75 terrifying seconds of the CNC cutting a juice groove into an endgrain cutting board. This is one of my least favorite tasks in woodworking, and the machine performed admirably once we got everything out of its way. @arrdem.com deserves full credit for believing this was possible.

But succeed feels so good. Or, in this case, success feels so flat.

With t-track and spoilboards added to the CNC table, the time had come for another (final) flattening job. @arrdem.com tweaked the machine’s script, we made a few minor cable routing tweaks to avoid snags, and hit the “GO” button. No problems to report. Except the visible arcs of electricity.

Six rows of t-track laid on top of our reference surface, with 18mm of mdf as material that can be safely chewed up (roughly 7 or 8 mm before the cutting tool could hit the t-track). Time to cobble together clamping options.

I used Rubio monocoat on this walnut bench. Super easy to apply, just mix it up, apply, and then buff off. Odie’s Oil is very similar. I highly recommend it if you’re stressed about evenly applying a varnish; just make sure to really buff the wood with a clean cloth to remove any excess finish.

Some woodworking process shots for anyone that enjoys that sort of thing:

Nearing completion on my latest woodworking project: picture frames combining multiple wood types. Half of these frames are for my Sargent prints that have been gathering dust, and the other half are a custom job for a friend. Some still need mattes and plexiglass, but that part is easy/boring.

After last month’s cherry/walnut picture frame scratched that creative woodworking itch, I’m diving deeper down the rabbit hole. Currently have a half dozen unique profiles, and I’m happy to report that these are both entertaining and a great way to burn through scrap wood that needs a purpose.

This Lowrider CNC v4 from @v1engineering.bsky.social, built with an incredible amount of work by @arrdem.com, is nearly operational. A crazy tool to drop into my deeply unprofessional, garage-workshop woodworking situation.

Can’t wait to see what sort of trouble we can get up to with this machine.

This weekend, I finished the two-wood picture frame and hung it on the wall. I still need to cut a glass pane, but this is good enough for now. Learned a lesson or two along the way.

I find it quite satisfying when I can use my woodworking setup to replace the things I (frequently) drop and break.

The replacement picture frame project continues to go (mostly) according to plan. I’m not looking forward to all the sanding required to remove the burn marks.

My first time trying out this technique of using the table saw to make a cove cut. This setup felt less scary than I anticipated, and I’m always happy to figure out a new woodworking technique that won’t cost me a finger.

Waterfall bench finished this morning. Absolutely nowhere in the house to put it, but what can ya do? Such a simple concept, but transforming this cracked slab of black walnut into a usable piece of furniture ended up being one of my favorite woodworking projects so far.

Was going to say this exact thing. I’ve also occasionally filled a larger gap in my dovetails with a very thin sliver of wood. Almost invisible once it’s sanded and finished.

I think these are the biggest strawberries I’ve ever held in my life.

About eight hours into my latest woodworking project: an “artsy fan c-table” made from salvaged black walnut and maple. This mad tangle of clamps somehow was the easiest way I found to properly align the legs with the upper panel. Next step will be marking out where I need to cut 20 unique grooves.

Building my own chessboard ended up being a months-long project (started in January!). Woodworking feels like one of the slowest, most expensive way to clutter up the house.

4x timelapse of me applying the first coat of shellac to a chessboard build I’ve finally gotten around to completing. Fun.

A whole bunch of wood (mostly walnut) to work with on whatever projects I can think of, especially once the weather warms up and the workshop isn’t so dang cold.