 degree heat so far, but I'm wondering if I'll regret it in 5 years. Has anyone here had MDO cabinets fail on them after a few seasons, or am I overthinking this?
I put Blumotion on a client's kitchen last month and it cost me $410 extra in hardware, but the client was thrilled and I got two referrals from it. On the other hand my buddy says cheap soft-close slides for $60 work fine and he's never had a complaint. Who's right here?
I swapped to a carbide-tipped router bit set in 2016 and suddenly my edges stopped burning on oak. Last week I pulled out an old drawer front from 2014 and compared it to one I did yesterday. Anyone else notice a huge difference switching from HSS to carbide?
I was ripping some 8/4 hard maple in my shop outside Nashville last week and the blade started kicking back hard, almost pulled my hand into the teeth. Turns out I had been using a 1/4 inch blade for everything for over a year, way too narrow for thick stock. Has anyone else had a close call from using the wrong blade width for too long?
I spent like 6 months using a cheap iron from a thrift store and wondering why my glue joints kept failing. Then a guy at a supply shop in Portland told me to check the actual temp with a laser thermometer, turns out it was running 40 degrees too cold. Anyone else ever tested their gear and found something way off?
I was at a shop in Portland 10 years ago and this 70 year old guy grabbed my hand, pointed at a cherry door, and said 'you cut that panel going the wrong way and that finish will crack in 2 summers flat', and I've never matched a grain wrong since - anyone else have a mentor who saved them from a dumb mistake?
It wobbled so bad on a job in Seattle last Tuesday that I had to scrap the whole bookshelf project, has anyone else had luck with used router bits or should I just bite the bullet on new ones?
I was at Highland Lumber in Portland last month stressing over some cherry veneer panels that kept cupping on me. This older guy in a flannel saw me and just walked over, said "you're fighting the grain, stop it." He showed me how to alternate the grain direction when glueing up panels and even gave me a scrap piece to practice on. Has anyone else run into random strangers who just drop trade secrets like that?
He said to spray a mist of water on the cupped side and clamp it flat overnight before planing, which saved me from trashing a $40 walnut board last Tuesday... anyone else try this trick?
Back in 2004 I was building a set of library shelves for a school in Portland (about 40 linear feet of oak). I had this old Stanley #5 my dad gave me and a cheap Ryobi power planer. I went with the manual plane because I was scared of taking off too much with the power one. Took me 3 extra days but the joints came out dead flat. Still have that Stanley actually (though I replaced the blade twice). Has anyone else had a project where going old school was the better call even if it took way longer?
A 30 year veteran named Hank at my last shop kept telling me to hose down the dirt before mixing a slab, and I ignored him for like two years. First summer pour I did without that trick on a big pantry cabinet foundation cracked right down the middle three weeks later. Has anyone else found this step actually makes or breaks a floor cabinet base?
I was at a shop in Portland last month helping out on a custom kitchen job. This old cabinetmaker watches me set up the router and asks why I'm making it so hard. He walks me over to the table saw, sets up a simple jig with a scrap piece, and cuts a perfect 3/8 dado in like 10 seconds. I felt like a complete idiot. All that time setting up bits and cleaning up tearout for nothing. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you've been overcomplicating something basic?
I keep seeing new builders measure face frames without adding the overlay, then their gaps are all off. I messed this up on my first kitchen job three years ago and had to re-cut five doors. Has anyone else caught this on a site inspection?
I had to build 12 shaker-style doors for a kitchen remodel in Raleigh last month, and my good bits were all dull. Grabbed a 15-piece set for like 30 bucks, figured I'd trash them after. The cuts were clean enough, no tearout on the maple ply, and I finished the whole order before lunch on day two. Anyone else ever get lucky with a budget tool when you were in a pinch?
I've been building cabinets solo for about 6 years now. Last week I finished my 500th door install on a kitchen remodel in Evanston. Didn't think much of it until I sat down and realized that's a lot of hinges and adjustments. Makes me wonder how many hours I've spent just squinting at reveals and gaps. Any of you keep track of your install numbers or is that just me being weird about milestones?
I was at the IKEA in Elizabeth, New Jersey last Saturday with my wife. She wanted to look at bookcases. I got stuck by the kitchen section. Some display had these cheap particleboard doors with soft-close hinges on them. The screws were already starting to strip out. I could see the hinge cup was off by like 2 millimeters. Told my wife that thing won't last 6 months in a real kitchen. A store worker walked by and said they get complaints daily. I wanted to pull out my pocket screwdriver and fix it right there. Has anyone else walked into a store display and just seen all the flaws screaming at you?
Had the track shift mid-cut on some walnut plywood, left a jagged edge that ruined the whole panel. Anyone else have trouble with the anti-slip strip not gripping on clean surfaces?