Shopsmith Forums

mark-b wrote:If you try to run a bevel, the edge opposite the edge you are beveling should be against a fence or stop to insure that the parts are all the same size. If the parts vary in size, your corners will never mate correctly. Perhaps if you made a sled that your panels could fit under, you will get better results. Sometimes I feed wood with the router instead of into the router to eliminate tearing. Be warned that the router will want to get traction and spit the part out and pull your fingers in!

I was aware of the width problem potential you talk about and addressed it when I beveled the other side. What I did after beveling the first edge on all 4 assemblies was set up the fence on the other side of the bit and at a distance equal to the overall width of the part. I staged all 4 assemblies individually to make sure that I was going to be removing material from each. This way here, after I cut the 2nd side, all 4 assemblies are the exact same width. Procedurally, this may not have been the correct way to do it's all I could think of. Comments welcome for sure!! In following the 'directions' they just say 'We beveled the edges on a router table'. Simple nuff, eh? Ya, right!!

In your first sentence, are you saying that on the first edge bevel, you reference the opposite side against the fence? If so, I initially was going to do it that way but knew that method would introduce error in my bevel due to any squareness issue or overall width differences. I figured if I did my first bevel referencing the same edge being beveled that it would at least be parallel along the entire length and then that edge would be the reference for cutting the other side. Hard to explain so hopefully I'm clear.

Explain your sled process a little more. Would it hold all 4 assemblies nose to tail at the same time? Would it prevent the tear out I got? If so, how?

Hey Mike!
A stop or fence on the second side is all you really need. Just so the final size is the same for the parts for any given lantern. Now let me see if I can clarify the sled idea (my brain is kinda mush today, so bear with me!). I was thinking of a jig like the router jig that you made for the half laps. It would hold one "panel" at a time. If you made it so that the routing was done under the jig, the wood from the jig would probably help any tear-out. The jig might also help to protect you from any catastrophic router mishap (25,000 rpm + knife edges + thin wood + 2 grains at right angles + glued joints + 10 fingers = one hell of a recipe!!)

I will post pics of a "mock up" for you:)

Okay here is a quick mock up

Green= your lantern
Yellow= 1/4" plywood
[ATTACH]8092[/ATTACH]

Pink= 3/4" plywood
Red= handle

After laying down 1/4" ply. glue 3/4" to it allowing room for lantern edge to ride on fence
[ATTACH]8093[/ATTACH]
THIS IS WHY I ACED KINDERGARTEN!!

mark-b wrote:Okay here is a quick mock up

Green= your lantern
Yellow= 1/4" plywood
[ATTACH]8092[/ATTACH]

Pink= 3/4" plywood
Red= handle

After laying down 1/4" ply. glue 3/4" to it allowing room for lantern edge to ride on fence
[ATTACH]8093[/ATTACH]
THIS IS WHY I ACED KINDERGARTEN!!

After the pictures of construction paper cutouts, that last line really cracked me up! Thanks for the laugh!

mark-b wrote:Okay here is a quick mock up

Green= your lantern
Yellow= 1/4" plywood
[ATTACH]8092[/ATTACH]

Pink= 3/4" plywood
Red= handle

After laying down 1/4" ply. glue 3/4" to it allowing room for lantern edge to ride on fence
[ATTACH]8093[/ATTACH]
THIS IS WHY I ACED KINDERGARTEN!!

VERY COOL MARK!! Thanks for the visual. I can relate to visuals much better than text. Thanks for taking the time you valedictorian of K1!! (cracked me up too!!)

Worked on the lantern bases last night. The 3 bases will each be 3/8”Tx4”Wx4”L. Started with a piece of 1”Tx4”x13” and used the ‘controversial’ free hand rip method shown in post 50 to get the 3/8”Tx4”x13” slabs. A difference this time here was working with a longer piece of stock. Making the cut felt very smooth and controlled. I made the first pass through the entire length, flipped the board, and ripped through stopping a couple inches shy to leave a web between the two halves that I finished with a handsaw. Still many of you that wouldn’t make this cut?? I don’t want to build a false sense of security and really want your input. Like I said, it seemed OK but so is running across the road with your eyes closed…..sometimes.
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[ATTACH]8107[/ATTACH]
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You’ll notice lots of saw marks on the slabs. Still don’t know for sure if it’s me or as dusty had suggested, possibly the blade. Any easy way to verify the blade?

Once I got the squares cut, the next step was to add the rabbet that holds the base in the groove on the bottom rail and also supports the glass. My first rabbet.....horray!! and it came out…..HORRIBLE. I think I did it back-asswards. I first cut it to depth.
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[ATTACH]8109[/ATTACH]
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After cutting to precisely the correct depth, I measured the width and realized that I set up to the wrong side of the blade. It was precisely inaccurate by a blade width too wide. (Now I know for sure you 'seasoned' guys have never done that before)

I then stood the part on end and ripped to depth, or at least attempted to. You can see by the grooves on the rabbit surface that I botched it up…..salvagable with some kind of creative rework, but botched. I was kind of surprised since I felt that I really measured pretty accurately with a steel scale. Maybe I had a pre-senior moment??
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[ATTACH]8110[/ATTACH]
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So, when I said I did it back-asswards, I probably should have first stood the part up on end and ripped to the depth then cut to width having the saw blade just break through the surface. Is that the correct way to do it?

Anyway, had a ball. Worked outside under the lights since my dust collection system right now is old man gravity and the shop floor.

Hmmmm....just read up on table saw rabbeting at the ShopSmith academy site in the joinery sectionand procedurally, I was doing it right. Cut surface first, edge second. My surface cut was just too deep.

Looks like it's a practice issue!!

The rabbet would have been a good place to use the router with a straight bit, no? Or at least a dado blade against (and partially in) a sacrificial fence.

I learned cutting rabbets on a table saw from The Wood Whisperer. One thing I learned was you don't want the cuts to come together. Cut the surface depth a bit shallow, then cut into the side just far enough to cut the scrap loose. You'll have a little ledge in the corner - clean that up with a hand chisel for a perfect corner.

If you don't already, get a set of hand chisels then sharpen them to scary sharp. They can clean that rabbet right up. I'm a newb too, so someone else might have a better idea, but that's what I would do. The set I have was cheap. Not Harbor Freight cheap, but Lowes cheap. They seem to work just fine for me. Getting them sharp is the key.

When the lantern is assembled you dont eve see the bottom, or the rabbit, so dont feel like you have to make it so perfect:) Just enjoy!!! and as for the saw blade, go to Humpty Depot and pick up a new Freud Diablo- for less than $30 you can get a decent blade