Name Wormy Chestnut
Location Southeastern North America
Texture/Grain Coarse/Open
Specific Gravity 0.43
Hardness Very Soft
Strength Weak
T/R Stability 6.7/3.4%

 

Guide

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Jointing & Planing

Sawing

Drilling & Boring

Routing

Making Wood Joints

Gluing & Clamping

Sanding, Scraping
& Filing

Finishing

Shaping & Molding

Scrollwork

Lathe Turning

Bending Wood

Veneering &
Lamination

        

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lmost every woodworking project evolves though the same steps -- cutting lumber to size, creating the joinery and decor, assembly, surface preparation, and finishing. Within these steps, there are hundreds of different ways to use a tool or combination of tools to help accomplish each step. These woodworking techniques fall into two categories -- methods that produce decorative results and those in which the results are more utilitarian and general.

 

Table of CONTENTS
Click on the arrows () to expand the table.

General Methods

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Jointing & Planing -- "Your first task in any woodworking project is to transform rough lumber into smooth, straight boards."
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1. Selecting Lumber for Surfacing

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2. Jointing Know-How

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3. Planing Know-How

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4. Truing Lumber

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5. Jointing & Planing Resources
 

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Sawing -- "It has been said that woodworking is the act of cutting large boards into small boards and then putting them back together. I wish it were that simple. There are dozens of different saws and hundreds of saw cuts that you can make."
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Sawing Know-How

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Crosscutting

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Ripping

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Cutting Sheet Materials

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Miters & Bevels

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Compound Miters

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Cutting Edges & Ends

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Cutting Tapers

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Resawing

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Cutting Curves and Contours

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Compound Cutting
 

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Drilling & Boring -- "Almost every woodworking project has a few holes in it."
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Drilling Know-How

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Making Large Holes

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Drilling Deep Holes

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Making Equally Spaced Holes

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Making Angled Holes

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Drilling End Grain

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Drilling Round Stock
 

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Routing -- "Since its invention just before World War I, the router has become a fixture in most workshops and routing has become an essential skill in woodworking."
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Routing Know-How

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Guiding the Router

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Plunge Routing

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Circle Routing

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Flush Routing

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Table Routing

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Guiding the Work

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Making Interior Cuts
 

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Making Wood Joints -- "Even the most complex joinery is made with just five simple cuts."
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Five Essential Joinery Cuts

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Making Simple Joints

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Making Reinforced Joints

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Making Mortise-and-Tenon Joints

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Making Interlocking Joints
 

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Gluing & Clamping -- "Properly glued, the assembled parts of a project are stronger than if they were carved from a single piece of wood."
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Anatomy of a Glue Joint

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Adhesive Types

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Adhesive Properties

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Gluing Know-How

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Assembly
 

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Sanding, Scraping, & Filing -- "Woodworking is hard on wood. Sanders, scrapers and files repair the bruises, leaving a smooth, clean surface."
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Inspecting the Surface

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Surface Repairs

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Scraping

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Filing

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Sanding

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General Sanding Know-How

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Power Sanding Know-How

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Hand Sanding Know-How
 

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Finishing -- :"Finishing is a decision-making process, The more information you have, the better your decisions -- and the better your finishes."
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Selecting a Finish

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Applying a Statin

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Filling Wood

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Sealing Wood

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Applying a Finish

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Wiping On a Finish

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Brushing On a Finish

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Spraying On a Finish

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Finishing the Finish

Decorative Methods

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Shaping and Molding -- "Applied molding and shaped edges add detail, emphasize the design, and make the project appear more formal and polished."
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A Molding Primer

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Shaping Know-How

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Complex Profiles

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Making Coped Joints

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Applying Moldings
 

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Scrollwork -- "Lacy patterns and light, airy designs make wood seem a little less solid."
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Choosing Materials

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Laying Out a Pattern

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Scrolling Know-How

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Making Interior Cuts

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Cutting On a Bevel

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Wood Inlay
 

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Lathe Turning -- "Lathe work is a little like carving a spinning block of wood. Just shave away the stock until the wood assumes a shape that pleases you."
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Turned Shapes

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Turning Technique

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Turning Tools

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Turning Know-How

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Spindle Turning

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Faceplate Turning

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Using a Lathe Chuck

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Sanding Turnings
 

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Bending Wood -- "Wood can be made flexible and bent to almost any shape -- just look at a piece of paper! The trick is getting it to stay that way."
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Stresses in Bent Wood

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Bending Stock

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Kerf Bending

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Lamination-Bending

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Dry Heat-Bending

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Steam-Bending
 

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Veneering and Lamination -- "Properly applied, veneers and laminates increase the beauty, strength, and durability of a woodworking project."
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Preparing the Core

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Preparing Veneer

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Cutting & Matching Veneer

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Applying Veneer

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Banding & Inlays

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Applying Laminates
 


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 "Abundant to all the needs of man, how poor the world would be without wood."
Eric Sloane in Reverence for Wood

 

Introduction to Woodworking Techniques for the Workshop Companion,
essential information about wood, woodwork, and woodworking.
By Nick Engler.

Copyright © 2009 Bookworks, Inc.