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Frogmanv2 posted:Decide on a first project, then work out what tools you will need for it. I just bought a new house and I plan on building a desk for my basement recording studio, and I definitely want to build a new workbench. I'm going to go ahead and get a circular saw and a jigsaw. I was looking at a corded Skil worm drive saw. What are the advantages of a worm drive?
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Oct 24, 2014 12:05
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Jigsaws have their uses, but they aren't all that common. I have one and I've only used it for cutting drywall and super-cheap laminate countertops. I mean, it's your money, buy what you want, but I wouldn't call a jigsaw a very high-priority purchase.
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Oct 24, 2014 16:11
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Whale Cancer posted:I just bought a new house and I plan on building a desk for my basement recording studio, and I definitely want to build a new workbench. Worm drive is much heavier duty and will probably last longer. You can use them to cut concrete. Overkill for plywood or most furniture making. You might want to check out track saws. Dewalt makes a really good one that is about 1/2 the cost of a Festool.
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Oct 24, 2014 16:53
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Whale Cancer posted:I've decided I want to venture into this dark hobby. I mainly want to build stuff for around the house like tables and shelves. Currently the only power tool I own is a cordless drill. What basic saws should I invest in first? Take a class in woodworking and check out some of the book recommendations in the OP. Those things will put you well ahead of most beginners. Don't skimp on saws, they will be your most important investment besides education.
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Oct 24, 2014 17:51
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Jigsaws have their uses, but they aren't all that common. I have one and I've only used it for cutting drywall and super-cheap laminate countertops. I mean, it's your money, buy what you want, but I wouldn't call a jigsaw a very high-priority purchase. It's the only way I got to make non square cuts, a band saw is out of my reach so far. I am thinking of mounting it upside down in a table to get more controlled cuts.
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Oct 24, 2014 21:37
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You can make non square cuts with a miter saw (and other types of saws) but if you mean things like curves then yah a jigsaw is something you can use.
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Oct 25, 2014 02:07
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Done my entrance table. Here are some build pics and the finished product. It is made out of cherry. Something I learned for the next time is to make sure the legs are square. When i clamped it up for gluing it twisted the frame a bit so I had to do some trimming to get rid of the wobble. This pretty much finishes off my living room furniture, I have a few projects I've been meaning to finish then I want to build a bedroom set. Any advice for building a bed? The best bed bolts, construction or hardware to use?     
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Oct 25, 2014 03:49
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Meow Meow Meow posted:Done my entrance table. Looks great! I just used cherry for the first time in a recent project-- it works well and looks great, and it's certainly in the top three wood species as far as smelling awesome when you cut it. Maybe even #1.
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Oct 25, 2014 03:55
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Sylink posted:You can make non square cuts with a miter saw (and other types of saws) but if you mean things like curves then yah a jigsaw is something you can use. Yeah I should've said non-straight cuts.
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Oct 25, 2014 16:39
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His Divine Shadow posted:It's the only way I got to make non square cuts, a band saw is out of my reach so far. I am thinking of mounting it upside down in a table to get more controlled cuts. So an improvised scroll saw?
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Oct 25, 2014 16:44
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I was thinking more of it as a poor mans band saw, but I guess that too.
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Oct 25, 2014 16:47
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His Divine Shadow posted:I was thinking more of it as a poor mans band saw, but I guess that too. Most of the jigsaw blades I have seen make this only an option if you are resawing thin stock. They tend not to cut the full length of the blade, which means you are limited to cutting stock that is as thick as the length of the teeth at the point of retraction.
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Oct 25, 2014 16:53
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Frogmanv2 posted:Most of the jigsaw blades I have seen make this only an option if you are resawing thin stock. They tend not to cut the full length of the blade, which means you are limited to cutting stock that is as thick as the length of the teeth at the point of retraction. Bandsaws do more than just resawing, you know. He was talking about making curved cuts. I use a bandsaw as my general-purpose saw, in part because of space constraints and in part because table saws scare the hell out of me. It works fine except for the bit where I can't do a crosscut more than ~13.5" wide, but that's what handsaws are for.
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Oct 25, 2014 17:12
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Resawing my own lumber though is a big part of why i want a band saw, and all the other goodies they can do. I love my table saw but the round blade prevents you from certain things.
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Oct 25, 2014 17:25
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Bandsaws do more than just resawing, you know. He was talking about making curved cuts. And that's cool, but he is still going to be limited in the same way.
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Oct 25, 2014 17:42
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Well, I figured if I want to start making stuff I'm going to need somewhere to actually make it and work on other projects as well. So I built a work bench off of some plans I found online. I'm really glad I did this as my first project because I learned a ton of things I'm pretty pumped. Definitely not the coolest thing in the world but I like it for my first project! Also, it doesn't wobble and it levels with a bubble level. I'll call that one a success. 
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Oct 25, 2014 19:29
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I'm looking to make a few particularly sturdy desks, I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on this workbench build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_xJD_aylYw I feel like I'd follow that process pretty closely, but a little shorter and with the braces on one side removed so there'd be room for my legs. Also, I don't have a door handy so I was going to glue together 2x4's and plane them to make a flat surface. Anything gotchas I should watch out for?
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Oct 25, 2014 21:50
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I built it. it's solid, but mine's a lot less wide, and also taller, and at the height I built it is unfortunately unstable. The thing to look out for is that the ends are properly square when you're cutting the horizontal pieces which are dowelled on - easy to get the joints off a bit otherwise. If I was building it again I'd do mortise and tenon joints instead, they're not that much more difficult and much stronger. A laminated 2x4 top will be fine but watch your cups and bows to minimise warping.
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Oct 25, 2014 22:52
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I went to Lowes today and was browing the power saw section  Would this be fine for babies first circular saw http://www.lowes.com/pd_305484-353-HD5687-01_4294607773__?productId=3031987&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_price%7C0%26page%3D1&facetInfo= Or would the basic $40 guy be ok http://www.lowes.com/pd_300243-353-5380-01_4294607773__?productId=3031527&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_price%7C0%26page%3D1&facetInfo=
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Oct 26, 2014 00:10
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Whale Cancer posted:I went to Lowes today and was browing the power saw section I have this one http://www.lowes.com/pd_36855-79992-PC13CSL_0__?productId=1208959 and I'm pretty happy with it.
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Oct 26, 2014 00:12
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Finished urn. [edit; more pics]  
wormil fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Oct 26, 2014 |
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Oct 26, 2014 04:37
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Did you ever find out what kind of wood that is? It looks fantastic finished.
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Oct 26, 2014 04:44
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Johnny Bravo posted:Did you ever find out what kind of wood that is? It looks fantastic finished. Cumaru, far as I know. It pretty much matches the pics and description. Apparently it's made from millions of splinters, I was constantly picking them out of my hands, also the edges want to chip out badly. More pics added.
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Oct 26, 2014 04:54
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So I posted a while ago about how to clean up my old toy box which sat on the verandah outside for a fair while, here it is now after sitting inside for a month or two.       The top is warping/splitting a bit, and basically just has a general mix of paint, bird poo poo, random mess etc from sitting on the verandah and being occasionally used as a bench. So, my question is how can I clean it/fix it up/seal it?
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Oct 26, 2014 05:58
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Nanpa posted:The top is warping/splitting a bit, and basically just has a general mix of paint, bird poo poo, random mess etc from sitting on the verandah and being occasionally used as a bench. So, my question is how can I clean it/fix it up/seal it? It depends on how nice you want it to look and how much time you want to spend on it. I'd probably just go at it with a random orbit sander and some hand sanding for the smaller surfaces, then wipe or brush on some poly. If it's going back outside you might want to go for the spar varnish.
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Oct 26, 2014 21:13
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A couple months ago was my anniversary with my wife. I got her some really nice Pajamas and LO AND BEHOLD! she didn't get me anything. So I spent the equivalent amount on clamps, which was a pretty great day, all things considered. It's coming up again, as these things seem to do, and I was thinking about building her a cigar-box mandolin (she can play the violin and these things are tuned the same way). I'm going to kind of blend some cigar box guitar/ukelele plans with what I've seen from some mandolin/fiddle plans. I've found Carolina fiddles, and this guy: http://mirthwood.blogspot.ch/2010/01/cigar-box-mandolin_30.html But I was wondering if anyone had anything else they could send my way.
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Oct 26, 2014 22:39
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If you want to end up with something she will play, learn the proper way to build a stringed instrument then apply that to a cbm. A lot of info on building cbg instruments will result in crap. Look up Michael J King for a good internet reference. edit; to add a few things -- Use a solid wood cigar box, the bigger the box, the bigger the sound. Pressboard boxes like in the link you posted are sound deadening. Do not brace a box like the guy in that link either. Basically just delete that link from your bookmarks and never look at it again. Guitarmaking by William Cumpiano, is the book I read. It's decades old, has mediocre b&w pictures but the information is solid and probably every library has a copy. http://www.cigarboxnation.com/ can be a good resource but understand that some people on there have no idea what they are doing and will gladly lead you down the same path. Also the first instrument will probably not be your best. I didn't get a good playable instrument until my third when I really started paying attention to the lessons learned in Guitarmaking. Really if you wanted to make a half rear end first instrument from pine and a paper cigar box I wouldn't blame you. But when you get serious, use good quality woods. wormil fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Oct 28, 2014 |
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Oct 27, 2014 00:19
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wormil posted:If you want to end up with something she will play, learn the proper way to build a stringed instrument then apply that to a cbm. A lot of info on building cbg instruments will result in crap. Look up Michael J King for a good internet reference. Awesome, thanks. Yeah I have a couple old cedar boxes that should do the trick. There is no way she is going to use this as a serious instrument, but I think she'll like it. In fact, I'm banking on her touching this about 10 times. I'll check out the guitar making book. Unfortunately I'm overseas, but when I go home I'll see if my local library has it. If there's a cheap copy online, I may pick it up. I actually have a 'master instrument maker' friend at home whose brain I may pick when I'm there, just to get some general advice. Best case scenario is I come up with something hobo-quality.
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Oct 27, 2014 11:31
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I want/need to cut some veneers into smooth curved shapes , arc sections and so on. I can draw these out easily with a compass. Is there a sort of compass cutting tool that could go along with this rather than tracing the lines by hand ? And not the same as using a form or should I just use a curved form ?
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Oct 27, 2014 15:38
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wormil posted:Finished urn. [edit; more pics] Super modern and I love it.
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Oct 28, 2014 04:32
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dobbymoodge posted:Super modern and I love it. Thanks. I've never done anything in that style and am not sure what led me down that path. Customer gave me free reign and have no idea what it looks like, hopefully they like it. I'm happy the miters came out nice and tight, I was a little worried since the box is 10" tall.
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Oct 28, 2014 05:29
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If I want to get into hand tools for woodworking, is there a good decent starting brand for saws? Somewhere between 'the poo poo that came with my toolbox' and 'handcrafted from martian metal' would be good.
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Oct 28, 2014 17:28
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Falcon2001 posted:If I want to get into hand tools for woodworking, is there a good decent starting brand for saws? Somewhere between 'the poo poo that came with my toolbox' and 'handcrafted from martian metal' would be good. Disston saws from garage sales or eBay. Yes, you'll have to clean them up, sharpen them and probably remove some set from the teeth. Clean up is usually just a few minutes of sanding rust off the plate. Sharpening is something you'll have to learn to do no matter how cheap or expensive the saw is, and it's really not that hard to learn. Taking the set off is easy too. If you don't want to bother with all that right at the start then spend the extra on something from Veritas. If you don't stick with it then it will at least have good resale value.
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Oct 28, 2014 18:16
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Disston saws from garage sales or eBay. Yes, you'll have to clean them up, sharpen them and probably remove some set from the teeth. Clean up is usually just a few minutes of sanding rust off the plate. Sharpening is something you'll have to learn to do no matter how cheap or expensive the saw is, and it's really not that hard to learn. Taking the set off is easy too. I guess that's fair enough. I'll decide which to do - like you said I'll need to learn how to sharpen either way, but I'm kind of starting from square one so I don't have a workbench or anything right now, and I do have a bit of cash saved up. Might just go for the Veritas and pick one up for getting my workbench together, and then if I need more varied saws later clean up some Disstons once I have a place to do it.
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Oct 28, 2014 18:47
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I got the veritas tenon saw and it's a very nice saw. the 2nd hand market isn't very good here, there was a guy selling a clapped out disston saw for 30 bucks, with a new veritas for 50 it was hard to buy that.
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Oct 28, 2014 19:46
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Cpt.Wacky posted:It depends on how nice you want it to look and how much time you want to spend on it. I'd probably just go at it with a random orbit sander and some hand sanding for the smaller surfaces, then wipe or brush on some poly. If it's going back outside you might want to go for the spar varnish. Cool, thanks
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Oct 28, 2014 22:41
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My fiance and I are starting to get in to woodworking, we started off making a headboard: And now we want to move on to making a coffee table. We found some plans for a coffee table we like, I was planning on getting a miter saw to use on this project and on future projects, but I seems like all of the saws that don't cost a fortune only make fairly shallow cuts. The legs for the table are 4x4 posts, but all of the miter saws in the price range I am looking for cut up to about 2-3/4 or so it seems. What is the proper procedure if your saw doesn't cut all the way through a piece of wood? Flip it over and try to line up the opposite side? Finish it off with a hand saw? Edit: Here is the one I was originally going to buy (Yes I know I know, Harbor Freight) http://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-compound-miter-saw-with-laser-guide-system-69683.html At first I thought since its a Harbor Freight saw it just didn't have the depth of cut, but then looking at all the sub $200 saws at Home Depot all have similar depth of cuts.
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Oct 29, 2014 02:41
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That saw will cut a 4 by. It's saying more that your max cut is 6 inches in width.
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Oct 29, 2014 03:26
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Tim Thomas posted:That saw will cut a 4 by. It's saying more that your max cut is 6 inches in width. Perhaps I am reading the specs wrong, I was going off the depth of cut measurement which said 2-3/4 in. x 5-7/8 in, which I assumed was 2-3/4 deep and 5-7/8 wide. But now that I think about it thats kind of silly because the blade goes below the surface where the wood sits, and there is obviously more than 4" space between that and the blade! 
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Oct 29, 2014 03:52
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if the wood fits underneath the blade it will cut it through. Well for the most part; might leave an inch of uncut but that is easy enough to turn around a cut.
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Oct 29, 2014 04:00
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