Get WoodWorking 2013: Be smart about dust

Safety Day

I am going to combine Get Wood Working Week and Safety Week.

When using a powered sander it is easier to remember to put on the correct safety gear. They are loud and they make a lot of dust. But say you were going to hand sand an edge or a detail you can't handle with the sander would you think to put on a dust mask?

I didn't one evening last summer and ended up with one of the worst sinus infections I've had.  Prior to then I always used the simple paper dust mask. Since then I have upgrade to a half face respirator that I use with dust filter. I don't use the cartridges that are used for fumes because I am just trying to keep my lungs and sinuses free from the dust. Looks silly but it works good for me.

So get out there and get wood working, and make some dust. But try not to breathe it.

Check out my post from last years Get Woodworking Week: Get woodworking: Shellac, this beginners favorite finish.

Edit (4-29-13):  adding the safety day badge.  Please be safe in your shop.

Get Wood Working Week

I am amazed with the response to "Get Woodworking Week." I have been reading all the links Tom has been posting on Tom's Workbench.  I am honored for Tom to have included my post about Shellac in today's listing.

In reading some of the other "Get Woodworking" post I am seeing a lot of the same excuses I have thought and said when it comes to projects. Such as: I can't do that until I get the right tools. And not trying to build something due to the fear of messing up with an expensive pile of wood. But from now on I will do my best to get woodworking.

Get woodworking: Shellac, this beginners favorite finish.

It is "Get Woodworking Week" which was created by Tom from Tom's Workbench to promote wood working, and to encourage people interested in wood working to give it a try and  "Get Woodworking."

While I am not an experienced wood worker, I have done some, and have already learned a lot. In the past my projects were either left unfinished or were painted, but then I found shellac. Shellac can be brushed on, sprayed, or wiped on. It is also available in aerosol cans. Shellac dries quickly and cleans up easily with denatured alcohol.  Typically only 1 hour is needed between coats.

I have used shellac on all the rocking horses I have built. On the rocking horses my finish schedule has been to sand to 180 grit, apply stain, then apply at least 4 coats of shellac. Sanding with 320 between coats. I have been very happy with how the finish has turned out. 

So don't let finishing hold you back, give shellac a try and Get Woodworking!