15 woodworking basics you should know

there are things in woodworking that you just  sort of pick up along the way things that no   one ever talks about because they're just so  ingrained that they've become second nature   well today I'm sharing 15 woodworking Basics that  I think every woodworker should know so let's   kick it off with number one we've all brought  home Lumber that seemed perfectly straight at   the store only to find it warped and twisted  a few days later inevitably wood will want to   move as it reacts to changes in its environment  wood will want to swell when it's hot and humid   whereas it will want to contract and shrink when  it's cold and dry and this is a cycle that will   repeat season after season there are a couple  things we as Woodworkers can do to help control   this seasonal movement number one is to allow  the wood to have room to move in our builds for   example when fastening down a tabletop you'll  often see the use of z-clips or figure eight   Fasteners this will allow the tabletop to expand  and contract without restriction otherwise if you   screw it down too tight the table is likely to  crack over time another thing that helps control   the cycle of expansion and contraction is to apply  a finish to the wood by sealing it on all sides it   helps to minimize the exchange of moisture with  the ambient air and therefore stabilizes the wood   so just remember to finish every side of a  project even the ones that no one will see   butt joints are weak yes butt joints if you've  ever tried to glue end grain to face grain it   probably didn't hold up for very long edge to  edge glue UPS on the other hand like cutting   boards or table tops are super solid glue alone  is plenty strong to make a long lasting joint and   no mechanical Fasteners are required but when it  comes to butt joints glue just won't cut it you'll   want to use some sort of mechanical Fastener  to strengthen the joint like pocket screws   dowels or even biscuits or if you prefer you can  try some more advanced joinery methods like finger   joints or even dovetails you'll end up with a  much stronger joint that won't be an epic fail   so two by fours aren't actually two inches by  four inches they're actually one and a half by   three and a half now there's probably a whole  history lesson I could give you on why two by   fours aren't actually two by fours anymore  they used to be at one point but not today   but we still use those nominal Dimensions  because the rough board was actually a two   by four but then it's been planed and smoothed  down to its final Dimensions so while the final   dimensions are a lot smaller we still use the  nominal Dimensions as a reference now the same   applies to pretty much all the finished lumber  that you'll buy one by anything is actually   three quarters thick whereas a two by eight for  example is only seven and a quarter inches wide   so just keep in mind the nominal versus the  actual dimensions when planning out your projects   next up understanding how to calculate board feet  unlike softwoods that are sold two by fours and   two by sixes hardwood is sold by the board foot  and this typically applies to rough lumber when   you go to a lumber yard they'll typically have  a list price for every species they have and the   price will be listed in board foot for example  six dollars for a board foot of maple unlike   soft Woods where you buy a 2x4 but you only get  a one and a half by three and a half when you buy   Hardwoods you'll actually get what you're paying  for now the math is actually quite simple once   you understand how it works one board foot is  one foot wide by one foot and an inch thick so   12 by 12 by one that's a board foot so if you  want to calculate for this board for example   36 inches long eight wide and one tall it  becomes a little complicated when you don't   have exact feet right so there's a simple formula  to easily calculate it just convert everything to   inches so 36 by eight by one we already have it  in inches multiply that all together and divide   it by 144 and you'll have the number of board  feet so in this case 36 by 8 by 1 that's 288   divided by 144 we have exactly two board feet so  if you're wondering what two board feet look like   this is it and that's how you calculate board feet  safety matters no one wants to lose a finger or an   eye right so tie back that hair roll up those  sleeves and leave your jewelry in the house   and generally speaking don't wear gloves while  operating large tools with spinning blades   I take shop safety very seriously not only the  physical dangers like a table saw but also those   invisible dangers that you don't necessarily see  that's why you'll always see me wearing ear muffs   or noise canceling headphones to protect my  hearing safety glasses to protect my eyes and   a dust mask to protect my lungs I like to wear  a p100 respirator like this one but a disposable   n95 mask like this one will do the job too  and by the way you can get a sweet deal on   safety glasses like these ones at Princess  Auto I think these were like three dollars   and of course always be mindful of what you're  doing if it doesn't feel safe it probably isn't   so don't do it speaking of safety let's talk  about the table saw for a second the table saw   is great for making all sorts of cuts but there's  one type of cut in particular that you never want   to make on a table saw and that's cross cutting  against the fence this applies just as well for   a 2x4 as it does to apply wood you want to avoid  cutting a long thin piece with the short side up   against the fence if you try to cut a board like  this against the fence there's a very good chance   the board might twist and bind cause and Kickback  where the offcut will come shooting back at you   or Worse instead you can use a miter gauge or a  cross cut sled to make this cut safely or just   use your miter saw that's basically what it's made  for as the old adage says measure twice cut once   it may sound really basic but when you're dealing  with expensive Hardwoods making a mistake can be   costly what I like to do is measure then make  a marking and draw my line using a square   then I'll measure again to the line to make  sure I got that Dimension just right measure   twice cut once oh and another tip always  buy a little extra lumber for any project   that you're making in case you do make a  mistake you'll have a little extra on hand   another mistake some of us make when starting out  is forgetting to account for the saw Blade's kerf   and what I mean is that when you make your  first cuts on the miter saw or the table saw   you may be inclined to line up that blade  right on your line but that's a mistake if   you cut it that way you'll end up too short on  your measurements instead the goal should be to   line up the very tips of your Blade with the  outside of that line that way if you measured   18 inches you'll end up with 18 inches after  I've measured my cut I like to make an x on   the waist side of the line so I know which  side of the line my blade needs to be on do it this way and you'll  get much more precise cuts a router can be a really loud and intimidating  tool to use especially if you've never used one   before but there are simple feed Direction  rules to follow in order to use them safely   when you're holding the router in hand with  the bit facing downwards the bit will spin   in a clockwise direction as is often  indicated on the router's base plate   you want to feed the router against the  bits rotation and will therefore want   to go in a counter-clockwise Direction going  around your work piece now if you're writing   the inside of a frame the opposite is true  you'll want to move the router clockwise think of it this way if this was an individual  board you'd move the router counter-clockwise   around the edges but because we're moving from  board to board and confined inside this becomes   a clockwise motion so just remember this for  handheld routers always go counter-clockwise   around the outside of a board but clockwise  around any inside edges when first starting   out in woodworking you'll most likely have only  been exposed to Woods like Pine and Cedar that you   see at Home Depot or Lowe's but as you grow into  woodworking you'll learn that using Hardwoods can   produce not only better looking pieces but also  more resilient and longer lasting soft Woods on   the one hand come from trees that have needles  and are typically Evergreen all year round   Hardwoods on the other hand come from trees that  have large leaves and typically fall off in the   autumn unlike soft Woods that grow really fast  Hardwoods typically grow slowly and therefore   produce a harder and more dense wood soft Woods  typically have way more knots than Hardwoods do   and for those reasons Hardwoods are typically more  expensive than softwoods softwood examples include   Pine Spruce fur whereas Hardwoods include  Maple Oak Ash Walnut and Cherry for example speaking of lumber let's talk about open grain  versus closed grain now I'm not going to pretend   to be an expert and explain everything about open  versus closed grain but what's important to know   is that when making cutting boards or spatulas or  any other items that would be used in the kitchen   and come in contact with food you don't want to  use open grade Woods a classic example of an open   grain wood is Oak now while Oak may be beautiful  for mill work or a fireplace mantle or Furniture   it's definitely not something that you should see  in cutting boards Ashwood is another really good   example of an open grain wood shouldn't be used  for cutting boards same thing goes for soft Woods   definitely a No-No when it comes to cutting boards  open grain Woods have almost visible pores that   you can see with the naked eye which makes them  a poor candidate because they'll soak up moisture   like a sponge and become a breeding ground for  bacteria on the other hand maple walnut and Cherry   are a great example of closed grain Hardwoods that  can be used for cutting boards there are two main   types of cut in woodworking there's the rib cut  and the cross cut ripping a board means you're   cutting with the grain usually lengthwise  like cutting a wide board Into Thin strips   cross cutting on the other hand is when you're  cutting across the wood fibers or across the grain   think of the cut you would usually make at the  miter saw when cutting a 2x4 so picture the wood   as if it were a broom when cutting lengthwise  with the fibers that's a rip cut and just like   a broom it requires minimal effort to separate  the fibers lengthwise but if we were to make a   cross cut across the fibers it would require  a lot more effort to cut these fibers in half   that's why there are different types of blades  for each type of cut a ripping blade will have   fewer teeth and very aggressive teeth and also  have deep gullets to help eliminate the sawdust   quicker and prevent heat buildup a cross-cut blade  will have much finer teeth and a lot more of them   in order to try to tear those fibers as cleanly as  possible now personally I have no time or patience   to be swapping out the blade every time I want  to make a different kind of cut that's why I keep   a combination blade pretty much all the time  on my table saw this blade combines The Best   of Both Worlds and allows me to make rip cuts  and cross cuts and even cut plywood with pretty   decent results when it comes to sanding there's  a process to be followed and it's important to   not skip through the grits too quickly now I know  everybody hates sanding but if you don't want all   those swirl marks in your wood it's important  to follow the process closely now there's a   simple rule to make sure that you're not skipping  too quickly through the grits and that's never   increased by more than 50 when you're switching  from one grit to the next so that's why you'll see   the Grits that I have in my sandpaper cabinet here  I'll typically start at 80 grit for rough lumber   then I'll move up to 120 which is plus 50 percent  then 180 which is plus another 50 percent and   finally 220. again moving up 50 percent I rarely  go any higher up to 320 for example except when   I'm using epoxy or something like that so what  this means is that I have to fully sand my project   four times starting with 80 all the way up to 220  until the project is finally ready to apply finish [Music] when using screws always drill  pallet holes first especially   if you're drilling into the end of a board you can use pretty much any countersink  bit you can buy a really basic affordable   one that you can find in any big box  store like this one or you could use   a premium style bit like this one which has  the countersink just as well but it also has   a no Mar depth stop which means you'll  be drilling to exactly the same depth   every time you won't be over Drilling and  you'll always get the perfect countersink [Music] foreign there's nothing worse than ruining a project  because you drilled a little too deep and the bit   blew out the other side ah that really sucks but  there's a simple trick for this one I use all the   time just take a piece of blue tape and then wrap  it around your bit at the stopping point [Music]   that way you'll know exactly where to stop and  you'll always drill to the perfect depth and   I think that makes 15 I'm sure I forgot some  really important ones and you'll let me know   in the comments down below until next  time thanks for watching see you soon

Channel: DIY Montreal

Views: 897,383

Keywords: Woodworking basics, Beginner woodworking tips, Woodworking basics concepts, Start woodworking, How to start woodworking, Starting out in woodworking, 15 woodworking basics you should know, Woodworking 101, 15 things every beginner woodworker should know, Beginner woodworker, Basics of woodworking, A beginners guide to woodworking, Woodworking fundamentals, Fundamentals of woodworking, Things I wish I knew as a beginner woodworker, Woodworking, DIY Montreal

Id: m3CqH4DjVlI

Length: 13min 19sec (799 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 23 2023