The Historic District

One of the nicest I've seen.

Phil, I work with dark stains all the time and do spot treatments. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. For nail holes that have darkened due to water, I put a bubble of bleach in the center, let it sit and dry to see how it will work. If it starts to get rid of the stain, put some more on. Dro...

Be careful when adding color of any kind of top coats. The addition of pigments in a top coat will obscure the wood grain if too much is used or too many coats put on. Also, going over something that has been stained, with a finish that is a solvent for the stain, may result in streaking. MinWax Pol...

I agree Phil. I too like the hands on stuff as compared to sitting behind a desk. I guess that is why I stayed in my first career so long. I not only worked on the design but had to make it work. At the time I thought I had the best job in the world, and worked for the best company. It was unique an...

right. I admire a lot of antiques in a totally different way than new things. more often than not what's available on the market is mass produced in such high volumes that it looses it's appeal and as you say becomes too perfect. a lot of it is made with junk wood with excellent finishing technique...

No offense taken. This subject can be debated forever with many different viewpoints. I think though that this forum in itself and specifically this thread is testament to the value and quality of craftsmanship done with the hand and heart vs. a machine and in particular CNC. I am an engineer and in...

If your goal is to make money by pumping stuff out of your shop as fast as you can, either one of a kind or multiples, than CNC is fine. You are then nothing more than a small scale factory with nothing of yourself in the product. I consider a craftsman a person who not only designs (even modifying ...

we may not have the experienced woodworkers of yesterday but what we do have now is CNC. No matter how good CNC has become, I can spot CNC produced stuff a mile away. It is too perfect, almost plastic looking. The perfection of exact copies takes away from the warmth of hand made items. CNC made st...

The inside is the cold, sterile, trendy style of today's houses. In a few years all this will be getting torn out for whatever the new fad is.

Hope you kitchen rework goes well Heartwood. Please post pictures of the progress. I agree with everything in the article. The kitchen remodel craze is entirely created by the kitchen products suppliers, real estate agents, interior designers, contractors, home centers (which I avoid at all cost), a...