Dave Anderson
03-27-2003, 6:06 PM
It's too late to help me with my current project but I'm hoping for some advice that will help me do better in the future. After all, isn't that the goal for all us hobbyist woodworkers, continuous improvement?
I made a wheel-around cart for LOML and wanted to practice my miter skills. So, I edge-banded the cart with oak and mitered the corners. Used biscuits and glue to join the banding to the cart. My CMS did a great job of giving me "perfect" 90* corners. The dry-fit was perfect - I could have shaved with those corners!
Then, disaster struck during glue-up. (Boy, those biscuits sure can swell in a hurry!) I was chasing the clock but got everything lined up and clamped in good order. Call it a day - let it sit in the clamps overnight and check the beauty of my work in the morning.
To my horror, the corners weren't perfect, as they had been in the dry-fit. Two of the corners were good but the other two had slipped a bit such that one 45* was sticking past the other and on top of that, there was a slight gap in the joint itself. A little creative sanding will hide the mistake from all but the most discerning eye.
Am I being too hard on myself? After all, I was "practicing" but LOML tells me I'm a perfectionist and adds: "it looks good to me, dear." What can I do next time to ensure that my perfect dry-fit is still perfect after glue-up? My quest is a perfect miter joint.
I made a wheel-around cart for LOML and wanted to practice my miter skills. So, I edge-banded the cart with oak and mitered the corners. Used biscuits and glue to join the banding to the cart. My CMS did a great job of giving me "perfect" 90* corners. The dry-fit was perfect - I could have shaved with those corners!
Then, disaster struck during glue-up. (Boy, those biscuits sure can swell in a hurry!) I was chasing the clock but got everything lined up and clamped in good order. Call it a day - let it sit in the clamps overnight and check the beauty of my work in the morning.
To my horror, the corners weren't perfect, as they had been in the dry-fit. Two of the corners were good but the other two had slipped a bit such that one 45* was sticking past the other and on top of that, there was a slight gap in the joint itself. A little creative sanding will hide the mistake from all but the most discerning eye.
Am I being too hard on myself? After all, I was "practicing" but LOML tells me I'm a perfectionist and adds: "it looks good to me, dear." What can I do next time to ensure that my perfect dry-fit is still perfect after glue-up? My quest is a perfect miter joint.