Archive for the 'Crafts' Category

Woodworking - A Beginner’s Guide

by Colin Joss

Woodworking is the skill of taking a piece of wood and carving it or building it into something beautiful or practical. Wooden furniture and wooden sculptures are popular these days. A great way to improve the look of your house is to include some wooden furniture or art.

It requires a great amount of skill to make quality handmade wooden products.

Basically wood is of 3 types. They are hardwoods that is obtained from deciduous trees, man made materials that include plywood and softwoods that are obtained from evergreen trees. There are many wood workers who have made a mark in woodworking by building some of the finest architecture, furniture. Some of the popular wood workers of all times are Alvar Aalto, Norm Abram, and John Boson.

Today woodworking tools are used most commonly to make furniture in the house. You will also see a variety of woodworking tools at construction sites. Most woodworking tools are power driven. Some of the common wood working tools that are commonly used on construction sites are chain saws, nail guns, rotary tools, routers, biscuit jointer and sanders.

For inserting a nail into the wood you should use a nail gun. A wood working tool is used for cutting polishing, carving, sanding and for many other applications. Without these wood working tools you simply cannot make a wood product. All these tools are easily available in market.

But before operating power tools, it’s essential to understand how to use them. Lack of knowledge and training can lead to serious personal injury. Skilled carpenters take years of training to learn how to safely handle tools and to produce quality results.

These tools are commonly used to make products such as cabinets, chairs, dining tables. And the better quality of wood used and top craftsmanship, you can expect the price to match!

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Drywall Finishing Gives You Smooth Walls

by Rob Carlton

If you have hung your drywall and think you are done, think again. Hanging the drywall is only half the battle. The real thing that is going to determine how your walls look is how well you do at mudding drywall. This drywall finishing technique is they key to having nice, smooth walls. Here’s how to tackle mudding drywall and get a good result.

1. Know Your Stuff

You can’t mud drywall on the fly. Do your home work and make sure you really understand what everything is and how everything works before you start slapping mud on that drywall - you’ll be glad you did.

Drywall finishing requires a few different compounds - jointing, taping and topping. Each of these comes in a pre-mixed form or a powdered form that you have to mix yourself; save yourself some time with the pre-mixed form. There is also a jointing compound that claims to do the job of all three, but it requires a good eye to make sure it is covering things properly. If you are new to mudding, use all three so you can layer as you go.

You’ll also need a few taping knives at your disposal to get started. The first step should be running one of these knives over the wall to make use you haven’t left any raised nails to be immortalized forever in the drywall mud.

2. Step by Step

If you think that you’re going to fly through this process, think again. Mudding drywall takes a minimum of four days - you’ll need to give things a chance to dry for a day or more between steps.

The four steps involved in mudding drywall are taping, then several stages of smoothing, and then the finishing coat. While the taping layer can be relatively easy to tackle, the smoothing is what celebrates the men from the boys. You will need to make sure that the compound you are using is not too thick or too thin, and you will need to make sure any imperfections in the drywall are filled and smoothed out. Usually two layers of mudding material will do the trick.

Before you apply the finishing coat, make sure the wall is perfectly smooth - use your taping knife to whittle down any bumps if you have a problem.

3. Patience is a Virtue

Mudding drywall can try the patience easily. It requires immense attention to detail and lots of downtime waiting for layers to dry. Sit back, take a deep breath and take the time to do it right. You’ll be glad you did.

Also, make sure you take the time to wear the proper protective gear. Type of Drywall can be notoriously irritating to the eyes and the lungs, so wear a mask whenever working with it.

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