A Woodworker’s Guide to Understanding Dyes and Chemicals
by Brian Miller and Marci Crestani
If you’re a woodworker looking to take your skills—and your next project—to a higher level of craftsmanship, you might want to consider coloring your wood with chemicals and dyes instead of stains. Unlike stains that can trap light and obscure grain patterns, chemicals and dyes, when handled properly, are one of the best methods for enhancing a wood’s color or accentuating the grain pattern. A classic technique that’s been practiced for centuries, coloring wood is a sure way to infuse a “wow” into your woodworking efforts.
With expert guidance by Brian Miller, a professor of wood technology who teaches an actual course on coloring wood, The Art of Coloring Wood removes any and all intimidation of working with chemicals and dyes and is the perfect entry point for anyone looking to move on from simple stains to learn the art of coloring wood for dramatic effect.
The Art of Coloring Wood focuses on the six most popular woods used by woodworkers—maple, quartersawn white oak, mahogany, walnut, cherry and alder—and outlines each wood’s unique coloring characteristics. Easy-to-follow and engaging chapters on the different chemicals and dyes that will make your woodworking shine. Each chapter offers recipes, insights, and many, many “a-ha!” moments that make learning about chemicals and dyes both fascinating and within easy reach.
With the helpful sidebars throughout the book offering tips, mistakes, and countless nuggets of information, The Art of Coloring Wood will have you understanding the methods and many worthwhile reasons for coloring your wood while chomping at the bit to get a project completed so you can finish it with style and flair.
About the Authors: Brian Miller teaches woodwork finishing at Cerritos College in Norwalk, California. He has worked extensively on restoring historic houses, including several homes by Greene & Greene and Frank Lloyd Wright. Brian was honored in 2016 for his historic wood preservation work by the California state legislature and the Pasadena Historical Society. Marci Crestani is a former lifestyle columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News, and has worked as an editor for numerous trade magazines.
$24.95 US • Trade Paperback • 8½" x 11" • 144 pages
ISBN 978-1-61035-305-2
CRAFTS & HOBBIES / Woodwork • BISAC CRA042000
140 Color Photographs • Index
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This book is a guide to money and the law as pertains to contractors. What are the unique financial and legal concerns of running a construction business? Do you have the right tools for dealing with them? Attorney Jim Kramon provides all the information you need to turn your hard work into greater financial security.
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Written by a professional woodturning instructor with over a decade’s teaching experience, A Lesson Plan for Woodturning is a systematic, skill-building introduction that helps beginning woodturners master basic woodworking techniques on their own.
A Lesson Plan for Woodturning provides a complete, self-directed course in woodturning safety, tools, and techniques that will help any beginning woodturner learn the basics on his or her own time. Using methods proven in the classroom, A Lesson Plan for Woodturning provides the equivalent of three semester-length classes in one book.
Designed to give readers a thorough grounding in every essential woodturning technique, A Lesson Plan for Woodturning is systematically organized to teach basic skills that are building blocks for mastering more complex tasks. Each lesson features projects designed to develop the specific skill discussed. The structure, order and specific exercises are based on classroom-tested experience in teaching woodturning to both adult and younger students and are well tested in the classroom.
Each project is thoroughly documented with step-by-step instructions, illustrations and photographs, showing the specific tasks, positions, and cutting motions needed to successfully complete the project. The projects are simple, direct, and focused on skill development. Readers can easily develop their own similar projects following the same general steps.
A virtual training course in one book, A Lesson Plan in Woodturning is the next best thing to having your own personal woodturning instructor. This is the most practical book for the home hobbyist who wants to thoroughly master the fundamentals of woodturning.
About the Author: The founder and senior instructor at the Mount Diablo Woodturning Center, Jim Rodgers is a professional educator who has been teaching woodturning to both adults and youths for over a decade. Rodgers lectures throughout the United States and has published many articles on woodturning.
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