The kitchen is the busiest part of the house. People are constantly coming and going, cooking and cleaning, eating and chatting. The kitchen has a high concentration of perishable foodstuffs and potentially hazardous electronic appliances. Family time and celebrations center around feasting, and as such the kitchen should be conductive to the pursuit of the culinary arts. It’s important that every detail be considered when planning a kitchen. The kitchen should be efficient, nothing should complicate or discourage activity, and the entire area should be aesthetically appealing. The furniture, equipment and total composition should be relaxing and uncluttered. Explore many magazines and internet articles for planning ideas that appeal to you. These resources contain many different options and are an excellent way to begin planning the project. Do not limit yourself to home remodeling articles; family and food magazines are also useful when brainstorming for ideas. Looking only for images of completed kitchens is another way you might limit yourself. Instead, pay attention to small details like cabinet placement or countertop design. This will help you from feeling obligated to copy a kitchen you like. Rather than this, you will be compiling a variety of appealing facets that will become a kitchen totally personalized to you. Many people find it helpful to compile a scrapbook of ideas for the kitchen. Print or cut out the pictures and details you like and collect
them. Saving a large selection of styles and features will expand your choices and help you design your own kitchen. Take advantage of the knowledge and supplies local home improvement stores offer you. Stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot display both traditional and modern kitchen designs and stock a variety of accessories, cabinets and furniture to choose from. Consider inviting an interior decorator into your home. A professional opinion will offer you many practical ideas based on the layout and style of the kitchen. Hiring an interior designer can be very expensive, but having an interested party to discuss ideas with will always be well worth the cost. Designing a kitchen project is expensive and strenuous. Furthermore, it’s a decision that you will have to live with for many years. This is why it is essential that you take plenty of time to research and expose yourself to many different options. Use these tips and tricks to design a plan that you know you will be totally satisfied with. Bird House Plans A recently increasing interest in gardening has encouraged a similar interest in appreciating nature, and especially in bird watching. As birds’ natural homes in trees and marshes are being destroyed, an awareness of protecting these fragile creatures has bloomed, and a growing number of people have become active in protecting avian
species. Constructing a bird house in your backyard is a wonderful way to attract and protect birds, and help them repopulate into the wild. However, making a bird house is not a commitment that should be taken lightly. A good bird house will need to keep birds both comfortable and safe. Before you begin, learn the types of birds that populate your area and their living requirements. Consider the most natural diameter of the entrance as well as the depth and area of the cavities these birds occupy in the wild. The dimensions of the bird house should be your first step in building the structure. Once these have been determined, you may begin deciding on other necessary factors. The bird house should be protected from direct sunlight and rain. Wood is the easiest building material to cut and assemble, but be sure that you either paint material with a waterproof coating or purchase wood that has been waterproof treated. Take care to countersink the bird house’s entrances. To accomplish this, simply ensure that the edge of the roof protrudes considerably from the wall of the house. This will prevent rain from entering the house. Before cutting the entrance holes, make sure they will be easy for
the bird to access. Avoid building pegs and other perches near the entrance. Contrary to common belief, these are unnecessary and can discourage or even prevent birds from entering or exiting the house. Install proper ventilation into your bird house. Smalls vents on each of the walls, or a row of small holes under the eaves works nicely. Because even these small outlets for air flow can allow water into the house, drill a small drainage hole into the floor. Birds are typically more attracted to bright colors. For this reason, paint your bird house white or lighter grays. Neutral shades of gray or green may also be used. Build and position your bird house so that it is easily accessible for routine cleaning. For instance, if you choose to locate your bird house on tall stilts, bear in mind that a ladder will be necessary for cleaning it. Bad planning may prevent birds from making use of your bird house, so plan your bird house accordingly. Good plans will encourage birds to make their homes in your bird house for many years to come. Dog House Plans While millions of Americans own dogs as pets, many cringe at the thought of letting their animals sleep inside the home. Dogs can be
smelly, messy and noisy. They can ruin the furniture, mess on the floors, and most will shed anywhere and everywhere. Yet, if the dog must sleep outside, he will need adequate shelter and comfortable bedding. He must be protected from wind, rain and harsh sunlight; and his area must be kept clean and dry. The obvious solution to this is to build a doghouse, but the doghouse cannot simply consist of four walls and a roof. Careful measurements and planning must be made before construction of your best friend’s home away from home. The first and most critical step in designing your doghouse is to measure to the dog. A doghouse that is bigger than the dog’s spacial requirements will waste time and resources in construction, and may encourage the dog to soil the bedding. Likewise, a doghouse that is too small will waste time and materials since the dog is not likely to use it at all! Using a tape measure, record the dimensions of the dog while standing and sitting. The dog house should be wide and tall enough for the dog to stand comfortably and turn around easily. Next you will need to decide the size of the doghouse’s entrance. The entrance should be just wide enough that it does not scrape the dog’s sides when passing through it, and tall enough that he will not have to stoop to enter. Since the doghouse will be located outside, choose an area that
will be shaded during the hottest parts of the day. Also, do not neglect to plan and build a ceiling, as this will help to cool the house. A ceiling deflects internal heat to the roof, allowing the room to be cooler. When designing the doghouse’s roof, plan on building a peaked top with a slight overhang. These precautions will let water run-off, keeping the interior of the structure dry. Cut ventilation into the walls of the doghouse just below the overhang. This will allow hot air to escape and fresh air to circulate, without letting rain through. Wood is the preferred building material for doghouse construction. It is easier to work with, cooler, and more aesthetically pleasing than most other materials. It also tends to be lighter, allowing the owner to easily carry and relocate it if necessary. Make sure that the wood has been treated against termites and is waterproof. After these basic requirements have been planned, the owner may now become more creative in the doghouse’s design. Some people prefer a classic doghouse look, with simple construction and painting. Others may delight in incorporating more elaborate features such as fake fireplaces and windows. The internet as well as dog magazines can be wonderful sources of inspiration. Always keep your dog in mind when planning the doghouse, he is, after all, the one who will be sleeping in it! Making a good dog house can take time and plenty of consideration, but is well worth it. This is, after all, a house for a beloved family member.
Further Practice and Techniques Sharpening and Grinding Chisels and Knives Just like kitchen knives and scissors, woodworking tools need some maintenance to keep them running smoothly. The tear and wear of regular use will slowly dull any woodworking tool, especially tools used for cutting, and make them less efficient and safe to use. Maintaining and properly keeping your woodworking tools is every bit as important as knowing how to safely and effectively use them. The value of care may extend further than the traditional limits of woodworking, but it’s vital to the sport as a whole. Some of the basic but most useful tools in woodworking are chisels and shop knives. Chisels are used to carve and gouge wood. Similarly, knives are used to cut or carve larger chunks of wood. The accuracy and safety of chisels and shop knives rest on how sharp they are. Therefore it is important to keep their cutting edges sharp.
This can be achieved using proper sharpening techniques. For chisels and shop knives, the sharpest part lies on their angled side. The angled sides are usually shaped as half Vs for chisels and Vs for shop knives. Therefore, the first step in sharpening a chisel or a knife is to grind a whetstone or a steel grinder on their angled edges. It is important to keep the angle consistent when you grind the cutting edges on both sides. Otherwise, the cutting edge would have minute but irregular bumps and burrs which would lessen its cutting power. Also, it is important to change or regrind the grinder stone or the whetstone regularly. An old or worn bevel won’t sharpen chisels and shop knives effectively. How do you know you are done grinding with a grinder or whetstone? Swipe a hone on the sharpened edge. If swiping produces a bead of steel over to the side of the tool, they you are finished with grinding. The next part is a little bit laborious. Polish the cutting edges of the chisels and shop knives with hones. First, polish out the scratches left by the bevel with the coarsest hone available. Then, polish the blade with progressively finer hones until the desire level of sharpness is achieved. To maintain the sharpness of your tools, here are some useful tips to follow.
First, sharpen your chisels and shop knives often. In the end, you will spend less time sharpening them. Regular sharpening will help your tools cut better. Sharp tools are also safer because you don’t have to exert a lot of pressure when cutting something. Excessive pressure makes you lose control of the tool. When sharpening the tools, use a lot of lubricant. The lubricant makes it easier for you to work and washes away the metal swarf. Also, the lubricant prevents clogging of the sharpening apparatus, especially if you are using an automatic grinder. When cleaning your chisels and shop knives, do not use dishwasher detergent. Detergent can dull your tools quickly. Simply wash them with water. Then you can let them dry out. The lifespan of your woodworking tools can be vastly improved with regular maintenance. The three previously explained grinding and sharpening tools are far from being the only ones available, but they certainly are the most popular and most multifunctional. Just remember that, above all, it’s keeping your tools clean and sharp that promotes a successful project. Working With Plywood There are proper techniques when working with plywood. Of all
types of engineered wood, plywood is the most commonly used. Plywood is made when thin sheets of wood veneer are bonded through pressure, heat and certain adhesives. The more sheets of veneer that is used, the thicker the plywood will be. Because plywood is made rather than grown, certain methods should be used when working with plywood. Consult the following tips when woodworking with plywood: Try not to cut across the grain, this is called cross-cutting. Cutting along the length of a plywood board will lessen the chances of it chipping. Scoring, drawing lines with a knife or the tip of a saw, before cutting the plywood with the saw will create crisper and cleaner lines in the wood. Place masking tape over the line where you plan to cut the plywood. This will help prevent the wood fibers from splitting or raising from the edge of your cut. Like all woods, plywood is porous, meaning it will sometime absorb moisture and expand. This can be a problem when your project requires very precise measurements. To compensate for plywood expansion, calculate an allowance of 1/8 inches where the plywood will be installed. Then, when the plywood absorbs water, the allowance will tolerate the expansion and minimize or remove the gap left by the allowance.
Another way to handle plywood expansion is to secure the plywood to a wooden backing or structure. The nails should rest approximately 3/8 inches from the sides of the plywood. The space between the nails should not be greater than six inches apart. Painting the plywood with a waterproof finish, such as varnish or shellac, will also reduce plywood expansion. You may also choose to purchase waterproof-treated plywood sheets. Check with your local lumberyard to see if they carry them. Applying an oil-based finish to the plywood will reduce “fuzz.” If, after the finish has dried, the fuzz is still noticeable, you can remove it by lightly sanding the surface with a fine grade sandpaper. There are many great advantages to working with plywood, but they can be made even better by just a little extra effort on your part. Making Biscuit Joints Joining detached pieces of wood can’t always involve a hammer and some nails. Leak and rust complications, aesthetic appeal, and wood orientation sometimes force woodworkers to practice different techniques for joining separate woodpieces. When a hammer and nails aren’t an option, woodworkers use joint
cuts and wood glue to firmly adhere separate woodpieces. A broad selection of joint cuts and wood glues, each with its own particular strengths and weaknesses, ensures that a joint can always be found for the project. Biscuit joints, also called plate joint setups, are arguably the most popular cuts or joining. They attach separate woodpieces with an oval- shaped, compressed wooden biscuit at the pieces’ joining edge. The biscuit joint is a relatively recent technique in woodworking. In 1956, Hermann Steiner invented the biscuit joint based on the introduction of chipboard; almost accidentally developing a system which is ideal for joining sheet goods such as particle board, medium- density fiberboard, and plywood. To make a biscuit joint, a circular saw is used to cut a crescent- shaped hole on opposing edges of the two woodpieces being joined. This hole is referred to as “the mouth,” and must be “filled out” by the wooden biscuit, effectively clamping the separate pieces together. Wood glue is used to strengthen the bond while the woodpieces are being clamped. Generally, the wood glue is able to bond more strongly than the two woodpieces by expanding the compressed biscuit. Used to replace tenon and mortise joints, biscuit joints are most often made from solid wood. This is because biscuit joints have similar strength as a mortise joint, but are much simpler to make. Available in three standard sizes, they are ideal for joining wood panels by the edges to make wider panels.
Unlike nails, a biscuit joint leaves a smooth surface that is without nail holes, yet is both strong and reliable.
Finishing a Woodpiece Water, sunlight and even dust can easily damage exposed woodpieces. Like many other materials, wood is prone to staining and warping by natural elements. To protect a cherished wooden gift, priceless antique or favored wooden furniture, you may choose to apply a “wood finish” to the item. This is inexpensive and fairly simple to do on your own. Wood finishing is the task of enhancing and protecting the surface of any wooden item. First, the surface must be sanded or scraped to prepare it for taking the finish well. Imperfections in the wood, such as rough surfaces and nail holes, should be removed by applying wood putting and then sanding the surface smooth. After these two steps and before applying the actual finish is a great time to bleach, stain or ammonia-treat the wood. This will change the color of the wood. Only after the wood surface has been prepared through sanding or scraping and staining, can the wood finish be applied. The most popular wood finishes are shellac, wax, tung oil or linseed, paint, varnish, or lacquer. Special wood finishes, such as Danish oil, can be purchased for
a slightly different look or texture to the wood. These are typically a think varnish with increased solvent and oil content. Avoid water-based wood finishes. These can cause the surface of the wood to rise, creating a sort of “fuzz” that will need to be sanded down. Before selecting a certain type of finish, research what its effect will be. Wood finishes each have their own characteristics and will cause different effects to the wood. Nitrocellulose lacquer creates a transparent and glossy shine, and offers a durable coat and good protection. If necessary, nitrocellulose lacquer can be removed using a lacquer thinner. Alkalyd varnish creates an orange or yellow tint, producing a warmer color to the wood. It is both durable and protective, and can be removed using specific paint thinners. There are a variety of ways to apply a wood finish. Most are simple enough to be applied by wiping the surface with a cloth. Some, however, should be applied with a sprayer or brush to create the intended result. Others require French polishing, the application of shellac with a proper rubbing pad in many layers. While more difficult than other techniques, French polishing does produce a lovely, shiny finish. Always lay a varnish in a clean, well ventilated environment. Dirt and dust will easily stick to wet varnish, creating an uneven and weak finish. Prepare the ground around your wood project with layers of newspaper to absorb spillage.
Check your finish to ascertain whether it should be mixed with a filler or stain, this is especially common when using a varnish. If so, do not mix different types of sealers, always be sure that you are using compatible materials. After the finish has been prepared it can be applied to the wood. Stir the finish to be sure that it does not contain any lumps. Aged finish may have formed lumps that will create a rough, uneven surface. Using a paintbrush, apply the finish as you would paint. Paint the finish in smooth, long strokes to make an even surface without brush lines. When you apply most wood finishes, it should move smoothly across the surface of the wood. Any finish that pulls at the paintbrush may require a thinner. When mixing in a thinner, be careful to not create surface bubbles. Bubbles in the finish will translate onto the wood, leaving a rough, uneven surface. It is easier to paint horizontal surfaces than vertical surfaces. Try turning a piece of wood furniture on its side when you paint on the legs, as this will create a horizontal surface. All removable or moving parts must be removed before applying the finish. Complete one area before starting the next area. The first coat should be allowed to dry for at least 24 hours. Do not apply a second coat until the first one has thoroughly dried. Some finishes will allow you to apply up to five coats, making sure that each has thoroughly dried before starting on the next one. Use a new
paintbrush for each coat. Failure to follow these directions could result in cracking of the finish. When the final coat has dried, wipe the woodpiece with a dry, clean cloth to remove any lingering dust. All wood finishes are toxic! Wear the proper protective gear- gloves, goggles and a dust mask- whenever applying a wood finish. Wood finishes can add beauty and vitality to your precious woodpieces, but don’t let that distract you from inadvertently imperiling your own life. Wood stains are different from wood finishes. Finishes protect a woodpiece from wear and tear, while stains are used to accent or change a woodpiece’s color and may not necessarily offer it protection. A woodpiece’s natural surface and grain makes wooden furniture look natural and authentic. These sturdy pieces of furniture can create a softer feel in the room, and will often last well into the future. Yet, maybe that table would look better if the wood grain was emphasized. And maybe those chairs would be perfect if only they had a slightly different tint or shade. Wood stains are the easy, inexpensive and most of all effective way to achieve these results. Much like paint, a wood stain is comprised of solvent, pigments and binder. Unlike paint, however, which contains equal measures of these three ingredients, wood stain is mixed using mainly solvent and pigments. Relatively little binder is mixed in.
While paint is designed to create a film of color over the wood, the unequal mixture of solvent, pigments and binder allows for wood stain to be absorbed directly into the wood’s pores. The wood surface takes on the color of the pigment but leaves the color and texture- the substrate- easily visible. After the wood stain has dried, surface film and varnishes are applied to make the wood shiny and to protect the color. Wood stains are available in several degrees of viscosity, ranging from extremely thick to quite thin. Sliding stains are an example of a thick wood stain. They protect wood from ultraviolet rays, sunlight, water, fungal decay and mildew. They penetrate the wood better than paint and have softer, more flexible binders. Sliding stains are regarded as more flexible than paint. Certain solvent-based or oil-based stains are available with small amounts of paraffin wax. Furniture treated with this type of wood stain can be re-stained, but cannot be painted over. Depending on the type of wood substrate, applying wood stains is either difficult or easy. For example, aged wood accepts stain well, while freshly cut wood does not. Bias-cut grain and end grain woods will become very dark after being stained, they accept wood staining very well. Prepared wood, wood that has been washed with solvents or stripped of paint, absorbs wood stain better than unclean woodpieces. Wood stains and finishes should not be overlooked when completing a wood working project. After all, sometimes, no matter how
well you adore a certain piece of wood furniture, you have to admit that the wood would look better aged. Or maybe you’re interested in building a woodpiece, but your ideal color and texture is not a type of wood that is available in your area. And wood finishes are vital to protecting the quality and integrity of a woodpiece. Using wood stains and finishes create pieces that can be kept and cherished for many, many years to come.
Conclusion Thank you for downloading our eBook! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as we’ve enjoyed providing it to you. We would appreciate it if you would take the time to write a review for this eBook at Www.Amazon.Com. We enjoy hearing from you! And we look forward to the opportunity to improve upon future publications. For more information about woodworking, please visit our website at http://home-woodworkingprojects.com You can also follow us on Twitter at @Homewoodwork. Or Like our FaceBook page. At our websites you will find even more detailed articles and informative
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