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My Porter Cable dovetail jig arrived, I set it up, fit the guide ring to my router, went to insert the dovetail bit into the router and . . . poo poo this is huge! Of the three ancient routers my father has, none of them take a 1/2" shank! 
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Jun 21, 2012 04:26
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I had that same problem with an old Porter Cable router as well, I guess 1/2" shanks just weren't common at the consumer level back then or something? Time for you to invest in a new router! If you want one that'll just get it done, there's a Hitachi you can get at HD or Lowe's for about a hundred bucks, or closer to $80 if you catch it on sale, I use one in my cnc mill and it works perfectly well. Otherwise, I'm super happy with my Dewalt and have done both some pretty meaty cutting and some pretty fine work, both without any trouble at all.
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Jun 21, 2012 04:42
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Bad Munki posted:I had that same problem with an old Porter Cable router as well, I guess 1/2" shanks just weren't common at the consumer level back then or something? YEAH HOW BOUT YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS CNC MILL SITUATION?!?!
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Jun 21, 2012 13:45
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wormil posted:Edit: after reading up I'm going to look at one of the many 12" Craftsman bandsaws selling locally. Looks like the 3wheels are prone to blade breakage and suck rear end at resawing. I was just using our bandsaw the other day, which is an old Craftsman 12", and have to say that 12" will never be big enough. But I suppose no matter how big a one I have, it would never be big enough for one project or another. Just saying, if you can find something larger in the same price range and quality, hold out for that.
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Jun 21, 2012 14:05
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iwannabebobdylan posted:YEAH HOW BOUT YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS CNC MILL SITUATION?!?! Eh? My meter must be off, I can't tell if this is sarcasm or implying that's all I talk about or what. 
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Jun 21, 2012 16:08
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Bad Munki posted:Eh? My meter must be off, I can't tell if this is sarcasm or implying that's all I talk about or what. I haven't seen any of your CNC chat (that I can recall). Did you do the Joe's 4x4 or something else? How long did it take you to build? $? Are you glad you did it? Do you ever use it? What have you used it on? Were there other options you considered when deciding to build or buy? I'm in the very early stages of realizing that I need/want a CNC table or a laser table and would really like to hear about yours. 
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Jun 21, 2012 16:28
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Oh, okay, I read that totally wrong then.  My mill is pretty small, only has a 12x12x6 envelope. It's based off the Brute II design, with some changes to work better for my situation. I can't find a link for the plans right now. If I had it to do over (and in the next couple years, I will) I would have built a gantry-style rig instead, I think they're generally more stable, have a larger envelope, and don't really cost much more. For what it's worth, I intend to build another mill in the next couple years, hopefully big enough to take a full sheet, or at the very least a half sheet. At this time, Joe's 4x4 is the top of my list, although if I win the lottery, who knows what might happen? It took me a while to build it, but I tend to move pretty slowly on projects. I work on them for a few days, then let them sit for a few days. I also don't tend to gather all my supplies beforehand, I work until I run out of stuff that I have, and then I start shopping around for more parts. Part of that was inexperience with this particular project, though. If I did it again, I could probably put the thing together in a week. As far as cost, for the size of mill I built, I definitely could have saved money by buying a kit for a similarly-sized mill. However, because I built it from scratch, I learned a heck of a lot more and would now be totally comfortable diving head first into a much larger project, like a Joe's 4x4. I'm not sure where the costs of kit vs. scratch overlap, but my mill was on the "more expensive" side of that intersection, while a larger mill like a 4x4 would be on the "less expensive" side. If you're serious about it, don't balk at the price tag of the plans, they're worth it. Am I glad I did it? Heck yeah, I love my little mill. Because of its size, I'm fairly limited in what I can do with it, mostly small projects, but that's okay since it doesn't take up much space in the shop. My most recent project (which I have yet to actually do any cutting on) is to make some large rubber stamps for my sister, like 12x12 stamps. We'll see if that works, but I'm optimistic. I think with a healthy feed rate and low rpms, I should be able to cut the rubber sheet cleanly and without melting. I've also cut wood (everything from mdf to plywood to solid hardwood), a number of different types of plastic (pvc, hdpe, uhmw), and have started playing at metals, namely aluminum. That last one should be totally doable, although figuring out feed rates and rpms may involve a bit of black magic starting off. The biggest considerations I had were complexity of the build, overall cost, machine capabilities, and size. This was the first time I'd done anything like this, so I didn't want to get stuck halfway through a project with something that was, for me, intractable, so I wanted to keep it simple. Also, it was sort of a proof-of-concept for me as to whether I would actually want a machine like this. If you're looking at a Joe's 4x4, have the space to put it in, have the skills to assemble it, and can afford it (from what I've heard, expect to drop a few grand total by the end of the project), I'm pretty confident you'll be completely happy with the end product. There's a user around here, el_matarife, who built one not too long ago, you could look him up and ask him about his experience with that particular set of plans. There's also an excellent community surrounding the 4x4, which is a definite consideration when getting involved with a project like that for the first time.
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Jun 21, 2012 16:50
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Hoping someone in here can help me out with this... My grandfather pretty much raised me, blah blah blah, he's retiring here in a few weeks at the ripe age of 67. I'd like to do something cool for it. About 8 years ago my grandparent's got me a kitten (I lived with them) and when that kitten started teething it chewed up the tips of his grandfather clock. He got this clock after he left AT&T after working there for 30 years and it was something really special to him. If this is the right spot I'll get an actual photo of it up but it is something like this:  The curved bits at the top are what got chewed on. Any idea if this can be fixed? And how much?
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Jun 23, 2012 00:36
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One Legged Ninja posted:I was just using our bandsaw the other day, which is an old Craftsman 12", and have to say that 12" will never be big enough. But I suppose no matter how big a one I have, it would never be big enough for one project or another. Just saying, if you can find something larger in the same price range and quality, hold out for that. Well those Craftsman 12" are all over Craigslist here at around $115-125 a pop. Anything larger runs 4-8X that price. I've been waiting to buy an 18" bandsaw for years and something always comes up. It didn't matter much when I was building furniture but now I'm getting into luthiery and a bandsaw is badly needed. Also my shop is pretty small and realistically, I probably can't get a large bandsaw in there.
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Jun 23, 2012 09:43
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Well, in that case, it'll still be super useful. Just keep an eye out afterwards for a great deal on something bigger, 'cause it won't take up a whole lot more room, it'll be much more convenient, and you can turn the Craftsman around and sell it for about as much as you paid for it.
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Jun 24, 2012 03:04
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I need some help finding a chainsaw I can rip logs with. Which means someone needs to make a ripping chain for it, but also that it has the power to get the job done. I'm collecting more and more logs now that I've moved and since I can't seem to stop myself from collecting wood, I'm getting a bit of a backlog here (haaaa!) that I need to start processing, and my sad little 18" poulan pro just isn't up to the task (nor, does it seem, anyone make a ripping chain for that saw in that length.) While I'd like to keep the cost as low as possible, I want a saw that can reasonably get the job done. Anyone care to offer some guidance?
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Jun 24, 2012 04:05
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Bad Munki posted:While I'd like to keep the cost as low as possible, I want a saw that can reasonably get the job done. Anyone care to offer some guidance? Since no one has replied yet, I'll throw in my $.02. Keep in mind I only have a bare minimum amount of experience chainsaw milling. Cheap, reliable, milling, and chainsaw don't belong in the same sentence. Anything that's powerful enough to rip a decent board, and reliable to run for long periods of time in one go, is going to be expensive. That said, we played around with a Stihl 036 for a short while, and for occasional use, it was acceptable. You won't set any records, and it would probably burn out the clutch/piston/cylinder/some other parts after prolonged use. Milling is just hard on saws, period. If you go to the Arboristsite.com Milling subforum, you'll find more than you ever wanted to know about the subject. Most people there use Stihl 660's or equivalent. Second, you can make ripping chain out of just about any chain, it just has different angles cut on the teeth. A few minutes with a file and an angle gauge, and you can make one for your Poulan. Somewhere on that site is a thread where they argue about what angles to grind, but I think the consensus hovers around 10* instead of the normal 30-35*, or whatever it is. Third, whatever saw you get, make sure it has either an adjustable oiler, or some other way to get lots of oil in the bar. Saws are meant to be run for a minute or two at most before having the pressure removed from the chain, allowing oil to more easily flow. Ripping takes much longer, gets the chain hotter, and keeps the engine bogged down, which all contribute to suboptimal lubrication. Fourth, there is no rule four. Fifth, Uhh... I forget where I was going with this. Someone else surely knows more about it than I do. I have a Husky 575, which is really heavy to be hauling around in the woods, but would probably do nicely for a milling saw, as it's relatively powerful, and compared to older saws, sips gas. Although I would get the 576AT if I had to do it over again. Neither of these saws are inexpensive, however. Your best bet is probably to look for used saws, and have someone look them over if you aren't familiar with engines. Oh, I remember what I wanted to say. Take one end of your log, and raise it up a few inches. Then gravity helps to pull the saw through the log just slightly. Or it at least makes you feel like it does. Now, to what I came here for: I builded something and it was fun.  I wanted a new stock for my .22 rifle, and I didn't want to spend      Laminated birch, bandsawn, milled, carved, filed, sanded, and finished. Steel trigger guard, bottom plate, and action screws milled, turned, and filed. Should have spent more time sanding, as always, and more time filing the trigger guard, but I'm very impatient some times. I also made the suppressor a couple years ago. I was going to take pictures of both processes, and post about them here, but I get working too intently, and then don't feel like stopping to take pictures. If you would like to know any particulars, I'll be happy to explain with pretty drawings and lots of words. Maybe not many drawings.
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Jun 25, 2012 02:38
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mds2 posted:Here is a table that I have been working on for a while now. The tops are from a walnut crotch and the legs are made from ash. Nice work, having big pieces you've made in the house is pretty cool, huh? Love the feathering in that crotch slab. ChaoticSeven fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Jun 25, 2012 |
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Jun 25, 2012 03:13
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One Legged Ninja posted:Laminated birch, bandsawn, milled, carved, filed, sanded, and finished. Did you use a pattern for the stock?
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Jun 25, 2012 09:15
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wormil posted:Did you use a pattern for the stock? Yeah, sort of. Basically, a few years ago I wanted a stock for my .22-250, so not having (free) access to any real stocks of this type, I just took some pictures from the internet, photoshopped them together into what I wanted, then traced that in CAD. Then I printed that out at 1:1, and cut out a few pieces of cardboard in both the main profile, and the forearm profile. Put them together, adjusted things until it fit pretty well, and settled on the design. Fast forward to last week, I took the pattern, traced it on the wood, adjusted it for this rimfire action, and that was pretty much it. After that I added a few features I've seen more recently. But it was all pretty much a guess whether it would work well or not.
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Jun 25, 2012 13:39
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I've recently added making a wooden chess board and pieces to my bucket list and I plan to follow a guide online to make the board. The guide I'm using is here. I'm going to get the woods today and start the process for making the board later this afternoon. I'm not so worried about making the board. It's the pieces that I think will prove to be challenging. I have next to no experience with woodcarving and no access/not enough funds to buy some of the tools listed in the how-to at this time. I will probably choose a minimalist style for the pieces and try and get by with a diy kit for carving. I might not want to shell out for a lathe or whatever that spinning cutting machine is called because I don't think I'd ever use it again but I want to get something like a woodcarving knife. What's a basic, bare bones woodcarving tool set? The way I see it, I can always make new pieces if I want to at a later date but right now the goal is to get the board made and a first run of pieces.
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Jun 25, 2012 20:11
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bobthedinosaur posted:I've recently added making a wooden chess board and pieces to my bucket list and I plan to follow a guide online to make the board. The guide I'm using is here. I'm going to get the woods today and start the process for making the board later this afternoon. That's not a bad guide for the board. I just finished a board that I was doing for practice. I used basically the same method except with veneer (which is what the practice was for) on an MDF core. The reason I did it this way as opposed to solid pieces was to avoid any issues with the wood expanding or otherwise warping. As far as the pieces go, I'm in the same boat as you. All I have for carving is straight chisels, and I have neither a lathe or a dremel to speed up the process. Luckily I have access to carving tools at work, but can't really use them for personal stuff. I know there are several sets of carving chisels available for under $50 at Home Depot and other hardware stores, but I know for a fact that they're not great. If you want any sort of quality carving chisel or gouge, they'll run you about $40 a piece. Since this is your first time out, I'd suggest going for one of the budget sets to start. Anyway, Latest side project:  Made some tap handles for my Rugby Club's bar. Walnut for darker beers, maple for light stuff. Relatively simple, though I was practicing carving text using my trimmer with a 1/16" straight bit. Works pretty well, though I wish I had a finer chisel set for cleanup. I'm planning another set with veneer inlays for a friend's home bar.
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Jun 26, 2012 03:11
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bobthedinosaur posted:I've recently added making a wooden chess board and pieces to my bucket list and I plan to follow a guide online to make the board. The guide I'm using is here. I'm going to get the woods today and start the process for making the board later this afternoon. Here is a basic starter set. It's in no way professional grade, but it should be enough to get you carving and getting an idea how this is going to pan out. If you decide that it's not for you, it's not like you've wasted a fortune (less than $40). If you try it and find that you have "the knack" you can get a better set from Lee Valley or somewhere else. The board is pretty basic to make, but the pieces are going to take you a hell of a long time to do without a lathe. For a first prototype you could try something like this set here or maybe you'll find after finishing the first piece that even that's too basic. If you have a lathe, you can rough out an entire set in a day, and pretty much have the entire board finished with the exception of the knights. Most of the pieces only require a cut or two to finish them once they are off the lathe like this set.
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Jun 26, 2012 14:08
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If you're really adventurous, and into a somewhat rustic look, keep in mind that before electric motors and fancy mass produced lathes, people used very crude setups to turn wood. Like this video that was posted a while back. Or Roy Underhill and his treadle and
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Jun 27, 2012 04:40
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Thanks for the advice! I'm using oak for my darker wood and poplar for my lighter wood. I've got enough material to make two boards, but only enough clamps to work on one at a time! I've got one board checkered and glued/drying right now! I can't wait to sand the face of it down and then glue the back to a backboard before working on the trim. I'm still debating whether to use a natural or darker finish on it but I've got enough materials for two boards so I could easily do one of each. I found a woodcarving set off of Amazon that looks pretty close to that set. As far as the pieces go, I think I might have rounded bottoms and then wedges for the pieces like this but not quite completely copying it. I like the idea of carving in knights, kings, clergy, pawns, etc over the traditional look but we'll see once I get the wood for the pieces. frogge fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Jun 27, 2012 |
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Jun 27, 2012 06:44
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Is the best source for square boards a real lumber yard? I've been doing some basic projects but I want to start making things look much sharper. Right now I've been using pine boards from the common boards section at home depot, but I notice they are always kind of "rounded" on the edges so you can make sharp looking things with 90 degree corners. Is my problem really just buying cheap rear end wood?
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Jul 3, 2012 15:50
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Sylink posted:Is the best source for square boards a real lumber yard? What do you want to make? You may want to use plywood or mdf.
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Jul 3, 2012 15:56
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Sylink posted:Is the best source for square boards a real lumber yard? You just can cut off the edges with the rounded corners... 
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Jul 3, 2012 16:33
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So really I should be buying bigger boards and rip cutting them down? EDIT: I was looking at starting to make tabletops and such by joining boards together.
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Jul 3, 2012 16:37
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If it's a piece that gets any amount of use, you're really better off not using pine at all as those edges are going to get rounded over whether you like it or not. I've found that when it comes to big box store wood, you're going to have to round over #2 eastern white pine for it not to dent, at least ease the edges of poplar to avoid impressions, and be ludicrously careful about their oak to avoid splintered edges or blowout. Sharp edges are a natural weak point, and you might want to consider doing a tiny, 1/16" chamfer to ease the edge. It tends to retain that "sharp edge" look you seem to be chasing after while not showing use nearly as much. Anyone have any experience with wood drop-leaves? I am fixated on doing a Maloof style drop leaf table before I die, but I'm worried about the tolerancing on the wood hinge, especially given that I live near the coast and can experience quite a bit of humidity shift. Maloof was really clever in using walnut as it's one of the more dimensionally stable woods I've had the pleasure of using, but the stuff I've seen of his has a ridiculously tight tolerance and I have no idea how he achieved that, walnut or no.
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Jul 3, 2012 17:59
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Sylink posted:Is the best source for square boards a real lumber yard? Most of the wood at Home Depot and Lowes are for building structure that hides under other things. They usually have a small section dedicated to much nicer woods with 90o cuts, (aspens, oaks, nice pines, cedars, maples) that you would want to buy when your boards are out and displayed. When you start going exotic or find that you're spending more than 45 minutes picking boards, you'll want to hit up some of the more specialty lumber yards. The only really nice thing about buying those types of woods from HD or Lowes is that the sales people can cut you decent deals on wood that isn't up to spec or damaged somewhere and that you can work with.
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Jul 3, 2012 18:14
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I'm only using pine because its cheap. I'd love to use a harder wood but its so costly
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Jul 3, 2012 19:04
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Sylink posted:I'm only using pine because its cheap. I'd love to use a harder wood but its so costly Time to start working with plywood and banding or edging! If you really, really want that sharp edged look with eastern white pine, I'd consider ripping with a good blade and applying epoxy to the corner in a thin layer. I've seen this technique used on live edge pieces and depending on how much gets taken by the wood, provide a very sharp delineation that isn't prone to the depression of softwood, but I haven't seen it used to try and maintain a razor sharp edge in the manner you're describing.
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Jul 3, 2012 20:13
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Sylink posted:I'm only using pine because its cheap. I'd love to use a harder wood but its so costly I picked up an entire pallet made from a really nice red cedar once. It made an Adirondack chair for my mom. You can sometimes find awesome wood in a pallet pile. And it's usually free!
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Jul 3, 2012 23:38
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The biggest problem with construction pine for table tops is moisture content. Big box store construction-grade stuff is typically too high to use for jointing, unless you're doing closely spaced boards that won't be glued together - if you ARE gluing them together, you're pretty much asking for splits. However, not all pine is created equal - southern yellow pine is often much drier and can be somewhat similar in price to what you're looking at, if you're close to the source. But the construction grade stuff is often too warped for furniture to begin with, so you should get 2x10/2x12 boards and rip them down (which partially alleviates the rounded edge problem, which otherwise requires a jointer/planer to properly get it to size... though a tablesaw can work). As others have mentioned, a good cost-effective solution is veneered plywood with edge banding, because it's the only way to use nicer woods without obliterating your wallet - it also takes changing moisture levels really well. A lot of really high end furniture is veneered/edged for this reason, and it's just purely too expensive to use a really exotic wood for, say, a desktop. So if you want something nicer than pine (say, walnut or mahogany or maple), it's a good route to go. Otherwise, you need to go beyond big box stores. Start phoning up local lumber yards and hardware stores, and look at the periphery of your city for mills and kilns. A lot of local lumber yards that construction guys use will offer dimensioned clear pine as a basis for doing moulding and antique interiors, everything from 1x12 to 6x6. I have seen ash, oak and maple at hardware stores too, for doing moulding, but it's often no thicker than 3/4" and that wouldn't make a good/stable tabletop. You could always ask the shop not to bullnose the oak stair treads they make, and design your furniture around them... Higher end lumber yards will stock a lot of hard woods that they will mill for you for a per-minute shop rate, which is often the cheapest route if you don't have a jointer/planer.
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Jul 4, 2012 00:17
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I'm making something for my step-daughter and was wondering what type of joinery I wanted. I originally wanted to do a secret mitered dovetail because I want this to be as much a display piece as a useful piece, but I have no idea how to go about it. I will be making it using hand tools because that's what's in the budget. I have some chisels and some back saws. What else would I need? I know I should make a jig, but I have no idea how to make a jig this complex.
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Jul 5, 2012 16:09
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Do you mean a hidden dovetail like a drawer front? Is this going to be a box?
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Jul 5, 2012 17:39
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wormil posted:Do you mean a hidden dovetail like a drawer front? Is this going to be a box? Yes, it's a box. But I want to make the seam run along an edge rather than looking like a butt joint, hence the mitered part. There are a couple of names for it, but hidden mitered dovetail seems to have all the elements in it. I saw a couple of pictures online, but no real directions other than, "this poo poo is art and canno' be done with power tools and don't try and it'll take a while". I'll probably experiment with some scrap wood before I do the nicer stuff. edit: PBS has a very small write up about it, but it's the best picture I've found. Tesla Was Robbed fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Jul 5, 2012 |
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Jul 5, 2012 18:30
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On one of the episodes of the Woodwright's Shop, on that site, he makes that very joint, and shows you just about everything you need to see to make one yourself. I believe it's this episode about dovetails, One Legged Ninja fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Jul 6, 2012 |
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Jul 5, 2012 19:54
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Traditionally this would be cut and chiseled by hand, it's not really the kind of joint you try to make easier as it only impresses the maker. It's supposed to be difficult, a show of skill. Edit: Popular Woodworking now has the first several seasons of The Woodwrights Shop for $30 each. I never watched it way back when and holy smokes is Roy young. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4EDlJzk9R8 wormil fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Jul 5, 2012 |
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Jul 5, 2012 20:08
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I started watching it in the late 80's. Then they took it off our local PBS station in the mid 90's. When I happened to catch an episode a few years ago, you can imagine my suprise when I learned it was a new season. I guess he seemed a lot older than he really was when I was just a little kid. But I'm really getting into using hand tools because of him. It's just so much more satisfying and easygoing for most operations. And now that I know how to sharpen tools pretty well, much less frustrating.
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Jul 6, 2012 01:40
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I love the show but can't help feeling uncomfortable every show as tools/work pieces just barely stay on the workbench as things get knocked around.
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Jul 6, 2012 02:20
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I was just watching an episode yesterday where he was mortising something in the vise, and then he goes, "That clinking metal sound you just heard was the chisel hitting the vise screw. I just added a half an hour of sharpening to my day." He drops things all the time. But he rarely lets his frustration show on screen.
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Jul 6, 2012 03:10
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Couple thangs I done did Bradford Pear 6.25"x2.75"  Cherry 4.25"x3.75" 
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Jul 8, 2012 22:35
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Owns. Me and spookmaster moved the new lil 10" jet to my basement and I made a lil bowl with his lathe's help (don't have a 4 jaw chuck yet).
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Jul 8, 2012 23:03
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