Many products used in the construction of home have a potential of being dangerous to our health. This is unintentional on the part of the manufacturers, but the risk exists even so. While the wood and other major components themselves aren’t dangerous, some of the chemicals they are treated with can be toxic. One striking … Read more
The term plywood is actually a very generalized term, even though what most of us consider to be plywood is an engineered wood product made of laminated wood veneers, where adjacent layers are laid perpendicular to each other. Nevertheless, while that is plywood, so is OSB, MDF and a number of other engineered sheet products … Read more
Trusses and rafters are the two methods used for framing the roof on a home or other building with a pitched roof. Rafters are the more traditional approach, having been used since men first started building permanent dwellings. Trusses aren’t quite so ancient, even though they were first used about 2500 bc. Modern trusses, used … Read more
Painting is one of the most, if not the most, common ways of finishing wood. While it can be argued that painting hides the natural beauty of wood, which some people would call less attractive, there are many cases in which paint is the best finish to use. The only question is which paint is … Read more
Calipers are perhaps the most common instrument in existence for accurate measurement. By “accurate” I’m referring to something more accurate than you can accomplish with a ruler. While we may not think about it, woodworking regularly requires this degree of accuracy. Fitting a mortise and tenon, making a segmented shape like an octagon or a … Read more