Tips & Tricks

Carving Wood with a Rotary Tool for Metal Inlay

Learn the secrets to carving wood with rotary tools like a dremel, and how to increase the flexibility of carving by adding a simple, optional attachment.  Create beautiful curves and designs that can mask and conceal defective areas of wood and make them more valuable and saleable. You can also read about this on my blog.

Carving Wood For Metal Inaly in Peppermill
Diamond Shape Wood Carving bit for Metal Inlay
Mixing fresh shellac from Flakes

Mixing Fresh Shellac from Flakes

An Easy Method to Mixing Fresh Shellac

Shellac has been a foundation in finishing and sealing for decades. Watch the video, then read my blog about what shellac is and how you can utilize it in your shop. Mix it fresh and on-demand for projects that require a gloss finish or thin it down and use it as a sealer from moisture protection to a foundation coat. It’s a versatile finish.   

Platinum Shellac and alcohol
Five different grades of shellac
Maintain your lathe's tailstock to accurately drill holes

Maintain Your Lathe’s Tailstock to Drill Accurate Holes

Drilling straight holes on the lathe. Pitfalls and how to fix them.

Abused and well maintained Lathe Tailstock Quill Screw-Maintain your lathe's tailstock
Dimple Position on Tailstock Base-Maintain your lathe's tailstock

Tailstock maintenance is easily overlooked, and poor performance isn’t noticed until you try to drill or bore an accurate hole in wood with various types of bits. Off-center drilling or oversized holes can be a headache to try and troubleshoot. I know. I’ve been there. Here are a few tips that can get your lathe to bore the correct size hole the first time accurately.

Ted Sokolowski Finesse Scraper set of all three scrapers

Signature grind Finesse Scrapers: How to Clean-up Your Forms & Add a Great Finish to Your Woodturning

Using finesse scrapers can add a sense of volume, fluidity, & sensuality to your woodturning. This video debunks the myth that scraping is “taboo” in woodturning.

Video Tips

I will be shooting helpful video tips and uploading them onto this page. The information I will be covering will help you “see” your work better at the lathe and help you to maintain your lathe, and much more. If you have suggestions on topics you’d like to see, please don’t hesitate to email me and let me know your concerns. I will try to accommodate all questions that have a broad appeal to woodturners.

  • Topics will include:
  • Drilling straight holes on the lathe. Pitfalls and how to fix them.
  • Mixing Shellac From Flakes
  • How to turn spalted maple with great results.
  • Turning Life: Adding sensuous curves to wood turning.
  • Backgrounds and lighting
  • Transporting your turnings safely to and from craft shows.
  • Carve Lines with “Life”.
  • How to Sharpen a Forstner Bit.
  • Adding Volume and Gravity to Turnings.
  • Woodturning Myths
  • How to sharpen a Bandsaw Blade.
  • How to cut your costs on Bandsaw Blades.
  • Quality of Line
  • Contrast, Weight, Timing?