The Wood Workers Thread

System_1 · June 20, 2009, 6:13am

Holy F***

Was looking at grabbing a set of bench planes since I figured they’d come in handy… good god $300+ for just one.

I don’t doubt they’re worth it but geez, any more “economical” solutions that work decent enough?

ecKsniNe · June 20, 2009, 6:18am

Well, the table saw wobble isnt as bad as you think dude. The cuts are cleaner than a miter saw if you have a good table saw. also, my miter gauge has a clamp on it, they sell ones that do, so that helps a lot too. I can tell you from the mass production of boxes I have done that the table saw makes cleaner cuts, and my table saw is VERY old and its pretty shitty. If you had a new one that was good, like in the 700 dollar range you would have it made in the shade dude.

ecKsniNe · June 20, 2009, 6:20am

I’m assuming that we are talking about 90 degree cuts, right?

System_1 · June 20, 2009, 6:27am

Indeed we are.

I’m going to have to give it a shot then, getting excited :lovin:

ecKsniNe · June 20, 2009, 6:29am

Yeah man, if you get a table saw, there are some cheap ways to square up the blade to the miter gauge track without buying anything special. If you want some really leet calibration shit, check out woodpeckers.

System_1 · June 20, 2009, 6:37am

I’ve already got a tablesaw, nothing special but it does what I need it to for the most part. Used to build the boxes without one way back when I first started and it’s so much easier to do the control pannel with one now

I’ll check that out, never heard of it before :tup:

Kaytrim_s_Kustoms · June 20, 2009, 6:57am

To make a cross cut square using handplanes you need something called a shooting board. Here another podcaster Matt Vanderlist has some video episodes showing how to make and use a shooting board. 301 302 304 305

Where did you see $300 for one bench plane??? You can get some decent ones for cheeper. Go with the WoodRiverplanes at Woodcraft. Or the new Stanley Premimumplanes, the #62 low angle jack plane will give you the best bang for your buck. You can have a few different irons (blades) at different angles depending on the task you need. The stock blade should be great for a shooting plane.

Michael

ecKsniNe · June 20, 2009, 7:01am

Here bro. Heres a gauge with a clap for a reasonable price.

http://www.amazon.com/MLCS-9456-Clamping-Miter-Gauge/dp/B000VJD1YW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1245467049&sr=8-3

Kaytrim_s_Kustoms · June 20, 2009, 7:07am

That one won’t do too well. You need one with a decient length fence like this one.

System_1 · June 20, 2009, 7:18am

Checking out those gauge’s right now.

I’m really just looking for a plane(s) that’ll take a rough sawn edge to straight and smooth, (not nessisarily finish ready per-say, just smooth) and something that I can use like your post above with a shooting board to get perfect 90degree cuts. Only problem is the wood I work with is about 2" thick… I’d assume if I had a plane with less than a 2" iron it’d complicate things?

Edit: Oh wow, I didn’t even know those gauge clamp things existed… I assume you just slide the gauge in the slot, clamp the wood and slide it through? Damn I’ve just been sliding the wood agaisn’t the clamp down fence all this time keeping it as smooth and steady as possible

CaptnAmerica · June 20, 2009, 7:36am

Thank you. I secretly admire many professional builder’s cases including yours. How should I describe your joysticks/cases?

Ah, one member as I recall said, “ecks is secks.”

I would have to agree.

ecKsniNe · June 20, 2009, 8:17am

Yeah, but it has slots for bolts so you can attach your own fences and jigs. That’s what I do anyway.

ecKsniNe · June 20, 2009, 8:19am

haha. Well, now you know man! It’s great for polycarb too because as I am sure you know, interesting things can happen with that stuff on a table saw if you wiggle it the wrong way.

haha, thanks man! I appreciate it.

CaptnAmerica · June 20, 2009, 10:40am

Kaytrim_s_Kustoms:

Dowels do give a joint quite a bit of strength if done properly. Even with a doweling jig and center points it can be done wrong. I learned this the hard way. Make sure you label which piece goes for which side and which faces mate up. If you don’t you can end up with two left sides instead of a right and left. When I was done the frame was twisted and warped. Not at all something I wanted to sell. After that I went back to my miters. :lol:

Pocket screws are a good method of joining two pieces of wood. However due to the nature of MDF screws in general are not good. MDF is nice and heavy but not all that strong or dense. Plus MDF has no fiber structure for the screw to grab onto. As long as you do the pockets on the inside they are perfect for butt joints.

Michael

Michael, enlighten me noob -

Why are miter joint with glue stronger than butt joints with glue? Is it because more surface area for gluing or 45degree angle that the miter joint has?

Question to all:

Anyone know cheaper supplier of reversible USB gender changer than this link?
http://www.markertek.com/Cables-Connectors-Adapters/Data-Connectors-Adapters/USB-Adapters/Neutrik-USA-Inc/NAUSB.xhtml
I bought router guide bushing but the bushing protrudes longer than my liking. What is the best practice on filing down the guide bushing to about 1/4 inch?
Why do mad catz TE and HORI HRAP have the joystick shifted all the way to the right? (Bad for the left hand wrist when joystick controller centered on your lap. When you shift the controller to the left, now the controller sitting only on your left thigh.) When joystick is made not as long as Mad Catz TE or HORI HRAP in length, controller sitting in-between thighs. :wasted:
How do you position your router/table so you can make a neat corners as in this picture? http://www.joystickvault.com/showphoto.php?photo=1664

Thanks everyone! I hope to enhance my next joystick build. :lol:

Kaytrim_s_Kustoms · June 20, 2009, 4:43pm

The answer is a little bit of both. End grain is not give glue a good surface to adhere to. The best glue surface is long grain (the face of a board) With a 45 degree cross cut through the wood you are presenting long grain and end grain to the glue joint. There is also more surface area which adds strength as well.

I did a quick search for ‘Reversible USB Gender Changer Panel Mount’ and didn’t fine anyplace cheaper.

If the bushing is plastic then you can use a small saw or a file to cut it down. I’d cut it while it is in the router base plate.

don’t know:shake:

After the frame is assembled run the corner through the router table with one of the faces sitting on the table.

vma · June 20, 2009, 9:05pm

hey…it’s never been a question of smart vs dumb, some things you know, others you don’t:). Fact is, I’ve always hated when people monopolize knowledge, so I try to share what I can, when I think it’s relevant:).

just saw your pics…nice clean box:) - can’t wait to see it finished!

btw… “ecks is secks” - made my day…lol

ecKsniNe · June 20, 2009, 9:54pm

lol!

crazed · June 20, 2009, 11:13pm

Went to home depot today for the Ryobi/Makita sale. Was planning on only leaving with a Ryobi 3/8" VSR corded drill and Makita 7 & 1/4" rotary saw. I left with much more
I’m happy to get these tools but the price was painful:

Makita 5007N 7 & 1/4" rotary saw
DeWalt DWD115K 3/8" VSR drill
Freud 31.75mm (1 & 1/4") Forstner bit
Freud 7 & 1/4" 40 tooth diablo saw blade
A square that isn’t bent like that pos combination one I bought from CT
A triangle (not sure if that’s what it’s called, it’s like a square but one side is 45 degrees)
Two pieces of 1/2"x3"x3ft pine

Here are some pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207788.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207787.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207786.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207785.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207783.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207782.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207781.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207780.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/crazedmodder/Projects/Tools/Woodworking/th_P6207779.jpg

Since this was my first outing to Home-Depot I also got a chance to look at the drill presses and the table saws. Man those Ridgids are nice! The Ryobi drill presses are cool because they are bench/table presses not floor standing but I still want the Ridgid. It’s such a beast :hitit:

The Ridgid portable table saw isn’t as big as I thought, but at 80LBS is still heavy. I know once I bring it home it will seem much bigger than it did at the store though :nono: Plus I would have to get the rails I think (to make it support larger pieces of wood?) because the fence goes to 13" max from the blade. If I get a tablesaw I’ll be building subwoofer boxes and a bunch of other stuff too :bgrin:. 13" just isn’t nearly large enough :badboy:

Oh and they had one made by General there, a non-portable one. That thing was beautiful, nice and huge. If I had the space and change I would definitely buy one (or two ;)) of those.

vma · June 20, 2009, 11:24pm

hey crazed…it’s fun coming home with toys, ain’t it? enjoy!

I do agree with you on the Ridgid…it’s a nice machine, with more than ample capacity. HD here carries nothing from General. The next table saw up from mine was a nice Delta…huge cab version, but almost 1K! - I cringed…lol.

Well, carcass is clamped and I’m waiting for glue to dry;). I’m losing patience…lol.

CaptnAmerica · June 21, 2009, 1:10am

Does this mean build the controller box before routing?

thank you for your time michael. :tup: