Chestnut Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 I started woodworking about 3 years ago after getting out of college and needing a way to spend time and acquire furniture. Started my adventure in a single stall garage (with the car still inside) and after buying a house expanded to a basement shop. My girlfriend's opinion is that i have every tool but in reality i have every tool that i need, except for a nice table saw. My favorite tool to work with is my routers, there is something about the near limitless potential that just makes them fun. I primarily make furniture and cabinets, thought I'll give anything a shot. My most recent endeavors were serving trays for Christmas gifts and a nice pair of bookshelf speakers. My favorite wood is walnut (i know everyone has a favorite wood) my least is probably Oak (though i use it a lot). I feel my strongest skill in woodworking is probably dovetails (the router kind) and my biggest weakness is split between keeping things square and finishing. I've gotten better at finishing but the square part is an ongoing struggle. My other hobbies are photography and cars. I recently rebuilt the engine in my pickup with the goal of increasing it's power by 200%. If any one has questions feel free to ask, i feel like i try to be an open book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialbyfire Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 I struggle with making projects square as well. I have found several useful options (and some not so much) for clamping corners on Pintrest. Google and YouTube are also good places to go but basically if you find one that looks good I try them out on scraps and see what works and what could use some help. You could always buy some but if you're like me the cheaper option is to make your own. Ex: you could buy a clamping strap but you could also modify a ratchet strap you already have. There are lots of options to clamp a project square for sale but I prefer using those as inspiration to make something that might be a little more versatile/rugged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 Welcome to the forums Chestnut...I also love cars and am wondering what you have for a truck and engine and what you had to do to get that much hp..Love to see your shop and work and l free to ask the guys here questions.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 1 hour ago, trialbyfire said: You could always buy some but if you're like me the cheaper option is to make your own. Ex: you could buy a clamping strap but you could also modify a ratchet strap you already have. There are lots of options to clamp a project square for sale but I prefer using those as inspiration to make something that might be a little more versatile/rugged. I have quite a few good clamping solutions and normally things come out close enough. My problem is more with the 2nd dimension of a carcass and keeping square in 2 different dimensions at the same time. This drawer illsutrates the minor problem. 56 minutes ago, mat60 said: Welcome to the forums Chestnut...I also love cars and am wondering what you have for a truck and engine and what you had to do to get that much hp..Love to see your shop and work and l free to ask the guys here questions.. Thanks. Try and contain your laughter because it is kinda funny. I have a 96 Ford ranger 2wd 4 cyl. I rebuilt another engine from the same year vehicle with forged and balanced internals and slightly higher compression. I'm planning on adding a decently sized turbo. My power goal is approx 300 wheel torque. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 Thats called a sleeper here....How many rpm,s you can turn it with out it blowing up and Id would worry about the trans,rear end and even the engine mounts...I was thinking at first you were building something different ..Back to the forum ..Nice job and stick around .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 Welcome to the forums Chestnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 Hi Chestnut! Glad to have you join. I'm sure we will learn at least as much from you as you do from us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Thanks for the welcome. On 1/22/2016 at 11:20 AM, mat60 said: Thats called a sleeper here....How many rpm,s you can turn it with out it blowing up and Id would worry about the trans,rear end and even the engine mounts...I was thinking at first you were building something different ..Back to the forum ..Nice job and stick around .. The machinist that i had do the work said it would be pushing it to go over 10,000 rpms. I laughed and will never get near that. Research on the trans shows that I'll toe the line of failure along with the rear end. It's just going to be a street beast so things should hold together fine as long as i don't drive it like a moron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 24, 2016 Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Welcome to the forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted January 24, 2016 Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Welcome to the forum. Clamping squares are really good to maintain squareness. I'm not that keen on the plastic Rockler ones although they do work for larger assemblies. The aluminium ones from Woodpecker are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted January 24, 2016 Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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