IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE

2025 was the busiest year of my life. I traveled all over: Mexico, China, Zimbabwe, South Africa, even some short stops in Zambia and Dubai (not to mention a few other places closer to home). We also built a new website, started work on a new online school (coming soon) and released a series of more than fifty “shorts” on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And somehow I still found time to grow a beard, redesign the Stumpy Nubs logo (because of the beard) and reach the 1-million subscribers milestone (with the help of the beard).

It was all too much. I feel like I need a reset to slow things down and refocus on what’s most important. That means making some changes at Stumpy Nubs Woodworking.

I don’t plan on making fewer videos (I actually hope to make more), but I do want to get back to the things that I enjoy most about my job: teaching woodworking skills and helping folks enjoy their craft more fully. I believe this is what the core of my audience wants, as well. But let me be honest- it will cost me BIG.

You see, YouTube has changed over the years. Good content is no longer king. We are ruled by the almighty algorithm, a faceless monster that devours creators and spits out only what it wants you to see. If the algorithm doesn’t recommend a video to you, chances are you won’t see it, even if you subscribe to the channel. This forces content creators to make garbage because garbage generates the clicks which feed the algorithm. While I wish I could say I was above it all, none of us really are because we YouTubers can’t exist without viewers.

I am sick of making garbage.

So this year I am going to do the unthinkable. I am going to start pushing back against the almighty algorithm. In the coming weeks, through the pages of this new email newsletter I will be laying out my career suicide, step by step. It’s time for change, not to something entirely new, but to something that better represents why you came to this channel in the first place.

-James Hamilton

THE NEW STICKERS ARE IN!

SHOULD YOU RECONSIDER SHELLAC?

Here are some of the pros and cons, based upon my personal experience with shellac:

PRO: Few finishes make natural wood grain pop like shellac. It adds beautiful depth without the plastic look of other film finishes.

PRO: Shellac is easy to apply. It's also difficult to mess up. If you leave a run or miss a spot, you can easily fix it with the next coat because each layer partially dissolves and melts into the last. This also makes it easy to repair even for years down the road.

PRO: Shellac dries very quickly, so quickly that you can often begin your next coat right after the previous one. That means completing an entire finishing job in a few minutes or a few hours instead of a few days.

PRO: You can put shellac over almost anything, including oil-based stains, water-based dyes, even tung oil or boiled linseed oil. And you can put almost any other finish over dewaxed shellac.

PRO: Shellac flakes come in various colors from clear to yellow to light amber to brown. You can also add aniline dyes to shellac to create custom wood stains.

PRO: Shellac is safer to apply indoors than other finishes because it is alcohol-based rather than petroleum-based. If you have basic ventilation, you don't need a mask to brush or wipe it on. It's safer for the environment, too.

PRO: Shellac doesn’t smell bad like many other finishes. And what smell it does have dissipates quickly. Compare that to poly, which stinks for years.

CON: Shellac is not very water-resistant, nor does it hold up well to extreme heat or alcohol. This makes it a poor finish for tables, countertops or bathroom vanities. And while it is food safe, I wouldn't use it on items that will be washed in water such as bowls or cutting boards.

CON: Shellac is reasonably durable, but I wouldn't call it a heavy-duty finish like polyurethane or lacquer. Furniture, cabinets, boxes, frames, even musical instruments are good projects for shellac. Tabletops, countertops and outdoor projects aren't.

CON: Like most finishes, shellac will change the color of wood, depending on the hue you use. While super-blonde shellac is nearly water-clear at first, it will yellow slightly over time.

If you’d like to learn more, I made a whole tutorial about it. Enjoy!