Hardware & Materials
In addition to tools and accessories to do the work, a workshop requires something to work with – notably wood, metal, plastic, fasteners, hinges, sandpaper, solvents, finishes, all those things we lump together under the heading “materials.” A good tool is a one-time cost, but materials are something you must continually renew.
Wood
1/8"/3 mm Baltic Birch Plywood
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Six 12" x 24" (305 mm x 610 mm) sheets of Baltic Birch Plywood, 1/8" (3 mm) thick. This is what we used to make the lantrn faces shown in “Making a Halloween Lantern”. Can also be used for many other projects that involve scrollwork, laser cutting, CNC cutting, and woodburning.
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Wax
Minwax Paste Wax Finish
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I have used Minwax for decades before I started making my own. Great paste wax not just for finishing, be also lubrication, rust prevention, and keeping glue from sticking to worksurfaces.
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Nuvia Organic Carnauba Wax
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Carnauba wax is usually the hardest wax in most paste wax formulas, and has the highest melting temperature. This makes these formulas more durable, as explained in “Paste Wax Mix-up”. We also use it in a food-safe finish not only to make it more durable, but also to give it a sheen. This is covered in “Making Board Butter”.
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Stackich Beeswax Pellets
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Beeswax may be the oldest of all finishing materials, and is still preferred by many craftsman as the best way to rub out and preserve a finish. We use a healthy proportion of beeswax in our paste wax formula, as shown in “Paste Wax Mix-up” and in our food-safe finish for kitchen stuff, as shown in “Making Board Butter”.
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Candeo Microcrystalline Wax
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Microcrystalline wax is derived from petroleum, similar to paraffin, but the molecular structure is quite different. In a wax blend, such as the paste wax formulas we show in “Paste Wax Mix-up”, it improves consistency, texture and the ability of the waxes to repel water.
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10 oz Wide-Mouth Aluminum Cans, Pack of 30
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When making your own paste wax or board butter, you need a reasonably airtight storage container that keeps the material from drying while stored, and lets you easily reach inside when you need to apply the wax or butter. These wide-mouth aluminum tins with screw-on lids fill the bill on both accounts.
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Finish
Minwax Wipe-On Poly (water-based)
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We reviewed this water-based polyurethane finish in “Finding the Perfect Finish” and were impressed with the ease of application and how little effort it took to rub out.
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Minwax Wipe-On Poly (oil based)
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After testing the Minwax’s water-based wipe-on poly in our video “Finding the Perfect Finish”, we decided to investigate the oil-based version and found it just as impressive. Exceptionally easy to apply, easy to rub out. And it “warms” the wood grain like most oil-based finishes do.
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Hope’s 100% Tung Oil
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Raw tung oil penetrates the wood deeply, highlighting the grain. It does not build up on the wood surface, but multiple coats will create a pleasant sheen. Good alternative when you need a non-toxic food-safe finish. We reviewed Hope’s Tung Oil In “Finding the Perfect Finish”. We also used it to create a food-safe finish for kitchen items in “Making Board Butter”
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Sunnyside Raw Linseed Oil
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Raw linseed oil penetrates the wood surface, highlights the wood grain, and helps protect the surface. But unlike "boiled" linseed oil, it is not partially polymerized nor does it have chemical driers that help to cure. Consequently, it can take longer to cure, but it is food-contact safe when it does so. We used this linseed oil to make a durable "board butter" finish for wooden kitchen implements in our video “Making Board Butter”.
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General Finish Wood Bowl Finish
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A non-toxic finish that can be built up and rubbed out to a reasonable gloss. You can apply it with a brush or by simply wiping it on. General’s Wood Bowl Finish was featured in “Finding the Perfect Finish”.
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General Finish Arm-R-Seal
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Minwax Tung Oil
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This has been our favorite finish for years because it penetrates deeply and enhances the wood grain. We often mix it with a little spar urethane to punch up the gloss and durability – see “Finding the Perfect Finish”.
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General Finish Hardwax Oil
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Hardwax finish, 475 ml (16 oz). Covers 60 square feet, dries to a clear matte finish. Available in several colors. Contains urethane resins.
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Tried & True Original Finish
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Hardwax finish, 475 ml (16 oz). Covers up to 125 square feet and dries toa clear matte finish. (The specs say "glossy," but it is nowhere near a gloss finish.) Food safe, made from polymerized linseed oil and beeswax.
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Odie's Oil
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Hardwax finish and polish, 266 ml (9 oz). Food safe, contains no solvents or driers. Dries to a clear matte finish on wood; can be used on other surfaces including leather, vinyl, and metal. Tung oil base.
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Rubio Monocoat Plus 2C
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Two-part hardwax finish, 350 ml (11.8 oz) including oil and accelerator. One coat covers 175 square feet and dries to a clear matte finish. Linseed oil base, available in other colors.
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Natura Wood Oil
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Two-part hardwax finish, 360 ml (12.2 oz) including oil and accelerator. One coat cover 215 square feet and dries to a clear matte finish. Available in other colors. Linseed oil base, made in Turkey.
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Osmo Polyx-Oil
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0.75 l (25.3 oz) of hardwax oil, dries to a clear matter finish. Covers 190 square feet. Contains sunflower oil, soy oil, thistle oil, carnauba, and candalillia wax.
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Keda Aniline Dyes (5 Colors)
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Five colors of water-based aniline dyes -- black, brown, blue, red, and yellow -- enough to make one quart of each color. This is what we used to color the lantern parts shown in “Making a Halloween Lantern”. You'll also need distilled water and denatured alcohol to mix these up.
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MG Chemicals d-Limonene Solvent
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945 ml in a metal container. d-Limonene is a chemical found in many citrus froints, and is sometimes referred to as "orange oil," as much of it is squeezed and processed from orange peels. This has been refined to an industrial strength solvent, and may not be available if you live in California, Utah, or New Hampshire."
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One-Pint Paint Cans
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Eight one-pint (500 ml) tinplate cans with traditional triple-lock sealing metal lids, each 3.27" diameter and 4.13" tall.
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Glue
Bob Smith Slow-Cure Epoxy
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We first bought Bob Smith Slow-Cure Epoxy to compare it to other adhesives in or video “Best Adhesives for Chair Repair”. As we said in the video, this is a great adhesive, especially when you need some extra time to glue-up a complex assembly.
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Titebond II
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Titebond III
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While Titebond II is water-resistant, Titedond III is truly waterproof once cured. It’s thinner than many other adhesives, which is both a blessing and a curse. Its consistency makes it go farther; and it’s easier to apply in crevices, holes, and mortises. But it’s also more prone to run.
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Starbond Thin Super Glue
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Cyanoacrylate glues are usually pretty thick so they stay where you apply them and don’t run. But every now, you need a super glue to run or soak down into the materials you’re working with. We’ve found this does it just fine.
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Starbond Medium Super Glue
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The formula is a little thicker than Starbon’s thin cyanoacrylate and stays put – it won’t run. It works great as it is, but having this stuff along side the thin Starbond stuff allows you to mix them and get the precise consistency you need for a specific job.
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Abrasives
ScotchBrite Pads (Grey)
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We use these to smooth and rub out finishes between coats. It’s a very light abrasive between 600 and 800 grit. See -- “Finding the Perfect Finish”. The flexible pad reaches into crevices and conforms to all surfaces.
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Karebac Gold Sandpaper 5" Discs
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These are the (comparatively) inexpensive sandpaper discs that we use with our sanders and the TGR Loop-to-PSA Converters. They come in 100-disc rolls.
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TGR Loop-to-PSA Converters for Sanders
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Most sanders come with hook-and-loop (H&L) discs and the H&L sanding discs are expensive. The older-style adhesive (PSA) discs are more reasonable. So we use these 5"-diameter converters to mount PSA discs on H&L sanders, saving money. We should probably do a video on this.
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Hardware
Retractable Casters, Set of 4
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We've used these retractable casters on our workbanch and other pieces of shop furniture that we need to move from time to time. They get the job done. More importanly, the casters contact the floor outside the footprint of the bench or stand, helping to make it more stable.
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Lamp Pipe 3/8" Dia x 36" Long
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This is the "lamp pipe" we used like a long bolt to hold the Halloween Lantern together. It's 3/8" in diameter, 36" long (enough for two lanterns), and has a standard 1/8 IP thread. You will also need a 1/8 IP nut, an "eye nut" and two 3/8" flat washers.
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3/8" Eye Nuts with 1" dia rings
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These are the eye nuts we used hold the Halloween Lantern together. They will also enable you to hang it, if you so wish. Each nut has a 1" diameter ring and standard standard 1/8 IP threads. You will also need a 1/8 IP 3/8" diameter lamp pipe, and two 3/8" flat washers.
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Pumpkin Lights with Remote Control
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Two "Pumpkin Lights" with a remote control to turn them on and off without having to reach into the lanter. There are also settings to make the light flicker or shine steadily, make them bright or dim, or make them turn off automatically in so many hours. These are the lights I used in “Making a Halloween Lantern”.
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Hicarer Pendulum Clockworks with Chimes
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When building clocks, I prefer Hicarer clock movements for their simplicity, durability, and the completeness of their kits. This is the movement and kit I used to make the “Infinity Cube Clock”.
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Berta Concealed Hinges (Full Overlay)
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We show these concealed hinges in “Concealed Hinges 101”. I use them because they’re well-made, reasonably priced, and Berta offers a huge selection for overlay, partial overlay, and inset doors. This hinge is designed for "full" overlay, meaning that the installed door will overlap the door frame by 3/4".
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Berta Concealed Hinges (3/8" Overlay)
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We show these concealed hinges in “Concealed Hinges 101”. I use them because they’re well-made, reasonably priced, and Berta offers of huge selection for overlay, partial overlay, and inset doors. This is one of the most popular partial overlay hinges.
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Berta Concealed Hinges (Inset)
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We show these concealed hinges in “Concealed Hinges 101”. I use them because they’re well-made, reasonably priced, and Berta offers of huge selection for overlay, partial overlay, and inset doors. This is a pair of inset hinges, when you want to mount the door inside the case or face frame.
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Roller Ball Transfer Bearings
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Absolutely the best way to feed long or large workpieces past a saw or cutter. These bearings are omni-directional so you don’t have to align them with the direction of feed. We used these bearings in making our “Custom Saw Stand”.
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Mini Disc Magnets
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Sanniu Fairy Lights
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We used these lights to illuminate our “Nesting Christmas Trees”. Easy to install, inexpensive, and versatile. Great for decorative projects where you don’t want the distraction of blinking lights.
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Lubricants
Boeshield T-9 Dry Lubricant 12 oz.
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This dry lubricant was originally developed by the Boeing Corporation to help lubricate and control corrosion on aircraft parts, and is now sold to do the same on all manner of machinery and metal surfaces, both indoors and outdoors.
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SlipIt Woodworkers Sliding Compound
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SLIPIT® Woodworker's Sliding Compound is greaseless, odorless, non-toxic, non-flammable, silicone-free gel lubricant specially formulated for cast iron, but will work on other metal surfaces. And its not just for woodworking machinery. Use it on garage doors, windows, anywhere where you need surfaces to slide.
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WD-40 Specialist Dry Lube with PTFE
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If your wondering, "PTFE" stands for polytetrafluoroethylene, better known as Teflon. This particular entry in the WD-40 "Specialist" series is a Teflon-based dry lube that is highly resistant to other chemicals, high temperatures, weather, and UV light. It also protects against corrosion.
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Other
Cotton Fly Camphor Blocks
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These compressed blocks of crystallized camphor work like magic to keep your tools from rusting when in storage, as we show in “Seven Ways to Prevent Rust”. No application needed, you just drop the blocks in drawers, tool boxes, and enclosed spaces where you keep your tools.
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Acid Brushes - 144 Count
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These little brushes have a thousand uses around a workshop, from spreading glue and other chemicals to cleaning up the sawdust that falls on machinery and accumulates in hard-to-reach crevices. We couldn’t be without them.
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