Welcome to “Tips From Sticks-In-The-Mud Woodshop.” I am a hobbyist who loves woodworking and writing for those who also love the craft. I have found some ways to accomplish tasks in the workshop that might be helpful to you, and I enjoy hearing your own problem-solving ideas. Please share them in the COMMENTS section of each tip. If, in the process, I can also make you laugh, I have achieved 100% of my goals.
I got started making stools for grandbabies, and I just can’t stop. Now, I like making a variety of styles.
The last stool I made, for little Kessa, the legs were rather close to the edge of the top; wide for stability.
I ran into a problem when I began to sand that little area of the top’s underside, though, between the leg and the edge. I started out going back and forth, like one usually would when sanding, but there was just no way I could make my hand go straight enough not to cross the grain, even though the angle was very, very slight.
I discovered, though, that if I put the sandpaper up against the leg and simply pulled it away, in one direction, that the scratches were invisible, because they were perfectly in line with the grain of the wood.
Little scraps of saved sandpaper came in really handy for that job.
Vintage pine made a beautiful project, even if it was challenging to sand.
Funny story: I don’t always have paper handy to write myself notes, so I often dictate notes to myself on the iPhone. To keep myself from forgetting to write this tip, I dictated, “Sand in One Direction.” Why, I wondered, did iPhone capitalize One Direction? Then, I thought of our eldest granddaughter, who loves the boy band, and figured it out.
Jim Randolph is a veterinarian in Long Beach, Mississippi. His earlier careers as lawn mower, dairy farmer, automobile mechanic, microwave communications electronics instructor and journeyman carpenter all influence his approach to woodworking. His favorite projects are furniture built for his wife, Brenda, and for their children and grandchildren. His and Brenda’s home, nicknamed Sticks-In-The-Mud, is built on pilings (sticks) near the wetlands (mud) on a bayou off Jourdan River. His shop is in the lower level of their home.Questions and comments on woodworking may be written below in the comments section. Questions about pet care should be directed to his blog on pet care, www.MyPetsDoctor.com. We regret that, because of high volume, not all inquiries can be answered personally.