OK... so it was for SWMBO, but it was still a 'pay for play' (no, not that
kind of play) type of job. As part of a deal we made, I could buy some new
tools to start a decent amateur woodworking shop in the basement. Her
payout was my first few projects have to be stuff she wants for the house.
Suits me... I just wanted to build stuff.

Her hobbies are scrapbooking and stamping. So the first thing she wanted
was a cabinet for all of her scrapbooking and stamping stuff. I took a look
at all the 'stuff' she had and together we came up with a rough design. I
used Visio and drew up some plans that were as complete as I thought anyone
could get them. She liked the design so I went to making saw dust.

It came out pretty nice. There are pics on
alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking if you care to see them. During the
project, basically my 2nd _real_ project, I learned a ton! So in the
interest of giving a little back to those who have helped me learn so much
posted below are some of the lessons this newbie learned:

1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan I
created.

2. It does take white wood glue a pretty good amount of time to dry...
enough time to frantically put a Forrest WWII blade on your saw to cut a
piece of 3/4" Red Oak plywood, change over to a Frued stacked dado blade,
cut 3 dados and 2 rabbets, and then reset the new piece in place of the old
(damn it looked ok during the dry test fit phase scratch scratch) top and
still have time to clamp and square everything.

3. A clean shop is a lot easier to work in than a messy shop... not sure I
learned this one or just observed it and let it pass.

4. There has to be a better way to tell if you're done sanding. I haven't
learned the way yet, as you'll see by the, um, 'figure' on the left door
which wasnt recognizable until I stained it. Good thing SWMBO thinks it
'Tiger Oak Plywood' since one of my new tools was a ROS specifically for
this purpose.

5. I now know why Norm has such a big assembly table.

6. One stupid, and never to be forgotten, mistake later... A 12" x 1/2" x
1/2" piece of wood being shot out of a blade guard at ??? MPH and drilling
you in the gut hurts like a sonofagun. I credit this lesson to ripping 20+
pieces of pine for the shelf cleats and getting a little lazy towards the
end and letting one of the trimmed edge pieces remain on the table,
seemingly behind the blade. Somehow that little sucker made its way back
and shot outta there like a bullet. It left a temporary nasty welt on my
belly and a permanent mark in my brain. Thank the Lord I had the blade
guard on... can't imagine that thing hittin me in the face like that.

7. Glue covered Oak doesn't stain the same color as non-glue covered Oak.

8. When using plywood, you may have to think Edge Banding if you're not
careful in planning - see #1.

9. A 3 year old with 9 Care Bear Stuffed animals has a hard time
understanding that this cabinet is for mommy's stuff and not her Care Bears.

10. WOW! This is fun! (But you guys make it look easier than it is)

There were quite a few more lessons learned along the way, but those were
the ones that came to mind as wrote this.

Any constructive critiques gladly accepted.

Thanks.
Mike W.

In article ,
says...
During the
project, basically my 2nd _real_ project, I learned a ton! So in the

Man, dude, only the 2nd project! I thought you'd been doing it
for years.

Way to go,
Henry Bibb

"Mike W." wrote in message

3. A clean shop is a lot easier to work in than a messy shop... not sure
I learned this one or just observed it and let it pass.


Heard about this, but have not tried it very often.



5. I now know why Norm has such a big assembly table.

To put more "stuff" on?

Important thing is that you are having fun.

Mike W. wrote:


9. A 3 year old with 9 Care Bear Stuffed animals has a hard time
understanding that this cabinet is for mommy's stuff and not her Care Bears.

So go make more sawdust and have two women in your life pleased with
you. My eldest assures me she will take her CD rack/bookshelf when she
gets a proper flat (at university).

Peter
--
Add my middle initial to email me. It has become attached to a country

snip


1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan I
created.

snip


I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my
favorite is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape
measure with an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push"
measure ( loose rivets.)

Mike W. wrote:

4. There has to be a better way to tell if you're done sanding. I haven't
learned the way yet, as you'll see by the, um, 'figure' on the left door
which wasnt recognizable until I stained it. Good thing SWMBO thinks it
'Tiger Oak Plywood' since one of my new tools was a ROS specifically for
this purpose.

7. Glue covered Oak doesn't stain the same color as non-glue covered Oak.




I usually use denatured alcohol to clean the items before i start to
finish them - both cleans and when the alcohol is still wet, shows
pretty well
what the final piece looks like - will often show up glue and other
imperfections that need cleaned up before applying finish. And, no, stale
beer doesn't work like denatured alcohol.

10. WOW! This is fun! (But you guys make it look easier than it is)


11. Once you start building for SWMBO...it will never end....(lol)

Schroeder

"Mark and Kim Smith" wrote in message
...
snip


1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan
I created.

snip

I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my favorite
is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape measure with
an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push" measure (
loose rivets.)
-----------------
I'm sure that wear and tear will get them in the end. But the 'loose' rivets
are loose for good reason. They ensure that a measured 'push' or 'pull' is
the same as the movement equals exactly the thickness of the end tab.

Mike, I took a look at your cabinet and it looks great. Awesome job!

Glad your kick-back experience wasn't any worse. You might want to use a
splitter, as well as the guard, as this will have a large impact on reducing
the chance of kickback.

Keep at it!

Mike

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:24:24 GMT, the inscrutable Jim Wheeler
spake:

I usually use denatured alcohol to clean the items before i start to
finish them - both cleans and when the alcohol is still wet, shows
pretty well
what the final piece looks like - will often show up glue and other
imperfections that need cleaned up before applying finish.

Ditto here. I use either alcohol, lacquer thinner, or acetone (now
that I have some) to clean every piece which will be finished. The
solvent removes dust, oil, and most contaminants which would otherwise
ruin the finish, and it shows you where more work needs to be done,
such as scratches, scuffs, and splinters/hard edges.


And, no, stale beer doesn't work like denatured alcohol.

OTOH, it WOULD be better tasting.

--
Life's a Frisbee: When you die, your soul goes up on the roof.
----
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development

Mike you did a great job. Although you wanted Oak for this project,
you might consider 5x5 Baltic Birch of other projects. I have found
the per foot cost to be less than 4x8 plywood often. Also 1/2" is
plenty strong enough with good joints:

http://alan.firebin.net/images/garage_cab2.jpg

My current project is to make cubes with dividers, drawers, and cubbies
for my wife's birthday in her scrapbook room. aka like:

http://www.scrapncube.com

Prior projects included these hacks:

http://alan.firebin.net/images/stamp_tray.jpg

http://arwomack01.home.att.net/images/scrap_cabs.jpg

I especially like the middle cabinet where the lesson was don't trust
the vendors measurement for the size of 12x12 hanging folders. Hence
the need to widen the drawer and dado the sides to clear the drawer
slides. Need to remake that box soon.

Alan

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 04:32:03 -0500, Mark and Kim Smith wrote:

I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my

Unless the project has dimensions in feet for the bulk, and 64ths for the
joints. Hard to find one rule to ring them all.

--
"Keep your ass behind you"
vladimir a t mad {dot} scientist {dot} com

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 01:43:16 GMT, "Mike W." wrote:

OK... so it was for SWMBO, but it was still a 'pay for play' (no, not that
kind of play) type of job. As part of a deal we made, I could buy some new
tools to start a decent amateur woodworking shop in the basement. Her
payout was my first few projects have to be stuff she wants for the house.
Suits me... I just wanted to build stuff.

Her hobbies are scrapbooking and stamping. So the first thing she wanted
was a cabinet for all of her scrapbooking and stamping stuff. I took a look
at all the 'stuff' she had and together we came up with a rough design. I
used Visio and drew up some plans that were as complete as I thought anyone
could get them. She liked the design so I went to making saw dust.

It came out pretty nice. There are pics on
alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking if you care to see them. During the
project, basically my 2nd _real_ project, I learned a ton! So in the
interest of giving a little back to those who have helped me learn so much
posted below are some of the lessons this newbie learned:

1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan I
created.

2. It does take white wood glue a pretty good amount of time to dry...
enough time to frantically put a Forrest WWII blade on your saw to cut a
piece of 3/4" Red Oak plywood, change over to a Frued stacked dado blade,
cut 3 dados and 2 rabbets, and then reset the new piece in place of the old
(damn it looked ok during the dry test fit phase scratch scratch) top and
still have time to clamp and square everything.

3. A clean shop is a lot easier to work in than a messy shop... not sure I
learned this one or just observed it and let it pass.

4. There has to be a better way to tell if you're done sanding. I haven't
learned the way yet, as you'll see by the, um, 'figure' on the left door
which wasnt recognizable until I stained it. Good thing SWMBO thinks it
'Tiger Oak Plywood' since one of my new tools was a ROS specifically for
this purpose.

5. I now know why Norm has such a big assembly table.

6. One stupid, and never to be forgotten, mistake later... A 12" x 1/2" x
1/2" piece of wood being shot out of a blade guard at ??? MPH and drilling
you in the gut hurts like a sonofagun. I credit this lesson to ripping 20+
pieces of pine for the shelf cleats and getting a little lazy towards the
end and letting one of the trimmed edge pieces remain on the table,
seemingly behind the blade. Somehow that little sucker made its way back
and shot outta there like a bullet. It left a temporary nasty welt on my
belly and a permanent mark in my brain. Thank the Lord I had the blade
guard on... can't imagine that thing hittin me in the face like that.

7. Glue covered Oak doesn't stain the same color as non-glue covered Oak.

8. When using plywood, you may have to think Edge Banding if you're not
careful in planning - see #1.

9. A 3 year old with 9 Care Bear Stuffed animals has a hard time
understanding that this cabinet is for mommy's stuff and not her Care Bears.

10. WOW! This is fun! (But you guys make it look easier than it is)

There were quite a few more lessons learned along the way, but those were
the ones that came to mind as wrote this.

Any constructive critiques gladly accepted.

Thanks.
Mike W.

Mike.. very well written...
It's hard to admit your mistakes and harder to make them amusing...
I'm sure that anyone who doesn't learn from your post will remember something
that they might not have thought about for a while.. thanks!
(and the organizer is fantastic)


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On 11 Mar 2005 04:32:03 EST, Mark and Kim Smith wrote:

snip


1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan I
created.

snip


I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my
favorite is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape
measure with an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push"
measure ( loose rivets.)

now that you mention that, I realized that I have an OLD habit that my dad
taught me years ago..

I always start at the 1" mark of the tape and subtract an inch from my total...
I don't think he ever explained the loose rivet thing to me, but it makes
sense... seems like he just said that the 1" mark was a line across the tape
that was square, or something like that.. (maybe 50 years ago)



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 01:43:16 GMT, "Mike W."
wrote:


3. A clean shop is a lot easier to work in than a messy shop... not sure
I
learned this one or just observed it and let it pass.


What is this clean shop you speak of??


6. One stupid, and never to be forgotten, mistake later... A 12" x 1/2" x
1/2" piece of wood being shot out of a blade guard at ??? MPH and drilling
you in the gut hurts like a sonofagun. I credit this lesson to ripping
20+
pieces of pine for the shelf cleats and getting a little lazy towards the
end and letting one of the trimmed edge pieces remain on the table,
seemingly behind the blade. Somehow that little sucker made its way back
and shot outta there like a bullet. It left a temporary nasty welt on my
belly and a permanent mark in my brain. Thank the Lord I had the blade
guard on... can't imagine that thing hittin me in the face like that.


I did that once, just once.

I learned my lesson. It hit me just under the rib cage a couple inches right
of center. The bruise took almost a month to go away. It hurts just to
remember it.

It was a particularly cold day and I had on several layers of thick
clothing. And still, the pain and resulting bruise were extensive. I can
only imagine what would have happened if I was working in a t shirt.



9. A 3 year old with 9 Care Bear Stuffed animals has a hard time
understanding that this cabinet is for mommy's stuff and not her Care
Bears.


Try this.

The family cats taking up residence in anything that you build. And getting
very offended if you evict them from their new digs.

That's what I usuall do as well. Of course a few of my tapes are so
worn I can't read the first 2 inches, so I have to start at the 3"
mark.

I've learned to measure both directions as a sanity check and to avoid
the inevitable math error.

JW

"Jim Wheeler" wrote in message
.net...

what the final piece looks like - will often show up glue and other
imperfections that need cleaned up before applying finish. And, no, stale
beer doesn't work like denatured alcohol.

My beer doesn't last long enough to get stale.

Vic

Greetings and Salutations....

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 08:27:02 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

On 11 Mar 2005 04:32:03 EST, Mark and Kim Smith wrote:

snip


1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan I
created.

snip


I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my
favorite is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape
measure with an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push"
measure ( loose rivets.)

now that you mention that, I realized that I have an OLD habit that my dad
taught me years ago..

I always start at the 1" mark of the tape and subtract an inch from my total...
I don't think he ever explained the loose rivet thing to me, but it makes
sense... seems like he just said that the 1" mark was a line across the tape
that was square, or something like that.. (maybe 50 years ago)

While I have no problem with starting the measurement at the
1" mark (and do it myself off and on), I want to point out that the
fact that the hook on the end of a tape measure is SUPPOSED to be
loose! It is designed so that when you hook over a panel, the
distance from the INNER surface of the hook to the 1" mark is
"exactly" 1". When you are measuring INSIDE dimensions, the hook
slides back so that the measurement from the OUTSIDE surface of the
hook to the 1" mark is "exactly" 1". DAMHIKT, but, it is a REALLY
bad idea to peen the rivets down, so the hook is nice and solid.
Of course, there is a certain amount of slop there, and,
I suspect that the cheaper the tape, the more approximate that
measurement will be...but that is how it is supposed to work.
Regards
Dave Mundt

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On 11 Mar 2005 04:32:03 EST, Mark and Kim Smith
wrote:

snip


1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any
plan I
created.

snip


I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my
favorite is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape
measure with an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push"
measure ( loose rivets.)

now that you mention that, I realized that I have an OLD habit that my dad
taught me years ago..

I always start at the 1" mark of the tape and subtract an inch from my
total...
I don't think he ever explained the loose rivet thing to me, but it makes
sense... seems like he just said that the 1" mark was a line across the
tape
that was square, or something like that.. (maybe 50 years ago)

I have always found that to start measuring at the 1" mark can result in
easy to make mistakes because on longer measurements it is hard to tell if
the 1" has been added or not. This resulted in things being cut 1" too
short. I take my middle measurements starting at the 10" spot. A 21 5/8"
length starts at 10" and runs to the 31 5/8" spot, if I forget to add the
10" it is quite noticeable, and easy to correct before cutting.

I prefer an 18" stainless steel rigid ruler for small measurements, they are
more accurate to use than a tape.

Greetings and Salutations...

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:44:03 -0500, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:


On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 01:43:16 GMT, "Mike W."
wrote:


3. A clean shop is a lot easier to work in than a messy shop... not sure
I
learned this one or just observed it and let it pass.


What is this clean shop you speak of??

Hey, I have heard of this sort of thing myself...and even
recall a time (for about 20 minutes) when MY shop was neat...so it
can happen.


6. One stupid, and never to be forgotten, mistake later... A 12" x 1/2" x
1/2" piece of wood being shot out of a blade guard at ??? MPH and drilling
you in the gut hurts like a sonofagun. I credit this lesson to ripping
20+
pieces of pine for the shelf cleats and getting a little lazy towards the
end and letting one of the trimmed edge pieces remain on the table,
seemingly behind the blade. Somehow that little sucker made its way back
and shot outta there like a bullet. It left a temporary nasty welt on my
belly and a permanent mark in my brain. Thank the Lord I had the blade
guard on... can't imagine that thing hittin me in the face like that.


The "good" news, I suppose, is that a kickback like this is
unlikely to gain much altitude..so will tend to hit somewhere between
just below the belly button, up to mid-chest. Now a lathe...that
WILL throw chunks DIRECTLY at that little ridge between your eyes...
and with amazing accuracy.

I did that once, just once.

I learned my lesson. It hit me just under the rib cage a couple inches right
of center. The bruise took almost a month to go away. It hurts just to
remember it.

It was a particularly cold day and I had on several layers of thick
clothing. And still, the pain and resulting bruise were extensive. I can
only imagine what would have happened if I was working in a t shirt.

Yea...my last bad one is detailed in the archive, but, in
short, I was cutting 3/8" plywood squares for bird-house floors. I
was on the last floor, which was the last piece of ALL the wood
needed to build about a dozen of the things...and as I pushed it off
the back of the saw, the square rotated slightly, caught the blade,
and was propelled at about 100 MPH into my abdomen, about 2" below
my belly-button (I was VERY appreciative that I am only 6' tall...
any more and it would have recut the family jewels!).
I was left with a VERY impressive, oval bruise about 2" tall
and more than 3" wide, that persisted for weeks.

9. A 3 year old with 9 Care Bear Stuffed animals has a hard time
understanding that this cabinet is for mommy's stuff and not her Care
Bears.


Try this.

The family cats taking up residence in anything that you build. And getting
very offended if you evict them from their new digs.

Yea...cats will do that. I had one cat a while ago that
kept pulling enough books off the bookshelf to make a "kitty cave" for
her to sit in. She was VERY persistent.
Good thing they are cute, social creatures!
Regards
Dave Mundt

"mac davis" wrote in message
I always start at the 1" mark of the tape and subtract an inch from my
total...
I don't think he ever explained the loose rivet thing to me, but it makes
sense... seems like he just said that the 1" mark was a line across the
tape
that was square, or something like that.. (maybe 50 years ago)


You start at the 1 inch mark to help prevent a short measurement. As rulers
and scales get dropped on their end's the beginning marks tend to disappear.
Scales tend to start in from the end to eliminate this problem.

"Mike W." wrote in message
...
OK... so it was for SWMBO, but it was still a 'pay for play' (no, not that
kind of play) type of job. As part of a deal we made, I could buy some
new tools to start a decent amateur woodworking shop in the basement. Her
payout was my first few projects have to be stuff she wants for the house.
Suits me... I just wanted to build stuff.

Anyone who doesn't have a similiar story to tell is full of it.

SH - The "been there done that" woodworker. Especially the getting hit in
the gut with the speeding bullet!

gandalf wrote:

"Mark and Kim Smith" wrote in message
...


snip



1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan
I created.

snip



I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my favorite
is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape measure with
an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push" measure (
loose rivets.)


-----------------
I'm sure that wear and tear will get them in the end. But the 'loose' rivets
are loose for good reason. They ensure that a measured 'push' or 'pull' is
the same as the movement equals exactly the thickness of the end tab.





That's why I mentioned a worn tape measure. Being a fella who can't
always throw things away when their life is used up, one of my old tapes
is missing a rivet and the other rivet allows for about a 1/8" movement
from being almost out! Plus, that remaining rivet will catch the tape
1/4" off the mark! I try to grab the new 30 footer when I can, but it
is nice to have multi tapes everywhere, within reach most all of the time.

mac davis wrote:

On 11 Mar 2005 04:32:03 EST, Mark and Kim Smith wrote:



snip



1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan I
created.

snip




I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my
favorite is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape
measure with an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push"
measure ( loose rivets.)



now that you mention that, I realized that I have an OLD habit that my dad
taught me years ago..

I always start at the 1" mark of the tape and subtract an inch from my total...
I don't think he ever explained the loose rivet thing to me, but it makes
sense... seems like he just said that the 1" mark was a line across the tape
that was square, or something like that.. (maybe 50 years ago)



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing



Wouldn't you actually add the inch??

That's the way I was raised ( in my schooling.) "Burn an inch!" For
instance, to measure 16", start at your 1" mark, go to 16", add an
inch. Done.

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 01:43:16 GMT, "Mike W."
wrote:

OK... so it was for SWMBO, but it was still a 'pay for play' (no, not that
kind of play) type of job. As part of a deal we made, I could buy some new
tools to start a decent amateur woodworking shop in the basement. Her
payout was my first few projects have to be stuff she wants for the house.
Suits me... I just wanted to build stuff.

Just curious .....
I have only made ONE "Commisioned" project in my entire life and to
be honest it came out beautiful...and I may have made a few bucks...

I have been asked 100's of times to build something for a friend or a
friend of a friend etc...BUT I will never do it again...

What do the majority of you guys or gals do when asked.....?

I honestly did NOT enjoy the "work"...and I do classify it as work...
because I never enjoyed "work"...and I was doing something for someone
else...

When I walk into my garage I like having the freedom to do MY thing...
MY WAY etc....just found that building (it was a desk) for someone
else made me feel like I was punching a clock

Bob Griffiths

"Bob G." wrote:

....regarding not taking "commissioned" work as isn't fun or
self-chosen...

What do the majority of you guys or gals do when asked.....?

All depends -- when I was young and needing extra income, I would take
anything I thought was remotely within my capabilities (both personal
and shop). As I matured, that went through a progression of approaching
your attitude except I wouldn't say "never", I'd just pick and choose
depending on what else I was doing at the time and whether it looked
interesting enough to be enjoyable...

So, I'd say unless you have other constraints, do whatever feels good...

It was a particularly cold day and I had on several layers of thick
clothing. And still, the pain and resulting bruise were extensive. I
can
only imagine what would have happened if I was working in a t shirt.

Been there. It was the defining moment that made me get a contractor's
saw to replace the bench top delta. I was cutting laminate flooring on
th bench top saw. The board was about 12 inches long and maybe 6
inches wide. It caught me just below the ribs on the right side, then
somehow shot up and hit me in the face with the flat side. Getting hit
in the face was an odd experience. The laminate was light, but there
was enough force that it felt like someone was pushing it into my face.
No facial injuries though. Where it hit me in the gut, I still have a
1.5" scar. It didn't really bruise so much as cut. I was bleeding a
little, but no blood on the shirt oddly enough. I'm sort of surprised
it scarred.

brian

Mark and Kim Smith wrote in
:

snip

That's why I mentioned a worn tape measure. Being a fella who can't
always throw things away when their life is used up, one of my old
tapes is missing a rivet and the other rivet allows for about a 1/8"
movement from being almost out! Plus, that remaining rivet will catch
the tape 1/4" off the mark! I try to grab the new 30 footer when I
can, but it is nice to have multi tapes everywhere, within reach most
all of the time.


Sounds like it's good enough for fence work, or laying out the garden, or
such.

Rather like keeping the old Craftsman chisels around, for when you don't
want to screw up the 'good' ones.

Patriarch

Thanks for the tip. Luckily there are only a couple of spots on it that
show... and I pulled out the 'Oh... thats just the figure of the wood'
statement and dodged like crazy. She's onto me, but she's too happy with it
to gripe methinks.

Mike W.

"Jim Wheeler" wrote in message
.net...


Mike W. wrote:

4. There has to be a better way to tell if you're done sanding. I
haven't learned the way yet, as you'll see by the, um, 'figure' on the
left door which wasnt recognizable until I stained it. Good thing SWMBO
thinks it 'Tiger Oak Plywood' since one of my new tools was a ROS
specifically for this purpose.

7. Glue covered Oak doesn't stain the same color as non-glue covered Oak.



I usually use denatured alcohol to clean the items before i start to
finish them - both cleans and when the alcohol is still wet, shows pretty
well
what the final piece looks like - will often show up glue and other
imperfections that need cleaned up before applying finish. And, no, stale
beer doesn't work like denatured alcohol.

So does that mean that the splitter that the blade guard is part of is no
good? Its definitely thinner than the blade which would seem to make it
useless??

Thanks.

Mike W.

"Mike in Mystic" wrote in message
. com...
Mike, I took a look at your cabinet and it looks great. Awesome job!

Glad your kick-back experience wasn't any worse. You might want to use a
splitter, as well as the guard, as this will have a large impact on
reducing
the chance of kickback.

Keep at it!

Mike

I've been watching Nahmie, David M, and a few others for years... but have
only recently been trying it myself.

Thanks for the good words.

Mike W.


"Henry Q. Bibb" wrote in message
.net...
In article ,
says...
During the
project, basically my 2nd _real_ project, I learned a ton! So in the

Man, dude, only the 2nd project! I thought you'd been doing it
for years.

Way to go,
Henry Bibb

Thats about where I took it. I heard 'kickback this' and 'safety that' all
the time so I was pretty careful. It only took that one bit of laziness to
show me why its preached so often. I have a basement shop which is a little
chilly so I had a t-shirt and a sweatshirt on which certainly helped. I
remember the instant I heard the launch, it took a split second to recognize
the impact and pain, and before I could get my hands and eyes to the
'crater' I wondered if I had been impaled. Luckily all I got was a welt
that after about an hour actually let some blood come to the surface, but I
know I got off easy. LESSON LEARNED.

Can't help you with the cats... my Rottie might be able to, though. :-)
Naaaa... he's a wuss.

Thanks,
Mike W.

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 01:43:16 GMT, "Mike W."
wrote:


3. A clean shop is a lot easier to work in than a messy shop... not sure
I
learned this one or just observed it and let it pass.


What is this clean shop you speak of??


6. One stupid, and never to be forgotten, mistake later... A 12" x 1/2"
x
1/2" piece of wood being shot out of a blade guard at ??? MPH and
drilling
you in the gut hurts like a sonofagun. I credit this lesson to ripping
20+
pieces of pine for the shelf cleats and getting a little lazy towards the
end and letting one of the trimmed edge pieces remain on the table,
seemingly behind the blade. Somehow that little sucker made its way back
and shot outta there like a bullet. It left a temporary nasty welt on my
belly and a permanent mark in my brain. Thank the Lord I had the blade
guard on... can't imagine that thing hittin me in the face like that.


I did that once, just once.

I learned my lesson. It hit me just under the rib cage a couple inches
right of center. The bruise took almost a month to go away. It hurts
just to remember it.

It was a particularly cold day and I had on several layers of thick
clothing. And still, the pain and resulting bruise were extensive. I can
only imagine what would have happened if I was working in a t shirt.



9. A 3 year old with 9 Care Bear Stuffed animals has a hard time
understanding that this cabinet is for mommy's stuff and not her Care
Bears.


Try this.

The family cats taking up residence in anything that you build. And
getting very offended if you evict them from their new digs.

Thanks for the kind words. I hope some of this, though humored a bit, does
help everyone at least a tad. I get so much from the experience and lessons
posted in this newsgroup that I feel obliged to offer everything I learn...
no matter how stupid I was to learn it. :-)

Mike W.

"mac davis" wrote in message
...


Mike.. very well written...
It's hard to admit your mistakes and harder to make them amusing...
I'm sure that anyone who doesn't learn from your post will remember
something
that they might not have thought about for a while.. thanks!
(and the organizer is fantastic)


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"Mike W." wrote

Thats about where I took it. I heard 'kickback this' and 'safety that'
all the time so I was pretty careful. It only took that one bit of
laziness to show me why its preached so often. I have a basement shop
which is a little chilly so I had a t-shirt and a sweatshirt on which
certainly helped. I remember the instant I heard the launch, it took a
split second to recognize the impact and pain, and before I could get my
hands and eyes to the 'crater' I wondered if I had been impaled. Luckily
all I got was a welt that after about an hour actually let some blood come
to the surface, but I know I got off easy. LESSON LEARNED.

I remember my high school shop teacher telling us to stand in a position
that if you fell, you would not fall on the sawblade. We would have to
demonstrate this. We would fall onto a padded table saw to show that we did
not have any hands, etc, where they should not be.

I continue to follow that advice. What I added this little safety ritual was
making sure I DON'T stand where any potential kickback may occur.

On 11 Mar 2005 13:35:28 EST, Mark and Kim Smith
wrote:

gandalf wrote:

"Mark and Kim Smith" wrote in message
...


snip



1. Trust the tape measure/ruler more than any plan... especially any plan
I created.

snip



I try to stick with one measuring device per project. Usually my favorite
is the 60" straight edge. Especially compared to a worn tape measure with
an end that will vary between a "pull" measure and a "Push" measure (
loose rivets.)


-----------------
I'm sure that wear and tear will get them in the end. But the 'loose' rivets
are loose for good reason. They ensure that a measured 'push' or 'pull' is
the same as the movement equals exactly the thickness of the end tab.





That's why I mentioned a worn tape measure. Being a fella who can't
always throw things away when their life is used up, one of my old tapes
is missing a rivet and the other rivet allows for about a 1/8" movement
from being almost out! Plus, that remaining rivet will catch the tape
1/4" off the mark! I try to grab the new 30 footer when I can, but it
is nice to have multi tapes everywhere, within reach most all of the time.

Well, that is a good point...Although, when a measuring tool gets
THAT worn, I tend to give it a good burial. But then, I rarely manage
to keep a tape measure long enough to get it worn to that point.
I am fairly sure that there must be about 20 of them hiding
in nooks and crannies of my workshop (which gets back to the comments
elsewhere on cluttered shops), so I am doing the best I can to keep
Stanley, et al, in business by buying new tapes.
Regards
Dave Mundt

- before even dry fitting, check that all the parts
that are suppose to have square ends actually
have square ends

- check that all parts that are supposed to be the
same length are in fact the same length.

- mark the parts so you know which face is "up"
and which edge is the "front"

- if there are multiples use the triangle marking
method to identify which ones on top, which one
is in the middle and which one goes on the bottom.

- when ever possible, make all measurements off
on end and one reference edge.

- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE!!!!

- ALWAYS CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE!

- put a slight chamfer on the edges of parts that are
going into dadoes (except on the last 1/8" up front
where it'll show. couple of passes with 120 grit
will do. avoids splitting and crunching on snug fits

- if you want to avoid splintering on the good face
of ply, set the blade 1/16th or so above the table
and feed the sheet, good face down, from the back of
the saw to score it. Then raise the blade and feed
in the normal direction to finish the cut.

- make a bunch of 6 x6 mdf corner blocks with 2 holes
for clamps. makes holding things square while
putting things together during glue up a lot easier

- affer glue up but before glue dries check for square
and adjust clamps accordingly then check again.

- keep glue off your hands because it'll leap off
later onto the middle of the birdseye panel you
just put in between the rails and the stiles.

- waxilit where you don't want glue then wipe it off
with alcohol before finishing saves a lot of glue
scraping and that little patch you didn't see 'til the
finish went on and salmon colored spots start
appearing

- MARK THE WASTE SIDE

- CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE

- did I mention MARK THE WASTE SIDE? What
about CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE!

(and those are just my major F**K UPS.)

charlie b

Wow. Thanks for the great info, Charlie. Is this waxilit available in
stores or only online?

I haven't even been able to find paste wax other than the Minwax 'Finishing
Paste Wax' and I'm not sure thats the right stuff for coating parts for
friction, protection, etc.

Thanks.
Mike W.


"charlie b" wrote in message
...
- before even dry fitting, check that all the parts
that are suppose to have square ends actually
have square ends

- check that all parts that are supposed to be the
same length are in fact the same length.

- mark the parts so you know which face is "up"
and which edge is the "front"

- if there are multiples use the triangle marking
method to identify which ones on top, which one
is in the middle and which one goes on the bottom.

- when ever possible, make all measurements off
on end and one reference edge.

- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE!!!!

- ALWAYS CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE!

- put a slight chamfer on the edges of parts that are
going into dadoes (except on the last 1/8" up front
where it'll show. couple of passes with 120 grit
will do. avoids splitting and crunching on snug fits

- if you want to avoid splintering on the good face
of ply, set the blade 1/16th or so above the table
and feed the sheet, good face down, from the back of
the saw to score it. Then raise the blade and feed
in the normal direction to finish the cut.

- make a bunch of 6 x6 mdf corner blocks with 2 holes
for clamps. makes holding things square while
putting things together during glue up a lot easier

- affer glue up but before glue dries check for square
and adjust clamps accordingly then check again.

- keep glue off your hands because it'll leap off
later onto the middle of the birdseye panel you
just put in between the rails and the stiles.

- waxilit where you don't want glue then wipe it off
with alcohol before finishing saves a lot of glue
scraping and that little patch you didn't see 'til the
finish went on and salmon colored spots start
appearing

- MARK THE WASTE SIDE

- CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE

- did I mention MARK THE WASTE SIDE? What
about CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE!

(and those are just my major F**K UPS.)

charlie b

Wow. Thanks for the great info, Charlie. Is this waxilit available in
stores or only online?

I haven't even been able to find paste wax other than the Minwax 'Finishing
Paste Wax' and I'm not sure thats the right stuff for coating parts for
friction, protection, etc.

Thanks.
Mike W.

"charlie b" wrote in message
...
- before even dry fitting, check that all the parts
that are suppose to have square ends actually
have square ends

- check that all parts that are supposed to be the
same length are in fact the same length.

- mark the parts so you know which face is "up"
and which edge is the "front"

- if there are multiples use the triangle marking
method to identify which ones on top, which one
is in the middle and which one goes on the bottom.

- when ever possible, make all measurements off
on end and one reference edge.

- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE
- ALWAYS MARK THE WASTE SIDE!!!!

- ALWAYS CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE!

- put a slight chamfer on the edges of parts that are
going into dadoes (except on the last 1/8" up front
where it'll show. couple of passes with 120 grit
will do. avoids splitting and crunching on snug fits

- if you want to avoid splintering on the good face
of ply, set the blade 1/16th or so above the table
and feed the sheet, good face down, from the back of
the saw to score it. Then raise the blade and feed
in the normal direction to finish the cut.

- make a bunch of 6 x6 mdf corner blocks with 2 holes
for clamps. makes holding things square while
putting things together during glue up a lot easier

- affer glue up but before glue dries check for square
and adjust clamps accordingly then check again.

- keep glue off your hands because it'll leap off
later onto the middle of the birdseye panel you
just put in between the rails and the stiles.

- waxilit where you don't want glue then wipe it off
with alcohol before finishing saves a lot of glue
scraping and that little patch you didn't see 'til the
finish went on and salmon colored spots start
appearing

- MARK THE WASTE SIDE

- CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE

- did I mention MARK THE WASTE SIDE? What
about CUT ON THE WASTE SIDE!

(and those are just my major F**K UPS.)

charlie b

"Mike W." wrote in newsEAYd.15036$4k2.11804
@fe2.columbus.rr.com:

Wow. Thanks for the great info, Charlie. Is this waxilit available in
stores or only online?


I DAGS'ed and found (eventually) Robin Lee to the rescue!
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32092&cat=1,43415,43440

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:37:10 -0500, "Eric Tonks" etonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM
wrote:

now that you mention that, I realized that I have an OLD habit that my dad
taught me years ago..

I always start at the 1" mark of the tape and subtract an inch from my
total...
I don't think he ever explained the loose rivet thing to me, but it makes
sense... seems like he just said that the 1" mark was a line across the
tape
that was square, or something like that.. (maybe 50 years ago)

I have always found that to start measuring at the 1" mark can result in
easy to make mistakes because on longer measurements it is hard to tell if
the 1" has been added or not. This resulted in things being cut 1" too
short. I take my middle measurements starting at the 10" spot. A 21 5/8"
length starts at 10" and runs to the 31 5/8" spot, if I forget to add the
10" it is quite noticeable, and easy to correct before cutting.

I prefer an 18" stainless steel rigid ruler for small measurements, they are
more accurate to use than a tape.

hmm... I'll remember that one...
Sort of a case of increasing the margin of error to avoid making a mistake!



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing