What did you do today?

[Llama]

16 hours ago, K Cooper said:

Mark, I know I have that mag somewhere but can’t find it. What is a follower? From the looks of it, do you use it as a guide to rest the face of a board on to when resawing? 

The idea is the workpiece is on top of the template overhanging slightly as you would with a router. The template is the same height (or higher) than the follower.

[Tom King]

That makes sense, but I think I would make it out of some hard wood, like Boxwood, to a point.  I wouldn't want a piece of metal that close to an expensive blade.  Maybe okay on the 14" saw, with a cheap blade.

[Coop]

So the metal piece is flush to and in front of the blade? 

[wtnhighlander]

Brass would work, and not damage the blade.

But then, the blade shouldn't move forward, anyway. Cutting should always push it away from the follower.

[Coop]

On 6/9/2019 at 8:17 PM, Tom King said:

I couldn't see putting a piece of metal that close to a $200 blade.

Luckily I don’t buy my blades where you do. 

[Mark J]

So this is actually working well.  Again, not my idea.  I got it from a Brian Boggs article in the Dec 2018 issue of Fine Woodworking.  

Boggs describes a follower made from wood which leads the blade.  The tip of the follower extends about 1/16" past the blade.  He also describes a follower made from brass that he has screwed to some available holes on his guide assembly.  Also in front of the blade. 

I took his ideas and modified.  I liked the discreet metal feeler and had some bits of steel about (because I never throw anything away).  I also thought fore and aft feelers might have an advantage.  Note depending on the set up both of the feelers don't have to be engaged on the template at the same time.  By angling the follower contact on the template can be limited to one.  

When I made this follower I was thinking of using a 3/4" blade and so positioned the feelers accordingly.  Later I realized the need to go to a 1/4" blade.  

Concerns raised about the feeler getting into the blade are valid so it needs to be secured.  Here it is in my test piece set up.  The follower is on top of some scrap to elevate it.  The clamp is tight enough that vigorous shaking moves the saw not the follower.  

On the left is the scrap I'm cutting with the template attached on top.  

Here's a pic showing better detail.  I've actually already completed the cut.  Notice I am cutting very wide and only using the front feeler.  Just trying to get a feel for how it works.

A second run close up on the template.

And the slice.

Pretty clean and close to the line.  Better than I would do by hand.  I'm ready to try the project piece, but that will have to be done with the template on the bottom so I'll sleep on that before I pull the trigger.  

[krtwood]

Similar concept here:

 

[RichardA]

Been checking out Pask for awhile.  He makes some cool jigs.

[wtnhighlander]

Neil Paskin is like an Austrailian Jimmy Diresta, gets his hands dirty in many different ways. I appreciate his "outback engineering" approach to solving problems.

Heck of a photographer and painter, too.

[Mark J]

That's a very clever jig, and I like that he keeps up the pace of the video.  His "follower" uses two feelers, too and if you turned it 90* you be able to follow a concave template.  

[Mark J]

Here's the actual project piece, on the chuck.  The square projects the contact point with the blade up to the edge of the bowl so I can check my alignment.  

Then start cutting.

One down.

All done.

Gotta say the DC on the bandsaw leaves a lot to be desired, like collecting the dust.

Because the template was bottom mounted I found I had to freehand the first bit off then go down to the template with the follower on a second pass.  Note, it is possible for the follower to wander away from the template, but it won't go past the template.  So make sure the waste piece is on the follower side.  

I did contact the blade with the front feeler.  It was almost a non-event.  Basically the blade guard had to be so high up to clear the chuck that there was a lot of flex in the blade.  I'd gotten off track and was trying to back up and get realigned which pulled the blade forward.  

 

[Mark J]

One other thing.  If you are gluing paper to wood to make a template and want to remove the paper later rubber cement works great.  Easy to peel the paper off, though it will leave a gummy residue.

[Tom King]

Thanks for posting this.   I see good possibilities for cutting multiples of timber framing corbels.  I will be using something other than metal in front of a Woodmaster Ct blade though.  I hit a nail with one once, and that was an expensive mistake.

[woodbutcher74]

The wife and I went to a local Honor Flight fundraiser. We both feel that this is a very worth while charity. The wife volunteered to be an aid on a future flight. Aids assist veterans on the day long journey to Washington DC to see the veterans memorials. Aids have to pay for their own tickets. She's a nurse so hopefully she'll be chosen. 

[Just Bob]

2 hours ago, woodbutcher74 said:

The wife and I went to a local Honor Flight fundraiser. We both feel that this is a very worth while charity. The wife volunteered to be an aid on a future flight. Aids assist veterans on the day long journey to Washington DC to see the veterans memorials. Aids have to pay for their own tickets. She's a nurse so hopefully she'll be chosen. 

My brother in-law took that trip a couple of years ago and really liked the experience.  Said it was the best way to see the Vietnam Memorial.  I have thought about doing it, but when I go I want to be by myself,  too many friends to visit.  

[RichardA]

12 minutes ago, Just Bob said:

 I want to be by myself,  too many friends to visit.  

I know that feeling well.

[Gary Beasley]

I wanted to cut a 45 degree bevel off the edge of a 2x4 for a base trim on the deck, simple job on the tablesaw right? So I pull the zero insert off the saw and get the factory insert which was a little worse for wear and try to put it in. Somehow the piece has gotten oversize even more, I had to grind it off a bit last time I used it and now it seems a sixteenth inch too big. Laid it on top of the hole and wiggled it around and it falls into fragments. Something weird going on with the pot metal it was made from.

So I figure I should run down to Rockler and buy another phenolic insert and cut it open so it could cut to 45s. After fighting with several blades trying to cut in at an angle from the bottom I wound up using two outside dado cutters of an 8” set I had to get a recess in the underside so I could start the 10” set I was trying to use. Finally got a slot cut with clearance for a single blade to lay over to 45. The slot is angled out at the bottom and left a fairly narrow slot up top which is way better than the piece of junk Delta supplied with the saw.

Took me three hours to set up to run a two minute cut. Aint life grand?

[Tom King]

58 degrees this morning, so I decided it was a good time to finish up the rough trimming on the point.  I finally made it all the way to the end.  The part I had cut last week has already been cut with a mower, and regular trimmer by my helpers, but I couldn't get anyone to tackle the part that had gotten away from me.

In doing this job, I didn't keep up with the number of hours, but did try out several different types of trimmer line.  The absolute winner is the Stihl CF3 Pro.  I had already decided I like that in .095 for grass trimming, but found out that the .105, in the bump feed head lasts longer than any of the other types of .130 line I used.  I won't ever buy any other kind of trimmer line.

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/trimmers-and-brushcutters/trimmer-line/cf3pro/

The other side of the point doesn't taper off so much, but is more of a ledge on a higher bank of RipRap, so I can back the rotary cutter right across the edge on that side.  I'm sort of wishing I had done this side like that, but this does look better.  It will need a little spot, chemical help this Fall.

 

[Chestnut]

Man you live in a beautiful area. 58.... now that's my kind of weather. It's in the 60s here and rainy and i'm loving it.

@Tom King Does that line work in any old trimmer? I'm almost out of my spool and it's anoying to have to ask for more line every 5 feet of trimming.

[Tom King]

I can't say, not knowing what type of trimmer you have.  Either the .095, or .105 line will work in a Stihl 25-2 bump feed head, or one of the Echo variants of their Speed Loader bump head.

That line in .095 is the best there is for a lawn trimming.   If your head will take .095 line, that's what I would use.   I'm not sure if it comes in .080, but it might, and I would go with that if that's what size you need to run.

This was just a little cold front.   It won't last long.  73 now, with high 82 today.  We don't get this very often this time of year.  The air not only feels like Fall, but looks like it too.

[Tpt life]

You saved me a bunch of typing with that second post Tom. Thin line kills herbaceous plants like no other. As soon as you are hitting concrete it’s “friable.” As soon as you are in woody plants, it’s ineffective or inefficient. In my pro environment, I got heads that would hold monster amounts of thin line. The cutting efficiency always countered the reload time. For the homeowner, I get it. Needs change with priority change. 

[Chestnut]

Got do to some driving today in a new to us 2 year old Forrester. This thing is a BLAST to drive.

Megan's old SUV needed replacing. The engine was starting to burn oil, the AC compressor was about ready to crap out (was making an awful racket), the exhaust had a couple leaks, and the transmission was starting to leak as well.

We'd talked about new vehicles for her for a couple years. We test drove a new 2018 Subaru Forrester XT last year and she loved it. I found out later that year that 2018 was the last Year for the XT which had a turbocharged 4cyl mated to a CVT. It was a dream to drive, the cvt meant when you floored it, the engine is always perfectly in the power band. The second best thing about the Forrester is the visibility. It feels like there are no blind spots anywhere. I've never really cared for the American vehicles that stick the dash in your face and have the bottoms of the windows at chin level. It makes the vehicles hard to see out of especially for short people.

We went to the dealership the other day just to see if we could put in a request to be notified if they found something that we wanted. We were looking for a specific year color model ect so we figured we'd have to wait until they found what we were looking for. We got lucky the exact model with the options we wanted and the color Megan wanted was on a truck headed to the dealer. We took delivery yesterday.

[JohnG]

We had an older Outback for a while and it was awesome. Great visibility, a ton of space, easy to work on, and fun to drive. 

 

[Mick S]

Nice looking car, Drew! I think she'll love it. You can't throw a rock without hitting a Subaru where we live. Alison is looking at upgrading her 2014 Outback soon. I got rear ended in it a while back by a guy who got out of his car (it was snowing like crazy) and said, "Sorry man, I couldn't see out 'cuz my wipers don't work and the windshield was all fogged up. And I don't have insurance." It's never really been the same since. 

[Chestnut]

10 minutes ago, Mick S said:

Nice looking car, Drew! I think she'll love it. You can't throw a rock without hitting a Subaru where we live. Alison is looking at upgrading her 2014 Outback soon. I got rear ended in it a while back by a guy who got out of his car (it was snowing like crazy) and said, "Sorry man, I couldn't see out 'cuz my wipers don't work and the windshield was all fogged up. And I don't have insurance." It's never really been the same since. 

Man I've heard more stories like that than i can count. It seems like that's everywhere. I don't know why it's so difficult to just get car insurance.

I never was big into the Outback wagons. I loved the Outback sedan from way back. It was the most bizarre awesome looking car. Reminded me of one of my favorite 80s vehicles the AMC Eagle.