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This traditional finish can be tricky to apply. If you have read much in the woodworking press, you’ve surely encountered many articles, including mine, in which the writer uses and recommends [...]

As I mentioned in the last article, I’ve experimented with a wide variety of finishes over the years as an educator and woodworker. This has helped me figure out what kinds of finish are [...]

Repair, strip and refinish to restore old pieces. Refinishing is a topic worthy of an entire book. In fact, restoring furniture includes all of woodworking and finishing because all skills may be [...]

Shellac is a mainstay in my shop, both as a sealer and as a finish. I mix my shellac from flakes and usually go with a 1 lb. cut, which is ideal for brushing ultra-smooth coats. I used to measure [...]

Apply this Classic Finish Like a Pro If you aren’t brushing shellac, it’s either because you’ve never tried it or you’ve had a bad experience. Let’s see if I can change that. The number one [...]

Make friends with this beautiful, versatile finish Recently I was asked to judge a woodworking show. One of the best pieces was a wonderfully constructed grandfather clock. Unfortunately, a quick [...]

A new twist on an old method of applying shellac. You’ve spent weeks, or months producing that perfect table from a very special wood, and now it’s time to apply the finish. What do you reach [...]

Tool: Tiger Flakes Manufacturer: Brooklyn Tool & Craft MSRP: $28+ Because shellac is my favorite finish, I have tried nearly every brand of flakes on the market. By far, my favorite brand is [...]

Using factory-made prefinished plywood makes cabinet building quicker, easier and cleaner, so it’s unfortunate that most home centers and lumberyards don’t stock it. Luckily, [...]

Here’s a situation you may have experienced if you do much French polishing. A woodworker friend emailed me with this problem. He had been French polishing a tabletop, and no matter what he did, [...]

A woodworker friend emailed me with a problem. He had turned a face-grained bowl from what he described as “grainy” walnut. To finish it he was using Watco Danish Oil, and his problem was that [...]

I know that a lot of readers use shellac for finishing. Of all finishes, shellac is probably the easiest to use when it comes to cleaning and storing brushes because shellac dissolves easily in [...]