Woodworking myths (that STILL persist)

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#woodworking #myths

[robertvick]

Steve, I don't care what kind of videos you make just don't stop making them. I have been watching for many years and really miss your build videos. I have made many of your items in the past and will continue to make them. I am (again) in the process of making your shoe rack right now.

[Ensiferum]

I'm a 37 years old programmer who never had any interest in woodworking before. I bought a house two years ago and in the past months I slowly started getting more interested. I started feeding a stray cat and want to care for him so I wanted to build an isolated cat shelter (Canadian, our winters are pretty rough) and started working on it a few days ago.

Your videos are god-sent, I was NOT using my table saw correctly but yesterday with your help I built a cross-cut jig and my cat shelter is taking shape! You are very well spoken and have a good voice plus the info is very useful and to the point. I love watching your videos at night because not only am I learning stuff it's also very calming.

Very very happy I stumbled on your channel!

[NomenNescio]

Steve, you still hold the title of planet earth's woodworking ambassador.

Keep it up!

[jackhgallagher]

To me the #1 thing missing with the post-Sullivan end-grain glue-ups discussions are that because trees are... you know... tall but narrow, boards naturally are generally longer than they are wide. So the issue with end-grain glue-ups, both end-grain-to-end-grain but also corner butt joints, is the lever arm torque being applied to the joint. As a good experimenter, Patrick eliminated this variable by using ~4"x4" square cuts for all his experiments. 

So yes, he debunked "end-grain glue joints are inherently weaker because the wood pores starve the joint of glue". But he didn't debunk "end-grain glue joints are generally weaker because of the geometry in which one encounters them". Still a very valuable addition to collective woodworking knowledge, but really the lesson learned is that we all need to be more precise when explaining to new woodworkers *why* wisdom like "don't do end-grain joints" is true.

[ericbackstrom]

Thanks Steve, as a manager for a retail woodworking store, I address these almost daily. I am going to draw on your knowledge to continue my own "myth busting"! Keep doing what you do! Thanks, Eric

[paulsimpson]

I stumble across a video of you . 8 years ago glue joint strength edge grain to edge grain . You said the glue joint was stronger than the wood, me no way . So the next day repeated what I saw then I understood. Then watched ever video I could find of you . Hence started my wood working hobby. So thanks for causing me to spend a bunch of money lol ...
I really enjoy it

[jbbresers]

There is one table saw on sale in the UK that you can buy that will accept a dado stack. (but you'll have to have the stack shipped from north America)
It is the Lumberjack TS1800.
You can't ask employees to use it though, Steve is correct, it is UK law that guards just be used at all times in professional settings.

[JonnyDIY]

Great vid Steve! Hope you're doing well 👍

[nefariousyawn]

It's always a pleasure to see you upload. I have been listening to the WTS podcast, and I liked your discussion with Sam the DIY Huntress about the stress of using YouTube as a career vs a hobby. I'm under the impression from other established channels that I enjoy that their Patreon income allows them to take more time on videos, posting less frequently, but with more focus on quality and subjects that they enjoy filming. Anyway, I hope you have found that balance, and I look forward to listening to your latest episode with Grady while I glue the end grains of all the scraps that I have been hoarding.

[tompritch]

When I was in 7th grade woodworking class (early 60's) our instructor would make us take planes apart and put back together if we set plane on sole. Interesting to see that as one of your points you are bringing up.

[bobwadsworth]

I really like videos like this that inform as well as your project videos. I work at a wood working store and I always recommend your channel to beginning woodworkers who come into the store asking for advice.

[asriver]

It's hilarious that after watching the end grain to end grain joint experiment my very first thought was "awesome, but how can I use this in a project?" to which you immediately answered.

[Zooooch]

Hey Steve, I love your channel :) I'm not sure how many other people had this experience, but my grandfather taught me to always put a plane on its side so that there is no risk of you putting it down on a nail or stone that will chip the blade and force you to spend half an hour filing it back in to working order.

[ninjadane]

The myth of handplanes have been touched upon by Paul Sellers and according to his knowledge it comes from the time when the British public school introduced woodworking to the kids and in order for them not setting down the handplane on a piece of metal or nail and ruin the plane, the teachers taught the kids that they should always place them on the side.
Years later a simple (and logic) reasoning for keeping tools safe and working longer became a myth with weird explanations.

[hydrochloridrix]

Great video, as always! I only ever use end grain to end grain when I'm gluing together scraps for a board. That way everything is held in place by strips left and right to the end grain/end grain joint. I have just finished building a saw till from oak scraps using this method. It turned out beautifully and it is very sturdy. For pieces where there is no support left and right you can just snap off the end grain/end grain, though, so I had to move around the pieces and adapt the layout, accordingly. I had other plans for that oak but most of that ancient beam turned out to beyond salvageable, so I improvised because the good parts were just too beautiful to throw away and as it turned out, such a joy to work with. Which brings me to my other point: for me at least it all comes down to the project which material I choose. They all have their merits and pros and cons and I try to choose to best fit the project. As a famous YouTuber once said "woodworking is not about woodworking" and for me that means for example to enjoy the process itself and understanding how to best work with the material at hand and maybe not so much the thing I'm trying to build. I'd like to use a dado stack, but I'm one of those pesky Europeans and that means the arbor in my table saw is way too short for one. Oh well. Instead, I got a flat tooth saw blade and moved on by accepting the fact that I have to do several passes. At least, Tamar's design for a kerfmaker makes it a little easier, so I don't have to sneak up on cuts anymore and the flat tooth saw blade leaves a nice surface which I don't have to clean up afterwards. Plus, I suppose changing just one blade is probably a lot faster than installing a dado stack and fine tuning it afterwards. But that may just be the envy talking ;-)

[marc]

Happy to see a video from you this morning Steve. Thank you as always

[dougclem]

Depends STRONGLY on the adhesive. Lumber companies do the zip ends and glue to produce more finished wood. I use half lap with pins and gorilla glue.

[williamivey]

I've glued a lot of 45 deg. miters and they're about as strong as the equivalent area of face grain to face grain at much as I can tell. Test joints have taken considerable pull to break, and, like face grain, often show wood failure rather than glue fails. I did learn a trick, though, and also use it when gluing end grain to face grain: Apply a coat of glue to the "thirsty" side first (both sides in a miter), let it soak in a few seconds and wipe off the excess. Then apply a thin "refresher" coat to one side and clamp it for 45 minutes; avoid stressing the joint for 48 hours. (I use Titebond mostly, but have used other similar glues.) Makes a really solid joint. Of course, adding keys or dowels is even better, if they're an option.

Note: The above works well for hardwoods and baltic birch ply, but pine and similar woods are a bit riskier. Especially the cheap "sappy" stuff. Glue just doesn't grab as well there and I don't trust it alone.

[matthew]

The end grain glue joint may be stronger that the transverse strength of the wood, but it's still much weaker than the longitudinal strength.

[ddutton]

This is a great video, yes please more myth videos, well videos in general! Also I love the WTS podcast!