I made a bunch of Joints!

[JohnnyEgo]

Quick Edit - Finished project for those who do not care to scroll through 50 pictures:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand52.JPG

-Original Post-

For the first time ever. With my new planer-jointer:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/tools/hammer/hammera313.JPG

Over the last few weeks, I have been using the planer feature a ton, but I haven't really jointed anything because I have traditionally bought what is known as S4S (surfaced four sides) from either the big box stores or the local lumber supplier. But on my last visit to said supplier, they didn't have any S4S walnut in stock over 4" wide that wasn't made by edge joining two narrower boards. Fortunately, I now have a mega-jointer, and they did have a pile of rough walnut boards in the corner. I found a piece with the width I wanted, but it had a good sized section of live-edge to it that I didn't want. However, they wouldn't sell me just the board-feet I needed without having the cut-off being at least four feet, so I was obligated to buy the whole board:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut01.JPG

First, I did a quick check for any errant metal before I ran it through my flesh and metal-sensing saw. Then I cut out the live-edge section, figuring I could at least saw out some useable small trim pieces out of it:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut03.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut04.JPG

Next, I wanted to flatten one face of the rough boards, which is one of the main functions of the jointer. Essentially, the left side of the jointer sits a little higher than the right. As you push the board past the cutter head, it tries to trim the board level to the higher outfeed side. After a few passes, I got one nice, flat, clean face:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut05.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut06.JPG

Once the face was flat, I wanted to make one of the edges both flat and 90 degrees to the face. This is known as edge jointing:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut08.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut07.JPG

Once the board was jointed, I lifted up the jointer tables and dialed the planer bed up to height. A planer carves a surface parallel to the opposite surface on the bed. So if the opposite surface is nice and flat and smooth, you get a flat, smooth board of consistent thickness and 90 degree corners.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut09.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut10.JPG

I have held off on adjusting my jointer planer while it is still on the pallet, so I get a little bit of what is called snipe at each end of the board where it engages the rollers. Very shallow indentations in the first and last two inches of the board. Even without adjustment, it is very light on this machine, and any snipe or other milling marks are quickly removed with a short sanding with 180 grit paper.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut11.JPG

Hit it with a bit of mineral spirits to clean it up and get an idea of what the finished grain might look like. You never know for certain what you are going to find in rough lumber until you do these things. In this case, one of the blanks has some figure I like quite a bit, with an interesting grain pattern and a bit of burl. I will probably cut that part out to use in a small jewelry box or something.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut13.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/roughwalnut/roughwalnut12.JPG

I was going to just cut out the live-edge and make a blank for small trim pieces, but I kind of like it, even though it is mostly sapwood. Going to put some thought into what to do with it. I jointed a few other blanks for a few small projects I am going to try to accomplish over the course of the week. I'm using several thousand dollars worth of machine to turn several hundred dollars of wood into an assortment of $20 projects and sawdust, but man am I having a good time with it.

[Great-Kazoo]

I'm using several thousand dollars worth of machine to turn several hundred dollars of wood into an assortment of $20 projects and sawdust, but man am I having a good time with it.

Isn't that always the way.

Going to put some thought into what to do with it

A paddle for Vincent? In a loving way, of course.

[Irving]

That live edge looks like it'd make an awesome rifle stock. It seems like something else familiar as well. I'll get back to you if I ever figure it out.

[Bailey Guns]

Thanks. I enjoyed that. I'd like to see the finished product, whatever it is.

[Duman]

The post title had me thinking of other 'joints'....

"Up in Smoke" came to mind

[JohnnyEgo]

Yep. Did it on purpose, in part because of the amusement I found in the mushroom legalization thread.

For most of this particular walnut board, the finished product will be box lids for small jewelry boxes. Mostly 1/2" or 3/8" material. Two of them are reserved for something firearm related, which I will post more on when/if I make some more progress tomorrow and Saturday.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand22.JPG

[Irving]

Sorry for the basic question, but what is the distinction between planing and jointing? Is the fence what makes this a jointer instead of just a planer?

[CS1983]

Sorry for the basic question, but what is the distinction between planing and jointing? Is the fence what makes this a jointer instead of just a planer?

https://www.wwgoa.com/article/the-difference-between-a-jointer-and-planer/

[crays]

Sorry for the basic question, but what is the distinction between planing and jointing? Is the fence what makes this a jointer instead of just a planer?

Didn't you say you took wood shop class in high school? Just sayin'...


Any advice on how to properly apply those products? I don't think I've used a wood stain since high school wood shop class.

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/142169-I-need-a-durable-clear-finish-for-wood?p=1780157&viewfull=1#post1780157

[JohnnyEgo]

The article CavSct posted is a pretty good explanation of the differences between the two. It's the same type of operation in terms of actually removing wood, the only thing that changes is the reference table. On the jointer, the face being cut is made flat with reference to the outfeed table it rests on after the cut (the plane of reference is the same as the cutting plane). With a planer, the face being cut is made parallel to the planer bed at a fixed distance. So the jointer doesn't give a rat's ass about the opposite face of the wood it is cutting, but the planer does. If you have two lumpy faces on opposite sides, the jointer will make one of those faces flat. The planer will spit out a lumpy board with the high spots no higher than a fixed distance from the opposite side.

If the board is reasonably flat to begin with, and the material is fairly short, the planer can flatten a board like a jointer if the differences between the high and low spots are within the capacity of the cut. However most of the time, if you put a warped board in the planer, what usually comes out the other end is a thinner warped board.

[Irving]

Thank you, great explanation.

[Irving]

Didn't you say you took wood shop class in high school? Just sayin'...


Yes, one semester from 20 years ago. Pretty sure that's obvious whenever I post my own projects.

[BladesNBarrels]

Good explanation and picture sequence.
Thanks!
I've done just enough wood-working to generate more questions than answers.
I was one of the first fans of the videos by Time-Life and Norm Abram on The New Yankee Workshop - he sure demonstrated the use of Routers.

[JohnnyEgo]

Yep. Norm gave me my first taste of router-lust, many years ago.
-
Skipped work and played hard in the garage last night and most of today. Made enough progress to be at the point where I can start showing what I am up to, and more importantly kill time waiting for the Danish Oil to dry. This stuff I did a couple days ago.

Cut some base blanks out of Walnut and hard Maple, and a sacrificial blank out of some cheap pine.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand03.JPG

Routed a shallow 3/4" groove in the blanks to accept some inlay. Once the glue dried, through the planer it went to make the surface smooth.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand20.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand21.JPG

Next, I took a whole bunch of measurements of a 1911 magazine and started cutting some blank stock to the width and thickness of the mag:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand04.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand06.JPG

Into the planer they went to get to the exact size I wanted:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand07.JPG

I thought the maple blanks might be a little too short for the planer. It let me know I was correct. Into the scrap bucket these went, and back to the table saw I went to cut some longer stock.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand08.JPG

This was better:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand09.JPG


Then over to the router table, with a quarter inch round-over installed to profile the front edges and ease the back edges:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand13.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand14.JPG

Used a super-advanced jig to set a 15 degree angle on my table saw:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand15.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand17.JPG

And thus endeth the day:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand18.JPG

[Irving]

Are you making a 1911 mag vending machine?!

[JohnnyEgo]

For beavers.

[JohnnyEgo]

I got a few hours in the evening and spent them turning a bunch of wide boards into thin ones and sawdust:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand27.JPG

Then I started gluing a bunch of those thin boards into a simple laminate for an inlay. Once the glue dried, I split the laminate on the tablesaw:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand30.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand31.JPG

Split some maple stock for some thin boards, then routed an inlay groove:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand32.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand34.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand35.JPG

Then glue and weight. And wait.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand36.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand38.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand39.JPG

Dialed the planer down to an eighth of an inch and fed them through.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand41.JPG

And then there was more gluing and clamping.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand23.JPG

Finished up the magazine blanks by making a simple jig to route the magazine catch groove with a 1/8 spiral bit:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand44.JPG

[Duman]

"Norm gave me my first taste of router-lust....."

Repent, repent! Thou art a router slut! And a 1911 slut. And a wood-working slut.

OK, everyone, grab a six-pack and let's all meet at Johnny-Ego's for a weekend of lusty wood working, gun talk, and tall tales!

[JohnnyEgo]

And a few more before I go to bed:

Grabbed a couple of pieces of that cut stock from yesterday for the sides to an additional component of the project:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand42.JPG

And routed some 1/8" stopped grooves into them at the router table:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand43.JPG

Followed by a change to a 1/8" round-over and some tediousness.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand46.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand47.JPG

Squared off the grooves with a 1/8" chisel:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand49.JPG

Also, couldn't think of a better way of doing the slide lock notch, so I grit my teeth and chiselled it in, too.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand28.JPG

A giant pile of small parts to be hand-sanded:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand48.JPG

And waiting for it all to dry.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand50.JPG

[brutal]

Tell me about that table saw crosscut sled. DIY or bought?

[JohnnyEgo]

Built out of a 5x5 sheet of Baltic Birch ply about three months ago. The fence and T-track are made by Kreg. I made it because I wanted my 8 year old to be able to help me cut some things without giving me a heart attack. However, I wish I had built it 20 years ago. It's fast, repeatable, accurate, and lets me safely cross-cut much larger stock. But it really shines in letting me work safely with really small parts that would be better cut by the bandsaw I don't have. I just googled 'crosscut sled' and mostly followed the one built by King Woodworking on their YouTube channel, though I added the dust collection port on the blade guard block.

https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2018Projects/sled/sled01.JPG

I rounded mine off and stenciled in huge warning signs to minimize the possibility of my kid getting splinters or running his hands into the saw blade. But they don't have to be that much effort. All you really need is two flat surfaces 90 degrees to the blade and each other. The back fence doesn't matter at all. A simple cross-cut sled set up right can make one as accurate with a $100 Harbor Freight table saw as I am with my $3K Sawstop.

[brutal]

Built out of a 5x5 sheet of Baltic Birch ply about three months ago. The fence and T-track are made by Kreg. I made it because I wanted my 8 year old to be able to help me cut some things without giving me a heart attack. However, I wish I had built it 20 years ago. It's fast, repeatable, accurate, and lets me safely cross-cut much larger stock. But it really shines in letting me work safely with really small parts that would be better cut by the bandsaw I don't have. I just googled 'crosscut sled' and mostly followed the one built by King Woodworking on their YouTube channel, though I added the dust collection port on the blade guard block.


I rounded mine off and stenciled in huge warning signs to minimize the possibility of my kid getting splinters or running his hands into the saw blade. But they don't have to be that much effort. All you really need is two flat surfaces 90 degrees to the blade and each other. The back fence doesn't matter at all. A simple cross-cut sled set up right can make one as accurate with a $100 Harbor Freight table saw as I am with my $3K Sawstop.

Thanks. I made extensions for the crosscut/mitre gauge that came with my saw (a $500 Dewalt large portable), but it's not always accurate enough 90* cuts for some things.

I'd also like to build an extension for cutting larger pieces, instead of trying to drag them on the rip fence while using the crosscut mitre gauge starting off table.

[brutal]

I cringed at a few of his procedures, but like a lot of what this guy did and he didn't build a triple thick deck - something that is overkill for my saw and self abilities.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtwK9X8o1Gw

[JohnnyEgo]

That looks very similar to Kings one I copied. I passed on the insert design because I use a router more often to make my cross dados for a cleaner cut. When I do need to make a bunch of dados, I usually just super-glue a couple of pieces of scrap to do the job.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/pinewoodcase/pwcar01.JPG

I do like his idea of the left-handed tape. It had to be a pain to apply it though, as you only get one crack at putting it down in the appropriate relation to the left-hand side. Or perhaps he made another indicator for the stop.

One word of caution I learned the hard way, just in case you aren't already aware; it's a bad idea to use the miter gauge and fence at the same time on a cross-cut piece. That is because as the cut side drags along the fence, it can shift angle minutely such that it binds against the blade and the fence.
If you keep on trying to power through the cut, it can bind the blade completely. Or even worse, it can release unexpectedly and catastrophically. In my case some 20 years ago, it did just that, and that is why I can only give a movie 1 3/4 thumbs up, and my parents still talk about the Christmas of 98.

-
I spent most of today watching my son, Dick Cheney Jr, shooting other kids in the face at a laser-tag birthday party. So not much to show, but frankly, there isn't much left to be shown.

Assembled all the finished pieces into a bunch of little boxes:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand51.JPG

Attatched the mag blocks to the simple bases:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand25.JPG

And put the mag boxes on the stands:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand52.JPG

I'll try to take some better pictures when the sun is out tomorrow.

I learned a couple lessons on this one. One is that they mean it when they recommend not planing things less than a foot long. But more specific to the project, I will most likely make my mag blanks out of walnut or similarly dark hardwood in the future. The maple ones look nice, but they show every bit of dirt, grease, and unburnt carbon that was inside the magwell of a dirty 1911. In fact, I'm tempted to glue patches to them and call them magwell cleaning accessories.

I plan to use what I learned to build a couple of higher-density pistol racks and mag boxes so I can finally get my safe and accessory shelves to quit looking like my 9 year old's closet after I tell him to clean his room. This was a fun and relatively quick project to execute over a couple hours a night, without having to open the garage door. I also love my new Jointer-Planer. I worried that I spent so much on a very specific tool that is way overkill for my needs, but it is an absolute joy to use. And now that I can face-joint planks up to 16" wide, I can go nuts in the rough lumber section of the local supplier without hesitation. Very happy.

[brutal]

One word of caution I learned the hard way, just in case you aren't already aware; it's a bad idea to use the miter gauge and fence at the same time on a cross-cut piece. That is because as the cut side drags along the fence, it can shift angle minutely such that it binds against the blade and the fence.

If you keep on trying to power through the cut, it can bind the blade completely. Or even worse, it can release unexpectedly and catastrophically. In my case some 20 years ago, it did just that, and that is why I can only give a movie 1 3/4 thumbs up, and my parents still talk about the Christmas of 98.


Yea, am aware of the bind (which also causes the cuts to be off) and have only done it occasionally on the wide boards that cause me to use the mitre gauge off the deck. It's usually soft woods or chip/pressed or mdf but I probably should have used a clamped straight edge and skill saw, but my skill saw is pretty wobbly.

I know of the thumb game. Took a good good chunk of mine out on a router when I was a lad and forcing the piece through. Not quite down to the bone, and it surprisingly grew back in.

[brutal]

Have you ever stuck your good thumb into the blade of the sawstop to see if it really works?

[JohnnyEgo]

Nope, but it scared the shit out of me and cost me $80 when it found the remnants of a staple in a piece of wood once. Loud bang, purple flash, and the blade was gone long before I realized what happened. So I know it activates fast. :(

[BladesNBarrels]

Well, before the horror stories, I was inspired to get back into wood working projects.
I have been searching for Router Tables and Miter Saws.

My last project was building drawers for the knife safe, and I could use more.
I really like the display for the magazine fed firearms and that would be a great project.

Materials after preliminary cutting:
https://i.imgur.com/upLVYWh.jpg

Creating drawer shapes:
https://i.imgur.com/plPUdmi.jpg

Assembly and paint:
https://i.imgur.com/lKc7AVk.jpg

Fitted into safe:
https://i.imgur.com/G5t7c2q.jpg

100 lb full extension slides:
https://i.imgur.com/3MTwCo9.jpg

Drawer bottoms lined with felt and labels inserted:
https://i.imgur.com/tgJxaJU.jpg

[JohnnyEgo]

Very nicely executed! I like the half-lap drawers. I tell myself all the time that I am going to do something similar in my safe. But then I never get around to it. Perhaps this will be the year!

[BladesNBarrels]

Very nicely executed! I like the half-lap drawers. I tell myself all the time that I am going to do something similar in my safe. But then I never get around to it. Perhaps this will be the year!

Thanks.
I built a prototype drawer using a dovetail jig. It took a long time and I wasn't too pleased with my craftsmanship.
I had a stacking dado blade for my construction grade portable table saw and figured with some trial-and-error I could tweak it enough for the rabbet joints.
Glue and brads worked well, and the drawer bottoms added square and strength.
The prototypes were made with plywood, but I found mdf was stable and cut consistently well, and was cheap for the number of drawers I was making. It was heavier, but that didn't matter.
I had a small Craftsman Bench Router Table with a decades old router and it was good enough to round the edges.
I will pick up some better equipment if I start doing more wood-working.

[BladesNBarrels]

Just watched a video evaluation of the Hammer Jointer/Planer A3-41. Very impressive!
Looked up the price on Felder website, oh boy, gonna have to sell some of my knife collection!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4NWwCAQ9Gc

[ray1970]

So it?s tier-1 equipment?
[Coffee]

[BladesNBarrels]

And then some
At least a months revenue

[Beer]

[JohnnyEgo]

Couple final pictures in marginally better lighting:

Hard maple base and magazine with Padauk trim:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand57.JPG

Similar with breadboard walnut ends. This is the one I am keeping, not because it is my favorite combination, but because this is the best mortise and tenon job I've probably ever done.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand59.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand60.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand61.JPG

My favorite color combination - Walnut base with Spalted Tamarind inlay. I am making a jewelry box for my wife in this combination, and I may try to make a couple small ammo boxes as well.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand65.JPG

And all of them together before I split up the litter:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand69.JPG

[BladesNBarrels]

Very impressive.
You are an inspiration to this wannabe!
Thanks

[Irving]

Those look really nice.

[Great-Kazoo]

Couple final pictures in marginally better lighting:

Hard maple base and magazine with Padauk trim:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand57.JPG

Similar with breadboard walnut ends. This is the one I am keeping, not because it is my favorite combination, but because this is the best mortise and tenon job I've probably ever done.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand59.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand60.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand61.JPG

My favorite color combination - Walnut base with Spalted Tamarind inlay. I am making a jewelry box for my wife in this combination, and I may try to make a couple small ammo boxes as well.
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand65.JPG

And all of them together before I split up the litter:
https://www.johnnyego.com/wood/2019Projects/magstand/magstand69.JPG

Impressive work, as usual.


I use to have a neighbor who did work like that ;)


BTW: Dessert of the month at that restaurant is Lemon Meringue

[Fentonite]

Very nice. My favorite is the second from the left with two mag holders.

[Mazin]

Very nice. My favorite is the second from the left with two mag holders.

Yup mine too, Great work!!!