January 25, 2011

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Here are some more of my Q & A's.  These are from Woodworkers Journal 267 

How Often to Clean Saw Blades?

I know a clean table saw blade will cut better, but I've never read anywhere how often I should clean my blades. Once a month, once a week, every other day? - Max Harnisch

Tim Inman: The best answer I can possibly give is this: Clean it when it is dirty. Without being impertinent, it is a matter of judgment and objectivity. If you're doing the finest of fine work, you're going to notice your blade needs cleaning frequently -- probably daily. If you're making chicken coops from scrap lumber, you may not notice much difference whether the blade is clean or not. Clean, sharp blades are not only a pleasure to use, they yield better work -- and they are a lot safer!


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Fixing Indentations on Faux Wood?

I have refinished over 300 dining room chairs for two hotels. I learned a lot doing them and have done some other simple wood restorative projects. I have run across a very complicated challenge to repair scratch marks on a wood table that were not deep but looked more like indentations. It is the newer products being sold now that are manufactured rather than the old style of wood that is finished. I tried to do something with it but found that it is not like restoring actual wood. Usually these types of manufactured wood furniture are with a satin look and act more like resin. Is there any way to repair these types of damages? Thanks if anyone can steer me in the right direction. - Darlene Betterton

Tim Inman: If we could see a picture, it would really help. Otherwise, I feel like a blind man with no hands trying to solve your problem. So many ways, so little time...


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Getting the Hang of Hanging Doors?

I have a question about mounting cabinet doors. I normally make my cabinets with full overlay doors. My problem is mounting them. Is there an easy way to hold and mount the door so you have the same 3/8" overlay all around? I mount the hinges to the door first but have difficulty holding the door to mount it to the stile and maintain the proper overlay. - Ron Bohland

Tim Inman: Here are a couple of approaches. If you're just fitting one or two, I would use a piece of old-fashioned blackboard chalk and draw a line around the opening where you want the door to be. Fit to the lines. The chalk will wipe off cleanly when you're done, and nobody will be the wiser. (Use a piece of sandpaper to "sharpen" the chalk to a nice chisel point to make your line as fine as it can be.) If you're setting a lot of doors, then it might be worth your time to make up a little jig to hold the door while you do your work. Keeping the top and/or bottom edges of the doors in a nice straight line is important. You can do this by just clamping a scrap along the bottom edge of the cabinets. Set the doors on the ledge, which will set the vertical positioning, and then align "left-to-right" as needed so you can set your hinges.

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