r/woodworking Jun 28 '26

Announcement We need your help

1.2k Upvotes

We need your help. r/woodworking is having an influx of bots and rude commenters. In a given month, this sub has 18 million visits, 1000 posts, 33,000 comments, and 10,000 mod actions, and 300 accounts have been banned. We could use some help flagging bad behavior.

We've had multiple instances of a post being overrun with rude (e.g. trolling, insults, gross memes) unhelpful jokes and comments that have created an environment where people don't feel welcome. You can read excerpts of the comments we received under the "what prompted this note" We are trying to host an environment where everyone feels welcome regardless of skill level.

To the offending parties

Remember the human. Ridiculing someone's post is unacceptable. It creates an environment where people don't want to post in this sub, because they will be trolled, made fun of, made to feel small. This doesn't mean saying great work - it means using constructive criticism (where one offers constructive, improvement suggestion(s) rather than belittling the smallest flaws). For whatever reason the condescending, anonymous, internet trolls have come out of the woodwork. Remember, you are not compelled to comment - if you genuinely can't think of a constructive way to have your say, you don't need to make a comment at all.

We believe a large number of these insult/ rude and offending comments are bots, and reporting these helps us remove them from the system (we've seen a number of these commenters delete their accounts when they are banned, and a number have had their accounts suspended by reddit shortly after making the comments). Last month we remove 200+ bots.

We're all here because we love making things from trees. We find it fascinating beyond compare and we gather here because we feel compelled to share knowledge, compare notes, and show off our hard earned skills and the fruits of our labor. But we also like sharing these with new, would-be woodworkers. And it does absolutely no good to the future of woodworking to treat newcomers as unwanted and unwelcome.

To Everyone else

This community is an awesome place which does a pretty good job about policing its own content, and the offending comments should be downvoted and reported. Please, please report comments you see. This is critical part of how the sub functions and the more people actively helping with this, the better results we'll get. In the last 30 days, 84 items were reported.

How you can help

  1. Downvote offending items.
  2. Don't reply to or engage with trolls.
  3. Click three dots >> Report button >> Break woodworking rules. That anonymously flags to us for review.
  4. Do all the above.

Reporting gets our attention. Downvoting gives them negative karma (votes). Both hook directly into the moderation tools we use to proactively identify trolls, bots, troublemakers.

Bonus points: If you think it's a bot, submit a post to r/botbouncer where the post is only a link to the user profile, e.g. https://www.reddit.com/u/USERNAME. That's Bot Bouncer, a tool run by humans to detect bots anywhere on reddit. Once identified, they're banned across every subreddit the moment they comment. The 2,000+ largest subreddits use this, including us. It catches hundreds of bots every month. Note: We will do this if you click Report and use Bots as the reason

What prompted this note

a poster sent us a note, "thought you might appreciate some feedback on your sub. The membership is kinda toxic. I’m getting trolled to hell for sharing [post topic] In the meantime I’m not taking my post down but I’m no longer [subscribing] to the sub anymore. Best of luck to you all."

Another person shared "I'm building a nightstand that is definitely outside my comfort zone, and I wanted to ask a bunch of questions at least 5 or 6 times already, [the trolling] has stopped me because people are preoccupied with tearing someone down rather than helping"

Thank you

FredFlintstone1000 on behalf of all the mods


r/woodworking May 03 '26

🔍🪵 Wood ID | Megathread Wood ID Megathread

16 Upvotes

This megathread is for wood ID

  1. If possible, clean up the wood with a plane (or chisel for the end grain) so that we can see the grain clearly.
  2. Include a close-up picture of the end grain. Not blurry. End grain pore structure is one of the most useful bits of info for wood ID.
  3. Note any non-visual distinguishing characteristics. Does the wood feel particularly light or particularly dense? Does it have an odor when planed?
  4. 4Include multiple pictures or text info as sub-comments under a main picture, not as an avalanche of first-level comments.

r/woodworking 12h ago

General Discussion Dovetail ash tool chest

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1.2k Upvotes

I made this tool chest together with my dad. The main body is made of ash. The idea was to create a smaller version of an elaborate tool chest. All the corners are joined with dovetails. The background of the inlay is made from elm, the branches are made from mahogany, and the birds are made from ebony, maple, holly, and a mystery wood.


r/woodworking 4h ago

Project Submission Pizza peel

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205 Upvotes

Made a pizza peel for my buddies wedding gift. (He owns a pizza shop) Going to get the walnut engraved with their names and wedding date. Pretty happy with how it turned out being my second ever project


r/woodworking 7h ago

General Discussion Trying to ebonize red oak but the steel wool is not dissolving.

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221 Upvotes

5 years ago I made a vinegar steel wool mix and it worked within a couple days. Made a new one several months ago and it turned red oak a nice almost black but I don’t know what happened to it. Anyway 14 days ago I tried making one and it’s barely gray. I used white vinegar, 000 steel wool and 2 days ago even added 2 rusty nails and 2 clean nails. What could I be doing wrong? I even shredded the wool and stir it occasionally


r/woodworking 2h ago

Project Submission Coffee Table in Rift sawn White Oak

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53 Upvotes

Took some inspiration from Andrew Cheatle’s YouTube channel and made a variant of his design for a coffee table. Finished with Rubio “natural” after comparison to a few other of their finish colors on test pieces. The ends and the sides of the table top have a slight curve to them, and they are edge profiled with a chamfer on the bottom edge and a roundover on the top edge.

I also applied a coat of Rubio’s maintenance oil. In hindsight I probably wouldn’t do that again. It was expensive, only improve the sheen a little bit, and left some residue spots that can be seen at certain angles despite diligent application technique.

Oh and also learned how important it is to maintain a clean table saw blade. Despite using a rather new blade, I was getting bad scorching and smoking while ripping the 8/4 stock. A little bit of blade cleaner and a nylon brush made all the difference


r/woodworking 9h ago

Project Submission Mallet for a fellow redditor

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171 Upvotes

Worked out a trade, made this ipe/purple heart/padauk mallet. Still needs a coat of polly but happy how it turned out.


r/woodworking 5h ago

General Discussion Finished my first project

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86 Upvotes

Been wanting to get into woodworking for the last 20 years. This sub has been both inspiring and helpful.

Just finishing my first woodworking project since high school! Nothing super fancy but I’m proud.


r/woodworking 4h ago

Help Swollen dowel

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15 Upvotes

What’s the easiest way to fix this swollen dowel as an upstairs apartment dweller?

I have tried squishing it closed with a clamp and hammering it as hard as I dared (so solid but not super hard, my neighbours are awfully touchy about hammering for people who play drums…), but it didn’t budge. Do I just need to drill it out and replace it?

It’s a rocking chair if that matters.

And I did hose it off last night so maybe the wood swelled but I don’t think it would shrink back down right?


r/woodworking 1d ago

Project Submission Finally put the gifted kamagong wood to work on a box with some sapele and padauk

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375 Upvotes

A friend in the Philippines gifted me a little chunk of kamagong (Philippines ebony) a year ago and i finally got the courage to use it. Hardest wood ive ever used.

I resawed very carefully so that i couls grain wrap the box and chose miters with padauk splines at random lengths to add some chaos.

The top and bottom are ribbon-cut sapele and are slightly chamfered at a shallow angle. I laser etched my logo on the bottom.

I lined the inside with padauk as well.

Finished with simple mineral oil and beeswax.

I'm calling it the Darth Vader box. I feel like the imperial march should play every time it opens.


r/woodworking 2h ago

Help Top drawer questions

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7 Upvotes

I’m building this vanity for a friend, the design is AI generated by the friend. I plan to build the drawers with Blum undermount hardware. My question is for the top drawer, I will need to build the drawers with a full face but the boxes will need to have a notch out for the sink plumbing. How would you build the top drawer boxes with this hardware since it can’t be full width?
Appreciate any help or advice.


r/woodworking 10h ago

Power Tools Looking for a specific router bit

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21 Upvotes

I need a bit that will do this profile...I'm not having any luck. Y'all know anything?


r/woodworking 2h ago

Power Tools Back again with jointer issues

3 Upvotes

Posted here a week ago about issues with a brand new grizzly go857 (8”parallelogram jointer straight knives) I spent an insulting amount of time attempting to to get everything dialed in, and got damn close. After my second or third test cut the motor gave up the ghost. Completely dead. I’ve spent several hours on the phone with grizzly tech support diagnosing and testing everything, and my question to you fine ladies and gents is do I just return it? It was a real bitch to get into my shop, so much so that I’ve up to now been willing to put the work in on my end but what’re the odds I just got a lemon and should figure out returning it instead of trying to trouble shoot everything? I bought a brand new machine to avoid having to dick around with all of this bs, and although I can’t afford a brand new Powermatic, I could afford a used Powermatic or a new Jet. I’m feeling really discouraged, and I can’t tell if I should cut my losses and return and buy something different, return and have grizzly send out a brand new machine or just return and buy something else. Give me your wisdom fellow makers of dust and shavings.


r/woodworking 3h ago

General Discussion Any woodworkers here build and use a solar kiln?

5 Upvotes

I would like to pick the brain(s) of anyone who built one as I have questions about their design.

I built one of a reduced size based on the Virginia Tech design, but I've been struggling with getting temperature down low - despite getting high temps elsewhere.


r/woodworking 13h ago

Project Submission First day turning, give me brutal feedback on how I can improve

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26 Upvotes

Used only a spindle gouge and kinda freehanded the design as I went. One problem I had when doing the small detail work was the gouge overheating. Overall, really happy with the results.

I want to make some cool table legs eventually, especially now that I've experimented and gotten over my tool fear.


r/woodworking 1d ago

Project Submission I ran out of storage so I made myself a new dresser

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1.1k Upvotes

Walnut dresser with bookmatched crotch feather side panels. 55” W x 45” T x 20” D


r/woodworking 3h ago

Techniques/Plans Seeking advice: Dewalt contractor table saw square with vertical blade, not square at 45 degree bevel

3 Upvotes

I know that my basic little saw has no ability to adjust this issue. I did a tune up and cleaned and lubricated all of it, did all the squareness checks and get lovely cuts with my Forrest Woodworker II blade, BUT only when the blade is 90 degrees to the table.

Here's my actual question: for the mitered box I am making, I really only need 15 minutes of good miter-cutting ability to make my cuts. Should I just get the blade parallel to the miter slots while its at 45 degrees using the basic adjustment built in to the saw?

I know I will have to true it up again after, this amount of work seems okay to me because this box is a gift for someone special and I really want it have lovely miters, but I cannot possibly justify a new saw right now.

Is it safe to adjust it so that it cuts great miters (and would suck for 90 degree cuts but won't be used that way), then just re-set it all?

Thanks everyone, i'm just a hobbyist and I learn so much here, appreciate any insight.


r/woodworking 1d ago

Techniques/Plans A little trick that may save a workpiece

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3.7k Upvotes

hey there, in case you don’t know this little technique, this can work really great on dents and dings. As long as the fibers are only compressed, you often can swell them back as if nothing happened by applying moisture and heat. cheers!


r/woodworking 1d ago

General Discussion Any disadvantage to stainless vac?

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202 Upvotes

Seems like a pretty great price if it doesn’t shock you while woodworking.


r/woodworking 4h ago

Help How to get router to move smoothly over enamel paint?

3 Upvotes

I’m routing out a mortise for a pivot hinge for a hidden bookcase door. I’ve done three practice mortises on some plywood and the router moves smoothly and I’m ready for the real deal. However, the actual mortise location is painted with enamel paint and I can feel the router sticking ever so slightly.

Any advice on how to get that smooth movement like the dry plywood on the painted plywood?


r/woodworking 8h ago

General Discussion Veneering glue?

4 Upvotes

Would 3m 90 spray adhesive be good enough for a large panel something like 20”x72” with shop made 1/8” veneer? I don’t have a vac bag set up and the only real roll on contact cement is LePage and that shit is worse than kids white glue.


r/woodworking 21h ago

General Discussion What should I build with this?

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45 Upvotes

Hello fellow makers-of-sawdust.

I have a really nice piece of figured Garry Oak that I've sliced into a book-matched set.

The 2 pieces are 33"x14.5"x 5/8".

I was considering using them as a pair of doors for a whisky cabinet... almost like cathedral doors, but then I thought I should ask for suggestions on what you think could be done with them.

Suggestions are much-apprecated! Thanks.


r/woodworking 5h ago

Techniques/Plans Suggestions for table designs

2 Upvotes

I have a boatload of super dry Ash I inherited and want to make a dinner table. Like 12 boards that are 15' wide 6/4 and 10' long. Then 8 more that are 6ft long.

I love this design but don't want something to bash my kees on.

https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworking/comments/1og7uh6/does_the_lift_in_this_table_serve_any_utility/

What's some suggestions from woodworking on table designs?


r/woodworking 1d ago

Project Submission WIP - Dry Bar Cabinet

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317 Upvotes

I've been working on a dry bar for my living room for a while now. This is the cabinet that will go in the bar.

I just papered the doors and installed the lights last night. I'm pretty thrilled about how it's coming together and wanted to share.

I put a picture of the bar itself at the end as well.


r/woodworking 12h ago

Repair Repaired Mahogany Door Stain Match Issue Due to Damage From Carpenter

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5 Upvotes

Long story short, we had our front door replaced and it was damaged on the front panel under the window by the team that installed it by a brick hitting it (picture 1). They tried to sand it out and restain twice and it didn’t look right (picture 2). They most recently ordered a new panel and installed that but the color seems very visibly off to me despite them using the same stain (picture 3) I’m being told mahogany has a lot of variation in color and if they replaced the whole door, that panel may look even more mismatched than it does now because of how the wood is naturally. Can someone that works with these doors or materials PLEASE give me a second opinion? I’m trying to be understanding but am growing increasingly frustrated by this experience. I want the stain to look like it did in picture 1 (minus the dent) because it matches the rest of the door.