Woodworking 101--Tools and Tips

[ztorres]

Well over Christmas shut down I did some little projects. Just odd things using some scrap wood I had.

Just a pencil holder that can sit on any side and be used

A spice cellar

A cheese board


Two different holders - kind of just did these on a whim

A box I built to try out the dovetail jig I bought with half blind dovetails. Turned out pretty nicely

Another box I made to try out a corner miter jig I made.

Something I made to hold a dip can and has a line for cigar to rest. It's not a healthy habit but we all have our vices.

Then a bottle display center piece. My grandfather is turning some shot glasses for me that go with this. For me I like a good bourbon.


Zach

 

[ztorres]

Here recently I've noticed my table saw was cutting good cuts using the fence so I decided to build my own top that's larger and has no hole, and well have a better fence system. A little background about the table. It's a cheap, Menard's special. The motor is fine but the top and rail system are garbage for this type of work. What I did was I took a piece of 3/4" plywood and mounted to the top of the old top. To do this I squared it to the blade, drilled four holes - with a counter sink, for 1/2" bolts to secure it. The next thing I did was put a 1/4" piece of birch plywood over top that, its fastened to the 3/4" piece with about 30-40 screws. It has a zero clearance cut out for the blade. I've seen people do this a lot, but one thing I don't always see people do is add dados for jigs to go in. I made mine the same width as the original because I already have jigs made that are that width. The next step is to get some extruded aluminum and build the fence. I will give better detail about that when I build it. Here's how it sits now.

I am currently using some quick clamps and a straight piece of wood as a fence until I build the new one. I really like it so far. Wood slides through much more nicely and smoother now.


Zach

 

[jimreed2160]

ZT--Great little projects. And I really like the table saw upgrade. I also look at tools like kits. Some of them are a good start but need upgrades.

My wife often refers to my shop as "one of the great black holes of the universe. Tools go in. They are used to fix and make more tools. But nothing ever comes out."

 

[cheechi]

http://www.titebond.com/news_article/13-09-18/How_to_Store_Your_Wood_Glue_for_Longer_Life.aspx

So I picked up a bottle of Titebond III and I'm going to add it and the Gorilla to my collection of caulk tubes in the shop fridge.

I did reopen a tube of PL 375 that wasn't in the fridge, but that I had sealed with one of these and while it did rip the cap in half the tube is likely about 5 years old, was opened 4 years ago, and other than a little water in the tip was just like new. That's in the fridge now for what's left of its life.

 

[jimreed2160]

Gimlets

Woodworkers of yore could crank out pretty sophisticated projects with only a simple tool set. One tool that is common in old carpenter's chests are gimlets. They were the cordless drills of the day. Here is my set. My guess is that they were made around 1875.

There are three in this set. Each has a drill set into a rosewood handle and the tang is peened over a copper rivet.

The tip has a screw with an aggressive cut.

Let's see it in action. Here is a common sheetrock screw that needs a pilot.

Three turns and I am there.

It leaves a nice round hole.

And the screw drives in effortlessly.

Every ww needs a set of these because they are so handy. And they are not just tools of yore--you can find them at Walmart. A cordless drill set might set you back over $100 but a set of gimlets is less than $5. I would not want to build a deck using gimlets just as I would not want to use a heavy cordless drill overhead just to drill a pilot for smoke detector installation.

WW of yore understood wood. They knew that introducing a nail or screw into a board would ultimately lead to a crack unless they could find a way to relieve the pressure. Gimlets were the perfect answer. Anyone who had to walk to the jobsite carrying their own tools knew how to select tools carefully. For their size and cost, gimlets pack a powerful punch.

 

[Rickss96]

... but one thing I don't always see people do is add dados for jigs to go in. I made mine the same width as the original because I already have jigs made that are that width.

ztorres - Like your table saw top upgrade, I need to do something similar. Would like to know how you added the dados, router or what? And more importantly, how did you guarantee the dado slots run parallel to the zero clearance cut out?

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: just catching up a bit and loving the information on this thread. thanks to all of you that contribute and especially JIM for continuing to teach us about all these cool tools and how to use them.

Jim: bench top is looking great and i'm curious what oil you will use for the top. also wondering how you are going to finish off the ends. maybe with a trim piece out of your huge scrap inventory with a dense dark wood? thanks for telling me what the GIMLET was made for cause i have a few and rarely use them, but you are right a lot easier than finding a drill just to make a small hole. i always thought a Gimlet was a drink my parents liked to drink and can't exactly remember what was in it other than lime juice. cheers

TEEN: great to see you working on your lathe. sure we could use another thread for wood workers so if you want to host a wood lathe turning thread i'll try to stop in and see what you are up to. great job getting your little brother on the lathe and using it. I really like seeing the smile and especially the face guard. one thing i want you to invest in is good ear protection and until you get a good head set either buy some spongy ones or just use some cotton balls. not a one of the guys in our family can hear worth a damn cause we grew up not using ear protection and rarely used safety glasses much less full face shields. my gramps was a logger and other than his hard metal had and steel toed corks he just worked around chainsaws and very noisy machines and trucks and tools. keep up the great work and best of luck on your pen sales and that display you were thinking of building.

Z: good stuff

 

[Teenager with old tools]

TEEN: great to see you working on your lathe. sure we could use another thread for wood workers so if you want to host a wood lathe turning thread i'll try to stop in and see what you are up to. great job getting your little brother on the lathe and using it. I really like seeing the smile and especially the face guard. one thing i want you to invest in is good ear protection and until you get a good head set either buy some spongy ones or just use some cotton balls. not a one of the guys in our family can hear worth a damn cause we grew up not using ear protection and rarely used safety glasses much less full face shields. my gramps was a logger and other than his hard metal had and steel toed corks he just worked around chainsaws and very noisy machines and trucks and tools. keep up the great work and best of luck on your pen sales and that display you were thinking of building.

I never thought of the wood lathe as loud, but I wear my ear protection that I use when we go shooting when using the big Sheldon metal lathe we have and when grinding. I think the first post when I make that thread will be making my socket chisel handle



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ztorres]

ztorres - Like your table saw top upgrade, I need to do something similar. Would like to know how you added the dados, router or what? And more importantly, how did you guarantee the dado slots run parallel to the zero clearance cut out?

I used a router to cut these out; however, you could just cut the top pieces and do the spacing using separate pieces. I guarantee those slots are parallel through the perpendicularity of the front face of the new top. How I did this was by mounting the new top on as close to square as an eyeball can get. I mount everything so it's stable, from here I take a straight edge place it along the edge of the saw blade. Quick note here that the zero clearance cut has been made already. With the straight edge touching the blade I put the level on straight edge, and get that leveled. Next I go in about 1/2" from the current front edge and use a 90* angle and draw a line on both sides of the straight edge. Then I take another straight edge and lay it across that line and check its levelness, and ensure the perpendicularity of the two straight edges. With a line made out from this process I make a cut with a small kerfed blade on my circular saw and finish of with a flush trim bit in the router. I ran a test cut and measured the angularity of the cut - which 0* is desirable, but I got a 0.5* on a 24" piece. This may be caused by my make shift "fence" I'm using is probably not straight enough.

 

[VoodooCLD]

Jim,

Thanks for explaining the differences in a scrub plane! I always wondered what the trick to removing lots of wood with a hand plane was.

 

[jimreed2160]

Jim,

Thanks for explaining the differences in a scrub plane! I always wondered what the trick to removing lots of wood with a hand plane was.

I appreciate your comment. Visitors to internet ww sites often post questions like this:
"I have a spare #5 plane. Can I camber the blade and use it as a scrub."

These posts generate lots of speculation and chatter with widely varying opinions. The only problem is that most ww have never used a scrub plane as it is intended. A little experience with a real scrub plane would answer that question with a quick "NO!" That is because a #5 with a cambered blade will always be a #5 with a rounded over blade. The typical Stanley Bailey blade is 1/16 to 5/64 thick. Even with a cap iron, it is pretty flimsy and unable to withstand the brutal forces of scrubbing. Sure you can remove high spots with it, but you cannot really scrub.

In use, a scrub plane is more like a hatchet or chisel. It removes big gouts of wood in short coarse splinters. And that is only reasonable way I know to work over wood. Scrub first and finish second.

 

[jimreed2160]

Workbench top continued

Someday soon I will finish this top. At this point, the bottom is done and level. The top has been leveled with the scrub plane and it needs to be smoothed out.

This is a job for the LN #7.

Here are the shavings from the first two boards.

I can't reach over it to plane the back boards so I spun it around.

When your shaving is the full width of the blade and is transparent, then your plane is set up properly.

Remember that the back two boards have reddish highlights. Here are the pink shavings on top of the others.

And here is the fully planed top. Be aware that it is construction lumber. I counted at least 29 knots. So this top will never be as slick as glass. I just want it flat and welcome to the touch.

Here are the boys that did the heavy lifting on the finish work.

I used the #608 for the bottom because the #608 blade has a heavy camber. It did leave slight ridges but that will help keep the bottom from rocking. I used the #7 for the top because that blade is straight and leaves a flatter finish. Here are the two blades side by side. The #7 is on the left.

Here is the cambered #608 blade. It is hard to photograph without shadows but the curve can be seen.

The #7 blade is finished a bit differently. Unless your blade is perfectly straight, the low corner will dig into the wood and leave a track. These corner tracks can be a bother and usually have to be sanded out. That kinda defeats the purpose of using a finish plane. The old timers had a fix. They softened the corner of their finishing plane blades. It must be done carefully or the blade will dish out the cut. Here is a close up of the #7 corner. I photographed it next to a straight edge for a reference.

I sharpened this blade straight but when I honed it, I drug it across the sandpaper and put pressure on the corner. First one and then the other. A few swipes removed the sharp corner transition and rounded it over. Having rounded corners does not affect use of the plane for jointing since the corners never come into play. But for smoothing, the rounded corners are great because they leave no tracks.

Now back to the benchtop. I plan to finish it with the random orbital sander. It is, after all, just construction lumber and I want it to be smooth without splinters.

I ran a few passes with coarse and then fine grit. Now it feels good.

The right hand side is even and square. Any slight defects will be concealed by the a backsplash. The left hand side, however, looks a little rugged.

So it is time for some trimming.

Notice the new Starrett framing square. This is an example of why you need multiples of some tools. I misplaced the Sargent square but found this one while I was looking for it. Multiple tools saves time.

I did a little touch up sanding on the raw end. Now the top is ready to proceed.

Next up is a little backsplash work. The end is in sight. Thanks for your patience as I drag this project along.

 

[VoodooCLD]

Jim what are the dimensions of your ulmia workbench?

 

[jimreed2160]

Jim what are the dimensions of your ulmia workbench?

It is 23 3/4 wide x 72 5/8 long
plus the full width end vise adds 3 7/8 more length
It stands 34 3/8 high

The bench is a little large for my usual projects, but its size is welcome when I have a big project like this benchtop.

 

[Rickss96]

I used a router to cut these out; however, you could just cut the top pieces and do the spacing using separate pieces. I guarantee those slots are parallel ...

Zach - thanks for the explanation. Think I understand how and sure looks like you spent some time laying out the cuts accurately before making them.
A long time ago I had problems with an old table saw when using its miter gauge. Kept getting burnt edges on some cuts. Finally decided to re-align the table slots to the blade to see if that helped. Used a dial indicator from the automotive/mechanical side of the garage. Got the slots aligned to within 0.001" across the face of a 10" blade which I estimate the error to be less than 0.4*. Problems went away!
Your post forced me to think about how to make slots like that. Thanks again for the insight.

 

[jimreed2160]

Laser dermo treatment tomorrow means 48 hours of darkness for me. I will be recliner bound. My computer is beside a window so I guess I can post at night. Time for all of you other ww to take up the slack.

 

[ztorres]

I thought I might make a handful of key boxes — 8-10 roughly. I decided to try three different corner styles: 45° miter cuts, a piece with an inset 45° router cut, and a lap joint. The lap joints didn't work the way I wanted to because I have a cheap bandsaw that sends me right over the edge. A note to everyone, don't save money and buy cheap, save your money up and buy nice. With my table saw down momentarily my 45° cuts are ****. Then I decided to use a chamfer bit on the router to make the inset boxes and I took the tip of my finger off real nicely. Need to discuss router safety later. I cut all of my pieces to length; wood is maple, oak, and hickory. The next step was to cut dados out for the floor of the boxes. Then I cut the respective corners. Then glue up. For the 45° chamfer pieces I put a square piece on the corners to "spruce" it up a bit with some alder.
After all the cuts

A quick rough assembly

The chamfer cornered boxes

The 45° miter boxes


No pictures of the lap joints because I need to figure out how to make it work better


Zach

 

[Corndoggeh]

I have a question: What do you folks feel is a good price point for individual molding planes? I've seen multiple unique looking ones that I've been wanting to get at antique fairs and can't get solid info on them whether what I am seeing is at a good price.

 

[ez-duzit]

Received 2 new scraper planes, today, from a great seller on wood.net. Very impressed with the Lie Nielsen workmanship. The small bronze one, in particular, I hope to help me with trimming solid edge banding on veneered plywood.

 

[Teenager with old tools]

squared up the top of the wood jaws they were off 1/16 but I had to take off 3/16 getting the hang of it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ALinCarolina]

Received 2 new scraper planes, today, from a great seller on wood.net. Very impressed with the Lie Nielsen workmanship. The small bronze one, in particular, I hope to help me with trimming solid edge banding on veneered plywood.

Nice score EZ. Most of my newer planes are LN, they make a great product. Let us know how they work once you get them tuned up.

 

[ez-duzit]

Right away I tested the larger one on a piece of ash and it shaved off about 0.001" so nicely! Can't believe I've waited so long for one of these. They will add a lot of capability to my woodworking and ease the arthritis pain from using a plain cabinet scraper.

Unlike many other planes, like Stanley, all the sharp edges have been rounded where they would normally bight into your hands. Gotta tell you I am extremely pleased with this choice.

They will be so useful for surfacing inlays such as custom made teak and holly (made from teak-veneered plywood), where the inlay stands a little proud after gluing.

 

[mefast]

Hello everyone. I finally made it through all of the 62 pages, but what a nice wealth of knowledge.

As an introduction, I've always been better at wood working than metal work, mainly because that was the tool and materials my dad had at home. Even in high school, we had large woodworking shops, but the auto room had been removed to build a drama classroom. During that time I learned a great number of tricks. However, life seems to take over and I've been away from true woodworking for too long (I don't count construction/framing as woodworking).

Since my fiance and I have bought our house, we've slowly been collecting tools. While not as vintage or likely to last as long as those used in this thread, it should at least get me going again.

The large tools include a jobsite table saw, compound sliding miter saw, combo (fixed and plunge) router, jigsaw and random orbital sander. In addition, I have most of the basic mechanic and construction tools (corded/cordless drills, clamps, sockets, hammers, levels, grinders, etc).

To get back into ww, my plan is to start with a simple maple shelf for the front mud room and go up from there. This weekend is supposed to be above freezing, so hopefully I can make a bit of progress to post up here.

Thanks again for the great resource and motivation and sorry for the long winded intro!

 

[ztorres]

Here's a tip:
Don't try to push the waste from a cut through the table saw with your hand. The blade will **** the waste in along with your finger. It's common sense but sometimes you forget. I just did it today and cut the tip of my finger off. I knew better. Your number one goal should be to stay safe.


Zach

 

[ez-duzit]

...Don't try to push the waste from a cut through the table saw with your hand...

The waste should always be on the side of the blade opposite the fence and should never need to be "pushed through".

 

[ztorres]

The waste should always be on the side of the blade opposite the fence and should never need to be "pushed through".

This is true only reason I pushed waste through was that I was making multiple cuts and piece were vibrating towards the blade and I didn't want them to fly back. It was a rookie mistake and is inexcusable


Zach

 

[ez-duzit]

As I understand it, then, you were shortening pieces an equal amount by running the ends against the fence while pushing the piece using a miter gauge. It is basic table saw safety to NEVER do this!

Instead, you would clamp a thick piece of stock to the fence such that the work piece leaves the false fence PRIOR to coming into contact with the blade. That way the off-cut cannot get jammed between the blade and the fence.

 

[ztorres]

So this is what I was doing:
this was the cut I was making
I pushed this through because I had a pile that looked like this
Any way I look at it it was dumb, I knew better and didn't think about it


Zach

 

[drivesitfar]

Z: OUCH!!

EZ: nice tools

ALL: i finally had a chance to pick up this old Craftsman Heritage 1948 table saw. anybody own and use one of these. prior owner had an accident just before i showed up and broke off the handle that locks the fence down. anybody know a good fix for it. at this point i need to just get the fence off and need to take a close look at it, but thought i'd ask. i might have a replacement handle in storage on an old saw's fence to put on this saw that looks like new (to me anyway).

i'm also eventually going to build this saw into a bench and lose the stand so anybody have pictures of their old saws with tables built around them to show off?

thanks

 

[turbowoodworker]

Z,
Sorry to hear about your injury. Just a reminder that even the experienced make mistakes.
Be careful out there.

 

[dirt_dobber]

Z: OUCH!!

EZ: nice tools

ALL: i finally had a chance to pick up this old Craftsman Heritage 1948 table saw. anybody own and use one of these. prior owner had an accident just before i showed up and broke off the handle that locks the fence down. anybody know a good fix for it. at this point i need to just get the fence off and need to take a close look at it, but thought i'd ask. i might have a replacement handle in storage on an old saw's fence to put on this saw that looks like new (to me anyway).

i'm also eventually going to build this saw into a bench and lose the stand so anybody have pictures of their old saws with tables built around them to show off?

thanks

That's a real nice saw - it looks in great shape.

 

[ez-duzit]

I like the motor--1hp ball bearing.

 

[Shiftless]

Z:
Ouch! Think though it could have been a LOT worse. Thanks for sharing with everybody to remind us of the consequences of careless acts.

Drives:
Great saw you picked up. I have one just like it that I inherited from my FIL who bought it new. You might consider a modification that my FIL did on his. Think about the hazards of reaching over or walking around a running blade to switch off the motor. I suggest mounting another switch right under the table in the FRONT of the saw.

 

[jimreed2160]

Wow. Lots of action here. The laser treatment left my face looking like a big tomato. I am hoping for some shop time today.

ZT--Like your boxes and sorry to hear about the cutoff injury. Ouch! My OCD tells me to clean up the table immediately and that can lead to trouble. It is instinctive and hard to control. I finally just let it go. BUT with a rule--I can clean offcuts anytime but NOT with my fingers. The same OCD that compels me to clean off the table ALSO enforces the NO FINGER rule. So I keep a long, thin offcut stick around that I use to flick offcuts and scraps from saw tables.

Corn--Good luck with your moulding planes. I have a few myself. There are many different types out there. Just think of them mostly as router bits. As for price, that is all over the board and depends on type and condition. Here are some price guidelines. For planes with damage or missing blades--$10. For as-found average planes--$20. For planes in sets--$30 each. Add for snipe planes, wide moulders, or famous makers.

EZ--Nice scraper planes.

Teen--Outstanding shavings.

Me--Welcome and don't forget to post those project pictures.

Drives--Nice saw. You can probably kludge or find parts to fix the fence. Tables look backward to me. I like to stand to the left. But those are easy to move. And I totally agree on the switch. Put a large paddle switch on the front.

 

[dlcwent]

I'm glad your eye surgery is behind you Jim. I just wanted to let all you ww guys know that Lie Nielson https://www.lie-nielsen.com is just a few miles from me and if I can help you in any way (pick up, send, go take pictures of a tool) let me know.

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: thanks for stopping in and giving me some Kudos and a tip on the switch. i actually was planning on putting maybe this on off switch on this saw cause i saw the issue when the seller turned it on from behind. if you have any pictures of your saw and how you have it set up or pictures of how you want to set it up please post them. i'd like to build this little saw into a bench, but currently don't have the space for that style of bench.

Jim: Happy to hear your eye surgery went ok!!

i'm wondering since the motor and on off switch was as the back of the saw if the prior owner that didn't use this saw much actually used it from behind. i know the blade would be spinning the wrong direction, but would it still cut? i've already taken the cast iron wings off for now and saw is going into storage until i can get one of these switches and maybe build some sort of bench or stand for it out of wood or i guess i could use it's metal stand and just find a way to mount the switch on it. i'd like to be able to hit the off switch with my knee if possible.

ALL: so not many of us have the funds to spend on a SAW STOP TABLESAW, but it is one way to have a safer saw and here's the video. one of the designers is a friend of mine and a GJ member here, but i'm only posting for safety reasons and not for marketing. also showing a couple finger injuries that are worse than Z's and they might have known better too. in all my years i've figured out a way to cut my wood and lumber without a table saw so hopefully i know enough now to use one safely.

ok back to making shavings and sawdust everybody and do it safely!!

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: i've seen some better ideas than these so wondering if any of you have a bench you love with a table and maybe a compound miter saw in it to show me (us)?

TGIF!!

 

[bj383ss]

Hello everyone. I finally made it through all of the 62 pages, but what a nice wealth of knowledge.

As an introduction, I've always been better at wood working than metal work, mainly because that was the tool and materials my dad had at home. Even in high school, we had large woodworking shops, but the auto room had been removed to build a drama classroom. During that time I learned a great number of tricks. However, life seems to take over and I've been away from true woodworking for too long (I don't count construction/framing as woodworking).

Since my fiance and I have bought our house, we've slowly been collecting tools. While not as vintage or likely to last as long as those used in this thread, it should at least get me going again.

The large tools include a jobsite table saw, compound sliding miter saw, combo (fixed and plunge) router, jigsaw and random orbital sander. In addition, I have most of the basic mechanic and construction tools (corded/cordless drills, clamps, sockets, hammers, levels, grinders, etc).

To get back into ww, my plan is to start with a simple maple shelf for the front mud room and go up from there. This weekend is supposed to be above freezing, so hopefully I can make a bit of progress to post up here.

Thanks again for the great resource and motivation and sorry for the long winded intro!

Welcome and post up pics of your shop and projects when you get time.

Bret

 

[acer66]

ALL: i've seen some better ideas than these so wondering if any of you have a bench you love with a table and maybe a compound miter saw in it to show me (us)?

TGIF!!

I might copy the first one with some tweaks, thanks for sharing.

 

[Craptain]

Drives. Do you plan on having just one bench that will include the saw? I ask because I am the kind of person that would clutter up the bench and not be able to use the saw. So I keep my saw as a mobile unit.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk