Household Fixes

Having great materials to work with is every woodworkers dream. Wood is part of nature though and needless to say unpredictable. The key to good craftsmanship is working with what you have. This means taking that imperfect piece of work and doing something with it.

You may discover that the piece of wood you have picked out as a blue gray tinge to it. This is most often seen in pine, or sycamore and sometimes holly. It?s caused by a mold where it may have been stored that was too warm or not enough ventilation. The only solution is to use that piece of wood where it?s not likely to be seen, perhaps on the bottom of your project. If you are going to be using a dark stain then it?s not going to be a problem for you.

It seems no matter how hard you inspected your wood, that when you go it home you still notice a bow in it. This is often the result of poor storage where moisture evaporation was evident. It?s difficult to work with pieces like this. You can cut it into smaller pieces or if worse comes to worse then nail or screw into place but make sure the bulge is facing out.

Usually if you are going to detect any splits or crack in the wood you are going to see it at the end and it will run along the grains. Drying the wood too fast has created this problem. If the cracks are too bad not only will it affect the look of the finished project, it could weaken it as well. The only solution here is to work around the cracks, or if possible cut that section off and discard it.

If wood is not dried correctly and stored properly than its going to warp and be difficult to work with. You will often find that this wood was cut from the center of the tree. You can cut the high spots away with your table saw if necessary.

Another type of warping is along the face of the board edge to edge. It means that one face dried faster than the other did. It?s difficult to work with wood like this. You could try adding some pressure and letting it dry that way.

A dark knot in the wood can enhance its overall look unless it?s loose. This is as a result of a surface dead branch. Ideally, you will want to glue it in place, and then apply putty to it.

Excessive sap residue evident on the board was caused when the tree was injured in some way prior to cutting. Either cut it off or scrape it and fill the indent where it was.

Dark streaks normally caused by dull planer blades. Either sand it or cut it down. Other minor problems may be breaks, a tight knot, and twisted ends from warping. A good lesson is to learn about the various types of woods and imperfections and this will guide you in what to look for how to avoid the problem or at the very least perhaps correct it.

Tags: diy, garden, general, hobbies, home and family, Home Improvement, landscaping, outdoor, recreation, shed, shed plans, woodworking
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Whether we are into woodworking or not the majority of us know a little something about sandpaper even if it is just the name. Sandpaper is really just a very mild form of a chisel for example or any tool that reduces or alters the wood. The sandpaper is made of tiny coarse blades. Needless to say, they are very fragile and therefore wear down quickly.

One of the issues of using sandpaper is knowing which one to use for which job. To begin with, you have to determine whether you want commercial or industrial sandpaper. You will have less looking around for stores to buy it from if you are using the commercial grade as most hardware stores or home building centers keep it in stock. The industrial is more specialized and is an item most often used on the manufacturing line.

When you hear someone refer to sandpaper, you will most probably hear them refer to grit. All this is, is the way to identify what strength it is. Its referring to each of those little blades we talked about per inch. So the lower the number the coarser the sandpaper will be.

Now with a little understanding you need to determine which grit you need for which job. As we said, they are several to choose from and it will depend on the job you have to do. If you have heavy, sanding where you need to strip the paint or rough up the surface then you will need 40-60 coarse grit. Lighter sanding required for removing small imperfections means you would use an 80-120 medium grit. The final sanding before you are going to put your finish on dictates the use of 150-180 fine. Then for in between the stain coating you use the very fine, which is 220-240. If you have, some dust marks in-between these coatings you can use the extra fine grit 280-320 and then finally for some light scratches you can use the super fine 360-600 grit.

There are various backings used on the sandpapers such as low-grade fabric or Kraft paper. These are held on with bonding agents.

Going through the grits means working on your project from the heavier sandpapers up through to the lighter ones. Usually if all looks well you can finish off at the 150-180 grit although up to 200 if you are going to use a water base stain.

You may hear reference to open and closed coat sandpaper. Open coat has spaces between the grits which means less clogging and is more applicable for woodwork. Closed grit works better on metal and wood finishes but clogs easily.

There are four different types of sandpaper each having a specific use. Aluminum oxide most commonly used by woodworkers. Garnet also another favorite but is short lived. Then Silicon carbon more for steel, paint, plastic and fiberglass and finally ceramic which is the toughest of all of them. It is very expensive and is used predominantly for shaping and leveling.

Now you have some basic knowledge when it comes to what type of sandpapers there are and their best uses.

Tags: diy, garden, general, hobbies, home and family, Home Improvement, landscaping, outdoor, recreation, shed, shed plans, woodworking
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Hiring an interior designer to help you with the changes you want to make when redoing the inside of your home just makes since. It also makes since to have the same type of design input when you are making changes to the outside of your home as well, just thinking about being outside and not in.

A good example is the use of color. You have so many plants to choose from but you also must consider where they will be planted because of sun placement during the day. This is hardly an issue when you are dealing with the indoors!

Once you realize the differences you will need to consider, the help you may need to hire and the time it will take you from start to finish, you can then get down to business. To begin with let us look at some of the design elements you will want to consider.

Balance brings pictures of the scales measuring out the two sides so each weighs the same. However, balance in design does not always equate to an equal part on two sides. It’s more of an even flow from one thing to another; a symmetry where everything equals out in the end. Watch that you create more than separate spaces but a collective whole that comes together.

Think in terms of earth, wind, water and fire and the way nature uses these elements as a way to balance and flow, creating an underlying rhythm. The flow of water, the crackling of a fire, wind rustling through the trees; all are areas that help bring balance to an area and you can incorporate one or more of these types of natural elements to bring balance and flow to your yard.

The above is also an example of a natural rhythm, which is another basic element of design. Rhythm can also be accomplished by the use of patterns throughout your yard and garden. It can be as simple as the cushions you have on your outdoor furniture or the pattern of your fence. You can also have more complex patterns in your gardens by the way you plant your flowers and lay stones or other walking paths.

Another element you will want to strive to have in your yard is harmony. If you think about this in terms of nature, there is always a harmonic tone or discord that makes you look or think twice. That’s because to appreciate the harmony in a place there has to be a bit of discord there so you can really hear or see that all is in harmony with each other. It’s a fantastic mix and sometimes hard to find but it is always there.

The last thing is focal points of interest. Sometimes we have focal points that we wish to diminish such as a greenhouse or storage shed. In these cases, use other elements such as a grand pergola or garden seating area that draws your attention away from what you do not want to be seen to that you do want to be seen.

This discussion could go on and on with ideas flowing about great design for your yard and garden. I hope it is clear that bringing in a great designer for your yard is just as important as having one for the interior of your home. Using great garden dcor is as important as what furniture you choose and can make or break the look and feel of your overall project. You can have the perfect yard for you and your family with a little planning and some good design. Don’t be afraid to go for it!

Tags: arbors, design, design elements, diy design, garden decor, greenhouses, home decor, landscaping, outdoor decor, outdoor lighting, pergolas, plant stands, pot holders, remodel, trellises
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