Home Touch

We all know that weather affects wood outdoors. Sometimes the effect is even desirable, as weather grays wood and makes it look old.

But weather affects indoor wood as well. Wood, of course, was once a tree, a living thing. It is composed of cells of various types. While the wood in […]

There are two basic types of large saws: miter and table. The miter saw consists of a large, often twelve inches, blade that you lower onto the wood you are cutting, making cross cuts (cuts across the grain). Sometimes these saws have tubes so you can slide the blade back […]

If you have used hand tools for any amount of time for drilling holes, driving screws, or hammering nails, then the first time you use a power tool for the same job, you will feel an incredible sense of possibility. Things don’t take near as long to do or require a large amount of […]

Both the jointer and the planer operate on the same principle: a series of knives on a roller pass over or under the surface of a piece of wood, taking off a tiny layer such as 1/32nd of an inch. Where they differ is in their purpose as well as the dimension of […]

You can go very far in the world of light home maintenance with a hammer, a screw driver, and a pair of pliers. First, though, it is necessary to get tools of reasonable quality because bad tools are not just worthless but potentially dangerous.

Even if you are female, don’t get the little “lady’s” […]

When you are deciding whether to use nails or screws in a home project, it’s important to think about how the fasteners are applied and how they hold up in the long run. You can use hand tools for both or you can use faster, easier power tools for both.

Nails can be easily hammered […]

One of the best pieces of furniture you can make or buy is a bookshelf. There are so many things you can store on a bookshelf, the storage can actually be part of your décor, they help you stay organized and uncluttered, bookshelves can be made cheaply, and they can be adapted to whatever […]

Certain types of home repairs have problematic consequences if they cannot be completed. For example, if you set out to change a faucet and you can’t get rid of all the leaks, you won’t be able to use that sink. Even worse, if there are no shut-off valves between your main valve and […]

Wood is a wonderful product. It is strong and yet flexible. It can be shaped in a variety of ways and it comes from the lumber yard in a huge range of sizes. It can be used for everything from making a fence to creating a fine piece of heirloom furniture.

When it […]