charlese
07-21-2008, 02:03 PM
Hi Chris - Thank you for keeping us posted on your work.! I had many things to say in answer to you bird house thread, however it was bedtime so it's best to wait until some sleep.
First of all and most important - the completed project is really exciting! The involvement of your friends and the excellent artistry of the women-folk was almost as much fun for me to read, as it was for you'all to do! A neat project with a wonderful end result!:)
Your photographic expertise continues to amaze, and you gift of gab doesn't suffer either. Your writing is fun to read!
Now if I could - I would like to throw in a couple of critiques of the woodworking. I do this only because I know you are just beginning on what will be a lasting hobby.
Let me comment on the pinching (while ripping) you observed. You didn't do anything wrong here except choose the wrong board (or the wrong edge of a board) to rip. If you look at the 'pinching'/ saw kerf-closing photo, you can see you have a plain sawn board. (Nothing to cause concern yet) - - You can also see that this board was sawn from the log in a manner that was not parallel to the grain of that log. The way that happens is: if there was a crook or bend or severe taper in that log - the side of the log resting on the sawmill carriage presents the top of the log at an angle to the sawmills blade. (the sides of the log are also similarly affected)
At any rate, when the slabs are removed you get a cant of wood where the grain runs does not parallel with the sawmill carriage. The resulting boards will have grain that runs in a slant to the edges of the board. This is what you have/had. When you find that situation, the chances are greater that the board will contain wood under stress, or reaction wood. Some reaction wood is non avoidable. Your board looks to have a goodly amount. Although there is no way for most of us to avoid reaction wood, it (if possible) behooves us to inspect the boards before buying to look for signs of it. Diagonally grain is one sign.
Personally, I prefer rift sawn or quarter sawn straight grained. Sometimes out of wider boards, you can rip narrower boards that have better grain configuration and if necessary edge glue them back together. - -
*With all that said - birdhouses really do not justify a lot of "board scrutiny", but you can always expect some cull wood when pulling boards off a shelf, and pinches like that have nothing to do with your doing something wrong while sawing. In Fact - you did right by having the splitter in place. That is what it is there for! Perhaps the other edge of that board was rift grain that would have been more stable.
Next - I would like to throw in a minor critique of the positioning of your miter gauge when sawing the slanted sides of the houses. I wish you photo had included a floating table on the left side of the blade to support the miter extension. This would have made your cuts perhaps a bit less fuzzy on the bottom. Personally, I like to use the other side of the blade for making such cuts. The wider table on the right side gives more base without adding floating tables. (I use the same aluminum extension)
Speaking of the right side and left side of the blade - Although you properly used a spacer so our cross bevel cut did not ride on the fence, you really should have used the other side of the blade and kept your workpiece under the blade and the cutoff to the upper side. Reference: PTWFE Pg. 33. This is a safety issue. If the workpiece slips, it will not fall into the spinning blade as easily, and you can remove the workpiece from below the blade, rather than above it.
How did Jim like the Shopsmith?
You and Dusty have answered my question about the ceiling storage shelves.
Thanks again, for your thread it is a happy thing to follow along with your excitement and progress with you new hobby. Keep making sawdust!:)
First of all and most important - the completed project is really exciting! The involvement of your friends and the excellent artistry of the women-folk was almost as much fun for me to read, as it was for you'all to do! A neat project with a wonderful end result!:)
Your photographic expertise continues to amaze, and you gift of gab doesn't suffer either. Your writing is fun to read!
Now if I could - I would like to throw in a couple of critiques of the woodworking. I do this only because I know you are just beginning on what will be a lasting hobby.
Let me comment on the pinching (while ripping) you observed. You didn't do anything wrong here except choose the wrong board (or the wrong edge of a board) to rip. If you look at the 'pinching'/ saw kerf-closing photo, you can see you have a plain sawn board. (Nothing to cause concern yet) - - You can also see that this board was sawn from the log in a manner that was not parallel to the grain of that log. The way that happens is: if there was a crook or bend or severe taper in that log - the side of the log resting on the sawmill carriage presents the top of the log at an angle to the sawmills blade. (the sides of the log are also similarly affected)
At any rate, when the slabs are removed you get a cant of wood where the grain runs does not parallel with the sawmill carriage. The resulting boards will have grain that runs in a slant to the edges of the board. This is what you have/had. When you find that situation, the chances are greater that the board will contain wood under stress, or reaction wood. Some reaction wood is non avoidable. Your board looks to have a goodly amount. Although there is no way for most of us to avoid reaction wood, it (if possible) behooves us to inspect the boards before buying to look for signs of it. Diagonally grain is one sign.
Personally, I prefer rift sawn or quarter sawn straight grained. Sometimes out of wider boards, you can rip narrower boards that have better grain configuration and if necessary edge glue them back together. - -
*With all that said - birdhouses really do not justify a lot of "board scrutiny", but you can always expect some cull wood when pulling boards off a shelf, and pinches like that have nothing to do with your doing something wrong while sawing. In Fact - you did right by having the splitter in place. That is what it is there for! Perhaps the other edge of that board was rift grain that would have been more stable.
Next - I would like to throw in a minor critique of the positioning of your miter gauge when sawing the slanted sides of the houses. I wish you photo had included a floating table on the left side of the blade to support the miter extension. This would have made your cuts perhaps a bit less fuzzy on the bottom. Personally, I like to use the other side of the blade for making such cuts. The wider table on the right side gives more base without adding floating tables. (I use the same aluminum extension)
Speaking of the right side and left side of the blade - Although you properly used a spacer so our cross bevel cut did not ride on the fence, you really should have used the other side of the blade and kept your workpiece under the blade and the cutoff to the upper side. Reference: PTWFE Pg. 33. This is a safety issue. If the workpiece slips, it will not fall into the spinning blade as easily, and you can remove the workpiece from below the blade, rather than above it.
How did Jim like the Shopsmith?
You and Dusty have answered my question about the ceiling storage shelves.
Thanks again, for your thread it is a happy thing to follow along with your excitement and progress with you new hobby. Keep making sawdust!:)