free-tip-of-the-week

Free Tip #12

Mon, 24 May 2010 16:30:03 +0100

Using Dowels

A dowel is a small cylindrical piece of wood used for making wood repairs. When gluing together a chair rung or foot, or any other two pieces of wood for that matter a dowel is needed. Why is a dowel needed? Most structural wood repairs involving small pieces of wood need more than just wood glue or epoxy. If the glued area is load bearing like a chair, simply gluing the piece and clamping it will result in the same break many times over. Yes there are industrial strength epoxies and crazy glues out there that mention they have the strength of gorillas, but without a dowel the repair will not last.
A dowel is used after the glue and clamps are in place. A drill bit is used to create a hole the size of the dowel down into both pieces of the repair. Once the hole is drilled, use more glue on the dowel and insert it in the drilled hole. Dowels come in many different lengths and sizes and are easy to purchase at any hardware store. After the glue has dried, remove all clamps. Saw off the end of the dowel and if done right will only require a simple touchup to hide the raw wood color of the dowel. As always, if any trouble arises call us here at Furniture Works, LLC for help.

Free Tip #11

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:02:07 +0100

Why buy new Furniture?

Over the years, furniture comes and goes from your home. When you want to add new pieces to your decor, why not think about buying used? New furniture often is made from particle board or mulit-lamenated wood. These pieces may look like great bargains at your local furniture stores but many times are not. Most new furniture can never be refinished. Sometimes, it looks so real it's hard for most professionals to recognize that it isn't. While the pieces may serve a purpose early on, keep in mind of how you want them to look in the future. If the piece ever gets gouged or scratched many of them will never again look new. There's only so much "touching up" these pieces can handle. They are designed specifically for a time period that the store hopes will end. Early on, stores sold solid furniture and refinishers kept them alive for years to come. With modern technology, stores are able to fabricate very real looking furniture that lasts for a time. Once damaged, you are left with no options but to buy new again, giving the stores more business.

My goal isn't to scare off any stores potential customers, but to bring to light the dying craft of refinishing. Many older pieces of furniture are made from solid species of woods and have the capability of being refinished multiple times. When searching for the perfect piece, why not try a yard sale or antique store? You can find old worn out pieces at a fraction of the cost, and have them refinished and looking like the day they were originally made. My entire office consists of free furniture I found online. The set includes an executive desk with return and a credenza. It is very large and was once mahogany finished. It was also in very bad shape. After refinishing, it is now a very modern looking ebony with glass top I purchased for $350.00. For about $500.00, I have a nice office that you can't find in any store for that price. If sold, the set would easily go for about $5000.00.

The money you save alone in refinshing old furniture can be in the thousands. Keep this in mind the next time you go shopping for new furniture. Instead of a store, hit the yard sales and call a professional refinishing company to get it looking any way you like. You will be suprised at what is out there.

Free Tip #10

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:40:43 +0100

Fixing Dents

When refinishing, often you may run across a few dents. The following procedure works well in most cases. Please note that this process should be used on the raw piece of wood only. Do not attempt this on a finished piece as you will most certainly cause damage to the finish.

1. Apply a few drops of distilled water to each dent.
2. Let the water soak in until it dries.
3. In most cases, this will cause the dent to swell back out to normal.

If this process doesn't work, repeat it again. If the dent is still there, try applying the distilled water and using an iron. Use a few drops and while the dent is still wet cover it with a damp cloth(old tshirt works good) Iron for a few seconds and this should get the dent to rise out. Sometimes, I use a soldering iron with a damp cloth. The size of the soldering iron allows for more focalized heat application.

If both procedures fail you and the piece is solid wood, you may have to do alot of sanding to remove the dent. However, this process normally works when done correctly.

Free Tip #9

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:32:27 +0100

Stripping Furniture- Good Tip

When stripping a piece of furniture, often one encounters difficult to scrape spots. These areas are often carved or are part of the piece that are hard to reach such a a chair spindle.

After applying stripper to the location you wish to strip wait a good ten to fifteen minutes and then throw some old saw dust on there. Get yourself a good wire bristle brush that can really take a beating over time and brush of the stripper. The saw dust binds with the stripper and makes for much less of a mess while also getting the job done. If you have a orbital sander, using the dust from its collection reservoir is perfect.

After using this method for all your hard to strip areas, the sanding process will be a breeze. As mentioned before, the better you strip the piece the easier the rest of the process.

Free Tip# 8

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:50:03 +0100

Touch up Markers

Everyone has seen them. Many have used them. Do they really work? That answer is not too complicated. They do work when used on areas of your furniture that are less noticeable. They work great on chair legs, table bases and most other vertical surfaces. When I use the word vertical, I typically mean any area that is not a top surface such as a desktop. What happens when a touch up marker is used on a top surface is normally a very muddy eye sore. Natural room light tends to reflect the touched up area in a negative way. Users often trade one eye sore for another when using the markers on top surfaces. Often a scratch or gauge on a top surface is best left for someone who has more experience with wood touch up. This is pretty much the touch up marker in a nut shell. The stain inside the marker includes a drying and hardening agent used to help the touch up become permanent. This makes the marker very easy to use. It becomes a matter of simply "coloring" in the damage. With so many stain colors to choose from, markers have become very popular. In conclusion, I would say that touch markers do have their place in the furniture touch up industry but would carefully warn it's user that it's not a "cure all" to wood damage.

Free Tip #7

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:10:42 +0100

Staining Woes

Putting a stain on wood is often a learning experience for the average person. Many of you have probably seen a popular stain comercial or two that show someone streaking a beautiful stain across a piece of wood. The piece all of a sudden is complete with a finish and theres no need to do anything else. But what really happens when you just put a stain on a piece of furniture? 10 times out of 10, the stain will go on as you wish for it to appear as a completed piece but then dry out and lighten in color. The reason behind this is that the stain still needs some sort of finish to go over top of it and enhance its color. Stain is not a finish. Although a new fad of tinted polyurethene is on the market today, I suggest using a stain and then clearcoat. A stain must be locked in with some sort of topcoat finish whether it be wax, poly, water-based or laquor to name a few.
Stain can also run and over lap. The best way to combat this is to use a gel stain. Most oil-based stains tend to really get in the wood grains and give a blotchy appearance. Gel stains give a more uniform color while also maintaining the true color on the can or sample. I like gel stains particularly because they can help blend in poorly grained wood surfaces and also save time in the toning process.
Stain needs to be wiped off as well. This may sound funny to a pro, but some users simply think that they can just wipe it on and leave it. You have to buff or wipe off excess stain.
Last, take your time! If you're staining a chair do a couple spindles at a time or small area. This will give you a better result.

Free Tip#6

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:21:34 +0100

Furniture Stripping

Furniture stripping is always a messy process. I like to start by removing all hardware on the piece. This includes knobs, pulls, hinges, glass etc. By doing this you save time having to clean all the dirty pieces with stripped finish in them. You also run the risk of ruining certain hardware by not removing it.
Next, I try to find the right stripper. Metholene Chloride(MC) is a sure way to strip most pieces. However, in some areas it is not sold. It is highly flammable and corrosive but gets the job done. Be sure to wear gloves because it will burn your skin. There are many types of stripper if MC is not for you. Orange-glo makes an environmentally safe stripper that works okay. If the piece has a laquor finish, laquor thinner will strip it with some heavy single O steel wool. If the piece has old shellac, denatured alcohol will disolve the shellac instantly.
The best tip for stripping I can give you is, the more you strip the less you will have to sand. Hurrying with stripping just leads to way more time consuming sanding.
Whatever method you use, always finish by cleaning the piece. I like laquor thinner. I quickly dries and washes away most strippers.
After you strip the piece, let it dry for a couple hours. A wet piece will just gum up your sandpaper. Sandpaper is not cheap and you use alot of it.

Free Tip#5

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:49:53 +0100

Types of Colors/Stains for Finishing Wood

There are a few different varieties for putting a finish/stain on wood. I'll narrow these to four basic groups. Dark Stains, Light Stains, Clear Coats, and Painted.

Dark stains are great for enhancing a distinctive grain pattern in the wood. Using a dark stain will give rich, formal looks to soft woods. Dark stains can also simulate the appearance of a finer hardwood on your more inexpensive woods such as Poplar, Pine, and Basswood. Dark stains in my opinion are the way to go.

Light stains work great to highlight subtle grain patterns and amplify attractive wood tones. You can also use light stains to modify wood tones to match particular items in your household. Light stains add depth and give unfinished wood a seasoned look. Light stains work good with Maple, Pine and White Oak.

Clear coats protect and seal wood while allowing the natural looks of the wood to shine through. You want to use a clear coat when the species of wood has such a wild grain pattern or exotic look that you want it to speak for itself. You can also use clear coats on beat up pieces to give a more natural rustic look.

Painted finishes mask bad qualites in wood. If the piece is so forgone that finishing is not an option, you can paint the piece. With all types of faux finishes, this is an art in itself.

Free Tip#4

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:25:27 +0100

Removing Stripped Screws

They are different types of screw extractor bits that you can buy in many hardware stores. Sometimes you don't need to use one of these bits. Often, I place a screwdriver into the stripped slot. I give the top of the driver a couple good raps with a hammer to lodge it in the screw. By doing this you can get the leverage you need to turn the screw out. If you do have to use a screw extractor bit heres how..... Drill a very small pilot hole into the screw and then use a reverse-threaded screw extractor bit. Sometimes the screw is so mangled nothing works. Try getting to a point where you can fit some needle-nose plyers around the screw.

Free Tip #3

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:11:17 +0100

How to Paint Wood

Whatever you are painting is going to have to be prepped. If the piece is already painted, it may not have to be stripped. But if the finish is badly damaged and cracking, it is a good idea to strip and prep the piece from square one. After stripping your piece you must finish sand it. This means getting the piece sanded enough to where a good couple coats of paint will build a decent finish. If during the stripping process you used 60- 80 or even 100- 150 grit sandpaper, you will need to upgrade to a final sanding of at least 220. This gives the wood a paintable surface. It saves time in the finishing process as well.
When priming a piece, use water based primer with water based paints, and oil based primers with oil based paints. Make sure as you are brushing the paint you are smoothing out the brush marks as you work. When the first coat is dry, lightly sand with 220 grit sandpaper.
Apply one coat of paint and let dry. Lightly sand with 400 grit sandpaper. Always clean up the piece with a tack cloth after sanding. You dont' want any sanding residue to gum up any following coats.
Apply the final coat. DO NOT SAND THE FINAL COAT! If you want to apply a clear polyurethane topcat if the piece is going to get heavy use you can. Just make sure you wet-sand with 600 grit sandpaper before applying. Use a water based polyurethane over any latex paint and oil based over any oil based paint. It takes time and is definately a process.
As always. It's not rocket science but you have to know what you are doing. If you have any problems email us at Furniture Works and we can help.