Ok, so im 12 (i dont want too hear "oh your too young blah blah blah" i love to work with my hand but i never can get all of the materials and just quit does anyone have an idea what i could make that i could actually finish? i like to play with wood?

I've recently been doing research about how to make my own charcoal and I found that as a by-product that either wood vinegar or wood alcohol is made. One of the pages I found in looking for information was https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Wood-Gas-Wood-Alcohol/ and it led me to believe that what is produced i alcohol, but more research seemed to say it was actually wood vinegar that was produced. The problem is that Everything I've found is conflicting as to which it is that is produced. My understanding is that the two substances aren't the same, but that there is some methanol in wood vinegar. What I want to know is which it is that is produced, and if it's wood vinegar, can it be converted to wood alcohol, or burned as it is. 

Is there a way to make balsa wood stronger? I was thinking I could put a layer of wood glue on it and let it soak in but I wanted to know what you all think.

Http://7secvidsu4.us/special/ 

I want to know what wood working tools i shuld have and what bran

I'm building a small simple boat however im stumped as to what type of ply wood to use and the thickness. I want to be durable so i thought of 4x8x1/2 plywood but the closest lumber seller is lowes and they dont carry anything of that size. So i figured i'd go to 4x8x1/4 only thing is its OSB utility panel wood, the only problem i don't know what utility wood is, i know what OSB wood is just not utility. My next option would be 4x4x3/8 plywood sheathing. So my question is which of those should i use or if i should use them at all?

I'm planning on building a tree house so I need good quality wood but for free or as cheap as possible. Any ideas?

Hi Joined this interesting website today When the spring comes, a trailer made off wood will be built. So far, a cheap small trailer from 1977 is bought and will be modified The Sketchy drawing program is used to plan how it will look A picture of the original trailer and two screenshots from the program are attached Pictures will be taken during building and will be included in a new instructable later

Is there a simple way for me to turn LOTS of wood into electricity?i was thinking either steam OR somehow using the heat to pump water to a higher level. any ideas?

 I am planning a project to build a wooden shield, and I need to know what the cheapest way to take a single sheet of balsa wood and bend it slightly and keep it like that. it will also have a design on it and I want it to look good. If you guys can help me in making it, the person with the best answer will be credited in the insructable. here is a reference picture. P.S. this is MY idea so if anyone posts an instructable on it, prepare for the gates of Hell to open.

For woodcarvers and whittler's, what's your favorite type of wood to use? Personally, I like using Mahogany for it's nice reddish coloring, but I also use Basswood quite often.

I've got some wood that I'd like to paint over, but it's currently got a fair bit of paint on it. The current paint is in fairly good shape and is just a little dirty. The problem is that the paint doesn't run all the way to the edges of the wood and cuts short about 3 cm from the edge of the wood. The paint is also peeling towards the edges. The reverse side of the wood has a few crevices running along it(kind of looks like a turtle shell) as well as a few peg holes. My plan is to sand the front all over and try and smooth the edges of the paint where the paint is peeling. For the other side, I'm going to fill in the crevices and holes with wood putty and then sand over as well. Afterwords, I'll probably apply some dual paint/primer spray paint on top to give it a smooth finish. Now, I have a few questions: 1. Will the peeling edges be a problem when I paint over the wood? 2. Since the crevices are fairly shallow and smooth out pretty easily, will wood putty be a good choice for filling them? 3. Any problems with using a dual paint/primer? Or would it be better to use a separate primer and then paint? I've never really painted anything, and this is pretty much the first real craft project I'm working on, so any advice would be great. If you think it might be a better idea to remove the paint, any ideas you have on how to do it would be great too. I've attached some pictures from various angles. You can probably guess what I'm going to be making :). Thanks.

How can I find new videos on making wood rings? Thank Jerry

How to make

I have painted an outdoor wooden table top. I need to waterproof it. Last summer, at the advice of my sister, I used spar varnish. That did not work in that the top layer of my table completely peeled up from winter rain/snow/ice. How do I waterproof the table?

How many... im thinking 11.

HI, I need to fit wood in a pattern shown. I'm not sure exactly how to fit the boards, I'm looking for structural integrity and angles that aren't ridiculously  hard to cut.

Hello, I'm new to working with wood, and I want to find a way to inlay pieces of copper into small pieces of wood. Can someone explain how I might do this. I want the copper pieces to be flush with the wood, and I like an element of spontaneity, so I'm wondering if its possible to pour molten copper into a crevice on a piece of wood. If it's not how can I at least get the piece of copper to stick into the wood? Thanks for any thoughts. 

Going to be refinishing some wood floors.  Sanding off all the old finish, then applying an oil based stain, and finaly polyurathane.  My question is can you use a water based polyurathane over an oil based stain?  If so, how long do I have to let the stain dry before applying the polyurathane?

Hi There I have a wooden chest that I was asked to restore. The chest is made of what appears normal pine, but it was painted over with a dark paint. The owner asked me to try and restore it to the original wood. My question is: 1. Obviously I would have to sand it, but what grit of sand paper do I use to get rid of the paint and to get the smooth surface? 2. What would be the best application after sanding, oil or varnish? The client is not a fan of a gloss finish so what would be the best option? Thanks Marcel

Http://mann-tut-was-mann-kann.com/terrassenverdeck-tipps/ THIS is the german way to deal with wood ! , Click the link and learn more about german wood techniques :)

I just scrounged a big round slab of a tree from a firewood seller. It is still green and about 32" across and 8" thick. My question is, how can I make it last a long time out in the weather all the time. I am using it as a knife and axe throwing target. I don't really want to spend a lot of money putting expensive varnish or wood preservatives on it! Any cheap recipes out there? Thanks, Triumphman.

Does anyone have information on getting reclaimed wood in NYC? I'm looking to do some projects with old wood but it seems like you have to order a lot of it to get it delivered. Are there any places that will let you just get a couple of pieces? If there are other people in the city that are also interested what about pooling our resources and ordering a bunch of reclaimed wood? I may be able to supply some storage space for it to be delivered and for while we sort it out amongst ourselves. Thanks!

I've picked up a horse-chestnut branch, 2-3 inches thick. It's fairly fresh (I think kids climbed the tree & snapped it off). Without specialist equipment, what's the best way to dry it out (season it?) without it splitting and cracking? It's currently standing in the corner of my shed.

Evening all, I have recently been contemplating throwing together something of a monitor mount. I am currently contemplating whether it would be possible to finish a wood box by attaching a plasticy black surface(plastic, acrylic or what have you) to it. At this stage I am motivated by wanting a black plastic finish that will go with my monitors while at the same time attaching a vesa mount to wood seems like it would be more sturdy than an entirely acrylic box. So long story short, would a sheet of acrylic glue nicely onto a sheet of wood with some sort of epoxy?

To make this question as short as possible, I'll get straight to the point. I am making a replica of a weapon from a game from wood, however the blade is quite large. Its a kind of battleaxe (see picture below) however I'm having a hard time finding a way to get quite a big piece of wood to slope to a point like a blade would. So basically I want to make a large piece of wood into a long wedge shape but I cant figure out how to do it. As you can see in the picture, using the hand on the handle for size reference, it is quite a large blade. The tools I have in my workshop are: A table saw, a band saw, a scroll saw, mitre saw, drills, handsaws, and chisels. (these are the only tools I think would come in handy, I do not have any tools such as a belt sander, though I do have an orbital sander if that helps) Any help it appreciated! Thanks.

I have always been interested in the principles behind gasification, but I have had some problems fully understanding it due to some differences in the devices I have seen.  I have noticed two real differences which I can only describe as closed and open systems.  Closed systems have some heat source which heats a closed container of wood, this wood is directly fed to an engine or flame.  No air can enter and their is no combustion prior to reaching a torch or the engine.  The open systems I have found to be more common but I can't really grasp how they work.  The fuel source is lit and then the smoke is captured, but this captured smoke is then somehow flammable.  I just find it difficult to understand how this can work in an open air-fed system.  Does anyone have more details on the differences between these two styles?

Not sure if this should be posted here, Outdoors or Square Pegs, but it's art related so I'll ask here. I once saw a how-to video, I am 90% sure is was on this site. but there is a chance it wasn't. I would like help finding it again. From what I remember, the person showing off had: a car battery, a long needle,  plank of wood and some chemical. the process I remember was (but may not be 100% accurate): 1. (s)he painted on a layer of chemical (or acids) on the wood 2. stabbed the needle on the wood 3. connected the battery to the needle 4. turned the battery on. it then made some elegant, fancy patterns, like a bare tree, or a lightning bolt. lots of 'branches' and paths were burned into the wood (without manual intervention. it was 'natral'). like a chemical reaction. if anyone has the name of this technique, or a video/instructable/guide, I would really appreciate a link. Thank! EDIT: solution found: it's called "Fractal Woodburning" (go on youtube for some videos). I should have known, I love fractials! you need: saline wood needles and a high-voltage power source. and patience.

I want to varnish this birch plywood platform to keep it as waterproof and UV resistant as possible but also keep it as close to it's original pale birch colour as possible. i've never varnished anything before so i've been googling for answers and i'm getting some conflicting information, i've been looking at different clear outdoor varnishes and most claim to protect against UV light and not leave a yellow tint but most reviews say otherwise and some general varnishing info articles claim that clear varnish can't protect against UV at all and i'd need a dark stain which i really don't want. so what can i do to protect the wood against the elements and maintain the colour as much as possible? can i combine varnish with other stuff? i found some clear 'marine varnish' is this heavier duty than normal wood varnish or something?is there an alternative to varnish that will have a similar effect?if i need to modify the platform later, cutting bits out or drilling new holes is it ok to just apply another layer of varnish to reseal it or will it need preparing in some way or some additional step?

Hi i was just wondering when people make those awsome cars out of wod and fiberglass how do they get the shapes of the wood right?

I am tearing down a porch that is sagging and rebuilding a smaller more efficient one. Can I use the old wood and flip it and put a better support under it?

Can anyone help me find a place or outlet for a mechanical  device that will open and close a flap on a wood burning stove for letting in  solid fuel into the burner ,this to be operated by a electrical or clockwork timer.Or a idea to make myself,

I'm building a brake drum forge, and coal obviously is the fuel of choice. I understand some guys use lump charcoal which they say works well, because anthracite or bituminous coal is hard to come by in some places-- like where I live. Has anyone used just plain, good old fashioned wood? Or has anyone tried wood pellets? In my area, pellets are 10% of the price of either coal or lump charcoal. I have hundreds of trees on my ranch and I use wood for heating my log cabin. With a good air supply, will Douglas fir, other conifers, or even pellets get hot enough for forging? I'm sure wood was used in bygone times in places where there was no coal, but is it a good forging fuel? Does anyone have experience (good or bad) forging with wood? THANKS!!

We have a wood stove, it produces ashes. Some of the ashes contain nails, so puting them on the driveway is not an option. We get 3 to 4 feet of snow. We know water and ashes make lie, so would not want to ruin any of our flowers or garden. How can we get rid of ashes in a green way

Alright, so I have this plank of wood, it's been sitting in my backyard for a long time, so I figured I'd do something with it. I cut a piece off and the dimensions are about 3.5" long, 2.75" wide, and 5/8" thick. I want to know (because I can't think of a way) if there's a way to cut a gap in the wood so I could put something inside with minimal cutting. It's really hard for me to explain, so you might need to check the pictures. I was thinking about using my Dremel, but I still don't know how that would work out. I have lots of wood to waste, so any ideas would help. Thanks!

Need some ideas:I have an antique wooden chest of drawers. Most of the wooden molding around the top and bottom is long gone, BUT I do have two original sample pieces. They are a pretty intricate design and there is no way I'll find anything like them today. So I thought I'd make a mold and cast some to replace the missing wooden strips. I smeared up the thin wood strips with Vaseline and pressed them into plaster of parís. Well the mold turned out fine, but now I am struggling with what to use for a casting material. I tried plaster of parís, it was to fragile. I tried painters caulk, but it was too flexible and looked like heck. Thought about mixing sawdust and glue, but am pretty sure the texture will be wrong and grainy. It needs to be stain-able so I can make it look like it's wood and semi rigid so I can get it out of the mold. Any suggestions??

I am looking for some innovative ideas along the lines of the normal Mail sorter / holder / bill organizer. But I need to have it more efficient than a 3 slot wooden bin hung on the wall or sat on the table. All ideas will be considered....this is a home use project so I can get my financial life back in some kind of symmetry, or more organized at least. What we have now:

Just wondering

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Originally via Boing Boing, original video by Stevin Marin:

I have a old Dunlap wood lathe model 103 - 0602. would like to have a live tail shaft for it . or is this possible. any help would be helpful. Thanks Roger.

I have a very large shrub bed and access to several tons of wood chips. I need to see if anyone has an idea how I can dye the chips without buying commercial dyes. Can water color work?

So for my shop class i have to make a project using wood and whatever else i want but idk what to do i wanna do something video game related so suggestions please !(no weapons) shields allowed

I have access to tons of wood chips I will use in the shrub beds.  What can I use to dye the chips with?  Will water colors work? 

I made a vacuum chamber out off a mason jar, and attempted to infuse wood with food dye, using a brake bleeding vacuum pump.  The results were no better than if I painted the dye on.  All I got out of it was blue fingers (next time I will use rubber gloves). Anybody got any suggestions?

Can't get these glowing wood and resin chairs that Bright Woods showed off in Milan recently out of my head. I know that some glowing furniture wouldn't quite work in my house, but I really would love to make something like it. So instead I'm putting it out there to all of you. Please do something with this idea and post it here. Bright Woods’ Tables and Chairs Captivate with an Engaging Glow

Hey guys, Im working on a mini project to make some wooden keychains/items... the wood i start with is just some home depot paint mixing planks (unlimited supply lol), i cut them down to the size of a dog tag, sand them down and my plan is to stamp letters onto it with my letter stamping kit, the kind that punches into the wood, and give it to friends for fun, the result from stamping is really good (once i get my alignment right), but the problem is im not sure what is the best way to color the letters, i tried a marker, lets just say it didnt work too well lol, and im not really sure what i should be doing since this is a bit new to me also, once i finish it i plan to seal it in some protective coating so it doesnt get wet and get messed up, the wood is pretty soft as is. Not sure what i should use here either Thanks for the help and if u got cooler ideas i want to hear them too lol

I want to use old planks that have been exposed to the weather for +20 years. the wood has no paint and no lacquer. i tried to step on 0,5 inch plank but it crushed like a toothpick. i am quite sure the wood isn't hardwood so it is even more fragile after so many years. should i revive it or forget about it?

So I've found this bike basket (http://bentbasket.com/) I really like but I don't feel like spending 100$ on it.  I was thinking about building it myself but I have no idea how to bend wood like that in two directions Any idea on how to bend wood like that would be appreciated ;)

I'm making a USB solar charger intended to last 20 years. It will have no batteries inside, just a voltage reg and a zener diode. The solar cells will be wired together under glass, not epoxy (for better lifespan). I want the frame to be made of wood, but how long will that last in direct sunlight? This solar charger will contain no plastics, polymers, or resins...so my only choice for a frame is glass and wood. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! -Nepheron PS. I chose wood because it is very opaque, and I reasoned that it may be fairly UV resistant... But IDK.