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Jim Becker
02-11-2007, 10:36 PM
Not long ago, I detailed a Cherry Vanity project (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=45792) for the guest bath in our soon to be built home addition. Today, I got to work on a matching wall mirror.

The first step, frankly, was a trip to Home Depot to buy a mirror. ;) Everything else about this project is based around having that shiny piece of glass available. So I found this nice Stanley 18" x 22" mirror with a 1" bevel edge in the rack...$32.99...also not bad, especially compared to having one made to a custom size.

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The first "construction step", thereafter, was to measure the mirror to see if it was indeed 18" x 22"..and it was.

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At that point, it was time to raid the lumber rack to see what the left-overs from the vanity had in store for this complimentary piece...and then choose the most suitable lumber from there. Like in the vanity, I wanted the quarter sawn/rift grain to show, so the material was sorted with that as primary. Something else that will be copied from the vanity is the use of pocket screws for assembly...no mortising or other time consuming joinery on this project.

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One of the pieces I intended to use needed to be roughed to length, so that meant a quick trip to the CMS. All other sizing will be done at the TS.

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Jim Becker
02-11-2007, 10:49 PM
The material for the rails needed a small adjustment in width from what came off the rack, so it was time to "make it so"...

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The top rail needed to be reduced in thickness so that it can be doubled up later when the mirror is assembled. (More on that later) The planer took care of this need in about two minutes, including changeover from the jointer configuration I normally leave the machine in and setting the camera to take the picture. :p

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Next, the rails were cut to length after figuring the impact of the mirror sitting in 1/4" deep slots all around. The miter on the slider was used to both guide the cut and to insure both pieces were exactly the same length by using one of the stops. The scale on the top of the miter gage is dead-on for length so no additional measuring is necessary. Since the miter gage is physically attached to the slider wagon, the ends of the cross-cut are virtually "polished".

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I took some stock left over from the columns on the vanity and ripped the two columns ("stiles") for the mirror conventionally. I then went to the jointer to insure that both pieces were flat and straight.

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As I am prone to do, I created a story stick to mark out the construction lines on the columns and did so with the two piece bound together to insure a perfect mirror :) match. The location of the rails, the extent of the mirror stopped grooves and the tapers at the bottom of the columns were all accounted for in this marking operation.

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Jim Becker
02-11-2007, 10:56 PM
Once marked, the columns could be cut to length using the saw's miter setup. Both were cut at the same time and the miter gage's stop was used to insure they both stayed put, lengthwise.

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That done, it was off to the router table to create the stopped grooves that would support the mirror glass on the sides. This required two separate setups, but they amounted to a little more than some minor "bump and clamp".

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The end result was something like shown here. The reason for stopping the groove shy of the bottom is that it would be visible to anyone with their eyes positioned low over the sink.

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The only milling left on the columns was to cut the tapers. This was done using the slider with the workpiece clamped down by a cam-clamp and the layout line right on the edge of the "universal sled" I made that goes right to the cut line.

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I was amazed at the "baby bottom smooth" nature of these tapered cuts.

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Jim Becker
02-11-2007, 11:03 PM
Both the bottom and top rails needed to be grooved to contain the mirror glass and the layout was done on the bench using shims to provide the 1/4" shadow line from the front of the columns.

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The end result is a groove that exactly matches up with those already cut on the columns.

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The last piece of cutting would be putting a gentle curve on the bottom of the lower rail...in essence to copy the same feature on the vanity this mirror would be complimenting. Since this was a small piece, I was able to quickly use one of my flexible steel rules as a guide to mark the cut line which was then executed at the bandsaw.

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Like any curved cut, it needed to be smoothed, so the OSS was put into action for a couple minutes.

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At the close of the day...after about two hours of shop time including "thinking"...the dry fit went well.

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Next steps will include making some form of "cap" for the unit out of walnut to correspond to the walnut pulls on the vanity doors and drawers, thorough sanding, assembly with pocket screws (leaving the top rail assembly unglued so that the mirror glass could be replaced in the event of an accident) and then finishing to match the vanity. But that will have to wait for the next time I get in the shop...

Zahid Naqvi
02-11-2007, 11:41 PM
Good post Jim, thanks for posting the step by step.

lou sansone
02-12-2007, 4:55 AM
nice post. looks like your really loving the 315... the slider really opens up lots of possibilities that were much harder to accomplish on a regular cabinet saw.
Lou

Jim Becker
02-12-2007, 8:53 AM
nice post. looks like your really loving the 315... the slider really opens up lots of possibilities that were much harder to accomplish on a regular cabinet saw.


Yes, but it also presents some quandries (and opportunities) that require rethinking techniques. That's not a bad thing, however...it's just part of the learning process. Aside from learning the tool, it also isn't a horrible thing to be forced to sit back and seriously think about "how to do something" and how to improve the process at the same time. It's easy to get into a "technique rut" over time and that's not good for learning and improving skills.

One thing I can say right now that I'm learning quickly is to think more about fastening the wood down for a cut and letting the machine do the dirty work. This is very different from most use of an American style table saw where outside of some sled techniques, you move the wood. With the slider, the wood stays stationary and you in effect, move the tool with your hands away from the cutter.

Art Mulder
02-12-2007, 9:05 AM
assembly with pocket screws (leaving the top rail assembly unglued so that the mirror glass could be replaced in the event of an accident)

So... how are you attaching this, if not with pocket screws? Hmm, you could make 1/4" stub tennons that just slide down from the top, but you've
already cut the rail to length.

Jim Becker
02-12-2007, 9:30 AM
Yes, I could use stub tenons, but the top rail still needs to be removable. Rather than do all the extra milling, I just opted for pocket screws and nothing else...that means no glue. There is not a lot of weight involved here nor stress...it just hangs on the wall. Not using the glue means it can be disasembled in the future should the mirror, umm....meet and unfortunate end.

Mark Singer
02-12-2007, 9:32 AM
Really looks great and the new saw is working well! That will be a nice mirror and fast work!

Jameel Abraham
02-12-2007, 3:50 PM
I took some stock left over from the columns on the vanity and ripped the two columns ("stiles") for the mirror conventionally. I then went to the jointer to insure that both pieces were flat and straight.

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Jim, I noticed in this pic that you are ripping in the typical table-saw manner, yet the sliding table is (akwardly maybe?) is between you and the stock, and you look to be pushing on the offcut side. So how did you finish this cut? Could you also give us some thoughts on conventional ripping with this saw?

Dan Mages
02-12-2007, 3:55 PM
Looking really good Jim!! How do you plan on finishing it?

Bruce Page
02-12-2007, 4:06 PM
It didn't take long for you to put that new machine to work!
Nice post.

Jim Becker
02-12-2007, 4:17 PM
Jim, I noticed in this pic that you are ripping in the typical table-saw manner, yet the sliding table is (awkwardly maybe?) is between you and the stock, and you look to be pushing on the off cut side. So how did you finish this cut? Could you also give us some thoughts on conventional ripping with this saw?

Conventional ripping works the same as on my previous saw outside of a slight change in position. I have not found it uncomfortable and am getting used to it. As to the photo, the camera snapped as my right hand was bringing the push block over to the workpiece to complete the cut. The left hand is just supporting the workpiece as it would on any normal rip. The feather board is keeping the material against the fence as it would on a cabinet saw, too.

The only issue I've had so far with ripping conventionally has been with very narrow rips as the outfeed table has a large gap between the slider and itself. That will be rectified "real soon now" when I add a router/shaping station in that position with some BenchDog stuff. ;) I'll also be making some ZCI inserts. Later, when I have time, I'm going to make a ripping jig for the slider similar to the one that Sam Blasco and Paul Cresti have pictured here and/or at other places. This is all part of the thinking about process during learning this new tool. There are so many ways to do things, all of them viable. I have to find out what works best for me.

Jim Becker
02-12-2007, 4:17 PM
Looking really good Jim!! How do you plan on finishing it?

Same as the vanity...BLO, shellac and water borne.

Mike Waddell
02-12-2007, 5:22 PM
Great post, Jim. I enjoyed seeing the process... that is something that I rarely thing through before starting a project and end up setting up some of the machines multiple times.

Guess we learn the hard way sometimes!

Mike

Jameel Abraham
02-12-2007, 6:34 PM
Conventional ripping works the same as on my previous saw outside of a slight change in position. I have not found it uncomfortable and am getting used to it. As to the photo, the camera snapped as my right hand was bringing the push block over to the workpiece to complete the cut. The left hand is just supporting the workpiece as it would on any normal rip. The feather board is keeping the material against the fence as it would on a cabinet saw, too.

So your right hand is pushing on the workpiece with the pushblock, what happens when you complete the cut and your right arm runs into the blade guard/dust hose? Am I missing something here?