25
Keyed chucks still get a better grip on any bit. I'm willing to use keyless on my portable drill -- though mine will take a key too, and there are times when I use it. I wouldn't trust keyless on a drill press.
23
How can I cut a large circle out of a 4x8 sheet of plywood?
You sound like the perfect candidate for a router circle jig. The one linked is available at Rockler, but they are easy enough to make yourself out of plywood.
The preferred method would be one that doesn't leave any holes/marks in the plywood surface.
The one pictured uses a pin to keep the ...
16
As @keshlam pointed out. My drill presses both have keyed chucks and it allows much greater torque to put a stronger clamp on the bit.
This is really important for larger bits when you get over 1 1/2" say for keyhole saws or large Forstner bits. There can be a lot of resistance and I don't think most keyless chucks can do the job. Even there I've had a ...
15
I'm glad someone finally asked a Question about alternatives to these jigs.
In the US at least, and probably in other parts of the world by now, pocket holes have become synonymous with Kreg. While they make good products that work exactly the way you'd hope, they can be expensive and their dominance of the market has led to a pervading belief among new ...
14
After doing a fair bit of research the general consensus is use whatever you have available and you feel comfortable with. That being said, there are several points worth making about all three tools and it's important to note the differences.
Dial
Works mechanically and usually in 1/1000th of an inch increments.
Assuming the rack and pinion are free of ...
12
what are live and dead centres?
To put it simply a dead center is just that - dead. It has no moving parts. It is really nothing more than a metal shaft with a point.
(source: parts-recycling.com)
A live center is similar, but the shaft has a bearing that allows it to turn. For example, in my lathe, the tail stock has a Morse taper, in which I put a live ...
11
The differing properties of vegetable-tanned hide over chromium-tanned is an interesting subject to read up on but I think it should be stressed here that a preference for one over the other for strops can be considered irrelevant, for multiple reasons.
Traditionalists often consider this a heresy and heated debates arise over it (particularly on straight-...
11
I think everyone is overthinking the issue at hand here.
I figure they would be very shallow. Just enough to stop the feet from moving but enough to have a gap between the glass and the table. 1/8th to 1/4 inches deep at the most and less than an inch in diameter.
Really, all the OP is asking is how to make a circular recess 1/8" to 1/4" in depth, and ...
10
A draw knife is one traditional tool used to remove bark.
If you have a folding pocket knife, you might be able to hack it into a mini-draw-knife- wedge the tip into a small stick, use tape or twine to close up the split, then use the body of the knife as one handle, and the stick as the other.
10
You can cut a perfect circle top using your table saw.
To do this, you will need a jig (a large sheet of plywood with a pin on which the board being cut spins).
Cut off corners (on the work piece) to remove large amounts of excess material. The first set of cuts take a square piece to an octagon. Then cut off more corners.
Using the jig, you can slowly ...
10
Regarding C1, C2, ... C6 carbide grades, higher numbers mean harder, but at the same time more brittle. C1 carbide cuts softer metals like aluminum and C6 carbide cuts hardest metals like steel.
What is important for woodworking is that the carbide grade doesn't make much difference when cutting wood, if any. I tend to prefer lower carbide grades, because ...
10
I would do this with a router and straight bit. Of course you would need a router. You don't mention the overall diameter so I am assuming larger than a reasonable drill bit size. You could also dish out the material with hammer and chisel or carving gouges. Depending on size, mounting in a lathe is also an option. Important information is the size of the ...
9
So is all the very fine grit count paper actually wet/dry sandpaper?
No. You can get regular papers that go to 400, 600 and even 800 grit (or equivalents). But as a broad generalisation if you see paper that's dark grey, with dark backing paper, it'll be the wet-and-dry type even if it doesn't specifically call itself that.
Is wet/dry just a gimmick of ...
9
I am trying to figure out if there are any differences between the two that would make me want to choose one over the other.
Or perhaps it just boils down to price and opinion in which case the answer would be something along it doesn't matter.
Yes, it mostly boils down to price. The continuous-surface diamond plates tend to be significantly more expensive ...
9
If you were given a choice between dial, digital and vernier calipers which one should you pick?
When I went looking for a caliper I wanted a dial type, based on the following comment in Andy Rae's book Choosing & Using Hand Tools, "A plastic dial caliper is plenty accurate for a woodworker's needs, and costs peanuts compared to more expensive metal ...
9
Rather than a higher quality miter saw I purchased a low end sliding miter saw years ago and have not regretted the choice.
I did try out several sliding miter saws before making my choice, however, as I found that very low end saws were extraordinarily imprecise. The import shop, for instance, had something that cost half as much, but when manipulating it ...
8
Belt Sander
This seems like an obvious choice. It might not make perfect corners on the new dowel but I can't imagine people will be looking up at where this meets. Very easy to remove stock quickly and if you orient the dowel right you should be able to get nice flat surfaces. Other power sanders could work for this as well just maybe not an orbital one as ...
8
This is a tangential point to your main question but has a bearing on my suggested solution:
I have heard that the old-school way of creating a flat surface is to use a hand plane, and that if you use the right tools, you may not even have to sand because the surface is so smooth.
While that can be true it does tend to get overstated by some planing ...
8
Tusk tenons, as you mentioned, would be good for disassembly, allowing you to make a larger workbench that can be easily moved in parts. Probably the biggest single piece would be the work surface itself.
Together with this, I would suggest using ballast - make a small workbench (that can be disassembled or not, depending on how portable you need it to be), ...
8
I am trying to figure out if there are any differences between the two that would make me want to choose one over the other.
There is really only one significant difference I can see between the two examples you posted.
The diamond plates in your first example are solid plates with a consistent diamond grit across the entire surface. I own one of these ...
8
Hand tools
No real surprise here, carving chisels are the main tools used to carve wood if you're doing it with hand tools. But knives of various kinds are also used by some carvers (and used exclusively by some for whittling and chip carving).
As with bench chisels it's usually a good idea for the beginner to buy a set and build from there, instead of ...
8
So my question is, do I need to countersink these screws?
Since these are going to be used on the floorboards and overlaid with another layer of subfloor sheet, so long as you screw these in enough that they don't stick proud of the floorboard surface, I see no need to countersink.
And if I do what size of countersink tool should I use?
It's hard to ...
8
Bandfile Belt Sander
Not advocating any particular product but showing the product picture
Image from Harbour Frieght
That should help you get into the tight spots quickly and efficiently. Only issue would be the corners. For that I would use a small rotary tool. Hopefully you have one that will fit in there. Mine is a little too clunky to get into a hole ...
8
Personally I would have aimed for an internal milled finish that didn't require sanding, that's the ideal. Obviously too late for that now and I don't know if that's possible with the Shopbot and the bit you were using anyway.
Instead of sanding to smooth the rough surfaces I recommend scraping. It will be faster, give a better finish and is more ...
8
This is actually a pretty broad topic, but other than marketing decided price (brand A being more expensive than brand B simply because of the brand name) there may be large difference in manufacturing of the chisels that can affect price.
I'll address general woodworking chisels, but I suspect that the same applies to the various carving chisels (as well ...
7
When polishing metals, it is quite common to use very fine grit (high grit count) sandpaper. I use it frequently. It's also recommended to use up to 1500 grit sandpaper when preparing certain wood surfaces prior to oiling with certain products – I did it recently with some Oregon when using a citrus oil and it was smooth as a baby's bottom afterwards (and it ...
7
The problems with forstner bits is that they only have a portion of the bit (half an inch or so) that is as wide as the hole you are cutting. Whereas with an auger the entire length of the auger is as wide as the hole. This helps keep the hole straight.
Forstner bits usually have short shafts (though there are shaft extenders). Augers on the other hand are ...
7
As @TXTurner suggests, a drawknife is great for bark removal. The dirt, grit, and grime in the bark will dull the blade faster, so it might be a good idea to have a drawknife dedicated for the task.
National Trails Training Partnership also suggests the following tools:
Bark/Peeling Spud
(source: TraditionalWoodworker.com)
(Carpenter) Adze
(source: Lee ...
7
Warning
I don't think it necessary but there are several links in this answer that are directly related to the horror movie Hellraiser. If you have issues with that type of content don't click on the links.
So it looks like what you are trying to make is a variation of the Movable Star Lament Configuration. I cannot seem to find any plans to reference or ...
7
It seems the other answers so far have all been hobbyists who use their diamond stones occasionally, which is fine (though I may be wrong!), but I can speak from the perspective of using these stones in a commercial environment:
I work for a joinery shop with ~15 full time joiners. For our sharpening needs we have a Tormek grinding/honing wheel, plus a set ...
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