[ Power saw whirring ] [ Mid-tempo music plays ] Whether it's in classes that I'm teaching, trading e-mails with viewers and readers, or even folks stopping by on a tour, I love talking woodworking with other people.

One of the questions we get is what we do with any mistakes or problems that we encounter.

So on today's episode of "The Woodsmith Shop," we're devoting the entire episode to talking about problems that we run into and how to deal with any mistakes.

You're sure to learn something, and it's all coming up next.

Announcer: Major funding for "The Woodsmith Shop" has been provided by... Old Masters -- craftsman-quality stains and finishes since 1953.

Additional funding provided by... ♪ Titebond wood glues -- the pro's advantage.

And by... Kreg -- from the first cut to the final assembly, providing woodworkers with products that help to simplify woodworking challenges.

Kreg.

And by... [ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪ ♪ [ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪ ♪ One of the goals for "The Woodsmith Shop" TV show is to demonstrate reliable techniques for all kinds of woodworking operations.

And if possible, we try and show some alternates too.

But try as we may, things aren't always gonna go right.

They don't always go right.

In one of the episodes recently, we were building the charging station that's behind us, and you were using a jigsaw to cut corner radiuses and had a little trouble.

I did have some trouble.

It was splintering quite a bit.

Of course, all veneer plywood does tend to splinter a bit when cutting.

But I could have used some techniques to help myself out.

I know in a little bit you're gonna actually demonstrate some of those techniques, but what's going on here?

Was it just the plywood?

Well, it's a combination of things.

It is the plywood, but it's also the orbital action of the saw, it's the type of blade, and it's also a little preparation.

For instance, scoring the cut can help quite a bit or putting some tape over it to bind the fibers together.

Exactly.

Or you could change the blade.

There's different blades for different material, and another blade may have been better.

The right blade.

A sharp blade.

That's a good tip.

You've also talked about adding an auxiliary shoe to the bottom of the...

It's just like we have zero-clearance inserts for a table saw.

You can do the same thing with a jigsaw.

That can help out.

Cuts your visibility down some, but it definitely helps out.

Yeah.

It holds those fibers down as you're making the cut.

You can use a jigsaw on different materials too.

There's different techniques depending on what material you're using.

For example, the bride's chest we built this season, I was cutting some metal, and it worked really well with the right blade, which is a metal-cutting blade.

Even 1/8th-inch-thick material isn't bad, and it's easy to cut as long as it's a mild steel, and you can cut it really easily.

So I'm thinking wood, steel, brass, plastics -- I think you can also cut ceramic tile with these things.

Exactly.

Yep.

I think one of the big things, though, is realizing that the quality of your cuts depends a little bit on your attitude going into using the tool and some practice.

All tools require some familiarity.

Exactly.

And best practice is gonna be to grab a piece of stock that you're gonna be cutting and make a couple cuts.

See if you're gonna have any problems with that material.

And I should've done that when I was doing those cuts earlier.

Well, we're gonna have some articles that go along with some of the topics that we're talking about on today's episode.

You can find those articles at our website, WoodsmithShop.com.

Chris, I think you're gonna get into some of these techniques.

Let's see if I can do a little better this time.

The jigsaw is an incredibly versatile tool and belongs in every shop.

But it does have a reputation of doing rather rough work.

Well, you can make a jigsaw perform very well with just a couple tips and a few things to know.

First off, you need to do your research on blades.

Now, I like this blade here, which is a Clean Cut blade, and has about 12 teeth per inch.

But there's a whole world of different blades meant for metal, plastics, fine cutting, rough cutting.

Most cut on the upstroke.

Some cut on the downstroke.

You need to find out what blades are available and do a little practice.

A little bit of practice with your jigsaw and the material you want to do a really good job with will pay off.

Now a couple simple tips.

The major problem we have with jigsaws is they leave a rough, ragged edge.

So one thing to think about is that we always cut on the back side of our work.

So this is a nice, clean cut.

This will be my show side.

The back side is where I do my work, so the damage is on the back.

If you want to control that chip-out a little bit, a couple things you can do.

One thing that sometimes helps is to put a piece of masking tape down over the area that you're going to be cutting, and that can help bind the fibers together and keep it from lifting up and being so ragged.

Another thing that really works well is to score the line that you're going to be cutting.

So using a utility knife... ...cut all the way through the facing veneer on the plywood.

And it also works on solid wood as well.

But severing those fibers and cutting on the outside of the line, we're going to prevent all that lift-out and tearing.

Give you a much better cut.

And finally, here's another little tip.

You know how on our table saw we have zero-clearance inserts for really clean, crisp cuts?

Well, you can do the same thing with your jigsaw.

This is a piece of Masonite, and I've cut it to the shape of the baseplate of my saw.

And I have a piece of double-sided tape on it.

So with that in place, I'm gonna have a little bit of protection and keep those chips and those splinters from lifting up.

So think about the blades, think about those tips, put your jigsaw to work, and get optimum performance out of it.

You know, there's a couple of things that we do in woodworking that kind of follow the lines of, "Do as we say, not always as we do."

And dry assemblies are one of those things.

We all know we should do them, but whether we get excited that the project's to a point where we can start assembling it or whatever it is, we kind of skip those sometimes.

And I know that gave you some problems recently, Phil.

Yeah.

It was one of the episodes we were filming.

We were making a hardware cart, which is a really cool project.

And as I was sliding in some of the shelves near the top of it, I didn't do a final fit of it just before we started rolling.

So I spread glue on the front of the dadoes, like we show, so that as I push it in, it spreads the glue and locks it in place.

Well, I got the shelf into the dadoes and started sliding it in.

Went in maybe 2 inches, and then stuck, and I knew I wasn't gonna go any farther.

So the funny part was that I went with the shelf right above it, and I test-fit that, and it slid right in.

And I realized that some of it has to do with just the way that we shoot here for the TV show.

You're working on a segment, and then you pick up there, and then I follow along or whatever.

But I know I do that in my own shop, where I've test-fit the joints at the table saw or the router but not done a whole assembly.

Things change as we assemble things.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Like you said, for shooting this show, I'm building a case -- and in particular, I'll admit, I built that case for the hardware cart -- I'm fitting my parts together, and it's up to one of you guys to add additional parts.

It's one of those things that just kind of gets overlooked, but it does happen in your own shop, you know?

You get to a point where you've tested the joints, but then when it comes to bring the unit together as a whole, you get excited and you start putting glue on.

And all of a sudden, it's like, "Oh, I can squeeze that out with a clamp."

But sometimes it causes more problems than it fixes.

So unless you just like woodworking as a dare or like anxiety, it really does pay to be patient, to be disciplined and test-fit every before glue-up.

The real benefit there is that you get an idea of what the right order is, where you really need to apply glue, how many clamps and where they need to go.

Exactly.

You're not just starting to put glue on, put pieces together, and walking all over the shop trying to find clamps.

No.

You have to develop a plan first.

Yeah.

There's nothing worse than getting a project halfway assembled and the glue starting to dry and you don't even have clamps in place yet.

We've all been there.

We've all been there.

Great advice that we don't always follow, but it's always a good idea to do a dry assembly on every project that you're building.

A recent project that we've done is a bookcase, and it's going to be painted.

But I've noticed that the alder boards were put in on the back before the painting was done.

And that's gonna cause a little bit of grief, isn't it?

It will.

Any time you mix two different materials, such as that bookcase or the entry bench we just built that had barn board with a painted case, it can cause a little bit of a hassle.

Of course, some of this comes from the way we shoot the show.

We're trying to film the show in a timely manner, so we want to show adding the back before it's painted.

We don't have the luxury of going into the shop and painting it before we add the back.

However, in your shop, you do want to be thinking about the finishing process from the get-go.

And if you can prefinish parts, it's gonna make your life a whole lot easier.

I think it's one of those things where, when you're learning woodworking, you tend to kind of zero in on specific tasks, whether it's cutting parts to size and then doing the joinery and then the assembly.

And you feel like finishing, kind of like the name implies, comes way at the end.

But it doesn't.

No.

It's not a case of design, build, and then finish.

The finishing is part of the building process.

So it's really a case of think ahead, plan ahead for better results.

Exactly.

Not only are we talking about prefinishing as making your life easier.

It also can lead to a better product at the end.

Absolutely.

We talked about prefinishing panels.

The panels that are floating inside a frame can expand and contract.

And if you finish them at the end of your project and they contract a little bit, you'll get a little bit of a shadow line around the outside.

So prefinishing can also increase the quality of the item you're building.

And I think it's also one of those things where once a project comes together, you can end up with a lot of nooks and crannies where it's tough to get inside there, and you end up having more finisher paint on you than you do in the project.

Exactly.

And you get those little puddles and...

So I'm gonna talk about some techniques that you can do if you're not able to prefinish something on how to be able to get the best possible results.

Now, in a perfect world, when we're building a project like this entry bench, where you have a door with a barnwood panel surrounded by a frame that's gonna get painted, you would paint the frame -- or at least the inside edge of the frame -- before gluing it up.

We didn't a chance to on this project, but you might run across this same thing if you're gonna refinish a project too.

What you want to do is protect the barnwood panel while you paint the outside frame.

Now, the classic way to do that is to use some masking tape.

But you want to have a plan for applying the masking tape so that it does its job the best way that it can.

What I like to do is make sure, to start off with, that I have a nice square, straight edge on the edge of the tape.

Then, when I apply it, I want to get as tight to the doorframe as I can.

I'll just press it in with my fingers right away.

Then I'm gonna use a putty knife to stick it in right at the end to tear it square.

And you'll also notice on this end I've left it a little bit short.

Now I'll take the putty knife and press it in tight right along that corner on both sides.

Then when I apply paint to the doorframe, I can apply paint right up to the tape and even a little bit on this inside edge without worrying about getting paint on the panel.

Now, where I left it a little bit short is where I would come up with tape going from the bottom to the top so that when I cut that last piece...

...I can get a nice, tight seam right in those corners.

It's an easy way to help get your paint jobs looking their best.

One other thing.

As soon as you're done painting, I like to pull the masking tape off rather than waiting for the paint to dry.

Now, when you're working in tight spaces like we have on the upper part in these cubbies, I'd normally suggest using a high-quality paintbrush for your work.

And it's great for the larger surfaces.

But way back in the corner there, you need the maximum amount of control, even if you're using masking tape.

So in those situations, I like using these inexpensive foam brushes.

They come in a wide variety of widths, and what I like about them is they're pretty stiff, especially in the corners.

That way, I have a lot of control to be able to get paint right down into the corners in a small amount while still keeping paint off of adjacent surfaces.

And with these two tips in mind, you're sure to get better results with your paint jobs.

One of the things that really attracts me to woodworking is learning new skills and trying out some new techniques and the satisfaction that you get in being able to use a tool skillfully or to finally master a particular technique.

However, there are some things that it just takes a while to figure it out.

For me, it's miters.

I end up avoiding them because it just seems like if I try and get a mitered picture frame there's always gonna be a gap, no matter what seems to happen.

Yeah.

I think, from what's sitting in from of me, you can tell what my Kryptonite is, and that's glass.

And it's funny, because it's not always my Kryptonite.

I cut glass all the time at home.

I love making clocks.

Most of them have glass in them.

However, whenever I try to cut glass on camera for the show, it never works.

You know, this season we made picture frames, and I was trying to film a segment on cutting glass to show everybody how to cut glass for your picture frame.

And you'll notice, if you watch that episode... we don't show that.

On the surface of it, cutting glass seems really simple.

Oh, it does.

You use a simple tool, you score the line, and you break it.

Not a big deal, right?

Exactly.

Shouldn't be.

Well, it shouldn't be.

And after three pieces of glass on that episode, none of which broke well, I asked our shop craftsman.

I was kind of in the shop, maybe venting a little bit to him on how it didn't work and I never have a problem with it, and he said, "Hey, have you ever replaced your cutter?

Because these simple little wheel cutters do wear out."

And I said, "You know, Steve, I don't know how long that cutter's been in the drawer here on the set."

So I went and got a new cutter.

Lo and behold, that was the issue.

So sharp tools.

Who would have thought?

Yeah, sharp tools.

So I would like to take this opportunity for a little bit of redemption.

All right.

Go for it.

All right.

We're gonna use a little bit of cutting oil.

Not that I don't trust you, but I'm gonna put some glasses on.

Not a bad idea.

All right.

I'm gonna use a straightedge here.

I won't put gloves on just yet.

I'll wait till I go to break it.

So we'll just take a little bit off this guy.

Actually, let's go right in the center.

Give myself the best opportunity, right?

And it's always a good idea to use a straightedge.

It is, yeah.

Especially when you're trying to cut glass to fit in a rabbet, like picture frames or doors.

And I can never remember which side of the cut you're supposed to tap, so I usually tap both sides.

Okay.

Okay.

Then, I like to go to the edge and give her... Hey!

All right.

All right.

[ Laughs ] Just like that.

You don't really think about it because you don't use a glass cutter all that often.

Exactly.

But glass really is an a pretty abrasive material and pretty hard on tooling.

But it's also something that's gonna apply to a lot of things is having sharp cutters, sharp blades, sharp bits.

And learning a little technique and getting comfortable with it.

Exactly.

Continuing on with the concept of stuff that gives us issues during woodworking, brass screws are something that has caused me some grief, and I'm sure it's caused other people grief as well.

They can be tricky, and it always seems to happen when you're finally putting the doors on your project.

That beautiful brass hardware you paid a lot of money for can snap.

And it's not like you can start over at that point either.

Well, brass screws are really not that hard.

There is a technique to it.

First let's think about a brass screw is conical in shape, and so we need two different pilot drill bits for it.

We need one for the threaded section, and then we need a larger one for the smooth shank.

And that's really gonna help out.

The size of the bit is going to depend on what species of wood you're going into.

For poplar, for pine, don't need something so large.

But if you're going into hard maple, you'd better size up a little bit.

And sometimes those differences in sizes can be pretty subtle.

You're not really stepping up and down like a full 16th of an inch.

We're working in 64ths.

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Another thing you can do is you can chase your opening, your thread hole, by using a steel screw.

So get a steel screw of the same thread type, same number size, and that'll help a lot.

And that's really helpful, especially when you're dealing with something like hinges, where you're putting a door on, checking the fit.

You have to remove it, plane a little bit off -- where you're putting screws in and out quite a few times and you don't want to snap them off in the middle of that.

And that's something I did in last season with our gentleman's dresser rebuild.

I broke a brass screw off when I was putting the doors on.

So we started assembling it with steel screws to kind of create a sort of a threaded hole that that brass screw could then drive into.

You can also cheat a little bit and you can purchase screws that are brass-plated but have a steel core to them.

Yeah.

It's a little bit of a compromise.

And most of the time you'll find that those have a Phillips drive on them instead of the traditional slotted head.

You could also lubricate them with some wax, and that will help as well.

What I have here is just some regular beeswax.

Paraffin will work as well.

The other thing you might want to consider is the type of driver that you're using.

On a project where you have a lot of hinges to install or a lot of hardware, you might want to be tempted to grab your power driver.

But sometimes it pays to slow down a little bit and get a feel for it and use just a regular screwdriver.

You can't beat the sensitivity of a regular screwdriver when dealing with these fussy little brass screws.

And while we're talking about drivers, make sure your driver's sized for the slot as well.

Make sure you have the correct-size driver that fits in the screw.

That way you don't mar it up and mash up the top of it as well.

So when it's crunch time on your project, start by using steel screws and be able to get those holes just right.

Then, when you're ready for the final assembly, you can put the brass screws in, and your project is gonna stay looking its best.

One of the things that we kind of agonize over in choosing projects and designing projects, both for the magazine and the TV show, is what material to make it out of.

I know you deal with that quite a bit.

Lots of agonizing.

[ Laughs ] But that doesn't mean we don't have our favorites.

And I thought we'd have a little segment here talking about what our favorite woods are to work with.

What have you got, Logan?

Well, for furniture, I love walnut.

But I know that's one of yours, so I'll let you talk about that.

I've been doing a lot of turning lately, and this apple has really become one of my favorite woods to turn.

It turns really nicely, and it works well with hand tools as well.

Sure.

But it's a beautiful wood.

You don't get real big sections, so it's perfect for turning.

It's perfect for handles and just has a really nice warmth.

Plus it usually has a lot of character to it, which I really like.

I was kind surprised.

For as hard as apple seems, it works really easy.

It works easily with hand tools, power tools, and it turns really well on the lathe.

And I like the warm color to it.

It's not too dark, not too light.

And it has character to it.

Yeah.

Chris, what about you?

My favorite wood is European beech.

Now, it's kind of a bland wood.

There's not much grain or pattern.

But actually, that's an advantage for a lot of tools, shop projects -- furniture as well.

It is a great wood.

Not only do you get a uniform color, which is a positive many times, but also it is a very dense hardwood.

It has good strength, but it works beautifully.

Not a lot of tear-outs, not a lot of burning.

It's just enjoyable.

Can't say that about hard maple.

[ Laughs ] I think that's what I was gonna compare it to.

You always think of, for the real heavy work, like, hard maple or oak.

But each of those kind of have their issues that European beech just doesn't.

No.

No.

This is a friendly wood.

And we actually used it on this season of the show, where we made the shop stool and made it out of beech, which I think I turned out great.

Another thing I like about beech is it's stable.

It doesn't move a whole lot, especially when you get coarse stock, which is great for making tools.

Which is why it's used for making workbenches so often.

Now, the material that I like using -- and I'm not saying I use it all the time, but I really like getting some walnut to use, both for furniture projects and shop projects and things.

Actually, you had some walnut trees that you took down, and this is a section of one of those logs.

And in its rough-cut form, it's pretty...

Bland?

...pretty weird-looking and bland.

But as soon as you plane it, and especially if you can find walnut that's been air-dried instead of something that's been kiln-dried or steamed, you get this richness of the color variation in there, which I think I really like.

You get those real chocolaty browns, the, like, purple undertones in there.

You also get a lot of iridescence whenever you reach a burl area.

Oh, yeah.

It's very pretty.

Right.

So one of the projects that I made recently with it is a new saw handle for a miter box saw that I had.

And I used some walnut in a crotch section there, so you can really that shimmer And you can really see the colors I'm talking about, too, where you get that real deep brown instead of kind of the indeterminate, kind of grayish brown that you often see.

Exactly.

Any of that steamed walnut where they steam it to uniform the sapwood and the heartwood, it gets bland.

And air-dried walnut, especially once it ages a little bit and starts to change color, it really has a life of its own.

You know, the projects that we feature on the TV show, we usually specify a particular material.

But you don't have to stick with that.

If you have a favorite, use it.

And I'm sure you're gonna be more than happy with the results.

I've found that most woodworkers, myself included, tend to obsess over mistakes and problems that we encounter in our projects, and we can't help but pointing them out to other people, especially other woodworkers.

But over time, I've learned what I call the 5-Foot, 5-Year Rule -- If you can't see the mistake from five feet away, it doesn't exist, and in five years, you probably won't remember that it occurred.

And I think it's a good way to approach your woodworking.

Give yourself a little grace and take your time at it.

In today's episode, we learned about how to solve some problems and how to avoid them in the first place.

Don't forget -- There are plans and articles that go with the lessons that we learned at our website, WoodsmithShop.com.

You'll also find plans for an entire season's worth of projects, along with extra videos.

It's all there to keep you woodworking.

And then join us right back here in the Woodsmith Shop.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪ ♪ If you'd like to get more video tips and techniques, sign up for the free weekly Woodsmith eTip.

Every week, you'll receive an e-mail with a video tip to get more out of your table saw, router table, and more.

Sign up at WoodsmithShop.com.

Everything in today's show comes from the newly expanded Woodsmith Guild Edition, with shop projects, plans, tips, and techniques.

To get a free preview issue of the Woodsmith Guild Edition and a free "Woodsmith" book, go to WoodsmithShop.com.

In addition, past seasons of "The Woodsmith Shop" are available on DVD.

Or you can watch them online from your computer, tablet, or mobile device.

For more information, go to WoodsmithShop.com.

Announcer: Major funding for "The Woodsmith Shop" has been provided by... Old Masters -- craftsman-quality stains and finishes since 1953.

Additional funding provided by... ♪ Titebond wood glues -- the pro's advantage.

And by... Kreg -- from the first cut to the final assembly, providing woodworkers with products that help to simplify woodworking challenges.

Kreg.

And by... [ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪