Woodworkers, need tips.

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Originally Posted by JohnnyEgo

I'd go with Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO), Tung Oil, or Watco Danish, all of which can be found at Home Depot or Lowes. However, it's a work bench. Sooner or later it is going to get scratched by something nasty, and firearm solvents and cleaners will strip it out.
On the workbench I use most for cleaning guns, sharpening knives, or other nasty activities, I put a piece of 1/8" door-skin on top. It's essentially melamine over a thin layer of hardi-board. Clean it up with 409, discard it when it gets too ugly for your tastes. As an added benefit, it's like a giant white board. I write notes in pencil on it all the time. Mine has become pretty gnarly of late, and I plan on swapping out the existing skin tomorrow. My top is a layer of ply for strength and holding, a layer of MDF for being dead-flat and heavy, and a top layer of sacrificial door-skin.

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Watco Danish is pretty good stuff. Dries hard and looks nice. Takes a while to fully cure. Keep in mind it has resins in it that harden in the wood, so it's permanent. Common finish to use when reconditioning older stereo speakers. JBL recommended maintenance of their oiled finishes using 3:1 BLO/Gum Turpentine mix.

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Originally Posted by Erni

So I dont do a lot of woodwork and cant set up a worshop for the rare times that I do. But I do have a couple of closet updates I need to do, and may end up doing a custom shelfs and maybe a murphy bed for my daughters room update. (Turned teen, and the hello kitty themed room needs to be changed).

I can work with small pieces just fine with my 10" chop saw, have some air nailers, drills etc. I dont have a table saw, and dint really have room for one.
Here are the problems:
1. Larger pieces give me problems. Like making straight cut with the circular saw on a piece of ply or larger board.
Do I buy a clamp one straight edge, or a curcular saw sled, or what? Is buying precut pieces from a lumber yard the better choice here?
2. Handling larger pieces. Dont have room for a dedicated table. End up using a plastic picnic table, which is wobbly, and a BD folding stand, which is too small. Do I need to make a collapsible table, which will be a pain to store?
3. Joining. Dont have a system picked out and not sure which one will work for 95% of general joinery. Pocket screw jig, dowel and screw jig, biscuit joiner, routing for finger joints?

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Look up Festool.. They have saw guides/tracks that will allow you to make precision cuts on large sheets of ply without the need for a table saw. They also have various jigs for making all of your joinery cuts. If you use their saws they make attachments that work with their vacuums so that you can keep your work space dust free.. Pretty cool stuff.

https://www.festoolusa.com
https://www.festoolusa.com/power-tools/track-saws/
https://www.festoolusa.com/power-too...e-rails/tracks

I don't think he is ready to drop Festool money.
I say that having dropped thousands of dollars in Festool money.

Just and FYI for this thread..I am not sure how good of a price this is?

Kreg Jig K4 Pocket Hole System https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

ive been woodworking off and on for many years. Here are my thoughts:

1. Larger pieces give me problems. Like making straight cut with the circular saw on a piece of ply or larger board.
Do I buy a clamp one straight edge, or a curcular saw sled, or what? Is buying precut pieces from a lumber yard the better choice here?

You can get by with using a factory edge on a piece of MDF as a straightedge, and using a good quality circular saw with a good, sharp blade. Diablo blades are pretty good. I use a Festool rail system with great results for sheet stock, and a "suped-up" contractors table saw or vintage radial arm saw set up for rip and crosscuts in lumber, but those just make things easier, faster, and more repeatable. You can do the same with the straightedge.

2. Handling larger pieces. Dont have room for a dedicated table. End up using a plastic picnic table, which is wobbly, and a BD folding stand, which is too small. Do I need to make a collapsible table, which will be a pain to store?

I've sometimes put a sacrificial sheet of plywood on the garage floor to cut sheetstock. Works just fine and no wobble.

3. Joining. Dont have a system picked out and not sure which one will work for 95% of general joinery. Pocket screw jig, dowel and screw jig, biscuit joiner, routing for finger joints?

Biscuits and glue work great for edge joining. Kreg jig for pocket screws for joining butt to edge grain. And lapped joints for butt to butt (uncommon).

4. Finishing and staining. A can of poly is probably a great choice here, or should I brush? Staining always looks bad. Any hints on how to stain well?

Wipe on poly with rags works great. Just do multiple coats to build up a surface. Wipe on Danish oil also works great for getting color and sheen. A high quality pure carnauba wax is good for a real shine, but I usually go lower luster. I've had good, long term results with Danish oil even with bathroom cabinets.

5. Glue. White carpenter or the foaming gorilla types?

Basic yellow wood glue is great.

6. Any other tips you can share on making things easier?

In no particular order: Measure twice, double check, then cut. Also, use "story sticks" (where you make marks on a piece of scrap to measure distances) then you won't make a memory mistake. On important cuts with the circular saw, put the finished side down to avoid tear out. Taping the cut line can also reduce tear out. Don't sand past 220; there's no benefit. Make sure your saw blade is square to the saw base vertically and horizontally. Make test cuts on scrap whenever possible to check your setup.

Thank you.

My pleasure! Feel free to PM with any other questions, and good luck!

Thought I would say a special thanks for all the tips, tricks and recomendations.

Ended up buying drawers and cutting an IKEA carcas for the daughters closet.
Used the foam trick, with a melonite fence, some blue tape and a new 120 tooth blade. Smooth cuts, no chipping.

Coluld use a better square and need to figure out something better for the cutting work table.
But all in all nice and smooth.