SawDustB Posted January 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 I eased the end grain corners a little with a file, then went to glue up. Rather than use Brad nails, I clamped everything in place then predrilled for countersunk screws. I only used 6 over the length of the bench. This gave me precise placement, but I can remove them later so I'll know there's no metal in the bench. It's unlikely to be an issue (except maybe in my vise install, or putting a round dog hole in the strip), but it was actually easier for me since I can't run the compressor with the kids in bed. Here's everything prepped: For the glue up, I kept it away from the edges and had basically no squeeze out. Hopefully everything's good inside the joint. I used basically all the clamps to make sure it was closed. I left the 3/8 piece about 1/32 oversize, which I'll flush up with a plane after. I figure it gives me a little wiggle room. I also left all pieces a bit long, so I'll trim them with the miter saw after the glue dries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 Good progress. I wouldn't spend any time easing the top. You're going to flatten it soon and erase that work. After flattening I left the corners intact so dust and debris wouldn't be so easily gathered. When debris falls down the dog holes, the dog doesn't seat properly any more and will sit proud of the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 13 hours ago, Brendon_t said: Good progress. I wouldn't spend any time easing the top. You're going to flatten it soon and erase that work. After flattening I left the corners intact so dust and debris wouldn't be so easily gathered. When debris falls down the dog holes, the dog doesn't seat properly any more and will sit proud of the top. Good point, thanks. I didn't think about the dogs getting fouled up. I eased them a bit on the bottom side, but on the top I added about 1/32" chamfer with the file - just enough to blunt them a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SawDustB Posted January 20, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 Well,I glued on the dog strip last night. It didn't quite go according to plan. When I checked the front side of the slab, it wasn't straight asking its length. So I broke out the hand plane and fixed it. The problem is I apparently also rounded the corners a little, so I have a tiny gap all the way along on the top show surface. For now, I've taped either side of the joint and pushed some more glue into it. We'll see how it looks after. The only other options I saw were to fill it with something (almost too small for that) or inlay a strip (don't really want contrasting wood there). I did check the fit before gluing, but apparently not well enough. I did at least get it flush, and it's in the right spot. It's definitely not coming off at this point. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 That gap might go away when you flatten the entire top. My dog strip had a few that went away with flattening. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 That gap might go away when you flatten the entire top. My dog strip had a few that went away with flattening. I think it'll reduce a bit, but looking at it closely I don't think it would disappear unless I take off 1/8" or more. It's tapered, so you're right that it may be negligible after. I'm not too worried about it, but the rest of the dog strip went so well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 More planing... I'm hoping I can straighten this piece out for the front laminate. It's got a bit of twist, but it started out at a full 2" and I only need 1 1/2". I want to use it because it's got a cool heartwood streak on one side. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SawDustB Posted January 22, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 Check it out. After about an hour and a half of planing, and a few trips through the planer, it's 1/4" oversized and flat to within about 1/32" over its length. I'm just going to let it rest for a few hours then take it down to final dimension. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 22, 2017 Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 Looking good. Those planes make my arms tired. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 Looking good. Those planes make my arms tired. Yep, those planes make my arms tired too. They're great, but a jointer would've been really nice for this step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 I'm looking at cutting the condor tails for putting in the front laminate piece. I don't have a band saw, so my options are either to cut them by hand, or to use William Ng's method to cut them on the table saw. One advantage of a 6 foot bench is that I can cut the tails with the piece vertical on the table saw and it clears the ceiling (by about 3 inches). Has anyone else tried his method? It looks like it would work well. It'll force me to throw together another little sled, but I was thinking of doing that anyway for dados. I don't want to ruin the kerf on my main sled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 52 minutes ago, SawDustB said: I'm looking at cutting the condor tails for putting in the front laminate piece. I don't have a band saw, so my options are either to cut them by hand, or to use William Ng's method to cut them on the table saw. One advantage of a 6 foot bench is that I can cut the tails with the piece vertical on the table saw and it clears the ceiling (by about 3 inches). Has anyone else tried his method? It looks like it would work well. It'll force me to throw together another little sled, but I was thinking of doing that anyway for dados. I don't want to ruin the kerf on my main sled. How tall of a piece are you talking about running through the table saw like that? that is my only concern, otherwise, his video is quite detailed, I'm sure it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 How tall of a piece are you talking about running through the table saw like that? that is my only concern, otherwise, his video is quite detailed, I'm sure it works. It's almost 6 feet long... I think it'll be fine, if I build a sled with supports attached to it. I can have everything well clamped, and there's only 4 cuts total to make. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Brendon_t Posted January 26, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 I have not tried it but the gut instinct to me is, why on earth take the time to build a sled and a jig when you can easily make those cuts in under ten minutes with layout time with a hand saw. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 5 hours ago, Brendon_t said: I have not tried it but the gut instinct to me is, why on earth take the time to build a sled and a jig when you can easily make those cuts in under ten minutes with layout time with a hand saw. I think that not everyone has a handsaw or the skill built to use one. I also think the return on investment ratio is helped if you are doing several rather than one. A how-to does not always answer when-to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 9 hours ago, Brendon_t said: I have not tried it but the gut instinct to me is, why on earth take the time to build a sled and a jig when you can easily make those cuts in under ten minutes with layout time with a hand saw. Yeah, you're probably right. I just really don't want to mess this up, but maybe that means I should cut a little further from the line and plan on spending a while paring with a chisel. The sled I was planning on building anyway at some point, because I'd like to have one that I don't care about cutting into for angles and dados. 3 hours ago, C Shaffer said: I think that not everyone has a handsaw or the skill built to use one. I also think the return on investment ratio is helped if you are doing several rather than one. A how-to does not always answer when-to. I have the handsaws, since I got the 3 piece Veritas set at Christmas, but I haven't used them enough to build up my skills. Probably the better answer is that I should try a practice run on scrap instead and see how it goes. I was attracted to the method as well because it seemed simpler to make the pins compared to how it is in the guild video. I don't plan on gluing the dovetails, so I can't use most of the options for concealing gaps. I really want to make this part look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Take a few stabs at it on scrap. Take your time in layout and while sawing. You very well may surprise yourself. Also on the final run. Keep the board long. If you muck it up, you can cut it off and try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SawDustB Posted January 27, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 So after staring at it for a few minutes, I attached a couple of support boards to my miter gauge and tried a test cut for the tails. It came out perfectly, so I carefully clamped and cut the real thing. It was pretty straightforward, but I took the cut slowly and with my hands well away. I would've liked to do it by hand, but I had no wiggle room on this piece if I messed up. Next time... I did use my hand saws to clear away most of the waste after I made my angled cuts on the table saw. There was a tiny check in the middle of one tail, that opened after cutting so I had to glue it together. You can start to see what the bench will look like now. The tails still need some cleanup at the base line, but I needed to glue it first. Still, I'm pretty happy with where I am for now. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Coming along nicely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I think these tails turned out OK. On to the pins! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Did you clean those up with a chisel or router? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I marked and cut the end cap. Looks good, although I had a bit of burning. I've cut the rabbet on the back of the tails. And finally, I clamped everything up to mark for the end cap. Then the kids got home... So the end cap has to wait for later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Did you clean those up with a chisel or router? I cleaned up the shoulder with the table saw and my cross cut sled. I then used a chisel between the pins. The angle cuts were already very clean since I used the table saw for those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 This is looking awesome, Brian. Nice job on those tails !! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 This is looking awesome, Brian. Nice job on those tails !! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Thanks Shane! This has been a fun project. I'm glad to be doing joinery instead of milling for a bit though. I'm hoping to move onto my custom wagon vise next. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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