Woodwork 101

[Flibble]

loughran said:

.... And a router. a router is vey useful.

Oh, it's a slippery slope.

I don't use mine much, they're a good way to make a mess of things quickly.

[uncinqsix]

Flibble said:

loughran said:

.... And a router. a router is vey useful.

Oh, it's a slippery slope.

I don't use mine much, they're a good way to make a mess of things quickly.

I have 3 of them. You're right about their ability to make a mess of things quickly though - much care is needed in planning and setting up cuts!

[gtidriver]

Ive been adding to my tool collection for years now, but the other day i bought the Bosch m class wet/dry vacuum cleaner, wow, i can't believe how much dust this beast sucks up when connected to power tools. Fixed/piped extraction of dust and wood chip next. Santa is going to need a bigger sleigh.

[V40TC]

build a dust cyclone
the cyclone and the containers all cheap on amazon or ebay.
I use it all the time now.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_t...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJzweKpXZx4

[olly755]

I’ve just discovered this thread and read it with much interest. Some really cracking projects here, keep up the good work!

For my sins, I earn my crust doing this and have done for almost 30 years (more if you count the years spent in the workshop with my dad as a kid) so would be happy to help out with any advice and answer any questions.

This is a snapshot of a little piece finished last week, all in oak, donated as a raffle prize for my son’s school. Did a river table last year, but this was a fun one.

[wolfracesonic]

^ Holy mitre saw Batman! I’ll have a guess how you did it; build outer carcass , lay it flat on it’s back, stand the wine bottles vertical on it, then build up the layers of ‘sticks’ making sure the first and last layer hold the bottles slightly nose down. Also have a ‘fkit’ bucket next to your bench for the pieces you cut ever so slightly short!

[olly755]

wolfracesonic said:

^ Holy mitre saw Batman! I’ll have a guess how you did it; build outer carcass , lay it flat on it’s back, stand the wine bottles vertical on it, then build up the layers of ‘sticks’ making sure the first and last layer hold the bottles slightly nose down. Also have a ‘fkit’ bucket next to your bench for the pieces you cut ever so slightly short!

Close!

In practice, the mitre saw was not plugged in at all. All individual pieces (12 layers, 15x15 PAR stock, and a surprisingly large amount of linear meters) were cut to rough size with a Japanese pull saw, and each mitre done "freestyle" by eye and cut on a Wadkin 750mm disc sander, although it could easily be done on a smaller, hobby type machine.

For setting out and constructing, an MDF base was cut to exact size, marked out for bottle positions, then 10x cylinders of cardboard packaging tube were cut and positioned onto the board with hot melt glue. The tubes were around 15mm in diameter bigger than the bottles. The sticks were then intertwined, layer by layer, to touch the tubes and therefore form the "holes". All mitred butt joints were hot melted (quickly!) and each crossing joint secured with a finger dab of PVA and a 24g pin. The sticks were left overhanging slightly, and only once all the layers were completed, were trimmed to shape in one hit on the Wadkin. You wouldn't do this with the hobby machine!

The eagle eyed will spot that the odd joint is not perfectly crisp. Time is never on the side of any woodworker trying to earn a living and pay the overheads, and even less when there is no pay cheque at the end of the job. Speed is of the essence for a "freebie": total job time was around 16 hours. But sometimes its a good opportunity to try out a new idea or technique on a "non live" client, the cost to the new owner being the price of a raffle ticket.

[loughran]

I love your wine rack, beautifully executed.... I do like a bit of ordered chaos.

Edited by loughran on Sunday 15th December 07:59

[uncinqsix]

Finally finished a long-running program of woodwork for the lounge: two sideboards, four box shelves, a mantelpiece (hollow to conceal the TV cables), and a table lamp



The lamp:

[Pheo]

olly755 said:

I’ve just discovered this thread and read it with much interest. Some really cracking projects here, keep up the good work!

For my sins, I earn my crust doing this and have done for almost 30 years (more if you count the years spent in the workshop with my dad as a kid) so would be happy to help out with any advice and answer any questions.

This is a snapshot of a little piece finished last week, all in oak, donated as a raffle prize for my son’s school. Did a river table last year, but this was a fun one.

Wow, can we buy tickets?

[Jambo85]

uncinqsix said:

Flibble said:

loughran said:

.... And a router. a router is vey useful.

Oh, it's a slippery slope.

I don't use mine much, they're a good way to make a mess of things quickly.

I have 3 of them. You're right about their ability to make a mess of things quickly though - much care is needed in planning and setting up cuts!

I’m just starting on this slippery slope - is there a better tool (within the reach of an amateur) for making notches and rebates and the like?

[uncinqsix]

Jambo85 said:

I’m just starting on this slippery slope - is there a better tool (within the reach of an amateur) for making notches and rebates and the like?

Depends on the exact nature of the rebate or notch. For a long rebate or groove, nothing comes close to a router. For a mortise and tenon joint, saw and chisels can sometimes be better.

Think through what you want to make and the type of joinery you plan to use, and select tools based on that. If the answer to that happens to be a router, know that you will end up using it a lot for future projects.

[Jambo85]

uncinqsix said:

Depends on the exact nature of the rebate or notch. For a long rebate or groove, nothing comes close to a router. For a mortise and tenon joint, saw and chisels can sometimes be better.

Think through what you want to make and the type of joinery you plan to use, and select tools based on that. If the answer to that happens to be a router, know that you will end up using it a lot for future projects.

Thanks - I actually already bought one cheap as an impulse buy. Handheld though, wondering if I can combine it with my table saw into a router table...?

[uncinqsix]

Jambo85 said:

Thanks - I actually already bought one cheap as an impulse buy. Handheld though, wondering if I can combine it with my table saw into a router table...?

What sort of router is it? Most are designed to go into a table one way or another.

[Jambo85]

uncinqsix said:

What sort of router is it? Most are designed to go into a table one way or another.

I think it’s this fella here:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/mac-allister-msr1200-12...

Reckon it’s doable? My main concern (without really knowing what I’m doing) is that its depth ability isn’t the best without a table in the way.

[uncinqsix]

Depends on your table. Some have universal clamp thingies that can take almost any router, while others have screw holes that you screw the base of the router to. Usually 4 holes in a square at 85mm spacing.

You do lose a little depth, but normally only around 6mm or so. This isn't a problem for the bigger 1/2" routers that normally get used in tables, but might limit what your 1/4" one can do.

[wolfracesonic]

uncinqsix said:

Finally finished a long-running program of woodwork for the lounge: two sideboards, four box shelves, a mantelpiece (hollow to conceal the TV cables), and a table lamp



The lamp:

Very nice, like the lamp; is this style what we’re calling mid-century now?

[uncinqsix]

wolfracesonic said:

Very nice, like the lamp; is this style what we’re calling mid-century now?

Thanks - yes it is indeed.

[Jambo85]

uncinqsix said:

Depends on your table. Some have universal clamp thingies that can take almost any router, while others have screw holes that you screw the base of the router to. Usually 4 holes in a square at 85mm spacing.

You do lose a little depth, but normally only around 6mm or so. This isn't a problem for the bigger 1/2" routers that normally get used in tables, but might limit what your 1/4" one can do.

Thanks again. Will get to it one day!

[Drumroll]

Jambo85 said:

I think it’s this fella here:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/mac-allister-msr1200-12...

Reckon it’s doable? My main concern (without really knowing what I’m doing) is that its depth ability isn’t the best without a table in the way.

Chris Tribe ( cabinet maker, who also runs courses and has written a great book on woodworking ( https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/complete-woodwo... ) )

has also produced a video on how to make a router table https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPtT-O_1xvg