Gram writes: I have an old house that used to have a central stair carpet and the wooden steps that were bare were painted white. I cannot seem to remove the paint and sanding a small area takes hours. Any ideas?

Hi Gram, thanks for asking on how to remove old paint from wood work. Stripping off old paint latex and oil can be a pain in the rear. Sanding is one way, but you will be removing some of the wood from the stair tread. There are a variety of chemical paint removing systems available. …continue reading How Do You Remove Old Paint From Wood Work?

As hurricane Ike barrels towards the Texas coast it makes me think about how prepared is my wood shop for severe weather. This event got me thinking about how many tools I have acquired over the years that are in my workshop. More than I realized. Then I started to think about how much they would cost to replace if they were damaged beyond repair. Several of my expensive tools I purchased second hand from other woodworkers well below retail. However, if the tools are damaged I would be buying them new and paying a lot more than I did to acquire them the first time.

You might be thinking that this hasn’t happened to my work shop. My workshop is in the garage or basement my tools are safe. Or, this will never happen to me.

What is the worst thing that could happen to your workshop? …continue reading Is Your Workshop Ready For A Hurricane Or Other Severe Weather?

Don asks, “I read in one of your articles online on how to distress wood with paint and then staining over the paint. I have used this technique and really like it. However, what kind of finish do you suggest? I used Minwax polyurethane and sometimes it left milky streaks in my wood and other times it looked great. I contacted Minwax and they said It was because all the steps I was using was wrong. Your not suppose to put stain over paint and then put poly over the stain, even if it is dry. So, what kind of finish does a guy use?? Please, any kind of help would be nice. It is nice to see that other people use stain over paint though. I really love the look.”

I am glad to hear that you like this finishing process. If you ask the varnish manufacture’s they are going to tell you that you should not be using their product for this technique. Basically we are using the stain and varnish in an ‘off label’ or un-recommended way. My personal take is oh well. …continue reading How To Apply The Varnish When Distressing Wood With Paint And Stain