Mike M

When I first got into the business (50 years ago) it was CADD - Computer Aided Design and Drafting. The original companies in the field were startups such as Calma, Computervision and Gerber Scientific. The technology was basically built around digitizers connected to CRT's to provide an interactive environment. Some of the larger companies such as IBM and Control Data had internal development programs using large interactive CRT's, but the small startup companies ruled the roost. The equipment was applied to a variety of disciplines such as Electrical Schematic Drafting, Printed Circuit Layout, Mechanical Drafting, Architecture, etc. The systems were primarily drafting systems and had the ability to drive numerically controlled machines for creating parts and for creating the masks for etching printed circuit boards. This was before the days of PC's and the systems were supported by time shared mainframe computers by mini computers sold by Data General, Digital Equipment or Hewlett Packard. System prices were tens of thousands of dollars per workstation. Over the years the drafting part of the name was dropped and the industry adopted CAD as it's identifier.

This is one of those times when I'd put on my humble hat and admit that there are others more skilled in solving this type of problem. Send him to a pro and go back to making sawdust.

I've tried the jointer method and it worked well, especially since I didn't need a cleanup pass, just sanding. I prefer the TS method since it is faster and doesn't produce a ton of chips. I also appreciate the leftover wedges that come in handy.

I gave up on CA glue for this application. I switched to epoxy and haven't had a problem since. It takes longer to harden, but so does throwing a blank away because the tube broke loose.

These would be great in the woods when harvesting. The trees won't see you coming ! ! !

I have a home made vacuum chucking system. I use three chucks for a variety of applications. 1. A 14" diameter flat chuck made from two layers of BB plywood covered in craft foam. I use this any time I have a bowl or platter with a smooth rim. 2. A 4" diameter deep chuck made from a 4" to 2" PVC reducer with the edge covered in craft foam. I use this if I have a bowl or platter that does not have a rim that will seal such as natural edge or square rim. I also use this chuck if I have to mount a bowl to work on the inside. 3. A 3" diameter deep chuck made from a 3" to 2" PVC reducer. I use this for smaller projects. I find with porous woods I do better if I use a coat or two of finish to seal the grain. In most cases, doing the inside of the bowl is sufficient. I generally use a shellac and oil blend or a lacquer based sanding sealer. I tried a 2" deep chuck but found that I didn't get enough holding power to do much beyond sanding. Smaller pieces haven't seemed to be a problem since the foot is also smaller,hence less force.

I agree that the sides of the miter will move together - but - as the wood expands or contracts across the width, the angle of the joint will change. Depending on humidity changes and type of wood, this could be significant enough to cause a problem if both legs of the joint are fixed against the walls. If one leg is a peninsula, it could be allowed to float as needed. You can figure the amount of movement and build it into the design.

I have tried the cole jaws, then built a longworth chuck. Both worked well (the cole jaws were limited size). Then I built a vacuum chucking system and haven't used the mechanical jaws since.Vacuum is faster, easier and can hold natural rim bowls with ease. I bought the pump on ebay, made my own coupler and made an assortment of heads from a mixture of PVC and plywood. Total cost of the system was about $200. If you are interested, the cole jaws are for Nova chucks and the longworth fits on a 1 1/4" spindle. I'd be happy to sell either or both.

I agree on using horizontal grain on all 5 pieces. Center piece glued into a shallow dado will be more than adequate. Corner joints may be a little weak if just butt joints. Some options could be mitered joints with splines, box joints or dovetails. You could even go with the Greene & Greene look.

If you think that is bad, try overfilling a cyclone system with a pleated filter

garage

First of all let's agree on how the gouges are measured. A gouge can be measured across the flutes or as the diameter of the bar. Spindle gouges are typically measured as the diameter of the bar and bowl gouges across the flutes. That being said, I find that I use my 3/8 (1/2" diameter bar) with a swept back grind most frequently.

Drilling freehand won't work. You can't align or space the holse with enough accuracy to look even. You need to find a way to mechanically position the block for each hole. Also, as mentioned above, drill first and glue up later. Here's how I would approach the problem. 1. Determine the center to center distance between holes and rip a scrap of mdf to that size. Cut the strip into blocks. Now you have spacers for positioning the holes side to side. 2. Rip a strip the width of the stagger pattern. This strip against a fence will give you the front to back stagger spacing. 3. Clamp a fence to the drill press table. Align so the fence is set to the back hole in the stagger pattern. Place the strip (#2) between the fence and piece to align to the front hole if necessary. 4. Clamp a stop block to the fence to align the bit with the hole furthest from the block. (use strip if hole is in front row) 5. Drill every other hole adding two of the index blocks between the piece and the stop block 6. Insert (or remove the strip) and start with one index block. Repeat #5 to drill the second row of holes in the pattern. 7 Repeat 5 and 6 for each of the tiers. notes; a. Be sure to lock the drill press table to the column. If the table moves, the pattern will shift both sided to side and front to back. b. Use the depth stop to get even depth holes c. Clear chips after each hole. Even one chip in the wrong place will cause a problem. I would use an air hose and clear the chips after each hole before moving the piece or index blocks. d. Cut an extra top shelf to use as a spacer to align the steps. Start with the top two layers and use brads from the bottom to keep the layers from slipping as the clamps are applied.

A sled to hold the router at the proper angle and a 1 1/4" dish cutting bit that cuts on the end. Similar to the rig that some use to flatten large panels and work benches but set at the angle (~15 degrees) to produce the chamfer. http://www.titantv.com/account/login.aspx?returnUrl=%2fdefault.aspx

If you cut your dados in the sides before adding the edge banding you end up with stopped dados. Just be careful when trimming the banding. Either use a plane or use a filler with a flush trim router to bridge the gap.