Getting Ready for SNAP!

 

I’ve been in my workshop most of this week, getting materials ready for our booth and staining classes at the SNAP! Conference coming up in Salt Lake City on April 24-26. I always keep my camera nearby and snapped a few photos to go along with some staining and finishing tips that occurred to me. If you’re interested, just take a look here.

Years ago I salvaged these old kitchen cabinets for my workshop and they are great! I added a wood top and turned it into my “laboratory” for my staining and finishing experiments. Quick Tip: architectural salvage shops are perfect places to look for an inexpensive set.

A pegboard is a good way to keep your brushes organized. And save those cardboard sleeves, as they keep the bristles in shape after you clean and hang them to dry.

And speaking of brushes, I always use bristle brushes for laying down a smooth coat of clear finish, but must confess I sometimes reach for a foam brush for staining, especially small projects. However . . . .

This is what the inside of my trash can looks like afterwards. And I’m feeling guilty about sending all those foam brushes to the landfill, so I have made a resolution to use more bristle brushes, then clean and re-use them. (And, yes, I put the trash can outside for the night — and poured water over those rags!)

I also recycle my scrap wood trim as stirring sticks, and keep them in this old cracker tin on my workbench.

Along with a bowl of protective gloves! And Leigh Ann appreciates the fact that my hands don’t look like one of my staining projects.

One more quick tip:  when tapping a lid back onto the can, cover it with a cloth to catch the splatters. I ruined the fronts of about six shirts before I finally figured this one out!

So, what was I making for SNAP? One set of boards I will be bringing shows what a difference Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner (applied to the right hand side) makes in reducing unevenness (none applied to the left side) when staining. If you’d like to see how to use Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, take a look at this earlier post.

Until next time,

It’s a SNAP!

Bruce