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Thanks, that gave me something to think about. I'm not sure if I'll go with the hand plane as I will be busy enough learning how to woodwork without learning to setup a plane as well. For table saws, are you saying something like this should be good enough to start off with? I take it Delta is good enough for a hobbyist?
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Nov 29, 2008 08:45
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Oh yeah, unless I'm way off base, Delta is generally a step-up over the "house brands" of the big box stores and what not. Seems like a pretty good price for it, too.
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Nov 29, 2008 21:12
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PMan_ posted:Oh yeah, unless I'm way off base, Delta is generally a step-up over the "house brands" of the big box stores and what not. Seems like a pretty good price for it, too. But they're cheap and it's a table saw 
grover fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Nov 29, 2008 |
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Nov 29, 2008 23:03
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Bigos posted:I am thinking of getting into woodworking and would like some advice, especially about what table saw to buy. I want to make furniture and the occasional home reno project. As much as I really want something inexpensive, quality is more important. I would rather wait and buy an expensive, good saw. Pman is right on about planes, more money equals better quality. But truthfully I use a $14 Stanley bought from Home Depot, it just takes a bit of tuning (flattening the sole and sharpening) to get good results. Every woodworker should have a block plane and a jack plane. Another hand plane that I regret not buying every time I start a project is a rabbit plane. You'll also want some good chisels. Marples blue handles are exceptional quality for the price and take a razor's edge. When it comes to tablesaws there are a couple of things to consider. First is the fence - you cannot do accurate woodworking without a good fence. A good fence should be able to handle a good whack without going out of alignment. A fence should also make it easy to use various accessories. Second is the motor. You'll see direct drive motors on cheap saws and you'll want to avoid these. Better saws have belt drives. Third most important is your blade, the Woodworker II is often recommended but there are other excellent blades out there. Among cheaper blades, Frued makes some excellent $40-50 blades. There are three general types of tablesaws: jobsite saws (like the Dewalt), contractor saws (not very portable but can be moved), and regular tablesaws (usually have a heavy enclosed base & more power). Top brands among table & contractors are Delta, Jet, Powermatic; next are Grizzly, Rigid, Craftsman (I'm probably forgetting a few). I use a Delta Contractor w/Unifence and 30" extension table. I really don't know much about that Dewalt saw or jobsite saws in general and it may be fine for testing the waters. I don't see the 16" rip limitation as that big a deal unless you're cutting sheets of plywood or making dining room tables. http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/category/tool-reviews/
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Nov 29, 2008 23:16
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dreg posted:Awesome, I love the boards with the bark still attached. I made a spalted maple bench for my sister, all with drillholes & dowels, no metal. If it ever breaks while people sit on it, then it was supposed to be a table. Nice! This looks great. Can you talk a little about what kind of finish you used on the top/sitting area? I like the high gloss finish, I'm curious if it involved much wet sanding, etc.
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Nov 30, 2008 01:25
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grover posted:Not much of a step up, at least not the base models. They're useful enough for tasks that really require a table saw to do, but the cheap table saws give terrible quality cuts. By which I don't just mean the blade chatters and leaves scorch marks and scratches (it does), but that the fence is usually not only not perfectly straight, but not adjustable to make it straight, and the throat plates aren't interchangeable and have a wide hole so small things tend to fall into it and jam. And my delta had a safety defect (they mistakenly drove a screw for the power switch THROUGH the black wire, and it shocked me three times before I figured out what was going on.) This is a good point. I've been eyefucking the Incra Systems for years now and project buying one in the next couple months... but I'm probably going to need to get a new table saw to have for the base unit. On their site they typically show JET saws as the base, I don't know if it's because of the quality or simply because they are white and show off the INCRA product better. What table saw recommendations do you guys have?
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Dec 1, 2008 06:25
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sky shark posted:What table saw recommendations do you guys have? What HP and price range?
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Dec 1, 2008 09:12
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wormil posted:What HP and price range? Don't care / $1500 max. That said though, it should be a shop saw or contractors saw or similar since that's what the INCRA system was designed for. I could go all out and get a cabinet saw but this setup is probably going to wind up on wheels for moving around the shop.
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Dec 1, 2008 20:35
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sky shark posted:Don't care / $1500 max. That said though, it should be a shop saw or contractors saw or similar since that's what the INCRA system was designed for. I could go all out and get a cabinet saw but this setup is probably going to wind up on wheels for moving around the shop. Well in that price range I would go full tilt with a 3HP 230v Delta cabinet saw with a mobile base. The downside is that a Delta or Jet are probably at the top or a little over your price range although you might get a deal from someone local. You could easily fit a Grizzly cabinet into your budget. If you want to save some dough or really want to stick with a contractor saw, any of the major brands I mentioned previously are within your budget. Here is a nice $800 setup from Delta.  Or a $900 setup with a Biesemeyer fence.  I have the Unifence and like it considerably and it does have some built in advantages such as being easily reverserable without having to realign. It has a thin face for thin materials and height off the table is easily adjustable. Not to mention its built like a brick shithouse and can take a pretty good whack without needing readjustment. On the other hand, there are a lot of shop made jigs designed for Biesemeyer. I wouldn't recommend a jobsite saw unless you really need mobility or have a very limited budget.
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Dec 2, 2008 02:15
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Some things I've done lately: Oak candleholder  Birch ply cd shelf   Beautiful mid century danish couch with matching chair for a steal (did not make)  Steam-bent green Oak bench  ..but after we took out the inside bracing we realized it wouldn't support enough weight, so now its a "sculpture"  Zip ties were to hold the pieces as they dried, then we went in with epoxy.
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Dec 2, 2008 16:57
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wormil posted:Well in that price range I would go full tilt with a 3HP 230v Delta cabinet saw with a mobile base. The downside is that a Delta or Jet are probably at the top or a little over your price range although you might get a deal from someone local. You could easily fit a Grizzly cabinet into your budget. Honestly, the fence is probably going to be removed entirely, because the INCRA system replaces it. The INCRA system is designed for repeatable micro adjustable precision, which is why I wanted a great saw to go with it. Just don't need the fence
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Dec 2, 2008 18:43
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If the thought that the Incra Fences are designed for contractor saws is holding you back from getting a cabinet saw, well don't let it. Fences are all pretty much mounted the same, a few bolt holes in the table. You could get a Grizzly 1023 and stick a mobile base under it for around 1000 bucks if you go through their Ebay store and use cashback. It's a nice hunk o' saw. I'm going to be making a couple dozen of these and shopping them around, money be running low and I need to make some extra cash. 
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Dec 4, 2008 00:32
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ChaoticSeven posted:I'm going to be making a couple dozen of these and shopping them around, money be running low and I need to make some extra cash. I think yours is the 2nd easiest, man that's a simple looking project
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Dec 4, 2008 01:25
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ChaoticSeven posted:What am I missing here? Does it balance no matter how much is in it? Seriously, this picture makes me feel retarded.
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Dec 4, 2008 01:32
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You can adjust the balance point by moving the neck of the bottle in and out. It's supposed to be able to balance full and empty and any point in between. I don't drink generally, but I guess I'll have to drink this awesome $6.99 bottle of wine for science.
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Dec 4, 2008 02:38
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cucumbrrr posted:Nice! This looks great. Can you talk a little about what kind of finish you used on the top/sitting area? I like the high gloss finish, I'm curious if it involved much wet sanding, etc. Thanks! I just sprayed on basic Gloss Varathane. I did one coat, then wet-sanded by hand in circles, cleaned it with a dry cloth, then at least 12 more coats on until it was shiny enough, then polished it with a dry cloth.
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Dec 4, 2008 03:46
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iwannabebobdylan posted:What am I missing here? Does it balance no matter how much is in it? You and me both. I now know what to do with a random piece of mystery hardwood I bought several years ago. It's very hard and looks sort of like zebrawood. These would make good gifts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIuczXLgTY wormil fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Dec 4, 2008 |
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Dec 4, 2008 16:52
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My pops is a fairly advanced woodworker (mostly works on big stuff but enjoys building boxes and such from time to time), and for Christmas this year I'd like to get him a nice set of chisels since the few he owns are pretty old and worn. Trying to stay in a $50-$75 budget. I found this set on Woodcraft but I don't want to get him a piece of crap set because he knows what he is doing and he'll just end up not using them. Looking at some of the prices on other chisels, this set seems absurdly inexpensive. Is it junk or just a good deal? If it sucks, any ideas for something else in that price range?
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Dec 14, 2008 04:36
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ChaoticSeven posted:awesome dovetail box Hey ChaoticSeven, Been trying to figure out gifts for a few people this year and I just saw that box and was wondering if you had plans for it or just made it on a whim. Any advice on making that would be awesome.
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Dec 14, 2008 18:33
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Okay I posted a similar post in the build your own speakers thread, but I think the woodworking thread is a better place to ask for router advice. I plan on buying a plunge router shortly to be able to build my own speakers after the holiday seasons. I've been keeping my eyes open for deals on a plunge router, but want to make sure what I am finding are actually decent tools. So far the two I have found that seem decent to me are: Freud Avanti 2.25hp plunge router for $100 http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=273209-333-FT1702VCEK&lpage=none Milwaukee 1.75in 1.7hp plunge router for $130 http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...03+90401+527284 Are either of these decent tools for a good price?
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Dec 14, 2008 20:05
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That is not a bad deal for the Freud router. Woodcraft is also running a special on it that comes with a pre-drilled aluminum plate for a router table, too, for $130: http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=837562P&FamilyID=80042&homepagedeal=true All in all, both of those routers seem pretty good, though you may want to go for the 2.25HP one. If you are looking for other options, Woodcraft also has a 2.25 HP Triton router for $210, which I have and love.
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Dec 14, 2008 22:25
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Lord_Xar posted:Hey ChaoticSeven, I just made it up as I went. I don't know where you're coming from as far as experience and tooling goes so I'll just throw a few things out. The dovetails I cut with a dovetail jig. I use the Leigh D4R. If you don't have a jig take a look at this website : http://www2.gol.com/users/nhavens/htmlfile/dt1-e.html It takes a beginners approach to hand cut dovetails. The rest is basic box making, making sure the members of both sides are exactly equal and square. For some tips on cutting hinge mortises look a little further back in this thread previous to the box picture where I asked about it and got some help. Making a few of these,maple and cherry. The cherry is thicker than the maple so the holder is slightly elevated when not on a pillow :  
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Dec 15, 2008 03:13
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"[panic posted:"] I'm not familiar with those chisels, they may be awesome or crap, sorry. They have a youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeFCfmBIRKk It's always better to have a few very good chisels than a whole set of mediocre chisels. The most commonly used sizes are 1/4" & 3/8", then probably 3/4". Sneak a peak at his current chisels and try to guess which ones he uses most and what brand they are. Really good chisels will last most people a lifetime. Also there are two main types of chisels, bench and mortis The Marples are often considered exceptional value chisels. http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=111165&FamilyID=294 The Sorbys are swanky chisels but come with a swanky price tag. Also check out http://www.hartvilletool.com http://www.leevalley.com/wood/index.aspx?c=
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Dec 15, 2008 07:42
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I've read most of this thread, but it's long so forgive me if any of my questions have already been answered. My project is to build essentially an heirloom-quality kitchen island (its actually a fraternity altar, but the sizing is about the same). My questions: What would be the best wood to use for this project? I'd prefer not to go with a veneer, but just a simple hardwood. But I want this to overall outlive me personally. What hardware (locks, cabinetry stuff) is typically good for long-term projects? Finally the cabinet is going to be on industrial casters for movement and will need some very sturdy handles to be able to move from our house's first floor to the second and back once or twice per year. For purely aesthetic reasons, I'm almost thinking I'd kind of like to do somethig in the style of Indiana Jones' Ark of the Covenent tube-handles, but I don't know what those are called, so I can't seem to find anything about how to make them or buy them. Some help, sil vous plaite? (P.S. If it matters for moisture and stuff, this will ALWAYS be inside, but we live in Maine for whatever that matters in terms of moisture and climate)
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Dec 17, 2008 19:27
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It sounds like quite a project. There is no perfect wood but any of the following are commonly available and would be superb choices: mahogany (there is a reason it is the most common furniture wood, easy to work, straight grained, stable, rot resistant; careful there are fake mahoganies), cherry (more difficult to work & finish but very beautiful), white oak (you want quartersawn for nice furniture), and walnut (gorgeous cool brown color; careful of the dust). Poplar is normally used for secondary wood that you won't see. There are other woods available, maple, ash, red oak, cedar, sassafras, sycamore, teak and a variety of exotic hardwoods; but the ones above are your best bet. Also, there is much fine furniture made with veneer. It saves on cost and makes construction simpler. Can't help with the tube handle things, might have to go custom made. The hardware is going to depend much on the style. Definitely want to see pictures when done.
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Dec 18, 2008 03:40
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I'm bored. I'm out of school for the rest of this month, and I'm itching to make something with hand tools. I don't care to make anything big, so I'm looking at making a small box; probably going to look at something I can put my cufflink, watches, and stuff in. I've got three questions: 1) Anyone have a set of plans? I'm really looking for ideas here. Some of the boxes posted earlier in the thread are neat, but I'm looking for something more... traditional. I'd like to browse sets of plans for ideas. I like the look of Shaker-style cabinets, but I kind of want something decorative for the 'feet' of the box. If you watched the New Yankee Workshop this past weekend, Norm built an "antique" table that had a scalloped skirt. Something like that is what I'm looking for. 2) Dovetails: Is there an easy way to cut these by hand? 3) Any recommended hand tools? I'm wanting to stay on a small budget, but I can afford a few inexpensive hand tools. I already know I'm going to need a better hand saw (maybe a coping saw?) I'll probably need a small plane. I've got a good set of chisels.
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Jan 4, 2009 22:12
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QuarkMartial posted:2) Dovetails: Is there an easy way to cut these by hand?  Just buy tools as you need them. Wood mallets are handy but you can build them yourself, they don't have to be pretty and it's a good way to use up scraps; mine are made from SYP. If you want fancier tools check places like Lee Valley, Garret Wade, Hartville Tools, etc. You should be willing to spend a little more on tools that cut and if you need to skimp, do so on non-cutting tools.
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Jan 5, 2009 19:20
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QuarkMartial posted:2) Dovetails: Is there an easy way to cut these by hand? It's pretty straight forward, I've done it a few time and I have no particular talent. Here's an example, you will see the tools needed: http://woodtreks.com/how-to-hand-cut-precision-dovetails-%E2%80%94-part-one-the-pins/75/ http://woodtreks.com/how-to-hand-cut-precision-dovetails-the-tails-part-2-of-2/77/ The technique vary from people to people but that should get you going.
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Jan 5, 2009 21:03
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That's similar to what I though I should do. It's fascinating to see different variations. Thanks!
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Jan 6, 2009 05:52
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I was wondering if there are any other books with more details on the mechanical properties of wood. Right now I'm looking at "Wood Handbook -- Wood as an Engineering Material" which is decent. But I'd like to find more information on various species not listed. Particularly on species in Eastern europe, australia, and africa. Is there anything like this out there?
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Jan 8, 2009 09:54
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Senor P. posted:I was wondering if there are any other books with more details on the mechanical properties of wood. Right now I'm looking at "Wood Handbook -- Wood as an Engineering Material" which is decent. http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/TechSheets/techmenu.html http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/publications/index.html
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Jan 8, 2009 15:17
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I made a coffee table! My first big woodworking project since woodshop in 8th grade, It's made from oak. Tabletop is two 12" wide boards glued together. Stained with minwax Ebony stain and three coats of minwax satin polyurethane. Yay built!  Underside  After stain  Finished  Close up of finish  I am super happy with how it turned out. It's a gift to my girlfriend.
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Feb 21, 2009 02:58
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Looks sharp, great job! Also looks like some nice work on the tapers.
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Feb 23, 2009 22:35
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Hey, I wanted to drop in here and say Hi and cross-post a post I just made in the thread where a british guy was asking for feedback on setting up a workshop. First off, I am not trying to poo poo up the thread, or cause a bunch of drama. However I feel that there is a bit of misinformation, or simply bad advice, going around. My .02 is worth exactly that. My background is Industrial and Furniture Design, I've taken courses in everything from furniture design (industrial design) to furniture manufacturing (straight up "how to optimize a furniture factory" IE type courses). I currently teach an ID studio and a materials and processes course while my wife and I get our business off of the ground (which is not furniture related, furniture is a horrible business to be in, but a great hobby). I am a blended woodworker, I view power tools as "drudgery machines", in that their job is to make quick work of the boring poo poo. The skilled work I prefer to do with hand tools. I do not design to what the machine can do, I design for what looks good and is structurally and functionally sound, then I use the machines for the boring parts, and hand tools for the skilled parts, or for operations where power tools would be too difficult to set up or simply cant perform the operation. Here is where I will repost what I posted in the workshop thread: gemorris posted:Before you build a workbench, you NEED to read Christopher Schwarz's blog and his book, get started here. I am almost done building a bench just like the one I linked to, Scandinavian benches are complete poo poo imho, please do not run out and buy a workbench. So yeah, not a huge fan of table saws, especially not table saws that do not have riving knives at a minimum, or blade brakes like the sawstop. I hate Norm Abrams and his ilk that have brainwashed people into making the table saw the center of their shop. The ubiquity of panel goods is also to blame, but I wish more people were taught from the beginning how awesome bandsaws can be, instead people are usually exposed to shittly tuned 14" deltas and come to the conclusion that bandsaws are poo poo. I can post some old work if you'd like, but it is mostly shittly crafted design concept work. New work will be forthcoming as soon as I wrap up my Roubo workbench this week. I'm a lot of talk, so feel free to ignore or tl;dr Edit: Oh yeah, feel free to ask about hand tools etc, I can at least point you in the right direction. GEMorris fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Mar 5, 2009 |
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Mar 5, 2009 07:58
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So much angst, so little woodworking.
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Mar 5, 2009 14:28
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wormil posted:So much angst, so little woodworking. seriously  Like I said, lovely concept work 
GEMorris fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Mar 5, 2009 |
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Mar 5, 2009 16:02
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I have a delta table saw with cast iron wings that would very much like to rust. They came with a thick coat of machine oil on them which I cleaned up. For the time being I've just been wiping a much thinner coat of clean machine oil on them but a friend suggested wax as an alternative. The idea appeals to me but I'm not sure what sort of wax would be appropriate. Plain old bee's wax is the first thing that comes to mind. Any advice? GEMorris: I like your space furniture. How are you doing this? Vacuum forming? I'd love to see the forms associated with the rocking chair, if you have pictures of them.
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Mar 5, 2009 18:45
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laod posted:I have a delta table saw with cast iron wings that would very much like to rust. They came with a thick coat of machine oil on them which I cleaned up. For the time being I've just been wiping a much thinner coat of clean machine oil on them but a friend suggested wax as an alternative. The idea appeals to me but I'm not sure what sort of wax would be appropriate. Plain old bee's wax is the first thing that comes to mind. Any advice? I use TopCote, but I don't have much of a rust problem. Many people use Johnson's Paste Wax. I'm sure you already know to avoid any product with silicone as it will create problems with finishing, except for shellac.
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Mar 5, 2009 20:22
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I want to build a bench from Schwarz's book, the English bench. He mentions buying 2x12's and ripping them into the 2x4's needed. I'm very happy to do this, but I don't have a bandsaw or a jointer/planer to make them happy. What do I do? Buy them first? But how do I know this is going to be a hobby I'm going to enjoy before I spend the money?
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Mar 8, 2009 21:24
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Jagtpanther posted:I want to build a bench from Schwarz's book, the English bench. He mentions buying 2x12's and ripping them into the 2x4's needed. I'm very happy to do this, but I don't have a bandsaw or a jointer/planer to make them happy. What do I do? Buy them first? But how do I know this is going to be a hobby I'm going to enjoy before I spend the money? Forget about making a fancy workbench as your first project, its a waste of time. You don't need to read books or any of that poo poo first just throw an old door on some sawbenches or build a simpler workbench. I think we discussed some plans earlier in this thread. Get some basic hand tools, good tools but don't go overboard, and start building projects. Take a woodworking class. Once you have some skills and if you still have all your fingers, and you get an idea whether you enjoy it then you can build up your shop. That old workbench can become an assembly table or finishing table and you can build a nice workbench. Years ago one of the woodworking mags published pictures of some gorgeous furniture built by a Mexican with woodworking equipment he built from pallets and washing machine motors plus whatever else he could scrounge. Skill always trumps tools, always. So learn the skills then bring your shop up to your level.
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Mar 9, 2009 00:08
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