Just wondering if any of you could help me out with some useful websites on the basics like different types of jointing etc.
I've used CAD programs before so designing the basic structure of what I'm building will be easy enough. (I'm going to *try* and build a bureau (cabinet with fold-down flap above that becomes a writing desk)
It really is just the simplest of things I have no idea about :o)
Many Thanks, Matt
There are entire books devoted just to joinery. R.J. DeCristaforo's book, The Complete Book of Wood Joinery(ISBN 0-8069-9950-0), all 300+ pages, is devoted just to joinery. You probably won't believe how many ways there are to stick two pieces of wood together so finding a website or a bunch of websites covering all the basic joints and their variations is probably an unrealtistic goal.
Suggest your local library or bookstore because you'll likely need hard copy to study.
But before you get to worrying about the various types of joints you might want to look into stock preparation first. Building things out of wood requires that you start with two parallel, flat faces and two straight, parallel edges, with the latter square to the former. What "looks" like it meets these criteria probably doesn't. The boards available at The Borg (Lowes. Home Depot etc.) often need some work to make them useable. It's difficult to make furniture that's basically a group of rectangles out of trapezoidal parts.
Here's some stuff I put together that'll give you an idea of what's involved in stock prep. (all one line)
Depending on whether you're a Normite (if it can't be done with a power tool, preferably a big heavy, expensive power tool, it can't be done) or a Neander/Follower of Roy (anything can be made using hand tools exclusively and tools with power cords are the work of the devil), you have a bit of learning to do. Neither handtools nor power tools automat- ically convert boards into furniture. And either can hurt you if used improperly. So add "tools, tool set up and use" to your pre-flight list of things to do - specifically the table saw, the joiner and the planer at a minimum.
Being able to make a drawing of something is a long ways away from being able to fabricate the parts to actually make the real thing. A "cabinet with fold-down flap above that becomes a writing desk" is probably not the ideal "early project". Maybe you want to scale back your first project just a bit. Perhaps a box with some compartments or maybe a drawer. I learned a great deal building a wall hanging tool cabinet using a modular approach. Because it was done in modules, the screw ups were limited to one module (at a time) and didn't jeapordize the whole thing. Here's the url to that appoach (all one line)
Welcome to the steep part of the learning curve.
It's the "simple things" that are often not mentioned in most books and videos on woodworking. Most seem to assume that you've acquired the very basics somewhere else. Here's the url to Jeff Gorman's site - he has a walth of info on fundamentals and "the simple" stuff.
Welcome to the steep part of the learning curve.
Good luck Matt and many happy years of discovery in this woodworking thing.
charlie b
(am starting to think this was a troll)
i'm sort of in the same boat as you, as being a newbie. but i've made several projects before in my youth that turned out great (simple box, not so simple chess table. i still have the chess table), and am a fairly competant draftsman in both vellum and cad. websites on woodworking i personally think are not better than the mountain of books on the subject. anyways. right now i'm buying up tools 2nd hand. i did a lot of reading though before i bought my first tool. what tools can make what joints. which tool can make several joints, etc. it gets expensive being a norm wannabe really quick.
i picked up the complete book of woodworking. pretty much read it cover to cover. it has a lot of the basics in there. has some ideas on joinery also. it also has step by step instructions for several plans in it. i also picked up "the complete manual of woodworking". read that one cover to cover. this one is better at describing tools. has more joinery than the previous book. are the books complete? no way. there is much more to learn. enough that i probably won't master it as a weekend woodchipper. but it'll be fun learning.
i think the project you have in mind is a little too ambitious. if you go the way of power tools, you're probably better off building shop furniter like stands and a workbench and storage first to get the feel for different joinery and more importantly your tools. experimenting on cheap 2x4's is better than a big hunk of clear pine or white oak. then move on to a "saleable" project. =) review what tools you want though, as you don't need them all. some people live and die by their tablesaws and make jigs that only they could understand. others buy up routers like christmas ornaments and hang them in every which direction. many tools are able to mimic cuts of a different tool. so do your homework.
in any regard, keep reading both this newsgroup (been a lurker for a while, this is my first post actually) and books.
-danny
Hi,
I think that the actual joining of wood 'll be my first hurdle to over come, so i'l lget some cheap bits 'o wood and just make some corners :o)
Then i'm going to make 2 small boxes for some people I know for Christmas, with some simple inlaid veneer for a bit o' interest (and i found some "music box" components which'd be good for a little present)
Hopefully by then I should have enough experience to go forwards and make my bureau-office-desky thing :o)
Thanks for your reply, Matt
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