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13 September 2023 at 6:09 am #813200
I have used some clip on aids successfully for the last couple of years (clipflipz which I purchased through i-sunglasses website). They slip on to my standard glasses, and work well with either the single lens, or the varifocals. They come in a range of different ratings, are not overly heavy, and can be flipped up out of the way easily. I bought two different ratings, so I can switch out depending what work I am doing. I am over fifty, but with these I am still able to thread a needle when I need to darn my socks 🙂
Colin.7 April 2023 at 11:14 am #797422This may be a silly question, but did you leave a blade in tension on the saw when you took your year long break?
I have an old second hand band saw that needed some attention. I find that because I have no way to look directly on to the blade and wheel, that I am very much guesstimating whether I have the blade centered on the crown or not. It’s a bit of a kerfuffle trying to realign the table every time I change a blade, so I have marked on the back, where the adjustment knob is for the upper wheel, which direction of adjustment will have which affect on the alignment of the blade with the table. This helps me to fine tune the alignment of the blade to the fence / table.
I probably do need new tyres, and if I ever get around to it, I may drill an observation hole in the frame, but given that I don’t use the band saw that much, none of those are a high priority at the moment.1 February 2023 at 6:39 am #789639Another plus to building open projects (L shape or U shape, or N shape or C shape (presumably depending which way you hold the thing)) is that once you have a nice fit on the sides of the joint, you can see if there are gaps on the inside / outside of the pin board, and then re-score the knifewall and re-pare which lets you fine tune the joint and only makes the pins longer. (Doesn’t work on the tail board though.)
31 January 2023 at 10:32 pm #789590Agreed, lack of edit button is a major step backwards.
I tend to use the vertical lines on the pin board as a guide for the saw plate to stay parallel with, rather than aiming to remove them. On the pin boards, as I need all of the pencil on the end grain to stay visible, its just easier in my head to leave the verticals too.
Renaissance Woodworker did a nice video on 5 exercises to improve your sawing on his YT channel. It seems to work along the same lines as sports training. You never go straight in to competition, you first practice, and then you warm up.31 January 2023 at 5:07 pm #789502Most all of the dovetailing I have done has been in SPF. My personal experience is that the most important thing is to be able to saw square across the end of the board (I am a tails first guy). You don’t need to have exact angles and spacing, as you transfer whatever angles you cut to the pin board. If you cut those well, you are a long way towards getting things right.
The other advantage to getting one bit right and then moving on to the next, is that you can more easily identify if you get something wrong. For example, if you are working on your sawing, then you want the tails and pins to match well. SO don’t worry too much if the depth is not perfect, concentrate on the fit.
If you are working on your chiselling and chopping to the knife wall, then don’t worry too much if the tails and pins are loose. Keep all the slivers and parings, as they are good for filling in any gaps.
Just keep making things. Boxes, screwdriver stands, toothbrush holders, anything. Notice I don’t use the word practising. Whatever you make, make it to be a finished useful thing (even if it is only an L shape doe’s foot that you can clamp in your vise). It changes the way you focus on things.Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.12 January 2023 at 7:20 pm #786959If it was me, I’d start by assembling the blade in to the plane again, so that it looks central (same gap on either side at the bottom near the mouth, then advance the blade through the mouth until the full width is projecting out above the sole. Then have a look at how the lateral adjust affects the projection. If you can get the blade edge parallel across the sole of the plane this way, then back the blade out again, and try it out. If it takes nice wide shavings, then great.
If you can’t get the blade edge parallel, then mark a line across the blade a little bit below the lowest corner and then disassemble the blade and start to sharpen away again until you are closer to parallel to the line. Then retest the plane function again. That should get you where you need to be.12 January 2023 at 6:09 am #786902Why would you glue the siding dovetail? The whole point of the sliding dovetail is to allow the table top to expand / contract. If you wanted to hide the grooves from prying fingers, then you can cut them as stopped joints, or cheat a bit and rip the two outside pieces of the table top lengthwise, edge glue the rest of the table top, cut a through groove across the bottom of the top, fit the sliding parts, then glue the two outside pieces back on.
11 January 2023 at 9:09 pm #786849How thick is the top? Challenge yourself with some nice sliding dovetail cross pieces.
11 January 2023 at 9:07 pm #786848When you are looking at the cross, you are actually looking at the end grain. I effectively made a cross profile and cross cut (pun intended) the crosses from it. Planed the faces carefully, chamfered all the edges with a chisel, then soaked them in shellac to give them a darker colour.
11 January 2023 at 2:25 pm #786783I also got a couple of books for Crimbo, on boat joinery. Fascinating to see how people work trying to maximise usable space, work in to the compound curves of the hull, as well as some of the unique problems associated with designing for and working within very limited space.
11 January 2023 at 5:27 am #786708I have a new production 41/2 from Stanley, it took a decent amount of elbow grease to get teh sole flat, but it was worth it. That 41/2 performs better than my new production sweetheart no 4.
10 January 2023 at 9:13 pm #786660If you have not yet made the top, then consider a variant of Sven’s idea. Make the top and bottom layers, but build a frame as the center layer, that way you get the long grain up the sides. This assumes that you have some off cuts from the ends and at least two sides that you can rip, plane and use for the frame. Cut the off cuts from the ends in to thin slices and use these to show end grain. Use whatever else you have spare for the internals of the frame.
10 January 2023 at 9:07 pm #786658Am I correct in thinking that you have already built the table top and are now finishing it off with the detail work? Or have you not yet started making the top? If you have already made the top, then the next question is, have you flattened the top? If the top is flattened, then that can be used as a reference. Do you have a normal router plane (70 or 71)? If you do, then set that to mark out the bottom edge of your groove and mark all the way around. Mark the upper edge of the groove with a normal gauge, and make the groove a bit wider than the cutter in the plough plane /chisel. Set the fence of the plough plane so that you are cutting to the upper gauge line. Plough two of the corners along the grain to relieve the breakout that might occur. Swap the fence to the other side of the plane and then plough the end grain towards the already ploughed corner. Once the groove is ploughed, come back with the router plane and use that to pare away the bottom side of the groove. People will notice this edge the most and the router will give you a really nice consistent cut, they will pay less attention to the top edge of the groove, and you can always break that edge with a plane to give the illusion of perfection. Reset the plough plane fence again and do the other two sides. Then set the router or the other gauge deeper to mark the top edge of the bevel. Flip the top over and plane the bevel. Again, pay attention to the gauge line, as any inconsistencies will be quite visible. Don’t worry about the underside of the table, no one will be looking there.
10 January 2023 at 10:14 am #786522Search YouTube for $5 Self Squaring Quick Release Fence for an idea what I am talking about.
10 January 2023 at 5:39 am #786507I got my band saw with no fence or miter gauge, so I have made mine. The fence is a simple design with a toggle clamp to pull it square against the table. A lot easier and cheaper to buy a couple of toggle clamps and make a fence that you can fit to the table. (If you were feeling particularly adventurous, you could probably do something with wedges instead of the toggle clamp, but it’s up to you. Personally, I would never spend that much money on something like that.)
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