Tech Files — 120E Poplar

Hickory

Hickory demands the maker.

Grain: Bold. Every growth ring reads on the surface.
Finish: Natural oil. No stain. Lighter areas warm with time.
At the bench: The saw works harder. The feed drops. Fibers tear where the grain turns; routing burns.
Watch for: A board that behaves on the jointer can fight on the planer.
Joinery: Fit deliberately. It resists compression. Don’t force a joint.
Selection: An interesting board and a cohesive top are not the same thing.
Finishing: Oil deepens the contrast. Run sample boards.

Walnut gets assigned to the role the piece needs.

Grain: Even. Reads as one continuous field.
Finish: Rubio Monocoat. Sits at the surface. Keeps the natural variation.
At the bench: Cuts clean. Less abrasive than White Oak; edges hold longer.
Watch for: Feed too fast on figured stock and it tears. The ease hides mistakes.
Joinery: Compresses slightly and returns. Tight fits without forcing assembly.
Selection: Black Walnut is the standard. Figure can justify a board or distract from the piece.
Finishing: Uneven sanding reads as uneven tone. Prep shows immediately.

One piece is cut to receive, the other is cut to fit.

Where: Legs to aprons, rails to stiles, internal framing. Anywhere solid wood carries load.
Sequence: Mortise first. It sets location and size. The tenon is cut to fit it, left oversized, then brought down in controlled passes.
Watch for: If references drift, the joint won’t line up, even if each part is cut cleanly.
Grain: The tenon runs with the grain. Leave enough wall around the mortise to prevent splitting.
Movement: Fixed joints go where they won’t restrict the wood. Wide panels are never locked across their width.
Variants: Through, blind, wedged, pinned, stub, haunched, loose.

It lets the material read without flattening it.

On walnut: It won’t push the color past its range or strip out the variation.
On hickory: The variation between sapwood and heartwood stays visible.
Prep: Uneven sanding reads as uneven tone, and it shows immediately.
Limits: Film-forming finishes offer more protection against certain spills and household chemicals. The intended use decides.

The surface reads as it was built.

Sample boards: A finish can bring an arrangement together or exaggerate everything that wasn’t working. Test it first.
Contrast: Pale sapwood and darker heartwood can respond differently to the same oil.
With time: Lighter areas warm with exposure to light. The contrast shifts.
Limits: Hardness doesn’t make wood resist moisture or staining. Oil doesn’t either.

It doesn’t replace thoughtful joinery. It makes it efficient.

What it does: Fast, accurate mortise and tenon joinery, in a remarkably efficient system.
Alignment: Excellent across large assemblies, where alignment, fit, and assembly get challenging.
Fit: Adjustable mortise sizing for precise fitting.
Best on: Larger furniture projects and large components.
The point: It doesn’t replace thoughtful joinery. It makes executing it considerably more efficient.

Walk in, look up, and know exactly where to begin.

Setup: Each build is mapped out from start to finish, with weekly targets and daily tasks.
Ahead of schedule: Finish early, and the next day’s work is already laid out.
Setbacks: Machine problem, material delay, unexpected complication: make a note, adjust the schedule, keep going.
Momentum: As the week goes on, completed tasks snowball.
The best part: Crossing things off. You see the progress in the furniture, and right there on the board.