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Hi all, I don't mean to sound blonde or anything, but... I have always used white spirit to clean the dust and grease off my projects before finishing. Earlier today I found myself in a situation where I needed to do just this but only had turps substitute to hand. I used it without much...

Thanks everyone for all the advice, I've decided to go down Hudson's route and use good old-fashioned elbow grease. Although regrettably I don't have a good random orbital sander for the less fiddly bits. Just a Bosch pad sander which won't leave the nicest finish. Hudson also makes a good...

Hi, I'm relatively new to woodworking, especially with woods other than oak. My girlfriend has a beautiful teak outdoor seat which has become grey and tired-looking. I know that certain purists like the grey patina on teak, but she would like it restoring to the original colour. I started to...

Thanks guys, As you have both alluded to, I suspect I don't have the confidence/ability to be able to re-join them. But because it isn't particularly valuable, and I can put it all down to the learning process, I will try it. A couple of questions... what is the best way to split them apart...

Hi all, Having begun my woodworking journey with a few picture frames and boxes, I have decided that my next project will be to restore an old oak table. It was a refectory-style one which I have entirely dismantled. I want to make a more contemporary style but using the original wood in a...

Thanks guys, my initial reaction was teak but it looked a little light for that. Other than that my knowledge of tropical woods is non-existent. It's a very small and thin piece so not much use for anything major. Maybe a picture frame. Would you suggest I treat it like teak? What's the best...

I am a complete beginner so forgive me if this is uber-obvious, but I just found this amongst my dad pile of "oak". I may be a novice but I'm fairly sure this isn't oak. I had a play with it and it is quite coarse, and even when planed gently, it is still pretty rough. Can anyone tell me what...

I suspect I am going to start a civil war here, but I am looking for some advice on sharpening stones. As a (relative) newbie, I have realised the virtues of a sharp edge to my tools. However, I am not entirely certain on the differences/merits of different types of stone. What are the basic...

Thanks for all your help guys, I ended up going for Danish Oil as that was what I had to hand. Went for about 4 coats, sanding and buffing in between coats. It looked really nice! Would post a photo but it was rushed down to the wedding before I thought. Guess only time will tell how durable...

Hi, I'm a relative novice and looking for advice on finishing oak for external use. I'm making a house name sign for my brother as a wedding gift. It will be a solid (European I think??) oak board around 12 x 6 inches and about 1 inch thick. Whenever I have used oak before I have always...

Hello again, Thanks very much for the advice so far! most of my questions seem to have been answered comprehensively and I have tried to take it all on board. I have ordered The Woodworkers' Manual milkman mentioned as I have heard this is good for setting up beginners, and as an encyclopaedic...

Hi All, This is my first post here so bear with me. I am hoping to tap into the vast expanse of experts this site seems to harbour. I have (albeit briefly so I apologise if such a thread already exists) looked around the forums and I can't seem to find any threads where complete beginners'...