Noob Woodworker Basic Question

[John Emwonk]

Hi

I'm very impressed with all of the collective wisdom here and grateful for the help so far.

Now that I have my shop taking shape, I am humbled to learn my imagination is far superior to even the most basic of my woodworking skills.

Case in point: I tried to make a cross for Easter for my daughter from curly koa. All fired up about using the golden mean for the ratio of cross bar to post. I failed, and ran out of time.

I had planned to splice the bar to the post by cutting half way through each, and gluing them together. I found I could not figure out how to cut precisely 1/2 way through each, or how to make the channel in each the perfect size for a tight fit.

Now I'm falling back to pine having learned lesson one about not using the most expensive wood I can find as a beginner. Even on very small projects.

How would you recommend a novice solve what must be a simple problem?

Relevant tools on hand include a nice band saw, router with table, table saw. Hand files large and small. Scroll saw. Sand paper. Hope.

thanks all

[Mike Null]

John

Given your tools, I would probably tackle the job with the table saw. Obviously you need to carefully measure the width and thickness of the wood. Determine and mark where you want the joint on both pieces and set the blade height just south of the halfway point. Make multiple crosscut passes staying just inside your marks. Do a dryfit to see what is left to be done and whether you can proceed by hand from here. Use your files carefully (a chisel would be better) and take off minimal amounts until you have a perfect fit.

I would probably use my dado blade for most of this work as it would be faster and my final fitting would be with my chisels just shaving lightly until I have the fit. I am by no means the master that many of our members are so be advised.

[Jamie Buxton]

That's called a half-lap joint. Considering your tools and skills, the most straightforward way to make it is with the table saw. You make multiple passes with the saw and the miter gauge to nibble away the wood. A small downside to using the table saw is that it tends to leave a slightly rough glue surface. There's actually enough area that it will be a fair glue surface.

You need more knowledge than you'll get with short questions on the web. There's a thread currently running with lots of book suggestions: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?216433-Book-recommendations-on-woodworking

[glenn bradley]

I'll point out the silver lining here. You learned that making prototypes out of old pallets and scrap when addressing a new skill is better than creating expensive scrap.

Conceptual drawing:

287712

Prototype out of pallet wood:

287711

Final product:

287713

The Golden Ratio doesn't generally apply to crosses in my humble experience. It is more a matter of ratios based on the width. In the US, most folks are used to seeing the 1:3 ratio.

287714

As to your half lap joint, there are many ways to make one but, regardless of method practicing on scrap would be a good exercise. I will use a dado stack or the router table for larger cuts but, a flat top grind blade in the table saw works well for smaller intersections. You will want your material clamped tightly to a backer board to prevent spelching (blowout) at the exit of the cut. Set the depth first by making test cuts on carefully dimensioned scrap and then sneak up on the width.

[Art Mann]

Hey Glenn, the prototype out of pallet wood looks pretty good to me! I think i would be inclined to finish it up and use it some way. I make keepsake boxes, mantle clocks and the like in groups of 5 or so. I always make the first one out of red oak, poplar or some other cheap wood and the rest out expensive material. Doing it this way, I verify the basic design and the setup of every cut with expendable material. I have several of those prototypes still sitting around the house. I would suggest that the original poster do the same if he is using really expensive wood.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Mike has it dead-nuts.

Start shallow, cut both parts, dry fit.

Raise blades, repeat. Carefully sneak up on it.

Warning: keep in mind that if you raise the blades by 1/32", you are changing the fit by 1/16" total.

That last little bit on raising the blades is critical.

I clean up joints like that using my face float, but most folks don't have that critter. You can also use coarse adhesive-backed sandpaper on a block of wood - sandpaper on the face only, not on the edges - you don't want to mess with those joint surfaces.

Last - Depending on what I am making, before I mount the dado stack, I will sometimes "outline" the joints with a good cross-cut blade, so that the cuts on the faces are very clean.

[John Emwonk]

Thanks for the great help and book recommendations.

I have a two pieces of koa ready to go (I am on the brink of being able to make stock that is square with right angles.)

Another benefit of using cheap wood for these simple starter projects -- no finishing!

I need to learn how to measure table saw cut depth accurately. I find eyeballing with a combo square to be suboptimal. Is that it and I need practice or is there a handy tool that straddles both sides of the blade for easy adjustment?

thanks again

[Bruce Page]

John, Google Table Saw blade height gage there are several types to choose from. I use a machine shop type height gage when I need a precise depth of cut.

[Joe A Faulkner]

It sounds like you need more scraps, and the easiest way to get scraps is to buy lumber and build stuff. Once you have scraps, then in addition to considering building prototypes, you can make some "practice" joints or in many cases, just practice cuts or "set up" cuts. Poplar is a nice, affordable, stable wood that is easy to work. You might buy 8-10 bf just to have on hand for some practice cuts, or better yet, make a simple book shelf, wall cabinet, saw horse, assembly table, outfeed table, work table ... for the shop out of poplar. That will give you a useful accessory for the shop and some scraps to draw on for your next project.

[Don Huffer]

Building your own gage would be a good project to learn from. Would cover a few aspects of cuts on the table saw.

[Charles Wiggins]

John,

If you're a visual learner like me, YouTube is your friend, but half the challenge is knowing what things are called so you know what to look up. The good news is, the more you learn intentionally, the more you will learn incidentally.

Here's a video that covers four common woodworking joints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqXLYe783qw

[Jim Matthews]

We all struggle with these fundamentals.

If you have the time, invest in some instruction.
You'll shorten the learning curve, and keep all your digits intact.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/article/woodworking-schools-directory.aspx

I have taken several excellent classes at the Connecticut Valley school of woodworking.
It concentrates on power tools, and teaches safe methods that can be reproduced in a home shop.

As I get older, I do less with power tools and focus on smaller projects made by hand.
No dust collection required, and I can do it in the basement when my kids are asleep.

Both are valid approaches, but hand tool users can park cars in their garages.

[John Emwonk]

Building your own gage would be a good project to learn from. Would cover a few aspects of cuts on the table saw.

I like your idea a lot and the picture shows womething doable with my router table setup -- as soon as I get that set up and get the right bits. Did you follow a plan for this or make it up as you went a long? If you could share the plan or link me to it I would be grateful.

[John Emwonk]

We all struggle with these fundamentals.

If you have the time, invest in some instruction.
You'll shorten the learning curve, and keep all your digits intact.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/article/woodworking-schools-directory.aspx

I have taken several excellent classes at the Connecticut Valley school of woodworking.
It concentrates on power tools, and teaches safe methods that can be reproduced in a home shop.

As I get older, I do less with power tools and focus on smaller projects made by hand.
No dust collection required, and I can do it in the basement when my kids are asleep.

Both are valid approaches, but hand tool users can park cars in their garages.
Thans Jim

A gentleman working at a local branch of a national woodworkers supply chain handed me a biz card that indicates he does training. He is a retired wood shop teacher, or something like that. I'm calling him today.

[John Emwonk]

John,

If you're a visual learner like me, YouTube is your friend, but half the challenge is knowing what things are called so you know what to look up. The good news is, the more you learn intentionally, the more you will learn incidentally.

Here's a video that covers four common woodworking joints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqXLYe783qw

I am a visual learner And I know what you mean about the value of learning the vocabulary. I feel like a child approaching this. Enjoying it nonetheless.

[Jim Matthews]

Best of luck.

I have a local woodworker that I consider my mentor.
I don't do projects in his shop, but for the price of a coffee -
he can always help me out of a rough patch.

There's no substitute for experience, and Dan seems to like the company.

[John Emwonk]

I'll point out the silver lining here. You learned that making prototypes out of old pallets and scrap when addressing a new skill is better than creating expensive scrap....

Thanks to you for this good input as well.

I have read every post carefully and plan to follow every suggestion. Best regards

[Stan Calow]

Just my opinion, but for a newbie, I would suggest cutting the lap joints on the router table. Dado blades and small pieces cross-cut on table saw doesn't sound good to me. Easier to creep up to the right height on router table.

[Roger Feeley]

John, Table Saw blade height has always been a sore point with me. Sneaking up and making multiple cuts is the way to go. There should be a tension knob in the middle of the crank that raises the blade. Make sure to tighten it a bit so the blade can't drift down.

I respectfully disagree with the poster that said you should double the amount by which you raise the blade. For a lap joint where the joinery is hidden, like in your cross, once you have both pieces cut somewhere near the halfway point, there is no reason to cut both laps every time. So what if you cut 7/16ths out of one piece and 9/16ths out of the other?

There are situations where you want your joint perfect. if you are joining at the corner where the joinery shows or want to make pieces that are interchangeable, then you want your cut to go exactly halfway through.

[Floyd Mah]

Get a router plane. Here's one (http://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/wk38300/?inMed=GSTORE&gclid=CJ6J6L2u870CFUqUfgoddqcAKw) I found for $39.95. Take a look at the link. Old ones can be found on ebay for less, although you have to be sure that it comes with a proper blade. Despite being an old design, these planes are very handy for creating flat-bottomed areas as long as there is an adjacent parallel reference surface. For example, you can create dadoes, hinge mortices, half-lap joints once you demarcate the boundary with a sharp chisel or knife. Unlike a corded router, you can rapidly adjust the depth. As the last post suggested, you can creep up on the final dimension by adjusting the depth of one side of the half-lap to get the desired fit.

[Chris Padilla]

John,

Keep going with your imagination and with some help here your skills may catch up one day! None of us were born with these skills but we can learn....