Love wood working or are interested in getting started in it? Then WWforum.com was created specifically for you. We’ve been online for many years and take great pride and joy in bringing you a variety of tips, guides and helpful information. Whether you’re about to start wood working for the very first time or you’re just looking for some nifty tricks and tips to take your wood working to the next level, you can likely find something helpful here (we hope!). Below are a few of our featured tips and guides to help you along your way.

Tips for Gluing Fabric to Wood

Try a spray adhesive. One of our favorites is the one made by 3M.

Loctite has several different adhesive products that can work wonders.

Use a PVA glue or rubber cement. With the PVA glue you need to make sure not to use too much of it or you risk it leaking through the fabric. Rubber cement can be tricky if you’re working on a large surface – you have to work pretty fast if you’re using rubber cement on a large surface area.

Making Nice with Spray Finishing  

Lots of people think of spray finishing as the red-headed step child, but you don’t have to limit yourself or be scared of using it. To start with, you really need a viscosity cup if you’re going to use spray finishes. Every single time you put some finish into the spray gun cup you should be using it – period. Don’t expect to get back to work on your project spraying your finish at 24 seconds when you had a great run at 17 seconds a few days earlier. Thin as needed to get it flowing just like it was e first time.

Yes, you may see people do awesome work without a viscosity cup. The secret is they’ve probably been spray finishing for years and being able to tell the viscosity as they pour it in comes natural – like second nature to them. You will probably be able to do that someday, too. But for now, use your cup unless you just enjoy upsets, setbacks and headaches.

Keep in mind that its viscosity will vary depending on the weather and conditions that you’re working in. Sure, the label is almost certain to tell you what it is. But you know what? They’re telling you that assuming that you have dream-like conditions: an average temp, very little humidity. If it’s colder out or if you have high humidity in the air, then the viscosity is going to change and you’ll have to adapt.

Staying Sane – Keep your Gun Clean

You can likely get by with a thorough rinse and cleaning of your gun for a few days or even a couple weeks. But eventually you’re going to have to break down and take the time for a proper cleaning if you don’t want to go crazy. Over time, your gun will start to accrue layers of micro-thin film. Your gun can start to accumulate these layers in passage areas that will ultimately result in a very poor spraying from the gun.

Water Based Finish Cleanup

Take the cup off and pull the trigger so that the pickup tube will drain as much as possible. Empty out the cup. Now rinse it out with clean water and empty it again. Run fresh, clean water through the gun by spraying the water for about ten seconds. Drain the pickup tube again when you’re finished. Next you want to spray some Brush & Gun Cleaner through the gun. Spray a few seconds the pause for a few seconds and spray again. Drain it and rinse like you did in the beginning. Now spray more clean fresh water through it for another ten seconds or so.

Solvent Based Finish Cleanup

You’ll want to clean with a thinner that is relevant to the finish you’re using. Then rinse it out with solvent alcohol. Every once in a while it’s a good idea to take your gun apart and soak the fluid passages in a paint stripper. Remember that every time you change finishes, you should be running the proper solvent, cleaning it up with water and soap and finishing off with an alcohol rinse.

Watch What You’re Doing

Simply paying attention will do wonders. If your surface only has speckles of finish then obviously you can up the amount or speed at which you’re spraying. If you’re getting top layers peeling off while rubbing it then you’re spraying too much too fast. If your surface is gooey days after spraying then again – you’re obviously spraying too much too fast.