STL194: New-Fangled Finishes

Danish Modern Desk with Tim Rousseau Question 1:  From Devin: Over the years of listening to your show, reading Fine Woodworking, and watching instructional videos, I’ve heard a million different suggestions for how long to let a glue-up sit before you take the clamps off. Ranging from “a little while” -whatever that is?- to overnight, and everything in between. Do you guys have any good rules of thumb for drying time? Strategies for Squeeze-out How to Tame Tricky Glue-Ups How to Apply Wiping Varnish Question 2: From the Fine Woodworking forum by forum member NewAndGreen: I’d like to apply a water based topcoat to two white oak chairs I’ve sanded. I was interested in using General Finishes water-based topcoat, but don’t know if I should go with the flat or the satin finish. I have read that GF’s satin is shinier than most. Is that true?  (I put a coat of Minwax Satin Polycrylic on one and liked the look, but I’m looking for a better product .) I know I don’t want to start mixing. (I’ve already over-complicated the process!) I also know I don’t want a glossy look and not a totally matte look. Ugh. Pictures of two parts of chair attached for reference. Thanks in advance for your advice/thoughts to this new and green refinisher! Question 3: Also from Paul: I  have not heard Rubio Monocoat or Osmo mentioned on the podcast. Have any of you tried Monocoat? Being in the industry professionally myself, and, seeing what other pros are using, Monocoat and Osmo seem to be the two go-to products that many professionals use as their primary oil finish (they’re like the BMW and Mercedes of woodworking it seems). Any experience and/or recommendations there? Osmo oil: durable, easy to use, and non-toxic Tips and Tricks For Getting A Sheen From an Oil Finish Price of Osmo Polyx Oil at time of broadcast: .75-Liter=$58.56 Segment: All-Time Favorite Technique of All Time Mike: Tom McLaughlin’s “cut some off and glue it on the other side” technique Anissa: Steve Latta’s hinged flips stop 3 Handy Stop Blocks Ben: Using metal files to shape difficult woods File Joints for a Perfect Fit Question 4: From Brendan: I can’t draw by hand at all.  Not even a little. My 3rd grade drawings look every bit as good as my current attempts. On STL180, you talked about design for about 30 minutes without mentioning cad as a design medium.   I know it’s a scary topic but as a resolution at least one of you should try to design a furniture piece down to the jointery on your computer. The learning curve can be steep but I find that designing on the computer allows me to virtually build the piece without creating any sawdust. And from Paul: I don’t know that I’ve ever heard Fusion 360 mentioned on the podcast. I used Sketchup for several years and loved it… however, a few years ago a landed a very complicated project (with cnc work involved), and came to the realization I needed something more sophisticated. Fusion 360 is now such a huge part of my business and can’t imagine ever going back to Sketchup. Having parametric capabilities now seems absolutely necessary. Have any of you ever tried it? Design - Click - Build    Recommendations:  Anissa - Ted Talk - Rives: The Museum of Four in the Morning Ben - The Woodworkers Podcast and luthiery podcast Omo   Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page.