Another fairly ignorant question. I consider that my job, by the way; my
contribution to keeping the group supplied with on-topic threads.

My recent project had so many small parts (thirty-two 9" 1x2s, for
instance) that sanding, easing edges, staining and finishing them all
was a chore. Could I have sanded and (mostly) finished the uncut stock,
then cut them to length? Or would I lose time being so careful not to
scratch up the prefinished stock?

Would your answer change if you knew I had to drill two dowel holes in
each end of all those pieces?

One curious mind wants to know.

On 1/9/2015 9:52 AM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Another fairly ignorant question. I consider that my job, by the way; my
contribution to keeping the group supplied with on-topic threads.

My recent project had so many small parts (thirty-two 9" 1x2s, for
instance) that sanding, easing edges, staining and finishing them all
was a chore. Could I have sanded and (mostly) finished the uncut stock,
then cut them to length? Or would I lose time being so careful not to
scratch up the prefinished stock?

Would your answer change if you knew I had to drill two dowel holes in
each end of all those pieces?

One curious mind wants to know.



You can prefinish before cutting if this will be an operation that will
not harm the surface, such as denting, just save the last coat of finish
for after the part is cut. I typically don't.

"Greg Guarino" wrote in message

Another fairly ignorant question. I consider that my job, by the way; my
contribution to keeping the group supplied with on-topic threads.

My recent project had so many small parts (thirty-two 9" 1x2s, for
instance) that sanding, easing edges, staining and finishing them all
was a chore. Could I have sanded and (mostly) finished the uncut stock,
then cut them to length? Or would I lose time being so careful not to
scratch up the prefinished stock?

Would your answer change if you knew I had to drill two dowel holes in
each end of all those pieces?

One curious mind wants to know.

One lazy mind says it is easier to sand/finish a few big things than a
bunch of smaller things. Within reason; by that I mean (in your case) I
probably would have sanded/finished them as 4 - 8 pieces, then cut those
into the 9" lengths.

There is a big advantage to doing that when sanding because you can clamp
them together to sand all edges at once, lay them side by side to do all
faces together; it's good idea to rotate their positions from time to time
to avoid rounding edges. They can be finished before cutting to length
too.

They may blow out a bit when cutting; if one has a scoring saw - I don't -
that wouldn't happen; without one, using a board under what you are
cutting can help. Another possible solution is to cut them slightly long,
then use a disk sander to get exact size. Another way - my usual one - is
to put the blow out where it doesn't show

As far as the dowels go, I wouldn't have used them. Being lazy, I would
have made grooves in the stiles and matching tongues in the rails; the
excess grooves would have been filled up with a wood filler, probably
profiled and less wide than the stiles.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Friday, January 9, 2015 at 9:52:03 AM UTC-6, Greg Guarino wrote:
Another fairly ignorant question. I consider that my job, by the way; my
contribution to keeping the group supplied with on-topic threads.

My recent project had so many small parts (thirty-two 9" 1x2s, for
instance) that sanding, easing edges, staining and finishing them all
was a chore. Could I have sanded and (mostly) finished the uncut stock,
then cut them to length? Or would I lose time being so careful not to
scratch up the prefinished stock?

Would your answer change if you knew I had to drill two dowel holes in
each end of all those pieces?

One curious mind wants to know.

Or don't do projects with lots of "smalls". (sic)

Do large projects, like skis... with one or two long pieces of wood. Skis oughta be a hot item, right now, with all that snow you all are having, up north. They oughta sell like hot cakes... and hot chocolate.

It's even brrrr down here, but no snow....yet!
Sonny

On 1/9/2015 11:16 AM, dadiOH wrote:
They may blow out a bit when cutting; if one has a scoring saw - I don't
- that wouldn't happen; without one, using a board under what you are
cutting can help. Another possible solution is to cut them slightly
long, then use a disk sander to get exact size. Another way - my usual
one - is to put the blow out where it doesn't show

Well, my tool complement is pretty primitive for woodworking. I not only
don't have a scoring saw, I don't have a table saw of any kind. Thus
(for now) I tend to design for minimal ripping. Except for the (plywood)
shelves, the entire project was made from 1x2 and 1x3 oak, left full-width.

Having said that, I rarely get "blow out" with my miter saw, presumably
because I pretty much never use the saw "as-is". I made a couple of
zero-clearance-style table and fence jigs that seem to support the backs
and bottoms of the pieces nicely.

As far as the dowels go, I wouldn't have used them. Being lazy, I would
have made grooves in the stiles and matching tongues in the rails; the
excess grooves would have been filled up with a wood filler, probably
profiled and less wide than the stiles.

One man's "lazy" is another man's "holy crap would that be
time-consuming", I guess. Drilling the 128 dowel holes in the the ends
of the rails took a little less than a half-hour, not counting making
the jig. The 128 mating holes in the rails took a little longer, but not
much.