Jim writes: At what width do you go from 2 stringers to 3 stringers in a wooden staircase?

In my stair case articles, I neglected to write about when it is necessary to add a third stringer to support the stair case. I would go to a third stringer when the stair case width exceeds twenty four inches. I like a solid feeling staircase. Walking up and down the staircase I shouldn’t feel the staircase bounce or flex. I have seen track home builders locally who have built 36″ wide stair cases using only two stringers and these are stairs that run straight from the first floor to the second floor. With just one set of jacks supporting the stringers roughly in the middle of the run, if that. Boy, did those stairs have some flex in them! (more…)

Alexander writes…

“I was browsing through your wood working site and I’m in a bit of a dilemma.

I do nunchuck seminars for kids and I’m trying to produce a few sets of nunchucks myself to keep their costs down, but my issue is the octagonal shaping. I was wondering whats the best way to cut the octagonal shape on a 1 inch piece diameter wood. Say I had a square 1×1 inch x 12 inches long (so thin but long piece) . Im not looking for any tapered or bent pieces. Just straight across same diameter throughout the whole length.

I thought I could run it through the table saw at 45 degree tilted blade 4 times to cut each corner off, but is there a better method with other tools since my piece of wood is thin? Router? Shaper? What tools would you say are the best to get this job done quickly, effectively, and precisely.

Also is the drill press the best way to put like a 5/8’s hole through the top?

Any help would be appreciated…”

Nunchuck seminars… cool. As an a side my wife and girls are in Tae Kown Do, they have not yet progressed to weapons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them shows an interest.

Ok, back to your question on how to make an octangle out of a square.

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Jeff writes, “I am redoing an old house and need to make some tongue and groove flooring. What tools would I need? I will be using 1×4x8 pine thank you for your input.”

The easiest way to make replacement tongue and groove strips is to use a router mounted in a router table. You could route the tongue and grooves free hand. However, there is good chance of tipping or tilling the router as run the edge and accidentally messing up the edge. (more…)

I enjoy working with wood. It is always a good day when I get to make a pile of saw dust constructing a piece of furniture that will get years of use out it. Take a look around you, today if it is mass manufactured it is usually made out of plastic and metal. Mass wood manufactured furniture can be found, but the quality… is not the greatest.

You see, what I like about woodworking is that I can custom create something that fits my needs exactly. For example, I am in the process of building my daughter’s dresser bed. My wife & I looked at several offerings of storage beds at local furniture stores. We saw the same designs with ever so slight differences. However, there were two things that we really did not like about the designs (more…)

I came across a really cool article about Sergeant Geoffrey Allison a medic in the Army. He is currently assigned to a one year tour of duty in Iraq. During his off time he works on building violins.

From scrap wood he built a small work bench that is wedged between his bunk and the wall. Before he was stationed in Iraq he bough enough wood to make two violins. In the three months that he has been stationed in Iraq he has completed both violins. (more…)

Now you are ready to cut out the steps. Remember to cut on the waste side of the line. The waste side is the triangle that you are cutting out. When you get to the corner of the step the circular saw blade will leave a bit of material. Use your hand saw to trim of the material and cut out the step triangle. (more…)

I just came across an interesting article interviewing a soldier from the 101st airborn. In the forward operating base, he fashions various wooden objects from the scrap / discarded wood he finds on the base.  His specialities are small boxes, jewelry boxes, coin boxes, cabinets and gun racks.
He also over sees the base’s wood working shop. He helps and guides the soldiers in how to use the tools and gives them adivse on how to complete their projects.

Check out the soldier’s woodworking in Iraq.

Every wood project results in some amount of saw dust.  What to do with it?  When I first started my hobby I would through it out in my trash.  I knew I could do something better with it than put it in a land fill somewhere.