Newbie question: How to make finger joint cut

[Scott Kuhn]

Yeah, how about that :)

I agree with you. I would really like to build a similar box but with dovetail joints or finger joints, but this is good for practice.

Thx fer your input.

--Scott

[Scott Kuhn]

Interesting advice, I will consider it. The Tormek is a lot of do-re-mi - but my attraction to it stems from my inexperience. Reading the reviews of the thing I became convinced that it is simpler to use than stones, because instead of having to move the tool across the stone at a constant angle, you just have to clamp the tool into the jig at the correct angle and turn the machine on. Seems to take some of the required skill out of the equation, no? Not that those skills wouldn't be nice to develop over time...

--Scott

[Scott Kuhn]

I agree...clearly there are many ways to skin this cat. I got a good chuckle out of your swiss army knife example, especially the part about sharpening on the coffee mug. :>)

sdk

[Morris Dovey]

No. There are simple, easy-to-use tool holders for controlling the angle at which the tool being sharpened contacts the sharpening surface. I have an inexpensive little jig from Lee Valley that I use for chisels and plane irons - that does an absolutely gee-whiz job.

FWIW, you're unlikely to ever burn a tool (spoil its temper) during hand sharpening - and I'd almost /guarantee/ that you will with a powered grinder. DAMHIKT

[J. Clarke]

The Veritas jig,

and many others, work fine. They're really "training wheels" in a sense--after you get a feel for the correct angle using the jig you'll find yourself doing without it more and more often.

[patriarch]

scott_d [e-mail] (Scott Kuhn) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

The Adult Education center where I take classes has a Tormek system. I used it to redo some seriously beat up, but very vintage Stanley Sweetheart plane blades. Were I doing this sort of thing in a shop setting, with several people, and lots of hand tool edge work going on, then MAYBE a Tormek would make sense. As a hobbyist, I look at the Tormek, and see, for the same money, two or three more handplanes, from LV, or LN, or an old Stanley scrounger/dealer.

It's the old trade off: Buy a tool, or learn the skills. It takes perhaps

20 minutes to learn how to properly sharpen a chisel, another 15 minutes on top of that for a handplane blade. Practice on a set of 4 chisels, with a knowledgeable tutor, and you have the skill for life.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, (noted from another post), your local Woodcraft teaches the class on Saturday morning, or in the evening. Or check with the local community college or adult education for one.

The other warning is that, if you set your tool needs based on what some of the woodworking magazines are showing off this month, then you are possibly going to do serious damage to your bank account. Not everyone needs a Timesaver or a Multi-router... DAMHIKT.

Patriarch

[bridger]

snip good advice...

BBBBUTTTT.....

Norm has one. I gotta have one too....

[patriarch]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'll give you the same answer I gave my eldest son, when he asked when he could buy a motorcycle: "When it's OK with your wife...."

Patriarch

[J. Clarke]

That might be a mistake. Now he's going to be concentrating on biker chicks when the time comes . . . Not that there's anything wrong with biker chicks as long as they have something else going on in their lives besides motorcycles.

[Andy Jeffries]

I'm going up to my brother's on the 31st of the month. Over that weekend I'll be cutting all those joints.

My current thoughts lie in using a Bench Saw I already own. It's a weak-ass, small version of a table saw... but for 2x2 it should be fine.

Of course, because it's such a cheap tool it doesn't come with a mitre sled, so I'll be using a T shaped construction as a mitre sled (using the top of the T to slide along the left hand side of the table).

And... as the height isn't adjustable, I'll be placing all the bits to be cut on top of some 18mm MDF (to raise the height so I can only cut through half of the stock).

Anyway, I will post back when I'm done....

Cheers,

Andy

[J. Clarke]

Read the "FWIW Kickback" thread currently active on this newsgroup. Lots of discussion there about how to do this safely.

Whoa, STOP. I can't imagine any saw with a circular blade being quite _that_ bad. Even the cheapest hand-held circular saws have a depth-of-cut adjustment. DON'T use the saw you have until you've found that adjustment or made _sure_ that it was never there or found out where it used to be--if it's not there then odds are that some part of the mechanism is either missing or busted off, and if that's the case then who knows what else may be missing or busted? And using a busted saw is a very quick way to the emergency room. If it _is_ there and you didn't know where then there may be other important things you need to know about that saw before you use it.

I'm not trying to rank on you but I think I speak for all of us when I say that we'd rather have you come back on Monday and report that you found out that the saw was busted than have you not come back at all because you are in the hospital after the saw came apart on you in the middle of a cut.

[CW]

[Andy Jeffries]

Yeah, I'd read that...

Planning on keeping the guard and splitter in place!! ;-)

I'm also going to be clamping a bit of temporary fence in place (but having it end before the blade starts) for spacing, but ensuring the rip fence is away from the piece when cutting.

I completely understand your advice. There is definitely no height adjustment, never was...

I've had a good look round. There is one handle for angle adjustment, and no other missing items or stubs of missing items or holes where missing items may have been.

Trust me, I take shop safety very seriously. I always use goggles no matter what I'm doing, never wear jewellery (even my wedding ring), no loose clothing.

I know I work with incredibly cheap tools, so I have to ensure my safety practices are more than above the minimum. In fact, I'm getting a face shield soon.....

Don't worry about that, I'm more than happy to receive all advice. Advice like this doesn't wind me up, it just makes me double think what I'm doing - which can't ever be a bad thing...

Yeah, definitely not busted... just cheap...

And yes, I'll be checking the nut that holds the blade in place before I start work ;-)

Cheers,

Andy

[J. Clarke]

That is truly bizarre. I'm curious--what's the brand and model on this thing?

[Andy Jeffries]

That's a very good question. Just been out to the shed^H^H^H^Hworkshop and it's got lots of wood in front of it (been making a fence and all the offcuts/unused stock are just thrown back in the, uh, shed at the moment).

Over the next couple of days I'll be finishing off another bit of fencing so I'll be able to get to it.

It cost about 30 pounds from B&Q (UK) so I guess it must be Performance Power.

It really is a "Bench Saw" as I stated rather than a "Table Saw". To be honest, I don't have the budget for anything much bigger although I am now considering getting a approx 100 pound table saw such as:

opinion on these saws would be appreciated; unless the opinion is "waste of money, you need to spend 500 pounds at least" - remember what I'm currently using guys!!! I'm sure the Perform (axminster link above) table saw sounds a billion times better...

Cheers,

Andy

[bridger]

a lot of the bottom end cheapies use one handle to adjust height and angle. it might switch functions via a lever or it may be via pushing/pulling the handle in/out while turning.

[bridger]

heavier is better. flip them over and look at the undercarriage. see which one has the least number of loose parts

[J. Clarke]

Sorry, I didn't pick up on the UK. Nothing that happens in the UK would surprise me--it's always been a mystery to me how any country that can produce such mechanical marvels as the E-Jaguar and the Supermarine Spitfire can also produce such horrors as the saw without a cutting depth adjustment that you describe.

In the US a "Bench Saw" is just a saw small enough to be placed on a workbench for use and then put back on the floor or shelf when bench space is needed. To be

Sorry, no real opinion on those, other than that if it has a cutting depth adjustment it's got to be an improvement over what you have.

[Andy Jeffries]

Nope, nada!

Never mind, ordered one of the ones I listed (see my longer reply to J.Clarke).

Cheers,

Andy

[Andy Jeffries]

It's a bit difficult to flip them over without seeing them, but I take your point. If I get it and it rattles it'll go back ;-)

Cheers,

Andy