NEW (January 2008)
Finishing plywood edges:
If your project involves a plywood edge, There is two ways to cover it and give it a nice finished look.
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1) Cover it with wood tape. It's inexpensive and fast. The back of the tape has glue on it so all you have
to do is cut it to the length of your exposed edge. Use an iron to heat it up and press it to the plywood.
Sand either side if it is hanging over and stain it to match the color of your project. For round corners
and those hard to reach areas use a heat gun instead of an iron. Make sure you use the right wood grain to
match the plywood. They come in many different types from birch to oak, maple and many more.
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2) Get some 1" by 2" hard wood strips and rip them down on a table saw to 1" by 1/4". Then using a brad nail
bun shoot them on the face of the plywood edge using 1/2" nails. Fill any cracks or voids in with color
matching wood putty and sand down any overhanging edges and stain to match the existing color of your
project.
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Staining:
Touch up any voids, chipping and imperfections in your project with stainable color matching wood putty.
Sand your project down after wood filler dries for moving any excess filler and to take down berms and bumps
caused by milling. Make sure you wipe down all surfaces after sanding with a cheese cloth to remove all
sawdust and wood chips.
When applying your first coat of stain work with the grain not against it and don't
over apply, if you want a darker finish you can always apply another coat, use a rag and pay
special attention to making sure you are even with your application. Sand and repeat if necessary.
Drilling Depth:
When using concrete anchors and sometimes in carpentry projects you have to drill into wood or concrete to a
very specific depth, to help you from going too far and reaching your desired depth use a piece of tape,
measure and mark your bit and wrap a long piece of tap around the bit leaving a "tail" coming off so it is
easier to see when the bit is spinning. Now your depth will be perfect every time!!
Fixing Stuck Doors:
As your house gradually settles over time, small changes in the alignment of door jambs can cause doors to
stick. Other things, such as loose hinges or new thick carpet can make it difficult to open or close a door.
Most of the weight of the door hangs off the top hinge, and occasionally this causes the screws to come loose,
causing the door to hit the jamb on the vertical lock edge near the top. If you try to tighten the screws but
they just spin in place, the wood around the screws is stripped. Try installing longer screws (2 inches) that
will fix into solid wood behind the jamb.
If your door expanded with the change of seasons then the fix requires a skill saw or an electric planer, mark
out the door where it rubs on the jam and take 1/4 inch off of it to allow it to close properly.
Tips on Coping:
Cut the inside corner as you normally would. Mark the edge on the face of the molding with a pencil; this will
serve as your coping-saw cut line. Hold a coping saw at a 5-degree angle away from the face of the molding and
carefully cut along the marked edge. Check for a tight fit by bringing the molding to the wall and sliding it into
place. If the coped edge doesn't exactly match the profile of the inside piece, use a wood rasp or utility knife to
pare away excess wood. When cutting miter joints remember to hold the piece of trim on the chop saw as if it was
sitting in place for installation.
Refinishing Hardwood Floors:
Real hardwood floors are a thing of beauty. Now-a-days with all the pergo and floating hardwood laminate that
people are into, they may need some TLC (tender lovin' care) from time to time, and refinishing your hard wood
floor is well worth the time and effort it takes.
First step is to: 1) Check the floor carefully for any nails (pound these down below the surface), carpet staples
or tacks (pull these). Any of these could rip and ruin your sandpaper.
Next you're gonna want to: 2) Rent a floor sander from an equipment rental shop. It's cheaper than buying your own,
and you're not going to be doing this enough to justify spending the money on it. Traditional drum sanders do a good
job but are quite heavy and take some getting used to. It's important to keep a drum sander moving all the time. They
work fast and if left standing in one spot can quickly sand a groove in the floor that would be impossible to remove.
Don't forget to get a good supply of sandpaper (in a range of grits--36, 60, 80, and 100) that will fit your rental
machine. Many rental outlets will take back sandpaper you don't use. Ask about it. Start with the heaviest grit first
(your 36), run the sander over the floor in the direction of the wood's grain. Push or pull the sander in straight but
even strokes. Its important not to sand across the grain. Keep the machine in motion while it's turned on. If you gouge
the floor a little while sanding no worries!! Go over it again with the sander in several long strokes to even it out.
When you have sanded the whole floor with the heavy grit, go over the floor again with the next lighter grain sandpaper.
The key to getting beautiful smooth floors is to move up the grits sequentially from 36 to 60 to 80 to 100. If your floor
sander didn't get to the edges or corners good enough come back and get it with a palm sander repeating all your steps for
the beginning with the heavy to light grit sandpaper.
Don't forget Safety First!! Wear your dust mask and provide good ventilation while sanding.
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