Do you have any Wooden Yardsticks?

I found some wooden yardsticks in my father's shop.  I thought they were neat so I brought them home to clutter up my shop for a couple of years.  I recently took a closer look at them and realized these things are interesting pieces of history.

Companies used these yardsticks as promotional items with their logos and catchy slogans printed on them.  I still see stores like Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware selling these today.  Their accuracy is somewhat debatable and I would only use them for rough measurements, but I like having these older ones on display.  There are even some yardstick collectors out there!

I have one from Weir's Furniture on Knox Street in Dallas, Texas that is actually 48" long.  Hmm, would you still call that a yardstick?  I have no idea how this yardstick from Dallas ended up in my father's shop.  I will have to share these pictures with the people at Weir's Furniture.  They still have a store on Knox Street and I think they might enjoy seeing this.

The smaller yardstick that is actually 36" long is from McCrory's, McLellan, Green and Save.  A quick google search reveals that this was a chain of five and dime stores based in York, Pennsylvania.  You can read more about that here,  Again, I have no idea how this yardstick ended up in my father's shop in Georgia.

Do you have any antique wooden yardsticks laying around your shop?  If so, I would love to see them.  Send me a picture on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.  Also, look up the company to see if they are still in business, because I bet they would love to see a piece of their history.

Don't be surprised if you find yourself scratching your head and wondering how these wooden yardsticks ended up in your shop too!

Have you seen The Maritime Woodworkers Weekend Shop Talk show?

This weekend I was honored to be the spotlight guest on the Maritime Woodworkers Weekend Shop Talk Show.  Each show is recorded and uploaded to YouTube, so in case you missed it, you can watch the recording of Saturday's show below.

If you are not familiar with the show, it is a woodworking show in the form of a Google Hangout that airs live on Saturdays at 7pm EST.  Check out the Maritime Woodworkers YouTube Channel and subscribe so you don't miss an episode.  If you are interested in joining or watching an upcoming live show, visit the Maritime Woodworkers Weekend Shop Talk Page ahead of time to find out how.

Thanks to the Maritime Woodworkers and everyone who joined the show to ask me some questions on Saturday.  I had a great time and enjoyed talking about using my father's tools, coming up with ideas for projects, and other topics I don't usually get to talk about in my videos.  I'm looking forward to joining the show again soon as a panelist and asking some questions of my own!

How long will a Wooden License Plate last?

It's been about 18 months since I made this Wooden License Plate.  Our van recently bit the dust after transporting Carmichaels over 200,000 miles for 15 years, so I removed the license plate before we said our goodbyes.  If you missed my original video on this project, watch it below to get caught up.

Let's take a look at how the license plate has weathered over the last year and a half.  I originally sprayed the license plate with a few coats of Deft spray lacquer as a test to see how it would hold up.  A few days after the video, I decided to paint the logo black and gold with Rustoleum spray paint to make it stand out more.  Overall, the wood held up well considering the harsh conditions it was under, but it doesn't look all that great anymore.

This plate has been exposed to sun, wind, rain, sleet, hail, and snow.  It's dirty and has turned gray where the lacquer has worn away.  I suspect this is the effect of UV rays.  Notice the spots where the lacquer remains and the wood color has not changed much.  The paint held up pretty well, except where it has come off on certain lines of the wood grain, which is interesting.  The back of the license plate is in much better shape because it was mostly protected from the harsh elements.

So how long will a wooden license plate last?  It looks like that depends on the protective finish.  I was considering sanding the license plate down to the bare wood and refinishing it with a different product that would provide better protection, such as spar varnish.  But, I've decided to leave it as is and hang it on the wall in the shop.  I kind of like the weathered look, plus it has a story to go along with it.

As a result of this project, I heard from people all over the world about which states and countries require official license plates on both the front and rear of vehicles.  It appears that the majority do these days.  My home state of Georgia still only requires an official plate on the rear.  I wonder if that may change in the near future.  That's ok, because these make great desk and wall decorations too!

Woodworking T-Shirts and More!

Did you know that many woodworkers who provide free content also sell merch?  See a list of stores below!  Consider ordering something from your favorite woodworkers to show your support!

Click here to visit The Carmichael Workshop Store!

I recently started up The Carmichael Workshop Store where you can order a t-shirt, coffee mug or other item to support my habit of providing free content.  I created some original designs that I think woodworkers will enjoy wearing, plus these designs will let others know you are proud to be a woodworker.  After all, t-shirts and coffee mugs are great conversation starters.

If nothing catches your eye in my store, that's ok, because below is a list other fellow woodworkers who sell merch too!  Just click the names below to visit their stores to see if they have something you can't live without, then impress your family and friends with your cool new woodworking gear!

And in case you didn't know, you can order from different Spreadshirt.com stores at the same time!  For example, if Spreadshirt offers free shipping on 2 or more items, you could add one item from Jay's store to your cart, then add one item from my store to your cart, then checkout!

Woodworker Store List
These are all of the woodworker merch stores I could find.  Please let me know if you have any additions.

• Average Joe's Joinery (Spreadshirt)
• Beaver Valley Woodworking
• The Carmichael Workshop (Spreadshirt)
• Dominic's Woodworks
• Drunken Woodworker
• Fun With Woodworking (Spreadshirt)
• Garage Woodworks
• I Like to Make Stuff
• Izzy Swan Think Woodworks (Spreadshirt)
• Jay's Custom Creations  (Spreadshirt)
• John Heisz - i build it.ca
• MF Woodshop (Spreadshirt)
• Miter Mike's Woodshop (Spreadshirt)
• Modern Woodworkers Association
• Nick Ferry
• Rock-n H Woodshop
• A Simple Design of Ocala
• Southern Ginger (Spreadshirt)
• Stumpy Nubs (Spreadshirt)
• Summers Woodworking (Spreadshirt)
• TabLeft Workshop (Spreadshirt)
• Wood Choppin' Time
• The Wood Whisperer
• Woodworking for Mere Mortals (Spreadshirt)
• Woodworking Maniak (Spreadshirt)