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This section is designed for hobbyist wooworkers in India who need guidance, tips, advice and so on. To ask a question please post your queries in the comments box below this page. We cannot promise to satisfactorily answer all your queries but we will give it our best shot. Thanks!

Reader's Questions:

Umesh 02 September, 2015
Hello Indranil,
Greetings from Delhi!
My carpenter has just finished a small woodworking project at my home which includes:
In Rubberwood:
1. Two simplest study tables about 16 in x 30 in (including one with keyboard)
2. A 40 in x 40 in chest of drawers
3. A 8 ft x 2 ft 2 in bookshelf
4. A 19 in x 19 in hanging shelf (four mini shelves joined together to form a + sign in the middle)
In plyboard with teak veneer:
1. Almira with sliding doors
2. A sliding door.
After reading your blog which I found a couple of days ago and after looking at some of your finishes, I am inspired to polish/finish the above mentioned items myself (probably with some help from a semi-skilled worker). And while your blogs are extremely useful, I still have some queries related to this.
Can you please answer the following queries:
1. What sandpaper (grit strength) should I use to sand the rubberwood?
2. What sandpaper should I use to sand the teak veneer?
3. Should I use shellac instead of the conditioner on rubberwood like you suggested recently? If yes, can you suggest me which shellac to use and where to buy it?
4. When using shellac as a conditioner, how do we dilute it?
5. I want to colour the rubberwood a darker colour than its natural one as I find the natural colour a bit bland. What colour would you recommend?
6. Should I stain the rubber wood with a water based stain or an oil based stain?
7. Can you recommend a rubberwood stain brand?
8. For the teak veneer items, what stain would you recommend?
9. Can you point me to detailed guides on a. sanding b. conditioning c. staining and d. finishing?
It's become a long dhobi list of questions and I apologize for the same. My situation is urgent as I am not sure if the finisher/polisher recommended by the carpenter would do a good job of polishing and your guidance in this matter is highly appreciated.
Indranil Replies:  In view of your many questions, I think I should charge you consultancy fees!
As for your questions, my brief replies:
1. 240 should do
2. None or at best 320
3. Yes. Good Shellac (de-waxed blond) is available only in Calcutta.
4. Use spirit (rectified spirit, ethyl alcohol)
5. Colour is a very personal choice
6. Either
7. No - check your local store or Tilak bazar
8. None
9. Plenty iinfo on the web - try searching with google.co.in
best of luck

Umaji26 August, 2015
Dear Indranil
I may be wrong, but I have sometimes seen Indiamart.com advertise on your blog. I would like to tell you of 2 experiences I’ve had with buying from Indiamart, and I wonder if this is common to experiences anybody else has had. If so then what have they done about it else if not don’t think too badly about me whining. This is one of the few things I do well.
Sometime ago I bought a dinning table from a fantastic carpenter from Chennai. He has a website shaktiganapati.com, and I recommend all woodworkers to see this. As with all craftsmen, he is neither punctual, nor particularly sensitive to the inconvenience that he is causing you. He said I could have my table in September, but forgot to mention which year.
One of things he suggests, no demands, that I polish my table and chairs once every year or so, and do this using tung oil. Tung oil is imported and is generally difficult to find, so after a google search I found that indiamart had some listings of people who import this stuff. I contacted a guy in Mumbai, and he said he’d be happy to supply me a liter or so of the oil and would send me the stuff by courier to Goa. “Sure you deposit the money and I’ll do it the next day.” I asked him for his bank details to deposit the money for price of oil plus courier charges, and unlike me I deposited the money forthwith. So far so good. Now came the wait. Then came the refusal to answer my phones calls. Then “sorry I was out of town, I’ll do it just now.” Then “Actually my son handles this, and he is out of town.” After four weeks or so, when he finally answered my phone, he says “Aaray, I cannot send it by courier, can you pick it up from here?” I told him I live in Goa, and since he had me by the short and curlies, I asked if he would deliver it to my office in Mumbai. “Sure, I’ll do it just now.” Two weeks later the stuff arrived in my office.
My second bad experience with Indiamart is all your fault Indranil. After waxing eloquence about Timbermate, I just had to have it. Not being a fast learner, I went back to Indiamart and found that there was a supplier in Bangalore who said “of course” to when I asked for a kilo of Timbermate in natural shade. And “of course” to couriering it to me in Goa. “Just send me an email with your order and address, money for Timbermate and courier charges, and I’ll do it the next day.” Sound familiar. Thanking Tim Berners-lee for the magic that is email, I sent him an order for one kilo Timbermate, natural shade. Again uncharacteristically I sent him the money the very same day. Two days later he emails back saying he can supply me 5 kilos instead of one and while the courier cost will remain the same, the cost of Timbermate will be 5 times more. I said OK, and sent him another email with the change in order and sent him the money. Then came… you guessed it, the wait. Then came “sir last week was eid.” Then came “sorry I forgot.” Then “What colour you said you wanted again?” Then “How much did you say you wanted?” Then “yes…yes… I’m sending it. You’re not my only customer.” 6 weeks later no Timbermate. Being at my wit’s end, I finally got in touch with the receptionist at our office in Bangalore and told her of my woes. Now this lady is not one to take lightly. If she puts her mind to hounding somebody, they know they are being hounded, and people usually will very quickly do what she asks so as to become un-hounded. Even with her intervention, it took two more weeks. Can you imagine how resilient this supplier is? Quite admirable actually.
My point is, and I’m sorry this is taking so long, why should these simple requests of stuff the suppliers have in their shops take so long to come to the customer. Indiamart puts me in touch with these suppliers, what kind of vetting process do they do ensure that the BtoC connection is easier than this. I have tried to get in touch with people at Indiamart, but I only get as far as some call centre, which hangs up on me when I say the word ‘compliant.’
Is there anybody else in this boat?
Indranil replies: I've had mixed results with Indian vendors; some have proved excellent and I stick with them ,particularly those based in Gujarat. They tend to be professional but almost all Indian vendors renege on timelines and are very poor at answering email. My experience with Chinese suppliers has been tremendous; they are just too good, get back in no time, willing to negotiate small orders and will adjust prices and quanitites to suit the small buyer. No wonder China is leagues ahead of us.

Vishal Bhardwaj (13 April 2015)
My question is not about proper wood-working, but about wood whittling, which is something I really want to take up as a hobby, and I hope you can help. I'd like to start out with small fugurines, etc. and maybe later move on to bigger and more elaborate carving. At present, I intend to keep it fairly simple and use either one of my pocket knives (Victorinox SAK, Opinel No.8) or some dedicated, short, fixed-bladed carving knife. I made one attempt using the Opinel knife and a small block of scrap unknown wood that was lying around at home. But it was quite hard and extremely coarse-grained, which meant that it kept splitting/splintering, and also the surface is quite unevenly porous.
Please guide me as to which woods would be best to start out with. I have read on some American blogs that Basswood, Balsa and Pine are good softwoods, but I'm not sure how easily available they are in India, and whether they are known by any other names here. Since I am located in Mumbai (and occasionally in Pune), what might be the best way to procure small pieces (ie., should I buy the wood or can I just get scrap wood pieces from carpenters).
Also, do you have any advice about a decent carving/whittling knife that I should use?
Col Bala replies:
Vishal, Greetings! Whittling requires just a pocket knife. There are quite a few specialised whittling knife, out there. Start searching Junglee.com. Amazon might carry decent blades. Here is one link. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1001758261 . For wood, Check out with a scrap wood dealer in Mumbai or Pune. If you contact the ammunition depot at Dehu road, they might have the packing cases, which usually is made of soft wood. It is occasionally auctioned over there. One odd box will keep you busy for some time. You can even check at the port. Being from Mumbai, there shouldn’t be any dearth of resources.  For knives, look for a street vendor. These days they stock pretty good variety and quality of knives. And all the best to you.
Zain replies:
Pine wood is widely available in india. Most large lumber dealers will have it. Though commonly available variety of pine may not be ideal for wittling as they tend to be splinter prone. Balsa wood can be sourced from model aircraft shops present in major metros. Look for online  forums to for more help. Poplar is grown in north india can be a decent wittling wood. Though almost all of it goes to paper pulp and ply industry. Hill stations in north can have deodar and walnut which is good for wittling. Some small pieces probably could be brought from there. Law does not allow transport of such wood out side the states like J&K and Himachal.

Umaji [2 January 2015]I am looking to buy a band saw, while I don't want to pay the earth for one, I'd like one that is sturdy and a good addition to a DIY workshop.


Your best bet is Metabo. There are many models available. I own a Metabo BAS-317 precision. Yeah it is an ok Bandsaw. You can check there website here http://www.metabo.com/Product-catalogue-halfstationary-and-stationary-tools.24047+M523d8328a73.0.html. Address to contact
Carborundum Universal Limited (Powertools Division)
77, Jigani-Bommasandra Link Road, Jigani Industrial Area
(+91) 80 30937300
(+91) 80 27839040
I do not know of any Indian Bandsaw manufactures for hobbyists. Most manufacturers here have professional band saws of huge sizes.

Girish G Khapre11 October, 2014
I am trying to develop my wood working hobby by watching videos, blogs and creating household item from few years. Your blog is very informative and you are helping all for resolving their queries.
Recently I have made a simple shoe rack, a L shaped sitting in living room and a box type bed using mostly 18 mm plywood.
But while selecting plywood I am always confused which I should select. In Pune plywood are available from Rs 60 to 120 per sq ft , they are of softwood (saw-dust is of light brown color), Gurjen (saw dust is dark brown color), block-board. I have used gurjen for bed and sofa, and softwood from Shoe rack.
Please let me know I choose correct plywood or not.
Also I am planning to make wall hanging cabinet for kitchen. And thinking of using block-board because I heard that block board carry heavy load and do not sag. Also can I make dove tail joints in block-board?
Thank you for creating such a wonderful blog.
Girish Khapre,

Col Bala Replies:
Hi Girish,
Pleased to know, you are into woodworking and building things for yourself. Here are some answer to your query
1.      Go through this web site http://blog.positiveindians.in/ patiently. By the time you finish, I am sure you will have adequate knowledge of plywood, laminates etc.
2.      The costlier the plywood, the more even and fuller the sheets of ply.
3.      You would buy plywood depending upon your usage. If it is something that has to bear wait then better plywood would be required.
4.      When you buy ply, run your hand on the entire sheet and looks of bumps etc.
5.      Gurjen wood ply is a quiet a tough ply.
6.      For kitchen use a marine plywood/board, water proof. As Kitchen is considered to be wet area. You can use block board if it is marine type. I would recommend block board for shelving etc, because it is less likely to bend under weight. But make sure the edge are covered with hardwood and trimmed flush.
7.      You cannot make dovetail on blockboard. It will never hold. On plywood you can make box joints. Dovetails on plywood, I have never tried it, it will not be crisp I guess. Best is pocket hole joinery or butt joints with glue and nails on block board.

Ray 12 August 2014:

1. I don't have a drill press but I have my eye on a Porter Cable forstner bit set on Amazon. Will I be able to use it with a regular (non-hammer) multi-speed drill running at its low speed?
I've read about drill guides (I'd like to avoid buying one because it'll serve a very limited purpose) and also about a trick where you drill a hole in a template board which you then use to guide a hand drill with forstner bits of the same size as the hole.
2. What kind of double sided tape (readily available in India) can one use to pin down a workpiece for routing? I searched eBay India and they mostly have thin rolls of foam tape
Zain Replies:Yes you can use forstner bit in a hand held drill.  . You can use 3/4" plywood with holes drilled at appropriate places and with a strip of 1-2 inch plywood at the edge/s to register distance if holes from edge of material. For instance if you use a hittech euro 35mm hinge for cabinet doors you need the edge if the 35mm hole 4mm from the edge of the door.  So your registration strip should be screwed over the plywood containing the guide hole such that the edge of hole is 4mm from the registration strip. You would of course need to clamp the guide board with the material being drilled, so the guide needs to be designed to accomodate clamps.
In most cases use carpet tape which looks like a cheese cloth and is quite thin. It has subsantial holding power(can be used while routing) and using too much of it can cause problems while removing it. Foam tape is quite thick and has much less holding power. It also will not old while routing.

Col Bala: You can use a Frostner Bit with a hand drill. All you have to do is mark the center point, wherever you are drilling, put the center spike of the drill bit into it. Steady the drill and use a square to set it at 90 deg. Run the drill at a low speed. You should be able to get a fairly good hole. Before you jump at buying the porter cable set, buy a 35mm hinge boring bit from the market and try it. Make yourself comfortable with it. You can watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J582q2BXJtY while you are at it and make yourself a hand drill drillpress.
Umaji: Col. Sir, I read your reply to the query posted by Pragayaal, and I am afraid I did not understand exactly what you did, is it possible to get (dare I say it) a better explanation. Perhaps even some pictures. I don't seem to be able to visualise what you have done. Second, a friend of mine, (I'm working on him to join this blog) has rescued some wood from the windows that he has changed in his house. He now wants to get this wood milled to size, and has asked me to help. I'm a little reluctant because I don't know if there are any nails embedded in the wood that will mess up the blades of my milling machine. I want to help him, but is there a way of finding out if there are any nasty metal objects hiding in his wood. Do you think the wand that is used at airport security will be able to help. If so then where can I get one, if not, then how do you think, I can resolve this issue.
Col. Bala: I will post a video in a weeks time. At present I am out of town.I will tell you exactly how to go about it. As for as embedded nails are concerned, you are right you need a metal detector and the one used at security points would do very well. However checkout for deep metal dectectors in the market. There are some at amazon you may like to see. Just search for 'Lumber Metal detectors'. They all are quite expensive, but you might find them to be cheaper in the local hardware market.

Pragyaal Sharma 10 May 2014: I want to make dowel joints, unfortunately I am not able to find dowels in local market of pune. Could someone suggest some other alternative. I tried to make dowels as in some youtube videos but its not working out for me, looks bit complex. I even tried to make dowels of pencil bit they split on hitting with hammer. Can bamboo be used as dowels? (Hollow from inside)

Col. Bala Replies: Out here I make dowels from a dowel cutter. Take a piece of ¼” thick steel strip available at Loha Mandi / shops selling steel pipes etc. You can drill a hole about the size of dowel you want to make, say 3/8” or get it drill from a machinist shop.  Now cut a piece about 8” long from the wood you want to make dowel with and size it to 3/8” square. Taper one side with a knife, so that it  just fits into the hole in the steel strip. Chuck the other end into a hand held drill and drive it through the hole. You will have your dowel.  I have made plenty of dowels of all sizes like this. Bamboo dowels may be available in any wood shop where they make doors.

Anonymous  18 March 2014: I have painted a chair (spray painted) and I now wish to give it an antique finish. Most people suggest using a faux glaze (which is not available in India). Would you be able to tell me an alternate to achieve the antique finish or if faux glaze is available in IndiaRs.  Here's a reference of the look I am aiming to get: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FQ-rk72SKE/Tfjzmq2TspI/AAAAAAAADZo/SVH7RuNq2uQ/s1600/glazing+furniture.jpg

Zain Replies: You can use stain to glaze a painted surface. Apply a couple of coats of laquer once the stain has dried. Another point to keep in mind is always use gloss or semigloss paints as base for glaze can use stain to glaze a painted surface. Apply a couple of coats of laquer once the stain has dried.

Umaji, 12 March 2014: One of the issues that I've had is starting with woodworking is the the amount of time I need to spend in getting wood square, planed, and the right size, is so long that i forget what it is that I am doing. I noticed in your workshop Col. you had a Metabo thicknesser. Other than Gurgaon is there anywhere else, say of the west coast of India, that I can try and buy one. Any help on this will be appreciated.

Col. Bala Replies: I have given the details in Ask the expert section on Indranils Blog site. You can read that. If you still have question do revert back.

Beeru, 12 March 2014:  Can anybody tell me what kinds of drill bits are best used on wood? Do I really need to buy high-end, branded bits or will the local ones do? Thank.

Col. Bala replies:You can use both twist drill bits as well as bit specially for wood, It is called Brad Point  bit (See attached pic). It has a narrow point at the top which helps in gripping the wood.

The other type of wood bit is the Forstner bit. This is used for drilling large holes and again has a center point for gripping the wood. There is yet another type called the spade bit.

Usually this bit is used with a hand drill for making large holes. Then there are what is called a Auger bits. Again used with hand drill. This has a screw point to begin the hole. These are usually very long and you can drill long holes.
Coming to branded vs local. There are high quality twist drill bits made here in India especially from JK Industries. These are used in Industries and are very expensive but last very long.
Wood bits are also available from Bosch as well as Dewalt. Quality bits are made from hardened steel and last far longer. You find mostly Chinese stuff in the market. Use and throw them away.

Forstner bits are available from Stanley tools and also Chinese makes. You may not find good quality wood bit in the local market.

Zain Replies:  The Metro cash and carry store in Hyderabad carries a decent brad point drill bit set. Bosch drill bits are rated well all over the world. For wood it is better to have bradpoint drill bits. My experience with drill bits has been interesting: some of the cheapest unbranded bits that I purchased have turned out to be much better than ones costing many times more.
Bits do tend to dull after a period of time. You will find it difficult to make clean holes after a period of time. The solution is to sharpen them. It requires a wheel based sharpening. Only the top portion of the bit needs to be sharpened. I suspect that somebody who sharpens knives could sharpen bits as they just need to be held at a particular angle.
There are a number of videos on Youtube on sharpening bits.
Faizul, 7 March 2014: I am also a hobbyist woodworker. Could you help me in locating some good shops in Chawri Bazaar selling Router Bits? Need these bits for mortising on my Router.

Col. Bala replies: Unfortunately in Chawri Bazar you will mostly find chinese made router bit sets. They are good for a short while and you have to throw them out. I buy my router bits from Yash Tooling system. They make excellant bits and they will custom design the profile you want. It depends on the shank size and over all size of bits. If they have bearing etc. Anywhere from Rs. 280/- to Rs 1000/- plus per bit. Carbides are more expensive. They have an office in Nagloi. The address is Plot No-12, Assam Timber Market, Near Rajdhani Park Metro Station Mundka Nagoli, ND-110041. They are about 800 meter from the Metro station. You can contact Mr Jaysukh Patel-9312980623. Hope this helps.

Faizul, 10 March 2014: Thank you Sir for your valuable feedback.
Couldn't help asking about the thicknesser (metabo) in the picture. I wonder how much has it costed you. Are the blades resharpenable and available in india. The quick acting clamps that has been picture is no longer sold by stanley. Any help on getting these clamps around delhi would be highy appreciated.
Thank you once again.

Col. Bala Replies: Faizul, You are welcome.  The Metabo Planer/thicknesser in 2009 costed 93,900/-  Now a days Metabo is handled by Carborundum. You can contact Mr Suresh. His phone No. is 9845593993. He is based in Bangalore. I would not recommend this machine. Though it gives a very clean cut. Setting the blades is a real pain. Yes, the blades can be resharpened. In fact I have two set of Carbide blades. It lasts me for a couple years, since I don’t do any production work.  You can also check out Jai Industries CombiMax at http://www.jaiindustries.com/products/wudpro/product.php?cat=Combiplaners&subcat=Max%20Models&proid=Combimax&modelno=J-1018

You will have to find out from them as to who their dealer is in Delhi

For clamps, You can check with PT-Hitech  in Chawri Bazar. He has lot of different type of clamps. Also you can check Krishan lal Aggarwal store in the same lane, next to Bosch showroom. He is the dealer for Bessey K body clamps, quick release clamps etc though they are very expensive. Hope this helps




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