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Grayham
Jun 13, 2005

I just blue myself
A cigar humidor I built. It's made of red oak with the inside lined in spanish cedar.

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sky shark
Jun 9, 2004

CHILD RAPE IS FINE WHEN I LIKE THE RAPIST
I love seeing wooden boxes. I want to buy an Incra system just to build little wooden boxes and give them away.

wormil
Sep 12, 2002

Hulk will smoke you!
Nice job but where's the stogies?

PMan_
Dec 23, 2002
Well, after some delays, I finally finished that rolling table saw cart I mentioned earlier in this thread. It is not very pretty, but hey, I just needed a flat and stable base that I could bolt the table saw to.


Ah, here we have the reason that a lot of the plywood cuts aren't very straight. My extremely low-budget "fence" that I used with the circular saw to cut-up the bigger pieces of plywood.



And here we can see some glue drying.



Finally, we can see my crooked creation. Oh well, at least now that I am able to have the table saw secured to something, hopefully I can go ahead and make some straight cuts.

wormil
Sep 12, 2002

Hulk will smoke you!
Hey, your rolling cabinet looks much better than mine, which my ghetto router table is setting on. At the time all I had was a circular saw, some 2x4s and some scrap plywood. The one thing I like about my cabinet though is it's heavy as hell. I made the top from 2x6 southern yellow pine, hand planed the sides and glued them together like a table top then hand planed the top flat.



Next time, use your circular saw to cut off a factory edge of the plywood. Mark the factory edge with arrows and use it as your straightedge. You can use your Kreg jig to mount a face frame on the front and hide the crookedness.

I need to go finish my footstool.

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
I'd like to build some tables:

My Tool List: A Cordless Drill, Circular Saw, Hacksaw, Some basic Chisels. (IE Not a whole lot).

Computer Table: I want it to be about :
6' Long, 2'10" wide, and about 27" Tall.

I've watched some videos online on different jointery. I have become fascinated with the Mortise and Tenon joint and I believe I'd like to use it to mount the legs to the table top.


I also want to build another table for studying purposes - a massive table I can put all my papers books and other crap on.

~ 8' Long, 2'10" Wide, ~27" tall
(Left in the rendering)



Is the Mortise and Tenon a good way to connect the legs to the tabletop? I want the table sturdy and smooth - if it wobbles I shall blow it up with thermite.

What should I use for the table top? As you can see in my tool list, I am basically poor as hell at the moment. I was thinking of using an Oak Plywood that I saw at Lowes for $45 (8' by 4' or something) for the top of the 6' and have them cut it to the basic sizes. I thought I'd make the mortise and tenon with my hacksaw, drill, and chisels and use 2"x3" pieces of wood. Obviously, this is going to take some man labor with all the lack of tools I have...

Here are some more pictures (renderings). I've chosen the sizes because they fit in the room well (which I've also rendered).
http://picasaweb.google.com/tposen/DropZone

Thanks for any suggestions/help in advance!

Grayham
Jun 13, 2005

I just blue myself

TheChipmunk posted:

:words:

Having built my own desk I'll give you some help.

I highly suggest you build the top out of that oak glued and screwed to a 3/4" piece of MDF. It makes the desk much stronger and rigid. It would also give you more surface for the mortise.

The key with making the mortise and tenon is to try to make it a slight interference fit so take off a little at a time. It's going to be difficult with those tools to make a really tight fitting mortise and tenon though.

wormil
Sep 12, 2002

Hulk will smoke you!

TheChipmunk posted:

Is the Mortise and Tenon a good way to connect the legs to the tabletop? I want the table sturdy and smooth - if it wobbles I shall blow it up with thermite.

Mortise and tenons are the traditional way to join the legs and apron but you shouldn't use a m/t to join the top to the apron. If you're just building something inexpensive, especially with few tools, I would use another method. Check out this video: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/25980_table-build-lock-top.htm

The table will be sturdy if you use sturdy materials and one of the several standard methods of table building. I would use plywood for the top and aprons. The legs can be built of plywood or solid wood but without the ability to rip wood, solid wood legs might present a problem. You could use 4x4 legs but that's overkill.

Grayham posted:

I highly suggest you build the top out of that oak glued and screwed to a 3/4" piece of MDF. It makes the desk much stronger and rigid.
You should be careful joining a manufactured product to a natural wood. Real wood will move with changes in humidity. Eventually the real wood will split if your design doesn't allow natural movement. If designed and built properly even a 3/4" top will be plenty sturdy.

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
Wormil, what do you think of the Plywood Oak?

Sounds like I should make an apron of sorts.

How do you typically joint the legs to the top of the table? What is regularly used?

Vander
Aug 16, 2004

I am my own hero.


All done. I went with dye in the end. Had to wait a WHOLE 3 DAYS for it to get here. Took forever, I know.

Anyway, how do they look? And how can I go about preserving them?

Grayham
Jun 13, 2005

I just blue myself

wormil posted:

You should be careful joining a manufactured product to a natural wood. Real wood will move with changes in humidity. Eventually the real wood will split if your design doesn't allow natural movement. If designed and built properly even a 3/4" top will be plenty sturdy.

That's a good point. However, I've never had a problem with my desk for the 2 years since I built it. Maybe because it's got a several thick coats of polyurethane on the plywood (birch plywood in my case) or that it has always been in an air conditioned house.

ChaoticSeven
Aug 11, 2005

Vander posted:



All done. I went with dye in the end. Had to wait a WHOLE 3 DAYS for it to get here. Took forever, I know.

Anyway, how do they look? And how can I go about preserving them?

Looks cool. I can't tell how smooth those are, and you probably want to preserve the lettering. But for a tough and easy to apply finish go to Lowes/Home Depot and get a can of wipe on polyurethane. I usually use a piece of old t-shirt to apply it, but I have used name brand paper towels in a pinch. I wouldn't use terribly cheap ones though, they leave lint and tear too easily.

If you don't care about the lettering sand to around 180ish and apply.

optikalus
Apr 17, 2008
Here are some projects I've built recently -- mainly because I can't justify the prices that some of the contemporary furniture outlets ask for what is just basic boxes with some black paint on them :P

In chronological order:

Side table, idea stolen from west elm.




Very basic. Just some 3/4" pine project boards. I actually built two of these. For the first one, I used a biscuit joiner and glued all the pieces together. This took /a very long time/. For the second one, I mirrored the interior / door, then glued and screwed all the pieces together. This one only took about 8 full hours. They turned out OK, but the door doesn't fit as well as I'd like and the pine is /really/ soft. My cats have gouged the crap out of it. If I had to do it over again, I'd use poplar or maple or something with a bit more strength.


AV rack



Also very basic. The shelves are 1/2" birch ply (iirc), and the 'frame' is 1" oak. I planned on using tempered and tinted glass for the shelves, until I found out that that would be insanely expensive. All the shelves are adjustable with little metal supports drilled every 1.5". There is an Ikea X-brace across the back to give it some lateral rigidity. I will never use oak again. What a pain in the rear end.


Platform bed frame / headboard




This was quite a bit of work, but very fun. Quite a learning experience for me. All the joints are mitred at 45deg angles to give the illusion that the platforms are 3" solid pieces of wood. The platform parts are all poplar. The headboard is a 3/4" sheet of 'cabinet-grade hardwood ply'. The bed box and risers are pine. I was able to use my (tiny) table saw to mitre the poplar platform parts, but had to use a handheld skil saw for the angle connecting the sides to the front. This did not turn out well. It didn't help that the 1' pine planks used on the rise were bowed to hell. That literally took a day or two of measuring, sanding, trimming and playing with those cuts to get them so they only had about 1/16" gap. I had to make it so that it could be torn down and moved easily.

If I had a chance to do it over, I have a laundry list of stuff I'd change:

use 1/2" ply for the headboard. Lugging a 3/4" hardwood ply headboard almost 4x8' upstairs and around corners is painful.
use a harder wood for the box. pine is pathetic.
forget about joining the front to the sides with a 45. I'd just butt them together and it'd look just as good.

Edit: fixed images

optikalus fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Jul 8, 2008

wormil
Sep 12, 2002

Hulk will smoke you!

TheChipmunk posted:

Wormil, what do you think of the Plywood Oak?

Sounds like I should make an apron of sorts.

How do you typically joint the legs to the top of the table? What is regularly used?
Oak plywood, definitely. To join the top you usually use either buttons (wood or metal) which are screwed to the top and slide in groves in the apron, figure 8 thingamajigs, or you can use screws if wallow out the slot but since you are using plywood you can just screw it down with L brackets like they did in that video I posted yesterday.

Vander posted:

Anyway, how do they look? And how can I go about preserving them?

They look good. I like how they all have the same color even though they are different woods.

Grayham posted:

That's a good point. However, I've never had a problem with my desk for the 2 years since I built it. Maybe because it's got a several thick coats of polyurethane on the plywood (birch plywood in my case) or that it has always been in an air conditioned house.
Actually plywood is a manufactured product and won't move in any significant way. It's only when building with plain old solid wood that you need to worry.

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
With a sturdy apron, should I use some MDF?
6'X3' basically and another 8' by 3' (maybe MDF for the big boy?)

maplecheese
Oct 31, 2006
Disturbingly delicious.
I made a thread in PI about my cat tree.

Unfortunately, I don't have the pictures from sawing-day or wood-assembly-day right now, which is what all of you guys would presumably be interested in, but I still think it's kinda cool.

wormil
Sep 12, 2002

Hulk will smoke you!

TheChipmunk posted:

With a sturdy apron, should I use some MDF?
6'X3' basically and another 8' by 3' (maybe MDF for the big boy?)

You can. The MDF will make the top feel more solid but there are other ways of doing the same thing without adding as much weight. You can also add a center support that crosses the width of the table and supports the center. Also when using plywood for a top, the edges will usually be finished with strip of solid wood about 1.5" thick which gives the appearance of heft and stiffens the edges. I doubt any of that will be necessary on the smaller table. Just make sure the top gets fastened to the apron securely and the apron is secure against the legs and it will be solid. You might want to check out some of the books I mentioned earlier in the thread, they have diagrams on table building.

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
Right on, thanks Wormil and Grayham, I appreciate the help.
I'll be sure to check out some of those books. I'm excited to build and therefor have the 'perfect' table.

The 1.5" strip - are those typically sold or do you have to cut them to fit? I saw they also did some sort of edge tape deal that looks like wood as well.

____________________
Edit
After much reading, I think its time for me to invest in a plunger router.
Whats a good basic router? I plan on building some of my furniture in the future and also some speakers as I've been inspired by this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2402844&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

Also, for a random orbit sander, any brands I should stay away from?

Thanks for the help.

TheChipmunk fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Jul 10, 2008

briefcasefullof
Sep 25, 2004
[This Space for Rent]

optikalus posted:

Here are some projects I've built recently -- mainly because I can't justify the prices that some of the contemporary furniture outlets ask for what is just basic boxes with some black paint on them :P

In chronological order:

Side table, idea stolen from west elm.




Very basic. Just some 3/4" pine project boards. I actually built two of these. For the first one, I used a biscuit joiner and glued all the pieces together. This took /a very long time/. For the second one, I mirrored the interior / door, then glued and screwed all the pieces together. This one only took about 8 full hours. They turned out OK, but the door doesn't fit as well as I'd like and the pine is /really/ soft. My cats have gouged the crap out of it. If I had to do it over again, I'd use poplar or maple or something with a bit more strength.


AV rack



Also very basic. The shelves are 1/2" birch ply (iirc), and the 'frame' is 1" oak. I planned on using tempered and tinted glass for the shelves, until I found out that that would be insanely expensive. All the shelves are adjustable with little metal supports drilled every 1.5". There is an Ikea X-brace across the back to give it some lateral rigidity. I will never use oak again. What a pain in the rear end.


Platform bed frame / headboard




This was quite a bit of work, but very fun. Quite a learning experience for me. All the joints are mitred at 45deg angles to give the illusion that the platforms are 3" solid pieces of wood. The platform parts are all poplar. The headboard is a 3/4" sheet of 'cabinet-grade hardwood ply'. The bed box and risers are pine. I was able to use my (tiny) table saw to mitre the poplar platform parts, but had to use a handheld skil saw for the angle connecting the sides to the front. This did not turn out well. It didn't help that the 1' pine planks used on the rise were bowed to hell. That literally took a day or two of measuring, sanding, trimming and playing with those cuts to get them so they only had about 1/16" gap. I had to make it so that it could be torn down and moved easily.

If I had a chance to do it over, I have a laundry list of stuff I'd change:

use 1/2" ply for the headboard. Lugging a 3/4" hardwood ply headboard almost 4x8' upstairs and around corners is painful.
use a harder wood for the box. pine is pathetic.
forget about joining the front to the sides with a 45. I'd just butt them together and it'd look just as good.

Edit: fixed images

It's good to see something like this, because it gives me ideas. I like the platform look, too. My mattress is pretty old, as are the boxsprings and frame. Provided I stay here for grad school, I plan to get new mattresses and possibly build my own bedframe.

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
This thread and the idea of speaker building has gotten me interested in woodworking. I believe I am fairly competent with electronics - now its time to get into the fine art of woodworking. My Grandpa and Uncle were professional woodworkers. I can see why - tools are cool as hell, and a custom furniture piece would be highly rewarding.

After some thought, persuasion, and magic - I got some new tools:

Click here for the full 800x600 image.

Passed down tool that wasn't used a whole lot:

Click here for the full 800x600 image.

Some clamps:

Click here for the full 800x600 image.

Passed down circular saw:

Click here for the full 800x600 image.


My next tool will likely be a random orbit sander. I'm getting a pass down square sander (vibrates left and right basically) as well.

With the new router, I think I now have some new options. I don't know why, but I have some fixation on using and building mortise and tenon.
I'm thinking I will use a mortise and tenon to attach the aprons to the legs. I've also added a middle strut to the table:


(6' X 3' Top) - Modeled after a Parson's table.

I'm having trouble deciding how big the legs should be. Currently I have it drawn out to 2x3 (Legs, Aprons, Middle support). I'm wondering if I should use a 2x4 for legs. Really, I'd like a 3x3 but Lowes/Home Depot doesn't carry it.. I also saw a design that used multiple boards - nailing them together to get a square leg. I don't want to use nails or many screws. I want to use as few as possible.
I'm excited. Any thoughts?

wormil
Sep 12, 2002

Hulk will smoke you!

TheChipmunk posted:

Passed down tool that wasn't used a whole lot:

Click here for the full 800x600 image.
I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but I had a Craftsman jigsaw just like that and struggled with it for many years. Finally I bought a used Bosch jigsaw from a neighbor and the difference was astounding. The Craftsman really is a piece of junk that will ruin more projects than it helps create.


TheChipmunk posted:

I'm having trouble deciding how big the legs should be.
The legs only need to be large if your table will be supporting very heavy weights. I have a 5'x3' table with 2" tapered legs (2" at the top, 1.5" bottom) that I could dance on with no worries. For a table that size I think 2" square is the minimum for both stability and aesthetic reasons. If you're building a cruder, shop style table then 2x4 for legs would be fine. Don't forget to add the length of both tenons when you measure your aprons.

note: your aprons should probably be 4-5" wide. This is your stability so don't cheat on the aprons.

TheChipmunk posted:

I also saw a design that used multiple boards - nailing them together to get a square leg. I don't want to use nails or many screws. I want to use as few as possible.
Nails are for carpentry. When building any type of furniture you want to use: mechanical joinery (i.e. mortise and tenon), glue, pocket screws, wood biscuits, wood pegs (dowels) and occasionally bolts or threaded rods. The only time nails are used are to pin something or tack it until the glue dries. Tenons are often pegged, you could use nails for this or dowels.

wormil fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Jul 14, 2008

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
Yeah, the jig saw wasn't used a whole lot and I wasn't expecting much from it. The original owner was neither my grandpa or uncle and he didn't mind passing it on. Nonetheless, it was free.

As for the legs - I want more of a blocky appearance. I am concerned with aesthetics to a degree. 2"x4" 's do indeed seem 'crude' and more 'shop-like'. I don't know how to get a 3x3 without doing some milling (with equipment I don't have).

I may use 2"x3" 's.

Moist von Lipwig
Oct 28, 2006

by FactsAreUseless
Tortured By Flan

TheChipmunk posted:



(6' X 3' Top) - Modeled after a Parson's table.

I'm having trouble deciding how big the legs should be. Currently I have it drawn out to 2x3 (Legs, Aprons, Middle support). I'm wondering if I should use a 2x4 for legs. Really, I'd like a 3x3 but Lowes/Home Depot doesn't carry it.. I also saw a design that used multiple boards - nailing them together to get a square leg. I don't want to use nails or many screws. I want to use as few as possible.
I'm excited. Any thoughts?

Well, a Parson's table usually has pretty chunky legs, right? I'd go as thick as possible. Would 4x4 be too much?

Anyway, did you design that image? If so, what program did you use? I'm designing a cage for Chinchillas :3: and I'd really like to not have to use graph paper for the whole thing. Can anyone recommend me a good program?

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
Google Sketchup - Great program and really easy to use for designing/ideas. There is a free downloadable version and a 'pro' version with more features.

I'm thinking a 4x4 would be too heavy to lug around... But yes, as far as I know, a Parson's table has pretty chunky legs.

TheChimney
Jan 31, 2005
What is the bare minimum required to start this hobby? I am a poor student. Or is this one of those things that you shouldn't bother with unless you have a decent chunk of change?

funny song about politics
Feb 11, 2002
I consider a suitable workspace to be the bare minimum. You can get tools one at a time - one per year for the big ticket items (tablesaws, etc.) but if you have no place to let them accumulate then your hobby is doomed.

Grayham
Jun 13, 2005

I just blue myself

TheChimney posted:

What is the bare minimum required to start this hobby? I am a poor student. Or is this one of those things that you shouldn't bother with unless you have a decent chunk of change?

I would wait if I were you till you have more to spend. The tools are one thing, but the materials are another. All these things add up quick.

AbsentMindedWelder
Mar 26, 2003

It must be the fumes.

TheChimney posted:

What is the bare minimum required to start this hobby? I am a poor student. Or is this one of those things that you shouldn't bother with unless you have a decent chunk of change?
A cross cut saw and a Rip saw (you can get combination saws that do both which would be OK)
A coping saw
A tape measure
Combination square
Hammer
Screwdriver(s)
A power drill and some bits.

Other useful stuff:
Sawhorses
Vise
Clamps

Buy everything else as you need it to complete projects, and your budget allows.

You can do an amazing amount of work the simple tools above.

You can get these tools together in the first list for less then $100, I would imagine, if you shop around. You can also, if your on a budget, just put a WANTED ad on craiglist. Most guys with spare tools are more then happy to help out students/young people who want to get into this sort of a hobby.

You do not NEED expensive woodworking tools to do good work, as long as you have some time, patience, and ingenuity.

The best thing you can do is watch the New Yankee Workshop. Even if you don't have alot of the tools Norm has, you can learn alot from watching him work.

Materials can be expensive. One thing you can do is go around to jobsites where they are doing housing work and ask the guys if you can fish through their scraps.

If you need a square 1x1 piece of lumber, you can cut it out of a 2x4 if you have to... I encourage you to dive in headfirst. Getting started is more important then having all the tools you need.

AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Jul 18, 2008

Cmdr. Chompernuts
Jun 6, 2004

TheChimney posted:

What is the bare minimum required to start this hobby? I am a poor student. Or is this one of those things that you shouldn't bother with unless you have a decent chunk of change?

Tell us more about your situation. I have been saving up so I can afford a shop when I have my own place, but at the moment I use a shop that my university has and let's students use. I've used it so much they now have me teach and had me rewrite the safety quiz, which was last written by an idiot.

TheChipmunk
Sep 29, 2003

Eschew Obfuscation
A university shop is a good idea - especially if you need to do work on more expensive machines. The only problem: You better plan and have your measurements spot on.

AbsentMindedWelder
Mar 26, 2003

It must be the fumes.
Now that I'm into metalcasting, I'll be doing alot more woodworking then I have been lately. (Kinda funny how a metal object to be cast usually starts out as a woodworking project!)

In any event, I want to make a jig(s) to use my router for making wooden plaques and signs that will then be cast into metal. I'm mostly interested in using it to make either raised or recessed letters, but the flexibility to do other things would be neat.

I'm interested in any ideas be it as simple as something that holds the router in place and let's it move so the operator uses it freehand style, or something as complex as a Homebuilt Linux powered woodworking CNC operation.

TheChimney
Jan 31, 2005

Cmdr. Chompernuts posted:

Tell us more about your situation. I have been saving up so I can afford a shop when I have my own place, but at the moment I use a shop that my university has and let's students use. I've used it so much they now have me teach and had me rewrite the safety quiz, which was last written by an idiot.

Apparently the house I thought I was going to be living in is already rented out. So now I have to live in an apartment for this upcoming semester. Looks like no woodworking for me.

Reggie Died
Mar 24, 2004

optikalus posted:

Platform bed frame / headboard




Love this. I was actually just at Ikea looking for a bedframe, then figured I could probably make my own for less money.

I've used power tools before, but I'm not a finished carpenter (I frame houses and decks for a living). Did you work off set plans, or did you just wing it?

optikalus
Apr 17, 2008

Reggie Died posted:

Love this. I was actually just at Ikea looking for a bedframe, then figured I could probably make my own for less money.

I've used power tools before, but I'm not a finished carpenter (I frame houses and decks for a living). Did you work off set plans, or did you just wing it?

This is actually a combination of a few beds that I saw, so no plans. The headboard is ripped off of a design I saw on in Ethan Allen (for like $2k), and the platforms are from some really high-end furniture site catalog (I don't remember the link, though).

This thing is actually pretty ghetto, but it works surprisingly well. You can't even tell that it is ghetto until you disassemble it.

The box is just screwed into the headboard at a few points, and I used heavy-duty metal L brackets to hold the box together, and eye hooks and turnbuckles to keep the edges of the platform tight.

If I weren't worried about moving it, I could have built it much more solidly, but the thing is /huge/, so it has to be broken down in multiple pieces to make it through the door.

ChaoticSeven
Aug 11, 2005

Walnut/Padauk + new camera.

Dongsmith
Apr 12, 2007

CLANG THUD SPLUT

ChaoticSeven posted:

Walnut/Padauk + new camera.


these boxes are consistently slick as hell

Oshata Hyotesti
Sep 27, 2003
Ultros
Can someone explain the process of molding plywood? It seems interesting and I was wondering what kind of tool and materials you would need to do such a thing on your own.

Blooot
Mar 19, 2001

Reggie Died posted:

Love this. I was actually just at Ikea looking for a bedframe, then figured I could probably make my own for less money.

You've likely figured wrong. Economy of scale and all that. Buying from Ikea is always cheaper than building. A better reason to build is that you want something that is not readily available or you're knocking off designer stuff.

I'm working on a dining table right now made of laminated 2x4s. It is based around three 10.5" wide (7 layer) 6' long sections glued and framing nailed together which will attached together with 1/4" spacers between them. I sent each of them through a planer many, many times (could only remove <1/32 at a time) to get the top completely flat and the overall thickness down to 3.25". Each part weighs prob 40lbs, so this sucked. I should have taken pics, but I'll get some next week. The other 5 sides are unfinished aside from breaking the edges of the 2x4s. The ends of each section are done in a nice snaggletooth pattern (taking advantage of Home Depots lack of cutting precision). Going to stain it white and clear coat it. If it all works out it should feel awesomely sturdy and look really expensive. $50 in wood, $70 in renting the nail gun and nails, $180 in steel for the legs, $60 in hardware to put it together so far. Hoping to keep it all under $500 and I REALLY hope the wood doesn't do something crazy and break itself apart as it settles and ages. I figure a similar table from DWR would be $2K+.

Blooot
Mar 19, 2001

Did the final wood working part of this project yesterday in my work's machine shop and borrowed my friend's truck to get them home. Didn't go quite as well as planned.

Being more familiar with machining than wood working, I designed parts that basically need machined features to work together, but much larger than usual billet aluminum or plastic parts I design at work. This presented a problem with the equipment I had at my disposal. I needed to drill holes to mount the legs but the components were too big to get on a mill and our drill press didn't have the Z reach to be of much use. Precision then fell out the window as I resorted to hand drilling a 1/2" spade bit through 9" of fir 12 times. This lead to a lot of crooked holes, some semi-fixable blowout/breaks in the wood, but fortunatly nothing messing up the top surface. I had to give up at this point of making it "pefect" -- and as such it is not really sellable (which is fine since I'm planning on using it), but it's not a terrible prototype.

The crookedness of the holes made me rethink my leg attachment method and switch from bolts to threaded studs. It is way easier to turn a nut on a crooked stud than a bolt threading in crooked into a threaded hole -- crossthread city.

Picked up some staining and finishing stuff today at lunch and have started on those processes this evening. Hoping to have the top stain down by bedtime.

On with the terrible pictures courtesy of my camera phone -- my trusty 5 year old Canon S1 IS recently gave up on me.



The three pieces (72x10.5x3.25 each) -- loving heavy


Snaggletooth ends




The drill goes in the right spot


Sometimes they come out right spot :)


Sometimes :pwn:

Blooot fucked around with this message at 04:40 on Aug 29, 2008

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Gnomad
Aug 12, 2008
Any of you woodworking guys familiar with the Shopsmith?

I've often been seduced by the idea of the all in one power tool setup and I see them on CL here cheap, there's one for $250 right now. I'd like to move beyond idle wood molestation to a better class of butchery.....I would like to make cabinets and doors for a house I'm building. Anyway, I know that they are expensive new and cheap used which tells me that there must be some fundamental flaw with them but yet they persist in the manufacture and sale of said Shopsmiths.

I will admit that since I'm not sure where I'm going pretty much any path will get me there.

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