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A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
- Thread starter FreshFish
- Start date
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
I am debating whether it is worth getting a router or not (not the internet connectivity kind, the woodworking kind).
So far, I've found that my table saw (with dado blade option) and compound miter saw have been quite versatile for my needs. I was able to install a custom tongue-and-groove floor using the dado and splines, for example.
Until recently, whenever I've had to install flush hinges, I've just used a freshly-sharpened chisel. I'm looking at a project that might require a number of hinges and wondering how useful a router would be for these.
also, I need to construct a 18" wide board and I'm not confident that using a 1 x 12 and 1 x 8 with a spline will give it the strength it will need. I've seen people use biscuits on some home shows and that looks like it would give a much stronger board. I'm not sure if there is any way to cut slots for the biscuits other than using a router.
Can anyone with more experience than me offer some suggestions / advice?
I am debating whether it is worth getting a router or not (not the internet connectivity kind, the woodworking kind).
So far, I've found that my table saw (with dado blade option) and compound miter saw have been quite versatile for my needs. I was able to install a custom tongue-and-groove floor using the dado and splines, for example.
Until recently, whenever I've had to install flush hinges, I've just used a freshly-sharpened chisel. I'm looking at a project that might require a number of hinges and wondering how useful a router would be for these.
also, I need to construct a 18" wide board and I'm not confident that using a 1 x 12 and 1 x 8 with a spline will give it the strength it will need. I've seen people use biscuits on some home shows and that looks like it would give a much stronger board. I'm not sure if there is any way to cut slots for the biscuits other than using a router.
Can anyone with more experience than me offer some suggestions / advice?
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Most people use a biscuit joiner. I you plan to do much woodworking, it would be worth buying one. Super easy to use and pretty versatile.
Same thing with a router as a general woodworking tool, though if you are cutting so many hinges that you are considering buying a router just for that, you would probably want to get or make a jig as well, and it sounds as if you might just continue to chisel them in.
What are the dimensions of the board, and what will you use it for?
Most people use a biscuit joiner. I you plan to do much woodworking, it would be worth buying one. Super easy to use and pretty versatile.
Same thing with a router as a general woodworking tool, though if you are cutting so many hinges that you are considering buying a router just for that, you would probably want to get or make a jig as well, and it sounds as if you might just continue to chisel them in.
What are the dimensions of the board, and what will you use it for?
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
The board will be primarily 54" by 18" and it will be used as a countertop between a kitchen and living room in an apartment. The kitchen has an opening about 46" wide and about 7" deep (I'll cut out two corners). It will also rest upon a bookcase so that it will be supported for its entire width and length. I'll also dado two shallow slots to hold angle brackets to keep it from sliding in and out of place. (the shelf is for an adult child, not for us at home).
Maybe I can find someone nearby who has a biscuit joiner, or just rent one, since it is one-time use only.
For the hinges, I've constructed several custom built-in cabinets, and now the woman with the world's strongest finger[SUP]1[/SUP] wants some doors over parts of them.
[SUP]1[/SUP] I heard that joke from someone at the hardware store: "my wife has the world's strongest finger: move this here, move that there...."
The board will be primarily 54" by 18" and it will be used as a countertop between a kitchen and living room in an apartment. The kitchen has an opening about 46" wide and about 7" deep (I'll cut out two corners). It will also rest upon a bookcase so that it will be supported for its entire width and length. I'll also dado two shallow slots to hold angle brackets to keep it from sliding in and out of place. (the shelf is for an adult child, not for us at home).
Maybe I can find someone nearby who has a biscuit joiner, or just rent one, since it is one-time use only.
For the hinges, I've constructed several custom built-in cabinets, and now the woman with the world's strongest finger[SUP]1[/SUP] wants some doors over parts of them.
[SUP]1[/SUP] I heard that joke from someone at the hardware store: "my wife has the world's strongest finger: move this here, move that there...."
St. Clown
Ideas Posted are Likely Not My Own
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Yeah, what burd said, use a biscuit joiner. They're very easy to use and biscuits are cheap, just make sure to mark up your boards before actually making the biscuit cut so that things line up correctly. It's seems a simple rule that everyone should follow, but I've known some people who've made the mistake of not doing it and then having a bad biscuit pocket. The joiners are fairly cheap, too, if you just want something like a Craftsman. It's not like you're doing heavy duty cutting with these things.
Yeah, what burd said, use a biscuit joiner. They're very easy to use and biscuits are cheap, just make sure to mark up your boards before actually making the biscuit cut so that things line up correctly. It's seems a simple rule that everyone should follow, but I've known some people who've made the mistake of not doing it and then having a bad biscuit pocket. The joiners are fairly cheap, too, if you just want something like a Craftsman. It's not like you're doing heavy duty cutting with these things.
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Biscuit joiners aren't expensive; there is a Ryobi at Home Depot for about $100. Another possibility is using dowels. I'm just finishing a project in which I used dowels, using a very simple doweling jig I got from Rockler hardware and I was surprised at how accurate the holes were.
But I guess the question I'd ask is why not just use plywood?
Biscuit joiners aren't expensive; there is a Ryobi at Home Depot for about $100. Another possibility is using dowels. I'm just finishing a project in which I used dowels, using a very simple doweling jig I got from Rockler hardware and I was surprised at how accurate the holes were.
But I guess the question I'd ask is why not just use plywood?
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Assuming you have made the choice of hardwood over plywood . . . .
Since you have obviously figured out how to use your table saw well, and your shelf is supported on all sides, I'd say use the spline and glue. If it's hardwood and you use woodworker's glue and clamps, it will be very strong with a spline. In fact, with good glue and clamps, it would probably be strong with a simple butt joint without any joinery. One advantage of using a spline is that it makes alignment a little easier, and I assume you do not have a planer or a belt sander to make the joint seamless. As CLS said, dowling the joints would work well too, and dowling jigs are not expensive.
Gluing up hardwood as wide as 12" can present possible warping problems. When looking at the endgrain, do not cup them the same--one up, one down. You probably won't have to worry about that kind of movement, but a wide board has a tendency to cup if there is any moisture either still in the wood when you build or absorbed after finishing.
Sounds like you have a bit of knack for this stuff, FF. You'll be accumulating toys before you know it.
Assuming you have made the choice of hardwood over plywood . . . .
Since you have obviously figured out how to use your table saw well, and your shelf is supported on all sides, I'd say use the spline and glue. If it's hardwood and you use woodworker's glue and clamps, it will be very strong with a spline. In fact, with good glue and clamps, it would probably be strong with a simple butt joint without any joinery. One advantage of using a spline is that it makes alignment a little easier, and I assume you do not have a planer or a belt sander to make the joint seamless. As CLS said, dowling the joints would work well too, and dowling jigs are not expensive.
Gluing up hardwood as wide as 12" can present possible warping problems. When looking at the endgrain, do not cup them the same--one up, one down. You probably won't have to worry about that kind of movement, but a wide board has a tendency to cup if there is any moisture either still in the wood when you build or absorbed after finishing.
Sounds like you have a bit of knack for this stuff, FF. You'll be accumulating toys before you know it.
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
The objective is to have a nice-looking finish, stained to match a butcher-block countertop. That was a suggestion I made as well, to use veneer plywood to have the nice surface, and to put trim molding along the sides. That suggestion was politely yet firmly rejected.
The objective is to have a nice-looking finish, stained to match a butcher-block countertop. That was a suggestion I made as well, to use veneer plywood to have the nice surface, and to put trim molding along the sides. That suggestion was politely yet firmly rejected.
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Thanks. I find it amusing that I have so many different kinds of saws. Did you know that they make a special kind of saw to use to cut door molding at floor level?
I have four different electric saws (table, compound miter, circular, saber) and at least seven hand saws (rip, crosscut, coping, keyhole, two different kinds of hacksaws, the flat-surface trimmer just mentioned, maybe one or two others).
One of the best specialty tools I got as a present was a compressor and power nailer. Wow, what a difference that makes in putting up trim! I was even able to install some crown molding. Cutting the mitered corners on crown molding is pretty interesting, you have to do it upside down and backwards to get it to come out right.
One thing that I never seem to get quite right is caulk, though. The finished job always looks just fine, but I always seem to be wiping some away with a wet cloth before I'm done. I bought a kit that lays down different-size beads but I never seem to be able to smooth the bead properly once it's been laid down.
Sounds like you have a bit of knack for this stuff, FF. You'll be accumulating toys before you know it.
Thanks. I find it amusing that I have so many different kinds of saws. Did you know that they make a special kind of saw to use to cut door molding at floor level?
I have four different electric saws (table, compound miter, circular, saber) and at least seven hand saws (rip, crosscut, coping, keyhole, two different kinds of hacksaws, the flat-surface trimmer just mentioned, maybe one or two others).
One of the best specialty tools I got as a present was a compressor and power nailer. Wow, what a difference that makes in putting up trim! I was even able to install some crown molding. Cutting the mitered corners on crown molding is pretty interesting, you have to do it upside down and backwards to get it to come out right.
One thing that I never seem to get quite right is caulk, though. The finished job always looks just fine, but I always seem to be wiping some away with a wet cloth before I'm done. I bought a kit that lays down different-size beads but I never seem to be able to smooth the bead properly once it's been laid down.
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Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Ah, you're dealing with someone like my wife,who is great at making "suggestions" for projects without having any idea how much complexity or cost is associated with the suggestion. I find it amusing how shocked folks are with quotes for custom furniture or even carpentry.
And BTW for your project something you may or may not have thought of and may have to borrow or buy is that you will need clamps to hold the boards together while the glue sets.
Ah, you're dealing with someone like my wife,who is great at making "suggestions" for projects without having any idea how much complexity or cost is associated with the suggestion. I find it amusing how shocked folks are with quotes for custom furniture or even carpentry.
Another great use for a flush cut saw is if you go crazy and decide to conceal screw heads with dowel plugs. You can cut off the dowel plug very close to surface level, then sand till it's flush with the surface.
And BTW for your project something you may or may not have thought of and may have to borrow or buy is that you will need clamps to hold the boards together while the glue sets.
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
The best "suggestion" ever was when we had a 52" space, and she wanted a divider in the middle such that each side would be 27" wide.
That's unfair though, most of the time the suggestions are great ideas for what the finished product will look like. when you own an older house, no corner is square, and just about everything needs to be custom-built to fit.
At least our projects are always more successful than this one! http://www.projectcartoon.com/carto...g against the edges of the board being glued.
The best "suggestion" ever was when we had a 52" space, and she wanted a divider in the middle such that each side would be 27" wide.
That's unfair though, most of the time the suggestions are great ideas for what the finished product will look like. when you own an older house, no corner is square, and just about everything needs to be custom-built to fit.
At least our projects are always more successful than this one! http://www.projectcartoon.com/carto...g against the edges of the board being glued.
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Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Do it while she is gone. She'll never know the difference.
Do it while she is gone. She'll never know the difference.
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Large crown molding is even trickier if you use a coping saw on the inside corners, especially if the angle is greater than 90*. Coping is a little more work, but angle joints usually open up a bit at the heel over time due to crossgrain shrinkage, and coping the corners eliminates most of that problem.
Large crown molding is even trickier if you use a coping saw on the inside corners, especially if the angle is greater than 90*. Coping is a little more work, but angle joints usually open up a bit at the heel over time due to crossgrain shrinkage, and coping the corners eliminates most of that problem.
Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
Yes, I hear you! I use the coping saw for all inside corners, not just crown molding, but chair rail and floor molding as well. Just like I'll never have a butt joint, I'll overlap lap two straight pieces by cutting the joining edges at 45[SUP]o[/SUP].
We were a direct hit by Hurricane Irene. The house was creaking and groaning for several hours. In the aftermath, not only did I have to patch all the holes from where I had fastened plywood over windows and doors, I also had to recaulk just about every corner joint, window molding edge, and door molding edge, in the entire house!
It's now three years later and I'm still not done with them all.
Yes, I hear you! I use the coping saw for all inside corners, not just crown molding, but chair rail and floor molding as well. Just like I'll never have a butt joint, I'll overlap lap two straight pieces by cutting the joining edges at 45[SUP]o[/SUP].
We were a direct hit by Hurricane Irene. The house was creaking and groaning for several hours. In the aftermath, not only did I have to patch all the holes from where I had fastened plywood over windows and doors, I also had to recaulk just about every corner joint, window molding edge, and door molding edge, in the entire house!
It's now three years later and I'm still not done with them all.Re: A thread for woodworking, crafts, and hobbies
I spoke to a professional furniture maker, and he says that with today's glues, the glued joint is often stronger than the wood. His recommendation is the same as yours.
Thanks, all, for the helpful comments!
I spoke to a professional furniture maker, and he says that with today's glues, the glued joint is often stronger than the wood. His recommendation is the same as yours.
Thanks, all, for the helpful comments!