Knot & Nail LLC

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Knot & Nail LLC Bespoke furniture creator and custom cabinet maker.

This was the final step in the bbq game. The blocks really needed a way to be carried. I used some of the leftover scrap...
09/09/2026

This was the final step in the bbq game. The blocks really needed a way to be carried. I used some of the leftover scraps to make a simple crate that tied the whole set together.

Custom commission to replace an existing sink cover/ cutting board in a camper!
09/09/2026

Custom commission to replace an existing sink cover/ cutting board in a camper!

The point of all of these posts is to show what goes into even the simplest of builds.It can be tempting to want to make...
07/11/2026

The point of all of these posts is to show what goes into even the simplest of builds.

It can be tempting to want to make things perfect, but that often isn’t feasible and typically removes much of the warmth. Craftsmanship is in finding the middle ground between feeling and excellence.

As the wood filler settles, it will shrink back. Often to the only way to prevent that is to over fill and sand back the excess.

It’s inevitable, end grain on wood soaks of liquid like a straw.
This will be cut out or sanded away.

I did an initial pass on each block individually. Using the clamp reduces the vibration I absorb and does a better job of holding the piece still.

Spot sanding can leave the finished surfaces slightly uneven. Before I can do the final,pass on the saw, I need to unify the pieces.

Sanding in batches not only saves time but it helps average out any differences in thickness. When sanding individualy, it can be easy to apply uneven pressure and pull the piece out of "square"

The trick to getting things to align is to cut the pieces to match instead of cutting to plan. I had originally oversized the blocks to account for this. After sanding, pieces can differentiate by 1/16 or more. I found the shortest ones and resawed everything to those dimensions.

One final sanding. It’s at this stage that I will use wood glue and saw dust to fill the smaller blemishes.

End grain can be tricky to sand. By strapping all of the blocks together, I can sand the ends all at once which keeps them uniform in length.

I could very well stop here. But I intended to chamfer all of the edges. This will add visual interest and prevent the edges from splintering or chipping.

Time permitting, there are some other details I want to include.

Traditionally, blocks like this are made of alder wood. Knot free alder is hard to come by, so I opted for knotty alder....
07/10/2026

Traditionally, blocks like this are made of alder wood. Knot free alder is hard to come by, so I opted for knotty alder. True to its name, it has a lot of character with an abundance of knots. It’s ideal to stabilize and fill any voids you encounter. This is a tactile project, it has to “feel” right.

Superficial and small knots can be filled with wood glue and sawdust. Large knots and cavities need to be stabilized and backfilled.

Even if the knot hasn’t completely fallen out of the board, it will with time due to differences in wood expansion. Stabilization locks it in place.

I typically only use generic wood filler if I intend to paint the project. Any wood repairs you do will never match the existing wood. Even wood filler made from the same tree will not take stain. I learned from a bunch of old wood workers that the best approach is to embrace the knots, allow them to contrast the natural wood tones

I like using finely ground coffee. It’s a natural tone allows it to simultaneously contrast the primary wood tones, yet blend into the wood work. It’s also food safe, which is ideal for things like cutting boards.

For shallow imperfections, regular wood glue is sufficient. For deeper cavities, it’s better to use an epoxy. It’ll cure stronger and last longer. For thin splits, I prefer very thin CA clue. I’ll pack the void with grounds and allow the CA glue to pe*****te deeply into it.

🔥Something to keep in mind is that sometimes coffee and CA react to each other. It can get hot and smoke, don’t break the fumes. I’ve never had a piece fully catch fire though. 🔥

Once the large voids are all set, I’ll do some minor cleanup and reassess the repairs. It’s not uncommon for the filler to settle slightly and leave a minor depression. I will do a second filling on those.

I wanted to continue walking through rough stock processing on this job. Hardwoods are usually not sold in a finished st...
07/09/2026

I wanted to continue walking through rough stock processing on this job.
Hardwoods are usually not sold in a finished state, like 2x4s. You have to cut out any warping or bowing. You also have to be intentional about dealing with defects.

Before I can start sanding, I have to fill any voids in the blocks. This will be a tactile piece and needs to feel “right”.

3 hour precut setup 😅I have to make a million identical blocks. I spent the evening recalibrating and doing maintenance ...
07/08/2026

3 hour precut setup 😅

I have to make a million identical blocks. I spent the evening recalibrating and doing maintenance on the saws. It’s the part of the job we don’t think about.

I was really proud of this one. I wanted to capture the distinct look and feel of the birch bark on the rim of this wood...
02/04/2026

I was really proud of this one. I wanted to capture the distinct look and feel of the birch bark on the rim of this wooden bowl.

This is a shallow saucer made from local paper birch!
01/28/2026

This is a shallow saucer made from local paper birch!

This wooden bowl was made from a Paper Birch tree that was harvested in Columbia Falls, MT
01/20/2026

This wooden bowl was made from a Paper Birch tree that was harvested in Columbia Falls, MT

Birch bowls!Theae were a lot of fun and the live edge bow turned out fantastic!
01/15/2026

Birch bowls!

Theae were a lot of fun and the live edge bow turned out fantastic!

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Columbia Falls, MT
59912

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