Popular Post Trip Posted January 21, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Had a strange dream last night -- Marc had been replaced by JRR Tolkien, his shop with Middle-earth and Wood Talk Online was replaced by Troll Talk Online... Oh wait, that wasn't a dream -- maybe just a bit too much red wine -- by someone, at least... So here's a quick Tip for those who would like to get back to some actual discussions on woodworking... Yes? This Tip's dedicated to the Mods in general (who must have some real patience) and Eric in particular (this Tip doesn't cost anything)... We need some setup, so just go with it for a bit... You’ve got a drawer that needs a knob... You decide to do it right, and use a blind wedged-tenon to lock the knob down... Good choice... Very traditional... Extra-credit given... The drawer’s front has a pleasing horizontal figure... The turned knob also has a pronounced grain orientation... You decide to align the grains... So far, this should all sound familiar, right? EOS 50/2.8 (Sorry about the focus)... Now for the glue-up: you apply adhesive to the mortise and use a handscrew to press the knob/wedge home... .... And... And the knob twists just slightly under pressure... And the grain no longer aligns perfectly... And you’re screwed... Anyone had this happen? Build a couple dozen drawers, and it’ll happen to you... Promise... How do you fix it? Well, you don’t... Flush-cut the knob, drill a new mortise and start over... Been there, done that... More than once... Tip #9: Drive a brad into the knob’s tenon cheek & snip the head. Press the knob by hand. Now use a handscrew to drive it home. The brad will lock the knob in-place so it won’t twist under pressure... EOS 50/2.8 What's the trick? Pre-drill a pilot hole for the brad... Insert, mark and snip-off the excess... If you do a batch, you only drill & mark once --- batch-process the rest... Some might observe that this is quite a bit of work for just one knob... Well, it is... That's why I don't do one at a time... I batch process... I cut all the tenon kerfs for all the knobs in one batch at the bandsaw. I make the wedges in one big batch every year or two and keep them in a jar... Drill the pilot holes at the drill press in one large batch... It takes about ten minutes to prepare about thirty knobs... And compared to sawing-off a knob and starting over, it’s not so much time... BTW: this works for knobs that are secured from the back with a through-fastener just as well... Anytime you don’t want the knob to twist, just use a brad to fix it in place... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Bussy Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Much like reading a mystery novel, I try to scroll down only after I've thought through the problem. This is definitely one that I would not have figured out on my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Good tip! Regards from Perth Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 ==>I have never seen a fox wedged tenon used for a drawer pull. Do I get credit for two tips? ==>I would not have figured out on my own. I do try for tips that I haven't seen on WTO... Actually, I'm not sure I've seen this one anywhere... I try for tips that I use in the shop to solve practical problems... I literally did this for the first time after calming-down from a knob install then went bad... Most of my tips come from the thought, "There must be a better way"... And I try for tips that are not obvious and maybe 'raise the bar' a bit... But that's not a bad thing... Exposes those new to the craft to the 'next level'... After you've built that "Mission Coffee Table", "Shaker Side Table", and the other de-rigueur pieces, where do you go next? I'd head to the Queen Anne Lowboy -- and some tips sure do help... And besides, I really don't like knobs with through screws... ==>So much better/stronger than a screw. The technique is very traditional... Ever wonder how knobs manage to remain attached on 200 year old furniture assembled with HHG, when knobs on furniture from IKEA don't remain attached for a week? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Great tip. What a coincidence I thought I was in middle earth too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 ==>I thought I was in middle earth too You're closer on that side of the pond... But yea, was getting a bit... interesting... ==>I try for tips that are not obvious and maybe 'raise the bar' a bit... But that's not a bad thing... This does raise an interesting point... I just assumed folks use magnetic bases to register cuts on the bandsaw and that everyone installs blind-wedged-tenon knobs... If folks want more basic content or more advanced, let me know... I've got lot's of tips related to period pieces (drawer slips, federal banding, tapered sliding dovetails, cock beading, etc), but I'm just not sure it's the right target audience... But I don't (or didn't think) tips on magnetic bases was the right level either... So if the tips are off the mark, let me know... For example, Eric was spot-on that my first seven tips all involved purchasing something... So I'm trying to strike a balance... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenb Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 9 minutes ago, hhh said: This does raise an interesting point... I just assumed folks use magnetic bases to register cuts on the bandsaw and that everyone installs blind-wedged-tenon knobs... If folks want more basic content or more advanced, let me know... I've got lot's of tips related to period pieces (drawer slips, federal banding, tapered sliding dovetails, cock beading, etc), but I'm just not sure it's the right target audience... But I don't (or didn't think) tips on magnetic bases was the right level either... So if the tips are off the mark, let me know... For example, Eric was spot-on that my first seven tips all involved purchasing something... So I'm trying to strike a balance... Since you mentioned it specifically, my next piece involves cock beading, so any tips you have for that would be much appreciated (In particular cutting the stopped miters between the full width top/bottom pieces and the narrower side pieces, but a tip on any part of the process would be great...) Actually I personally would appreciate any tips for period furniture, since that's my taste (just don't let @Eric. see - too much period furniture and he might ban you But as more general feedback, I think so far you've struck the right balance between beginner and advanced, but honestly I'm sure everyone appreciates any tips at all regardless of difficulty level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 I think I'm getting better just by osmosis by reading these tip threads. By all means keep them coming. And Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 ==>full width top/bottom pieces and the narrower side pieces Quick tip: What 'narrower pieces'... ??? Let you noodle on that one... Don't laugh... I f*uped some dovetails, got really pissed and said f*it... Used Gaboon Ebony and it looked great.... Now there's a Tip borne of hard-earned experience: Genuine Gaboon Ebony always looks great and hides a multitude of sins... Worked-out just fine... But OK, you want traditional... How you going to cut the rebates? That'll narrow the tip database a bit... How's your hand sawing? Do you have a modeler's saw? Do you have any luthier's planes? One of the problem with period pieces: a few smaller-scale tools for the detail work does help -- sorry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenb Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 1 hour ago, hhh said: 1 hour ago, hhh said: ==>full width top/bottom pieces and the narrower side pieces Quick tip: What 'narrower pieces'... ??? Let you noodle on that one... Ha, you saying just go ahead and use full width and not show off my dovetails? The horror!!! Ha, seriously though, I'm looking to hand cut all my dovetails for the first time for this piece, so I'm hoping I'll *want* to show them off, but we'll see... 1 hour ago, hhh said: But OK, you want traditional... How you going to cut the rebates? That'll narrow the tip database a bit... How's your hand sawing? Do you have a modeler's saw? Do you have any luthier's planes? One of the problem with period pieces: a few smaller-scale tools for the detail work does help -- sorry... I plan to cut the rebates at the table saw or router table (my usual method) with the drawer on its side. My hand sawing is just ok, but getting better and by the time I'm doing the cock beading I will have hand cut dovetails for six drawers plus an upper case (project is a slant front desk on frame), so I expect/hope my handsawing will have improved. I do not own a modeler's saw or any luthier planes, but I am not opposed to buying tools that will help me with period details, as I foresee a lot of period furniture in my future (highboy is my Mt. Everest, as I mentioned on another thread recently). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Bussy Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 How about create a single post that's an index to your tips? I have not read them all so following one thread would make it oh so much easier to get a notification when you post a new one. ETA: I don't even know what cock beading is and there's NO way I'm Googling it at work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 13 minutes ago, Lee Bussy said: How about create a single post that's an index to your tips? I have not read them all so following one thread would make it oh so much easier to get a notification when you post a new one. Creating a single post for all tips could get out of hand in a hurry. As in, it would soon have hundreds of post dealing with all sorts of different tips. Pretty difficult to navigate. How about a whole separate forum: "Trip's Tips"? Could even allow others to post tips there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenb Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 1 minute ago, drzaius said: Creating a single post for all tips could get out of hand in a hurry. As in, it would soon have hundreds of post dealing with all sorts of different tips. Pretty difficult to navigate. How about a whole separate forum: "Trip's Tips"? Could even allow others to post tips there. I think Lee was envisioning just a thread where each post is a link to one of the tips (in other words, each post in the index thread is a link to a whole separate thread with a tip). The idea would be the index thread only has posts from trip, nothing else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 11 minutes ago, bgreenb said: I think Lee was envisioning just a thread where each post is a link to one of the tips (in other words, each post in the index thread is a link to a whole separate thread with a tip). The idea would be the index thread only has posts from trip, nothing else. Got it. Easier to accomplish that creating a new forum. But he should still call it Trip's Tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 3 hours ago, hhh said: . I've got lot's of tips related to period pieces (drawer slips, federal banding, tapered sliding dovetails, cock beading, etc) Yes, yes and yes. Throw it at us sponge bobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Trip Posted January 21, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Something like this? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 ==>just go ahead and use full width and not show off my dovetails? The horror!!! Yea. And the best part is only you know if it's half-blind or pin nailer... Is that great tip or what?? ==>Throw it at us sponge bobs Hay, don't consider y'all idiots... Assuming I remember my SB episodes... ==>I plan to cut the rebates at the table saw I use the TS, but I've got Forrest's finger-joint joinery stack... It cuts a really nice crisp line... Never tried it on the RT, but I'm sure others have... ==>y hand sawing is just ok, but getting better Yea, that traditional half miter is kind of a bitch to get looking good... I hand saw mine... You need a fine xCut saw -- think mine i 19tpi. The cheapest available is one of those $19 modeler's saws... I also use a small lutheir's block plane to fettle the fit... You got a shooting board? Let me work a photo of my setup for a future Tip... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenb Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 3 minutes ago, hhh said: ==>y hand sawing is just ok, but getting better Yea, that traditional half miter is kind of a bitch to get looking good... I hand saw mine... You need a fine xCut saw -- think mine i 19tpi. The cheapest available is one of those $19 modeler's saws... I also use a small lutheir's block plane to fettle the fit... You got a shooting board? Let me work a photo of my setup for a future Tip... Much appreciated in advance. Smallest plane I have is the LN apron plane (bought on your and @Eric.'s recommendations, and quickly became my favorite hand tool). I don't have a shooting board, but I've been looking for an excuse to make one. I'm in the middle of a shop reorg after finishing my Roubo. Finishing up new miter station, building new router table next, then a new crosscut sled* (mine has seen better days). I'll add "shooting board" to the list. All of that will be done before I start the desk. *I will be setting up the fence with my brand new brass bar purchased as a result of a previous Trip's tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Grondin Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 Nice tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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