Cutting a chamfer across a face
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1 August 2017 at 6:58 pm #314235
Hello everyone,
I thought I would have a go at making Pauls winding sticks. I saw the YouTube videos and thought I understood what was required so I bought a length of 3/4″ x 1 1/4″ meranti. However, watching the Masterclass video Paul has beefed up the original (the first described as lightweight!) by cutting across a block of 1″ x 1/1/4″. No problem I thought. I could use the length I have and cut a chafer along the face. I thought I could go 1/4″ up from the base, sloped to a 1/4″ at the top. Problem is when I cut across the face there isn’t anything to register the saw against. I haven’t described this very well, I’m afraid. I could mark it out and plane it but I was wondering what the simple solution is or if it’s even a thing.
Perhaps you could point me to a link where Paul demonstrates this?
Regards,
RowlyHi Rowland
By definition, a chamfer is cut along an edge or corner. Are you saying you wish to bevel one of the faces by cutting away an extruded triangle shape with a saw?If so, the triangle will have it’s base somewhere, so start the cut there. Make a knife wall along that face, cut straight down (your cut should terminate at an edge, if I understand your goal).
I’ve attached a crude picture…you’ll create your knife wall & start your cut on the face that is roughly bisected by the line. That face will be oriented up, and the terminus of your cut will be the apex of the extruded triangle, which you’ll orient straight down. The knife wall will get you off to a great start, then just let gravity guide you and try to follow the line.
Clean up with a plane, and check with your bevel gauge as you go.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.2 August 2017 at 12:11 pm #314251Hello Edmund,
From your image imagine the top left hand point moved in a cm or so. I was hoping for a nice crisp line, across the face. Having thought about it some more I’m probably going to have to cut off the corner at 45deg or so and then plane down to my line?
RowlyOK, I think we understand each other. As for sawing at 45 and then planing the rest — sure, something like that is probably best, and generally what Paul shows, too. Saw as close to your final desired line as the context permits, then finish with a plane.
If your context keeps you relatively far away from your line, and you therefore have a relatively large amount of material to remove with the plane, then you’ll start with a somewhat heavier set on your plane (to remove more material per pass) at first, then reduce the set as you get closer to your final line / desired angle, and check your progress more frequently, so you don’t overshoot.
One detail: You said, “when I cut across the face there isn’t anything to register the saw against,” so just to be clear, you’d almost certainly start the cut in the end grain and rip along the length. So, you just register on the short end of the stick. Run a pencil line down the two critical corners you are trying to make and stay away from them. Especially with an acute angle like this, it is pretty much impossible to get this right off the saw and it is *really* easy to wiggle a little and cross your line. The cutoff is thin, so it’s also easy to accidentally flex the saw plate and break off the work part way through the cut. Take your time and, once you get the bulk off with the saw, you can clean up with a plane easily. Keep your lines on and use them to direct your work. I’ve not tried, but if you have troublesome grain, you could probably clean up with a #80 cabinet scraper…this is purely decorative.
2 August 2017 at 5:54 pm #314260Ed Thanks,
I’m pretty sure you have accurately described the problem and resolved it for me. I was cutting from the end, down through the grain but where the saw emerges along the face the waggle was uncontrollable leaving an undefined line (due to the acuteness of the angle). I would make things a whole lot easier if I just cut through the corner. I suppose another alternative would be to clamp a piece of waste and cut out through that, extending the line of the chamfer?I’m not sure if cutting through the corner rather than the face, as you desire, would make it easier. The acute angle “amplifies” the wiggles in the saw. Whether that happens in the face or along the corner, the effect is the same, so you still need to saw wide and plane down. That said, the corner gives a more definite visual cue, so maybe it is easier to stay right where you want to be with the saw. In any case, aim for what you want for your design. You can do it.
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