Shopsmith Forums

In my quest for perfection, when I cut the 4 peices of wood I am going to turn into a box, After cutting the rough length, I then stack all 4 boards, and cut them all at the very edge to even everything out. I then squared up the long ends with the jointer. I wanted 4 perfectly matched in length and width pieces that would fit together in perfect trueness.

Is there an easier way? Even using my fence doesnt seem to produce an exact even length.

Still new to this wonderful hobby, and looking to refine.

Hello,

I use a small 3/4X6X6 block clamped to the fence. First set the fence, with the block located midway on the fence, to your desired length. Lock the fence, then unclamp the block and move it to the rear of the fence, near the back edge of the table.
Square up the miter gauge, set the work on the table and against the miter gauge, slide it to the block for length and cut.

I use a sacrificial 12" long face on the front of the miter gauge for longer pieces. Also, a 1" wide X (the length of the aux face) of 220 adhered to the bottom front of the fence face will help keep the work from creeping.

The jointer will NOT give you consistent widths or thicknesses. It is designed to flatten faces and edges. A planer is the correct tool to accomplish exact thicknesses. I usually run all 4 pieces of a small box on edge through the planer (after passes over the jointer) to establish exact widths. Depending on final lengths, I may accomplish this task BEFORE cutting to length. I don't like running short pieces through the planer, even sandwiched between longer pieces.

The disc sander mounted on the quill can be used to get exact lengths. It is described in Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone (PTWFE) on the Shopsmith site.

http://www.shopsmith.com/academy/discsand/index.htm#endgrain

"Sanding to exact length" is part of the "End Grain Sanding" section.

Mike

tsaguy,
Take a few minutes and construct a sliding fence or two for your Miter Gauge in what ever lengths you need. BB ply 3/4", 1/4x20 T-track, and sandpaper face. The knobs are from Winco.
ldh

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tsaguy wrote:In my quest for perfection, when I cut the 4 peices of wood I am going to turn into a box, After cutting the rough length, I then stack all 4 boards, and cut them all at the very edge to even everything out. I then squared up the long ends with the jointer. I wanted 4 perfectly matched in length and width pieces that would fit together in perfect trueness.

Is there an easier way? Even using my fence doesnt seem to produce an exact even length.

Still new to this wonderful hobby, and looking to refine.

Stacking will accentuate any non right angle error(vertical table to blade or horizontal miter gauge).

As has been suggested, disk sanding to dimension is more likely to be successful. You can stack them afterwards to verify their common length. Very fine(small) length adjustments can be made.

Stacking while sanding has the same potential error as stacking them while sawing.

Both the miter gauge and the table to blade angles must be very accurate for your objective to be achieved.

The planer solution for the width is the best. Very accurate ripping/jointing is required without one.

ldh wrote:tsaguy,
Take a few minutes and construct a sliding fence or two for your Miter Gauge in what ever lenths you need. BB ply 3/4", 1/4x20 T-track, and sandpaper face. The knobs are from Winco.
ldh

You added to my "Gotta have it!!" list. Nice design!!

Cutting stacked lumber is a totally UNSAFE practice. It is too easy for a board to become cocked and kick back. Your best, safest and easiest bet is to use a backer board with a stop block on your miter. Find a scrap board, screw it to the miter and clamp another scrap board to it, at whatever length you need, for a stop block. It's just that easy.

ldh wrote:tsaguy,
Take a few minutes and construct a sliding fence or two for your Miter Gauge in what ever lengths you need. BB ply 3/4", 1/4x20 T-track, and sandpaper face. The knobs are from Winco.
ldh

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A Che...more cost effective less 'handy' method(works just as well).

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The fence extension may be anything(needs to be straight), the knobs from Woodcraft, the bolts/washers from local hardware store the clamp from Sears .

Hummmmm... Looks kinda familiar. I've seen that somewhere before.

ldh wrote:tsaguy,
Take a few minutes and construct a sliding fence or two for your Miter Gauge in what ever lengths you need. BB ply 3/4", 1/4x20 T-track, and sandpaper face. The knobs are from Winco.
ldh

That's really neat!

Gene