All How-To Topics
basswood
MNmember
Contributions
Bookcase for a Not So Big Office
For a very small office, I installed a horizontal bookcase at the top of the wall to provide more usable space.
FHB Tip Jumpstarts Haiti Relief Effort
Problems in Haiti have been highlighted by the start of the rainy season there. The temporary camps are becoming a muddy mess of slippery paths and "housing" is even less adequate as the storms arrive. I hope to provide solutions to the problems of muddy paths, lack of good temporary housing, and lack of jobs too.
Pocket Door Hardware Tricks, Jigs, and Trim Bending
Pocket Door Hardware modifications, a simple jig, and curved stop molding.
Pseudo-Elliptical Pocket Door in Arch
Techniques for making pocket doors work in arched openings
Bending Drywall and Cutting Chatter on Tight Radius Arches
Bending and finishing drywall for very tight radiuses is not difficult, but there are a few tips and extra steps that help smooth out the process.
Cutting Corners: Arches and Pocket Doors
Carpentry Techniques for Building Tight Radius or Elliptical Arches and Arched Pocket Doors.
Ball Hog
My Golden mostly helps with shop projects, but loves going to jobsites too.
"Wedding Cake" Deck
This may be the smallest deck in the contest, really a five-sided landing with stairs.
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New on Fine Homebuilding
concrete vibrator
Noecom | February 8th, 2012
DeWalt Debuts Brushless Motors
patrick_mccombe | February 8th, 2012
Handrail
carpenter1138 | February 7th, 2012
Recent comments
Re: Why I'm grateful for the EPA's new lead certification rule
I have been using tool activated vacs, saw hood, air filter unit, and setting up work area bubbles for years. RRP rules just require other contractors to do the same kind of thing finally. It is just working clean... only now I get to play with a swiffer.
posted: 9:53 pm on May 3rdThe lead-safe practices are no big deal. I don't like the extra paperwork though. Also not too jazzed about the $300 registration fee after two lean years... bad timing.
Re: Bending Drywall and Cutting Chatter on Tight Radius Arches
I do use masonite or pegboard for larger radius circular arches. This is for very tight radius (3" radius at the sharpest part of the curve) elliptical arches. I have been unable to get masonite to bend that tight without breaking.
posted: 2:27 pm on April 6thRe: Crown Molding: Mitering vs. Coping. Which Do You Do?
Mitering crown is for outside corners, furniture and cabinets.
posted: 10:45 pm on June 1stIt is simply the best practice to cope inside corners on crown installed at the wall/ceiling. Mitered inside corner joints very often fail and open up. Coping done well looks as good as perfect miters and is a more forgiving joint.
Coped joints can be cut a skosh long and sprung into place tightly for a perfect fit. These joints are much less likely to ever open up. If they do open all you see is a tiny shadow line of the coped piece against the piece that runs behind it and butts against the wall.
However, both sides of the joint pull back equally When an inside miter shrinks, revealing a open miter at least twice the size of the coped joint shrinking under the same conditions. With stain-grade there is no caulk to handle this wood movement and the unfinished wood of the miter cuts shows. For these reasons there is more justification for coping stain-grade than painted crown. Inside miters will often result in call backs... coped joints will not.
I also use copes to hold one end of the crown, working solo, and install the crown in reverse order (if you can visualize that). I make sure the cope is just right with a short scrap of crown, but don't nail the last 2-3' of crown before the corner. Pull the scrap and pull the coped end down and slip the end of the next piece of crown in, push the corner together and tack in place with one nail or push that corner together with a "3-rd Hand" (by Fastcap) and head to the other end and check that cope with a scrap... if all is good nail off all but the last 2-3' of that piece and repeat.
Regards,
Brian Campbell