How Much Do You Actually Know About Woodworking?

The most common termites found inside homes are drywood termites, which do not require moisture to survive. These insects are capable of tunneling into homes, where they can tear through wallpaper, plastic or fabrics to get to the wood they desire.

It's important to note that sandpaper is divided into open-coat sandpaper and closed-coat sandpaper. Open-coat sandpaper is best for wood as it allows the particles to disperse instead of filling with dust from the material, while closed-coat sandpaper gets clogged much easier.

Unlike paint, a varnish won't cover the grain of the wood as you might expect. Instead, the coating soaks into the wood while preserving the wood's natural color and providing a protective layer from external conditions.

Red oaks can be found across eastern and central North America from Georgia to Canada. These trees are distinguished by their bark, which has stripes down the center that extend all the way down the trunk.

On a yearly basis, around 300,000 people are sent to the emergency room due to an eye injury at the workplace. Usually, protective glasses aren't being worn at all when these injuries occur, but occasionally the eyewear doesn't fit properly or isn't being worn the right way.

If you try to sand across the grain, you'll notice that the wood fibers tear apart, revealing scratches caused by the sandpaper. However, sanding with the grain allows any scratches to be hidden by the grain of the wood, making the surface look much more polished.

Evergreen trees with needles that remain on them year-round, pines come in many different sizes depending on the species of tree. Some pines only stand about 10 feet tall while others reach over 200 feet in height.

Because of its dark color, ebony timber is in high demand, but the trees are slow growing. With the demand exceeding the production, most species of ebony timber fall into one of the categories between threatened to critically endangered.

Electric hand drills date back to the 19th century. The first portable hand drill was created in Germany in 1895 by Wilhelm & Carl Fein. Black & Decker later added a pistol grip, making the portable drill useable by a single person.

The most common miter joint you might see on a regular basis is a picture frame. Picture frames are joined at the edges with 45-degree angles, which is typically true whether they are made out of wood or another material.

A wood stain can provide coloring to wood, but it's not the same as paint. Paint has the tendency to wear quicker, particularly if it's used on walking areas like decks, where a wood stain last longer without needing maintenance, saving money in the long run.

Composite wood became a viable option for decking in the '90s, but the early generations of the product didn't resemble real wood in color and texture. By the third generation, these problems were largely fixed, but the price of the wood also went up with the quality.

If you're just getting started in woodworking, two sawhorses and a sheet of wood will provide enough of a workspace for most projects. A workspace like this will save money because workbenches cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Handheld routers or table routers are the most common method used today to create a tongue-and-groove joint. The router is fit with bits that perfectly match one another, allowing for a snug fit on the finished product.

Evident by its name, the maple tree is used for the production of maple syrup, with sugar maples, black maples and red maples being the most common for this purpose. Of those trees, the sugar maple's sap has the highest sugar content.

Dowel joints are beneficial because the pegs, or dowels, are much thicker than nails or screws. This thickness creates a sturdier joint that is less likely to break or warp with time.

Traditionally, rubber was used in latex paints as the resin of the paint while water was used as the thinner. Most paints that currently carry the title of "latex" are actually acrylic latex, which means they contain a plastic resin rather than a rubber one.

Gluing butt joints together at 90-degree angles creates a problem as the glue doesn't stick well to the end grain. However, this type of joint can work well when boards are placed side by side if the appropriate amount of clamping pressure is applied.

Lovers of sunlight, pine trees grow in spaced-out forest where the sunlight can hit the forest floor. With over 100 species, the pine tree is the most common coniferous tree found across the world.

Sewing machines were the inspiration for the first jigsaw when the needle for a sewing machine was replaced by a saw blade. This innovation was made by Albert Kaufmann in 1946 while he was working for Scintilla AG.

For the longest time, power tools required cords to provide them with a power source because batteries couldn't produce the necessary energy to power these tools efficiently for a large project. Now, there are tons of cordless power tools that are both lighter and safer to use.

Found from Europe to North America to Asia, ash trees come in a variety of species that belong to the family Oleaceae. These trees produce a fruit known as samara, which are easily transported by the wind to a new area for a tree to grow.

It's important when working with power tools to keep any loose clothing or accessories away from the mechanisms of the tools. That means either wearing a short-sleeve shirt or rolling up the sleeves of a longer shirt will protect your arms from getting snagged in a machine.

Circular saws, which have a variety of blade sizes made of different materials, are capable of cutting several materials aside from wood. These materials include various metals from tin to steel, making circular saws extremely useful in construction.

Though there are some evergreens that fall into this category, hardwood lumber typically comes from deciduous trees. These trees have leaves that are shed as winter approaches only to grow them back in the spring.

Wood has the potential to split or crack, and that's no different when it comes to putting in screws. To avoid these problems, which might force you to restart, drill a pilot hole through both pieces of wood. Without a pilot hole, small cracks can easily split further, destroying a joint in the process.

The vast majority of the world's lumber, around 80 percent, comes from softwood sources. This type of timber is created from conifer trees, which means the trees have leaves that are shaped like needles. Softwood trees are gymnosperms, which means they produce seeds without any coverings.

There are many benefits of using timber in the construction world, like its ability to provide natural insulation. However, its greatest attribute might be the fact that it's a renewable resource that can be regrown with time.

There's a reason that innovation led to power saws: because handsaws took time and energy to use. However, benefits like price and portability are major reasons handsaws have remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years and are still used today.

The mortise and tenon joint has been a popular woodworking technique for thousands of years. There's evidence that shows how the ancient Romans used the technique in both wood and stonework to build temples, houses, forts and walls.

The dovetail joint can be traced back to ancient Egypt, which shows just how useful it is in woodworking. In Egypt, the dovetail joint was used in the tombs of mummies as early as the first dynasty.

Holly timber is so pale in color that the grain pattern is almost nonexistent, which can either be a benefit or a negative depending on the look you're going for. To preserve this coloring, the timber is typically cut in the winter and immediately dried so it doesn't develop a fungus.

Plywood is made out of both hardwood and softwood, though the process for making the plywood is still the same. To make the wood, the layers of veneer are rotated 90 degrees to help save the board from warping.

One of the most common mistakes people make when using an orbital sander is that they move too quickly across the surface. Unlike hand sanding, orbital sanders should be adjusted about an inch per second, which really is like creeping across the wood.

Enjoying wet and dry tropical forests, there are three species of mahogany found throughout South America and Mexico. This wood doesn't splinter easily but requires a good cleaning and a special treatment to make it last.