Mike Rustenbach Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 Hello all!I am new to the forums and am very new to woodworking. I just recently bought on craigslist a table saw, jointer, planer, drill press, bandsaw, router and clearvue dust collector. I think I have all the tools now to really dive into this hobby. I have been watching wood whisperer videos constantly but I think I have gotten in the paralysis by analysis cycle.I have decided that my first project will be the cutting boards from episode 7 of the wood whisperer. I recently purchased about 30BF of Purple Heart and Hard Maple to do this. I have been spending all my time calibrating all my tools...especially the table saw, jointer and planer in order to be able to create dimensional lumber. I built a base/sled for my planer which removed all the snipe I was having from my Dewalt 735. I have heard lots of good things about this planer and am happy so far. My jointer is a 6" Central Machinery and I can already say that it is the limiting factor in my whole milling process since the infeed/outfeed tables aren't great and really hard to calibrate.Anyways, if anyone has some advice for a new woodworker, I would love to hear it. And hope to talk to all you guys on the forums. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 Welcome to the forum! Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted November 19, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 Welcome, Mike! My advice is to stop tinkering and go make sawdust! Stock up on some poplar, or whatever hardwood is cheap where you are, and make practice pieces before doing the real thing. If they don't turn out right, anylize the problem carefully before tinkering with the machine. Sometimes, it's just the operator not fully understanding the process or the material. Learning to read grain and orient for the best cut on jointer and planer is one I still struggle with. Oh, and don't wait too long to sharpen or swap blades! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinb Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 As a fellow rookie, wtnhighlander is right. And to what you are saying, making sawdust will help you get the precision alignments just right. It seems things measured against a rule are different than things measured against what they produce, a combination of alignment and technique. Sometimes I am a consequentialist, but that's ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 (edited) Welcome Mike. Ross speaks wisely. You have to get out there and do it. I heard Marc say that if you run something through the jointer and planer and it looks good when you put a good square on it, then it is good. We tend to get all crazy over a thou or two when we don't have to. Just get out there and start wrecking some wood. Edited November 19, 2015 by Chet K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 agree with everyone here, just start making sawdust, after all its just wood, the stuff grows on trees 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 20, 2015 Report Share Posted November 20, 2015 Welcome Mike, you're investment so far is small, just wait and see! Don't show this to the wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted November 20, 2015 Report Share Posted November 20, 2015 Welcome to the forum and have fun learning. Likes others have said start making sawdust and the experience will come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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