Novice Q: How to make perfect squares

[Jose Quinones]

Hi All,

I am trying to make perfect squares to build a number puzzle. The size of the squares at this point is not critical (i.e. 2 to 4 inches per side is fine), but the squares must be perfect.

I am thinking of cutting them with the saw, but either I am bad, or the fence is not helping. Is there a technique with the planner to make them all the same side? Looking for tips and tricks. Thanks!

JIQ

[Greg Sznajdruk]

You have not specified what material you intend to use. If for example the material is plywood, then your table saw is most likely the best approach.

The only way I could think of to use a planner is if the material was solid wood. Then you could maybe use your planner to make a square piece of stock and then slice off pieces like you would baloney.

If the material is sheet goods and your saw is not cutting square, there are a number of web sites, which describe the process of aligning your saw. This has been discussed on this forum more than once.

These two sites maybe of interest


http://home.metrocast.net/~cpjvkj/tstu.htm (http://home.metrocast.net/~cpjvkj/tstu.htm)

http://home.att.net/~waterfront-woods/Articles/Tablesaw/tablesaw.htm (http://home.att.net/~waterfront-woods/Articles/Tablesaw/tablesaw.htm)

Good luck

Greg

[Scott Velie]

Do you mean a square or a cube?

Scott

[Eric DeSilva]

Here's something I ran across and saved for posterity. A little involved, but if you want to do a lot of this kind of thing...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Precision-Puzzlemaking-Primer----Volume-1/

[Lee Schierer]

I did a similar thing a couple of years ago. I first glued up stock slightly larger than the final size we wanted and long enought to give me enough pieces plus waste for saw kerfs. Then I jointed two sides to get flat surfaces that were perpendicular to each other. You could also do this on a table saw. Then I ran the long pieces through my planer to get them exactly the same size in two dimensions. You could also do this with a table saw. Then using the table saw, I set up a stop block so I could cut off pieces exactly the same length from the end of my long pieces using the crosscut guide on my TS. If your saw is tuned up all the pieces should come out as prefect squares.

Lee

[keith ouellette]

Have you made sure the fence is parallel with the blade and if you are using the miter gage is the miter slot parallel with the bade?

[Jose Quinones]

I meant a square. I will try the techniques suggested, of course after aligning my saw. I am so lazy I thought I could skip this step. Obviously not!

In terms of which wood I plan to use, lets just say I am a too much of a newbie. Hence, I have no idea which wood to use. Most of the stuff I do is with MDF because is cheap (not in the mood of using my unskills on pricey wood).

Thanks for the tips!

[Lee Schierer]

In terms of which wood I plan to use, lets just say I am a too much of a newbie. Hence, I have no idea which wood to use.
I made cubes for my wife for a puzzle set she made for the grandkids. Iused clear white pine. You can also use #2 white pine from the Borgs but will need to select pieces so that the knots get cut out.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Ran accross this video may be of help

http://woodguy.com/

Greg

[Bert Johansen]

Make an accurate shooting board for final tweaking. Search this site for shooting boards--there are several good posts on the subject.

[Bruce Haugen]

Jose,
I guess it all depends on what you mean by perfect.

I've made a couple chess tables that have turned out right on the money, using an accurate sled on my table saw. It works extremely well.

Bruce

[Brian Dormer]

Make sure your shop equipment (table saw and a jointer would be my first choice) is set up and aligned correctly, joint the stock flat on 2 surfaces (at a 90 degree angle) then cut the other 2 sides on the TS. With reasonably modern equipment and proper set up you should be able to achieve < .01 inch error.

For wood - it's not going to get much closer to "perfect" than that.