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Has anyone found any good non-American-continent woodworking YouTube channels? Nothing against the Americans/Canadians etc, but this is one area where regional

Has anyone found any good non-American-continent woodworking YouTube channels? Nothing against the Americans/Canadians etc, but this is one area where regional differences make a pretty huge difference in terms of wood and products available. If, like me, you're in the UK and looking for vaguely specific details regarding woodwork online, you're going to find an awful lot of American content and very little local stuff (a blog opportunity there perhaps). A good recent example of this effect for me was when I was looking up pine stains. You will find constant references to something called "pre-stain conditioner" online; this basically doesn't exist in the UK. Everyone online is insistent that you need it, and you can just about buy it here (it's expensive), but it turns out it's pretty irrelevant. In the UK our pine is typically a different variety, and so therefore has a different composition, and our terminology is different here too; wood stain in the UK is, I think, "wood dye" in the USA? Please correct me if you know better :) For reference I use this stain: https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/manns-pine-wood-stain https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/manns-pine-wood..., which makes no mention of pre-stain conditioner, and I've had very good results with it so far.

Ma8ee 6y ago
Paul Sellers have moved back to the UK. In addition to his website [0] and blog there's plenty in his YouTube channel. And my feeling is that Europeans in general don't insist on staining everything like Americans do. Or maybe it's just us in Scandinavia that actually think the bright natural color of birch, but even pine, is quite beautiful. [0] https://paulsellers.com/ https://paulsellers.com/
- robotmay 6y ago
  I learnt to carve spoons from a few Swedish guys so I have a lot of love for a simple linseed-oil finish :) Can't get any nice, bright, linseed-oil paint in the UK though, which is a bit of a bummer. I ended up using stain for this current project as the room called for dark wood, but the only two real-wood options for skirting boards in the UK are pine or oak, which are both light woods, so I opted to stain pine for it. And thank you! Someone at work mentioned his videos recently and I completely forgot the name.
  - atomack 6y ago
    +1 for Paul Sellers. He's a bunch of content on finishing too and I've just tried his combo of shellac + beeswax to finish pine and it works fantastically and is cheap. Also, not youtube, but https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/ https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/ is a great uk online resource, including this thread https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/timber-yards-wip-add-your-favourites-t108370.html https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/timber-yards-wip-add-you... on sourcing timber
- m0nty 6y ago
  The one thing I find (as a UK woodworker) when watching US or Canadian channels is (a) they all seem to have massive workshops, like size-of-a-barn massive, and (b) they have machines for everything. I could not tackle many of the projects they do because of limited space, which restricts the machines I can accommodate. Paul Sellers definitely understands that many UK woodworkers are in their garage or garden shed and keeps that in mind for his projects, and uses predominantly hand tools. I'm not saying I don't like the North American channels, and Matthias is a true hacker as well as a woodworker, but it's a different world. Just to add my own recommendation: Alain Vaillancourt does some excellent stuff, from his vast workshop located somewhere in the New World: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCsdIja21VT7AKkbVI5y8bQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCsdIja21VT7AKkbVI5y8bQ
  - wmeredith 6y ago
    You might like Rex Kruger's channel. He has a large shop and lots of machines, but he mainly focuses on hand tools and doing things cheaply/diy when it comes to his YouTube content. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj4SLNED1DiNPHComZTCbzw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj4SLNED1DiNPHComZTCbzw No affiliation. I just found him a couple weeks ago and have been really enjoying it.
  - raister 6y ago
    Paul Sellers dimensioned his filming studio to mimic a small garage for a common UK woodworker.
  - jmuhlich 6y ago
    I’m an American with a very limited space to work in and I love Paul’s approach.
  - bluedino 6y ago
    Check out the Woodwrights shop that was on PBS
  - function_seven 6y ago
    I like the Woodshop Junkies channel for this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw It's a guy in South Africa with a small workshop. The main point of his videos is designing space-saving tool mounts and storage for his shop. He uses cheap tools—and lots of plywood—to make some clever stuff. It's not a channel for seeing furniture made, but it's interesting nonetheless.
- jpitz 6y ago
  Most of the fine woodworking folks I follow in the US don't typically use stain much.
  - mauvehaus 6y ago
    Stain is a tool like any other. It can be used garishly and tastelessly or it can be used to complement a piece. See also: carvings, inlay, brasses, or pretty much anything else used for anything beyond holding the piece together.
    - jpitz 6y ago
      It is. From a fine woodworking perspective, however, it very often runs counter to purpose when the goal is to take advantage of the natural beauty inherent in the medium.
      - kedean 6y ago
        That's only a goal though. Taking advantage of the natural beauty of the wood is not always the only goal, primary goal, or even a goal at all.
        jpitz 6y ago
        I am super confused right now. I tried to be very careful in my wording to avoid being hyperbolic or all inclusive. Am I giving that impression at all?
        michaelt 6y ago
        In "counter to purpose when the goal is" kedean interpreted "when" as meaning "given" rather than meaning "if"
        jpitz 6y ago
        That helps. Thank you.
cthalupa 6y ago
I watch a ton of woodworking channels on youtube, and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen anyone use prestain conditioner. If anything, they all seem to love single coat stains. There's quite a lot of non-US/CA woodworking channels out there, though. Paska Makes, Australia Woodshop Junkies, South Africa Paoson Woodworking, Spain JSK-koubou, Japan Laura Kampf, Germany Crimson Guitars, UK (Mostly luthier projects, but Ben does some crazy stuff that I think woodworkers could find inspirational in general) Dekay's Crafts, Korea Get Hands Dirty, Portugal Resin Timber, Lithuania I've seen plenty of others - these are just some of the ones that I subscribe to.
- Freak_NL 6y ago
  > JSK-koubou, Japan Damn that man for working so incredibly neat and tidy. No stains on his virginal birch-ply, ever — not even a smudge. Sawdust seems to bend to his will, and all cuts and holes drilled are surely accurate to the micrometer. His workspace is as clean as an operating theatre. Yeah… That's not ever going to happen in my shed.
  - cthalupa 6y ago
    He's insanely talented. His recent router table build is also awesome - I'm planning on purchasing a copy of the plans and building it when I get a bit more free time.
- chowderhead 6y ago
  Thanks for the list Paska Makes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA Woodshop Junkies https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw Paoson Woodworking https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4PI8VEr1ZaKn4TBcXoy3qg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4PI8VEr1ZaKn4TBcXoy3qg JSK-koubou https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCez62GvvsH05IunJJsRuvuQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCez62GvvsH05IunJJsRuvuQ Laura Kampf https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw Crimson Guitars https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdD1Cqxr8aINzWs1agg3tEQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdD1Cqxr8aINzWs1agg3tEQ Dekay's Crafts https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVugiFOe-aoh7FXtAuiGxw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVugiFOe-aoh7FXtAuiGxw Get Hands Dirty https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ Resin Timber https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZ2m-mgto7R-4uEgROP2pQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZ2m-mgto7R-4uEgROP2pQ
dfc 6y ago
Staining pine and to some extent pine in general is not something that you see in American woodworking outside of early beginner work.
- robotmay 6y ago
  Which is a shame really, as the sustainability of it is quite a merit. I opted to use it for all the wood in my office as I could get a finish I was happy with, whilst also not spending an absolute fortune on wood (posh woods are very expensive in the UK right now). Unfinished, as I'm redoing the door architrave soon, but here's a photo for reference: https://i.imgur.com/OHzUPfb.jpg https://i.imgur.com/OHzUPfb.jpg Our options here generally seem to be pine or oak, from normal stores. At more specialist stores you might be able to pick up some stuff like sycamore and walnut, but it's a bit hit-and-miss as to what dimensions are available.
  - wil421 6y ago
    Is the pine you use soft? Southern Pine is too soft for a desk or most parts of an office. You could write on it and the letters would be visible in the wood. It’s great for framing but I’ve been hesitant to use it for my beginner woodworking stuff.
    - mauvehaus 6y ago
      A blotter/desk pad is a great solution to this problem. I built my wife a pandemic desk, and pine was what I could get locally. I have no illusions that it'll hold up as well as, say, oak or ash, but it's done alright over the last couple of months. She also prefers rollerball or gel ink pens to regular ballpoints. As they require less pressure, that's likely helping. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SeZtpDdJK/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SeZtpDdJK/
    - robotmay 6y ago
      Hah yes pine is pretty infamous for denting easily. I actually received a pine desk surface today that I'm staining/oiling. It's nicer quality pine than what I used for the skirting boards by far and seems pretty tough so far. I could probably give it a properly tough surface by using a two-part plastic finish (like the sort of stuff they use for bar-tops), but I've never used it so I'm sticking with Danish oil for this, as I can always sand it back and refinish it if it gets truly dire. I like working with pine, particularly because it's cheap enough that you can make mistakes when learning and not feel too bad. But it is much more variable than other woods, I find, and the species vary by country.
jfk13 6y ago
The other transatlantic issue I notice is space. North American content tends to assume "shop" space on a scale that's much less likely to be available to the average UK person.
- sshagent 6y ago
  oh for sure. "here is my shop space, some spare room" thats the size of my entire house. And on the table top gaming front, very envious of US households i see with their similarly sized D&D room with a floor space that rivals my entire ground floor.
  - robotmay 6y ago
    I ended up doing all the skirting boards for my office spread between both the office itself and the room next door, just to have enough space :D I do actually have that rare privilege of having a "workshop" space (a solid shed), but as I'm in Wales it is of course up some extremely slippery stone steps, currently leaking quite dramatically, and full of crap I've chucked out of the house but can't take to the tip during lockdown measures.
  - Freak_NL 6y ago
    And the wood supply is always so cheap and plentiful! “Yeah, here I'm making a simple spice rack out of some purple heart and cocobolo I just had lying around.” I'm pretty pleased already if I can get my hands on a few scant planks of walnut at a passable price here in the Netherlands.
    - robotmay 6y ago
      The price of walnut here in the UK right now is insaaaane. I think France can often have it for a decent price but you really have to know a guy who knows a guy who seems to have his own mill.
    - frobozz 6y ago
      "I love wandering around my local wood yard and I've just come back with these lovely panels for making a jewellery box, and this great piece of yew I'm going to turn into a longbow." Every sawmill/timber merchant/whatever near me basically sells fences and roof trusses.
jmkd 6y ago
Matt Estlea - talented, clear, dispels myths, but his personality is an acquired taste https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg/vid... Stephens 8x6 Workshop - tiny space, clever projects. At the real ale end of woodworking https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8SLw_zYEappZL5rROwvZ1w/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8SLw_zYEappZL5rROwvZ1w/vid... Peter Millard - cabinet making in a tiny workshop, some good meta content on the reality of being a YT woodworker https://www.youtube.com/user/petermillard1/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/petermillard1/videos Pask Makes - Australian but totally transferrable to UK materials, lots of reinvented basics https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA/vid... Charlie DIYte - general DIY with plenty of carpentry, good for beginners and those with few tools https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7x7wk8yeN2ZEJCo6BgP2ag/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7x7wk8yeN2ZEJCo6BgP2ag/vid... Ishitani Furniture - Japanese but essential inspiration and meditation https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q/vid... Sampson Boat Co - UK boatbuilder in US, any woodworking list on YouTube should have this at or near the top, relevant or otherwise it's astonishing https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-_lYeV8hBnDSay7nmphUA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-_lYeV8hBnDSay7nmphUA
- m0nty 6y ago
  +1 for Ishitani and Pask, and thanks for the other links. If we're talking about boat-builders, don't forget Louis Sauzedde, who seems recently to have returned from a long hiatus: https://www.youtube.com/user/TipsfromaShipWright/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/TipsfromaShipWright/videos
  - DrOctagon 6y ago
    I love Lou's videos. Highly recommended.
    - m0nty 6y ago
      The accuracy he gets from the most basic of tools is astonishing really. Knows his stuff and tells it well.
AlexMuir 6y ago
Peter parfitt is good too.
Fiahil 6y ago
If you can understand french, I'd recommend the amazing Olivier Verdier (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvDpfkniGG6WkX5L7DwyGaA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvDpfkniGG6WkX5L7DwyGaA) and Samuel Mamias (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9fGq2-6FaftcegcIadLf6A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9fGq2-6FaftcegcIadLf6A).
Quai 6y ago
Marius Hornberger from Germany is one of my favorites. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA
itamarreif 6y ago
Adrian Preda does some of the best work I've seen (mostly hand tools, Japanese). Pretty sure he's somewhere in central/eastern Europe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0HkNaD01K5VNzE87eMAEvw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0HkNaD01K5VNzE87eMAEvw
a2tech 6y ago
Peter Millard and the 10-minute workshop is based out of the UK and I find him very watchable.
learc83 6y ago
Rex Krueger is American, but he makes a lot of traditional English projects and uses hand tools.
mattmaroon 6y ago
I've actually done some side by side tests with stains using conditioner vs not. I wouldn't call it necessary by any means. Depends on the stain and the wood but sometimes I did feel the result was noticeably better, sometimes I couldn't tell the difference.
- nkozyra 6y ago
  Parent commenter might specifically be talking about yellow/white pine, which is notorious for splotchy staining and yellowing over time, which conditioner can mitigate a bit. If you're working with oaks or hardwoods, I agree with you.
  - mattmaroon 6y ago
    True, my tests have been very informal so maybe it was more the Wood than the stains.
relativeadv 6y ago
Not furniture-making but still wood working. I follow this dude on IG and he is based in the UK https://www.instagram.com/archery_handcrafted/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/archery_handcrafted/?hl=en
blackkat 6y ago
There are Mitch Peacock: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCHNLNiFWZcy39ew7OskHdtw https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCHNLNiFWZcy39ew7OskHdtw And Matt Eastly: https://mattestlea.com/ https://mattestlea.com/ https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg
marttt 6y ago
I like Unplugged Woodworking. I think he is also from the British isles. Found him when I was googling for Roman workbenches; he built one. YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcO75TzblV9-_WqgXX1mNxg/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcO75TzblV9-_WqgXX1mNxg/vid... Blog: http://www.unpluggedwoodworking.com/ http://www.unpluggedwoodworking.com/
sjs382 6y ago
Here's some: Badger Workshop is UK-based https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSQRZgy9lvGsLrWn6sFHZHw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSQRZgy9lvGsLrWn6sFHZHw Nick Zammeti is UK-based https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-0S7vXfwYY2jj5EkMpymA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-0S7vXfwYY2jj5EkMpymA Rag N Bone Brown is UK-based https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyE_6jEtVZGmYGXtUOL5FQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyE_6jEtVZGmYGXtUOL5FQ Ishitani Furniture is Japanese https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q Giaco Whatever (some woodworking) is Italian https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYH-XXUE2QDaWKvABsWJh8w https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYH-XXUE2QDaWKvABsWJh8w Cactus! Workshop is from Spain: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupK5wJGXHDemXmHFMCMtHA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupK5wJGXHDemXmHFMCMtHA Lignum is based in Croatia https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSdejZFhw0rrDFlj9McyNA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSdejZFhw0rrDFlj9McyNA Marius Hornberger is German https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA Laura Kampf is German https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw Ollari's is based in Hungary https://www.youtube.com/user/Sepirabbit https://www.youtube.com/user/Sepirabbit
- jdboyd 6y ago
  Get Hands Dirty https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ I'm in the US, but I find a tend to like european woodworking channels better.
  - bearcobra 6y ago
    Before the pandemic hit, I had planned a trip to Europe that included a stop in Porto based almost entirely on enjoying this channel.
    - tasssko 6y ago
      I agree i really like that channel too. Look no excuses necessary not to visit Porto. Its one of the nicest european citie!
fimdomeio 6y ago
I share your pains. That an the fact that a lot of tools here (portugal) cost twice as much as they cost in the US and we have way lower wages. For finishes I just realized I have to do my own offline R&D the to learn what works well with the brands I have here. Started doing my own wipe on poly (it's harder than it looks when most brands don't even refer the finish is polyurethane). Also my finishing techniques tend to be a lot slower than what you see on youtube, which I guess makes sense, since I'm not on a schedule, don't need to be profitable but want my pieces to look as good as possible.
simonrobb 6y ago
Matt Estlea is only young but he has a real talent for teaching. Fun to watch, goes pretty deep into the basics: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg
giardini 6y ago
I've stained wood (USA) for decades and never used a pre-stain conditioner. This is the first I've heard of it. One article says: "A wood conditioner is basically a wood finish reduced to a very thin consistency." Sounds like a money-making product to use on very porous wood that has water-damage (rotted?) or has been repeatedly treated with solvents, leaving only weak wood fibers. I usually replace such wood. There are also products for "rejuvenating" rotted wood: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rejuvenate+rotted+wood&t=opera&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rejuvenate+rotted+wood&t=opera&ia=... I suppose these have their place but I have been lucky enough to not need them.
- jmtulloss 6y ago
  They’re good for woods that are blotchy when stained with the stains normally available in US hardware stores, namely birch and pine.
- robotnixon 6y ago
  I've used pre-stain conditioner when applying a dark oil-based stain to pine. It does seem to help even out the finish with soft woods. It is pretty useless on harder woods though, and since I don't typically use pine or stain I have maybe used it once or twice.
jmuhlich 6y ago
Regarding finishes, I highly, highly recommend the book Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner. Flexner applies a very no-nonsense scientific approach which greatly demystifies the process. For example he explains what that pre-stain conditioner actually is (chemically), what it achieves (with photos), and exactly when you would want to use it. There is a lot of marketing and folklore around wood finishing which makes it a lot more confusing than it is, and this book helps cut through all of that.
kls 6y ago
Wood dye and wood stain are different in the US, here is a good article on the differences: https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/stain-or-dye#:~:text=There%20is%20a%20difference.,that%20penetrate%20the%20wood%20itself.&text=When%20mixed%20with%20the%20proper,crystals%20dissociate%20into%20individual%20molecules https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/stain-or-dye#:~:text=.... You can make your own wood conditioner by mixing 70% varnish with 30% mineral spirits or a 60/40 of Denatured alcohol and shellac. You only need a conditioner if you are staining a soft, sap wood such as American yellow pine. We have a pine here called slash pine that is similar in properties to your pine, but it is virtually extinct. It does not need pre-stain conditioning because it is a harder pine, and it was mostly harvested from old growth forests. Point being it is really not, the specific wood, it is the characteristics of the wood, mainly hardness, porousness, sapling harvest or heartwood harvest and oiliness. If you have a soft, pours, sap wood harvested, with little oil content it is going to need conditioning. If you have something like Ipe, hard as a rock, oily and a tight grain, you will not need it and most likely need a dye to actually stain it.
- flir 6y ago
  Your wood conditioner recipe sounds like sanding sealer to me. Is wood conditioner a new name for an old product?
  - kls 6y ago
    pretty much, they just use a lot of petroleum distillates and alkalies to accomplish the same task, in the newer stuff.
bg4 6y ago
Paul Sellers https://www.youtube.com/user/PaulSellersWoodwork https://www.youtube.com/user/PaulSellersWoodwork
starpilot 6y ago
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg Matt is from the UK. His vid on applying OSMO finish was a lifesaver for me.
yurish 6y ago
HeARTwood, from Russia: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheVersatileMG https://www.youtube.com/user/TheVersatileMG. Quite a lot about woodworking.
speg 6y ago
Paul Sellers and Matt Eastlea.

Ma8ee 6y ago

Paul Sellers have moved back to the UK. In addition to his website [0] and blog there's plenty in his YouTube channel. And my feeling is that Europeans in general don't insist on staining everything like Americans do. Or maybe it's just us in Scandinavia that actually think the bright natural color of birch, but even pine, is quite beautiful. [0] https://paulsellers.com/ https://paulsellers.com/

robotmay 6y ago
I learnt to carve spoons from a few Swedish guys so I have a lot of love for a simple linseed-oil finish :) Can't get any nice, bright, linseed-oil paint in the UK though, which is a bit of a bummer. I ended up using stain for this current project as the room called for dark wood, but the only two real-wood options for skirting boards in the UK are pine or oak, which are both light woods, so I opted to stain pine for it. And thank you! Someone at work mentioned his videos recently and I completely forgot the name.
- atomack 6y ago
  +1 for Paul Sellers. He's a bunch of content on finishing too and I've just tried his combo of shellac + beeswax to finish pine and it works fantastically and is cheap. Also, not youtube, but https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/ https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/ is a great uk online resource, including this thread https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/timber-yards-wip-add-your-favourites-t108370.html https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/timber-yards-wip-add-you... on sourcing timber
m0nty 6y ago
The one thing I find (as a UK woodworker) when watching US or Canadian channels is (a) they all seem to have massive workshops, like size-of-a-barn massive, and (b) they have machines for everything. I could not tackle many of the projects they do because of limited space, which restricts the machines I can accommodate. Paul Sellers definitely understands that many UK woodworkers are in their garage or garden shed and keeps that in mind for his projects, and uses predominantly hand tools. I'm not saying I don't like the North American channels, and Matthias is a true hacker as well as a woodworker, but it's a different world. Just to add my own recommendation: Alain Vaillancourt does some excellent stuff, from his vast workshop located somewhere in the New World: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCsdIja21VT7AKkbVI5y8bQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCsdIja21VT7AKkbVI5y8bQ
- wmeredith 6y ago
  You might like Rex Kruger's channel. He has a large shop and lots of machines, but he mainly focuses on hand tools and doing things cheaply/diy when it comes to his YouTube content. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj4SLNED1DiNPHComZTCbzw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj4SLNED1DiNPHComZTCbzw No affiliation. I just found him a couple weeks ago and have been really enjoying it.
- raister 6y ago
  Paul Sellers dimensioned his filming studio to mimic a small garage for a common UK woodworker.
- jmuhlich 6y ago
  I’m an American with a very limited space to work in and I love Paul’s approach.
- bluedino 6y ago
  Check out the Woodwrights shop that was on PBS
- function_seven 6y ago
  I like the Woodshop Junkies channel for this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw It's a guy in South Africa with a small workshop. The main point of his videos is designing space-saving tool mounts and storage for his shop. He uses cheap tools—and lots of plywood—to make some clever stuff. It's not a channel for seeing furniture made, but it's interesting nonetheless.
jpitz 6y ago
Most of the fine woodworking folks I follow in the US don't typically use stain much.
- mauvehaus 6y ago
  Stain is a tool like any other. It can be used garishly and tastelessly or it can be used to complement a piece. See also: carvings, inlay, brasses, or pretty much anything else used for anything beyond holding the piece together.
  - jpitz 6y ago
    It is. From a fine woodworking perspective, however, it very often runs counter to purpose when the goal is to take advantage of the natural beauty inherent in the medium.
    - kedean 6y ago
      That's only a goal though. Taking advantage of the natural beauty of the wood is not always the only goal, primary goal, or even a goal at all.
      - jpitz 6y ago
        I am super confused right now. I tried to be very careful in my wording to avoid being hyperbolic or all inclusive. Am I giving that impression at all?
        michaelt 6y ago
        In "counter to purpose when the goal is" kedean interpreted "when" as meaning "given" rather than meaning "if"
        jpitz 6y ago
        That helps. Thank you.

cthalupa 6y ago

I watch a ton of woodworking channels on youtube, and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen anyone use prestain conditioner. If anything, they all seem to love single coat stains. There's quite a lot of non-US/CA woodworking channels out there, though. Paska Makes, Australia Woodshop Junkies, South Africa Paoson Woodworking, Spain JSK-koubou, Japan Laura Kampf, Germany Crimson Guitars, UK (Mostly luthier projects, but Ben does some crazy stuff that I think woodworkers could find inspirational in general) Dekay's Crafts, Korea Get Hands Dirty, Portugal Resin Timber, Lithuania I've seen plenty of others - these are just some of the ones that I subscribe to.

Freak_NL 6y ago
> JSK-koubou, Japan Damn that man for working so incredibly neat and tidy. No stains on his virginal birch-ply, ever — not even a smudge. Sawdust seems to bend to his will, and all cuts and holes drilled are surely accurate to the micrometer. His workspace is as clean as an operating theatre. Yeah… That's not ever going to happen in my shed.
- cthalupa 6y ago
  He's insanely talented. His recent router table build is also awesome - I'm planning on purchasing a copy of the plans and building it when I get a bit more free time.
chowderhead 6y ago
Thanks for the list Paska Makes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA Woodshop Junkies https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHueSosfT92NUVmhrz7Hjw Paoson Woodworking https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4PI8VEr1ZaKn4TBcXoy3qg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4PI8VEr1ZaKn4TBcXoy3qg JSK-koubou https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCez62GvvsH05IunJJsRuvuQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCez62GvvsH05IunJJsRuvuQ Laura Kampf https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw Crimson Guitars https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdD1Cqxr8aINzWs1agg3tEQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdD1Cqxr8aINzWs1agg3tEQ Dekay's Crafts https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVugiFOe-aoh7FXtAuiGxw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVugiFOe-aoh7FXtAuiGxw Get Hands Dirty https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ Resin Timber https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZ2m-mgto7R-4uEgROP2pQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZ2m-mgto7R-4uEgROP2pQ

dfc 6y ago

Staining pine and to some extent pine in general is not something that you see in American woodworking outside of early beginner work.

robotmay 6y ago
Which is a shame really, as the sustainability of it is quite a merit. I opted to use it for all the wood in my office as I could get a finish I was happy with, whilst also not spending an absolute fortune on wood (posh woods are very expensive in the UK right now). Unfinished, as I'm redoing the door architrave soon, but here's a photo for reference: https://i.imgur.com/OHzUPfb.jpg https://i.imgur.com/OHzUPfb.jpg Our options here generally seem to be pine or oak, from normal stores. At more specialist stores you might be able to pick up some stuff like sycamore and walnut, but it's a bit hit-and-miss as to what dimensions are available.
- wil421 6y ago
  Is the pine you use soft? Southern Pine is too soft for a desk or most parts of an office. You could write on it and the letters would be visible in the wood. It’s great for framing but I’ve been hesitant to use it for my beginner woodworking stuff.
  - mauvehaus 6y ago
    A blotter/desk pad is a great solution to this problem. I built my wife a pandemic desk, and pine was what I could get locally. I have no illusions that it'll hold up as well as, say, oak or ash, but it's done alright over the last couple of months. She also prefers rollerball or gel ink pens to regular ballpoints. As they require less pressure, that's likely helping. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SeZtpDdJK/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SeZtpDdJK/
  - robotmay 6y ago
    Hah yes pine is pretty infamous for denting easily. I actually received a pine desk surface today that I'm staining/oiling. It's nicer quality pine than what I used for the skirting boards by far and seems pretty tough so far. I could probably give it a properly tough surface by using a two-part plastic finish (like the sort of stuff they use for bar-tops), but I've never used it so I'm sticking with Danish oil for this, as I can always sand it back and refinish it if it gets truly dire. I like working with pine, particularly because it's cheap enough that you can make mistakes when learning and not feel too bad. But it is much more variable than other woods, I find, and the species vary by country.

jfk13 6y ago

The other transatlantic issue I notice is space. North American content tends to assume "shop" space on a scale that's much less likely to be available to the average UK person.

sshagent 6y ago
oh for sure. "here is my shop space, some spare room" thats the size of my entire house. And on the table top gaming front, very envious of US households i see with their similarly sized D&D room with a floor space that rivals my entire ground floor.
- robotmay 6y ago
  I ended up doing all the skirting boards for my office spread between both the office itself and the room next door, just to have enough space :D I do actually have that rare privilege of having a "workshop" space (a solid shed), but as I'm in Wales it is of course up some extremely slippery stone steps, currently leaking quite dramatically, and full of crap I've chucked out of the house but can't take to the tip during lockdown measures.
- Freak_NL 6y ago
  And the wood supply is always so cheap and plentiful! “Yeah, here I'm making a simple spice rack out of some purple heart and cocobolo I just had lying around.” I'm pretty pleased already if I can get my hands on a few scant planks of walnut at a passable price here in the Netherlands.
  - robotmay 6y ago
    The price of walnut here in the UK right now is insaaaane. I think France can often have it for a decent price but you really have to know a guy who knows a guy who seems to have his own mill.
  - frobozz 6y ago
    "I love wandering around my local wood yard and I've just come back with these lovely panels for making a jewellery box, and this great piece of yew I'm going to turn into a longbow." Every sawmill/timber merchant/whatever near me basically sells fences and roof trusses.

jmkd 6y ago

Matt Estlea - talented, clear, dispels myths, but his personality is an acquired taste https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg/vid... Stephens 8x6 Workshop - tiny space, clever projects. At the real ale end of woodworking https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8SLw_zYEappZL5rROwvZ1w/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8SLw_zYEappZL5rROwvZ1w/vid... Peter Millard - cabinet making in a tiny workshop, some good meta content on the reality of being a YT woodworker https://www.youtube.com/user/petermillard1/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/petermillard1/videos Pask Makes - Australian but totally transferrable to UK materials, lots of reinvented basics https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNyGbxoEo6CQvaRVEvItxkA/vid... Charlie DIYte - general DIY with plenty of carpentry, good for beginners and those with few tools https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7x7wk8yeN2ZEJCo6BgP2ag/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7x7wk8yeN2ZEJCo6BgP2ag/vid... Ishitani Furniture - Japanese but essential inspiration and meditation https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q/vid... Sampson Boat Co - UK boatbuilder in US, any woodworking list on YouTube should have this at or near the top, relevant or otherwise it's astonishing https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-_lYeV8hBnDSay7nmphUA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-_lYeV8hBnDSay7nmphUA

m0nty 6y ago
+1 for Ishitani and Pask, and thanks for the other links. If we're talking about boat-builders, don't forget Louis Sauzedde, who seems recently to have returned from a long hiatus: https://www.youtube.com/user/TipsfromaShipWright/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/TipsfromaShipWright/videos
- DrOctagon 6y ago
  I love Lou's videos. Highly recommended.
  - m0nty 6y ago
    The accuracy he gets from the most basic of tools is astonishing really. Knows his stuff and tells it well.

AlexMuir 6y ago

Peter parfitt is good too.

Fiahil 6y ago

If you can understand french, I'd recommend the amazing Olivier Verdier (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvDpfkniGG6WkX5L7DwyGaA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvDpfkniGG6WkX5L7DwyGaA) and Samuel Mamias (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9fGq2-6FaftcegcIadLf6A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9fGq2-6FaftcegcIadLf6A).

Quai 6y ago

Marius Hornberger from Germany is one of my favorites. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA

itamarreif 6y ago

Adrian Preda does some of the best work I've seen (mostly hand tools, Japanese). Pretty sure he's somewhere in central/eastern Europe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0HkNaD01K5VNzE87eMAEvw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0HkNaD01K5VNzE87eMAEvw

a2tech 6y ago

Peter Millard and the 10-minute workshop is based out of the UK and I find him very watchable.

learc83 6y ago

Rex Krueger is American, but he makes a lot of traditional English projects and uses hand tools.

mattmaroon 6y ago

I've actually done some side by side tests with stains using conditioner vs not. I wouldn't call it necessary by any means. Depends on the stain and the wood but sometimes I did feel the result was noticeably better, sometimes I couldn't tell the difference.

nkozyra 6y ago
Parent commenter might specifically be talking about yellow/white pine, which is notorious for splotchy staining and yellowing over time, which conditioner can mitigate a bit. If you're working with oaks or hardwoods, I agree with you.
- mattmaroon 6y ago
  True, my tests have been very informal so maybe it was more the Wood than the stains.

relativeadv 6y ago

Not furniture-making but still wood working. I follow this dude on IG and he is based in the UK https://www.instagram.com/archery_handcrafted/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/archery_handcrafted/?hl=en

blackkat 6y ago

There are Mitch Peacock: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCHNLNiFWZcy39ew7OskHdtw https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCHNLNiFWZcy39ew7OskHdtw And Matt Eastly: https://mattestlea.com/ https://mattestlea.com/ https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg

marttt 6y ago

I like Unplugged Woodworking. I think he is also from the British isles. Found him when I was googling for Roman workbenches; he built one. YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcO75TzblV9-_WqgXX1mNxg/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcO75TzblV9-_WqgXX1mNxg/vid... Blog: http://www.unpluggedwoodworking.com/ http://www.unpluggedwoodworking.com/

sjs382 6y ago

Here's some: Badger Workshop is UK-based https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSQRZgy9lvGsLrWn6sFHZHw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSQRZgy9lvGsLrWn6sFHZHw Nick Zammeti is UK-based https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-0S7vXfwYY2jj5EkMpymA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-0S7vXfwYY2jj5EkMpymA Rag N Bone Brown is UK-based https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyE_6jEtVZGmYGXtUOL5FQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyE_6jEtVZGmYGXtUOL5FQ Ishitani Furniture is Japanese https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkqjV8SU5I8FCHXQSQe9Q Giaco Whatever (some woodworking) is Italian https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYH-XXUE2QDaWKvABsWJh8w https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYH-XXUE2QDaWKvABsWJh8w Cactus! Workshop is from Spain: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupK5wJGXHDemXmHFMCMtHA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupK5wJGXHDemXmHFMCMtHA Lignum is based in Croatia https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSdejZFhw0rrDFlj9McyNA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSdejZFhw0rrDFlj9McyNA Marius Hornberger is German https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7lavsPdVGV0qmEEBT6NyA Laura Kampf is German https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRix1GJvSBNDpEFY561eSzw Ollari's is based in Hungary https://www.youtube.com/user/Sepirabbit https://www.youtube.com/user/Sepirabbit

jdboyd 6y ago
Get Hands Dirty https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETeXD_3awsQv-9rSdCYXQQ I'm in the US, but I find a tend to like european woodworking channels better.
- bearcobra 6y ago
  Before the pandemic hit, I had planned a trip to Europe that included a stop in Porto based almost entirely on enjoying this channel.
  - tasssko 6y ago
    I agree i really like that channel too. Look no excuses necessary not to visit Porto. Its one of the nicest european citie!

fimdomeio 6y ago

I share your pains. That an the fact that a lot of tools here (portugal) cost twice as much as they cost in the US and we have way lower wages. For finishes I just realized I have to do my own offline R&D the to learn what works well with the brands I have here. Started doing my own wipe on poly (it's harder than it looks when most brands don't even refer the finish is polyurethane). Also my finishing techniques tend to be a lot slower than what you see on youtube, which I guess makes sense, since I'm not on a schedule, don't need to be profitable but want my pieces to look as good as possible.

simonrobb 6y ago

Matt Estlea is only young but he has a real talent for teaching. Fun to watch, goes pretty deep into the basics: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg

giardini 6y ago

I've stained wood (USA) for decades and never used a pre-stain conditioner. This is the first I've heard of it. One article says: "A wood conditioner is basically a wood finish reduced to a very thin consistency." Sounds like a money-making product to use on very porous wood that has water-damage (rotted?) or has been repeatedly treated with solvents, leaving only weak wood fibers. I usually replace such wood. There are also products for "rejuvenating" rotted wood: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rejuvenate+rotted+wood&t=opera&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rejuvenate+rotted+wood&t=opera&ia=... I suppose these have their place but I have been lucky enough to not need them.

jmtulloss 6y ago
They’re good for woods that are blotchy when stained with the stains normally available in US hardware stores, namely birch and pine.
robotnixon 6y ago
I've used pre-stain conditioner when applying a dark oil-based stain to pine. It does seem to help even out the finish with soft woods. It is pretty useless on harder woods though, and since I don't typically use pine or stain I have maybe used it once or twice.

jmuhlich 6y ago

Regarding finishes, I highly, highly recommend the book Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner. Flexner applies a very no-nonsense scientific approach which greatly demystifies the process. For example he explains what that pre-stain conditioner actually is (chemically), what it achieves (with photos), and exactly when you would want to use it. There is a lot of marketing and folklore around wood finishing which makes it a lot more confusing than it is, and this book helps cut through all of that.

kls 6y ago

Wood dye and wood stain are different in the US, here is a good article on the differences: https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/stain-or-dye#:~:text=There%20is%20a%20difference.,that%20penetrate%20the%20wood%20itself.&text=When%20mixed%20with%20the%20proper,crystals%20dissociate%20into%20individual%20molecules https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/stain-or-dye#:~:text=.... You can make your own wood conditioner by mixing 70% varnish with 30% mineral spirits or a 60/40 of Denatured alcohol and shellac. You only need a conditioner if you are staining a soft, sap wood such as American yellow pine. We have a pine here called slash pine that is similar in properties to your pine, but it is virtually extinct. It does not need pre-stain conditioning because it is a harder pine, and it was mostly harvested from old growth forests. Point being it is really not, the specific wood, it is the characteristics of the wood, mainly hardness, porousness, sapling harvest or heartwood harvest and oiliness. If you have a soft, pours, sap wood harvested, with little oil content it is going to need conditioning. If you have something like Ipe, hard as a rock, oily and a tight grain, you will not need it and most likely need a dye to actually stain it.

flir 6y ago
Your wood conditioner recipe sounds like sanding sealer to me. Is wood conditioner a new name for an old product?
- kls 6y ago
  pretty much, they just use a lot of petroleum distillates and alkalies to accomplish the same task, in the newer stuff.

bg4 6y ago

Paul Sellers https://www.youtube.com/user/PaulSellersWoodwork https://www.youtube.com/user/PaulSellersWoodwork

starpilot 6y ago

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWzA3ZlYEOLr1JkKH0ZMyg Matt is from the UK. His vid on applying OSMO finish was a lifesaver for me.

yurish 6y ago

HeARTwood, from Russia: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheVersatileMG https://www.youtube.com/user/TheVersatileMG. Quite a lot about woodworking.

speg 6y ago

Paul Sellers and Matt Eastlea.