I enjoy how a woodworking project follows a path of decisions until completion. Some of those paths are intentional. Others have you stumble along a trail you didn't expect. The church door update that Logan gives is one of those. I was looking for a joinery update.
He got into assembly, staining, and finishing. Lots of good stuff. I plan to dive into the assembly more once it's complete, but there are hints of some good tips and lessons already.
Church Door Update
Logan planned on the mortising step of the door joinery to take a long time. It ended up going faster than he planned.
He cut the mortises with a Pantorouter. The bit is a spiral bit from Woodpeckers. Logan's advice of reference faces and dry fitting make the chat worth the listen.
One of his tangents leads to speculation about how he would construct doors if that were a larger part of his work. I like my shop for its adaptability. Rarely do I make multiples of something in a short amount of time. So while I can do a wide range of projects, I'm not really set up for production-style efficiency.
At Woodworking In America 2025, Amanda Russell is going to talk about just that. Setting up a small shop for short production runs. Book in now to hear what she has to say — and take advantage of early bird pricing (as of May 2025).
Sanding Question
The doors receive a stain as well as clear coats. Logan's usually process involves sanding up to 400-grit. For the doors, he only sanded to 180-grit. He followed the advice of the late Bob Flexner. Sanding beyond 180 inhibits the application of stain, in my opinion. There just isn't much texture for the stain particles to settle.
I'm curious to what other folk do.
That brings up a point about the process. It's important to sand in a progression of grits to the final one. That doesn't mean you need to take every step. I see two paths in the low and mid grit sanding:
Path 1: 80-grit, 120-grit, 180-grit, 220-grit ... Path 2: 100-grit, 150-grit, 220-grit ...
Once you get to 220-grit, the paths converge: 220, 320, 400. I only sand past 400 on small boxes or accessories. However, that's just my method. I usually stop at 400, with the knowledge that several coats of finish end up as the final surface people interact with.
The stain Logan is using is Old Masters wiping stain in Rich Mahogany. I'm a fan of gel stain, so it was interesting to hear Logan's experience with the wiping stain. This format isn't as thick as gel, but not as watery as a typical oil stain. Sounds like an interesting path.
Logan set up a hanging system in his shop to allow stained parts to dry on all sides. He modeled it after the rig we have in the spray booth here in the shop at Woodsmith.
The Future of Toolmaking
I asked John and Logan about the state of tool making. And I'm not sure I've got it sorted out in my head clear enough to get across to them. The availability of CNC routers and 3D printers, it seems to me like the craft is poised to blow open the world of tool making. Sure woodworkers have made their own tools since as long as tools have been around.
What's different to me is that advanced capabilities of digital fabrication lets a woodworker bring new tool into the world that is perhaps beyond their skillset or tooling setup.
I don't think you even need to own a CNC or 3D printer yourself. My situation is both unique. I work with Logan (3D printer) and Chris (CNC and 3D printer), so I've had them make some items for me. However, within a woodworking club, there's a good chance someone has one or more of those items. That kind of collaboration results in better tools and better relationships. Win-win.
I would love to hear what you think about this.
Transcript
For the last handful of episodes ( starting in the spring of 2025), I've been including the transcript of the podcast. Maybe you've noticed and maybe you haven't. We post it for several reasons. One is that it makes finding a topic we've covered in a podcast easier. Two, it helps other woodworkers find the podcast in search results. I put it at the bottom so you don't have to wade through it all. Thanks for listening.
