Any woodworkers?

Agreed.
I have done a few intricate bookshelves in the past couple of years, The first two were with hand cut M&T, the rest were with the domino. I could do 3 of them with the domino in far less time than it took to do just one with hand cut M&T. And the joints lined up better... (kinda shows my skill level)

 

I have a few questions. I am building a cremation box for my dads ashes and it's not going as well as I'd like.

I have a piece of maple that was rough cut. I planed it down to 3/4" only to find some cracks running down the center of about 2/3rds of the length. Of course its just enough to get in the way. Is there anything I can do to repair and use the whole length? A buddy mentioned running glue in the crack and then sanding down, but wont that be discolored? I plan to just seal and clear everything to keep the color.

Whats the best way to get a square edge on a rough cut plank? No side is straight enough to rip with the table saw.

I'd like to use 1.25" square posts for each corner. I know I can glue to pieces together and then plane or rip down to 1.25", but one edge will be with the grain and one will be across. I'm not sure how that will look, or if theres a better way to do it.

 

For the cracks I would look to see if epoxy and or bowties might work. Lots of youtube videos out there. If you have access to a track saw you might be able to get a straight edge.

 

ok,I do this out of love and I attempt to save your wallet..

You only want one because you suck as a woodworker. If not, how hard would it be to cut mortise and tenons? You don’t produce enough wood projects a year to justify being lazy, especially when dowel joinery can be just as good, if you want to pretend you don’t have the time to cut mortise’s…

Biscuits arent useful for anything. Even alignment is crazy. They offer no strength. Again dowels can be used in lieu of, and it would at least offer strength.

About the most useful thing I find the biscuit joiner useful for is splining when I’m too lazy to switch out a router bit.

 

You cut me to the core of my woodworking suckery soul sir! I really just want one because I am that lazy. There I said it! And you are correct I do not produce enough projects to justify it. Dowels are not the easiest for waterfall edges and miters, which is my main motivation. However I had not considered cutting mortises on a router table, that I will look into.

Thanks!

 

I am by no means a professional woodworker, but I will tell you how I would deal with your issues in my garage. Hopefully others will help out with their ideas.

1) Dealing with the crack. Since this is a meaningful project, I would likely find a new piece of wood and start over. If this piece of wood has sentimental value and I was set on using it, I would likely fill the entire crack with a clear or colored epoxy. This will fill the void and stabilize the wood. I would then plane or sand the stock smooth and continue with my project. You could also use a router and a template to add bowties. Bowties would stabilize the wood but not fill the crack entirely.

2) Squaring up a rough plank. I would start by getting on edge straight. I would use my track saw or jointer depending on how much material needs to be removed to get a straight edge. Just a little, use the jointer. If it needed more than a couple of passes on the jointer, I would bust out the track saw. I can then put that straight side against the fence on my miter saw, cut one end, and get a square corner.

3) On the ends, why not glue together to get the thickness you want then miter cut two pieces and join them to form the ends so that you only see face grain?

Hope this helps

I am only a hobbyist and love my Domino. I don't need to get projects done quickly, but I don't like to have them drag on for a long time. I get bored and lose interest. I admit that the Domino is not needed at all and just a luxury in my garage. However, that is a luxury that I am glad that I have.

Ohh yeah, I have also never taken the time to layout and cut true mortise and tenon joints in my life. So I guess that I am both lazy and unskilled. That is fine with me, since myself and my wife are more than happy with the pieces that I have built.

Additionally, it made my waterfall end tables come out great, all of my panel glue ups are flat and require little to no additional sanding, and my picture frames are solid.

 

Lol
Well I tried. Glad I could add clarity at least.
As long as your happy is all that matters.

#ripwallet

 

I still think you should buy a Domino.








Just saying....

 

Don't forget to add a dust extractor, so that it turns on with the Domino, and the systainer full of dominos and cutters. Then you may as well add a track saw and a new sander, then ........

 

SO DO I!!!!!!!

 

Well... tbh... that's pretty much the route I took.

If I add up what it would cost to buy in a store, all the things I've made in my workshop, it would have been cheaper than what I have in equipment.

Then again, I wouldn't have had the satisfaction of doing it myself. For me, it's worth it, even though I'll never be in the black on my hobby.

I guess one way to justify it is that it's cheaper than airplanes... or boats. I'm not so sure about golf.

 

I thought if this, but was afraid the edges wouldn't be flush enough and you would see a gap. I am going to try on some some scrap pieces and see.

 

I'm team red on the track saw, and have way more dust collection than a sane person needs.

 

Are you working with a table saw? This is a dry fit off my table saw from a project about a year ago. I used Dominos to help with alignment.

 

Figured you guys could benefit from one of these

 

Finally able to make it to my wood place while they were open. Lots of 8/4 Alder came home with me. That 10+ inch wide board is going to work out great for the rear leg / back rest chair pieces. The extra is for the next project.

 

Picked up a nice padauk slab because it spoke to me. Wish it would tell me what it wants to be.

 

Progress!

Layout with templates


Planed to thickness. Trying to avoid the bad parts of that wide board.



Rough cut on bandsaw.



Final shaping with my new compression flush trim bit.






Need to layout and cut the loose tennons next.



waiting for glue to dry.



Seat Back pieces cut and layed out. Time for a beer!

 

Looking good brother!