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| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Fruitless Mulberry Slab | 2/6/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: My husband has humored me and sliced a slab from a very old Fruitless Mulberry we had to remove. It ... A: the slab needs to be dried carefully to about 10% moisture content, and that's difficult to do, ... | ||
| Newton Presbyterian Church Rafter Restoration | 2/3/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I do not know if you remember me, and my concern. I asked you to advise on the cleaning of grime ... A: I thought I had enclosed a link to WaterLox "Original" which is what I recommended. I would NOT use ... | ||
| Chair-table height ratio | 1/28/2012 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I built a workbench in my garage - 38" high. I'm shopping around for an adjustable rolling stool ... A: It's a difficult question to answer as I never use a stool when working at bench, always on my feet. ... | ||
| Table with lines | 1/27/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: what kind of table have lines in the middle of the table that go out . i have this table that i i ... A: Antique generally means 100+ years old...I don't think it's that old...vintage is a pretty "catch ... | ||
| Table with lines | 1/26/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: what kind of table have lines in the middle of the table that go out . i have this table that i i ... A: the lines are just the veneer pattern...there's really no name for that type of table top....I have ... | ||
| Stripping moulding with a dog in the house | 1/20/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I am using Citristrip to strip paint from doors and moulding in my older home. I am about to strip ... A: I'm a little confused by the question.....when doing anything with chemicals like that I would ... | ||
| blue beech wood flooring | 1/16/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: Can blue beech wood be used for flooring? Is blue beech wood light in colour? Can blue beech wood be ... A: Hey Bob, I'm assuming you're referring to American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), which is not a ... | ||
| Keeping wood from splitting | 1/14/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I'm working on a craft project using both coconut and bamboo. They are subject to constant moisture ... A: You would need to seal the porous nature of the materials, and I would suggest something like a ... | ||
| Keeping wood from splitting | 1/14/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I'm working on a craft project using both coconut and bamboo. They are subject to constant moisture ... A: Hey Rex, a finish will not keep the material from expanding and contracting....what kind of moisture ... | ||
| Old barn wood cabinetry | 1/11/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I purchased refurbished barn beams and had a professional cabinet maker make a wooden hood and ... A: any idea what type of wood it is? Unfortunately, the natural coloration is something you have very ... | ||
| Grime removal | 1/3/2012 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: Do you know of a solution that will remove years of old dirty grime from a large sanctuary rafters, ... A: there is no magic solution, removing years of grime will take much labor and elbow grease...if they ... | ||
| Finishing stainable pine doors | 12/28/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: Have Mexican bedroom furniture. Pretty rough pine. Afraid new custom stainable pine doors will not ... A: You'll likely need to "antique" or otherwise distress the doors and then use a multi step ... | ||
| Noise between floors | 12/18/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I have a house which was built in 2003 and which I bought in 2007. Upon moving inwe found that ther ... A: I have never done this but I did cover sound insulation on a course many years ago and it depends on ... | ||
| Noise between floors | 12/15/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I have a house which was built in 2003 and which I bought in 2007. Upon moving inwe found that ther ... A: What has happen is that the timber joists were too damp so as the house dries out over time... ... | ||
| Refinishing "STAR" (oak) icebox | 12/6/2011 | maura macaluso |
| Q: This icebox is in excellent physical shape: bought it 44 ears ago from local Antiques Dealer for ... A: .....it is my humble opinion(and most of the antique world) that one should never refinish vintage ... | ||
| Thickness planer | 12/6/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I am a 13 year old woodworker and I have 700 board feet of rough cut lumber to plane and my cheap ... A: It's a hard decision when buying second hand kit. I have brought new and second hand mostly through ... | ||
| Golden Oak Minwax 210B | 12/6/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I have two cans of Golden Oak stain and even the picture on the front are not the same. One is ... A: Hey Mark, one is an old formula, one is the new formula. Minwax stains have been reformulated ... | ||
| Worn rocker runner repair | 12/5/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I recently acquired a Morris Reclining Rocker No 58 and the runners are worn fairly flat. I do not ... A: yes you certainly could do that repair to the rockers, but it has to be done accurately. The first ... | ||
| wood refinishing | 11/21/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I searched the web and can't find an answer. I want to buy some maple cutting boards for a project. ... A: ..no it can't be sanded of, as it's a non drying, non curing oil......but with use and regular ... | ||
| norm/regulation to wood finish | 11/20/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: 1)what are norm about wood finish 2)codes about wood finishes 3)what jobs are there in wood finishes ... A: I can only speak for what happens in the UK and not for your country. 1: Most companies will use ... | ||
| Finishing Reclaimed HeartPine | 11/9/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I produce heart pine flooring and am frequentluy called upon to install, sand, and finish. My ... A: sorry about the late reply, we were without power for a week up here.....the flooring coatings world ... | ||
| I need help identifying a bandsaw | 11/9/2011 | joseph DeMartino |
| Q: I've aquired an old iron bandsaw from a craigslist buy. It's a nice bandsaw, but there's no marks to ... A: Tom i wish like a son-of a-gun that i could be more helpful to you but without a little bit more ... | ||
| re-finishing red oak floors | 11/3/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I just bought a condo, and my floor guy has already sanded down the red oak floors (the wood ... A: The Duraseal is a better stain I think,...Jacobean really has some greenish/black tones, Minwax has ... | ||
| re-finishing red oak floors | 11/2/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I just bought a condo, and my floor guy has already sanded down the red oak floors (the wood ... A: everything he said is correct...this is the nature of the material. The Red Oak has that inherent ... | ||
| Finished furniture | 11/1/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I went to stain an old piece of furniture, however thought of stain as paint- put on a coat and left ... A: Sounds like you may have had a water based product and mineral spirits is not compatible so that is ... | ||
| Possible to Change sheen of top coat? | 10/23/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I'm wondering if you can help... I have an old chest of drawers that I recently repainted, and am ... A: did you stir up the Satin topcoat well before and during application?The flattening agents sink to ... | ||
| Removing rust from woodworking tools | 10/23/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I had my grandfathers old woodworking tools stored in the garage in a wood tool box, unknown to me ... A: You can't elimate tools going rusty. I am presuming that you have dealt with the rust, if you have ... | ||
| Wood baseboard covers | 10/15/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I would like to build wood baseboard covers for my hyrdronic heating. I found an image of a cover ... A: Traditionally, everything would be mortice and tenon joints. You can still do this but it would be a ... | ||
| to much saw dust | 10/13/2011 | maura macaluso |
| Q: i have a new table saw with a collecting bag under saw . seam like more saw dust comes from all ... A: I do not know what brand of table saw you have, whether it a quality tool or not but it is my ... | ||
| outdoor, old oak table | 10/13/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I have a 4" thick, oak door from Mission San Rafael that is over 100 years old. We have been using ... A: I would opt for a penetrating finish like Flood CWF-UV or Cabot's Australian Timber oil...these ... | ||
| wood fillers | 10/6/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I'm doing some hardwood floors upstairs in a hallway leading downstairs and I used a stair tread. I ... A: Hey Kenny, trying to match filler to an opened grain wood like Oak is always challenging....the best ... | ||
| Arts & crafts fireplace mantel -- DIY-able? | 9/27/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I was wondering if you could provide your opinion on the degree of difficulty of constructing a ... A: Sorry about the late reply, the mantle looks pretty straight forward, but does require a pretty good ... | ||
| Discoloration of Antique Pine Chest | 9/23/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I have an antique pine blanket chest that has recently developed several dark spots - one is about 5 ... A: sounds like perhaps it's more than a single issue...what cleaning/maintenance has been done on the ... | ||
| Oak table tile insert | 9/20/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: I am refinishing a coffee table with an oak top and would like to insert an approximate 10" x 25" ... A: Hey Wayne, sorry about the late reply....I would consider making a template to fit the inlay, and ... | ||
| DECK PROBLEM | 9/20/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: My son and his friend applied 2 coats of deck stain to our deck. His friend suggested putting a ... A: sorry about the late reply....I have no easy answer for you, and likely the Thompsons will not dry, ... | ||
| It's the dresser lady again!! | 8/31/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: Many thanks again Greg! I just closed my eyes and started with the gel stain. I wanted it mainly ... A: Pam, what a shame....the stripper will remove everything...you could carefully sand down the finish ... | ||
| General Finishes Satin Gel Top Coat Poly | 8/25/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: ..) I am building a fish tank stand. Some areas (in fact, only a very small section on the top and ... A: Hey Dave, nice looking stand, the Gel urethane is a great product, but I would be a bit concerned ... | ||
| wood floors | 8/19/2011 | joseph DeMartino |
| Q: I had engineered stained floors installed they used acetone on the floors now there is a white ... A: first thing i must ask is who in the world did this and why the heck would it be applied to anything ... | ||
| woodborer treatment | 8/12/2011 | Stuart Mawle |
| Q: I have 3 of 20mm x 40mm lengths of pine, each about 5 meters in length which forms part of a ... A: Firstly linseed has no value in stopping woodworm... You really need a proper timber preservative ... | ||
| whats best for kitchen cabinets varnish or oil | 8/9/2011 | Greg Scholl |
| Q: ANSWER: Hey Mark....that's a loaded question..what oil are you referring to?..If you're referring to ... A: As I said, I have no idea whats available in the part of the world you're from...or what you're ... | ||
Top Expert on this page
Questions on Woodworking, wood finishing and refinishing of all kinds, repairing furniture and wooden objects,Architectural details, Woodturning, carving, tool usage, product usage, some chemistry as it applies to woodworking and related interests,cabinet making and furniture construction/design, etc. I have experience with all manners of colorants, finishes, paints, stains, dyes, glazes, and coatings,wood species recognition,usage,etc.
Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. Sold, built, serviced, setup Home,Industrial and Commercial stationary woodworking tools for a major tool retailer in CT. for three years, sold hand and power tools, and offered instruction on use and care as well.I even have some Trade show Demo experience.
Organizations
none at this time.
Publications
Published in Fine Woodworking Magazine (12/97), included on Fine Woodworkings first "Best of Fine Woodworking" CD-ROM (2002) ...("27 year compilation of expert know-how"), local newspapers as well
Education/Credentials
Art School at Silvermine Guild in Norwalk, CT., 9 year apprenticeship in a European run Cabinet and Restoration shop in CT., various classes on subjects having to do with the field. Seminars by Major tool manufacturers, Delta, Powermatic, Performax, Porter Cable, Skil/Bosch to name a few.
Past/Present Clients
Many varied clients including work on Martha Stewarts' Westport, CT. show house, many fine Antique dealers and private collectors in and around Fairfield County and in Woodbury, CT.(the Antiques capital of CT.)
Consulting for area Painting/Decorating and Building contractors on non painting issues..(staining, wood prep.,clear finishing, floor restoration and architectural detail restoration and repair, etc.), local Museums and Historical Societies.

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