Handtools first...

[John Dykes]

With mere hours until I am released from the corporate quagmire, my thoughts are turning towards the garage....

Woodworking, and the associated pursuits, are a leisure activity for me - so speed isn't a great motivator. As I face each task, I try to think of ways to approach the effort primarily with handtools. Sometimes I can think of an alternate method, sometimes I can't. Smoothing a large circle for instance...

I can tell you, with day's old experience, an oversized spiral upcut bit spinning at 4000 rpm can cause a great deal of damage to a 44" round walnut tabletop in the mere blink of an eye. My next project, a 39" round walnut tabletop, I'm going to attempt to smooth the circle with a spokeshave...

That said, I found myself recently ripping small (thin and short) pieces on the tablesaw. Made me bit uncomfortable, but the Grr-riper is a great aide. What is the handtool method for ripping, creating, forming, sizing a component (or several) - say 1/2" x 1/2" x 2" long? When I think of handsaw ripping, I think of wider components - not necesssarily accurate thin work.

I get the bench hook \ shooting board for the cross-cut. But what of the rip? Nothing facing me, just curious....

Secondarily, is anyone in the market for an undersized, round walnut table?

- jbd in Denver

[Michael Faurot]

What is the handtool method for ripping, creating, forming, sizing a component (or several) - say 1/2" x 1/2" x 2" long? When I think of handsaw ripping, I think of wider components - not necesssarily accurate thin work.


What I do isn't entirely hand tool driven, but feels safer than trying to do it on a table saw alone. I cut/rip small stock like that on a bandsaw, typically a little over sized, and then clean and square it up by hand with planes.

To me this is an ideal symbiosis of using power and hand tools together.

[Wilbur Pan]

You could build an open box out of scrap with a depth of 1/2". Drop your piece into the box, and plane it down until the sole of the plane hits the top of the box. Instant 1/2" thickness.

If you had a wooden plane, you could also attach 1/2" runners to the sole, which would then serve as a depth stop.

[Johnny Kleso]

John,
I am guessing you not sure what Climb Milling is???

I am guessing you where doing it when the bit grabbed your table top..

Also I would use my TS for making the 1/2x1/2x2' with the aid of a custom plywood push stick and feather board

[Mike Henderson]

I can tell you, with day's old experience, an oversized spiral upcut bit spinning at 4000 rpm can cause a great deal of damage to a 44" round walnut tabletop in the mere blink of an eye. My next project, a 39" round walnut tabletop, I'm going to attempt to smooth the circle with a spokeshave...

Secondarily, is anyone in the market for an undersized, round walnut table?

- jbd in Denver
When trimming the edge of a round table with a router, it's best to use a circle jig, like the MicroFence (http://www.microfence.com/). Of course, you want to do a rough cut with a bandsaw or jig saw first, and don't take agressive cuts with the router, but if you do all that, you can get an excellent edge and a round table - and do it safely.

And if you want to put some edge profile on the table, you can do it with the same setup. It's safer than depending on the bearing on the router bit.

Mike

[Frank Drew]

If you do any amount of circular work, a compass plane is a very handy tool. Scroll down to nearly the bottom of the page:

http://www.fine-tools.com/ediv.htm

[Bill Houghton]

What is the handtool method for ripping, creating, forming, sizing a component (or several) - say 1/2" x 1/2" x 2" long? When I think of handsaw ripping, I think of wider components - not necesssarily accurate thin work.

First, congratulations on your graduation from work. I retired two years ago, although I got pulled into it again last year because everyone in my office had left over the course of a year, and they needed me to orient people (first two days/week, then up to four when one of the new hires left right at the beginning of the semester, now back to two, and probably over next month - the money's been nice, the lost time not so much). Even with that, retirement's the best job I ever had.

For one component of the size you describe, I'd clamp a piece of wood in the vise, use a small backsaw (or, in light woods like pine, a coping saw might work, although these are very slow), cut slightly wide of my mark, then plane to final dimension. Cutting a 1/2" groove in a piece of wood to hold the component would make the planing easier.

For several, I'd, as with power tools, cut it off a longer piece. Probably a small saw, though for light woods, like say pine, a straightedge and a good knife would probably do it too. I've seen described, and now own but haven't had the chance to use, a slitting cutter attachment for a combination plane. This is basically a striking knife edge that mounts to the side of the plane body. You set your fence for width, slice to depth from one side, then flip the board over and repeat. The description makes it sound dead easy. Having cut a length of the stock I needed, I'd then smooth it up to my desired dimensions (see above about groove in board - but longer groove, longer board), and cut off the lengths I needed.