Yesterday we talked about Gluing up our Table Top using Pipe Clamps. If you don't have the budget to buy a bunch of clamps, another option is to use Pocket Hole Screws! The illustration below shows how this method looks in practice. 👉 Beginner takeaway: Pocket hole screws are an easier way to join boards if you don’t want to use clamps. ✅ Pros - Great if you have limited shop space. - Helps reduce sanding since the boards won’t shift up or down as much. - By clamping the pieces while driving the screws, your tabletop can come out flatter with less cleanup. 👉 Beginner takeaway: Pocket screws keep boards lined up so you don’t have to sand as much. ⚠️ Cons - You may still need at least one clamp to prevent small gaps when driving screws. - Adding a screw every 12” can be time-consuming compared to other methods and adds an extra cost you may not have budgeted. 👉 Beginner takeaway: Pocket screws save sanding time but take longer to install and add more cost. 🪚 Choosing a Kreg Jig There are multiple sizes of the Kreg Jig to fit your budget: - Base Model – affordable and simple. https://amzn.to/3xZG4Hz  - Intermediate Model – more flexibility for different projects. https://amzn.to/4cCqsZC  - Advanced Model – best for frequent use and bigger builds. https://amzn.to/4cX0Qqb  👉 Beginner takeaway: Pick the jig that matches your budget and how often you’ll use it.

If you have any Garden Water Feature: Pond, Waterfall, Bird Bath, you know how hard it is to keep them clean. Did you know it's incredibly easy to prevent Algae growth?! We have a bird bath and even with the use of a solar powered filter, within 9 days we had algae growth within the whole bath. Gross! I saw a solution a lot of farmers and ranchers said worked really well on my social media feed and had to try it out! All you need is one simple part which you can get at any big box store: a copper pipe! I was determined to try this hack and see for myself if it worked. We actually transferred our bird bath into a bigger container, got a pump with a bigger solar panel and even used the same algae covered rocks used in our first container (we didn't scrub them clean 🤢) After just 9 days I couldn't believe it...there was ZERO algae growth! And even the rocks which had algae, appeared to have less algae on them! Check out our results for yourself!

We have a new Course coming out soon: How to Build a Table! Over the next few days, we'll be reviewing all the different aspects to build a table. Be sure to stay tuned each day for each new step! But first, why Build instead of Buy? • High-quality hardwood furniture can last for decades. • Cheap furniture often fails within a few years. • Our table, built in 2012, still looks great and is structurally sound. (Honestly, I’d feel safer hidding underneath if an earthquake came!) • You'll get a great sense of accomplishment! Building furniture can be so rewarding! Not only is it a fun project, but it can last for generations! If you've ever wanted to build a table, whether as a gathering place for your family to eat, one to put next to your couch, one to work at, etc., this project may seem kind of daunting! I think most people shy away from this type of project because they think they need a lot of big, expensive equipment, or they don't know how to attach all the pieces together. But when you break it down, it's really not too complicated. When I worked in the Woodworking industry full-time for 12 years, we saw some bad things happen to wood if we didn't build our products correctly. Usually, table tops are made out of solid wood, which will shrink and swell more than particle board or MDF with wood veneers, but it's substantially more durable, which is why it's commonly used. But if correct practices are followed, a table can last for decades. Attached is a picture of our Dining Room Table. I built it 14 years ago! We used solid ash wood for everything. We stained the legs and apron to match our kitchen cabinets.

You've got your wood. You understand how to orient it so it doesn't warp. Now it's time to glue your table top together! The simplest way is to use clamps. Clamps can get very pricey, but one way to save money is to make them yourself. The nice thing about making them yourself: you can make them any length you want! The Pipe Clamp! You'll need to buy pipes to attach them. Click the link below or find them at your local big box/plumbing store: https://amzn.to/3LDYmSl With these types of clamps, gluing up lumber is a breeze. It's important to balance your glue-up by putting some clamps underneath and on top of your piece. If you're making a cutting board, I would recommend a minimum of 3 pipe clamps (two on the bottom and one on top, in the middle). Depending on the length of your tabletop, I would recommend a minimum of at least 5 pipe clamps (three on the bottom and two on the top, spaced evenly). These clamps are perfect to get a really tight glue up because the clamping face is short and it has a “crank style” handle, so you don't need forearms like The Hulk 💪. ✅ Pros - Extremely durable — you’ll own them for years (I’ve had mine for 16+). - With Bessey clamps, you can swap out different pipe lengths to fit projects of any size. 👉 Beginner takeaway: Pipe clamps last forever and can be adjusted for big or small projects. ⚠️ Cons - They can be heavy and take up storage space in your shop. - Best solution: hang them on a wall to keep them out of the way. 👉 Beginner takeaway: Pipe clamps are strong but bulky — hang them up to save space. Make sure to stay tuned daily as we cover all the steps to Build your own Table!

Step 1 of building a table is to understand how wood "acts". Starting with the table top, we're going to cover the term called “Glue up”. Your table top is the most visible and used part of your table. Even if your base is built with amazing craftsmanship, if your table top doesn't look good, it will automatically "devalue" your whole table. Fortunately, building a table top isn't very difficult once you understand a couple things: First, we need to understand how boards are typically cut out of logs by the Mill: 🪚 Types of Boards in a Log As shown in the image above, each log produces three main types of boards: - Rift sawn - Quarter sawn - Flat sawn 👉 Beginner takeaway: These are just three ways a log can be cut into boards. What This Means Architects and Designers care about these cuts because each has a distinct “look.” For us builders, the important part is how these boards behave when joined together. Fortunately, all three types perform about the same structurally. 👉 Beginner takeaway: The style of the cut doesn’t change how strong the boards are for your project. Gluing the pieces together for your table top is called a "Glue up" because you're gluing multiple pieces of wood together to make a larger wood structure. Don't let the simplicity of the term fool you. There is a right and wrong way to glue boards together. If you glue them up incorrectly, your table top could turn into a potato chip (figuratively speaking). 👉 Beginner takeaway: Grain facing in the same direction can cause your piece to warp. 🪚 How to Prevent Cupping with Grain Direction To prevent cupping, alternate the grain direction of each board when gluing them together. This balances the forces in the wood and keeps the surface flat. 👉 Beginner takeaway: Flip every other board so the grain curves in opposite directions. Real Example Below is a picture of our Dining Room Table. We wanted a 2" thick table top. We rotated each board so they were standing on its side. We still had to make sure each board had its grain direction alternating.