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Last spring we bought a 15 foot 1977 Vanguard travel trailer from a friend at a good price. I knew that it had some water damage when I bought it … that’s the reason it was so cheap. I figured, HEY, how hard could it be to repair water damage in a small travel trailer? It can’t be that much work … right? …
Wrong! … The first lesson I learned was that some visual water damage inside a trailer, means there’s a lot of hidden water damage.
- Read Time: 2 mins
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Woodworking has been something we humans have practiced ever since we learned how to use the most basic of tools in order to gouge and chisel into wood, turning it into our desired shapes. Being something we as a species have probably been doing for thousands of years, we have gained vast amounts of knowledge on the ins and outs of woodworking. Having stored and compiled vast amounts of knowledge on this craft, however, has its drawbacks. The most glaring one is that all this information will inevitably be overwhelming to the woodworking beginner, one who has no prior knowledge on the craft. In this age of widespread technology and multimedia, how, then, will one be able to present such a huge amount of information about different topics on the craft? With woodworking videos , of course!
Nowadays, there is an instructional video for almost anything. Woodworking videos are no different, as different videos will enlighten any novice on nearly any aspect of woodworking they are curious in. A certain set of woodworking videos, for example, may show you the basics, may explain woodworking in general to you. Another set of videos might teach you how to operate a certain electric woodworking tool, and what you can achieve with the said tool. Even another set of woodworking videos, for that matter, might teach you certain techniques which you can use with the most basic chisels, gouges and carving knives in order to produce unique results. There are even some sets that might teach you a thing or two about different types of wood, and the advantages and disadvantages that come with working with each type.
There is also a distinct advantage with woodworking videos as opposed to other media for teaching woodworking. This is the fact that the aspect of woodworking you are being taught may be demonstrated right before your eyes. For example, a video about the use of a certain tool might show you how to handle the said tool, even if this part is not explicitly narrated. Another video showing how to carve in a certain way might show you how to position and balance yourself in relation to the piece of wood you are carving. This goes on and on, a testament to the benefits of having a full visual and auditory experience before you.
There are many different sources for woodworking videos . One may, first and foremost, opt to learn from the information superhighway, by streaming and/or downloading videos off the Internet. If one is not satisfied, some people and companies may offer more scrutinizing lessons for a price. Woodworking videos from the latter category may be offered for downloading or private streaming, and may even be offered in conventional formats, such as VCDs and DVDs, as well.
- Read Time: 5 mins
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Making cabinet doors is easy, fun and cost effective. With wood you can purchase at any hardware or lumber store, anyone can make beautiful and functional doors in no time. The only tool you need is a decent quality router and router table, and router bits. The wood we used for these demos is just 3/4” pine that was cut to 2” widths. It is important that thickness and width of the door components is constant, otherwise you will find uneven edges on you doors that will require sanding to make even again.
After you have cut your raw wood, that is the wood for the rails and styles you will need to cut those pieces to their proper length. The length for the stiles is easy, that is simply the length of the door that you will be making. This is because the stiles are ALWAYS the full vertical length of the doors.
Cutting the rails, (the horizontal components of the door) can be a bit trickier, that is why we like to use 2” for the width of stiles and rails (plus it just looks good). The rails when they are finished will need to have tongues cut into each end to fit into the groves of the stiles and this is where knowing woodworking math is a help.
- Read Time: 4 mins
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My recent project of building a banjo has made it necessary for me to learn the art of bending wood. I searched the Internet and my local woodworkers guild library for information. There were bits and pieces of what I needed to know and some suggestions on how to get started. One of my sources suggested using a NEW gas can on a Coleman stove. The idea being that a new gas can would not explode if it happened to run dry. An important consideration I thought.
After a mornings outing, I found that new Coleman stoves were going for around $70 which was a price I was not prepared to pay for this kind of an experiment. I snooped around a few garage sales on Saturday morning a found one only a few blocks from home. The stove looked in very good condition, hardly used I thought. "does it work?" I asked, the answer was affirmative, "how much?" I queried, the answer was ... a whopping four dollars. At that price I didn't have the heart to dicker on the price.