I enjoyed your tip suggesting coating a cutting board with paraffin. In sharing it with my wife, she wondered what would happen if you put a hot roast on the board for cutting. Will the hot meat melt the paraffin coating?

– Terry Elfers
Cincinnati, Ohio

Canning paraffin, which is what we used in the article, starts to melt at about 100° F., so yes, a very hot roast could theoretically soften or even melt wax. It would not matter much because you scrape all the paraffin off except what resides in the pores. Since a cutting board with a roast on it is horizontal, and melted paraffin flows downward thanks to gravity, you would not likely get any on the roast, or at least not enough to notice. If the surface of the hot roast is wet (juicy), as is usually the case, wax won’t adhere to it anyway, and in any case, that wax is nontoxic.

Still, I should point out that paraffin is generally used not on serving boards, but on butcher’s chopping blocks, mainly used for cutting cold, raw meat, where the surface is all end grain. For a serving board, or even a flat grain cutting board, I’d go with boiled linseed oil.

I make lawn chairs for neighbors and family. I use pine lumber because of cost and put clear varnish on for finish. After a year or two, the finish fades or peels. Someone told me to spray chairs with the clear finish they use on cars. Can I really do that? Look forward to your reply so I can make more durable items.

– Paul Liput
Hacienda Hills, California

Yes, you can spray wood with automotive clear coat, but I think you have a larger problem than that will solve.

Pine is not an ideal choice for exterior furniture since it moves a lot, contains a lot of sap, is rather soft and, unless it is pressure treated, has no natural resistance to bugs or rot. If you really want to make more durable items, start with a wood that has good exterior durability (mahogany, white oak, red cedar, ipe, redwood, cypress, teak).

To get back to your specific question, there are plenty of finishes that will work on pine, but do make sure you check the wood’s moisture content before finishing, and let it dry if it is above 12%. Finishing wood that is too wet is an invitation to peeling.

A good exterior clear varnish or spar varnish should hold up more than one year, but not much more. Other options include deck coatings, which need almost yearly renewal, exterior house paint (over primer) if you want a solid color, or even, as someone suggested to you, automotive urethanes. Nothing will hold up very long, so your choices are between something that holds up a little longer, or something that is easy to rejuvenate.

In my retirement, I anticipate creating woodworking projects such as multi-species cutting boards, wooden bowls, wooden spoons, etc., etc.

I have completed several of those cutting boards for a couple of my granddaughters and finished them with mineral oil with the assumption that they would be food-safe. Through normal use, the boards have needed a refurbishing. My question is: Am I correct in my assumption? Or would it be better (and food-safe) to use the boiled linseed oil instead of the mineral oil? If I can use the linseed oil, can I apply it directly over the mineral oil presently on the boards without presenting an adhesion or curing problem?

– Herb Fogelberg
Woodbury, Minnesota

Yes, and no, in that order.

Yes, you can use boiled linseed oil on a cutting board. It is food-safe once dry, and it will hold up a lot longer than mineral oil, though not forever. You can replenish when needed.

No, you can’t go over the mineral oil, since that never dries and you can’t put a drying finish, like boiled linseed oil, over a non-drying or still wet finish. To redo the board you’ve already done, first remove the mineral oil by scrubbing the wood with mineral spirits to solvate the mineral oil, then blotting it up with paper towels. Get as much oil out as possible. Follow up with a scrub using an ammonia based cleaner, such as Windex®. Ammonia is a surfactant, meaning it will help “grab” that last bit of mineral oil.

When the wood is clean and dry, sand it smooth, then flood it liberally with boiled linseed oil, re-wetting the surface wherever the oil is absorbed. After 10 or 15 minutes of flooding, wipe off all the excess oil and let the board cure in a warm, dry place for two days before putting it into service.

Incidentally, drying oils, like linseed oil, may not cure over woods in the dalbergia family, so if you plan on using anything from the rosewood family in your multi-species boards, leave those natural.

I have built a dining room table using bamboo flooring that I planed down to a uniform thickness. I glued it to a 36″ x 54″ top and sanded down to a 500-grit paper. I finished with five coats of tung oil, using 4/0 steel wool between coats. When we put a coffee cup on the table with a coaster, it raised up the tung oil and also raised up the grain on the wood. I thought maybe I didn’t wait to cure the oil.

After reading your column, I noticed noticed that the author leans to boiled linseed oil — and his tung oil shows “100 percent pure tung oil.” Do I need to sand off my tung oil down to bare wood, or can I apply BLO on top of the tung oil?

– Marvin Steffen
Alford, Florida

I’m going to assume you are certain that your flooring was pure bamboo with nothing else in it. Otherwise, this may be a different issue entirely. You might be dealing with resin or waxes added to the bamboo “boards” during manufacture, which could affect how oil dries and cures. Let’s assume you have untainted bamboo and move on to the finish. I don’t know what was in your “tung oil” product, but if it did not dry completely, you want to remove it, even if you must resort to paint remover. First, though, try scrubbing it with mineral spirits on a nylon abrasive pad. That should remove any uncured oil. You won’t have much luck trying to sand oil off: sanding liquid oil simply grinds it into the wood and moves it around.

You can certainly go over cured tung oil with linseed oil, but that’s not what I would suggest in this case. For a dining room table, which gets lots of wear and plenty of heat and stains, I’d go with an oil-based polyurethane varnish. It, too, can go over any cured oil. Just clean and scuff sand for adhesion first.

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However, GluBoost® products are different indeed and open up a whole new world of options for us woodworkers.

Most notable in their line is Fill n’ Finish, a flexible, clear cyanoacrylate that stays liquid until you spray it with GluBoost accelerator, after which it solidifies instantly and cures clear. It seems hard to believe, but it’s true.

That means you can apply it to wood as a finish or pore filler, take your sweet time about getting it smooth and uniform, then spray it, and it cures almost instantly, ready to sand or recoat in just seconds. Among other uses, it is perfect for finishing turnings, right on the lathe. It cures clear, with no bubbles, pitting, hazing, crazing, blooming, yellowing or white spots.

Because it stays liquid indefinitely, you can even color it by mixing their Master-Tint line of colorants right into the cyanoacrylate, and it still won’t cure until it is sprayed with accelerator. Add a small amount of powder for a translucent color, more for solid colors. It’s a boon for filling dings in every type of clear, tinted, or solid color finishes, including notoriously hard-to-repair epoxies and polyesters.

Once Fill n’ Finish does cure, it is flexible. We don’t often think of them that way, but all wood finishes must be somewhat flexible to tolerate wood movement without cracking.

That flexibility is essential as a finish and also to create repairs in cracked or dinged finishes that don’t pop out or crack over time. As an adhesive, a flexible glue line is more shock-resistant than a rigid one.

The GluDry accelerator itself is also very slow drying, which is quite handy if you plan to use either Fill n’ Finish or their more typical adhesive, MasterGlu, as traditional adhesive. Spray one side of a bond with accelerator and put the cyanoacrylate on the other. Once they come in contact, cure comes in seconds.

Both the slow-drying, long open time Fill n’ Finish and the more typical self-curing MasterGlu come in both regular and super thin versions, the latter ideal for penetrating dense woods. Both are great for solidifying spalted or punky wood.

If you’re wondering why you’ve not heard of Glu-Boost before, in part it is because the products were first introduced to luthiers (guitarmakers) and mostly sold through luthiery supply companies.

You can find out more through their website at www.gluboost.com, where the 2 oz. bottles of Fill n’ Finish sell for $15 and the 4 oz. GluDry is priced at $12.

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I drill a second, centered hole at the bottom for the post’s threaded insert. Once the levelers are installed, you can back them out until the pad just clears the big hole and serves its leveling purpose but without lifting the leg too far up. With this fix, you’ll almost forget the levelers are even there.

– Willie Sandry
Camas, Washington

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First, Some Table Considerations

The overall size of an outfeed table surface should depend on the shop setup, the size of table saw it will be used with and the length of stock you typically use in your projects. The biggest factor is shop size. None of us have unlimited space, so we ought to make sure we use the space we do have as efficiently as possible. In other words, a huge outfeed table might be nice, but if it doesn’t fit in your shop, then it isn’t going to be all that effective.

For other design considerations, take a look at your shop layout and how you have your table saw positioned. In my shop, for instance, I have an outlet against the wall that can’t be blocked. Further, my jointer’s infeed table is adjacent to where the outfeed table must go. So, an outfeed table with drawers or doors on the end would be impractical for my shop’s layout.

The next factor to think about is how wide to make the outfeed table. This will again depend on the size of your table saw and overall shop layout. It might make sense to make the outfeed table as wide as your table saw so, no matter what the rip fence is set to, the workpiece will be fully supported. If you rarely make cuts that wide and would rather use the extra space behind the saw for storing something else, a narrower table might be better for you.

Finally, don’t forget to think about the amount of overhang between the saw and the cabinet. Most saws have their dust collection port extending out the back, so clearance for a dust hose is important. If the saw is on a mobile base, there could be other clearance issues as well. With my table saw, I needed to account for both the dust port and my mobile base. I opted to design the cabinet so it would have space underneath to nest over part of the mobile base. This reduced the amount of overhang I needed, while also reducing the amount of dead space between the saw and the cabinet.

Building the Cabinet

The cabinet carcass is made from 3/4″ plywood and joined with rabbets and dadoes. I broke the sheets down into manageable pieces with a track saw before bringing them into the shop and cutting them down to final size at the table saw. Mill rabbets on the top and bottom edges of the side panels to connect with the cabinet top and bottom panels. The sides, top and bottom will also need a 1/2″-wide by 3/8″-deep rabbet along their back edge for fitting the back panel into place. Lastly, plow dadoes across the top and bottom panels to fit the vertical divider; be sure to adjust the width of these two dadoes carefully to match the thickness of your plywood — these days, it’s typically 23/32″ wide and not a true 3/4″.

Next, dry-fit the cabinet pieces together, and cut the back panel to fit its opening. The rabbets make everything come together easily, as all the parts are self-aligning and self-squaring. Drill rows of shelf-pin holes into the walls of the left cavity. After a final check to make sure everything seems in order, you can glue up the case. Gluing in the back panel further helps to square the case and reinforces the structure, which will help keep the cabinet from sagging.

Rip and crosscut pieces of 3/4″ x 3/4″ edge banding from solid wood to cover the exposed plywood edges on the cabinet front. Glue and clamp them in place.

Because I hate limiting my options, I added both leveling feet and casters to the base of the cabinet. The leveling feet provide a stable base and make it very easy to bring the outfeed table up to the right height for the table saw. When the cabinet needs to be moved, I can simply lower it onto the casters.

Adding the Door

I built my cabinet door using simple frame-and-panel construction. First, run a 1/4″-deep, 1/2″-wide groove along the edges of the rails and three stiles to fit the panel stock.

Then cut mating tongues into the ends of the rails and center stile. This creates the door frame.

Since the panels are plywood and don’t need to float to allow for wood movement, the door can be glued up as a solid unit.

When the glue has dried, trim the door to final size to fit the opening (you’ll want the gap sized similarly to that of the drawers), and hang it on its hinges. Add the shelf to the cabinet cavity, which also serves as a doorstop.

Constructing the Top

I wanted to make the top fairly substantial so it would hold up well as a work surface. I considered doing a laminated strip top (like a workbench) but opted instead to use a single slab with a live edge. This gives the outfeed table a unique look, and orienting the live edge so it slants toward the top also works as a functional detail: it allows materials to slide onto the table easily. A few years ago, I cut a boule of ash slabs (the slabs are cut from one log and kept together in the order of sawing) with my chainsaw mill. The log was a bit short, which made the slabs the perfect length for this project. If you do the same, flatten and surface the top, attach it to the cabinet and cut a pair of dadoes to extend your table saw’s miter slots. To give this top more versatility as a work surface, I also installed two lengths of T-track at 90° to each other along the side and front edge.

Another option, if you don’t have access to slab lumber, would be to double up a couple sheets of 3/4″ plywood for the top.

Adding the Drawers

I made the four drawer boxes the same way as the cabinet, by breaking down some 1/2″ plywood into strips for the sides, fronts, backs and bottoms, then rabbeting the drawer fronts and backs to receive the sides. Here’s how to make sizing the drawer for its opening extremely foolproof: after the front and backs are cut to rough length, place them into the case beside the drawer slides and evaluate the fit — whatever you get at this step will be the fit you get once the drawer is assembled. Adjust the part lengths, if needed. Then mill rabbets into the ends of the drawer fronts and backs, as well as along the bottom inside edges of the fronts, backs and sides, to fit the drawer bottoms.

Hang the cabinet-side components of the drawer slides in the case next, and fasten the drawer slide components to the drawer sides. Now, glue and bradnail the drawer boxes together, and hang the boxes in the case before the glue sets. I do this so that each drawer’s geometry fits the case’s geometry — if the case is a little out of square, the drawers will be equally out of square but will operate flawlessly anyway.

Cut the four drawer faces to length and width, and install them on the drawers with a few screws. To make setting gaps around the drawers easy, I cut a full-length thin strip of wood to act as a spacer. Placing the strip between the drawer faces as you work your way up the stack ensures that the gap will be consistent between each drawer and all the way from left to right. Since I built my cabinet when the humidity was low, I used a 1/8″ gap. That way, the drawer faces will have plenty of cross-grain expansion space as they get wider when the humidity goes up.

Finishing Up

At this point, it’s up to you whether or not to apply a finish. Shop projects are a great opportunity to use up the last bit of finish that might be sitting in a can on your shelf. In this case, I applied two coats of a wiping varnish. The first coat really brought out the color and figure in the wood, and the second coat helped to even out the sheen. I added a coat of paste wax to the top to further protect it from glue and to make workpieces slide across it more easily. Once the finishing is done, you can reassemble everything and install the door and drawer pulls.

My outfeed table was a much needed shop upgrade. I’m loving having the functionality of the workpiece support without having to set up roller stands or worry about catching parts before they fall off the back of the saw. And, of course, having more drawers and shelf space for storage has really helped cut down on the clutter of small items that otherwise just seem to float around the shop. The project’s slab top is also fantastic to look at, which further adds to the inviting nature of my shop. Shop projects don’t always have to be pretty — an argument can be made for making things quickly and roughly — but a little curb appeal never hurts, either.

Shop projects are also great for practice: if you make a mistake, you’ll see it every time you’re in your shop as a constant reminder not to make that mistake again. When you move on to more demanding projects, you will have the process all figured out and can proceed more confidently and effectively.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Hard-to-Find Hardware:

3″ Heavy-Duty Polyurethane Casters (2) #38865
Heavy-Duty Lifting Leveler (2) #81239
Blum® Soft-Close 110° Inset Hinges (1) #34807
Stainless Steel Naples Pulls, 96 mm (4) #52127
Stainless Steel Naples Knob, 39 mm (1) #56737
Nickel 1/4″ Shelf Supports (1) #33860
18″ 75-lb. Full-Extension Drawer Slides (1) #48022
Rockler 4 Ft. Universal T-Tracks (2) #20054
Rockler T-Track Intersection Kit (1) #22209

We’ve also assembled a list of optional, suggested accessories that will increase the usefulness of your table:

Rockler T-Track Inline Cam Clamp (2) #52145
Rockler T-Track Corner Stop (2) #81239
Rockler Hold Down Clamp (2) #35283
Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp #54280
Rockler Bench Cookie Plus Master Kit #56071
Rockler Bench Cookie Plus Risers #46311
Rockler Vacuum Clamp Pod Kit (2) #56071
Rockler Vacuum Pump Kit #57519

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AshleyHarwood.net

Ashley Harwood is an accomplished woodturner who teaches classes at her studio in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as at schools throughout the world. Ashley turns a wide variety of bowls and jewelry, but her best known work is her sea urchin ornament.

She’s even produced a full-length DVD for sale that features step-by-step instructions for how she makes this beautiful ornament and includes tool sharpening and spindle turning technique instructions. You can find a list of her upcoming classes on her website, and the best place to see what she’s working on now is her Instagram page, @ashleyharwoodturning.

FourEyesFurniture.com

ZHFabrications.com

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See More About the Sjöbergs Elite 2500C Workbench Here.

Tailgater Tire Table

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We’ve also assembled a list of optional, suggested accessories that will increase the usefulness of your table:

Rockler T-Track Inline Cam Clamp (2) #52145
Rockler T-Track Corner Stop (2) #81239
Rockler Hold Down Clamp (2) #35283
Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp #54280
Rockler Bench Cookie Plus Master Kit #56071
Rockler Bench Cookie Plus Risers #46311
Rockler Vacuum Clamp Pod Kit (2) #56071
Rockler Vacuum Pump Kit #57519

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