Starting projects of an absolute beginner
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7 June 2017 at 8:28 pm #312659
Hey there,
I am starting from scratch with my woodworking skills, trying to learn, test and improve a little bit with my first steps and starting projects. It would be great, if I could get advice and helpfull hints from the more experienced woodworkers.
7 June 2017 at 8:34 pm #312660First project ever: The saw horse – workbench-crossover
To have some kind of workbench-thingy for starting out, I decided to build a saw horse/ workbench-crossover. It is small enough, so I could “work” on the balcony. It is basicly the Paul Sellers saw horse, just a bit bigger.
It is roughly 85cm high and about 1m long. It is made from the cheapest construction wood available here, spruce.
With nearly 13,5kg it is light enough, to be moved around, but more heavy than a regular saw horse. It needs to be propped against a wall for planing along the long side.Some thoughts and the starting ideas are more closely described here:
Sawnbench for the balcony7 June 2017 at 8:40 pm #312661Second project: Dovetail-Template
A small dovetail template, to be used in my third project.
It is made from beech, which was harder than I expected, after my first experiences with spruce. I was told, that beech would not be ideal for templates.
Learning goals:
– first steps with the sliding bevel
– practice with more exact sawing
– first practice with chisels7 June 2017 at 9:04 pm #312662Third project: Benchhook
The idea is, that I would not need clamps for absolutly everything I do at my “sawbench”, or reduce the number of clamps needed, as I don’t have a vise.
Learning goals:
– glueing my first board together
– planing a surface
– first dovetailsRight now, it is still a work in progress, the top cleat is still missing, but you can see, what I can use it for.
-clamping stuff to the front of the sawbench:
– a stop for planing smaller pieces
– of course sawing and planing without the need for any clamps:
It is made from scrapwood and leftovers from the sawbench. It is also a practice piece for my first dovetails ever. Allthough I know, that they are pretty crappy and do not fit properly, it is surprisingly sturdy and tough. I got a funny feeling of exitement and wonder, that I would be able to make dovetails, regardless how bad they are.
I made possibly all the mistakes I could make. Picking the most cheap and soft wood, that dings, scratches and splinters if you just look at it funny, glueing two boards together with the grain going in different directions, being too impatient with the dovetails and propper fitting.
It still feels good nevertheless 🙂As you can see, I marked the wrong pieces, but figured it out just in time. I really need to learn to mark all the important information/ surfaces/ edges properly. Graindirection, which side is up and down, how the pieces go together, etc.
I also learned, that I need sharper tools for spruce, or learn to sharpen tools more often and properly.7 June 2017 at 10:25 pm #312664First off if you really are utterly new id say get any old scrap doesnt matter if its flat or straight you only really need to be able to have one reasonably square edge to it to mark with a square across, mark out parallel Lines maybe 8 to 10mm apart and saw to the lines.
The goal is to get a nice even cut thats both square across your piece of wood aswell as along the lines, if your piece of scrap is long enough you can always crosscut the cuts off and do the same thing again.Next thing would be the same but instead of straight mark out lines at an angle and do that into both directions, the point of it all is to get familiar with your saw and the motion required. Its also less frustrating if some cuts go off track on a practice board, scrap whatever it is then on an actual workpiece.
If you made yourself familiar with that then a Sawhorse is indeed a good Project to start off with, as for the Dovetail template if you make one then use the most stable wood you can get your hands on, oak or such.
Beech has alot of movement and loves to warp, on something as small as a dovetail template it might not be that much of an issue but still, better to learn to use the proper wood for the job from the get go.After that something like a simple Picture frame is good, you can practice different joint on all 4 corners if you want to, Mortise and Tennon (through or hidden), Miters, Half laps (square + mitered). Preparing the small stock you need for something like this is also alot easier then doing big boards or such and you get the practice to cut the Rabbet either by Sawing in from both sides or with a Plane/Router-plane.
Regards Philipp
Hi PepperPot,
I don’t think that you made all the mistakes you could make. I think that you are actually on the right course. You’ve learned a bunch about softer woods and that they do have their difficulties. You’ve learned that you need to improve on sharpening, especially with those softer woods.
As for gluing the boards in the wrong direction, that’s something that I don’t believe you’ve done wrong at all. This is about aesthetics and what you feel looks best. You can glue two boards that have different grain directions, or different directions at either end, or interlocked grain. The real question here is learning how to deal with that. You’ll see PS plane from either direction if it’s not simple straight grain, or pull a card scraper out if the wood doesn’t want to cooperate.
For a first set of dovetails, you are doing well. They will serve their purpose and have considerable mechanical strength. You will learn from your experience and I bet you’ll consider your next set much better, but if you are like me you’ll always see the flaws and always want to improve.
I do differ from some in that I don’t tend to practice too much on scraps. I find that I treat scraps as exactly that and don’t put the concentration in that I would where the wood actually matters to me. That’s just my perspective. I would just keep building the things you want to build and watch your skills improve.
The most important thing that you mention is that it feels good. I think that’s really the magic here. I lose track of time when I’m at my workbench. That’s a fabulous feeling!
All my best and keep it going!
Paul8 June 2017 at 5:26 am #312666I think you’re doing great. Rewatch Paul’s videos after you try a new skill and you will pick up on little things that you may have missed the first time you watched. Build small projects from nicer wood. I made several dovetail boxes from a single walnut board. Enjoy the process and you will be amazed at what you can do.
9 June 2017 at 1:06 pm #312679Thank you for your kind words!
I will learn with every project and piece that I will build.I am already thinking about a next project, an “Adirondack”-chair for a friend. It seems easy enough. I found an old online article from august 2005 from popular woodworking.
Plans can be found here: Norm Abram’s Adirondack chairI don’t have any idea how to do those concave curves for the side-, arm- and backrest-pieces. Do you use a rasp for those, or a spokeshave? Some of those concave curves are also supposed to have an angle of 27°.
I am a bit clueless, how to do that. Once I have figured out, how to do those curves, this might be a project.
Maybe I can find some other plans, that will look nice without any curves 🙂9 June 2017 at 7:18 pm #312685Well, first things first, the finishing touches to the bench hook.
To make it more interesting and getting some practice, I decided to cut a dado for the cleat.
Instead of cutting the dado free hand, i used a cleat as guide for the sawblade, to get an exact cut.
The cleat was then glued into the dado. It was a tight fight.
Last thing to do: some finishing touches with the plane, once the glue is dry.
[quote quote=312679]
I don’t have any idea how to do those concave curves for the side-, arm- and backrest-pieces. Do you use a rasp for those, or a spokeshave?
[/quote]Google cutting curves in wood by hand and you’ll have enough videos to last a lifetime.
One common solution is a coping saw followed by a spokeshave. For a gentle curve such as your armrests, Paul has used a chisel to get close to the line of the curve, then finished with a rasp or spokeshave, but mere mortals like us might first use a saw to make straight cuts of different depths, then go to the chisel. I don’t remember which video it was in, perhaps someone else will…
9 June 2017 at 9:53 pm #312687Looks like a nice square cut dado, Paul has a video on it without any sawing at all just chisel and a Router, just depends on what works best for you.
Another thing i think worth mentioning is you should keep in mind grain direction on the cleat, it might not matter too much on a normal dado.
However if that were a sliding dovetail yours would be wrong, reason being is the way the wood is moving and contracts could leave you with a loose joint, you always want the grain to be perpendicular to the grain of the board.
Granted its pretty obvious if you use the sliding dovetail for shelfs or drawers, but if you want to join boards together for a table top and use it to keep the top from twisting or bowing and still allow the wood to move this is very important to keep in mind.I hope that makes sense.
As to cutting curves as mentioned above a copingsaw or framesaw would be preferable, however making straight cuts down and removing the waste by chisel also works.
If you have one and dont mind using it a Jigsaw takes care of the waste really quickly and efficiently and lets yo get to refining the shape quickest.
I know, i know, i dare mention a powertool but if you dont mind using them to do the dirty work and allow you to get to the fun parts of joinery etc. theres nothing wrong with using them in my opinion.- This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Philipp J..
“if I could get advice and helpfull hints”
My advice/hint is to put finish on all your exercises and projects and to glue them. You’ll learn something every time and you’ll probably find that finishing requires as much practice as joinery. You’ll also get a sense for when gaps matter and when they don’t because swelling from glue closes them. On the other hand, you’ll see when blotching matters and how planing vs. scraping vs. sanding affects things.
If you ever want to put color on anything (dye or stain) rather than just clear finish, now’s the time to explore!
Nice work!
I second Ed’s advice!
Glue expands the wood in the joint. Many small gaps will often just disappear. Couple that with a final shaving from the plane and a dovetail joint that looked iffy to start off with may very well surprise you.
Putting a finish on will also raise everything up a notch. Shellac is wonderful stuff. Quick to dry and easy to sand down any sags and runs, but the more you use it the less sags and runs you’ll get. So as Ed suggested starting now with applying finishes is a great idea, whatever finish you chose.
Dyes and stains are one area where I think testing on your scraps is the only way to go. You need to see how your wood will work. How much dye to apply, what concentration. You can always plane down the scrap and start fresh if you don’t like the effect you achieved. Keeping notes is really useful.
Hope this helps,
Paul10 June 2017 at 11:25 am #312694A “trick” to a good finish is to make damn sure you get rid of any and all glue squeezeout, so if you think you got rid of it all go scrape, sand whatever some more.
Especially if you want to stain or most of all clear coat it, the glue will leave nasty stains, wich are a pain to fix since you have to refinish the entire surface.Another thing with Stains as Ed and Paul have said you wanna always make samples, and before that make sure your Stain is even suitable for the wood species you wanna stain.
If you have a porous wood you also need to brush the surface, in grain direction, with a stiff brush to get all the dust and grime out of the pores. Otherwise they can show and be sure to wear gloves or you might get stains where you touched it barehanded.Overall theres just soo much to keep in mind and learn about finishes its impossible to go over it all in a forum post, I recommend to directly talk to a store speciallised on Stains, Laquer and the like or the manufacturer. Those folks know more about the topic than most of us ever will.
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