Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [carpentry]

390 questions
34
votes
6 answers

Why are carpenters' pencils flat?

My assumption is that it's so they don't roll away. But if a carpenter spends the majority of his/her day working on a flat surface, a regular pencil wouldn't seem to have the tendency to get away from them.
InbetweenWeekends
  • 600
  • 2
  • 5
  • 16
12
votes
7 answers

Tools/techniques to remove a long section from a wooden board

I am building interior wooden cills and from a 3m x 250mm board/plank (25mm thick) I need to remove a rectangular section about 50mm thick along most of its length, giving something like: I have a circular saw and jigsaw but no plunge saw or table…
Mr. Boy
  • 432
  • 7
  • 19
10
votes
3 answers

How to make a long straight cut in a board at an angle?

I have a board about 1.5" thick and 12" wide and 8 feet long. I need to cut the board diagonally and want the cut to be as straight as possible. (I am cutting the board diagonally. This does not involve a bevel cut.) How can I do that? I have a…
Tyler Durden
  • 6,889
  • 10
  • 53
  • 101
3
votes
3 answers

How to tighten a wooden bannister (newel post)

How to tighten a wobbly stair bannister? I tried going in from the basement ceiling, the floor boards are in the way. I tried drilling in a screw at an angle at the base to anchor to the bottom stair, and lets just say I now need to figure out how…
ss734
  • 33
  • 1
  • 1
  • 5
3
votes
1 answer

How should I approach red oak crown molding?

I have turned my middle bedroom into a floor to ceiling red oak library. Thus far I've been able to buy everything locally, but I want to wrap the top in crown molding. The cheap laminate molding does not look right (not even close) so I must use…
Rikon
  • 177
  • 1
  • 2
  • 5
3
votes
2 answers

Can someone help identifying these trim profiles?

I’m wondering if someone can help me identify these trim profiles.
Amitoj Sawhney
  • 31
  • 2
3
votes
2 answers

What is a butcher block?

I had so far gathered that for a block to be called a "butcher block," the grain must be perpendicular to the surface. I guessed that this orientation of the grain is meant for beauty. A table made with the grain in this direction would be weak in…
Sam7919
  • 713
  • 1
  • 8
  • 18
2
votes
1 answer

What to do with stair riser metal strap

I’m replacing carpet on stairs with wood. I ran into this metal strap on one of the risers. The end of the strap appears to be attached to the outer wall. Can I just remove it and place my new riser on top of old riser? Thanks.
J C
  • 93
  • 5
2
votes
4 answers

how to brace parallel beams against concentric curvature?

I am trying to rehab an old wooden footbridge that got trashed by a falling tree. It's based on a beam on each side, made up of two 2x12s. One got broken, and we've jacked it up and will patch it with a "sistered" board. The other issue is that…
RustyShackleford
  • 2,481
  • 4
  • 31
  • 54
2
votes
1 answer

Is it better to stain before or after assembly?

I'm going to build a wrapping-paper cart: it holds rolls of wrapping paper, ribbons, tissue, bows, scissors and tape, etc. It's going to be mostly made of 3/8" plywood, and will have a couple of drawers in it. I'm going to stain and finish the wood.…
PotatoEngineer
  • 245
  • 3
  • 7
2
votes
5 answers

Decent Brand Names for Beginner Carpentry

I have done a few small projects but nothing too extravagant without a table saw. I would like to get more into woodworking but the one tool I don't have right now it's a table saw. All the rest of my tools are craftsman, but I have seen other…
Benny
  • 297
  • 1
  • 3
  • 7
2
votes
1 answer

What type of wood should I use for a washer/dryer platform?

I would like to build a shelf that will allow me to place my washer and dryer on it as well as two shelves. Ideally, I want to house laundry baskets under the shelf. What type of wood would you suggest I use and what thickness? Thanks
Kim Taylor
  • 23
  • 1
  • 3
2
votes
3 answers

Screw stuck in wood

I can't get these two screws out and I've tried using a drill and a screw driver. Any tips?
Bee
  • 21
  • 1
  • 2
1
vote
1 answer

How can I attach legs to a table?

I am holding four 44 inch long 4x4 pieces of lumber which I have sanded down to the finish I require. I intend on using a tap & die attachment set for a corded drill to progressively drill two 2 inch holes into the corner of each piece of lumber…
Tyler Maginnis
  • 113
  • 1
  • 5
1
vote
2 answers

Built-in bookshelf questions

We are having a fairly large built-in bookshelf (w cabinets in bottom) made for our livingroom and the guy making it recently mentioned that he was considering mdf for the back panel (the rest of the bookshelf is plywood). Is mdf ok if it is just…
nycneutral
  • 11
  • 2
1
2