I've been spending a large percentage of my time the last few weeks reading
books on tools and woodworking. I can't say how many times I've read that
you should always mark the pieces of your puzzle so you always know which
end is up and which end should match up with other ends ... I just cut a
mortice for the tenon on one side of a brace for my new workbench, saw that
it fit reasonably well and was happy so I went to the other side and marked
the mortice using tenon I had already cut. I carefully chiseled out the
mortice using my disappointing chisel, which is still a good deal sharper
than the Marples 5/8" straight from the package I tried next to it. I then
went to test fit the joint and saw that I had flipped the brace upside down
before marking the mortice.
The joint is almost completely hidden even if you are looking at the bottom
of the new bench so it's not that big a thing. I extended the mortice and
cut a filler piece to glue in and it's solid. I'm still kicking myself for
not taking that 30 seconds to mark everything so it wouldn't have happened
though.
Anybody want to sell some good habits? I would also be interested in
purchasing experience if any of you have too much. I would be willing to
trade some youthful exuberance if I could figure out what I did with it.
-Chris
"Christopher" <[email protected]>
: ............................................. I then
: went to test fit the joint and saw that I had flipped the brace upside
down
: before marking the mortice.
: Anybody want to sell some good habits? I would also be interested in
: purchasing experience if any of you have too much. I would be willing to
: trade some youthful exuberance if I could figure out what I did with it.
Free of charge (and of advertising and sneaky dodges) is some
information on my web site concerning the use of 'face side' and 'face edge'
marks. Please look at 'Marking Out Notes'.
Jeff G
--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
Email address is username@ISP
username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
Website www.username.clara.net
With the combionations possible connecting a horizontal
comnponent to two vertical components (pocket screws not
an option) it's a wonder that anything fits together at
the desired orientations. Wait 'til you do the glue up!
You haven't lived until you've got the parts glued in
place on the bottom half, the upper half parts are all
glued and ready to go and OOPS - one or more parts is/are
upside down, or rotatated 180 on the vertical axis or ...
So many ways to screw up, so few ways to do it right.
Check out my latest OOPS! page. Back track to see some
of the earlier F**K UPS!
www.wood-workers.com/users/charlieb/!OOPS/OOPS4.html
There's a "triangle" marking method that might help.
I think this is the one Tom referred to.
www.wood-workers.com/users/charlieb/DoveTailDrawer3.html
Now if I'd just use what I've learned - the hardway.
charlie b
PS
Expensive tools don't come with the skills and knowledge
necessary to use them correctly. But there are still
a lot of folks who think that if they spend a lot of
money on tools, heirloom quality furniture will auto-
matically spew from them. Marketing folks exploit this
all the time. Young guys think a tricked out car with
a humongous sound system will attract girls. They'd
score more hanging out at a stable and using the money
to take a girl out to dinner or a chick movie on a
regular basis. DAMHIKT.
On Sat, 6 Sep 2003 20:59:09 -0500, "Christopher" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I've been spending a large percentage of my time the last few weeks reading
>books on tools and woodworking. I can't say how many times I've read that
>you should always mark the pieces of your puzzle so you always know which
>end is up and which end should match up with other ends ... I just cut a
>mortice for the tenon on one side of a brace for my new workbench, saw that
>it fit reasonably well and was happy so I went to the other side and marked
>the mortice using tenon I had already cut. I carefully chiseled out the
>mortice using my disappointing chisel, which is still a good deal sharper
>than the Marples 5/8" straight from the package I tried next to it.
Welcome to the interface between the consumer culture and the
craftsman culture. You must sharpen these chisels before using them.
>I then
>went to test fit the joint and saw that I had flipped the brace upside down
>before marking the mortice.
>
>The joint is almost completely hidden even if you are looking at the bottom
>of the new bench so it's not that big a thing. I extended the mortice and
>cut a filler piece to glue in and it's solid. I'm still kicking myself for
>not taking that 30 seconds to mark everything so it wouldn't have happened
>though.
>
>Anybody want to sell some good habits? I would also be interested in
>purchasing experience if any of you have too much. I would be willing to
>trade some youthful exuberance if I could figure out what I did with it.
>
>-Chris
>
While the two pieces of wood are butted together, before making the
joint, take a soft lead pencil and make a line from one piece onto the
other. Continue the line away from you and loop it to the right,
looping it all the way round until it intersects the line that was
drawn going away from you and continue it past that point. When you
are done you will have a line that describes the intersection of the
two pieces that are to be joined and you will have the end of the
line, more or less at a right angle to the beginning of the line, that
points to the 'back' of the jointed piece.
Unless you are a fucking genius, you will not have understood what
I've just said to you and will have to come into contact with a thing
called a 'book' on cabinetmaking, which should explain a
cabinetmaker's mark in excellent detail, via a graphic representation.
Regards, Tom
Tom Watson - Woodworker
Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
http://users.snip.net/~tjwatson
It just gets worse as you get older. A good habit: Chalk ... one of the most
used "tools" in my shop.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 8/24/03
"Christopher" wrote in message
> Anybody want to sell some good habits? I would also be interested in
> purchasing experience if any of you have too much. I would be willing to
> trade some youthful exuberance if I could figure out what I did with it.
> Unless you are a fucking genius, you will not have understood what
> I've just said to you and will have to come into contact with a thing
> called a 'book' on cabinetmaking, which should explain a
> cabinetmaker's mark in excellent detail, via a graphic representation.
>
>
>
> Regards, Tom
> Tom Watson - Woodworker
> Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
> http://users.snip.net/~tjwatson
Thanks Tom. The sad part is that I have read about several different
methods of marking and just haven't tried any of them.
-Chris