Shopsmith Forums

garys wrote:I like the knots in the wood. The natural imperfections of wood are its true beauty. Most people cut away those beautiful knots. I like how you kept them. They add to the beauty of the finished project.

Thanks all for the words and tips. And yes Garys I totally agree, I love a little knot in the wood, as long as it's used sparingly. Love the character

Nice work germ!:D The thought you gave here is one of the best requirements of good working. Always good to think.

Here's a tip for using the Miter-Pro: Always use the near (short) side for making the first cut. Then using the 45 degree slide/stop on the long side make the second cut on that piece. That way you can make additional pieces of the exact same length. Necessary for opposite sides.

Always use both legs of the Miter-Pro in order to make 45 degree corners. This way even if the table is a little askew, the matching corners will be 90 degrees.

Once again, I like your work and your thinking.

P.S. Even if you are framing a non square item, go ahead and make a frame with square corners. Use matting and the frame's rabbets to take up the difference.

Thanks Charlese and yes I could have messed up the beginning of the miters by cutting the wrong side against the short fence and then didn't realize it until later. Larger problem is, though, that the large fence just isn't long enough for large framing if you also want to use the stop, so I had to "freehand" the long pieces, which I am sure contributed to some misalignment.

Oh well, everything worked in the end repaired frame yesterday with biscuit joints and more careful glue up and better hanging wire techniques. On to the second frame

jerm wrote:Larger problem is, though, that the large fence just isn't long enough for large framing if you also want to use the stop,

Yes, that is a big problem (no pun intended). The only solution I have thought of is to put two pieces of double stick carpet tape on the long fence, then stick on a straight, longer, sacrificial board to the tape. The stop can then be clamped to the board. This is a bit of maneuvering, but will allow closer opposite sides than measuring and marking. Don't ask me how I know:(

In my shop, measuring and marking sucks. It's O.K. for rough cuts, but it's only about 50 - 50 for final cuts.

Yeah I thought about using another fence or even attaching a second fence (the fence extension from my miter gauge ... Doesn't work by the way ) but figured I would be just as accurate if I just eyeballed it vs building another contraption.

I figure the table saw miter jig is probably worth the hassle though, as it looks stable, accurate, and I believe can handle very large sides with stops. I'll have to take a look at the plans again.