Woodworkers Thread

[throwittoblythe]

Thank you! Those are some great ideas. I haven't had the need to make many of these cuts in the past and just don't know what I'll be making in the future that I couldn't do on a table saw. As you mentioned though, long cuts on sheets would be great though. I hadn't thought of that, especially if I'm building shelving.

I'm too nervous about messing up what will be an expensive amount of wood. My plan is to do a small mock up before hand to practice/test the steps needed before I dive into the big boards. I want to practice all the cuts, assembly, finish, etc.

As for future projects I have to make an arbor for our wedding, custom desk for home office, pergola over the patio, then eventually finish the basement. I love the idea of being able to custom build the shelving/cabinets for the basement as I go.

All great stuff! I got started in woodworking about 6 years ago when we bought a house that needed some love. I Forest Gumped my way through several DIY projects as well as woodworking projects. It's always good to plan out the project in detail, especially the first time. I usually start with a pretty good idea of what I want to do. I draw it up in sketch-up, and then modify the design as I go through the build. It's usually a start-stop project flow because I'll run into something I'm not sure of, so then I have to stop, do some research, and figure out a solution. I like your approach of taking it slow to figure out each step.

The great thing about wood is you can always buy more. It sucks to ruin a piece or re-make something because you screwed it up, but it's pretty hard to totally ruin a large volume of wood in one shot.

I will add that in terms of cutting things on a table saw...getting everything straight can be tough. Especially if you're feeding long pieces into the saw. Any errant force applied to the work piece in the wrong direction gives you a blade burn or gouge. If I can, I cut pieces cross-wise first before feeding them into the saw, but in your case with a table, you can't really do that. Plus, if you're trying to cut down a live slab of walnut, you're going to need a straight edge to work with at the start. That takes you right back to the problem you started with.

Good luck! Post pictures when you're done!

 

[throwittoblythe]

If I were going to the work and expense of building a nice, large, table out of walnut, I would REALLY want to run the boards being glued together for the top through a jointer. Perhaps I'm underestimating the performance of newer track saw setups, but I just can't see it being precise enough to get a tight glue joint over a kitchen table length when you're raking small blade teeth vertically across the glue surface. You need those joints to be perfectly 90 so the top is flat, and perfectly straight over the full length so you don't have gaps.

This is a great thought I hadn't considered. I'm going to be making a small butcher block top for a sideboard table. It'll be 4 ft x 1 ft wide. I'm planning to rip down the boards on the table saw and see how they line up face-wise. My fallback is to flatten the face with a router sled and sanding, if they aren't close enough when I've ripped them down.

 

[DJSteve]

Here's a few pics of a couple of my recent projects.

This is a learning tower for nephew to stand on to "help" in the kitchen. This was built more for function than beauty, so was made primarily out of stuff I had around (most of the structure was a fir 2x10, plus some 1x12 and a scrap piece of oak veneer ply for the platform because that was easier than gluing something up). Horizontal pieces are doweled into the legs with pocket screws on the bottom side of the larger ones (hidden) to provide some mechanical reinforcement. The platform has cleats on the bottom that keep it from moving side to side and can be adjusted to sit on any of the lower horizontal cross pieces depending on the height desired. Stained to vaguely match kitchen cabinets and topcoated with outdoor poly so it can be wiped down.


This is my adaptation on a nested truck toy I saw in a souvenir shop several years ago. The other toys I've seen of this style had sort of weird-shaped cars as the nested pieces.... nephew is really into trucks of all types so I figured out a way to do something more in that vein, and also have the trailer be a true flatbed (instead of a weird U shape) so it can haul matchbox cars, 1/64 tractors, etc. The semi cab and nested parts were cut out of a single piece of white oak. Accent band is walnut that my grandpa had sawn years ago (like mid-90s) from trees that grew on his farm. Sanded to 180 with a random orbit and finished with a $1.99 bottle of medical grade mineral oil from Target (which seemed like the best / cheapest / easiest way to get a truly nontoxic finish that would be easy to touch up if needed).

 

[DJSteve]

This is a great thought I hadn't considered. I'm going to be making a small butcher block top for a sideboard table. It'll be 4 ft x 1 ft wide. I'm planning to rip down the boards on the table saw and see how they line up face-wise. My fallback is to flatten the face with a router sled and sanding, if they aren't close enough when I've ripped them down.

I might suggest spending some quality time on YouTube watching videos about jointing without a jointer. I'm not an authority on the subject but I think there are some techniques out there (most of the ones I've seen use sort of "trick" to help make inaccuracies complimentary--so if edges aren't perfect 90, you have 89 against 91 that will glue up flat). Butcher block will probably be a little more forgiving than wide boards, though, because narrow strips will likely flex some when you clamp them.

 

[AgronAlum]

If I were going to the work and expense of building a nice, large, table out of walnut, I would REALLY want to run the boards being glued together for the top through a jointer. Perhaps I'm underestimating the performance of newer track saw setups, but I just can't see it being precise enough to get a tight glue joint over a kitchen table length when you're raking small blade teeth vertically across the glue surface. You need those joints to be perfectly 90 so the top is flat, and perfectly straight over the full length so you don't have gaps.

If a jointer isn't in the cards, I think a router would give you a better chance of success than a circular saw. The only way I see a circular saw / track saw being maybe good enough is if you clamp boards down to a flat surface side-by-side and make the final cut down the joint, so you're cutting both sides of the joint at the same time and there is some hope that imperfections cancel out.

IMO, for edge gluing something like a table top biscuits are way better than dowels. Far far faster, and very precise vertically to help with alignment of the joint so the top ends up flat (while having some wiggle room horizontally so small inaccuracies that way don't create big problems). Where dowels are useful is creating strong corner joints (like between horizontal stringers and legs) without the hassle of mortise and tenons. The domino machines look awesome if you have money to burn.

One hundred percent agree and why I suggested using a router. In my experience (as someone without a jointer) it’s a lot easier to get that perfect 90 for glue up compared to a circular saw. I have a Freud HD flush trim bit for doing this stuff and it has the length and strength for 8/4 material.

Another recommendation is to do the glue up before cutting down to final size. Leave at least a few inches of excess and trim as needed.

 

[AgronAlum]

Yup I'm looking at something similar. I had some of the same fears in regards to gaps etc. I had contemplated doing an epoxy/life edge build but the lady doesn't like that look at all.



The slabs I've found are S2S. I think I may have actually gotten that trim bit idea from one of your posts now that I think of it! I don't have formal plans yet but would likely be around 1.5" for the table top. I've seen the bar clamps and was eying some from Harbor Freight. But if Rockler are on sale often then I'd lean on going that route.



Thank you! Those are some great ideas. I haven't had the need to make many of these cuts in the past and just don't know what I'll be making in the future that I couldn't do on a table saw. As you mentioned though, long cuts on sheets would be great though. I hadn't thought of that, especially if I'm building shelving.

I'm too nervous about messing up what will be an expensive amount of wood. My plan is to do a small mock up before hand to practice/test the steps needed before I dive into the big boards. I want to practice all the cuts, assembly, finish, etc.

As for future projects I have to make an arbor for our wedding, custom desk for home office, pergola over the patio, then eventually finish the basement. I love the idea of being able to custom build the shelving/cabinets for the basement as I go.

They were just one sale again for 17 bucks I think a couple days ago. Ten foot black pipe is threaded already at both ends so just cut in half and you’ve got 5’ bar clamps. I’ve got about 10 on them that get used pretty frequently.

 

[JP4CY]

Looks like Kreg came out with some new stuff
https://www.kregtool.com/shop/new/

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Inside or outside corners? I am a firm believer in coping the inside corners, especially in an old house (easier than figuring out the angles. I also would recommend a compound miter saw. Saves so much time, and if its something you will use for any type of project in the future it is well worth the investment.

Outside corners are a little more annoying, if its not a true 90 you need to do a little trial and error, and every corner will be different.

Not many people cope anymore. I'm fairly young in the finish carpentry world and I like it but it takes longer.

 

[AllInForISU]

Not many people cope anymore. I'm fairly young in the finish carpentry world and I like it but it takes longer.

It’s unfortunate. I think it looks nicer when you finish. What do people do in older non-square houses if they have to put in trim? I mostly just do trim in the houses I’ve owned to update it and I’ve always coped.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

It’s unfortunate. I think it looks nicer when you finish. What do people do in older non-square houses if they have to put in trim? I mostly just do trim in the houses I’ve owned to update it and I’ve always coped.

After you have been doing it long enough you can eyeball most angles within a few degrees. I piss my boss off weekly eyeballing measurements within a quarter inch lol.

 

[AgronAlum]

Looks like Kreg came out with some new stuff
https://www.kregtool.com/shop/new/

I don’t see a lot new there. The cross cut station for a circ saw might be alright when you don’t want to bring a miter box somewhere but couldn’t see using it on a regular basis at all.

 

[Pat]

It’s unfortunate. I think it looks nicer when you finish. What do people do in older non-square houses if they have to put in trim? I mostly just do trim in the houses I’ve owned to update it and I’ve always coped.

Well-coped corners 100% look better, but I (probably due to lack of practice) had a bear of a time trying to accurately cut the pre-finished base that I’m currently putting in. I can eyeball the angle pretty closely, and fill in any gaps with matching putty. It takes a fraction of the time, and, based on the work that was there before, no one is going to notice until it’s time to take out my work.

 

[mramseyISU]

I don’t see a lot new there. The cross cut station for a circ saw might be alright when you don’t want to bring a miter box somewhere but couldn’t see using it on a regular basis at all.

Looks like a lot of styling upgrades but nothing that would make me want to run out and buy a new pocket hole jig.

 

[AgronAlum]

Looks like a lot of styling upgrades but nothing that would make me want to run out and buy a new pocket hole jig.

After using the small two hole 35 dollar one for as long as I have, I can’t see ever running out and buying a new one. I think a bigger one would be more difficult to use. I see it as a PITA to bring the stock to the jig instead of the jig to the stock. I’m not a “pocket hole everything” type of person though.

 

[qwerty]

Finished up my most recent project over the weekend: shop storage/cabinets. Built these all from a stack of plywood and pine. Even made the drawer slides out of oak. We moved to a new place last year and while it has an enormous third stall that makes for an amazing woodshop, it had no storage. Between this and the pegboard, I am much, much more organized and efficient. They are far from perfect, but they are functional. I also now have a huge respect for cabinet builders!

View attachment 81444

Nice try but we can see the Shawshank prison buildings through the windows. What are you in for? Running a router bit CW around the perimeter instead of CCW?

 

[throwittoblythe]

Nice try but we can see the Shawshank prison buildings through the windows. What are you in for? Running a router bit CW around the perimeter instead of CCW?

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. But hope can drive a man crazy.

 

[AllInForISU]

After using the small two hole 35 dollar one for as long as I have, I can’t see ever running out and buying a new one. I think a bigger one would be more difficult to use. I see it as a PITA to bring the stock to the jig instead of the jig to the stock. I’m not a “pocket hole everything” type of person though.

I thought the same thing until I got the bigger one when I upgraded my shop and was able to mount it to a workbench. It is amazing.

 

[JM4CY]

I thought the same thing until I got the bigger one when I upgraded my shop and was able to mount it to a workbench. It is amazing.

What kind of jig do you have?

I started using my kreg HD jig more because that one can be clamped on to the material making it wayeasier to put pocket holes in certain things. I’m a novice at best though and don’t have a lot of skills yet in regards to joinery.

 

[mramseyISU]

I thought the same thing until I got the bigger one when I upgraded my shop and was able to mount it to a workbench. It is amazing.

I bought a Kreg K4 jig a few years back after having one of the clamp on ones. I almost never use the clamp on one anymore. When you have a bunch of holes to drill like when you’re attaching a face frame to a cabinet it’s super fast.

 

[Primetime26]

Anyone in here ever have a laser alignment system go out of a saw? Got a Ryobi 10" slider from a friend as they are moving and didn't want it.

The laser turns on, but is not bright enough to show on the board. If I turn the lights out, I can just barely see the line.

I see they make bolt on ones, any experience with those?