Episode 37 - Durable Finishes, Old vs New Machines, Powering The Shop, & MUCH More!

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Guys Questions:

1) Hey guys and Guy, back with another question for you. I foolishly agreed to make the new dining table for my fire department. We Firefighters are basically 240 pound toddlers, so this thing needs to be essentially bomb proof. My main concern for this piece is finishing. I have listened to a lot of podcasts and done some reading but most of the discussion on finishing is in regards to the nicest finish. Not how to gorilla proof a finish. I’ve had people suggest epoxy, but I don’t really want to do an epoxy pour, especially with the stigma surrounding epoxy right now. My go to finish is the minwax oil based poly. And I’m wondering should I just go that rout and add extra layers? I’ve even considered using a poly for hardwood floors. What do ya’ll think? I am probably going to build with 8/4 hickory. Thanks in advance. -Hunter

2) I’m new to veneering, but was curious about the subject of cross grain glue ups with veneer. If one wants to veneer a panel with a Baltic birch plywood core, how would you glue something over 4ft? With plywood grain running the 8ft length, my guess is you would have to put a layer of backing veneer perpendicular to the plywood grain and then lay up the finish veneer on top of that.  I know using MDF would make this easier but I’m not love with it. For reference this would be a cabinet side for a 9ft tall built in with an outside face. -Jesse

Sean's Questions:

1) My one car detached garage is 109 years old and is running off of one single 20A 120V circuit. I have just two outlets in the garage right now and I want to have a subpanel installed with more amperage and ideally a 220V circuit as well. That’s what I’m wondering about. I was thinking a total of 100A with three 20A 110V circuits and one 40A 220V circuit. I’m not an electrician so I don’t even know that that’s possible, but if so, does that power setup sound good. I’m trying to “future-proof” it a bit, thinking about potentially expanding the garage one day,  having a 220V dust collector and maybe a Hammer combo machine like Huy once I get that rocket engineer kinda money but I was also thinking of externally mounting the panel box so I could run external conduit to have flexibility for future outlet layout changes. So yeah, I just want to get an opinion on power availability throughout the shop and what your thoughts are. Jonathan Scott woodcrafts

2) What is the piece that you built and wish to forget about? - Eric

Huy's Questions:

1) I have a 1970s Rockwell floor stand drill press I restored with no appreciable run out as well as a powermatic 180 (18 inch planer) with helical head upgrade.  They are older but seem sturdier that today's machines. Just wondering what machines you might consider looking for older versions that may be better than today's equivalent as I do not see many of the type in your shops. Thanks again, Matthew

2) I have a lot of a variety of types of clamps that is on a simple wall rack now. I need the wall space in my growing ever smaller 2 car garage shop. Considering a clamp cart or possibly under benches? Please discuss options and how you each deal with them being out of the way but handy when needed. -Darren

Thanks to Maverick Abrasives for sponsoring this episode. Check them out at https://www.maverickabrasives.com