Barbecue Stripping
“In watching my son applying barbecue sauce to pork using a basting mop, I wondered why I had never heard of using a mop to spread paint remover. It would certainly deliver the remover to the area and eliminate the tendency to brush back and forth as we painters are prone to do.” – Ken Reeder
We don’t know, but that sounds like a terrific idea to us. We’ll bet that after reading your question, many will do just that. We know we plan to try it. Thanks for the great suggestion. – Editor
False Cedar
One “Question and Answer” from the last issue dealt with various types of cedar, which inspired this letter. – Editor
“The genus name of the Western red cedar is Thuja (as Mr. Dresdner points out) and is an arborvitae. True cedars are native to the Middle and Far East, and are identified by their genus name Cedrus.” – Mike Schrankel
Thanks, Mike. It’s nice to know that we have astute readers keeping us on task. Not only did we inspire several folks to write in with corrections, but also sparked what we assume is a fond memory. – Editor
“One of the uses for Western red cedar, at least during my days in school, was to make wooden pencils. Remember those yellow things? Most of us who chewed on our pencils can remember the pecky taste of the wood. It is peculiar to Western red cedar and one of its identifying features.” – Charles Wright
We know just what you mean. Not that we ever chewed our pencils, mind you, but, um… our friends described the taste to us. Yeah, that’s it. Our friends described it to us. – Editor
French Fried
A bit of French in one of the threads of the Web Surfer’s Review inspired another speaker to add this comment. – Editor
“Bienvenue is welcome as in glad to see you; well come. But gratitude is Il n’y a pas de quoi.” – Loren Parks
C’est vrai. Also, “de rien” is a correct way to say “you’re welcome.”Both responses mean, in essence, “it’s nothing,” which, despite being viewed as an impolite response to “thank you” in English, is actually the standard response in some Latin languages. – Editor
Kudos
“I am an Australian woodworker of 72 years and really enjoy the magazine contents. I built my first sailing dinghy when I was 15 years old and living on the west coast of Tasmania, and things just went on from there. I am still doing some woodcarvings, mainly of people’s heads, and one day I will get them right. Keep up the good work.” – Rob Abel
You keep up the good work too, Rod, and while you are at it, check out the Today’s Woodworker segment in this issue to see how another carver does it. – Editor
Level Legs
One of our readers asked for help getting his pieces to come out with all four legs level, and a couple of others offered suggestions. – Editor
“To level four-legged furniture, you can use four pieces of quarter inch plywood rings made from a disk with a hole cut in them that fit around the legs. Place the furniture on a level surface with each leg placed in one of the rings. Starting with the short leg, cut the leg flush with the ring. Replace the ring with a solid disk. Repeat this process for the remaining legs. The furniture will then be level and stable.” – Paul Sherman
“Here is something always helps me. When doing a table, always glue and clamp it upside-down, and don’t use pipe clamps as they can easily be over tightened and distort the table out of square. I use a web clamp and dead blow hammer to coax the joints closed. When making a cabinet, I try to make the legs and apron separately, then screw it to the bottom of the cabinet after all is dry. I hope this helps.” – Carmine Ferrari
Pipe Clamp Holding Blocks
“Do they come sized for half inch pipe? That’s what I have.” – Paul Bartels
Sorry, they only come in three quarter. – Editor
So, What Is Food-safe?
A question on food-safe finishes inspired this writer to delve further. – Editor
“Those of us who were unable to find the answer to the teaser question you posed are still waiting to learn more. Please cough up the answer, lest we die of our own cooking in the workshop.” – J. Michael Ducey
There is nothing to cough up, Michael, because there is no definition of food-safe finishes beyond what was said: to wit, that it is a legal term and not a practical one. If you have a finish that you want to advertise as food-safe, you must make a presentation and an appeal to the FDA, which decides on a case by case basis. It is incumbent on the manufacturers to prove their case for each individual finish. If you find this to be high-handed or inconvenient, most finish manufacturers would agree with you, but in any case, you’ll have to take that up with the FDA. – Editor
TimberSIL
“I cannot find TimberSIL products, a web site, or a phone that works. Do you know if the product is still around?” – Major Schutt
As some of you may remember, we did a feature article on TimberSIL in issue 141 of the eZine. The reason you are having trouble finding them is that they changed their name to Timber Treatment Technologies. – Editor
Woodworks
“I found your article about the Woodworks shows interesting. As a six-year woodworker, I still consider myself a novice despite the fact that I’ve had people disagree. While I don’t aspire to be an expert or even master craftsman, I would like to better my woodworking skills. If you could give fellow woodworkers a list of shows to be able to attend, it would be well worth money for admission.” – Greg Nehls
Check out the calendar section of each issue, Greg. It is chock full of woodworking shows and other events sorted by state to make it easy to find one year you. – Editor
