STL194: New-Fangled Finishes

Published: July 18, 2019, 9:03 p.m.

Danish Modern Desk with Tim Rousseau


Question 1:\xa0

From Devin:
Over the years of listening to your show, reading Fine Woodworking, and watching instructional videos, I\u2019ve heard a million different suggestions for how long to let a glue-up sit before you take the clamps off. Ranging from \u201ca little while\u201d -whatever that is?- to overnight, and everything in between. Do you guys have any good rules of thumb for drying time?

Question 2:

From the Fine Woodworking forum by forum member NewAndGreen:
I\u2019d like to apply a water based topcoat to two white oak chairs I\u2019ve sanded. I was interested in using General Finishes water-based topcoat, but don\u2019t know if I should go with the flat or the satin finish. I have read that GF\u2019s satin is shinier than most. Is that true?\xa0 (I put a coat of Minwax Satin Polycrylic on one and liked the look, but I\u2019m looking for a better product .) I know I don\u2019t want to start mixing. (I\u2019ve already over-complicated the process!) I also know I don\u2019t want a glossy look and not a totally matte look. Ugh. Pictures of two parts of chair attached for reference. Thanks in advance for your advice/thoughts to this new and green refinisher!

Question 3:

Also from Paul:
I\xa0 have not heard Rubio Monocoat or Osmo mentioned on the podcast. Have any of you tried Monocoat? Being in the industry professionally myself, and, seeing what other pros are using, Monocoat and Osmo seem to be the two go-to products that many professionals use as their primary oil finish (they\u2019re like the BMW and Mercedes of woodworking it seems). Any experience and/or recommendations there?

Price of Osmo Polyx Oil at time of broadcast: .75-Liter=$58.56

Segment: All-Time Favorite Technique of All Time

Mike: Tom McLaughlin\u2019s \u201ccut some off and glue it on the other side\u201d technique

Anissa: Steve Latta\u2019s hinged flips stop

Ben: Using metal files to shape difficult woods

Question 4:

From Brendan:
I can\u2019t draw by hand at all.\xa0 Not even a little. My 3rd grade drawings look every bit as good as my current attempts. On STL180, you talked about design for about 30 minutes without mentioning cad as a design medium. \xa0 I know it\u2019s a scary topic but as a resolution at least one of you should try to design a furniture piece down to the jointery on your computer. The learning curve can be steep but I find that designing on the computer allows me to virtually build the piece without creating any sawdust.

And from Paul:
I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ve ever heard Fusion 360 mentioned on the podcast. I used Sketchup for several years and loved it\u2026 however, a few years ago a landed a very complicated project (with cnc work involved), and came to the realization I needed something more sophisticated. Fusion 360 is now such a huge part of my business and can\u2019t imagine ever going back to Sketchup. Having parametric capabilities now seems absolutely necessary. Have any of you ever tried it?

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\xa0Recommendations:\xa0

Anissa - Ted Talk - Rives: The Museum of Four in the Morning
Ben - The Woodworkers Podcast and luthiery podcast Omo

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Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking\u2018s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to\xa0shoptalk@taunton.com\xa0for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our\xa0iTunes page.

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