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Article: The coloring comes variety of organic compounds called conjugated dienes, that reflect visible light in both the high and low end range of the visible spectrum (from 400-700nm). Some of which have solubility in polar protic compounds like water, others of which are only soluble in organic solvents. That’s where the magic of acetone comes in. It is highly polar, but it is non-protic, therefore it dissolves them all. And by dissolving them, they work their way to the surface and bring all of their bright beautiful purple color with them. The ultraviolet rays from the sun then do...

Article: Keep Saw Blades and Router Bits Cutting Like NewDo your sawblades seem dull? And maybe not cut as good as they did when they were new? Maybe they aren't dull. Maybe they are dirty. Pitch & resin build up adds a lot of friction to the blade passing through the wood. So it moves slower, and the increased friction causes increased heat, and therefore, more burning. Maybe your blades just SEEM dull. Maybe they just need cleaned! The heating of wood from the friction of sawing makes the tar and pitch distill out of the wood and leave behind...

I got around to cutting off the ends of the workbench today. Since it was 5" deep I had to use a circular saw and cut to its maximum depth, then flip it over and do the other half, and finally cut through the last 1-1/2" with a handsaw.   Before doing that, I mated the two halves together and clamped them. Then, I used a straight edge that was placed exactly 90 degrees to the long side. And finally, I cut them as one piece.  After unclamping, and flipping, I repeated the same procedure. There is really no other...

I am building a new Woodworking bench for my shop. I decided on a split top Roubo bench. I want something really heavy and with a really thick stable table top. But I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a professional woodworking bench. So I designed this. I created a project where I can have the same thing for less than a couple hundred dollars. I purchased my lumber at my local big box store. I chose Douglas Fir but virtually any dimensional lumber will work including things like Southern yellow Pine. I bought only 2x6's to make...