Shopsmith Forums

heathicus wrote:Actually, I was cutting African Mahogany with my new Freud Avanti thin kerf blade.

Well at least I got 3 of the 4 things right......first, it was you, second, you were cutting wood, and third, it cut like butter. Ahhhhh, it's a good day!!!

dusty wrote:Neat project. Seems like it would work as a stand alone on the bench top as well. Hmmm, might be too top heavy for that.

What do you plan to use for the hinges (swivel points)?

Bolt, T nut, bronze bushings
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mickyd wrote:Bolt, T nut, bronze bushings
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Thanks, Mickyd. I copied that to my file of solutions. My first thought was dowels but I quickly discarded that idea though it would work sorta.

dusty wrote:Thanks, Mickyd. I copied that to my file of solutions. My first thought was dowels but I quickly discarded that idea though it would work sorta.

The bronze bushing (aka bearing) solution is made to carry weight, provide for smooth operation, and longevity. Dowels would function to some degree I'm sure.

The 4 bushings cost me $3.29 each. I bought them locally at a place competitive to McMaster-Carr. Just looked on the McMaster website and saw where pricing varies significantly based on the type of bronze. Their PN 6391K132 SAE 841 Bronze Sleeve Bearing cost just $0.89 ea. whereas their PN 6381K41 Alloy 932 (SAE 660) Cast Bronze Sleeve Bearing cost $3.70 ea. Had I known this prior to my purchase, I would have specified a lower grade bushing. I just ask for a 1/4ID x 1/2L bronze bushing....

Phase 1 assembly of the pegboard storage rackis completed. This is the outer frame which includes the uprights, stretchers, and arms.
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Good thing this project didn't require craftsman quality lap joints. Found out it ain't easy to get exact fits using the method I used. Although the arms and stretchers were exactly the same widths, the lap joints in the uprights that I dadoed varied. They sure aren't 'Norm' quality for tightness although they came out OK for this crude application. I gotta ask though.....how do you get nice tight lap joints? The way I did it was tracing the outline of the mating part onto the uprights then using the dado blade / miter gage and made multiple passes to gut it out lining up the first and last pass visually with the traced lines. I know this can't be correct way to do it since it lends itself to two independent cutting errors. So, what's the trick?

I've got all the stiles and rails cut for the 2 hinged doors. They have been rabbetted to accept the recessed pegboard panels. That tomorrows assembly....phase II.

Also for starters you might want to do the whole thing with a plain blade

mickyd wrote:Phase 1 assembly of the pegboard storage rackis completed. This is the outer frame which includes the uprights, stretchers, and arms.
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Good thing this project didn't require craftsman quality lap joints. Found out it ain't easy to get exact fits using the method I used. Although the arms and stretchers were exactly the same widths, the lap joints in the uprights that I dadoed varied. They sure aren't 'Norm' quality for tightness although they came out OK for this crude application. I gotta ask though.....how do you get nice tight lap joints? The way I did it was tracing the outline of the mating part onto the uprights then using the dado blade / miter gage and made multiple passes to gut it out lining up the first and last pass visually with the traced lines. I know this can't be correct way to do it since it lends itself to two independent cutting errors. So, what's the trick?

I've got all the stiles and rails cut for the 2 hinged doors. They have been rabbetted to accept the recessed pegboard panels. That tomorrows assembly....phase II.

The trick is Mike, stop cutting to lines and measurements and start cutting to your work. That is to say mark as you did and rough dado, inside the lines, then switch to a plain saw blade and "fit" it. Trial fit the pieces to see how much needs to go and then in tiny increments increase the gap, checking between cuts. When the fit is perfect, you're done. Then if you want to you can measure and see how big the dado turned out.....or not.

You're doing well Mike and it looks like you're having a ball. Good on ya.

Paul M

shipwright wrote:Also for starters you might want to do the whole thing with a plain blade

The trick is Mike, stop cutting to lines and measurements and start cutting to your work. That is to say mark as you did and rough dado, inside the lines, then switch to a plain saw blade and "fit" it. Trial fit the pieces to see how much needs to go and then in tiny increments increase the gap, checking between cuts. When the fit is perfect, you're done. Then if you want to you can measure and see how big the dado turned out.....or not.

You're doing well Mike and it looks like you're having a ball. Good on ya.

Paul M

Thanks for the info Paul. Advise taken. On all the joints, what would freak me out is leaning over the table to see where the spinning blade was lining up with the mark. On the last joint, after gutting out most of it, I shut the motor off, butted the part up against the blade with a little pressure (slight blade flex), pulled the miter gage back, re-started the motor, and cut / repeat until I got it to fit. Kept saying...."This can't be how Norm would do it!" so I figured I'd post. It probably is a good way to do it though, ay??

Another question......why change the blade from dado to regular for the last smidgen?

Your eye - work piece co-ordination will improve with practice.

Mark with a sharp knife blade or chisel, not a big old fat pencil.

Cut the 'slot' just barely narrow, and sand the other piece to fit.(they will probably vary anyway!!!).

JPG40504 wrote:Your eye - work piece co-ordination will improve with practice.]barely[/B] narrow, and sand the other piece to fit.(they will probably vary anyway!!!).

I was thinking that the process was a 'learned' technique. Was more hoping for a 'secret' but I understand. Sharp blade scriber, also great idea. I do have a nice pen style blade. I actually used it to mark a line that I attempted to chisel to on one real tight slot. Chisel method wasn't very precise but have to admit it was fun trying it out on my newly restored Stanley chisels I've had since I was 18. Used 'scary sharp' method to bring the edges back.

mickyd wrote:It going to be a two door, 4 surface, pegboard storage rack for hanging 'stuff' (tools, sawblades, screw drivers etc.). Will be mounting it on the side of my mobile workbench.

How many chickens do you have Rick? They layers?

Sorry for not getting back here again.. I just noticed this reply.. Looks like a nice project! Let me know if you need some nice peg board? I scored some late last year that was high-end from stores and is thicker than most stuff sold at HD and even has a wood veneer applied..

For the chicks, we've got 4 -- all hopefully hens (egg layers) but we're not sure about 1 of them who's a bit larger than the rest and seems to be the protector of the bunch.. Seems a bit roostery to me..