Woodworking 101--Tools and Tips

[HenryAZ]

Biscuits (for alignment) and Tite Joint Fasteners to pull the joint tight. They install on the underside, and with a thick piece like that you can install them right in the middle, so they do not pull up or down but directly together. The tite joint fasteners can apply a tremendous amount of drawing force.

 

[acer66]

Good points and I did not think about those tite joint fastners.

I wanted to use my biscuit jointer but something is off since the biscuits are very loose.

Otherwise I wanted to use pocket screws to hold things together.

Maybe I can find tite joint fastners locally.

Thank you.

 

[acer66]

Was looking for one for ages.
Now I finally found a good deal on one.

 

[budget76]

didn't take a picture, but just did it. posting since some may not think of it. for thicker projects anyway, you can use a router sled with a flattening bit as a jointer, it'll just require some cobbling of support boards to do so

I'm building a 4" thick end grain workbench out of recycled material. glue up was 3 pieces about 20"x24" that needed joined. Imperfect scrap reuse and resulting glue up drove a need to square up/joint the mating faces. Circular saw can't do the depth, not feasible to slide along a table saw. I only have a 1/4" router so 2" flush cut bits to trim after a circ saw cut would be sketchy and I don't own one that long.

so I stood the pieces on end, screwed some straight scrap boards along the need-jointing edge at a 90* to the bottom face of the slab, and used the flattening bit to joint that face. I may have been a degree or three off, but it's definitely close enough. especially since the entire glue up is going to get flattened again anyway

took longer to measure and screw on the temporary boards than it did to do the routing itself.

 

[acer66]

Maybe they will line up.

 

[Toolfool]

Maybe they will line up.

Underside of counter for drawtite bolts ?

 

[acer66]

Underside of counter for drawtite bolts ?

Yes Sir and I wish I would have run this by the pros here before starting this project since this is the first time for me.

So there was and is a lot of learning on the job.

 

[acer66]

One thing I would not do again is to finish it before installing it since there is no sanding anymore.

My skill level is not good enough to get them perfectly lined up.

 

[Jgaz]

One thing I would not do again is to finish it before installing it since there is no sanding anymore.

My skill level is not good enough to get them perfectly lined up.

Looks really good from here.
Nice job

 

[acer66]

Looks really good from here.
Nice job

Thank you, I might just focus too much on the imperfections and also have no reference what is acceptable.

I defiantly will have some wooden countertop in my place.

 

[HenryAZ]

Looks really good from here.
Nice job

100% agree. Tite-joint fasteners are the bomb for projects like this.

 

[Toolfool]

You're still going to need support under those tops.

 

[CRSINMICH]

acer: You did a fine job on a complicated project. I also wanted to compliment you on the custom recessed shelf. You were lucky to have that opening in the brick wall. The trim for it could really make it POP. Take your time deciding. Rustic barnboard? Contrasting elegant style? Dark wood? Stained? Painted? Go for it.

 

[acer66]

You're still going to need support under those tops.

Yes, there will be several supports.

 

[acer66]

acer: You did a fine job on a complicated project. I also wanted to compliment you on the custom recessed shelf. You were lucky to have that opening in the brick wall. The trim for it could really make it POP. Take your time deciding. Rustic barnboard? Contrasting elegant style? Dark wood? Stained? Painted? Go for it.

Thank you I appreciate that.

You are right that window opening was a struck of luck.
Not sure about the trim that is up to the customer but I like the idea of something more rustic.

The supporting legs will be rustic from some salvaged lumber from the place which is an around 130 year old former club house so we will see.

 

[Woody1320]

A quick and dirty project this morning. A birdhouse using a single fence picket and a hinge. Was intending to have my two boys help me finish it once the pieces were cut, but that didn't happen, unfortunately lol. Low cost and rather easy (29 bucks for two pickets, the dowel, two hinges, and a two inch hole saw, which was half of the total cost).

 

[Woody1320]

One thing to add....I was teaching them how to mark out each piece and saw some scraps using my Ryoba.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Woody: That looks like a classic bluebird house. It's good to get the boys started early.

 

[Toolfool]

Be extremely careful letting young kids use a pull saw. Some years ago I introduced an adult friend to pull saws. He thought he could cut off fence posts with it, ended up losing a finger in one stroke.

 

[Woody1320]

Be extremely careful letting young kids use a pull saw. Some years ago I introduced an adult friend to pull saws. He thought he could cut off fence pots with it, ended up losing a finger in one stroke.

I made sure the have them grip the saw handle with both hands. I didn't want their fingers anywhere near the blade. That was a fear of mine, as well.

 

[Bob Heine]

I made sure the have them grip the saw handle with both hands. I didn't want their fingers anywhere near the blade. That was a fear of mine, as well.

@Woody1320, I remember being taught to put my thumb next to the blade to steady it for the first couple of thrusts. Probably good I can't do that anymore.

 

[CRSINMICH]

SLAPDASH, SLIPSHOD, HAPHAZARD, HALF-ASSED, HIT-OR-MISS BOX
Made from untreated fence pickets and scraps.​

I decided I needed a container for the vintage wrenches in my 'collection'. Usually they are cheap enough to buy on a whim - so I do.

The box has the most rudimentary joinery except for the top, bottom, and sides. It was an opportunity to practice things I had never done. I used a Veritas Skew Rabbet plane to shiplap the pieces for the top and bottom and EC Ring Match planes to tongue-and-groove the sides. The tray was simple **** joints and glue.

I really enjoyed this build. It was a nice antidote to too much Serious Woodworking. The finish was Teak Oil that needed using up. No sanding between coats because there was only one coat.

 

[lardy1]

Tip of the day:

Keep the fingers off the table saw blade. I got lucky.

 

[PugetDude]

How many stitches?

 

[lardy1]

I got really lucky. No stitches. Just lost a hunk of meat off the tip. My own carelessness caused it. I forgot the zero clearance throat plate while ripping thin pieces. The first one fell into the gap and my hand pressure followed the downward motion when it went. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I'm very lucky that's all that happened.

 

[Shiftless]

Would a saw stop have prevented that injury?

 

[lardy1]

Nobody knows as far as I can tell. But it does make me wonder.

 

[ez-duzit]

Would a saw stop have prevented that injury?

Following the first rule of machine operation would have prevented that injury. (Never touch moving cutters.)

 

[PugetDude]

Would a saw stop have prevented that injury?

Might have minimized it.
IMO.

 

[Bob Heine]

Following the first rule of machine operation would have prevented that injury. (Never touch moving cutters.)

Kinda like never putting beans up your nose. First thing you know, you're in the ER getting beans extracted.

 

[acer66]

Might have minimized it.
IMO.

Yeah, that is what SS is for.

Never thought about it before until I saw Stumpy nubs video about kick backs.

He was saying that way more people get injured that way.


Glad that it was not worse and I hope you heal up fast lardy1.

 

[CRSINMICH]

1915 Luther Post Drill Renovation
​

This has been on the To-Do list for a long time. It was just wire brushing and a coating of light oil. The woodworking part was making the post look like a section of vintage rough-sawn timber. TIP: The rough side of a Shinto Rasp run across the grain does a good job of making new, dimensional lumber look rough-sawn. The other woodworking part was making a new handle. It wasn't exactly fine woodworking but it was enjoyable.

 

[CRSINMICH]

JAMES SWAN BORING MACHINE
(I expected this to be finished soon after the LUTHER Post Drill posted above but problems arose)
​

This was mostly going to be a clean up until I discovered that it had been "fixed" sometime in the past. Correcting the fix took some fiddling. I made a mock up of the wood base and tried insetting the arched guides. It turned out to be unnecessary and unhelpful. In the end, I just put it back together in about the same way it came to me. My main contributions were the wood spacer seen behind the bit and new brass wing nuts. The spacer helped keep the uprights from bowing inwards when the wing nuts were tightened. Oh yeah, I also got lucky that a Williams 584 wrench that had been banging around the shop for a few years fit the set screw on the chuck. I knew I'd find a use for it someday.

​

 

[ez-duzit]

Recent photo of me installing a teak interior in a 36' power boat.

 

[CRSINMICH]

ez: After looking closely at the photo you posted, I realized that the horizontal slats on the slanted panel line up with the vertical slats on the side panel. That couldn't have been accidental nor could it have been easily done. That is some exceptional attention to detail! Well done!

 

[ez-duzit]

ez: After looking closely at the photo you posted, I realized that the horizontal slats on the slanted panel line up with the vertical slats on the side panel. That couldn't have been accidental nor could it have been easily done. That is some exceptional attention to detail! Well done!

Thanks for the undeserved praise, but the effect is purely accidental, as the forward bulkhead is an 1/8" teak veneered ply which I had previously installed.

BTW, this project was an effort to upgrade an interior which had originally been covered in a combination of carpeting and vinyl, which is so easy to install over multiple compound curves. Those solid teak battens were glued onto the hull's interior fiberglass surface using that WEST epoxy 6Ten, and held in place with spots of hot glue until the epoxy cured.

 

[johnre]

Recent creation for a grandson, he's into large trucks and saw one of these. I did this from a side photo only of a real one, beefing it up as needed to make it more four-year-old proof. Euro beech, hard maple, and Jatoba, with a buffing and carnauba finish, which I prefer for toys as kids will be putting them into their mouths:



An earlier interest of his was dinosaurs; these five were the some of the first things I did for them:

New contributor, old member

As the title says, I've been a member a while, but never chose to post anything. I have gone in and searched out specific information about shop configurations and floor plans - more on that later - and found some posts quite useful. So thanks, anonymous members! I do have a small, real...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Jgaz]

Recent creation for a grandson, he's into large trucks and saw one of these. I did this from a side photo only of a real one, beefing it up as needed to make it more four-year-old proof. Euro beech, hard maple, and Jatoba, with a buffing and carnauba finish, which I prefer for toys as kids will be putting them into their mouths:



An earlier interest of his was dinosaurs; these five were the some of the first things I did:

New contributor, old member

As the title says, I've been a member a while, but never chose to post anything. I have gone in and searched out specific information about shop configurations and floor plans - more on that later - and found some posts quite useful. So thanks, anonymous members! I do have a small, real...

www.garagejournal.com

Beautiful work

 

[CRSINMICH]

When my nephew got married last year, I built a clock for the happy couple (see post #7395). This year, his brother is getting married so another clock was needed. Both of them grew up in a house that my sister FILLED with nick-nacks, bric-a-brac and seasonal decorations. As a result, both of the boys want clean, sparse furnishings. This small clock has curved sides. I used leftover staves from the curved front cabinet I built (see post #7423).

I used a new-to-me tool called a shooting sander. It's meant to be used in a shooting board. It's one of those tools that are not really needed but when you have one it is a peach. As I mentioned, the sides of the face of the clock are curved. After gluing the staves together, I used the shooting sander to make the tops and bottoms flat and even. I then turned the staves so that the evened ends were against the fence of the shooting board and sanded the sides exactly perpendicular to the top and bottom. The same thing could have been done with a plane and a sharp blade. If you look closely at the picture of the shooting sander in action you'll see that the stock being shot is very thin. I think the sander handled that much easier than a plane would have especially on end grain.

 

[CRSINMICH]

HUMPTY DUMPTY Rocking Chair
​

This is an oldie from 2002. I made it for my son. I had to work from photos and measurements of a friend's chair. It had been built by her father when she was young.

Incidentally, these were some of the first digital photos I ever took. It was so long ago that I had to use an actual camera not a phone.