Read More Articles by Scott Wunder

Profile picture for user scottwunder
Scott Wunder

From felling the trees through installation of the final piece Scott Wunder, owner of WunderWoods in St. Charles, MO, shares his woodworking knowledge with anyone that will talk to him about wood. Whether you want to learn about milling lumber or need help on a project, get your fill of woodworking infotainment at WunderWoods.com. Scott writes about all aspects of woodworking and specializes in finishing (mostly because no one else likes to sand).

Video

Signs for the shop

Well, I finally did it. After endless comments from customers about not being able to find the shop and a recent encounter with a customer that went quite poorly due to the lack of signage, I broke down.

Best Practices Guide

Don't forget the chainsaw (mill)

I started milling lumber about 25 years ago with a chainsaw mill, which is just a chainsaw with an attachment to control the depth of cut. The simple device allowed me to consistently cut accurate lumber with a minimal arsenal of equipment.

Management

Sharpen your bandsaw blade on the mill

Through the years I have dulled a lot of bandsaw blades on my sawmill, and for the longest time, I have struggled with keeping them sharp. I have tried multiple tools and methods to get this done, but only within the last year do I feel like I have found a good solution.

Management

Impress the ladies with tape

I use a lot of tape on a regular basis.
 
Usually, it is for regular things which you would guess require tape – normal things like holding parts in place or masking something off before finishing. I always have tape with me, from blue masking tape (my favorite) to electrical tape, and we keep plenty of other tapes in the shop, including packing tape and aluminum foil tape (my second favorite).
 
No matter which tape you prefer or which of these you have with you, they are all equally good for one thing – cleaning up.

Best Practices Guide

How to fold up a bandsaw blade

Whenever I put a new blade on my sawmill, I fold up the old one to send it out for sharpening. I don’t find the process as awesome as I used to, but it still seems to intrigue others that haven’t seen me do it before.

Solid Wood Machining

Setting up shop: the most useful power tools

I am often surprised at what tools woodworkers don’t use or own, especially when they are some of the few that I find essential. Sometimes it’s just the difference between hand tool and power tool guys, but sometimes it’s just from lack of experience or the fact that they haven’t given it too much thought.

Solid Wood Machining

Multiples stack up or measure up (you pick)

I am a woodworker, and as a woodworker, I live by a certain set of norms which dictate that I be accurate, but not ridiculously accurate. After all, wood changes size all of the time, so there is a limit to how accurate we can be and how much we should really worry about it.