I was casually perusing tools for sale online recently and came across someone selling an entire antique tool chest full of vintage hand planes, saws, and various other tools. Admittedly I don’t know a ton about valuations of antique tools but just from some of the photos I knew a few of the tools alone were worth more than he was asking for the whole chest. Turns out it was an elderly man who ended up with the chest after an auction failed to get the value they were hoping for so he bought it out at the starting bid and passed it on to me for cost! I couldn’t say no to the opportunity to buy the chest with the intention of restoring both the chest itself and the tools within. Today I’m going to walk you through my process of restoring a 100 year old tool chest.

This project contains a paid product integration from Minwax. All opinions are herein are my own. Visit my disclosure page for more information on affiliate and compensation this site accepts. 

Removing Paint

Unfortunately (but expectedly) someone decided to paint this chest at some point in its storied past. It’s pretty common for a wood piece that has seemingly changed hands at least a handful of times to be covered in at least one or two coats of paint or stain. Somewhere along the line someone thought it was easier to just paint over it rather than maintain the wood, or maybe they just liked the look of the paint. Either way, it doesn’t make it any less annoying when you have to remove it.

The problem with removing paint on something like this is that it has a lot of wear and tear on it from years and years of use. That means the paint is down inside those dents, grooves, scratches, and dings. Removing all that paint can be incredibly challenging without removing a lot of material either by sanding, planing, stripping, or a combination of all those things. In this case I used a combination of intense sanding, and stripping to remove as much of the paint (and come to find out stain underneath the paint) as possible and still leave a little bit of the patina.

Restoring without Removing The History

The real challenge in restoring a 100 year old tool chest is finding the line between bringing it back to its somewhat original state without fully removing the history. The character that has accumulated over the years from use and abuse is kind of what makes it unique so to remove all that would be a disservice to the piece itself. My goal with this project was to remove as much of the black (obviously not original) paint and stain while leaving as much character as possible and still make it look good. It’s easier said than done and requires a bit of trial and error. Because of how beat up this chest was, I felt confident that no matter what I did to it, it would still have plenty of character in it in the end.

Fixing & Sanding

Structurally the chest was in pretty decent shape. The red trim pieces on it definitely didn’t seem original. As I started refinishing the piece the wood looked much newer than the rest of the chest. More importantly, they felt out of place and I didn’t like the look of them so I removed them. There were a few areas where the wood was cracked and split but I was able to quickly fix those areas with some wood glue and brad nails.

I spent a lot of time sanding down the surface, eventually getting the pieces down to 220 grit. I focused almost all my effort on the outside of the chest for a few reasons. First of all, removing the interior paint would have been a tremendous amount of additional work. Secondly, the interior has quite a few areas where a name has been stamped into the wood.

Who Is/Was J.R. Lampson?

The name J.R. Lampson is stamped all over the interior of the chest. I’m not sure if he/she is the original owner of the chest, the manufacturer, or just another person like myself who has owned it along its journey and chose to stamp their name all over it. I’m fascinated by tools and pieces that have clear identifiers like this though and really makes me want to know more about who that person is/was. Like it or not, we’re connected through this chest now and I just like to imagine the journey this piece has been on to find its way to me. I even tried to do an ancestry.com lookup on the name but I don’t have enough additional information to come to any real conclusions. If you know someone named Lampson that might have had a relative in the trades (likely carpentry), and you think this chest could’ve belonged to your family, I’d love for you to reach out to me.

Finishing

For this project I want to keep it as close to the original wood finish as possible. I chose to apply 3 coats of Fast-Drying Oil Based Polyurethane by Minwax. The oil base hardens in the wood and provides maximum durability. It also really brings out the natural color of this beautiful chest. I’m not exactly sure what this chest was built with but the color pop really resembles finished Cherry. If you want to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of using Oil based versus water based products for your finish coat, check out this other article that goes into greater detail.

New Hardware

The chest had some cheap hardware store hinges on it with mismatched screws which definitely weren’t original to the chest. However, the handles on the sides of the chest are cast iron and definitely seem original so I chose to purchase some cast iron hardware to try and match. I was able to find some cast iron hinges, and a latch for the front. I had to do a little bit of chisel work to make the hinges fit properly but what better way to restore a hand tool chest than by using some hand tools! There is a hole in the front of chest that must have held some sort of original latching mechanism but as that’s long gone I found something that I liked the look of and installed that in its place. I also added some new leather for the lid support with some vintage looking brass nails.

Finished Product

I’m so happy with the way this chest came out! In fact, it far surpassed my expectations as to what I was going to get when I started this restoration. The Fast-Drying Oil Based Polyurethane was absolutely the right choice for refinishing this piece and hopefully will make it last another 100ish years! I plan to have this piece displayed (and working) in my new workshop once I get it built out along with the restored hand tools that occupied it when I bought it. I’ve still got a lot more work to do to get those tools restored but that’s a project for another day!

Thanks for checking out this restoration! If you liked it, here are a few other articles you may enjoy!

How to Refinish Wood Furniture

An Idiot’s Guide to Wood Finishing

Who hasn’t thought about picking up that dated piece of wood furniture and bringing it new life? Is it worth it? In this article I’ll show you how to refinish wood furniture and breathe new life into it. I’ll show you my process for how I go about refinishing wood furniture.

This project contains a paid product integration from Minwax. All opinions are herein are my own. Visit my disclosure page for more information on affiliate and compensation this site accepts. 

Step #1: SAND!

I know what you’re thinking, “I hate sanding!”. I know. Trust me, so do I. However, if you want to have a quality finish when it’s all said and done, you have to do a good job with your prep. Depending on the piece of furniture you’re working with and the finish you are planning to add on top of the current, this could either be fast or incredibly painstaking. If you’re going to be painting over the current finish, a light sand is probably enough. However, if you’re going to be re-staining, it’s best to get down to the raw wood and that takes time and effort.

I always start with 80-grit and remove as much of the old clear coat and stain as possible. Once I’ve got most of the material removed, then I’ll move on to 120-grit before doing another pass at 220-grit. 220-grit is sufficient for most finishes but I’ll occasionally go up to 400-grit on tabletops and desks.

Paint vs Stain

Paint:

• Painting requires less sanding. Often times just scuffing up the existing finish is adequate to prep the surface.
• Always use a quality primer over the existing finish before adding your new paint finish.

Stain:

• Requires more prep work and sanding. Often sanding all surfaces down to 220 grit and removing any existing stain.
• Occasionally you can stain a darker color over a lighter color without as much sanding.

STEP #2: Pre-Condition

With the majority of the sanding out of the way you’re ready for a new finish….almost! Don’t overlook a quality pre-conditioner if you’re going to be using a stain. ESPECIALLY if you’re refinishing a piece of furniture made out of a soft wood (pine, alder, etc). If you’re going to be staining a soft wood (and even some hardwoods), get in the habit of using a pre-conditioner. For this project, I used Minwax Water Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner. Pre-conditioning helps even out stains so you don’t end up with blotchy spots. Pre-conditioner can also help with spots you may not have been able to fully remove the old finish. It just helps even out the finish and is a great habit to get into using.

Step #3: Choosing a Stain

Choosing the right stain is essential for the success of your finished product. There are a bunch of variables to consider including the final color of the piece. One of the biggest things to consider is:

Oil-Based vs Water-Based:

Oil-Based:

• Pro: Oil based finishes are typically more durable
• Pro: Oil based finishes usually don’t raise grain require additional sanding
• Con: Oil based have longer drying time and heavy odors
• Con: Oil based are less eco-friendly and require solvents/thinners to clean up

Water Based: 

• Pro: Water-based are easy to work with and clean up
• Pro: Water-based stains are UV resistant
• Pro: Water-based stains are more forgiving and easily fixed if a mistake is made
• Pro: Fast dry time and low odor
• Con: Water-based often raises grain in wood projects requiring sanding between coats
• Con: Water-based are not as durable as oil-based

Choosing the proper finish is largely a matter of preference and what is available. Typically water-based is more forgiving for the average DIY because it requires less patience between coats, and is typically easier to work with.

In this case I’m using the new color stains from Minwax, specifically Minwax Semi-Transparent Color Stain in the color Royal Pine. These stains come in both a solid color and semi-transparent color. The solid color is more like a paint in that it doesn’t show as much wood grain. The semi-transparent allows more wood grain to show through the finish color. What’s really unique about these stains is that you can tint them to over 240+ colors!

Step #4: Applying the Stain

Each stain and finish varies a little bit in its suggested application. Make sure you take the time to read the label on your stain or finish to make sure you are applying it correctly. Some stains suggest a foam brush or rag while others recommend a specific type of brush for best application. Check out this other article to dive into the differences between spraying, brushing, and wiping on. Other things to consider are making sure you are in a well ventilated space and making sure you are staining/finishing in the proper temperature window for your finish. Again, this should all be outlined on the packaging of your stain/finish

Step #5: Sealing or Top Coating

Typically when you’re finished staining a piece of furniture, you’ll want to apply a top coat/clear coat for protection and/or shine. Typical finishes for clear coats are Satin, Semi-Gloss, and Gloss. These are just a matter of personal preference for your project. There are a large variety of finishes for your top coat typically in the form of a “urethane”.

Make sure you choose one based on the location of the finished product (indoor/outdoor), and in the sheen you want for your project. Also, you CAN apply an oil-based polyurethane or similar over top of a water based stain. However, this requires that your water-based stain is COMPLETELY dry and cured. I DO NOT recommend applying a water based finish over an oil-based stain. I used Minwax One Coat Polyurethane.

Waxing 

Occasionally I may use a paste wax as the final finish instead of or in addition to a polyurethane finish. The wax also offers protection to the furniture/finish but it doesn’t harden to the consistency of a urethane top coat. You can apply a paste wax over a urethane finish pending you add it in thin layers and buff between each. Keep in mind that the wax may alter the sheen of your urethane finish.

Step #6: Be Patient

Refinishing a piece of furniture is a lot of work and not for the faint of heart. But if it was easy you wouldn’t be able to find these old wooden pieces for free or cheap. It takes time to get the finish you want. After all, they don’t make them like they used to!

If you enjoyed this content, please check out some of these other articles you might enjoy.

An Idiot’s Guide to Wood Finishing

Restoring a Backyard Playset

Download the Free Plans Here to Follow Along 

This project contains affiliate links to the The Home Depot who generously supplied some of the tool(s) I’ll be utilizing in this project. All opinions are herein are my own. Visit my disclosure page for more information on affiliate and compensation this site accepts. 

Tool List:

• DeWalt 20v MAX 7 1/4″ Circular Saw with FLEXVOLT ADVANTAGE
• Table Saw or track saw (Optional)
• DeWalt 20v MAX Drill/ Driver Combo 
• Jigsaw
• Palm Router and 1/4″ round over bit
• Trigger clamps (x2)
• Level / straight edge
• Tape Measure
• 16 or 18 ga. Brad Nailer & 1 1/2″ brad nails (Optional)
• Kreg Pocket hole jig (Optional) 

Material List:

• 4′ x 4′ – 3/4″ plywood
• Titebond II Wood Glue
• 1 1/2″ wood screws, brad nails, or pocket hole screws
  

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Getting Started

The first thing you’ll need to do is break down the plywood. There are a lot of different ways to do this. If you have a table saw, you can use that to cut the piece of plywood into the 14″ strips. You can also use a straight edge or a level and a circular saw or a combination. Follow the cut diagram in the plans to cut the pieces as shown.

Using a combination of the circular saw and a jigsaw, cut the kerf cuts for the drill/ driver locations into the bottom shelf piece and the saw kerf cuts for the middle shelf piece as shown in the plans.

Use a 1/4″ round over bit and a palm router to round over the cut outs for the saw and drill locations if you choose to.

Making a French Cleat

A french cleat is a popular way of hanging shelves/ cabinetry because it gives you some flexibility in being able to easily remove the shelf or cabinet. It involves creating 2 strips of wood mitered at 45° that interlock in place. One piece goes on the wall with the mitered edge facing up and towards the wall. The other piece is mounted to the shelf or cabinet with the mitered edge facing down and in. The shelf can then be easily lifted and set on the cleat giving it plenty of strength, and easily moved by lifting up on the shelf and removing it.

Assembling the Shelf

If you have a Kreg K4 jig, drill pocket holes into the side pieces at the top and bottom so that you can mount them to the top and bottom of the shelf. Also drill holes on the underside of the middle shelf on each end to secure it in place as well.

If you don’t have a pocket hole jig, you’ll just assemble the shelf with screws or brad nails as you choose. Apply a liberal amount of wood glue to one end of each of the side pieces and secure them to the bottom piece with screws. Depending on the screws you’re using, you made need to pre-drill to keep the plywood from splitting. Apply wood glue to the top of the side pieces and set the top shelf in place. Secure it with screws or brad nails.

Measure 9″ from the top of the side pieces on each side. This mark will be the top of the middle shelf. Apply some wood glue to the ends of the shelf and secure it in place with screws or brad nails.

Attach one of the french cleat pieces inside the back of the cabinet at the top. Make sure the miter is facing towards the front and down. Attach the opposite piece to the wall where you’d like to hang the cabinet. Make sure that piece has the miter facing up and towards the wall. Lift the cabinet and set it in place on the cleat.

Load the shelf up with your favorite cordless power tools and you’re good to go! Thanks for following along with this simple shop organization project.

If you liked this project check out some of my other Free plans at the links below!

DIY Budget Friendly Workbench

https://mrfixitdiy.com/product/free-diy-workshop-cabinet-plans/

In this DIY tool restoration project I’ll show you how to restore old hand planes as I take some of my Grandfather’s old hand planes and give them a new life in my workshop.

My Mom came out to visit a few months back and she brought me a couple old hand planes that belonged to my grandfather (A Stanley #78 and a Stanley #60 1/2). My grandfather was a carpenter, but he passed away long before I got really interested in woodworking. I don’t do a ton of hand tool work, but I still felt the desire to restore them and give them new life. I’ve become accustom to using hand tools a bit more over the last couple years so I’m excited to restore them and incorporate them in some of my future projects. Watch the video above to follow along to see how I did it.

Disclosure: This post contains a paid product placement by The WD40 Company. All views and opinions are my own. 

Disassembling the Planes

The hand planes have been sitting in my uncle’s toolbox for years, and they’re covered with rust, grime, and the general wear and tear of all those years in the woodshop. I started by taking them apart. Some areas were in worse shape than others a couple of the knobs and screws were a little lodged in with rust, so I used some WD40 Specialist Rust Release Penetrant Spray to loosen them.

In particular, the brass adjustment wheel on the front of the 60 1/2 was pretty seized up. I didn’t want to damage it, so I took an old work glove that was ready to be thrown away and cut a couple of the fingers off. Then I slipped those over the pliers to protect the brass while I broke it loose. This protected the knob, and in addition to the spray worked really wheel to loosening the wheel.

Cleaning & Honing

Next, I took all the loose parts and set them in a plastic tub and poured some WD40 Specialist Rust Remover Soak for a couple hours. This helped loosen the surface rust on the tools. Then I pulled each piece and scrubbed them down with a wire brush and some 000 steel wool. The parts were already looking really good.

With the rust removed, it was time to hone the plane bodies. The soles of the planes needed to be flattened out, so I took a Sharpie and made some reference lines across the soles of each plane. Then, I used some spray adhesive to secure three separate sandpapers to a microflat stone I have (120, 220, 320 grit) You could use any flat surface to do this, I just happen to have a microflat stone that was left at my house when I moved in. So I worked the plane bodies across the various grits until I was able to flatten them. The sharpie lines give you reference for your progress.

Once the bodies were honed, I considered spray painting them. But after speaking to a friend about it, he said it took my grandfather like 30 years to get them that way. So I decided that I liked the character that the used look gave them and left them as is. I care about the function of the tool, not necessarily if it looks brand new.

Sharpening the Irons

Luckily the irons were in pretty decent shape, save for a couple chips here and there. I admit, I’m no expert on sharpening blades. So I had to do a lot of research and I found some great tutorials by the likes of Paul Sellers and Ron Hock (“The Perfect Edge”) which really helped me. I went to Rockler and picked up a few Japanese combination water stones. I also bought a honing guide and went to town sharpening the irons. Starting on the low side of the first stone (250 grit) I worked to take off the chips. Then I worked my way up to the 6000 grit stone. I used the Ron Hock ruler trick to flatten the backs of the irons. To finish off the sharpening, I ran the irons against a piece of leather to remove the final burr.

I managed to get them in really good shape and nice and sharp. This is actually my first time sharpening irons so I’m confident if I can do it, so can you.

Reassembly & Finished Planes!

I put them back together with a screwdriver and messed around setting the blade depths on the cutting irons.

Then I tested them out on a scrap piece of cherry, and I’m happy to report that they work great! It’s pretty cool to have my grandfather’s tools as a part of my shop. I’m still trying to track down a few little missing parts to round out the planes but they work as is for now. I look forward to incorporating them in future projects!

If you liked this project, check out some of the other cool stuff I’ve worked on!

Restoring an Old Wheelbarrow

Wooden Banksy Wall Art

And of course, thank you for checking out this tutorial. I hope to see you guys next time!

In this DIY woodworking project tutorial, I’ll show you how to build a beautiful wooden memorial flag display case for an American flag to honor a fallen hero.

My Grandfather served in the Army during World War II and passed away several years ago, and to honor his memory and service I decided to build this Memorial Flag Display Case as a gift to give to my Dad for Father’s Day.

For this project, I’ll be basing this case off of plans I found online with some modifications. To check out those plans, click here.

Milling Up the Lumber

For this project I’ll be using some beautiful 3/4 Walnut with some nice figure on it. To get started, I’m ripping the walnut into 3″ strips on my table saw. Next I can cut the angles on the pieces to create the mitered triangle shape. To do that, I have to make a quick tenoning jig for my table saw because I can’t create that angle with my existing tools.

Tenoning Jig

The tenoning jig is made of a few pieces of plywood so that the pieces can stand vertically as they pass through the saw, which allows you to cut more acute angles than are usually possible on a table saw. If you’d like more info on how to build a tenoning jig, you can find out how to build your own here.

Cutting the Rabbets

Before I glue up the mitered pieces, I’m using my dado stack to cut a 1/8″ deep by 1/4″ wide rabbet into each piece so I can inset the back panel into the case later. Once that is cut, I can glue up the main body.

Building the Face Frame

I’m modifying from the plans I made above because I want to have a hinged face frame for this case. I rip some 1.5″ strips on the tablesaw and then cut the miters into them to create the triangle shape. Then I use the dado stack to cut a rabbet onto the inside edge of each piece so that I can inset a piece of tempered glass into the case later on.

Next I used my trim router to cut a profile into the inner edge of each piece. This would be a good job for a router table if you have one. Then I can glue up the face frame.

From there I can lay out and mark where the hinges are going to attach on the face frame and main case body. I found these little brass hinges in the hardware section at Home Depot. I trace out the hinges on the body and then chisel out the mortises so they sit flush with the case.

Rough Assembly

With the mortises cut, I can use the small screws to attach the face frame to the case body. And then I can rough sand the whole case with some 120 grit sandpaper, before working my way up to 220 by hand.

To latch the case closed, I decided to add a rare earth magnet into the case body and face frame that would be hidden in a 3/8″ recess into the case. I drilled this

hole out and then epoxied the magnets in place so that when the case it closed there is no visible latch from the outside.

Finishing the Case

I want a really clean finish on this case so I’m using a Tung Oil finish which hardens inside the wood. I ap

ply the first coat, then lightly sand with 500 grit. Then I add the second coat of Tung Oil before sanding once again to 600 grit. Then lastly apply a third finish coat of Tung Oil.

For the backing of the case I cut a piece of hardboard to fit in the triangle shaped rabbet in the back of the case and then I had a piece of tempered glass cut to fit the face frame at a local glass place. It only cost me $7. To attach the glass, I used a thin bead of clear silicone and a couple window glazing retaining clips.

Finished Case

That’s it for this project! I hope you enjoyed it. This project made a wonderful gift for my Dad and I’m happy that I could help honor my Grandfather’s memory and service to the country.

If you liked this project, you may like some of my other woodworking projects that you can check out here:

DIY Walnut Bath Caddy

Wooden Kitchen Utensils with the Shaper Origin

Over a year ago, me and the rest of the guys of SoCal Woodshop put in an order for the Shaper Origin as a club from their pre-order batch, and after waiting for what seemed like forever for it to arrive it finally showed up a few months ago. Needless to say we’ve been very excited to test it out. This tool is a handheld router that acts like a CNC machine with a built in computer that lays out the shape for you to follow. As you work your way around the shape, the tool autocorrects it’s position as it goes making sure you always have the exact cut you’re going for. It’s a seriously impressive tool and so I thought I’d take a crack at actually using it to build a wooden kitchen utensil set.

You’re really only limited by your imagination with this tool but for my first project with it, I decided to test it out with one of the project files available from the Shaper website. I downloaded the file for these kitchen utensils to my creator hub and it automatically synced to the tool via wifi so all I had to do was load it up.

Milling the Work Piece

But first, I needed to prep some material to cut the shapes from. I had a good sized piece of 8/4 cherry that I decided to use so I took it to the bandsaw and resawed it in half. Next I planed it down slightly so both pieces were uniform thickness around 3/4″. Then I laid the 2 pieces together and clamped them to my workbench.

How the Shaper Origin Works

In order to reference the piece and the shape you’re cutting, the machine uses a camera to read this domino looking tape that you lay out on or around the work surface. How much tape and at what spacing depends on the size of the project you’re working on. Since this is a smaller project, I needed to add the tape every few inches so the tool had plenty to reference.

Once laid out, I could move the tool around to scan my work area and place the file image on the work surface to be cut out.

Next it’s time to make sure the right bit was installed in the router. In addition to the design file, the Shaper website also has detailed instructions on every step of cutting out the shapes which you can follow along with.

Cutting Out the Design

Once through the prompts on the machine to get started, I’m ready to cut. It’s literally as easy as following the lines on the screen to cut out the shapes.  

One issue I’ve come across while cutting out the shapes is that once I cut through much of the tape, the machine starts to lose it’s orientation. I added another surrounding piece of the same thickness and some additional tape and rescanned the work area. It didn’t lose where my file was placed so it didn’t end up affecting anything. I’d suggest that you try and place the tape around the workpiece you’re working on rather than on the cut area itself to avoid this with your project. 

I also broke from the instructions a little bit and decided to make my utensils a little thicker than what’s written. Rather than cutting all the way through the cherry to release them, I’m releasing them by resawing them again on the bandsaw.

 Finishing the Wooden Kitchen Utensil Set

All that’s left to do is finish them up! I did a little shaping for the beveled edges on my benchtop sander first. Then I did some additional shaping with the oscillating sander. I also added a round over on the larger implements at the router table before final sanding them by hand.

To finish the utensils, I applied a coat of our SoCal Woodshop Board Wax which really brought out the color and grain of the Cherry. Myself and the rest of SoCal Woodshop make each batch of this wax by hand. It’s 100% food safe so it’s perfect for kitchen projects like this, as well as cutting boards, and butcher blocks. If you’re interested in testing it out for yourself, you can find it here. 

I think my favorite piece is the tiny little spread knife. I don’t know why I like it so much but I haven’t seen anything like it before.

And here are the finished cherry kitchen utensils. I’m really happy with the way these came out. I’ve never made a set like this before and as a first project with the Shaper, I couldn’t be happier. This tool is definitely something that has a ton of possibilities. Any software that can create SVG files can be used to create working files for the tool. The designs can be scaled to virtually any size you can imagine. You’re not limited to how big you can make something.

I hope you guys enjoyed this project and getting a look at what the Shaper Origin is capable of. If you did enjoy this project, here are a few other woodworking projects you might enjoy. 

DIY Cheese Cutting Board

Wooden Banksy Wall Art

Thank you so much for checking out this project and I’ll see you next time!  

This week I participated in the #WoodArtChallenge through Instagram with a BUNCH of my fellow creators and I created this piece of Wooden Banksy Wall Art inspired by everyone’s favorite street artist, Banksy. The challenge for this project was pretty simple and open-ended, create a piece of square wooden wall art. Naturally my brain started churning with ideas and I ultimately settled on this iconic image for my project. This project incorporated a few new things for me including my first epoxy inlay. Check out the video to follow along and see how I created this piece AND make sure you check out the links at the end of the article to check out some of the other projects created by other creators.

Building The Panel

To get started with this project, first I built the panel that would serve as the main body of the build and be the surface I’ll CNC my design out of. I started by resawing some 7/4 Maple on the bandsaw into pieces just under 3/4.

Then I ran them through the planer to uniform thickness about 5/8″ thick. Next I ripped them on the table saw into strips. I did this because I wanted to vary up the grain pattern for the glue up. The overall dimensions of the rough panel was 16″x16″.

For the glue up of this project I used my Aluminum Rockler clamps and Titebond 2 wood glue. Once the glue set up I scraped the excess and then planed the panel to it’s final thickness of 1/2″. I had to use a friend’s planer because my planer can’t handle a 16″x16″ panel.

CNCing the Inlay

About a year ago I purchased an Iconic CNC machine along with the rest of the guys from SoCal Woodshop. It’s been a tremendous tool to have and I’ve only just cracked the surface with it. I haven’t had much time to incorporate it into projects but I’m hoping to do more of it in the future. This was my first attempt at cutting an inlay on it. The machine uses Vcarve to program in tool paths which can be created from nearly any image. It’s a really intuitive, and powerful workflow once you get used to it.

Epoxy Inlay

The epoxy I used for this build is the West Systems Epoxy and the Trans Tint dyes. I used a combination of black, yellow, and blue (although I wish I had used a brighter color with the yellow for the flowers). The blue got a little lost and looks almost black. The two part epoxy system works really well and sets up in few hours. After that it’s able to be sanded down flush with the panel surface.

Building the Frame

For the frame around the panel I used a piece of walnut that I cut into 1 1/4″ strips and turned edge-wise. I cut a 1/2″ dado that was 1/4″ deep into all the sides to house the inlayed panel. Then I put a small chamfer on the inside edge to give the frame a finished look. The panel insets so there is a cavity behind to add mounting hardware/picture frame hanging hardware on the back. Once the pieces were cut, I glued the miters and used my Bessey strap clamp to hold everything together.

Finishing

To finish this project I felt it was only appropriate to use a spray can polyurethane seeing as how the whole thing is kind of an homage to an artist whose primary medium is spray paint. Normally I don’t use spray polyurethanes that often but I made an exception this time. If you want some more tips on how to finish your woodworking projects, make sure you check out my Idiot’s Guide to Wood Finishing.

Thanks for checking out this Wooden Banksy Wall Art project. Be sure to check out the other awesome creations for the Wood Art Challenge by:

Sawdust 2 Stitches, Lazy Guy DIY, Jamie Costiglio, 3×3 Custom, Wood Work Life, Ugly Duckling House, Jen Woodhouse, The DIY Village, Addicted to DIY, Remodelaholic, Reality Daydream, Pneumatic Addict, Her Toolbelt, Merrypad, My Repurposed Life, My Love to Create, Shades of Blue Interiors, DIY Huntress, Chatfield Court, Hazel + Gold Designs, House Becoming Home, Anika’s DIY Life, Bower Power Blog, Evan and Katelyn, Create & Babble, 100 Things 2 Do, One Project Closer

Surface Preparation is Key!

First, the piece has to be ready for a respectable finish. By and large, I will sand up to about 220 grit and call it good. But I take the time to thoroughly sand up through the grits and get all swirl marks out as I go. It can be fun to play around with sanding to as high of a grit as you can, upwards of 600, 800, 1000 and so on. I suggest doing this on practice pieces where you can see when you’ve burnished the wood, not made any noticeable difference, or gone too far. You can also play around with a fine water spray and get the grain to “stand up” or “raise” then sand it back down. Playing around with these techniques will prove invaluable as you will get to know and understand the grain in a way that no article could ever tell you. But for the most part, 220 is good enough for most cases. Then with compressed air, I like to remove the heavy dust particles. Next I use a clean cloth damp with thinner to grab and remove the smaller particles that you would otherwise see and curse over as you watch your product cure. Also, a tack cloth works well to remove fine dust right before you go to apply your product. It should go without saying that dust management is paramount in the finishing process. Sometimes it may be necessary to hang plastic, visqueen, or some sort of barrier to keep the dust out.

To Stain, or Not to Stain?

As a personal rule, I aim to avoid staining wood and rather look for reasons to not stain as opposed to looking for excuses to stain. From Alder to Zebrawood, I find beauty in it all. I love to bring out the look and figure of the grain naturally whenever possible. But sometimes the job just calls for color. Again, I love General Finishes and have used just about all of their products. I like their stains a lot, and would recommend them to anyone looking to stain wood. The first thing that I consider when staining is what kind of wood I am working with. A natural wonder such as Walnut, Pau ferro, Cocobolo, or the like? Not happening. If you apply stain to any such exotic or beautifully figured dark wood, hang up the tools and find a new hobby. If it is a particularly hardwood like hard maple, oak, or hickory for example, the stain applies really well directly on the wood. Think of it as spreading an even coat of water onto a granite counter top with a squeegee. You have a lot of control over where and how much stain gets applied. The drawback is that is doesn’t always absorb much stain, leaving it a lighter shade of the desired color. Sometimes you can apply more coats of the stain and achieve a darker shade, but often you find there is a max capacity of color that can be absorbed. This is sometimes for me where the General Finishes Dye stains come in. They typically are far more potent than a Varathane or Minwax product.

Staining Soft Woods

Softer woods often require the application of a stain control product prior to staining which helps them to take the stain without being left with a blotchy, ugly stain application. But whenever I can, I like to avoid the stain and accentuate the natural beauty of the wood. My favorite product that does this is Maloof Oil. Sam Maloof used this on his chairs and I have used it for years. It is magical on just about any species. It really makes the wood pop and come alive. Walnut oil and mineral oil works really well on items that will come in contact with food. Those can easily be finished off or combined with beeswax to assist in sealing and providing a nice sheen.

At SoCal Woodshop we use our own blend of beeswax and walnut oil for the finish on many of our cutting boards, wood cutlery, and other food safe boards called Board Wax which is available in a 4oz tin on our website. We’ve found it adds a beautiful, food safe finish to many of our projects and people seem to really like it. (Shameless plug intended)

Lacquer, Linseed oil, Polycrylic, Polyurethane?

There is a seemingly endless list of finish options. For the most part, I follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Any halfway decent company has at least one person on staff that spent many years in school figuring out the best compounds so that we wouldn’t have to. It’s comical to me to see woodworkers attempt to improve a product by thinning it or adding other stuff to it.

Interior vs Exterior Finishes

Interior finishes are for interior purposes. They harden on the wood to protect them from spills and chemicals. Exterior finishes are typically designed to be more flexible to allow moisture to enter and evaporate out of the wood, but they require sunlight to evaporate. I used to think that exterior products must be better and more durable since they are designed for exterior uses. That is not the case. In fact, many interior use products are really excellent on table tops, floors, and other applications where they stand to be exposed to heavy wear and chemicals.

Water based vs. Oil based

A favorite finish of mine is Arm-R-Seal by General Finishes. It is oil based and really enhances the look of the wood, but is also easy to apply and very durable. Oil based products tend to yellow or amber the wood and take significantly longer to dry and cure, often 12 to 24 hours. Water based products dry very quickly and maintain the original, natural color of the wood. However, there are some water based products that act much like oil based ones in that they dry slowly and amber the wood. For water based applications, I often use a box store product like Minwax polycrylic, wipe on polys, or General Finishes Enduro. It depends on the intended use and sometimes profit margins. If it is a wall hanging piece that will likely be left alone, or if I am on a very tight budget, I’ll go with a box store product. All other times, I’ll opt for a General Finishes product.

Spray, Brush, or Wipe?

Spraying

Oil based products can be much more tedious to clean off of the fine parts of an HVLP gun. I prefer to spray water based products because they dry faster, making them more prone to show the brush strokes. Also, water based products are far easier to clean. Simple soap and water or thinner will clean the gun easily. Take the time to play around with the spray patterns and volume knobs before using it on your work piece. You will save a tremendous amount of time, and learn a ton all at once.

Wipe On & Brushing

Oils dry and cure slower making them more forgiving to be brushed or wiped on. I don’t like using foam brushes as they tend to break apart mid application, leaving evil little bits of foam on my pieces. I prefer to wipe or brush oil products as they can be more difficult to clean. When brushing, whenever possible, use long, straight, length of the surface strokes in the direction of the grain. Forget the karate kid’s short and brisk strokes. Challenge yourself to be as smooth as you can. With that, buy yourself a nice brush. A $2 brush will leave a $2 finish and about .33 cents worth of brush hairs in your surface.

Be Patient!

Meet the Author/Woodworker:

Pete Tagliere is the President of SoCal Woodshop, a collective of woodworkers in Los Angeles, CA with this mission of furthering the craft of carpentry through sharing knowledge, experience, and skills in a friendly, community atmosphere.

It’s been pretty cold in my shop of late so this week I’m showing you how I plan to keep the shop warm by installing an electric garage heater! This requires the installation of a 220v circuit so I’ll show you all the steps to install a dedicated 220v circuit to run this heater. Watch the video for step-by-step instruction and  make sure to stick around for a 20% Discount code on the purchase an electric garage heater from New Air. Please note that working with 220v power can be dangerous. If at any time you are not 100% comfortable installing this heater or cannot perform the steps safely, contact an electrician to run the necessary power supply for you. 

Follow along with all the tools and materials you’ll need to tackle this project.(affiliates) http://bit.ly/InstallingAGarageHeater

Disclosure: This post contains an unpaid product integration by New Air. All views and opinions herein are my own.

1. Turn the Power Off at the Breaker

First and foremost when working with electrical, you should always turn the power off at the breaker panel for the area you are working. In this case I am working in the main panel so I shut off the power to the house. You’ll also need to verify that you have existing space in the panel available to install a new 220v dual pole breaker.

2. Run Conduit to the Panel

In my case, I was able to drill a hole through the wall from the panel to the workshop since they shared a wall. Depending on the location of the panel and your access to it, you may need to open up a section of the wall around the panel or connect conduit along the outside of the building. Each home is different so understanding your home is important in determining how you are able to run the conduit. If you are working inside the wall, you can use Romex cabling instead of conduit but any electrical that is run on the outside of a wall needs to be encased in conduit of some kind.

I’m using 1/2″ EMT conduit along with a combination of fittings, elbows, and connections which you can find in the electrical aisle of the hardware store. Use a pipe cutter to cut the conduit to the required lengths. You’ll need to find a location in your garage to hang the heater that is out of the way of garage doors, or overhanging obstructions. You’ll also want to make sure that the heater doesn’t directly vent squarely onto a wall or surface that is susceptible to heat to minimize the risk of fire.

In my case, I am running the conduit up the wall and onto the ceiling so that I can hang the heater near the center of my shop but away from the garage door. I’m using 4″ junction boxes to provide easily accessible areas where I can access the wiring should I need to make any changes or adjustments down the road.

3. Running the Wiring

For this project I am using 10 Gauge stranded wire in Red, Black and Green. The Red and Black wires will be the alternate phase hot wires and the Green wire is the ground wire. Because this is a 220v circuit, a white neutral wire is not required.

To install the wiring to the breaker panel, I feed the 3 wires out through the conduit into the panel and then connect the Green ground wire to the ground bar in the panel and the Red and Black wires to the terminal screws on the breaker. This is a 30 amp breaker because the average draw of the heater is 21 amps.

Using a fish tape, I feed it down from the ceiling junction box to the lower junction box and then attach the wiring by bending it around the fish tape and securing it with electrical tape. Using a extra piece of conduit to mount the spools of wire onto allows the spools to free spool as you pull the wires back up through the conduit with the fish tape. In addition to connecting the ground wires to each other and wiring to the breaker ground bar, each junction box will need to have a grounding pigtail attached to it to ground the junction box.

4. Hanging the Heater

Installing the heater in place is a relatively simple task compared to the rest of the project. Choose the location of the bracket and mount it to the ceiling or wall as needed. In my case I located a stud in the ceiling and mounted the bracket in place by pre-drilling and securing it in place with a couple of lag bolts. Once the bracket is installed, mounting the heater is just a matter of using the included carriage bolt and spacer to hang the heater from the bracket and then securing it in place with the included nut.

5. Connecting the Wiring

To connect the wiring from the heater to the junction box in the ceiling I am using a flexible appliance whip that I picked up at the local hardware store. Run the wiring through the hose and then  connect it to the junction box and the heater using the included attachments. The wiring of the heater itself doesn’t match the color scheme of the wiring I am running but the white and black wires are the hot wires, and the yellow wire with the green stripe is the ground wire. Connect the wiring using some wire nuts and then close up the heater. Lastly connect all the wiring in the junction boxes by connecting like colored wiring with wire nuts and putting cover plates on the junction boxes.

6. Turning Power on and Testing Heater

Lastly turn the power back on at the breaker and turn on the heater. Within about 2 minutes of the heater being on my shop had warmed up substantially. It has an adjustable temperature control knob so you can turn it on low if you only need a little bit of heat or you can crank it up to high and really pump out a lot of heat.

Having a heater in my shop is not something I’ll use all the time, but it is going to be a really nice thing to have when I do need it. I hope this video and post were helpful to you in showing what is involved in running your own electric garage heater.

If you’d like to purchase your own New Air electric garage heater, you can use the Discount Code “MRFIXIT” here and get 20% Off your order.

If you enjoyed this project, check out some of my other workshop projects:

DIY Bath Walnut Caddy

DIY Cheese Cutting Board

Thanks so much for watching and good luck!

This year for Valentine’s Day I decided to make my fiance a bath caddy for the tub. I’ve been wanting to make this project for quite a while and I thought Valentine’s Day was the perfect excuse. Check out the video to follow along and see how I made it!