Inspired by an article in an old issue of This Old House, this weekend we decided to use a French Cleat to hang our new flat screen TV on the basement wall. It seems really simple. It wasn’t. First, one half of the 2×6 we were using cracked when Scott ripped it. Then Scott couldn’t…
You all know how I try to use the “friendliest” materials when I’m working around the house, right? Oil-based stains and conventional finishes give me headaches and I know they’re not good for the environment. But, as much as it hurts to say this, it seems that most “friendly” finishes have a ways to go…
f you google “isopropyl alcohol-based wood stain,” it’s entirely possible you won’t find anything that resembles what you’re looking for. There’s probably a tutorial out there somewhere, but I haven’t found it yet. And although the bottle of concentrated tint that I use for staining with alcohol says, “May be mixed with water or alcohol…
How to what? Oxidize? What does that mean? Oxidized wood is just wood that has weathered or been made to look weathered. Weathered wood has a patina that commercial stain and other finishing applications can’t match. But since it doesn’t make sense to build a piece of furniture and then leave it out in the…