Handy Man Fix Home Repair » Woodwork

Refinish Hardwood Floors

keira — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:43:13 +0000

One way to get the most out of your home is to refinish hardwood floors, restoring them to a much finer look and design. If you bought your floors in a prefabricated style and had them installed by someone else, then you probably do not realize how much more you could get out of your home if you were to simply refinish hardwood floors. Are you remodeling your home or looking to add some value to it? Let's look at some basic information that you need to know when deciding whether or not to refinish hardwood floors in your home.

What kind of refinish?

Pre-fabricated hardwood floor planks are usually pre-treated for protection against certain things, such as insect damage and moisture. They are given a thick coat of varnish that allows them to keep their luster, which is what gives your hardwood flooring its unique finish. You can maintain this elegant and spotless look of your floor by waxing on a regular basis, and minimizing friction on the floor as much as possible.

When moving furniture, you should use rags to keep friction down, and you should never mop across your hardwood floors. Still, even with a great amount of care, the color of your hardwood flooring can fade, and you can also experience dents and scratches over time that will ruin the beautiful glossy surface of the wood over a period of time. If the problem is kept to a minimum, such as a few stains or faded spot, or a scratch or dent or two, then you can simply deal with it by adding another layer of the finish to your floor, as simply as that. You can refinish hardwood floors at all once, or just refinish some areas as needed, depending on what damage has been done.

Refinishing hardwood floors can be a little expensive to contend with, so it is important that you be a little bit practical, making sure that you absolutely need to do it before you tackle this extensive project. What you can try, which comes highly recommended, is to conduct a simple test to figure out if the original floor finish is still working its magic in terms of protection. You can do this by pouring a tablespoon of water on the floor. What happens to the water? If the drops of water bead up and you can easily wipe them up, then the finish is still doing what it was intended to do. On the other hand, if the water does not bead up, the test has failed and you should refinish that spot.

If you do not believe that you will have time to spot refinish your hardwood floors for a while, then it would be safer to refinish the entire floor rather than just the spots that need it. You can't necessarily over-refinish a hardwood floor, but you can certainly under-refinish one, which could cause serious damage to your flooring over time.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-01-08 05:48:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Getting Started with Simple Woodworking

keira — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:40:45 +0000

If you are a beginner to the art of woodworking, then you should know that there are plenty of simple woodworking projects out there that you can take advantage of when you are first getting started. Wood working does not have to be a futile task, because you can make a lot of unique simple woodworking projects with just basic tools and knowledge of the art of woodworking. Everybody originally started with simple woodworking projects, and you can improve your woodworking talents as time goes on. This is not an innate skill in all of us, but luckily simple woodworking can certainly be learned.

It is amazing the kind of things that you can do when you only have the most basic of simple woodworking tools. Before you end up throwing yourself head long into this hobby, you are going to want to do as much research and gather as much information as you possibly can. Make sure that you are researching a variety of different techniques and different hand and power tools, including old tools and more modern tools so that you understand the ins and the outs of the simple woodworking hobby.

When you research different types of wood and the different uses for each type of lumber, it will allow you to get a good idea of how you can complete all of the w simple woodworking projects that you embark on. Luckily, there is plenty of information out there that you will be able to take advantage of when you are growing your understanding of this unique and exciting hobby. There are a wide variety of different websites, for example, that will help beginners with the concept of simple woodworking.

Keep in mind that simple woodworking is simply where you want to get started and you can always grow your hobby as your tool collection and your tooling capabilities are increased. You can learn a lot when you start small and work your way up to professional woodworking from simple woodworking, but if you jump straight to professional woodworking something could very well go terribly wrong. All of these things need to be considered as well as kept in mind when it comes to your simple woodworking hobby. If you go too fast or cut corners in your simple woodworking projects, you could end up injuring yourself.

When you feel as if you are ready to begin your first simple woodworking, always keep it simply. Choose a simple woodworking project that is only going to require the use of hand tools for the best possible results. There are plenty of simple woodworking kits available that will offer pre cut pieces, requiring only the assembly. This is a great way to get started without overtaxing or overwhelming yourself.

Photo Credits: Toni Travels

Originally posted 2009-09-27 09:40:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Softwood Varieties

keira — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:44:28 +0000

Softwood is a type of lumber that is produced from coniferous trees. Coniferous trees are trees that have needles and cones, such as evergreen species of trees. Examples of the softwood species of trees include redwood, pine, spruce, fir and hemlock. The main source of softwood lumber is spruce, fir and pine. The lumber is sawed from the selected tree and it remains rough until it has been planed to the necessary finished dimension.

Different softwood lumber species are capable of varying in how they resist weather as well as decay. You should select your softwood lumber species based on the job that you are dealing with. Some softwood lumber varieties are better suited for different purposes, where some softwood varieties are good for building and construction while other forms are better for fencing, boxes and crates for example. Here is a look at some of the varieties of softwood and their unique characteristics.

Pine: The characteristics of this type of wood include a uniform smooth texture, resistance to warping and that it works well with finishing. The most common uses for this type of softwood lumber include house construction, cabinet making, furniture making, millwork and molding.
Hemlock: The characteristics of this type of wood include that it is lightweight, machines very well, is generally resistant to decay. The most common uses for this type of softwood lumber include framing lumber, doors, sub flooring, paneling, crates and boxes.
Fir: The characteristics of this type of wood include that it is worked easily, finishes moderately well and resists moisture as well as decay relatively well. The most common uses for this type of softwood lumber include door and window framing, plywood veneers, millwork, trim for the interior.
Redwood: The characteristics of this type of wood include that it is lightweight, that it is easy to work with, that it has a low structural strength, that it resists decay well. The most common uses for this type of softwood lumber include outdoor furniture and fencing, siding and paneling, deck surfaces.
Spruce: The characteristics of this type of wood include that it is strong and hard, that it resists decay well. The most common uses for this type of softwood lumber include boxes, ladders, crates and general millwork.
Eastern Cedar: The characteristics of this type of wood include color variations, high decay resistance, pungent odor and small boards. The most common uses for this type of softwood lumber are furniture, posts, chests, novelties and closet linings.
Western Cedar: The characteristics of this type of wood include that it is lightweight, has a high resistance for decay, uniform texture, is easy to work with and has a straight grain. The most common uses for this type of softwood lumber are for siding, shakes, shingles, outdoor patios, boxes and decks.

Photo Credits: Duquesa Mercedes

Originally posted 2009-08-03 05:15:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Rookie and Beginner Woodwork Projects

keira — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:07:30 +0000

Just like with many other types of jobs, when it comes to woodwork projects, planning is of the utmost level of importance. Cutting wood and working with wood is always going to demand that you utilize careful planning and a step by step approach toward reaching the ultimate goal for your woodwork projects. Even when you are a beginner to the art of woodwork projects, setting up a plan is absolutely essential as it is going to guide you through the entire intriguing process, saving you quite a bit of time and energy in the process. Never the less, the quality of your final pieces is also going to depend largely on proper planning as well as implementation of your plan in the correct manner, so if you want your woodwork projects to be perfect, make sure that you plan ahead always.

Creating a woodwork project plan is going to make all of your woodwork projects infinitely simpler. The reason for this is because it enables you, as the worker, to truly visualize the intended outcome for your task, guiding you through the entire process up until the point of completion. There are a wide variety of different sources of information that are out there for woodworkers to choose from, and when you choose woodwork projects you should absolutely find the ones that have detailed plans that walk you through not only every step of the process, but every technique and every tool that you are going to need as well.

There are lots of websites that are going to provide you with woodwork projects and woodwork plans, but one of the best places to find good woodwork projects is in books because they tend to be significantly more thorough and provide many more pictures, diagrams and pieces of information to see you through until the end of your project. Make sure that you weigh all of your various options when it comes to finding the right woodwork projects, because if you choose a bad woodwork project, your results are surely going to suffer as a result.

Once you get good at doing other people's woodwork projects, another option that is available to you is for you to create your own unique woodwork projects to meet your needs. Make sure that you have a good handle on the tools that you are using and the projects that you are completing, because if you are not prepared for what you are doing, you could end up getting hurt. Before you begin creating your own customized woodwork projects, make sure that you have enough experience and knowledge in doing other people's woodwork projects, including knowledge on how to read and follow a plan, how to use the tools necessary, and how to create a finished product that matches the scope of the plan.

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Originally posted 2009-09-27 12:43:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Choosing Beginning Woodworking Projects

keira — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:32:30 +0000

When you are thinking about beginning woodworking projects as part of a new woodworking hobby, there are a variety of different ways that you can get the help, the information and the resources that you need. Many people are originally introduced to the art of beginning woodworking in school, and so they already have a fairly basic idea of the basics behind beginning woodworking.

Pursuing this hobby further is something that can be extremely rewarding, especially because it will allow you to create items that are functional as well as decorative. These items are surely going to be appreciated by the people in your home. The people that really find beginning woodworking rewarding can actually turn their wood working endeavor into a profitable kind of endeavor by taking it to a professional level. Whether you pursue beginning woodworking professionally or as a hobby, it is certainly pleasurable as well as enjoyable and is a great way for you to deal with stress.

The first step when it comes to getting started with beginning woodworking is going to be to set your workshop up. This is a creative space where all of your projects are going to be designed and created. It is going to be best for you to check with the other people in your home to make sure that you can build a creative workspace in your home. Once you get started on a project, your workspace can quickly become messy so you need to consider roommates and family members when building your beginning woodworking workshop.

The tools and the equipment that are necessary for beginning woodworking are going to consist of carving and cutting tools that will allow you to sculpt the work pieces. There are also some beginning woodworking supplies that you are going to need to create the finishing touches on your wood such as sanding tools and finishing tools. There are a number of other beginning woodworking tools as well including brooms intended for sweeping, brushes intended for cleaning, storage shelves and storage containers to keep everything nice and organized, trash bins to keep all of the trash out of your workspace and so on. All of the beginning woodworking tools that you choose should make your hobby safe and easy above all else.

When you get started with beginning woodworking, choose projects that are simple and straight forward without requiring any tools that are complicated or expensive. You can grow your woodworking hobby as your techniques and skills grow, so add other projects in later as your comfort level increases. Do not try any projects that are beyond your capabilities, otherwise you could end up getting hurt or destroying your work project in the process.

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Photo Credits: alancleaver_2000

Originally posted 2009-09-18 06:53:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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